20 Months!!

I can't believe my babies are only 4 months from being 2 years old. Where have my little 35 weekers gone? They've been replaced with toddlers who are all boy. They love playing in dirt, puddles, fountains and sand and playing with sticks, cars and balls. Soon, I'm going to have to start checking pockets for bugs before putting them in the washer. Peter loves being dirty; Titus does not. The picture of Titus bending down with the water hose is showing him trying to clean himself off.

Their 1st time playing with the water hose.

Again!

Well...he has it again...Titus has bronchitis. This is the 3rd time that he's had it, and I just don't know what to do with him. Do they sell bubbles that he can live in? That would be the perfect solution. He's been running a fever and coughing since Thursday, but I wanted to try to treat it myself before going to the doctor. He got worse over the weekend; so, I made an appointment this morning. As soon as I made the appointment, he didn't run a fever all day! He's been between 100 & 102.5 all weekend and no fever for the doctor, a perfect 97.3. Go figure!! But anyway, he has meds in him now and is sleeping great. He hasn't even had a coughing fit tonight, YAY!

Going to the doctor was a bit more traumatic this time. As soon as we walked through the doors to get to the scale, he started crying. He's starting to remember the doctor's visits now. I tried to tell him that there would be no shots today, but he never would believe me. You should have seen him run out the door as soon as I opened it. He was ready to go.

Mom kept Peter at the house while I took Titus to the doctor. Since we left while he was still napping, he didn't know we had gone anywhere. Mom said that when he woke up, he started playing with his toys and then looked around like he just realized Titus was missing. Then, he went to their bedroom and looked for him. Apparently, he thought that Titus might still be in bed; so, he pulled the blankets out of Titus's bed looking for him. He didn't fuss because Titus was gone; he was just a little confused. On the other hand, Titus didn't care that Peter wasn't with him. He was glad he didn't have to share mommy's lap:)

Wedding Pictures

As promised, I have pictures from the wedding. Even though the boys didn't make it down the aisle, they made adorable ring bearers for pictures.

Spring Is Here Unofficially!!

I can't believe that it's already spring weather down south. It just seems wrong to have the AC going full blast in the car and to wear shorts and t-shirts in March. The good part is that we've been able to play outside and have plenty of park time. Both the boys love playing outside especially when Pa or Uncle Stephen are there. Mom's just not as cool as they are: probably because I don't throw leaves in my hair:)

I'm officially boycotting the air show this weekend. If I could ring some people's necks, I would. This weekend is the air show, and today was the final practice. Unfortunately, their practice route is directly over my house. All afternoon, my entire house was shaking. This also means that there was no nap time for Peter and Titus. There was absolutely no way they could sleep through all the noise. I have a feeling that it's going to be just as bad Saturday and Sunday. Ugh!!

On the bright side, Daniel and I were able to enjoy a wonderful date night without the boys. Thank you Uncle Stephen and Aunt Karissa!! Apparently, they wore the boys out because they were in bed and knocked out cold when we got home at 9. They took the boys to Chuck E Cheese!! They had tons of fun; and of course, Aunt Karissa took tons of pictures. Here's a few.

I also have great news that we got a new dryer...well, a new to us dryer, but it works great!! Pa came over and "helped" me get it hooked up. Actually, there was no helping involved; he did it all. He had two sets of eyes watching his every move as he switched out the cord on the back of it. One day, he'll have two sets of eyes not only watching but also asking 100 why questions. But nonetheless, he was still one proud grandpa as he showing them what he was doing.

Daylight Savings!!

It's that time of year again...Daylight Savings!! I wish it didn't fall on Saturday night/Sunday morning. It makes for a very hard Sunday. We put the boys to bed at 8:30, and they talked to 9 and finally fell asleep. So, it didn't work out too well trying to get them to bed 30 minutes early. That morning at church went well, but you could tell that they were dead tired by the end. They went down for a nap at 2 and passed out immediately. Peter woke up in a great mood; Titus, on the other hand, was not in such a pleasant mood. I had to wake him up to get ready to go back to church, and he was not happy about that. Fortunately, we have wonderful nursery workers who didn't strangle my grumpy son. Thanks Mrs. Steward and Breauna!! You are both awesome!! Today hasn't been too bad, but Titus has been dragging a little.

Peter started trying to do flips today. He gets in the flip position, but he can't quite get his legs over his head in order to flip.

Titus has become such a little helper over the past few days. He loves to throw trash away and shut doors for me. I've also figured out how to keep him from getting distracted while walking to the door. As long as I give him something to carry for me, he'll go straight to the door. If he's empty handed, he can't remember to make it to the door. Ah, the attention spans of toddlers!

Twin Plans

The boys are getting way too smart for me. It's amazing how their critical thinking skills are developing. Yesterday, we were at church, and I had to leave them alone in the nursery while I was practicing with Bro. Bryan and Mrs. Barbara. Karissa hollered at me to come the nursery to come see what my genius sons were doing. I walked up to the door, and they had pushed chairs against the half door. Karissa said that when she walked up, Titus was trying to push Peter over the door to get out. He was almost all the way over the door. If their plan had worked, two things would have happened. First: There would have been lots of crying because Peter would have been hurt. Second: There would have been lots of crying because Titus would have realized that he was by himself without anyone to push him over. A line from Meet the Robinsons comes to mind, "I don't think this plan was very well thought out." I guess I won't be leaving them in the nursery by themselves any more.

During this visit at church, they also came up with a new way to sit in the toddler chairs.

Everyday, I'm blown away by what they're picking up. They are no longer my babies that I have to do everything for.

Finally Happened!!

Peter's first ant bites!

I knew it would eventually happen because both boys absolutely love dirt. It's so much fun to throw it up in the air and have it land in your hair and down your shirt and shorts. However, it's not as fun when the dirt happens to be from an ant hill. We turned our backs for two seconds, and Peter was in a huge ant hill throwing dirt all over himself. He wasn't screaming yet; so, I didn't run to get him because I thought I was wrong about it being an ant hill. Well, when I got there, it was definitely an ant hill; they just waited to bite until they were all on him. Then...he started screaming. In the process of getting them off Peter, I wound up with them all over me too. I'm sure Peter won't be digging in dirt piles any time soon.

Stephen and Karissa got back from their honeymoon yesterday and were able to see the boys today. They brought the boys baseballs from Washington, D.C. They couldn't have picked out a better gift for them. As soon as they put the balls in the boys hands, they started throwing and kicking them. It was a good thirty minutes of pure happiness! Titus would even count 1-2-3 before throwing his ball which is good since it gives you time to get out of the way. He doesn't care what's in the way when he throws balls.

New words/phrases: Peter said thank you. Titus knows that you're supposed to say letters while singing the alphabet song, but it comes out sounding like o-oo-o-oo to the tune of the alphabet song.

Why Am I Awake?

Why am I awake? Because Titus is sick once again! His ear's draining which means ear infection, and he's coughing and congested again. I just don't know what to do with him, and he's certainly not the best patient either. When he doesn't feel good, I know about it at all hours of the night. Sometimes, he wakes up, cries for a few minutes and goes back to sleep. Other times, he wakes up, cries and doesn't go back to sleep. He finally went to bed around 11:30, but he's woken up crying several times since then. Fortunately, they've just been "I'm miserable" cries because he goes right back to sleep after those. And because he's sick, I hear every little extra noise that either boy makes since I'm worried and don't want to sleep through him crying if he needs me. Of course, if he's quiet, I'm worried too and have to check on him to make sure he's still breathing. Being a mom is a stressful job. If he's quiet, I worry; if he's too noisy, I worry; if he's awake, I worry; if he's asleep, I worry. Don't worry though....Daniel is sawing logs right now:) Hopefully, I'll be able to join him in dreamland soon.

Sickness, Wedding, and More!

The past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind and very tiring. We had their 18 month check up on February 8, and I haven't had time to post updates since them. This was the first time that recognized where we were and started crying as soon as they saw the nurses and doctor. Other than that, the appointment went very well, and Dr. Macleod is loving their progress. Peter is still small but is staying steady on his curve: 23 pounds, 31.5 inches, and 18.5 head circumference. Titus is still my brute: 26.3 pounds, 33.5 inches, and 19 head circumference. They also got their last shots until 5 years old.

The following Sunday, I put Titus to bed at 9; and he woke up at 10 congested and coughing. We cleaned out his nose, gave him some Tylenol, and put him in the swing to sleep slightly inclined. The next day, you could tell he was sick, but he's always sick and didn't act any worse than usual; and Peter acted like he always does. When Dan got home from work, I decided to take Titus to Pediatric After Hours because his breathing started getting worse around 5:30. I really hadn't checked Peter much during the day because I was trying to keep Titus away from him and didn't want Peter sick too. Dan picked him up and said he was burning up. We checked his fever, and it was 102. He didn't act sick; so, I didn't think to take his temperature. So, we packed both boys up and headed to After Hours instead of what was supposed to be our Valentine's Dinner at Longhorn.

Normally, when you get to Pediatric After Hours, they check the babies weight and temperature and send you back to the waiting room wait some more. By the time we got there, Peter's temperature spiked to 104 which meant that we didn't get sent back to wait. They sent us back to a room immediately and worked on getting Peter's fever down. Long story short...Peter had strep throat, and Titus had bronchitis. It all came out of no where because they were fine Sunday. It's amazing how little bodies can change so quickly.

That whole week was spent getting the boys well which always makes a tiring week. Friday night was the beginning of our mid-year mission's conference. Saturday was a funeral, and that night was mission's conference. Sunday was church. And now, I'm tired just thinking about that week. Monday started the countdown for Stephen and Karissa's wedding on Saturday. So, I not only was really busy, but I also had cranky boys because they're used to some sort of a regular schedule which went totally out the window. I think the week of the wedding was the shortest week ever; although, the groom would probably disagree:)

The wedding was beautiful and went really well. The bride and groom shared their first kiss at the altar and left around 4 to begin their life together. Even though they didn't make it down the aisle as ring bearers, Peter and Titus looked super cute in their suits and bow ties. I'll post pictures after the bride and groom have had a chance to post some of their own.

Peter update: He's starting to babble even more, and I can't wait till words are actually formed into something understandable. He loves to entertain and playing the piano while singing. It cracks me up listening to him because he tries so hard. He's so adorable:)

Titus update: He's starting to form actual words. We're working on identifying eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He has eye down perfect. When I ask where his nose is, he points to his nose and says, "N-eye!" He's also started "reading" books out loud. Unfortunately, he has a Phineas and Ferb addiction which means he keeps wanting to turn on the TV to see if it's playing.

I just realized a few days ago that my babies are now closer to 2 years old than they are a year. They turned 19 months on Monday. I just don't know where the time has gone!!