TEETH AGAIN!

Wow, both boys once again got teeth at the same time. No wonder they've been a bit fussy the last few days and not sleeping well. Levi got his 5th, 2nd bottom left. Ezra got his 6th, 2nd top right. More are on the verge of popping through. These kids are going to have a mouth full by the first birthdays! I think Elliot only had 3 when she turned one. :-)

SO FUNNY!

Both boys are pulling up and walking along things now. It's so fun to watch them. This video is a bit long, but the end is hilarious....check it out:




It was right before bed so Levi was super tired. I promise he can dish it out too. He's been into pulling Ezzy's hair. OH, the other day Ezra and El were playing on the porch and she slid down the slide onto him and he bit her! His first attempt at revenge. I know I think it's funny now, but I'm sure I won't when arguing all day long. :-)

Elliot is 4

Hard to believe, but our baby girl turned 4 on the 28th. We got to have a special day with her while Mimi watched her brothers. She chose to go to Play Plus, then we went out to lunch. She was super sweet and we had a great day together. How quickly 4 years goes by. This little gal can be the most stubborn, strong-willed, independent little thing, and the sweetest, kindest, little angel. Although some of these qualities are hard to deal with now, I'm sure in the long run they will make her an amazing girl! I just know it. WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH ELLI WYNN!
HERE's MORE PIC's of her special day! We'll have her birthday celebration sometime this summer.

Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year! Christmas Eve ALL of our family (Bro's, aunt, grandparents, mom/dady, etc.) went to church then everyone came over to our house for a sandwich/appetizer dinner. It was so wonderful!

Christmas day was very relaxed. In the morning the kids got up, ate, then got their stockings. Elliot waited so patiently for the babies to go down for their naps so that she could open the rest of her gifts. It was WAY TOO DIFFICULT trying to do it with them awake, and way more fun just opening gifts with her :-)

Elliot with her Connectagon's. The coolest toys ever!
Babies in their new highchairs! We love them!In the afternoon we went to Mom and Dad's for presents and Christmas dinner. What a nice day!

Here's some more pic's. (The rest our on Wes' camera and I haven't downloaded them yet)

10 months and Rollercoasters

The boys turned 10 months old the other day! Hard to believe!

Levi is still the most smiley thing ever! He could seriously light up a room with that huge grin of his. He loves to giggle, especially at his big sister. I often think she is being way too rough and aggressive, yet they seem to crack up at whatever she's doing. He's crawling super fast now and pulling up on everything and walking along it. I've even caught him letting go and standing alone for a few seconds! I tried to sit him on the potty like his brother and he just cracks up laughing and will have nothing to do with it. :-) Here's a pic. from our trip to the beach the other day:
Ezra is quite the Mama's boy lately. I'm not sure what's going on, but he can't seem to get enough of me. He loves to nurse too! I think he's got even MORE teeth coming in. Ezra really amazes me with his talking. He can say the following: Mama (usually when he's hungry!), Daddy, Poo poo, uh-oh, ball, bubble, and I know there's one more I just can't recall right now. He does a lot of parroting, I'm not sure he knows what everything is that he can say. He's also still pooping on the potty very consistently. Now, everyone in the fam. agrees that he obviously communicates by grunting his desire to go on the potty. It really is amazing to see. When I change him, I will usually put him on the potty before putting a clean diaper on and he often goes pee on the potty too. So crazy! Here's another pic from the beach:

Elliot's almost 4. WOW! We went to Disney's Hollywood Studios yesterday and she went on the Tower of Terror! I couldn't believe she wanted to, but she was not afraid at all. She had a blast. She also went on the Star Wars Simulator and did great! She's so brave. I wasn't sure if there would be anything at this park for her to enjoy, but once she saw the Little Einsteins she was SUPER excited!! They had a cool playhouse Disney show that she really enjoyed. Elliot is SO good and sweet when we can take her one-on-one, but when she's around the babies she just tries to terrorize them. I keep hoping this will end soon. I think 2 babies at one time rocked this once only childs world. She wants to play, but just gets way too rough and tries to see how we will react to her.

DADDY'S HOME!! Here's a pic. of us with the boys at Hollywood Studios (Elliot did not want to get in it-SURPRISE!)..and yes, my kids are in the pajamas. HAHA. It was cold, so I just let them stay warm in cozy in their jam's.

Ezra's heart

Got the results today from Ezra's echo. NOTHING WRONG! Do you remember my previous prayer? It was that they would find NOTHING. God heard-and answered! So thankful!

Sleeping Beauty

Elliot keeps falling asleep with her stuffed animals shoved up her shirt. I walk in to check on her and am afraid I'll wait her up with my laughter! So cute.

Things not to Say

I remember when Wes was deployed I read a bunch of "What not to say to an army wife" type things. Things like:
*Are you afraid he'll never come home
*Aren't you lonely
....etc, etc. The list goes on.

Now that I have multiples, I feel it's time to compile a new list: "What not to do/say around Twins." I only have a few, so this will have to be ongoing. Let me know if you have more ideas:
*Don't say, "Oh look, twins!"...or ask "Are they twins?" for that matter
*Don't stop us and comment
* Staring and pointing is never nice...didn't your Mama teach you better?
*Say to the older child, "Are you Mommy's big helper?" For some reason this seems messed up to me! She's 3, she's a kid too. And, just as special as the other 2 that just happen to be "TWINS!"
*Say, "Boy, aren't you brave to go out". NO! I'm not brave. These are my kids and we do stuff. Don't you take your children out to do things?

I think a lot of my frustration comes because I have an older child too. I just fear she gets super sick of everyone stopping us every 5 feet to chat. We were trying to eat lunch at the mall the other day and people kept coming up and talking while we were eating! Just let us eat. If they weren't talking to us, you could feel their stares. How would you feel if someone was ALWAYS commenting on your little brothers? I think there's a GOOD REASON why Elliot acts out sometimes. I would too!

Maybe if nothing else I've gotten a new appreciate for how people with disabilities feel, or how people who are just "different" may feel. Sounds ridiculous, but true. I've really learned to not stare at people and just appreciate them for who God has made them. A HUGE thing I've learned is to not try to talk to people with twins, ask questions about their kids, etc.

We're just a family, trying to live life like every other family.

Teeth, teeth, teeth

These boys keep popping out the teeth. Ezra got his 5th (bottom right) today, and Levi got his 4th (top left). They both have more on their way! Ezra is going to have a mouth full by his first birthday! Thankfully they are still quite happy. Levi gets a little fussy in the afternoon and Ezra has a little trouble going to sleep. Nothing too bad though!

Oh...and Ezra HATES Orajel. I tried it the other night to see if it would help him go to sleep-no luck. Poor thing acted like his mouth wouldn't work. I tried to nurse him and he couldn't even figure out how to latch on! (and this boys LOVES nursing) I seriously just used a tiny bit! It was funny and sad at the same time.

Fun Day!

The kids and I had a pretty fun afternoon. After we picked El up we had to run to Target and grab a few things. I thought the boys would nap when we got home, but no such luck! I quickly tried to unload the dishwasher and glanced over and Levi is digging through Elliot's backpack. No prob. Look again and there's a granola bar in his hand. Elliot takes that way. Few minutes later, he is eating her crackers! He opened up her lunch box, found some food, and started eating. He looked so proud. And, in a way, I was proud too because my boys are a little lazy when it comes to feeding themselves. They pretty much have no desire (I probably don't let them try as much as I should. With 2 babies, it's just easier to shovel the food in their mouths for them and be done).

I decided to take the kids out to play while I cleaned the stroller and high chair. I was hosing them off and Elliot wanted to get wet. Since it's over 80 degrees-why not? The boys then decided they wanted to play in the hose too. Ezra has a blast! Levi wasn't too into it. He screamed b/c he was trying to crawl on the concrete driveway. They then got to eat their dinner outside. How great! After this they were wet, covered in food, grass, and dirt so I decided it was time for bath. After bath we went for a walk with our new (yes...another new) stroller. Elliot got to swing at the park and we had a really nice time. OH, and I LOVE the new jogger! Ezzy fell asleep for the night at 4:15. Levi got home and went to bed at 4:45.

Elliot actually wanted to keep going outside. This is a huge step b/c she has been wanting to stay in way too much! It was great. While I made dinner, she even went out back and played by herself. She was digging in the dirt and making a pine needle pie. It was so delicious! ;-) Later, she and I had a picnic on the driveway and enjoyed all the Christmas lights!

YEA for good days!!!

Bye Bye

Ezra now says "BYE BYE BYE BYE BYE BYE" and waves at the same time. It's precious. I need to get him on video. And, when he is hungry or wants out of his crib he says, "MA MA MA MA MA" in a real sweet voice.

Also, Levi has finally learned to do a real crawl. He's always been doing an army crawl (I refer to it as "Doggy paddling on land"). He was in just a diaper last night and his belly sticks to the wood floors. He figured out that if he lifts himself up he goes better! GO LEVI!

Just a few more weeks of this single Mama nonsense! I can't wait for my helper to arrive!

Outside Lights

Elliot and I worked real hard with 2 screaming babies to get these lights up. It's nothing big, but she was super proud! I guess I am too. Just proud of us for actually getting everything decorated without W here! She had to take a million pictures of our handy work (most were very weird, so they got deleted).

Park

Took the kids to the park the park the other day and met some other people from our Moms of Multiples group. It was fun. Elliot had fun playing with the other kids, putting on shows, and digging in the dirt. My boys are all over now! It's fun to watch them explore, and then come back to each other.

9 month check ups

Took the boys today for their 9 month check ups.
Ezra weights almost 21 lbs (56 %ile), and Levi almost 17 lbs (3 %ile) HAHA-a FOUR lb. difference now. They are both the same length, almost 29 in.

The doctor did hear a heart murmur in Ezra. He checked Levi first and it was very quick, and when he was listening to Ezra, it seemed like he was listening forever! I finally said, "Is there something wrong with his heart?" He just said he hears a murmur and wants us to get it checked. We have an appointment set up for an electrocardiogram on Monday at 9:30. SO, please pray with us that this is nothing and that it will go away by Monday! :-)

Preschool Thanksgiving Feast/Boys 9 months

Elliot has her Thanksgiving Feast at school today. Each class dressed up and sang a little song. Her class were all Pilgrims. It was cute. Her bonnet fell off as soon as she got on stage and I think it threw her off. She sang her song perfectly at home, and didn't do much on stage. Then again, no one did much. It was hard to understand anything this bunch of 3 year olds was saying. :-)

Along with making their outfits, they made adorable centerpieces. They wrote on the leaves what they were thankful for and Elliot's said "MOMMY" and "MY DADDY" I was thrilled with that. ...you just never know. hahaThey served a very yummy turkey dinner after the singing was over. I think the babies behaved better than Elliot for that part. haha. She just wanted to try to torture them-what's new? Here's a few more pic's (Elliot took the one of me and Levi-she LOVES taking pic's.)

Repurposing

We've been taking some time to organize a little lately. Elliot has to do big projects everyday and had totally taken over the bar with her art supplies. When I got the boys their new changing table (craigslist!) I was able to get rid of some wire racks I stored stuff on. Anyways, we turned them sideways, put them in her closet, and now refer to them as her "office!" She was working away on a project today. She had even cut out a picture of an airplane and the letter her Daddy mailed her and put them on her bulletin board. Now, I can only hope she doesn't paint the floor because I went in to check on her and she had everything dumped out and was "organizing." Unfortunately, "organizing" involved a lot of paint pens, without lids, on the carpet. No accidents today :-)
OH, and the little bags I made out of old T-shirts (and had no use for) became Elliot's "trash bags". That blue ROXY TEE hanging on the closet door is really her trash bag. I would have hidden it, but she wanted it displayed. ;-)

DISNEY!

Last Wednesday my mom and I got to take Elliot to Disney for a GIRL POWER day! My sis-n-law babysat the boys. It was SO NICE. All Elliot wanted to do was see the Princesses and other characters, so we made sure that was first on the list. It's really nice the way they let the kids see the Princesses. They go in a few at a time and get to spend a few minutes one-on-one with each Princess. The girls were so sweet!
We also got to do many other rides we didn't make it to last time. She rode Dumbo, Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride, Pirates of the Caribbean, Pooh, the go-cart ride, carousel, we saw some silly bird show, did the Jungle Cruise, saw the day parade, and even stayed for the night time light parade (Which was fantastic). We also went on the river raft boat to Tom Sawyer's Island. Elliot has a lot of fun out there walking in a "cave" and over the barrel bridge! I went on Thunder Mountain by myself. Elliot wanted to join me, but I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. It was a little rough, but if we go back I will definitely let her go on it. She also wanted to ride Splash Mountain!

I was just looking online yesterday and there are still quite a few things we haven't done at the Magic Kingdom and we've been twice in the last few months! I can't imagine trying to do everything in one day. Hopefully we can make it back one more time after Wes gets home and before our passes expire.

Another Sweet Face....& Standing in bed

UH OH--Levi was crying in his bed so I went to get him and found him STANDING UP!! Guess the rail will be going all the way up now! They are learning way too fast!!

To make your day....

Crawling

Here is Ezzy crawling some. He was kinda pooped out by the time I got the camera. Now, he seems to just want to go fast, and since he can't he just ends up yelling. This crawling has brought out a whole new frustrated child I've never seen before!

Actually, he's on the floor doing it now. I think he just doesn't like an audience and doesn't like us teasing him by putting toys just out of reach (I guess that is kinda mean). He doesn't know I'm watching and it doing great!

Ezra's 4th tooth & Crawling

It's a big day for Ezra! His top left tooth is now through, #4. Teeth sure do change the way a baby looks.

Today while we were in Plant City visiting his great grandpa (for his 85th birthday) Ezra started crawling. It's so cute. Every time he moves a hand forward, he smacks it super hard on the ground. I got a video and I'll try to post tomorrow! GO EZZY!

While I'm on my "Ezra's Accomplishments" kick, let me throw this out there: I'm pretty sure he can say some words. I know, you think I'm insane :-) But, it sure does sound like he says, "Hi," "bye" and "Block" (Bla) He does it at very appropriate times. So, if he can't talk, he can make very good sounds for things we say to him or objects we give him.

Plane Crash

I feel I owe this subject a blog post, and I honestly don't know where to begin...

A few weeks ago a C-12 plane went down in Afghanistan. On board, were 3 men that Wes flew with during his last rotation in Bagram. There were no survivors. He told me that the Memorial Service for one of the men, Randy Bergquist was going to be in Jacksonville, FL so I made plans to attend.

The services were yesterday and it's really weird to feel like you meet someone and tell them good-bye on the same day! They had a slide show of pictures playing, and they all seemed familiar to me. Places over in the desert, airplanes, friends, recon. photos etc. It was so hard to watch, because my mind kept putting my husband's face in those pictures. It's so real, and so scary now! I mean, I honestly just thought of this work as a "job" until this happened. Now, it's a continuation of his service to his country. I can't wait for my phone to ring everyday or to get an email. I'm scared.

Okay, enough of my fears, let's honor Randy. He seems like a super awesome guy. From what everyone said at the service he was always willing to go out of his way to help others and build projects with them. He was an amazing pilot! To watch a video from a newscast about him, CLICK HERE!
I also found another article about him, and you can try to view it by clicking the link below:
Minnesota native among three bodies found in Afghanistan | Grand Forks Herald | Grand Forks, North Dakota
Wes also speaks very highly of one of the other men on board, Jeff Lehner. I have no other info except that he was a great guy, and this is my small little way of honoring him.

Thanks for continuing to read my blog even though you never know what kind of randomness you may find (giggling babies one post, planes crashes the next). Please, keep these sweet families in your prayers as they deal with their loss.

Farmer Day

Elliot had Farmer Day at her preschool today. Parents were invited to meet them on the playground and watch them do some activities. They had hay for them to play in, a little pumpkin patch, and fall tattoo's. It was cute to see her playing with her friends. Playing in the hay was her favorite thing. She even got out one of the double bikes, put hay in the back seat, and called it a hay ride :-) How fun!
As always, HERE are some more pic's

8 months old

Here is what Ezzy has to say about being 8 months old (and what he says about everyday! :-)

Ezzy's 3rd tooth

Ezra got his top right tooth. It's finally through. His gums have been SO swollen for months. YEA!

Going to Church

The Weekend

This morning we had plans to go to Aviation Day. By the time the boys got naps and we got ready it was about lunch time. I asked Elliot where we should go (Forgetting what her answer ALWAYS is and thinking she might say McDonalds or something) Anyways, she said "OLIVE GARDEN!" uh oh. I thought about it a bit and then agreed. I was a little nervous. I've never taken all 3 kids by myself to a place where they all needed to be semi-quiet and behave.

It went great! Everyone was wonderful. I fed the boys, Elliot and I ate, we talked, no problems. The boys got a little fussy after about an hour...but nothing too bad! YEA! We can do it! The only problem with going there is that I spend almost $20 just for me to eat! I can't resist the stuffed mushrooms, and might as well make that a combo appetizer with some chicken fingers. Then I get soup and salad. NO kids meals either. We just share. I even had water to drink and left paying $19. oh well. Nice treat!

After eating we went to Florida Tech's aviation day. I wasn't sure what to expect, but knew that if Wes was here he'd want to take the kids out. It was surprisingly very nice. Looked at some planes, walked around, and got some fresh air! Cozy. Left, hung out at Mimi and Papas for an hour and a half or so, then came home to cook our pumpkin seeds! What a fun day we had!!

I usually dread the weekends because there's not much for us to do. Everyone else is spending nice time with their families and well...I guess that's what I'm doing, but it's always nice to speak to someone over the age of THREE! :-)
Click HERE for more pic's of our "Date Day"

Pumpkin Patch

We ventured to the little pumpkin patch yesterday. It was fun. Elliot found the bumpy one she wanted right away. After the pumpkins were purchased we went to Mimi and Papa's house with all the cousins to do some carving. We got lots of good seeds out of them to cook. :-) They're in the oven now and we'll send Wes some on Monday! YEA! I can't wait for him to get them.
Click HERE to view more pictures

Levi's got his army crawl down! It's so precious! I went to get ready this morning and when I came out he was stuck under the exercauser! It was funny. Elliot had him "racing" from one side of his room to the other tonight. It was funny, but tired the little man out.

Ezzy just LOVES to sit. He can practically fold in himself in half to grab toys and then sits right back up. It's great. I think he'll be crawling soon too. He gets up on his hands in knees and rocks back and forth. He can move his leg forward, but doesn't quite have the arms yet.

The boys are fighting over toys now. They grab them from each other and then get mad at the other one. haha. Elliot tries to intervene, but I tell her that they are just going to have to work it out. In the bathtub, Ezra just sits and plays and Levi crawls from one end to the other chasing toys. I think it annoys Ezzy a bit. They might have to start getting individual baths soon! :-)

I guess the baby gates will be going up soon ;-)

Levi Scooting!!

Levi has figured out how to scoot. He's been working on it a while. He slept terrible last night-I think he was plotting his new moves for today. Here's the little peanut in action:

Here's a few pic's of the kids before church yesterday. You know, I can only dress them like goof balls for a short amt. of time :-) I didn't have time to try to get a good pic. of all 3 of them, so here's a not-so-good one:(You can see Levi's 2 bottom teeth if you look closely! Ezzy has the same one's)

Brotherly Love?

Weights

I took the boys in to the doc today to get some med's in case they get thrush from me and check out their weights:

Ezra: 19 lbs. 7oz
Levi: 16 lbs. 2oz.

Can you believe how BIG Ezra is?!?! Elliot didn't even weigh that much when she was 1 YEAR. I guess she and Levi favor in the baby weight department. Oh, they are both just so sweet though. I'm so blessed to have happy content babies.

Speaking of which, it's been wonderful that they will take a bottle from me. Since I've been pumping the right side the past few days, they have to take a bottle every other feeding. They do not care one bit! What a blessing. It's also helped with me putting them down for bed time without nursing for comfort. If they ate an hour before, I don't offer them anything at bed. They are doing wonderful just being put down and going to sleep. YEA!

Just Playing

The kids had fun playing with Elliot's 3D glasses from when we went to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"
Here's a few more of everyone playing right before bed time. I had to change the boys 'cause they got all nasty and puked on themselves. haha. I love their face in the picture where it looks like Elliot is about to sit her naked butt on their heads. They are in for it!

Making Brownies

Elliot and I baked brownies yesterday. My favorite part is always licking the bowl, but now I have someone to share that job with :-) Anyways, I put some in the measuring cup for her to lick and when I looked over she was DRINKING it! eww!
Here's the boys in their bath. Every night Levi bathes on his belly and kicks around, splashes, and spins in circle while Ezra just lays nice and calm on his back and occasionally kicks.

still....

So, now we're moving on with a diagnosis of THRUSH. This is getting so old. I've been pumping the right side for 3 days now b/c it's so incredibly painful to nurse! Gotta go pick up some new med. for this thrush nonsense this afternoon. I can not wait to just nurse these boys again without all the pain!! They have no signs at the moment, but from everything I've read they need to be treated too. Guess I'll be calling the pediatrician and see what they recommend for them. I can't have this going back and forth from me to them for weeks. It's got to end!

*Update: now the pediatrician's office says they will not treat unless there are visable signs that they have thrush! I am praying it doesn't show up in them the day I'm feeling all better. I can totally see why people could give up on nursing when stuff like this happens. For goodness sake, I went through a pain medication free, pitocin induced labor, and dealt with the crowning (yah...you know's that a burn like no burn you've ever felt!) 2 children within half an hour.... and the pain when I nurse is sometimes comparable! ROUGH I tell ya!

Ezra's 2nd tooth

Ezzy's bottom left tooth came in. Now maybe he'll stop trying to bite my nipple off! ;-)

New Stroller

We got a new stroller today! I'm super excited. I always said I did not want a side-by-side...turns out I did! The boys started kicking real hard, and the poor child in the front was getting all knocked around. This one is perfect for us. It's much lighter, both seats recline more, easy to push. Love it! It even came with a sunshade to pull down over them when it's super bright out. I must add, we got it on craigslist. Love that site!! I would never splurge for a Peg Perego stroller, but craigslist has some great deals!!

We took it on a walk tonight and it was super fun. Elliot has finally started riding her bike further. She wanted me to take a picture of her with her whistle. She keeps it in her basket along with other "treasures" she finds (Acorns, seeds, sticks, pinecones, etc.)

The last 3 nights I've been able to get ALL 3 KIDS ASLEEP by 7:20. It's been so wonderful. It means we are eating earlier than usual, but it's worth it. The boys are usually in bed by 5:30 or 6, then Elliot eats, gets a bath, and goes straight to bed. She's super tired so I'm going to try to keep this schedule.

(CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE)

Boobs....

Yup, you read my title right. It's about time I write about some boobs since they've been nothing but a problem lately. See, I love breastfeeding my babies. I'm not a really touchy, sensitive person, so this is my little way of bonding and being with them. I like it.

However, lately it's one thing after another. Clogged milk duct one week (doc. think it's a cysts...so I have an ultrasound), next week: another clogged duct. This week, mastitis. Now, the boys are biting. So, on top of mastitis I have an open puncture would from teeth. Nursing is MISERABLE right now!! They have me in tears almost every time they get on that side. Ezra just bit me and when I made him unlatch he BUSTED OUT LAUGHING! The laugh was adorable, but where does he get off thinking anything is funny at this time?!?!

Lord help us!

My Ring

Wes got me a 2 karat black diamond when he was in Afghanistan and we got it set while he was home. I stink at taking pic's cause it's way pretty in person. I think it's my present for anything that comes along the next few years :-) He did good:

FUN & New posts

Here's what happens when Elliot has a little free time before heading off to preschool:

LOTS of new posts below! All the way down to Wes' 30th Birthday party. AND finally some new pic's. ENJOY THEM ALL!

Sweet boys

Levi and Ezra getting a snack before bed time!

7 months old

WOW! The boys are 7 months old already. Their little personalities are really starting to shine through and I seriously need to get the camera out more often! Ezra is even sitting up by himself now. I love them tons and promise pic's soon!!

Levi's 3rd tooth!

WOAH, 3 teeth in a week-this boys goin' crazy. This one is in a WEIRD place! It's the 2nd tooth to the right on the top (yah, I should learn the proper name for teeth!) However, it's through the front of the gums, not the bottom. hmm....we might need to start an "Orthodontics Fund" now. :-)

Ezra's 1st Tooth!

Ezra's first tooth came through today. (bottom right) He's having a hard time napping and I think it's 'cause his little teeth are hurting him. But, he's quite pleasant when he's awake so I can't complain.

Frisbee Golf and yard

We went and played some disk golf while everyone was here. Kids and I also had some fun in the backyard:


click HERE for more