Almost Two Means...

Tantrums.

The week started off okay. Then there was Tuesday. Yesterday was a super challenge with Henry refusing everything: clothing, carseat, food, sleep. Today was also full of fits and frustrations.

Tomorrow?

Please let tomorrow be easier.

Elliot Sings

Look at all those teeth!

Just an Ordinary Day

Easter

Here are some belated Easter photos. We were invited to a friend's house and had a lovely time. There was some confusion about the process of collecting eggs; Henry would replace the one he grabbed with an egg from his basket. Elliot enjoyed dumping his eggs out and then refilling his pail.

My Baby, My Eldest, My Elliot

Elliot and the Cuck

The Zoo!!!

My buddy Staci and I took our kids to the zoo last week when the weather was so springy! Initially we had Maya and Elliot walk on leashes and Henry was contained. I eventually swapped Henry and Elliot, but Henny knew that the way to travel was to be pushed in Maya's stroller. It was great for M&E to run around, test limits (they could only go as far as the leash allowed), learn to walk with crowds and how to navigate stroller/pedestrian spaces. Elliot loved the bats, and Henry was pretty happy with everything. Elliot and I took some time to check out the big machinery they were using to build the new lion exhibit (but that video will come later).



Elliot, Henry



Maya. Elliot & Henry. Henry isn't really that much taller than Elliot.


Henry, Elliot & Maya

Another Bad Idea

One day Elliot woke and insisted that I put Henry's shoes on him. They wore matching shoes to Auntie Ada's wedding, so he could have thought they were his. :) Anyhow, he really wanted to go outside, and tried to get out on his own. I'll let you guess how this ended.

This is why we don't stand on chairs

Henry stood on his chair and went boom. There was significant blood and crying, but nothing a popsicle, pressure and time couldn't fix. Phew. It took awhile for that fat lip to fade!

The Other Night

Henry and Elliot were in the bathtub and Elliot was pouring water into/around his mouth. I told him "Ew, no yuck, no drinking the water" and Henry thought that was the funniest thing he had ever heard! For the rest of the bath he would say, "no, nuk, drink water!", look at me and laugh. Silly boy!

Vacuum!!!!!

Toward the end you can hear Henry say "caca" as he sees the garbage can. I've been trying to wean him of this word, but he really likes it. He will now say "dirty", "garbage", and "yucky", but caca is his fall back word for anything dirty or stuck to his hands. These little minds...

Good Bye, January!

I took the month off of blogging because...well because it was a cranktastic month. Henry began throwing tempter tantrums. Illness set in mid-month. It started as a cold, and over the course of a month it turned into a real, green snot cold and now (as of Tuesday) the first ear infection. Sigh.

The good news:
Henry talks! Real, honest talking. Two word phrases, random words that I have no idea where he's heard them...mirror, wallet (today while standing on the dining room table holding my wallet), lots and lots of awesome things! It is so much fun, and really is my favorite time so far.

Elliot hasn't thrown any tantrums yet!

My friend's sister-in-law is watching the boys while I'm working. It is so great to have a reliable mom take care of the three boys (she brings her little one who is 6 weeks younger than H&E). It's fantastic that I know the boys are being well taken care of.

Just in time for New Years: Christmas!

Christmas was fun at our house! There was a ton of snow outside and presents on the ground. When one baby would open a present they both wanted it right away. We would have to lure one away with a new gift to open. It was a lot of fun, and everyone enjoyed the homemade cinnamon rolls. Hurray for holidays!

Christmas Eve's Eve

After being stuck at home for a few days in a row, I had to get us out. I walked the boys over to Brittanie & Nate's house a few blocks away. Because we were sled-less I had to carry them both. My arms were so tired by the time we got there!

We ended up sledding down their hill on a garbage can lid. The boys really weren't sure about it at first, but then they asked for more! Nate pulled out their wagon and we tried to get a good picture of everyone. I'll bet Brittanie has a photo of everyone smiling.






Cody is three weeks older than Henry and Elliot.



Jake's telling Elliot, "Is okay, baby. Okay."


Cody was not sure about being in the cold.



Here's a video of Nate sacrificing himself for smiles. The boys were ready to head inside where it was warm!

(Lila) Faith, Hope, and Luck of the Draw

Earlier in the week I read of a baby who was born very prematurely. He is facing an uphill road, but one that is passable. I follow the blog of micropremie twins , who were born shortly after their parents found out they were having twins. 24 weeks! Can you imagine finding out you're getting two babies late in the game and then giving birth very shortly thereafter?!? The girls are happy little people, but it broke my heart to hear about this new little baby.

Yesterday, on Christmas Eve, I found out a little newborn baby had been born, two days prior, with a heart defect, but was fighting. Last night I learned she died. The parents didn't find out about the defect until a few weeks ago; they thought everything was progressing fine.

These little babies have been on my mind all week. I had the best pregnancy, the best twin pregnancy in the books. And despite a scare or two, my guys were always fine and thriving. 38 weeks and they wouldn't leave! Birthed the way I wanted and breastfed from hour one. I'm feeling so thankful that life for me and these boys has been good. I can't say blessed because that doesn't fit...but we're lucky. Though we lost two little ones along the way, they were so little our lives hadn't been formed around them. There is no "meant to be" or "given what we can handle", there is only a healthy today and hope for a healthy tomorrow.

In addition to the ill babies, a women was in a car accident and is currently in a coma. Brittanie's mom was in an accident two Halloweens ago and I've tried to be the best friend I can be to Britt over the last year. I've learned so much about the brain and comas and recovery and how one decision or press of the gas pedal can change so many lives. I hope and pray that the boys (all three of them) and I have the most pedestrian, safe lives. And I try to ignore that it's just how things go sometimes.

I was telling Mike about the first baby the other day, and he asked me why I would want to risk having another. And maybe he's right; it's not worth the chance. I'm not sold on a third, but wasn't ready to give it up yet. But now, well, maybe my ducks have hatched and I need to thank my lucky stars for the life we have.

Guess who got extra squeezes last night?

Come back Friday afternoon for a fun post about sledding and all four boys (Brittanie's and mine). All of whom are healthy and happy.

Part Two!

And then the snow came:










Watching dada shovel the walk.


And then we were trapped at home. I whined.

Real Snow - Part One: The Whining

I was whining to myself that we don't get real snow in Portland. Everyone else in town was excited about an inch of powder, while we were stuck inside due to wind. Our house is surprisingly close to the Columbia River and it's like we live in a wind tunnel when the Easterly blows.

My friends and sister in Seattle posted pictures of sledding and covered roads. My dad send photos of his buried house.

We got this:

Not our bathroom window.







And on Friday, things like this were still pretty amusing:


My friend Alison came over and amused us, and in turn Henry amused her. For some reason he would smile, quickly tense up and quiver. It was the first time I'd ever noticed him do it, and he seemed to do it on purpose. Ah, the wonders of cabin fever.

Cookie Day

Here are two photos Debbie took when we were at her house two weeks ago. Auntie Shannon and I went out there for Cookie Day. We made pumpkin, chai snickerdoodle, and ginger cookies. Debbie added in some caramel meltaways, which were delicious!

Henry's working on perfecting his sneer.




Elliot turns on the charm.



Today I made raspberry thumbprint cookies. Too bad Elliot's the only person around here who will eat cookies with me!

Snow Day Video

They were pretty confused by the whole thing.
Can you let me know if it's really grainy?