HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY BOYS!

We made it. Here's to another fun, adventurous, tiring, challenging and AMAZING year ahead! I love you both so very much.

BABY

Well, we have a new resident baby with us. During a trip to the dollar store the other day, I came across little baby dolls (which are about the size of my boys when they were born) and I bought 2 of them as little favors for the girls that are coming to the birthday party this weekend. Needless to say, before we even got out of the store, these babies were in the hands of the boys. Little did I know, they would become theirs in a short time. So much for the party favors.

In any case, JD has taken a particular liking to 'baby' and insists on taking it everywhere and sleeping with it. He changes it's diaper and shares his water with baby.



*Note Cole swinging the bat through the entire video...

Cole likes it only because JD likes it - so he really could give or take baby. He even hid baby from JD yesterday - in the silverware drawer. Thank goodness he's not as attached because one of the babies heads fell off yesterday and that was the end of that baby's short life with us. We're down to 1 and they are sharing fairly well. Until bedtime, of course.

Nonetheless, I realized that this fascination came shortly after our visit last weekend with my nephew, Baby Connor. My boys are enthralled with him; and really enjoyed helping Aunt E feed him.
We're not sure how long this baby thing will last. We're guessing it will be short lived since they will be getting so many new things to play with this weekend. But maybe it's here to stay for a while. I personally enjoy seeing how they treat baby - for the most part, they are so loving and caring for it - which is heartwarming (yet funny) to see.

The day before...

On the day before the boys 2nd birthday, I am finding myself really excited for their big day. I know that many people have mixed emotions about birthdays, especially #2 since that means we're officially in the 'terrible twos'. And many people feel like it went much too fast. But like the kids, I'm really excited. They have an inkling of what a birthday means. Last year, I bought these fun birthday banners for their doors. They are reusable every year and have turned out to be quite fun for them this week. I put them out on Monday this week, with the thought that we could have a little countdown. Tomorrow morning, I will put 2 candles on each of their banners to make it official. We've received a few gifts in the mail already and they have come running to open the boxes, knowing there were presents in them. Watching their anticipation, excitement and wonder has been awesome.



We're planning to take them out for dinner for their birthday (with Gramma who shares their birthday) and then we're having a family party on Sunday this weekend. They will share their party with their big cousin Ronny too who turned 6 this week. It's a 'Little Einsteins' theme party, complete with a rocket cake (which hopefully will turn out ok with my attempt at creativity).


A friend asked me yesterday how I was doing with this approaching birthday. I of course told her 'great' but knew that what she really was asking was relating to my thoughts about Calvin. Something has happened over the last few weeks and I'm in a much better place with things now. I have turned a corner, of sorts, and now find myself smiling whenever I think of him or hear his name, instead of being sad. There is a strange comfort surrounding me now and I know that he's ok and so are we. I have a charm necklace that C. gave to me for Mothers Day that only had 2 charms for JD & Cole. I bought a 3rd one for Calvin last week, as a birthday gift for him from me. It came this week and I'm proudly wearing it and it really has warmed my heart. It's just a symbol, I know. But for some reason, it helped me over that hump. When I received the necklace back in the spring, it never dawned on me to have a 3rd charm. But recently when it did dawn on me that it was incomplete, I ordered another one immediately. It's strange when these small things make such a BIG difference.


As I mentioned before, the kids are starting to say his name and bring him into their lives. That's huge for me. They now say that Calvin is their brother when asked. And they know how much we love and miss him. On their level, it's strictly repeating what we tell them. But it's becoming slowly part of their being and I can see their wheels turning when we talk about him.


It's hard to believe that it's been 2 years since they were born. At the same time, I do feel like I have been able to savor so much of this time and I don't feel jipped by time going too quickly. They have changed so much during this time - it's absolutely amazing. As a wonderful coincidence, we learned this week that Cole is being discharged from physical therapy. We dropped down to twice a month about 2 months ago and he's come so far so quickly during this time period that he's ready for discharge. This is such an incredible milestone, considering how far he's come. And just in time for his 2nd birthday. Mommy cried crocodile tears for the first time ever this week - I'm so proud and elated - but will say, we'll miss his therapist so much. She's like part of the family and the kids have grown to love her too. She's coming back one last time and we're going to have a little party - another chapter of his life is coming to a close. Ah, what a relief.


I'll do my best to get a photo montage put together tonight...surely tomorrow will be 'just another day' for the boys since they aren't really understanding the birthday concept completely. Little do they know what a special day it is in the heart and mind of their Mommy & Daddy...and baby brother Calvin.

Future aspirations...

Does this photo make anyone think of a janitor? Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Take note of the foot apparel. I made the mistake of trying on some winter boots today to see if they fit - little did I realize that he would NEVER want to take them off. Thank goodness I got him to remove them when we went to the pool - but rest assured, as soon as we returned home, he wanted them back on. I have always laughed at those kids I see out and about in "costumes" and funny get up's. I just chuckle and figure that the parents didn't feel like fighting about it so just let the kids wear whatever it is that they threw a fit about not being able to wear. Well, I guess I've joined the ranks. God help me when he needs to leave home with the boots and the broom....

And since we have the monkey see, monkey do mentality around here, Cole had to have a try too - they are about 10 sizes too big but he wandered around in them too for as long as JD would tolerate watching him (and as long as I could stand watching him trip over his feet and face plant down the stairs). Cole also insisted on wearing the new jacket I bought for him today - despite the fact that it was 88 degrees and humid outside.

I did catch a cute photo of the two of them in the midst though. These shots are hard to get these days.

Catching up

Well, we've had a busy week and have some catching up to do. Last weekend we had the boys 2nd Birthday party (round 1) with our play group crew. There is a set of triplet friends of theirs that have an August birthday so we did a combined party for all 5 kids. The weather was a bit iffy but we pulled it off. They all had a great time. I don't think any of them had a clue it was for them but they enjoyed the evening. The Dads were able to make it too this time and we even threw in a few "adult" beverages for some sanity. There were 9 kids and 12 adults so they didn't outnumber us this time like usual.



I remember vividly last year's birthday party - as hard as I tried to make it simple so I could savor the moment, it was really not as enjoyable as I hoped. This time was a whole different ballgame. The kids are so much more self sufficient and they don't need constant attention. I soaked it all in and enjoyed the night just as much as they did. Their real birthday is still over a week away so we'll be having the "real" party over Labor Day weekend with just family. I look forward to that one too!

The boys especially loved the ball pit that our friends left with us for a few days after the party.

Mimi & Grampy had the kids overnight a few weekends ago so C. & I could go to a wedding. We had a ball and a nice night away - but the kids had even more fun!

And lastly, our thoughts go out to big cousin Em - who broke her arm this week falling off of a trampoline. We hope you're feeling better soon Emmy!

Let the teasing begin...

And Cole seems to be the big teaser, even though he's the underdog!

Early drivers

Only 14 more years until the real thing...

They're back...

Nope, not kidding. The bats are back.

C. came in from taking out the trash last evening and announced that there was guano EVERYWHERE on the side of the house again. Same location as last time. Now we await the "bat man" to come take a look. This time it better be FREE! Ugh.

Another First - a real live concert!

We took the kids to their first "concert" today - it was a hoot. We went to see Steve Songs play at a local venue, the Rams Head. It's a kids band that we have been enjoying for the last many months - the kids light up when he comes on the radio. So off we went, to see him in the flesh. JD was REALLY into it. He immediately ran up front with the other kids and really enjoyed the loud music. Cole on the other hand was clinging to me for dear life and was not at all sure about the situation. We were pushing it with nap time so ended up having to bail out a little bit early but I was pleasantly surprised at how much they enjoyed it (Cole eventually loosened up a bit). Check that off of the list! I wish I had taken a camera....

Here's a fun video from the other day - it's amazing to see them interacting now. They are good little buddies and learning how to share and be friends most of the time. It warms my heart everytime I hear them conversing...



Off to watch the Olympics. Happy Sunday.

Pobbies

POBBIES - the "toddlerese" word in our house for POTTY's

The potties are a hit - they have absolutely NO idea what they are for, in fact, right now, they are for stuffing as many toys, blankets, books, feet etc. as they can get in them. Apparently they also work well as hats.

It's the first thing they ask for when they wake up in the morning. I guess that's a good routine to get into eh? We're a long way away from using them the proper way - but we'll have fun with them in the meantime. Like most members of the male species (sorry guys), they are infatuated with "anything" toilet related. Gone are the days of using the restroom in peace....