New Game

When the big man is away, the little guys make up their own fun games!

Twin Mom

We had a fun day just the three of us!

Life with Two

I am the mother of two kids this week. It is surprisingly different without Wyatt in the house! The little boys seem to talk and chatter more than normal. Maybe they always talk that much and I don't ever hear them over Wyatt's voice...I don't know! There is also a LOT LESS FIGHTING this week! I have to break up about 5 arguments a day now and normally I have to break up about 100 arguments a day. It is really nice! The little boys still look for Wyatt and Daddy every morning when they wake up. It is kind of sad how disappointed they get when they realize that John and Wyatt are not here! Today I took the boys grocery shopping and a couple of people told me that I had really had my hands full with twins! I thought "you don't know the half of it!", but I just nodded and smiled!

Hitting the Road

John and Wyatt left tonight for a few days in Grand Haven. This is the first time that Wyatt and John have gone on a trip overnight by themselves. Wyatt was really excited to go. I hope that he does well listening to Grandma and Grandpa! I am looking forward to hearing all about his trip!

My Favorite Smile

I love it when Wyatt smiles like this with his mouth closed!

2 Week Post Op

Here is a close up view of Sammy's stitches 2 weeks later. It's healing pretty nicely!

The ABC's

Make sure that you turn the volume way up....Wyatt is talking very softly!

That's History

Wyatt had his three year evaluation for speech today (even though he will not be three until October) to see if he qualified for speech after he turned three. He has been seeing a speech therapist since he was 17 months old! When he was 17 months old he didn't make many sounds...not much babbling, cooing, and didn't imitate sounds. We were a little concerned. When he was evaluated at 17 months the evaluators determined that his language comprehension was at a 34 month level, while his verbal language was at an 8 month level. There was a HUGE gap in what he understood and what he could communicate. Today at 2 years 10 months, he has a vocabulary of a 2 year 10 month old and the articulation of a 3 year 4 month old! We have come a long way baby Wyatt! I am sad to see his speech therapy coming to an end because Wyatt LOVES his speech therapist Margo, but I am happy that he will be "graduating" before he will ever remember that he needed speech therapy. What a milestone!

Elmo Undies

I bought Wyatt a pack of 7 Elmo undies today! I am not sure if I am ready to tackle potty training yet, but he is probably ready. Today as the boys were going upstairs for their nap Wyatt told Jonah and Sammy (who were crawling up the stairs directly behind Wyatt) "stop, Wyatt is pooping". So we all stopped and waited on the stairs for him to do his business. He seems ready even if I am not!

Visiting the Old Homestead

We spent the day Saturday with our old next door neighbors and best friends. It was so much fun to see Mark and Kelly and their boys Nathan, Shane, and Kyle. We are going to adopt Kyle now since he and Wyatt played together soooooooo well! I barely saw Wyatt all day Saturday! Kyle had him on all kinds of tours and missions and he was as happy as could be! If Kyle wasn't so tall, I would have stuffed him right into my duffel bag and secretly taken him home with us. Nathan and Shane were great with the boys too! Nathan set up a huge train set and showed the boys how to work everything and fixed it when they messed up the track. He was really patient with Sammy and Jonah. John and I enjoyed hanging out and talking with Mark and Kelly. The conversation is always so easy and fun...just like we never left. Of course, Kelly and I also got in a little shopping trip! John and I left this morning homesick and missing our great friends, but looking forward to another visit sometime soon...maybe even adults only next time!

Jonah Belle

Tomorrow we are driving to Ohio to visit our old neighbors. We miss Mark and Kelly and their kids so much and can't wait to see the boys and catch up. There will be 6 boys and 4 adults under 1 roof for 24 hours! It may get a little crazy, but we are super excited to see them all!

Fang

Fang struck again! This time he got Wyatt! I am at a loss with Sammy. I have tried biting him back, time outs, and mean mean voices "no biting"!!! Nothing seems to work with this kid! I am glad that so far he has only bit his family members, but seriously what am I going to do if he bites a stranger? A muzzle?

Bedtime Fun

Our latest challenge has been Wyatt at bedtime. He can get out of his crib and is constantly escaping from his room. Last week I got to the point where I would sit outside of his room for 1 1/2 hours putting him back in bed over and over and over again! On Monday we started gating him in his bedroom. At first we put up 1 gate, but then we had to put another gate on top so that he wouldn't climb over. It works beautifully! He still stands at the gate and tries to engage us in conversation and convince us to let him come out, but getting him to bed is much less of a nightmare. Tonight he was whispering (loudly) "Mommy? Mommy? MOMMY?" and when I said "what?" he would either say "I love you" or "night night"! My plan is for the gating to be temporary and used later as a threat as in "If you keep leaving your room, then we will have to gate you in", but we will see how things go!

A Visit to ER

Sammy fell and hit his head on the front door hinge this morning and needed two stitches. John took him to Children's Hospital and I stayed home with the other two kids. He said that everyone kept saying how great Sammy was doing and how pleasant he was. John told them that if his twin had fallen, then his mother would have brought him. My poor little guy! They gave him Lidocane gel instead of a shot to numb up his head and gave him 2 dissolving stitches. John said that Sammy cried mostly about being held down, but that he didn't mind the stitches. The thing that I feel the worst about is how happy and carefree he usually is...now look at him isn't he pathetic?










No, but seriously, isn't it great how they gave him a band aid that blended in with his skin color so well. I hardly notice it...especially when the other two boys chase him around trying to pull it off! I guarantee that the band aid won't make it through the night!

Guess that Mark

Check out this mark on Jonah's arm. He came running over to me crying hysterically when all three boys were playing cars on the deck. I didn't see what happened, but it didn't take me long to figure it out!

Recovery Day 2- Zoo Day

Part of my vacation recovery plan for this week is to pack each day full of activities for the kids so that they forget that we aren't on vacation any more. Today we headed to the zoo with my friend Bethany and her little girl Madison. The kids had fun and we sufficiently tired them out! When we got home they all took naps 3 hour naps! Mission accomplished!

Recovery Day 1

We started the slow process of vacation recovery today. The kids have to get used to a little less attention, sleeping in their own beds, and getting up a little later in the mornings. Mom has to get used to being on my own during the day again and not having a backup holder for Jonah. Needless to say it was a tough day, but we managed to have some fun too!

9 Hour Tour

We are finally home! We left Grand Haven at 8:45 am and got home at 6 pm. We stopped in Farmington and visit Aunt Al, Cameron, Jackie, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Candy, and Uncle Mike for a couple of hours. It was a pretty painful trip back though. Our visit in Grand Haven was GREAT! We are going to miss Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Mari, Triston, and Great Grandma Rodgers a lot this week. Grandma got a good dose of Jonah this week and will probably be sleeping for a week to recover. She actually went and got a massage today! Coincidence? I think not! These boys can wear a person out! I have some great stories from our week, but I am going to bed early to get a good night of sleep in my own bed!
I can't post my picture...I will try again tomorrow!

Blue Boy

How to eat waffles with fresh blueberries....