Snippets From Sunday

Ah, four day weekends are wonderful. I heart them very, very, much. Wouldn't it be incredible if every weekend was four days long? Sigh...

We had a really nice weekend. We didn't really do much but hang around the house. It was heaven.

I think the boys' colds have finally left the building. The runny noses are pretty much gone. Jason has developed a slight cough (occasional), so I am keeping an eye on that. They had their second booster for the flu shot and their RSV shot last week, so hopefully that will help to keep them healthier. (RSV season doesn't end until April, so we are pretty much staying secluded when at all possible until then.)

The boys got to enjoy a bunch of new foods this weekend. (Maybe enjoy is too strong a word.) The boys tasted a bunch of new foods. That is more accurate. I am trying my best to get them away from Stage 3's. Now that the boys are eating so much more, the baby food bills are really adding up. (Target loves me, though, because that's where I get most of it.) Anyway, some of the new foods were hits, while some were not. I often have no idea whether a food will be a hit or miss--the boys are not predictable at all. (where do they get that?)

Shawn is usually the one to eat all of his food while making lots of "mmmm..." sounds. Jason? Not so much. He has taken to putting his fingers in his mouth between bites. That could mean another tooth is trying to come in, or, what I am more inclined to believe, he's blocking the entrance with his hands. Whatever the reason, meal time is full of flying food, yells at me when I take his hands out of his mouth, or puking. Fun times!

Added menu items at casa Lopez--our yays and nays:

mashed potatoes - yay

pureed turkey - nay but they've had it twice and finished it (scared the crap out of the boys when I turned the processor on--they cried for-ev-er on that one)

pumpkin pie filling - yay

squash - nay but slowly becoming a yay

fruit salad (kind of like ambrosia salad) - nay with puke (what is wrong with you guys? that stuff is good)

sweet potato - nay (interesting because they like baby food)

stuffing - nay with puke (at least I can understand that)

mushed mixed fruit - yay

yogurt drink - depends, sometimes yay and other times nay

apple pie filling - OMG YAY (my picky boys became little birds with mouths wide open)

eggs - can take them or leave them

mushed bananas - not exactly a yay

creamed corn - yay for the most part

chunky green beans - eh, not a favorite but they'll eat it

The plan is to get them off baby food by the end of winter break. Positive thinking is the key, right?

I swear the boys have gained loads of weight from the new menu! (at least they feel like it to me) Gaining weight would be nice because we've hovered at the 20 pound mark for the last two months or so. Shawn isn't quite 20 pounds, so he is still facing backward in the car, too!

Now, I leave you with a few snapshots from the weekend:

eating our new foods...

(notice Shawn's mouth already has food in it. he's trying to add more!)

what happens when I turn my back for just a second...

a little bed time lovin...

I love Jason's face in this last picture!

Parent Style Entertainment - Part 3

or what it would have been like if we made it to Beijing...

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Okay, that is the last of these...for now! (you'll have to share if you make some of these yourself-it's the law!)

Parent Style Entertainment -- Part 2

(or what we looked like the first morning the boys slept through the night)

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Part 3 tomorrow...

How We Entertain Ourselves--Parent Style

Isaac has been having a lot of fun with the boys over the last few days. They have made incredible strides since he's been spending so much time with them. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them do this.
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OMG--I just noticed that Shawn has underarm hair! Jeez. Where has the time gone? Wasn't it yesterday that he was just getting teeth? :-)

Think that was awesome? Come back tomorrow and see what he and I have been up to lately. It will blow your socks off--we are way too talented!

New Teeth!

Shawn has some new additions in his little mouth--two upper teeth have finally poked their way through his gums. So this explains his tantrums and bottle refusal over the last few nights. Think now thing will go back to normal with him? Please?

Happy Thanksgiving!

There is so much to be thankful for...far too much for us to ever accurately express with mere words. But thankful we are--so very, very thankful. Here's two of the reasons for a majority of all this thankfulness...

(No fancy outfit today. Instead, Isaac and I decided to go old school and got all crafty. Meet my little Indians...er, um Native Americans...--they are 1/64 Indian you know.)

Jason wanted to hold Shawn's hand. Shawn wasn't all that interested in this plan, but he was overpowered...I see loads of this type of thing in our future!

Look at all them teeth!

Shawn did not like his head dress. Thank goodness he doesn't have to wear a helmet!

We hope your Thanksgiving was as fun as ours. May this next year bring even more to be thankful for than this for us all!

(Mostly) Silent Saturday -- Entertainment

I think we are starting to feel better. The snot is still flowing everywhere, but they seem perkier today. That has got to be a good thing. Plus, we were only human pillows for under an hour last night. Hallelujah! Ah...sleep, glorious sleep, is such a wonderful thing.

As for the pictures above, if this is all we have to do to entertain our little men, we could be a whole lot richer (from not buying toys, etc.) and our lawns would look a whole lot better. The boys thought this was fas-cin-na-ting! So much so, that Jason had to continue watching while he drank his bottle. Could this be better than TV? :-)

Snot, Snot, and More Snot

Sorry about the silence. Germs have invaded our house.

Out germs, out!

Both boys are sick with colds and are pretty congested. I still don't quite understand how that much snot can come from people this small. It just doesn't make sense! Jeez.

By the way, someone suggested this to me. I just can't bring myself to get one. The thought just makes me want to gag. I have been assured that there is no way to get anything actually in your mouth, but still. Yuck.

And while I did have a mild freak out about the possibility of RSV, after a lot of research, I don't think that is what this is because we haven't had fevers and they seem to be getting the tiniest bit better each day. (Whew.)

Anyway, pictures and updates to come when everyone feels better. Hoping that is sooner rather than later.

(Mostly) Silent Saturday

The natives are thinking about making a break for the outside. I keep telling them they won't like the wind. I am not sure they believe me!

20,000 and Beyond

Wow! This blog has had 20,008 visitors! That makes me quite humble. (I can't deny the fact that you like (us)! You like (us)! Sally Field) :-)

But, um, I haven't seen 20,000 comments, people.

I think it is time for another shout out so I know who is out there. Come on. Leave a little comment and let me know who's out there reading...

Pretty please.

---edited to add---

Just in case you don't know how:

To leave a comment:

1. type your message in the comment box
2. click the little circle on Name/URL (under the comment box)
3. type in your name in the Name box that comes up (on my computer the name box is a tan/beige color)
4. click "publish your comment" (the orange button at the bottom)

The Zoo

Today we had a fantastic day. We called up Mario and Stasi, all piled into Joann, and went to the Santa Barbara Zoo! There's nothing better than a road trip on a whim!

Like usual, the boys were total rock stars and hardly cried. Well, there was that one time when the macaws squawked super loud and scared them just as we entered the zoo. A tiny bit of crying ensued after that, but it was short lived. (whew) That doesn't really count, does it?

You know I wouldn't leave you without a bunch of pictures. (I know, I know. I am a little obsessive about the pictures :-) Hey, without them, you'd never believe all the wonderful things we do!)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

But the best moment of the day for me was when we were at the giraffe exhibit. It was so much fun to watch the three giraffes run and play together. There is just something so majestic and strong about them. Every time I see one, I think of my little men.

I LOVE this shot of us. It is totally going into a frame!

Isaac thought he'd be cute and throw Shawn in the enclosure. I don't think Shawn or Jason were impressed!

Although, you'd never know with the way Shawn looks at his daddy.

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I just love the "I wish I had a Giraffe" song I found. Isn't it cute?

Eggs...We Finally Meet.

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We have found that glasses and a helmet are not a good combination. Right now, Jason wears his glasses while he is awake and his helmet when he sleeps. (Try as I might, I couldn't get them both on him at the same time without royally upsetting him.) We hope that we can take him down to have his helmet adjusted on Monday so the glasses will fit much better.

Glasses

Once again, I have underestimated my boys. You would think that I would have learned to not do that by now, but no, I am much too slow for that.



Today we went for the boys' glasses. I expected screaming. Crying. Fit throwing. Tantrums. Basically, I looked forward to this like it was a certain death. To be fair to myself, neither boy was up to trying on the glasses before we ordered them, and there was plenty screaming and hand flapping/grabbing/slapping then.



They remembered us at the eye center. And it probably wasn't because we are so darn cute (although they are). In fact, they didn't even have us sit down.



But my little guys were quite the charmers. They not only let the women at the eye center place the glasses on their cherubic little faces and adjust the glasses six or seven times, but they also didn't even make an attempt to touch the glasses until we were on the way home! (yea. they save the fun stuff all for me. it really hasn't been that bad, either.)



Would it be wrong if I say that I was shocked at how well they behaved?



Because I totally was.



Totally.



To the point of me actually checking to ensure that the babies I had with me were really my own.



Thankfully, they were. (just kidding about the checking. of course I knew they were my kids!)



So, without further ado, here are the new and visually improved Shawn and Jason...

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Pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself.

Wordless Wednesday

The Giraffe

The first baby gift we received for the boys was a matching pair of stuffed giraffes.

While the boys were in the NICU, the incubators they slept in were called "Giraffe".

Giraffes decorated the walls of the NICU as well. They were everywhere it seemed.

This is part of the mural on the hospital wall.

So, when it came time for me to finish up the nursery, I was inspired by the giraffe and used it as the theme of the room.

Granted, I took creative license and used stripes instead of blotches, but the colors are the same. There is a giraffe in one of the paintings on the wall, and there are two pewter giraffes standing on the nightstand.

Is there any wonder, then, why the boys looked like this for Halloween?

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They were giraffes!

I do have to say that they were VERY cute.

This is a pictorial of our Halloween night...

Waiting for daddy to come home from work. (I have my hands full, don't I?)

Jason is hamming it up like usual.

His money shot...

The view of the whole suit...

Now, Shawn?

He didn't have as much fun posing for pictures.

Until we took off that nasty hood, that is.

(Thank you, mommy. I hated that thing!)

Daddy and Shawn.

Mommy and Jason.

The whole family. Shawn was still not having fun.

But then he got to have a sucker from his treat bag.

and everything was all better!

Yep. He is definitely my kid!

We hope your Halloween was as much fun as ours!