Pictures with Santa

The boys visited Santa on Monday. This was the same Santa that they saw last year. I love him because he has a real beard and he is so nice and patient. My mom and I took the boys last year, this year Greg and I were joined by our great friends Tim and Stephanie. They had fun playing with the boys and chasing after them in the mall. Afterwards, we all ate at the new Cheesecake Factory.

As we predicted, L was fine with Santa and R cried. L actually became very still and quiet and semi-comatose. R cried, but he didn't get too horribly upset.

L and his new friend, Santa.

Greg and Tim holding the boys while we waited in line.

Tim had fun chasing L all over the mall. L almost got a way from him one time when he tried to go up the escalator.

This is from a couple of weeks ago when Tim and Stephanie came over one night when Greg was gone and made us dinner. The boys love them. We will miss them greatly when we move, but fortunately they already make frequent trips to Colorado, so we'll still see them. Hopefully they'll move up there with us soon, too.

New this week: R can say "baby" and do the sign for it, as well.

Have a great weekend.

P.S. Happy Birthday Greg!!

At Home on a Sunday

It has finally gotten cold here. Cold enough for the boys to wear their Bronco outfits that their Grandma got them. It was a great day to stay inside because it was cold and wet outside and the boys are still not feeling 100%. We got them back on their schedule so hopefully Cindi won't have 2 terrors in her house tomorrow.

L is the goofiest kid there has ever been. He is already the class clown and he knows it. Today he emptied his book basket and proceeded to walk around the house with the basket over his head.

It was neat to see the two of them really play together one on one. R and L had a good time playing peek a boo with the basket on L. They both just laughed at each other. They have already become best buds, and enemies at times, too. I had to clean L's nose out today and I had him on the floor while he was crying (he absolutely hates having his nose suctioned). R came over and started to play with L's face and I told R to give him a kiss, and he did. He had never really given anyone a kiss before (he then spent part of the evening trying to get my attention by giving me a kiss), so I think it is sweet that the first one was to his brother.

Here is R on his cell phone.

And R walking down the hallway. He looks like such a big boy in this picture.

And here is L reading a book, his most favorite thing to do (besides making us laugh).

I still have some past pictures to post, so I'll try to do that this week or this weekend. We're hoping to take the boys to see Santa tomorrow night. I don't think that L will have any problem with Santa. While we were in Lubbock and went straight to my Uncle Charlie and my grandmother's new husband, Mr. G, and wanted them to pick him up. Whenever they tried to put him down, or give him to me, he would start crying. I'll try to take some pictures, whether they cry or not. I'd love to start a tradition of having their picture with Santa every year in a cute frame to put out during Christmas (I had some cute ones last year). Have a great week!

Thanksgiving Weekend with Family

We spent Thanksgiving with my family in Lubbock. The boys had a great time and we all ate ourselves sick for several days (although the boys did not behave too well at the table on Thursday).

R and L had a blast playing with their cousins. L took off after Jacob when he saw him, which kind of took Jake off guard, but they ended up having fun together. Olivia had a great time playing with both of her baby cousins and they loved watching everything that she did around the house.

The boys have had a cold for a few days, but they have been real troopers and haven't fussed too much. They stayed in Nana and Grandad's room, but they didn't allow them to sleep all night at all while we were there. L was sick the first night and woke up. R woke up several times the next 2 nights, but I think it was because he knew Nana would hold and rock him if he cried long enough. Greg and I slept great. I got to sleep in until 9 am, which I don't think has happened in more than 18 months. We're home now, so it's just me and Greg then next 2 nights and then just me, so hopefully the boys will get back on their good sleeping schedules and we can make it until at least 7 am tomorrow.

This is a better picture of what was in R's throat. I had taken the previous one with my cell phone, so the quality was poor. The dime is a reference point to how big the object was (I still can't believe that it was lodged in his vocal cords for 7 weeks and we didn't know it).

New this week:

L has now added 2 more words to his vocabulary, "grandad" and "ho, ho, ho" He also says ball, car, clock, cross, dada, and occasionally mama. L loved playing with grandad this weekend. Whenever he saw his picture he would say grandad and he would call to him several times to get his attention (especially during nap time when dad would try to sneak into the bedroom to get something). Nana got all of the grandkids a very loud and obnoxious Christmas toy that shouts and plays music when you push the button. Anyways, L's is a Santa Clause and says "ho, ho, ho" so he started to imitate it tonight, but it comes out more like "aa, aa, aa" but we know what he means.

R is walking all over the place. He now spends more time walking than crawling. He has the best walk. He pushes his right shoulder up, holds his hands up to his chest, and high steps it out with his left foot. Mom said he walks like Steve Martin in "My Blue Heaven" I'm going to have to get that movie and check it out.

We had our worst restaurant experience today with the boys. We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Abilene on our way home (it is always where we stop because it is good place for messy boys). Neither boy would eat and they started a screaming contest with each other and threw their food all over the place. I think I ate a few bites and then I hurried Greg up so we could get out of there. They left such a mess and were not good at all. They are normally great when we go out (this is only their 3rd time to make it unpleasant for us and those around us). Hopefully it was only because they were needing to blow off some pent up energy from being in the car.

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Greg and I have some much to be thankful for, but mostly for such wonderfully fun and healthy boys.

Mystery Solved!!!

So it turns out that the culprit of all of R's problems for the last 7 weeks was a small piece of thin metal lodged into his vocal cords. He already feels like a new man. His hoarseness is almost gone and the stridor no longer exists. He was a little fussy and out of it yesterday because of the anesthesia, but he woke up so happy this morning. The lesson we learned from all of this: go to a Children's hospital when you have an emergency and wait however long it takes to be seen. We took R to Cook Children's ER 7 weeks ago and the waiting room was insane and we were going backwards in line after 2 hours of waiting. So we left and went to our local hospital's ER which is not equipped for such young children. They did a chest x-ray and did not see anything. I'm going to get a hold of those x-rays and see if they missed the foreign object in his throat. But I don't think that Cook's would have missed it, and this all could have been taken care of weeks ago.

But most importantly, we are so thankful that R is OK. We were afraid that his problem was more serious, but fortunately it seems to have been fixed.

R's lesson from all of this: don't be a goat.

At the Hospital

We are now in the waiting area for R's surgery. We'll let everyone know how it goes. He did really well this morning. We had to be here at 5:30, so he was not happy to be roused this morning (and neither were we).

I have taken a few pictures this week of the boys, so when I have a chance I'll post them. Greg and I are off to Denver this weekend so I can take the Colorado Counseling exam. It is bad timing, but I registered before we know R would have surgery. Nana and Grandad are here though to take care of them, so they are in great hands. Hopefully Greg and I will have a chance to look around at some areas while we're there.

New this week:

L can now say "clock" (sorta), he gets the clo part out, but I know what he is saying. He also loves to point out every car that he sees, either on the TV or on the road. He loves to say car, but he says it like a question "Caaar?"

R is doing so much better with his walking. He is still pretty wobbly, but he keeps trying.

Good Times in Mama and Daddy's Room

R is completely fascinated with electronics and anything that has buttons. He has discovered my clock and loves to play with it whenever he is in our bedroom. L is completely fascinated by anything that R has. It is his mission in life to take away anything of value of R's in order to make him upset.


L's favorite item to get a hold of his Greg's contact solution. He likes to carry it around and pretend it is a bottle. It is no big deal, as long as the cap stays on and he can't drink it.

Our bedroom faces the backyard. While R and L were in our room last night, the dogs started barking at something. Both boys went to the window and pulled the blinds back to look and see what they were barking at.

It looks as if L has been caught in the act of knocking over my nightstand, but I know for a fact that R did this. It is an example of how R is going to quietly get L into trouble in the future.

New this Week:

R can say "beep, beep" I always say that to the boys when I'm trying to get past them, and R repeated it back to me today.

R can now identify his food and he found 2 books for me last night. He probably has always been able to do this, but L is such a show off, it hasn't given him the chance to show us (or we have failed to notice).

R went to the ENT doctor for his throat issues today (stridor and chronic hoarseness). He is going to have to have surgery next Thursday to see what is going on. Keep him in your thoughts in prayers that all will turn out well.

As for L, he is the same. He had a great time with his Grandpa and Grandma while they visited and he continues to be a riot. He is so goofy and full of constant energy, he must burn a ton of calories every day.