tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78740015167404420422024-03-13T07:29:30.224-05:00Double the LoveThe daily joys of being a mommy of toddler twins!Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.comBlogger121125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-22861558355862489862011-09-01T22:17:00.000-05:002011-09-01T22:17:54.709-05:00First day of pre schoolA day that has always seemed so far off has now come and gone. Yes, I must admit a few tears were shed...only they were all shed by mama! Ashton and Ayden have both been pretty excited, or at least curious, about school. We visited their new school to check out the playground a week before school started so that they would feel a little more comfortable navigating it alone. (This is part of their vision condition.) We got lucky enough to catch their teacher on this day as well. The next day was the Open House/Meet the Teacher night and the 5 of us attended as a family. This alone was emotional for me. Partly because it is another "first" and partly because it hits so close to home for me being a pre K teacher (and loving it!) before they were born. It was exciting to learn all about their new school, talk with their teacher and meet some of the kids in their class.<br />
The next Monday we had to get up WAY too early to get us all around! ;-) Before leaving we gave the boys each a gift to open and attempted to get a few pictures...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I tried to dress them a little different for the first week of school in case there where any of those people who can't seem to tell the two apart!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe next year we will actually get a decent picture...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4LFcdJ6opnJ1JKlBAcx6kBFXvF0dCxfpzHtJJeCbXH6xmOMzibsGgIR7FQmUJCBAx-RyCQwBvfnGHJekmnlNbqBAVVu_m_7whk9NdZMBQU3MU8x_4HbAO_3V2zylywnn1lpo-XiWiJA/s1600/August+%252711+018.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4LFcdJ6opnJ1JKlBAcx6kBFXvF0dCxfpzHtJJeCbXH6xmOMzibsGgIR7FQmUJCBAx-RyCQwBvfnGHJekmnlNbqBAVVu_m_7whk9NdZMBQU3MU8x_4HbAO_3V2zylywnn1lpo-XiWiJA/s320/August+%252711+018.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a ham!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEittGg60g6dAlNG6e7YvhIOTZHiAL2_pbYTbrQQamD2fZLhrw3eksCzYs4nEgpFltin1YJ21FiFeUiw_dw0y2Xff0_6YJWpL0jE9uTK_-mCgbFxamStDlsfvWUS86AwRQmA06m2Q6sLwWE/s1600/August+%252711+026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEittGg60g6dAlNG6e7YvhIOTZHiAL2_pbYTbrQQamD2fZLhrw3eksCzYs4nEgpFltin1YJ21FiFeUiw_dw0y2Xff0_6YJWpL0jE9uTK_-mCgbFxamStDlsfvWUS86AwRQmA06m2Q6sLwWE/s320/August+%252711+026.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>Once at school, the parents were allowed to stay in the classroom for the first 45 minutes and then were invited to the multipurpose room for a snack and informal dicussion with the director. The boys did great in their classroom, although a little quiet and timid. They both told us good bye without any tears. By the time I went to the multipurpose room and then stayed to watch a 20 minute volunteer video it seemed pointless to go home. I checked on the boys who were now playing on the playground and decided I would take Jeffrey and go home. We were home for about 40 minutes and it was eerily quiet! Jeffrey fell asleep in the car seat on the way home and continued to sleep until about 15 minutes before we left. I then fed and changed him and we headed back to the school. I had every intention of going inside to get them from their classroom but, when I got there all the other parents where in the pick up line. I got a knot in my throat - torn between being "that mom" and wanting to be there for my "babies". Alas, some sort of magnetic force took control of my steering wheel and pulled into the pick up line! I was a little early and had to wait for awhile. It was a long wait because I was so excited to see them and hear about their morning and now I was stuck in the line with no way out! I finally made it to the front and my boys were brought out to the mini van. As Ayden climbed in I saw a tear on his cheek. I guess he was a little worried when some stranger (a staff member) was walking him outside! In the end they had a great day and told me all about what they had done. I know for my experience being a pre school teacher that this is rare because a lot of kids don't tell their parents anymore about school than that they "played". <br />
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School has continued to go great! We are now in the 4th week and they have yet to cry or refuse to go! The only problem we have had is that they both got sick the second week of school. I knew it would happen since they have never been around so many children/germs. They continue to tell me about the songs they sing, books they read, activities they do, who stayed home from school, teachers/staff they meet, and friends they have. They are a little slow about warming up enough to really talk to their teachers yet though. They are apparently getting by on one or two words answers for now. I know they are slow to warm up and they will be talking the ears off of their teachers in no time! For now they are making up for that lack of talking in the mornings by talking NON STOP in the afternoons! :) <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJbRJ4RpDkTPI_s_TTh6dSTIrmkv73g12SvtLz9daMJO2CH_GrkQvfJwFND36iXZ2MI812pjeqdyMPTLu2uPj3oY5O3PG8MQE22VxOywtmzgR4Yq3uUW8OfVBxg_F7MZG1gnFE6O4tUw/s1600/August+%252711+032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDJbRJ4RpDkTPI_s_TTh6dSTIrmkv73g12SvtLz9daMJO2CH_GrkQvfJwFND36iXZ2MI812pjeqdyMPTLu2uPj3oY5O3PG8MQE22VxOywtmzgR4Yq3uUW8OfVBxg_F7MZG1gnFE6O4tUw/s320/August+%252711+032.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ayden with his new teacher, Mrs. Cindy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfLp83xVUiaaoNlGUwZnTqEuntT77UkMH6T5iKIqomuRKipaX73yL42QRDZgnEUlvNK0XNrMg7qUtlRb2aBgvGcfPpeQ2c2ZxFZlCaI__W9c-RwDhbI5w_rT8Q6OdLi52w9Ym3Uo_lPE/s1600/August+%252711+030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBfLp83xVUiaaoNlGUwZnTqEuntT77UkMH6T5iKIqomuRKipaX73yL42QRDZgnEUlvNK0XNrMg7qUtlRb2aBgvGcfPpeQ2c2ZxFZlCaI__W9c-RwDhbI5w_rT8Q6OdLi52w9Ym3Uo_lPE/s320/August+%252711+030.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeffrey and I got to participate in circle time too!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJUJ3wk56Gzv3nujZ2JXxJ4khuQsWZXmCVFEObjU5whGWqJrzPndrCcekl9mpsSaxDWTznZfB0R_rVa9nSyp8-Wv6ApO-_AHxmd-qH0mt0nD4HnCW6-jE7Z926ja2W45_YWbZVkjqZWY/s1600/August+%252711+031.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJUJ3wk56Gzv3nujZ2JXxJ4khuQsWZXmCVFEObjU5whGWqJrzPndrCcekl9mpsSaxDWTznZfB0R_rVa9nSyp8-Wv6ApO-_AHxmd-qH0mt0nD4HnCW6-jE7Z926ja2W45_YWbZVkjqZWY/s320/August+%252711+031.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashton and his teacher "checking in" for the day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>You would think with this new "free time" I have I could have blogged about this before now...But, the time really is minimal and I have SO much to do. I do hope to get a schedule going soon and blog more regularly. I do have lots of other updates and exciting news and I hope to get to those in the next few days so stay tuned!Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-77625616536537010652011-06-28T15:54:00.000-05:002011-06-28T15:54:15.121-05:00New addition means a new nameIn case you hadn't noticed we have added a new little one to our family! Therefore the name of our blog, Double the Love, no longer encompasses our growing family. I have a few ideas for a new name but I want to make sure I find one that is a perfect fit. So, I am welcoming YOUR creative suggestions! No rush, no deadline, no prize if I pick your name...just some creative fun!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">< Insert family picture here ></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">If I had one I would! Sad, but true! Jeffrey will be 6 weeks old tomorrow and we have yet to get a picture of the 5 of us together! Maybe this weekend!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-62933887591129217952011-06-25T18:05:00.001-05:002011-06-25T18:05:57.033-05:003 Years Old!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9t7XZB6-66dyh3m5SxtCpNDs9-lxe4JP3Rz77cpgrBltnwLVg7EaXx5Yg-spquwOO5Om-WWNGTPjW7GQeCI9vziX06TTc6AZFp3rLDQu31qddxne-ItBAfXdpue3hIxnbrvP5RKFY0k/s1600/April+2011+045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK9t7XZB6-66dyh3m5SxtCpNDs9-lxe4JP3Rz77cpgrBltnwLVg7EaXx5Yg-spquwOO5Om-WWNGTPjW7GQeCI9vziX06TTc6AZFp3rLDQu31qddxne-ItBAfXdpue3hIxnbrvP5RKFY0k/s320/April+2011+045.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashton with his red velvet cupcake on his actual birthday</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXH-J2cgsStEcWBjT170vYn-j6CmPbLp4yvenDFaCTqDr2XJfVq70XXUxxdzfxxdgTbnmAzXI7GFHQUGfawtY2eUjCYSbmQBt5BXYYrZ273150D3tmQmR0mEv86lz9-mJJ6Bgj500VPM0/s1600/April+2011+056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXH-J2cgsStEcWBjT170vYn-j6CmPbLp4yvenDFaCTqDr2XJfVq70XXUxxdzfxxdgTbnmAzXI7GFHQUGfawtY2eUjCYSbmQBt5BXYYrZ273150D3tmQmR0mEv86lz9-mJJ6Bgj500VPM0/s320/April+2011+056.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ayden lovin his cupcake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Can it really be that my little babies are already THREE?! Could it really have been THREE years ago that I brought them home weighing only 5 pounds?! Could it really be that we have made it through the infant days, potty training, the toddler years and are now preparing for preschool? Could it really be that we have now planned, executed and survived THREE birthday party's?! Well....the proof is in the pictures so I guess that means that my precious little boys are REALLY THREE!<br />
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Ashton and Ayden are really into all things transportation - typical boys! So, when we started talking to them about their birthday about two months ago we tried to get an idea of what they wanted to do to celebrate this next milestone. Trains was a big one but they couldn't settle. Once one was set on trains the other wanted trucks or airplanes or....So we said we could just do them all. Our boys don't watch tv/movies and don't regularly get to go to the store to buy/pick out toys. This really limits what their idea of a birthday is as well as commercial toys, etc to ask for. ( This is NOT a complaint!) As we asked them what they wanted for their birthday for the past two months they always responded with "A choo-choo train cake!" They have only had cake a few times and it was only at their birthdays and a few family members birthdays. To them a cake was what you had for your birthday. I knew if we did nothing else for them for their birthday, they were going to have a train cake!<br />
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A birthday tradition was for me to make them their birthday shirts. We started looking at shirts online so that I could give them some ideas. Again, they were old enough this year to give some input so we tried to incorporate that. It looked like we were going with a train shirt as well. As the weeks went by I never bought any of the supplies and Jeff thought I should just buy the ones we found online. I was a little preoccupied with other things, and still kinda wanted to do it myself, so I never did anything about the shirts. The day before their party my mom and I took the boys to Hobby Lobby and bought the supplies and the shirts. We switched from the train idea, although the boys did get a choice in fabric color and they both (after 15 minutes and about 5 color changes apiece) ended up with the same color! In the end the train shirt was never mentioned and they were very proud of their 3 shirts. The shirts had a circle of race car flag material with the numeral 3 in a race car number font. On a side note, they still wear their 2 shirts sometimes and nearly always comment about their party or that I made the shirt when they do!<br />
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While on this same shopping trip with my mom we bought the supplies for this train cake the boys were still very anxiously awaiting! I was very hesitant about this and nearly ordered a train cake because I was scared of it not meeting my, or their, expectations. Last years did not turn out as great as I had hoped and I didn't want a repeat! Luckily my mom and husband talked me into making the cake as planned. With all the other work needing to be done at home on Friday and Saturday morning my mom ended up making the cake nearly on her own. Jeff and I just gave her our thoughts and ideas and she put it all together! Each boy had his own train engine with 3 train cars. They LOVED their cakes and loved eating them just as much!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczlFLEdlz90t3qBcipzzBftjvy2ZIkZ5iK-14Txa82HYtAlhckpHN2seVhLPDk27h1qGMhg96YADUDqeC3ZS4VanbYOGbpPXvtS7YWrBge99FnsQsZPYnr_CpxBGzYQBpqnwtcoEBeC4/s1600/April+2011+125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjczlFLEdlz90t3qBcipzzBftjvy2ZIkZ5iK-14Txa82HYtAlhckpHN2seVhLPDk27h1qGMhg96YADUDqeC3ZS4VanbYOGbpPXvtS7YWrBge99FnsQsZPYnr_CpxBGzYQBpqnwtcoEBeC4/s320/April+2011+125.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>The decorations were a hodge podge of transportation. We had a Cars movie wall hanging and confetti. There were balloons with dump trucks and motorcycles. The train cake and train whistles for decorations. Black and yellow plates, napkins, etc. Race car were on the shirts, table centerpiece and we had a pennant flag banner. So...you get the picture. The boys had a little bit of everything!<br />
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We had a large portion of our wonderful family at our home to celebrate this big milestone with us. It was a very relaxed affair with balloon chasing, grilling hot dogs and brawts in the rain, and opening (and of course putting together) too many new toys and activities! A few of their new gifts include an indoor trampoline, 2 battery powered 4 wheelers, bubble toys, a sit and spin, 2 Buzz Lightyears, and a cool bridge from the Chuck and Friends line.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Rs6kRF1RNv14pZWVwMW40jIUZEOSWJwjoXCCfjI2ZJY2m6hVOxgMUe0Xm8DNk-lu0VKQ_KehOOWaf3fMDO9pn7W9-0LB5AihhfDy6OfxKw0KEnF0RWFdLwUzruOcG_pCUMY6aXx37Vc/s1600/April+2011+178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7Rs6kRF1RNv14pZWVwMW40jIUZEOSWJwjoXCCfjI2ZJY2m6hVOxgMUe0Xm8DNk-lu0VKQ_KehOOWaf3fMDO9pn7W9-0LB5AihhfDy6OfxKw0KEnF0RWFdLwUzruOcG_pCUMY6aXx37Vc/s320/April+2011+178.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy grilling in the rain</td></tr>
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The boys had a great day surrounded by family and friends. The day was focused on them and they loved every minute of it. They are remembering so much now that I hope they will remember this day as special one just for each of them!<span id="goog_308820306"></span><span id="goog_308820307"></span>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-43167452852463505662011-06-25T17:00:00.001-05:002011-06-25T17:21:04.336-05:00Introducing...Jeffrey Charles IIII know I haven't blogged in way too long but I promise I will get caught up! I have some blogs in my drafts just waiting on pictures or to be finished up. But, I couldn't keep putting off introducing our newest addition!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4BEQzbq1GwV3PbuTCtVIj_9DUSeYFWHfU_P5-kQqsKoPXD3PMYWjQN2tT0dL_0MdNRg8lLwuzhQhJd83mH5M1TwyY2wvxD4CFzE19ffgeWzA-L3uAAx_VBJWVfxRFVMr4GtKw6QLkbU/s1600/DSC_0085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4BEQzbq1GwV3PbuTCtVIj_9DUSeYFWHfU_P5-kQqsKoPXD3PMYWjQN2tT0dL_0MdNRg8lLwuzhQhJd83mH5M1TwyY2wvxD4CFzE19ffgeWzA-L3uAAx_VBJWVfxRFVMr4GtKw6QLkbU/s320/DSC_0085.JPG" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeff took my maternity pictures about 10 days before Jeffrey was born.</td></tr>
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Jeffrey was born Wednesday May 18th, 2011 at 2:55pm by vbac (vaginal birth after cesarean section)! He weighed 7lbs 13oz and was 20 inches long. I am still in the process of writing my (unnecessarily long) birth story. I will post it when I am finished, but I will give a few details for now.<br />
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I woke up on Tuesday morning with contractions that were mild and felt sort of crampy. They were very regular though, always 5-10 minutes apart. The boys and I went on about our day going to the park and the store. By the time I got them down for a nap about 2:30ish, I was not able to talk through my contractions. Our doula came over about 10:30pm and we did some new positions and took a walk. We left for the hospital at 2:30am on Wednesday and when we arrived I was having contractions that were about 4 minutes apart (and painful). I was disappointed to hear that I was only dilated to a 3, but I was 100% effaced. I had a very detailed natural birthplan that I had gone over with my doula and had approved by my doctor before hand. I went over this with the nurse after getting settled. Throughout the remainder of the morning and afternoon several of the desires from my birth plan were proven to be "not meant to be". I was a little disappointed, but I wanted what was best for myself and my baby and I just wanted the end result to be a healthy mama and baby and preferably a vbac.<br />
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My water broke somewhere around 8:30am. I was not progressing very quickly but continued to have contractions one on top of the other. Jeffrey's heart rate was not responding well to the contractions so after several others attempts to correct this they thought his cord was wrapped around something or he was laying on it. So, after my water broke they filled my uterus with saline water and this fixed whatever the issue had been. By 11 or so I was dilated to a 6-7, but I had been there for several hours. Jeffrey's head needed to be turned just a little for optimum delivery positioning and I was having involuntary pushing. Between all of this and the fact that I had been having contractions for well over 24 hours now, they found that my cervix was swelling. This could be dangerous for both of us and my nurse and doula were afraid if we didn't get this corrected I would be headed for a c-section again. They both felt that the best option was to get an epiderial. I had warned Jeff not to let me get one, but this situation had not crossed my mind. I again wanted to do what would lead us to our end result so I agreed. I went from hours of very painful contractions to feeling nothing very quickly. At 11:30am the procedure was over and the nurse said she would give us about two hours to get some rest and she would come back to check on my progress. At 1:30pm when she returned I was dilated to 9 3/4! I was so excited! She said she would update my dr and give me about an hour, unless I felt the urge to push before then. My epidural was wearing off and I was able to feel the contractions some starting at about 1:30 also. I was getting ready to page my nurse just after 2pm when she walked through my door. I was fully dilated and his head was very low so it was time to push! She called my dr and returned to get started. My dr was there about 15 minutes later. I didn't push great until he got there because I was a little nervous about Jeffrey coming before the dr! With the help of my amazing husband, two great doulas and a wonderful dr and nurses, and after 31 hours of contractions, Jeffrey arrived at 2:55pm as perfect as could be! <br />
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He continued to do well in the hospital during our short stay. There was a little worry about him not peeing, but I think it just got missed. Anyway, after having to have a catheter to remove his urine and then him soaking me and the bed with pee....it was no longer an issue! My recovery was a breeze and I was up walking around right away (such a change from last time around!). We came home to some very excited three year olds on Friday! No, they were not excited to see mama and daddy...they were excited to have their baby brother home! They love to play with him, lay with him and kiss and love on him! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvc6jaaJAb-DwQc28QQTckiIbO3u7t3D09W2sLPW64vURRFBjZmez5MwB3zay97dJspv0xUosd2olKTNho7gusccholWmgtSNzbU-9klFrkrURi0Xmb3SSg61r0zvwOGQeAIMb_vep0w/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdvc6jaaJAb-DwQc28QQTckiIbO3u7t3D09W2sLPW64vURRFBjZmez5MwB3zay97dJspv0xUosd2olKTNho7gusccholWmgtSNzbU-9klFrkrURi0Xmb3SSg61r0zvwOGQeAIMb_vep0w/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+008.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SGMOrM6TzkqXcTxvAN0ZFWPH1vpy3lyGbhbHGDwJqQinNgTrqqMo2sStWHHFATW_Q1_PF7u9Ygdm_G_sx4tlJgeypkLpuvvC38owZQZsyTQgjtBOyITtDECk3me_1SFpfDLAZAcQb4M/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-SGMOrM6TzkqXcTxvAN0ZFWPH1vpy3lyGbhbHGDwJqQinNgTrqqMo2sStWHHFATW_Q1_PF7u9Ygdm_G_sx4tlJgeypkLpuvvC38owZQZsyTQgjtBOyITtDECk3me_1SFpfDLAZAcQb4M/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+014.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUs9WL1XurkGzTHcrfVft-fwIlOw_7GUZK6LrQQ7aCk6aj5Nv4CoHJD_LB0-ortb7ng7BeHHUxGuuXmjnaCzri-xv5WZs-6RS7IF6CvfMbCjIp0BhylMiN83rEIFY8ELOLwsQhS4jukHg/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUs9WL1XurkGzTHcrfVft-fwIlOw_7GUZK6LrQQ7aCk6aj5Nv4CoHJD_LB0-ortb7ng7BeHHUxGuuXmjnaCzri-xv5WZs-6RS7IF6CvfMbCjIp0BhylMiN83rEIFY8ELOLwsQhS4jukHg/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+017.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBqSz3F_60NG5iq0OrWz0tLxpL_04DNXBK5200T2drSTPlgFneitoahVR8nhG1-x7y5a-LBixNWM7iAZSVHQ8ufabwFqKv4CYPDTa2yTv7nm0ff6wozoQKwFa01K535IkiRW5LLb7XQ0/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBqSz3F_60NG5iq0OrWz0tLxpL_04DNXBK5200T2drSTPlgFneitoahVR8nhG1-x7y5a-LBixNWM7iAZSVHQ8ufabwFqKv4CYPDTa2yTv7nm0ff6wozoQKwFa01K535IkiRW5LLb7XQ0/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+022.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie, our amazing doula</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1Bh0ijtNWyWkpapsYBJf2HCsX4UYR7X9bEVhktOhK807JTmrvyYCAx0CCiKq8-Z-dATz0FNMjcs7o4upVWSaL80gJE1uTYbA6B8HB4XI5kxBhafm_ZgcWuUmvh5Hyq1nzQqaylAwwXs/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio1Bh0ijtNWyWkpapsYBJf2HCsX4UYR7X9bEVhktOhK807JTmrvyYCAx0CCiKq8-Z-dATz0FNMjcs7o4upVWSaL80gJE1uTYbA6B8HB4XI5kxBhafm_ZgcWuUmvh5Hyq1nzQqaylAwwXs/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+034.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nana's first glimpse</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkedV5bo5pBfU-D8Iaa7dqbl8BMbrPvEOVPOUTBABoDNxILtWt4tN3lfbrG6cARbkz89-4DZMezGGgNgDKBeMfYu5hQsFc0GkKP5iBwxhRVqqDrj0xz2Lz-lYueuOVVW1iaDssGzVTow4/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkedV5bo5pBfU-D8Iaa7dqbl8BMbrPvEOVPOUTBABoDNxILtWt4tN3lfbrG6cARbkz89-4DZMezGGgNgDKBeMfYu5hQsFc0GkKP5iBwxhRVqqDrj0xz2Lz-lYueuOVVW1iaDssGzVTow4/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+048.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa's first glimpse</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyUJwjJPKxRWRciDpyW1IcC1xmi9QEawkMRtwBaMqNpsCu8U_105IEBivazjLySBQVyKfviH32w1Se3Vq72DWINcw8xlUGKJWXkFIHVwLEDVPI8SBDWWL5DLxq2vYFuxbszOEWwqAoy0/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyUJwjJPKxRWRciDpyW1IcC1xmi9QEawkMRtwBaMqNpsCu8U_105IEBivazjLySBQVyKfviH32w1Se3Vq72DWINcw8xlUGKJWXkFIHVwLEDVPI8SBDWWL5DLxq2vYFuxbszOEWwqAoy0/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+040.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big brothers' first visit</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQqGrtrn2i-Ol36H0-t8mbgyqsXum69mODQlQJR7x2Dbqrp4mwnFxn1ygIb81uYruAe1kKPxVRhFD8Ols297pS7O3e6uJ9ZQpL6Xe7sYu6o9Eb_g9B6w11Z0zxIEQ-2boSBERdUq-J2c/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQqGrtrn2i-Ol36H0-t8mbgyqsXum69mODQlQJR7x2Dbqrp4mwnFxn1ygIb81uYruAe1kKPxVRhFD8Ols297pS7O3e6uJ9ZQpL6Xe7sYu6o9Eb_g9B6w11Z0zxIEQ-2boSBERdUq-J2c/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+054.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHbisYkkV_lzkERNI6M5DGGlldIYfI_EG-7e7ycmZppkJF0cby_eA3ZkV5AMbrRwPB0sy-q1d2nl9TklhmHRGGZ9SSuDzB2WtN-m6WCwlOGDaX2SJ6U_2tBL2-v2OE66ePJXc3wgeBMI/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+075.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHbisYkkV_lzkERNI6M5DGGlldIYfI_EG-7e7ycmZppkJF0cby_eA3ZkV5AMbrRwPB0sy-q1d2nl9TklhmHRGGZ9SSuDzB2WtN-m6WCwlOGDaX2SJ6U_2tBL2-v2OE66ePJXc3wgeBMI/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+075.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gigi's first glimpse</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjtmZgCMDaYAJ5AOmjRgK3EnKuGUyePezDjoSJOuant8URouBiBC_w3o2XgQGZnp3ENnz0uDPsgIaLrMgyzPrtLRbskfcVTD5YxmPH98PTUP0hyphenhyphen9KxPegPrxbfVLsELPka4MfleJGxMA/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjtmZgCMDaYAJ5AOmjRgK3EnKuGUyePezDjoSJOuant8URouBiBC_w3o2XgQGZnp3ENnz0uDPsgIaLrMgyzPrtLRbskfcVTD5YxmPH98PTUP0hyphenhyphen9KxPegPrxbfVLsELPka4MfleJGxMA/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+082.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ayden loves to give him kisses</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4CPXgXKRepo27jqBc2W4Nt2mE1Bx0hsgCjWDRWwtCYFTw2mwrAzxbysedkPWWHfyrvKP106CfECXxYUTP10XKbk1YQO6KiABySPQnfngMY283fdDJ4734tEWRhnd2fZZ8UYRzmq1yT8/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+083.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE4CPXgXKRepo27jqBc2W4Nt2mE1Bx0hsgCjWDRWwtCYFTw2mwrAzxbysedkPWWHfyrvKP106CfECXxYUTP10XKbk1YQO6KiABySPQnfngMY283fdDJ4734tEWRhnd2fZZ8UYRzmq1yT8/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+083.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ashton lovin' on him</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikz6Mp1xcxE3A8oC4DhBXAGdGxnb0Blq8BonOJl-bGp0ldCxEj7sp6-6Nefj4CZdAXcC75lR_GmfGPjQVDMzq-Ne__cYEzrS7uBiSwTCdjtquBPg7VjAvD8JoIoqi9QmFvug9DnniQ9w4/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikz6Mp1xcxE3A8oC4DhBXAGdGxnb0Blq8BonOJl-bGp0ldCxEj7sp6-6Nefj4CZdAXcC75lR_GmfGPjQVDMzq-Ne__cYEzrS7uBiSwTCdjtquBPg7VjAvD8JoIoqi9QmFvug9DnniQ9w4/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+086.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa's first glimpse</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjIN9gFt371Nj4TNlXASzcQP85VuoOwLW4JBxpMV-Z0MEU4SoHE0pVl8zyRcCEEN_s4AgMzyoOjxUR-8cDSOkw_AZq3gy3BZ1qF4Qz46taYl9s6qzu33XDxMn7sX4WuvBkyVv18VlYUII/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+091.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjIN9gFt371Nj4TNlXASzcQP85VuoOwLW4JBxpMV-Z0MEU4SoHE0pVl8zyRcCEEN_s4AgMzyoOjxUR-8cDSOkw_AZq3gy3BZ1qF4Qz46taYl9s6qzu33XDxMn7sX4WuvBkyVv18VlYUII/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+091.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grandma's first glimpse</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qMFlqHcC6XOPiUM9-nVyRz8voShxLETMEILDCIpg9VM4SEyyPo4g5E1b5JtpdVzULQoYWOKazNN41-M1mkK_DozsYAqmkSrH918rnZrNch-piSJz6B43BNEiZgZ6j7giglClyttgcrI/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+141.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qMFlqHcC6XOPiUM9-nVyRz8voShxLETMEILDCIpg9VM4SEyyPo4g5E1b5JtpdVzULQoYWOKazNN41-M1mkK_DozsYAqmkSrH918rnZrNch-piSJz6B43BNEiZgZ6j7giglClyttgcrI/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+141.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Such a pretty baby</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXKZ-VmGyDqmaHhYSX0wQXJr3O2HJQ3l1WGqAWdmuHZVaVssQqUdDJqeq1potd5mYvTEPvxuqP22SwZCxJloSaTIkGivhvjbOlq3QOBo04nnHT6kMM1amNxCh5DrSL2t3LriLbHA9Eio/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+148.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirXKZ-VmGyDqmaHhYSX0wQXJr3O2HJQ3l1WGqAWdmuHZVaVssQqUdDJqeq1potd5mYvTEPvxuqP22SwZCxJloSaTIkGivhvjbOlq3QOBo04nnHT6kMM1amNxCh5DrSL2t3LriLbHA9Eio/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+148.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The three Jeffrey's</td></tr>
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He is now 5 weeks old and is growing like a weed! I couldn't ever really say that with Ashton and Ayden because they were slow growers. Jeffrey on the other hand went from 7lbs 15oz at birth to about 11lbs at 4 weeks! We won't have any official numbers until next week but I bet he will be 12lbs by then! We got his one month pictures and the older boys' 3 year pictures taken this week so we will be showing those off in a couple weeks!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxtwrSD4hIv_Eams5IXz0e23vpg7An2pljFkTICwJMMXJ3wCHgWiBaJRjyQ5QseM4V6CZ6uBbjHivVlN56c8CqYOdkyK5-SFkUzJrWwBxxYEV6PYO2cYneD02J8aGEChHZzls22R7tEac/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxtwrSD4hIv_Eams5IXz0e23vpg7An2pljFkTICwJMMXJ3wCHgWiBaJRjyQ5QseM4V6CZ6uBbjHivVlN56c8CqYOdkyK5-SFkUzJrWwBxxYEV6PYO2cYneD02J8aGEChHZzls22R7tEac/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+162.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">first "real" diaper</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil08bMuALssfnUeIMGhKTQbXSCXTNUJZyJqJTsrORMfPAQVPH0yOgAw5Yc4F5VDXRhk6KlBHGu0Wu2QQWdcQCTVhbiK8ZlWysSrG2fEMqVaNQyW853myTGRTxZxILO6eenL18uYbKSjVY/s1600/June+2011+011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil08bMuALssfnUeIMGhKTQbXSCXTNUJZyJqJTsrORMfPAQVPH0yOgAw5Yc4F5VDXRhk6KlBHGu0Wu2QQWdcQCTVhbiK8ZlWysSrG2fEMqVaNQyW853myTGRTxZxILO6eenL18uYbKSjVY/s320/June+2011+011.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">first bath</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIErfuC5IQxBU6d6cmYqAjQAsUb5qgzTjJZMauLJl4m9F3DnYLlzgNPEq4FS2oSqg9CqjbzJawLBE0MY5rKPYpio4lHGf8__3KiwGlqqOzPFGwdh1O3AvuRx5ZXp48kVkocym9GQFzr3I/s1600/June+2011+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIErfuC5IQxBU6d6cmYqAjQAsUb5qgzTjJZMauLJl4m9F3DnYLlzgNPEq4FS2oSqg9CqjbzJawLBE0MY5rKPYpio4lHGf8__3KiwGlqqOzPFGwdh1O3AvuRx5ZXp48kVkocym9GQFzr3I/s320/June+2011+033.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 weeks old</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJugc9HmyLDjnG3jCgaHGahpBhQX8Vw5bTmvttjFrMacuGgfKvI8KF-vLzzdpPGq7pa-8KGMLClHjEklPlG9MMNcLRoiY6uDDMz1hzQrz6NGWzRgKGKbULzyqAa8Rac0kjBs0RieWmt4E/s1600/June+2011+063.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJugc9HmyLDjnG3jCgaHGahpBhQX8Vw5bTmvttjFrMacuGgfKvI8KF-vLzzdpPGq7pa-8KGMLClHjEklPlG9MMNcLRoiY6uDDMz1hzQrz6NGWzRgKGKbULzyqAa8Rac0kjBs0RieWmt4E/s320/June+2011+063.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>I plan to get back to blogging and update about our family and the growth and milestones of our new addition right away! Until then I will leave you with a few pictures of "our 3 boys"!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibzz_lkqJYRWVAgB-seBIFC2ilaG81ucqg28-6UNuNuAKtUT84xRu6P3ARsnuRPkv7_kRtzhnTgJzoWHYr4Qd6ZsEGhUuNKllOwc029A9oJn4bk51F_c0X-HZdA1QVPrTxUvlVkQSgL3w/s1600/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+169.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibzz_lkqJYRWVAgB-seBIFC2ilaG81ucqg28-6UNuNuAKtUT84xRu6P3ARsnuRPkv7_kRtzhnTgJzoWHYr4Qd6ZsEGhUuNKllOwc029A9oJn4bk51F_c0X-HZdA1QVPrTxUvlVkQSgL3w/s320/Jeffrey+III+-+may+2011+169.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguIpcjropDTj3hIXmWDl87BNK-m5irP-Zf-37i-7i4wM8QKokLqV8Ct9P2nCVjpQ_Dj71-MS1Sff0IhK1Juvti-NqHUA2VU_by2elCUHAzAkE3ctytpBqwUqONVz4Pe-LRyXtShcmoy0I/s1600/June+2011+036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguIpcjropDTj3hIXmWDl87BNK-m5irP-Zf-37i-7i4wM8QKokLqV8Ct9P2nCVjpQ_Dj71-MS1Sff0IhK1Juvti-NqHUA2VU_by2elCUHAzAkE3ctytpBqwUqONVz4Pe-LRyXtShcmoy0I/s320/June+2011+036.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVEeHFVA9uuHaWa-7_JGLX5xmvNEtGW5oL6VAYK-cPOkzTU4TjjQd1uLPaiB84T-ZclqsxStGSVwOTNdh08hotWVEkOMR6YvAthRwzE6a6hH2Rup7TLKTlYATY82gZprxnuOlHh3hqNA/s1600/June+2011+042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwVEeHFVA9uuHaWa-7_JGLX5xmvNEtGW5oL6VAYK-cPOkzTU4TjjQd1uLPaiB84T-ZclqsxStGSVwOTNdh08hotWVEkOMR6YvAthRwzE6a6hH2Rup7TLKTlYATY82gZprxnuOlHh3hqNA/s320/June+2011+042.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jeffrey's 1st walk</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NT89WVQR_02eP0-rHWz1cd_mohtFCelH-phhGtPDNJwAa4fkV6PwQTJbNDf0sund4_HqlL2crDpstxMHMv6U-15qkqjMdzdgyNUYVLbvNIJCghHNG0giP0K_3_bUaNiiYNWyGjt16s8/s1600/June+2011+054.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NT89WVQR_02eP0-rHWz1cd_mohtFCelH-phhGtPDNJwAa4fkV6PwQTJbNDf0sund4_HqlL2crDpstxMHMv6U-15qkqjMdzdgyNUYVLbvNIJCghHNG0giP0K_3_bUaNiiYNWyGjt16s8/s320/June+2011+054.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fun in the sprinkler</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8bWIdU7tu-pBSDUVtFkPK0rIb5-JCThIqCfcsHiYTkRyS7i6v_G9SDvHMqi9daABuCdY_PiOgP2O9QVfG4MMTuNzwT2c_91N8DWjIyeB90Rbz3i4dF0AU_y6FSpBVeooo92bZdFJa1Y/s1600/June+2011+055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ8bWIdU7tu-pBSDUVtFkPK0rIb5-JCThIqCfcsHiYTkRyS7i6v_G9SDvHMqi9daABuCdY_PiOgP2O9QVfG4MMTuNzwT2c_91N8DWjIyeB90Rbz3i4dF0AU_y6FSpBVeooo92bZdFJa1Y/s320/June+2011+055.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik61lC8NcOsz7G01JW1Kd4P2Bq_hMF_kcEZ9eAk1BywwjUwJ1uuwfODSa5UBoF56RN-rYnUTMw0cAnT71vdvnDm2xiDp9HPWs943EosY3R1fcWSz39us-6QfhmQ4crnTZnL8oi_Mpuefc/s1600/June+2011+059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik61lC8NcOsz7G01JW1Kd4P2Bq_hMF_kcEZ9eAk1BywwjUwJ1uuwfODSa5UBoF56RN-rYnUTMw0cAnT71vdvnDm2xiDp9HPWs943EosY3R1fcWSz39us-6QfhmQ4crnTZnL8oi_Mpuefc/s320/June+2011+059.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ayden is nursing his baby!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMHPmGTUHAyxhwAw4uV6FNa_z4k24iaNNy7IE6liiOJuk2Dwce5DiHZrSRofrDIYb6dKffuMnzpsbFRVUEbGLDhDOvFzzZAFNju1Co2KnIRithqrbN1T3TucXgkfcp-ZZyhUBrfXYU24/s1600/June+2011+069.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtMHPmGTUHAyxhwAw4uV6FNa_z4k24iaNNy7IE6liiOJuk2Dwce5DiHZrSRofrDIYb6dKffuMnzpsbFRVUEbGLDhDOvFzzZAFNju1Co2KnIRithqrbN1T3TucXgkfcp-ZZyhUBrfXYU24/s320/June+2011+069.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too cool! Ayden is starting a new sunglasses trend!</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPCyNTYCnAtmC8bQo6jjFR1dcdEX4hjgrbKFNZZf6qJGnqI9cKAuCqrSMScrNkrvsN_2UabQG0sdTUtY6hfG47j-pJsNPiJQq5-gHar9tK85BxsGg27Lu7ACzQg39ugqDfsANhI6Nt6o/s1600/June+2011+074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixPCyNTYCnAtmC8bQo6jjFR1dcdEX4hjgrbKFNZZf6qJGnqI9cKAuCqrSMScrNkrvsN_2UabQG0sdTUtY6hfG47j-pJsNPiJQq5-gHar9tK85BxsGg27Lu7ACzQg39ugqDfsANhI6Nt6o/s320/June+2011+074.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-40310826222385972922011-01-07T16:29:00.000-06:002011-01-07T16:29:03.799-06:00Best FriendsThey say it is better to have one really great friend that you know you can always count on than to have lots of casual friends. I don't know about you, but for me it is true! Lindsey Brennan and I met in 6th grade, right after I moved to Stillwater. During the two years of middle school we slowly become better friends and spent more and more time together. By 8th grade we were inseparable! Despite going through some tough years of "growing pains" and living in different towns and even different states we have managed to maintain a 19 year friendship that compares to none other. Even with marriages, children, school, and jobs we fit in a phone conversation (or two) every day. We are now getting the opportunity to share the special experience of a pregnancy at the same time. It is so nice to have someone to talk to about what is going on with your body and emotions who can really totally relate!<br />
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Since we moved from Oklahoma last year we have not been able to see Lindsey and her family too often. But, last month Lindsey, her husband, Michael, and her daughter, Bailey, all flew in to visit us for an extended weekend! We had a great time - although we didn't do much, but when you are with your best friend you don't need to do much! We went out to a favorite local Mexican restaurant one night for dinner. Afterward, Jeff and Michael had some "bonding time" at another little Mexican restaurants bar while the girls stayed home and ate ice cream! Sunday night we had reservations at Ruth's Chris. We were worried for a bit about being able to make it since we got a couple inches of snow that day. By evening the roads were clear and we were able to go out for a very nice dinner while the boys stayed home with Aunt Amy and Gandi. <br />
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Monday Jeff had to return to work. The girls went to the mall for a quick trip while Michael stayed home and took a nap with the boys! That evening I had to say a sad good bye to my best friend at the airport. The only thing that made this good bye not quite as sad was knowing that I was going to be taking my turn to fly back to OK to see her and her newborn baby only 6 short weeks later! I can't wait to make the trip which is now only 2 weeks away. She has not had her baby yet, but is due before I get there. I can't wait to see all of them again! <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Nothing beats the companionship of a best friend! I have been very blessed! I love you Lindsey!</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3W8O175-_ctCFpf_HS0OdFKyPJy4OX6YjmLOPyqTW0rOQNbm65n1O4W611tC75MzweGcALCn0Re_X2Hx9BMUb8TM_D0XcsJ5v90mAsW1-6BK_chCocAANRmi6bvzNkAXnyxCiUAChdRI/s1600/16w+5d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3W8O175-_ctCFpf_HS0OdFKyPJy4OX6YjmLOPyqTW0rOQNbm65n1O4W611tC75MzweGcALCn0Re_X2Hx9BMUb8TM_D0XcsJ5v90mAsW1-6BK_chCocAANRmi6bvzNkAXnyxCiUAChdRI/s320/16w+5d.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Of course I only ended up with one picture of us the whole weekend, but it is better than nothing! Lindsey was 34 weeks and I was 17 weeks.)</div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-30543960523561766742010-12-22T16:35:00.000-06:002010-12-22T16:35:53.587-06:00Ayden lost his granny glasses!YAYYYY! Tuesday, December 14th, 2010 was a long awaited day in our family! Since I first found out for sure that the boys both have ocular albinism and nystagmus I have been doing research. Shortly after this research began I learned of a great doctor who was preforming surgery on patients with nystagmus and getting amazing results. I contacted this doctor for a recommendation of a doctor closer to our home (which was still Oklahoma at that time). As luck would have it the only doctor he recommended was Dr. Tychsen from St. Louis. Weeks after receiving this recommendation Jeff was offered a job in St. Louis. We waited <strike>patiently</strike> for Jeff to start his job and for his insurance to kick in so we could make an appointment with Dr. T. Our first appointment was nearly a year ago, in January. He immediately confirmed all our thoughts on the boys vision and began talk of surgery! At our last appointment over the summer he decided it was time to schedule Ayden's surgery.<br />
Ayden has his best vision when his chin was down. This is where he can see out of his null point, which is his best point of vision for really focusing on something/someone. Doing this "granny looking of her glasses" move so much throughout the day was sure to wear on his neck and back muscles and could cause development/growth issues. This was Dr. T's reason for having Ayden go first. The first available date for surgery was December 14th and we immediately accepted.<br />
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<i>Fastforward to this past week</i>...<br />
I began to get nervous as the day approached. Not as nervous about the procedure itself as for EVERYTHING else involved with it. <br />
~ The boys were going to be separated for several hours and this is not normal for them (or me for that matter!)<br />
~ We were going to have to get Ayden up and not let him eat (Scary thought when the first thing he says when I come in his room in the morning is usually "eat"!)<br />
~ I was worried about how Ayden would separate from us to go to surgery (He doesn't just go with strangers!)<br />
~ Since he had never had any kind of drugs I worried how he would react to them.<br />
~ We were going to have to get Ayden up early. In doing this we hoped that Ayden would not cry and scream AND that Ashton would not hear us/Ayden and wake up also.<br />
~ Ashton was going to be spending several hours without Mommy, Daddy or Ayden. This was going to be a first and we weren't sure what to expect, even though he was in good hands with Nana and Papa!<br />
~ Well....I will stop here because my list of fears could go on (stupid pregnancy hormones!)<br />
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December 13th<br />
Nana and Papa got to the house about 5pm (the boys were still napping) and they got them up and played with them while I took a friend to the airport (more about that soon!). When Jeff and I got home Nana and Papa treated us all to a pizza dinner. Since we were getting up early Nana and Papa spent the night in our <strike>B & B</strike>, <strike>baby's nursery</strike>, guest room. We tried to go to bed early to prepare for our long day ahead.<br />
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December 14th<br />
Jeff and I got up about 6am and got ready. We got Ayden up at 7 and gave him one last drink of water before packing him up (still in his pj's and with his santa hat on) and we headed to St. Louis Children's hospital. This is about a 45 minute drive, made a little longer with STL rush hour traffic. We had to do one last set of measurements at Dr. T's office, just a couple floors down from the outpatient surgery floor. His office opened at 8:30 and we got there just in time to visit the restrooms before going in. They had us in and out quickly and we then went upstairs to check in at the outpatient surgery desk.<br />
We got all our instructions and were taken back to our room very quickly. Ayden was doing great throughout all of this. He was very clingy and wanted to be carried the entire time. We sat in his room talking, reading books, etc for quite awhile. Then we decided to visit the playroom down the hall. Adyen finally lightened up and enjoyed going from toy to toy not worrying about sharing with anyone (the room was empty!). We hadn't been there long when we saw Dr. T approaching. We talked to him a minute and our nurse, Ms. Peggy, arrived. We were shocked that they were running ahead of schedule and she told us that it was a "Christmas miracle!" We weren't going to argue! We got Ayden changed and they gave him some Tylonel for the pain and another drug to put him in a fog so that he would not put up such a fight when separating from us and getting prepped for surgery. A few minutes later the anesthesiologist and his team arrived. We visited a few minutes and then they allowed us to carry Ayden while they pushed his bed until we got to the "No Parent Zone". At that point Jeff asked Ayden for a kiss and Ayden responded with a timid "No". I thought the worst at this point and figured the meds had not kicked in! Jeff then asked again and Ayden kissed him and then he came to me and gave me a kiss. Then the anesthesiologist reached out and Ayden went to him. I then knew the meds had indeed worked!<br />
I then waited around in our room for a little bit, just in case, while Jeff went to the parking garage to find my lost phone in the car. It was about 10:20 at this time. After Jeff returned we went to the cafeteria and got some lunch about 11. We returned about 11:20 and the nurse came in to let us know the doctor had already been by to let us know it went well but, he would be back again. She told us the recovery room would call us back shortly. Within minutes they called us back to get him from his recovery nurse. Dr. T met us on our way out and told us it went great and he didn't think he would even need to see him for 3 months, he would just call and check on him in a week or so! Ayden was just starting to wake up when we got to him. He was very drowsy and didn't realize we were even there for a few minutes. <br />
After only a few minutes in the recovery room the nurse said he was ready to go back to his room so she pushed his bed while we walked beside Ayden. This was about noon. Once in the room Ms. Peggy came to check on us and went to fill Ayden's sippy with a first time treat - apple juice! They wanted him to have something with a little sugar in it. While she was gone Ayden really started to perk up and asked to go for a ride in his bed! This was when we knew he was going to be ok! A few minutes later he asked to go back down the hall to the play room! We couldn't believe it and we just smiled and laughed at how quickly a child can get over something that an adult would be complaining about for weeks! Ayden sucked the juice right down...luckily it stayed down too!<br />
In the morning when we were first brought to the room the nurse turned the tv on to a cartoon channel. Since the boys don't watch tv Ayden didn't really pay any attention to it. At one point a Christmas cartoon came on and he was pretty interested in Santa though. So, while drinking his apple juice he asked for the tv to be turned on. We were shocked but we obliged. We were thrilled to see that right there, only minutes out of the recovery room Ayden was no longer "looking over his granny glasses"! We could see right there that his null point was corrected and it brought tears to both of our eyes as Jeff and I watched Ayden. <br />
After coming around Ayden didn't like the iv and monitor he was attached to. Ms. Peggy said that if he was still doing good in 30 minutes she would take it off. About that time she introduced us to another nurse who would take care of us for a bit while she ate her lunch. I then got Ayden out of his bed and he sat on my lap while we read and cuddled! At about 12:30 this nurse came in to take out the iv, etc. As she was finishing up Ms. Peggy returned from lunch to check on Ayden. Since he was doing well they started giving us all of our instructions for going home and a dose of heavy pain reliever. We got Ayden dressed (while holding onto him tight since he was very dopey!) and gathered our stuff to go home. Daddy drove the car to meet us at the doors and we met our first real tears of the day. We aren't really sure what the problem was, but Ayden didn't want to get in his car seat. I got in the back seat with him to calm him down and Jeff was able to finish getting him fastened in. We were guessing the meds just had him a little confused with what was going on. We were on the highway shortly after 1pm and Ayden had a difficult time keeping his eyes open, but did stay awake the entire ride!<br />
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We returned home to Nana, Papa and Ashton. Ayden greeted Ashton with "knucks" and a kiss! It was very sweet! We let them play for a bit before putting them both down for a nap. Ayden has continued with this great recovery! We gave him over the counter pain medicine that evening and again the next morning and night. Even this was just precautionary, and he did great! They told us he might be a little off for a day or so and might be a little cranky for up to a week. We really didn't experience much of this at all. They also said the whites of his eyes would be red for 7-10 days. The day after the surgery they were a little red but it was gone by the next day. We do have to put an ointment in his eyes every night before bed for a week. He was been pretty tolerant of this though.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">These are some pictures taken after the boys woke up from nap the day of surgery.(Excuse Ayden's face, he was also eating his snack!) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJp7QUlP19F1nSv1ImdL9JJtVlJOYxUXKSye3fUtDFIb2aVZQsT4CUJ7hLAQLZfhOCItblpxjPzHi-qsONlamQUkugb1i9pfN3SfZsMkm8GVaaGMteT1MyZZhQTo10zLiILNEQE1B008/s1600/december+019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJp7QUlP19F1nSv1ImdL9JJtVlJOYxUXKSye3fUtDFIb2aVZQsT4CUJ7hLAQLZfhOCItblpxjPzHi-qsONlamQUkugb1i9pfN3SfZsMkm8GVaaGMteT1MyZZhQTo10zLiILNEQE1B008/s320/december+019.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZmYwNEfSOxYIRAyrwbu5Kkv39VD1x6kW-Z47_viVnX9oszwTQnnrH3ZlRiMD3FgODFrdq-3G7yriUnOkOMweCCW6_dnYbK1Gbv8ixnL1G-czVKaMoc1NzaHpRx2mt04nWCI_NFdXQfI/s1600/december+022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZmYwNEfSOxYIRAyrwbu5Kkv39VD1x6kW-Z47_viVnX9oszwTQnnrH3ZlRiMD3FgODFrdq-3G7yriUnOkOMweCCW6_dnYbK1Gbv8ixnL1G-czVKaMoc1NzaHpRx2mt04nWCI_NFdXQfI/s320/december+022.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LL88MzyncXqqhhhnyXoeRkeBOykglClef97rtD7vw__e5pIu45QA-WrRm9y4qGkSSpSdXSItE00a2K1i6_FeJr8pHYSNUnOnil6kZvdSUukCST-SzO2nitfFWLBukEFG4sjwVGGwZ4Y/s1600/december+017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LL88MzyncXqqhhhnyXoeRkeBOykglClef97rtD7vw__e5pIu45QA-WrRm9y4qGkSSpSdXSItE00a2K1i6_FeJr8pHYSNUnOnil6kZvdSUukCST-SzO2nitfFWLBukEFG4sjwVGGwZ4Y/s320/december+017.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mR1lcQrh892tVNKPqUIT00usPZFRTsZSBEeRDyYMcm7Yd9BQOOTRrxw4um6Bli6CIm-4XvdYZ0OEE3ttXF1_MvA2SUA25Da1qnIvZRiY6zff023hxewn2TW05xTHAP1fNQPZmPvMkWw/s1600/december+025.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mR1lcQrh892tVNKPqUIT00usPZFRTsZSBEeRDyYMcm7Yd9BQOOTRrxw4um6Bli6CIm-4XvdYZ0OEE3ttXF1_MvA2SUA25Da1qnIvZRiY6zff023hxewn2TW05xTHAP1fNQPZmPvMkWw/s320/december+025.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>In all, we are very pleased with the outcomes and now we anxiously await Ashton's surgery date! I video taped Ayden's eyes the day before surgery and plan to do a comparison video this week. Once I get this done and the video's downloaded I will post them here.<br />
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<span id="goog_13212056"></span><span id="goog_13212057"></span>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-19301237389913212602010-11-23T15:30:00.005-06:002011-06-28T16:05:34.536-05:00Introducing...Kitsmiller 3.0!!Well, we moved into a bigger house, got a huge dining room table and have Ashton and Ayden potty trained...so we decided it was time to add another baby to the mix!<br />
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Yes, some days I wonder if I am crazy and can't comprehend what life will be like in a few short months but, most days we are over the moon with excitement about adding another little one to our family! We liked the spring so much for the boys that we decided to do a repeat performance, and this babies due date is the day ofter the boys' due date. The due date is May 24th, making me 14 weeks today.<br />
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We were a little scared of having a total repeat performance of last time with a surprise second baby so we made sure to let our new doctor know that we wanted an ultra sound as soon as possible. I had my first appointment with ultrasound at 5 weeks and 6 days and we saw one healthy beautiful <strike>bean</strike> baby. Of course, we were still not 100% convinced, and we loved getting a picture of our little one, so we had another ultra sound at 10 weeks 6 days and again, we saw one healthy beautiful baby measuring about 4 days ahead even!<br />
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So, I had my third appointment Monday at 13 weeks 6 days and we saw this amazing site:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>< picture removed ></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>This u/s picture I used from the internet was attracting way too much traffic to my blog and I thought it might be for the wrong reasons so I have removed it! :)</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Looks like we will remain on Team Blue!</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div>OK, so I confess that this is not the actual picture from our ultrasound! :) But, this is pretty much what we saw! The doctor had just finished telling me that we probably wouldn't see anything until next month. I told him to go ahead and take a peek for me! He was shocked that at 13 weeks and 6 days the sex was so...obvious! He told me to tell Jeff that he makes some big "penised" boys! We were both so in shock that he forgot to take a picture of the ultrasound! Afterward, I was suppose to pee in a cup and I was so distracted that I just sat right there beside the cup and peed, forgetting all about what I was suppose to be doing! Oh, well! They'll just have to wait until next month!<br />
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So far I have been feeling pretty good. Mostly just tired and unmotivated...<i>wait</i>...maybe that is because I have two 2.5 year old boys to take care of every day! :) I did feel bad pretty much all day and all night from about weeks 6-9. Although I never actually got sick. After that I had a few weeks of needing to eat regular snacks or I would feel nauseous. Now, I am feeling great and looking forward to an uneventful second trimester.<br />
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I have a great doctor who is very supportive of my desire to have a vaginal birth after Cesarean section (vbac). I want this experience to be different than the (necessary) medical interventions required with the boys' birth. I had high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia, and baby A was breech. I really want a very natural birth experience this time - hopefully my body and the baby cooperate!<br />
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So far I have gained about 4 pounds, but I just look like I ate too many doughnuts (or maybe ice cream in my case!). It is all in my belly though. Strangers still can't recognize I am pregnant but that didn't happen until about 18 weeks with the boys. Hopefully, I start rounding out soon so that I actually look pregnant.<br />
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I will continue to update about me and the baby here on our blog. Speaking of which, I guess we will be changing the name soon! ;)Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-72947974363330509332010-11-09T15:45:00.000-06:002010-11-09T15:45:34.336-06:00Two...and a HALF!I am getting caught up! :) About two weeks ago, on Friday, October 22nd we celebrated the boys' half birthday. Since they already have to share a birthday I thought we would go out of our way to celebrate this halfway milestone to make them feel a little more special. Right now they just think it is fun, as they get older I think they may appreciate it in a different way.<br />
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We spent the morning making a pumpkin pound cake together. I don't let them help me in the kitchen too much so this was a real treat for all three of us. They did pretty well, even with all the temptations! It was really hard for them to wait to try the cake until daddy got home, but they did! We ate one of their favorites for dinner, Sloppy Joes in a Biscuit Bowl and after dinner they each got a half a cake and we sang "Happy Half Birthday". It was a great ending to a great day! Ashton and Ayden both now tell people that they are "two half"! :)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4uPMEQolYJ7tUMWYLDh3biYDtB4Pz5ctqbtSIfQqjdFdC00LBH2osxPDMJByRtWXdpOnI_cOiTNLcvPonbU8V7Z-PkDS69wm7Wduc5fSSNAhuQN3oAETsF_ijn595SOJZBKx9viosGI4/s1600/october+123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4uPMEQolYJ7tUMWYLDh3biYDtB4Pz5ctqbtSIfQqjdFdC00LBH2osxPDMJByRtWXdpOnI_cOiTNLcvPonbU8V7Z-PkDS69wm7Wduc5fSSNAhuQN3oAETsF_ijn595SOJZBKx9viosGI4/s320/october+123.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Mommy's little bakers</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hnXAjy_b0K9pH0PbnF-yjpHNKK6rY1kHjfLkje3_rZArT_14ckoy7sJ1xH7hUbHPtKP_0RWDEC776iUips2BN9sjSXIkysIReCMUAjHZInges_9ao3APryPP-HoVdqA2m-diwIlaCCE/s1600/october+126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hnXAjy_b0K9pH0PbnF-yjpHNKK6rY1kHjfLkje3_rZArT_14ckoy7sJ1xH7hUbHPtKP_0RWDEC776iUips2BN9sjSXIkysIReCMUAjHZInges_9ao3APryPP-HoVdqA2m-diwIlaCCE/s320/october+126.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Two pumpkin pound cakes (one went in the freezer for <strike>mommy</strike> later)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTSe_98exJKpWbhkBdwUoBxPwhtgjEqcgNdrQWfyAgtKz-rGt-39b2njwxdP3OWewTbxA0fsxzvBY2_ClIgGXo7Ta7YM-OMLaQHmtiVopL4det9gC4fDGYtjxigoR9Ow3CNVtJ-VQFOg/s1600/october+160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxTSe_98exJKpWbhkBdwUoBxPwhtgjEqcgNdrQWfyAgtKz-rGt-39b2njwxdP3OWewTbxA0fsxzvBY2_ClIgGXo7Ta7YM-OMLaQHmtiVopL4det9gC4fDGYtjxigoR9Ow3CNVtJ-VQFOg/s320/october+160.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Ashton's cake</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO5O_eEa6DaF5nJKf7z61f4BAE7ExTNkDDhlxixUji_oxmY8XiXKG5BCB0r8EVTs7xY0_kPBQUaAO634QyxakLy4GqAexGLT8ZxYFBCaeGkmLcaY8ebd1PyZZF4S6C-2CtTavK5DWdMqw/s1600/october+162.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO5O_eEa6DaF5nJKf7z61f4BAE7ExTNkDDhlxixUji_oxmY8XiXKG5BCB0r8EVTs7xY0_kPBQUaAO634QyxakLy4GqAexGLT8ZxYFBCaeGkmLcaY8ebd1PyZZF4S6C-2CtTavK5DWdMqw/s320/october+162.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Ayden's cake</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0eSKFpKuQFukMHL_f4FbRX_nUxK1tOGWr9O9jYKzQOEdXdhwwB0pa9ktzn8rskJtRv4by5a2cWbJfWtujoah1EAP_OuevAcsL-b6Y8O2ARnKSUD2BVevzoxvAgJXFhBDFYslCCGimtNQ/s1600/october+166.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0eSKFpKuQFukMHL_f4FbRX_nUxK1tOGWr9O9jYKzQOEdXdhwwB0pa9ktzn8rskJtRv4by5a2cWbJfWtujoah1EAP_OuevAcsL-b6Y8O2ARnKSUD2BVevzoxvAgJXFhBDFYslCCGimtNQ/s320/october+166.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ashton enjoying his cake!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lrO9Rrf-MqKImCQmjF5NVf_HNvmcX_WzeFdHXmC03V79qWqzpgExFXHqC49bjq_os6goVnTO4HLuh0tJggkV2HyNSrXguRTRZI4VAIXNDGEXbJKOiDX1M1A_p_KQq6Kilvy-TPdFNe8/s1600/october+172.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7lrO9Rrf-MqKImCQmjF5NVf_HNvmcX_WzeFdHXmC03V79qWqzpgExFXHqC49bjq_os6goVnTO4HLuh0tJggkV2HyNSrXguRTRZI4VAIXNDGEXbJKOiDX1M1A_p_KQq6Kilvy-TPdFNe8/s320/october+172.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Ayden enjoying his cake!</div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-74496120457767076962010-11-09T15:01:00.000-06:002010-11-09T15:01:49.177-06:00Halloween 2010This stage/age has proven to be just as exciting as the last! (Ok, maybe a little more!) Ashton and Ayden are now to the age where they are really able to understand and get into the holidays! <br />
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They weren't really into picking out a costume so I decided, kind of at the last minute, to dress them as a pair of dice. It turned out great and, as always, they looked incredibly cute!<br />
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We first wore the costumes to school on Wednesday. It was a good practice or dress rehearsal for them! Ayden kept saying "NO LIKE!" and trying to take the box off at first. A little sweet talking from mommy got him to leave it on for a little while though! ;)<br />
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Friday night we went to Aunt Amy's church for Trunk or Treat. Nanny and Papa met us there and the boys had a great time filling their pumpkins with treats. Once home we let them have some of the treats including graham crackers and a rice krispie treat. For these boys who don't get much sugar this was enough to keep them talking and giggling in their cribs for more than an hour past their bedtime!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERIBLo3QGVSQv9j_zmyTVC7BqEAau1ASbzC7OHNtW1suLBUkEFHnUZyB8LjmiRjc8QPfPm0uSU6pqlft5B-d0o0XbK0afZWNI7iv8MHTfvJ7i-3sJBKOET3rZlCZHazCMFcMlg1Vy8zo/s1600/october+246.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiERIBLo3QGVSQv9j_zmyTVC7BqEAau1ASbzC7OHNtW1suLBUkEFHnUZyB8LjmiRjc8QPfPm0uSU6pqlft5B-d0o0XbK0afZWNI7iv8MHTfvJ7i-3sJBKOET3rZlCZHazCMFcMlg1Vy8zo/s320/october+246.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlRAq4pHvU77hqHmhu499nMDboojL1cuXV0Y77MnzYl-VDrH6R6Hki4NmugDZ-s6hnV4LRp9swnwgnlalr7zoQ1sKixU9hxX9tAMki22kzlr4vwcIDIletBQ9rAKQP5kW6J9lt1xItGE/s1600/october+245.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhlRAq4pHvU77hqHmhu499nMDboojL1cuXV0Y77MnzYl-VDrH6R6Hki4NmugDZ-s6hnV4LRp9swnwgnlalr7zoQ1sKixU9hxX9tAMki22kzlr4vwcIDIletBQ9rAKQP5kW6J9lt1xItGE/s320/october+245.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinB9E9D_K5QVm7J2VgmLtrsIR_qp9lxwcxrm3zcm1dd8sWyJHQmdZW19bCQTHE0L6BiIB8j5CkwPMojb9o8IhYpXZFFPMQYaxOD8iIzdG8tm7WcG6pMkYlXYladitGEDXLGblN42rsMnM/s1600/october+247.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinB9E9D_K5QVm7J2VgmLtrsIR_qp9lxwcxrm3zcm1dd8sWyJHQmdZW19bCQTHE0L6BiIB8j5CkwPMojb9o8IhYpXZFFPMQYaxOD8iIzdG8tm7WcG6pMkYlXYladitGEDXLGblN42rsMnM/s320/october+247.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUTL-g1BAnaEQeSsAIt_tfWRyzqrnV0hYBIYSsYgssmBitwY6AtRN2Ty-9zdqAl-gep-qrcfIXIEZn740DGlKfpO2Z-MxdC5LjJGHLY5Q7Wii2gD7yLcGav7igUkj4jY1i3zmCSuBXcY/s1600/october+243.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLUTL-g1BAnaEQeSsAIt_tfWRyzqrnV0hYBIYSsYgssmBitwY6AtRN2Ty-9zdqAl-gep-qrcfIXIEZn740DGlKfpO2Z-MxdC5LjJGHLY5Q7Wii2gD7yLcGav7igUkj4jY1i3zmCSuBXcY/s320/october+243.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Sunday we decided we would take the boys to a few houses on our street to keep alive the nastagalia of Halloween. We were disappointed to find that very few houses in our 1,400 home neighborhood with lots of kids, were passing out candy! We ended up going further than we intended around the neighborhood, but the boys had a blast! Ayden, who is generally talkative, was pretty silent and was putting on his shy act all evening. Ashton was talking up a storm though! He said "trick or treat" and "thank you" at every house. After going to a couple houses Ashton really had the idea and as soon as he got his treat he would say "another house!". We would have to remind him to say thank you but he still sometimes said "another house"! It was a little embarrassing, but very cute too! We returned home to a pot of hot chicken enchilada soup on the stove top! But, the boys wanted to check out their "treats". Jeff let them split a fun size kit kat and they were in heaven - their first experience with candy! After dinner we let them split one more of these kit kats. So, they each had the equivalent of one fun size candy bar by the end of the evening. Yes, again we had some talkative toddlers when bedtime came. We listened to them chatter and giggle until long past their bedtime again! I think it was a combination of excitement and sugar! It was a memorable Halloween for sure!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPq72hlwaTx6gaLgubVRPvo8N210_hxE77vM0CaeT8RaD5xsthmwse5Bjq6-c1j0R9f9ek7RPlOrquQQLk_QDMTAtZ9a5rDaBqpi6WrsCc5OHx5It88q6iQUmt0JftgkWpNhT6iE5OaLE/s1600/october+230.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPq72hlwaTx6gaLgubVRPvo8N210_hxE77vM0CaeT8RaD5xsthmwse5Bjq6-c1j0R9f9ek7RPlOrquQQLk_QDMTAtZ9a5rDaBqpi6WrsCc5OHx5It88q6iQUmt0JftgkWpNhT6iE5OaLE/s320/october+230.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-84192513438815019302010-11-04T15:04:00.000-05:002010-11-04T15:04:10.454-05:00Better late than never...2010 Family Pictures!So, obviously I am still behind from our big summer of looking at houses and moving! But, I didn't want to leave out these important pictures since this blog is also a sort of baby/scrap book for the boys growing up!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">We had these pictures taken in downtown St. Louis in June, just after the boys turned 2.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_CsS0ZCVe-ucrMEMqhdje4LuJREcEm4JlVK2LpjmvUrJRmD1K2f2go43f7tC2EHULU31yWmxx-5-0E7xUjyZbvIIrnLD8RsCnjk_95F3TK71NLLNF-AhME0kO3r7c3bzn5sKj24tbMcQ/s1600/2+year+and+family+pics+130.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_CsS0ZCVe-ucrMEMqhdje4LuJREcEm4JlVK2LpjmvUrJRmD1K2f2go43f7tC2EHULU31yWmxx-5-0E7xUjyZbvIIrnLD8RsCnjk_95F3TK71NLLNF-AhME0kO3r7c3bzn5sKj24tbMcQ/s320/2+year+and+family+pics+130.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-40099602338049792722010-09-24T15:20:00.000-05:002010-09-24T15:20:18.386-05:00286 days!!!or 9.5 months! This is how long our family was living apart and/or living in someone else's home. It was a long time...too long! But we made it through and after about a month in our new house we are settling in nicely.<br />
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Jeff started his new job in St. Louis the first of November. We finally got an offer on our house in April with a closing date near the end of May. A long story short, the contract was contingent on the buyers divorce and that ended up being a big mess! In the end we didn't close until the middle of June. Jeff and I spent every weekend for many weeks looking for just the right house. We were very picky! In the end it all worked out and we were able to get our favorite house out of the 50+ that we looked at!<br />
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We are now living just outside St. Louis. Our house has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a two car garage. We have two living rooms on the main level so we have turned one into a big playroom for the boys! They LOVE it! We also have a basement that is mostly finished. The finished portion includes a large living area, a storage closet, an office and a bar area. The unfinished portion includes the laundry area and lots of space and storage. We are hoping one day to put in another bedroom and a bathroom. We have a great lawn with amazing green grass and a fence. It has has lots of landscaping, a storage shed, a wood swing set and a wood gazebo. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i>Just a sneak peek! </i></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAWTs1xTdVUXx5BkzCYeoUdzbjGdM-fimfZ0jGjjX_3IYPLugVGbGYFODrEWfTdOQIqUJPGM04yG_bXua51d4U5Dx0IEVz6ESVC9dtLgvpx7EDs1yyhZyBligTUDLIWAOoLJb1XTIDnyU/s320/new+house+033.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">backyard - sorry not a great view</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57FWEoVidtmySqyTuV2LCNIOmUP8JylkMGzj8vei7NUkt2kfBs9P4uOt6wWOjIajVQzLEO6UVL9u0f0m68CiFFFH_zzEmkwKxdG-6WJblRfS5HGY37nYxbpgbw1G8rEcF027b_aXyPdY/s320/august+and+september+104.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">bar area in basement - still needs some work</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3m9iPf7t433qpuHFmTyM-soC-ogTlkPt8vfASQ7xIh_I_3bbFUEd-XWILGC-E0URkAi0y4juHDR3zaqyWj9QY8hzIgRP_z_ByY1qN14ENdrV0TpZ-UQ_UZKuQ2GrTKaFQJCfaBNmfhI/s320/august+and+september+120.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">half of boys' playroom - lots of work left to do here too!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLO4zRIUmQOYE5lYTSto3QADcpRCVj2macnX6oVtpVQeTk8eshxtCjRFk523LxTmfQVlSiSGq6ycTMZ51gXtgUDF-itfiJHDOCCIC7Hm5YOQkgu2QXbtolJIakzf9M9fBy00HlCYkJ44/s320/august+and+september+131.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">part of the living room and looking into the kitchen - we got some new furniture, but we are waiting on the rest</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7PBQZVxDZTKYcHHsacHlucT5rwE76koI9jtOMpo0opsdibIUtnwEdcCLPsHdkMMfGdvCPY8WIe4cywOgBxxiXKMSX8AVgLO2umYzebhb9x2DbSQDJu3F_mJoKwfJQLMPqamB6VwK0HU/s320/august+and+september+106.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">our living room in the basement - the open door on the right is the office the door on the left is the closet, the unfinished portion is behind the wall on the left</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAWTs1xTdVUXx5BkzCYeoUdzbjGdM-fimfZ0jGjjX_3IYPLugVGbGYFODrEWfTdOQIqUJPGM04yG_bXua51d4U5Dx0IEVz6ESVC9dtLgvpx7EDs1yyhZyBligTUDLIWAOoLJb1XTIDnyU/s1600/new+house+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57FWEoVidtmySqyTuV2LCNIOmUP8JylkMGzj8vei7NUkt2kfBs9P4uOt6wWOjIajVQzLEO6UVL9u0f0m68CiFFFH_zzEmkwKxdG-6WJblRfS5HGY37nYxbpgbw1G8rEcF027b_aXyPdY/s1600/august+and+september+104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM3m9iPf7t433qpuHFmTyM-soC-ogTlkPt8vfASQ7xIh_I_3bbFUEd-XWILGC-E0URkAi0y4juHDR3zaqyWj9QY8hzIgRP_z_ByY1qN14ENdrV0TpZ-UQ_UZKuQ2GrTKaFQJCfaBNmfhI/s1600/august+and+september+120.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHLO4zRIUmQOYE5lYTSto3QADcpRCVj2macnX6oVtpVQeTk8eshxtCjRFk523LxTmfQVlSiSGq6ycTMZ51gXtgUDF-itfiJHDOCCIC7Hm5YOQkgu2QXbtolJIakzf9M9fBy00HlCYkJ44/s1600/august+and+september+131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl7PBQZVxDZTKYcHHsacHlucT5rwE76koI9jtOMpo0opsdibIUtnwEdcCLPsHdkMMfGdvCPY8WIe4cywOgBxxiXKMSX8AVgLO2umYzebhb9x2DbSQDJu3F_mJoKwfJQLMPqamB6VwK0HU/s1600/august+and+september+106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
For the first time since being married we have a mature yard! We built our last home and has one dinky little tree and all new landscaping. This mature yard require a lot more time and attention! We moved in the house in August and the yard was already beginning to look like fall with all the tree limbs, leaves and acorns that fall off on a daily basis. Some of the flower beds were overgrown and lots of ivy was taking over the gazebo and surrounding flower beds and tress. We have began the process of trimming and thinning but it will be awhile before we get things the way we want them!<br />
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We have lots of things we want to do to this house. Nothing <i>has</i> to be done though, which is nice. We have things we want to do to update the house to make it more modern and more our style. We have some furniture ordered that will be here in a few weeks. I will have to update when we have painted, hung pictures, and have our new furniture delivered.Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-7384118267244806572010-07-12T14:46:00.006-05:002010-09-15T15:20:29.571-05:00Pre potty training to trained at 26 months!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOg-F9WF3EtfsQCYpDmpD9m3LzvW2xfKsXFGA8ELsD2x76SPUz7XIjLUjxYCSobtJFeGKFDNr7848T9RCVNUz-otniKMuekeY41xbvugMV9_JbVXA1OYybnFKvz7yavF5Ht1GKk6wkLO8/s1600/aug.+2010+016.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOg-F9WF3EtfsQCYpDmpD9m3LzvW2xfKsXFGA8ELsD2x76SPUz7XIjLUjxYCSobtJFeGKFDNr7848T9RCVNUz-otniKMuekeY41xbvugMV9_JbVXA1OYybnFKvz7yavF5Ht1GKk6wkLO8/s320/aug.+2010+016.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517236739117557570" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfmhB1k_5_QshviehrMeijtQ81EbMjxVe03u8nbmJIMjjul0-nNx7X2-fVikHkxJZYab4jWxpl9cuXdy6zeUE-JwkL-mvX5Gy4S8GJjPe1oILn4qq5t6qA6aGIsnfQpbTgFYm15YlgfHg/s1600/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+072.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfmhB1k_5_QshviehrMeijtQ81EbMjxVe03u8nbmJIMjjul0-nNx7X2-fVikHkxJZYab4jWxpl9cuXdy6zeUE-JwkL-mvX5Gy4S8GJjPe1oILn4qq5t6qA6aGIsnfQpbTgFYm15YlgfHg/s320/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+072.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517235449017157666" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEB3CLjoLfJP8mLr7LaLBGHb4sqwLFFgAFzcKIcgoAayBzg1BOObnrWHoaLvhmQRTKNA2qpbyqFloA8b9FOAphVNp6EHBI6KYxklDbea3IBnG02abhyk840kNe01Pndgq4HjdP0PRSr5w/s1600/26th+month+134.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEB3CLjoLfJP8mLr7LaLBGHb4sqwLFFgAFzcKIcgoAayBzg1BOObnrWHoaLvhmQRTKNA2qpbyqFloA8b9FOAphVNp6EHBI6KYxklDbea3IBnG02abhyk840kNe01Pndgq4HjdP0PRSr5w/s320/26th+month+134.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517235441952933554" border="0" /></a><br />Yes, this is a little late (the boys are now almost 29 months) and yes, I have not blogged in TWO months! That is my new record! BUT, I do have a ton of excuses! I will share them in my next post...whenever that happens! :)<br /><br />I will start with a little background information. I began cloth diapering Ashton and Ayden when they were 9 months old. A few months later I first learned about Elimination Control (EC). This is in short potty training a baby from birth using their natural patterns and being in tune with their bodily cues. I thought it was a great idea and I could at least use some of the ideas on my now one year olds. We bought them their first potty around their birthday and started sitting them on it by 15 months. We did have several occasions of using the potty as well! Our long and drawn out moving process started when the boys were 18 months and we did not offer them a potty to sit on too often. Their language skills were still a little behind so they were not verbalizing in any way that they needed to go to the bathroom at this time.<br /><br />Since I wasn't able to do EC like I really would have like with staying with my parents and Jeff's parents and not having a place for our potty or a big potty just for them, I made due. I decided I would do what I called "pre potty training". I was not strict about this, I did not push them, I did not offer any rewards. I didn't even use Pull-ups or training pants! What I did do: I gave them a sign for going pee pee (ASL sign), I discussed most diaper changes including what was in the diaper. Ashton and Ayden both started peeing as soon as they stepped foot in the bathtub around this 18 month mark. I stated "You're going pee pee! Pee pee goes in the potty." every time they peed in the bathtub. While saying this I also did the sign for pee. I continued to use cloth diapers, except overnight. A lot of cloth diapered babies potty train earlier because they can usually feel the wetness more so than with the supersoaker disposable diapers of today. Around 24 months I began getting out the one potty we had with us at my in laws house. As the weeks passed I starting offering them the potty more often until by 25 months they were sitting on it at every diaper change. Now, don't get me wrong! They were NOT actually DOING anything on the potty except maybe 25% of the time. But, this slowly increased over the next couple of weeks until before I knew it they were dry nearly every diaper change and peed on the potty when I took them. They even started telling me when they needed to pee. Pooping was going slower, just a few random occurrences. When they DID pee I sang a song I had made up that celebrated this victory. Because of the tight quarters the boys usually had peed on the potty in their room or the living room so the pot had to be carried to the big potty to be dumped. The boys loved to "help" me carry the pot to the bathroom and dump the pee. This was their "reward" I suppose! By the end of June (26 months) they were staying dry even when we left the house to go to the store, park, or out to eat. It was not fun to take a side snapping cloth diaper off of a toddler in a bathroom stall, have him pee and then try to put the diaper back on said STANDING toddlers because they hate public changing tables!<br />The end of June I also bought our first package of underwear from BabyGap. They were so cute! But, they really meant nothing to the boys! Before the underwear was purchased Ashton was doing better about staying dry than Ayden. After the purchase, Ayden started doing better and Ashton had a slight relapse due to a pooping incident on the toilet that got him a little scared. We started to put the underwear on around the house or go naked and had very few accidents. If they did start to pee they would stop it and let us know and were then able to hold it until we made it to the potty.<br />We went to a park around this same time that had a family bathroom with a toddler size potty in it. The boys were not sure what to think and both refused to sit on it. I then went to plan B and had them each stand to pee like big boys and wa-la!...they went! They loved standing like big boys and have hardly looked back since! I now have to hold them over our big potty at home to pee since they are still too short to actually stand at the toilet! Glad we only bought one potty for $1 at the tmoms garage sale!<br />When we were outside to play and they told me they had to go I just pulled down their pants and let them go. After the first time I did this, Ashton later went in the house and said pee pee and got ready to do it right there on the floor! I decided I had to set some boundaries! After that we only went pee under the tree. Ashton does not pee as often as Ayden and would often not go in the morning before we would leave for our morning outing. This would freak me out that he was going to have an accident so anytime he wouldn't pee before we left I offered for him to pee when we got outside to get in the car. Of course, this worked every time! No, I don't want my child requesting to pee outside and he no longer does. But, I needed him to go and there was a new novelty to peeing outside and it got us through that phase!<br />My mother in law decided to get us a package of Pull Ups after I told her that they seemed ready to go without a diaper in public but that I was a little nervous. We used the first Pull-Up the weekend of the 4th of July. When we got home they were dry. We haven't used them since except for a couple rides in the car that were over an hour. We have not used diapers, expect for nap and night time, since that first week in July. We have had only a hand full of accidents in the 2.5 months since they have been fully trained. Pooping is occurring on the potty more often, especially for Ashton. Ashton and Ayden have always done their pooping while in their crib when they wake up in the morning and when they wake up from nap. Since they still wear a diaper to bed and they are still sleeping in their cribs I am not going to push this. They don't poop in their underwear so it's not too big of a concern! I think this is morning of a timing issue than an inability issue.<br />The boys love their "unders" and always remind me "no pee pee in unders" when we put them on. I do have a complaint about them though! It is hard to find underwear in a size 2! :) Going out has not been quite as big of a deal as I had imagined. Or, maybe it's just that I have gotten use to it! We now have to visit EVERY public bathroom we pass! Did I mention I hate public restrooms?! One time we went out to eat with Nana and Papa and each boy visited the bathroom no less than 5 times in the hour or so we were there! Most outings aren't that bad, but we do have to go at least once almost everywhere we go. Sometimes they see a door to the employee area or an emergency exit and say they need to go!<br /><br />I wanted to write about our potty training journey for me to remember in the years to come and also for the boys to read about when they are older. But, I have had a lot of questions about how I got twin boys potty trained so early and thought something we did may help others! Since over two months have passed I am sure I forgot some facts but hopefully something in here can help someone!Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-6165664279755617262010-07-09T14:34:00.003-05:002010-07-09T15:16:33.568-05:00Daddy's Boys<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86-tUkzJ5oot4WZHtk2NpZOAIS0v7_M-NbYAsfJaZM3Z4bdTe-xL78B8dGXU9azpHeRK9U2hGOOqgMkQ7jLYf2PSwyuBbnXasnJJUvJWUE12tIV8el-GuwLLek2K_6LXkwE6tH5eno-k/s1600/2+year+and+family+pics+085.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi86-tUkzJ5oot4WZHtk2NpZOAIS0v7_M-NbYAsfJaZM3Z4bdTe-xL78B8dGXU9azpHeRK9U2hGOOqgMkQ7jLYf2PSwyuBbnXasnJJUvJWUE12tIV8el-GuwLLek2K_6LXkwE6tH5eno-k/s320/2+year+and+family+pics+085.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492002848589447986" border="0" /></a><br />As much as I hate to admit it my boys are growing up. I guess a part of that includes being much more attached to their Daddy! Trust me, I am not complaining! It is really nice, although a little sad too.<br />The other day I left the boys (all 3 of them), just before lunch. As I kissed Ayden he just waved and sad "Bye, bye". Ashton kissed me and just watched me as if to say "Are you really leaving...or are we just playing a game?!" In the end, there was not one tear shed and Daddy fed them lunch and put them down for a nap all on his own. I didn't get home until after nap. Then, I was only home for about an hour before I left again to go out with some other moms. Daddy then took care of dinner, baths and bedtime all on this own! AND, to top it off...this was the first night that they boys have gone to bed without having any "Mommy's milk"! This was a huge deal at our house! BUT, you better not think for a moment that this continued the following nights! ;)<br />Other new trends include crying for Daddy when he leaves, wanting to sit or cuddle with Daddy, wanting Daddy to take them to the bathroom and requesting Daddy to read a story before bedtime. I guess the strong preference for Mommy would have to end at some point, but I love watching the boys interact with their Daddy.Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-66489559440905976412010-06-22T14:56:00.009-05:002010-06-23T16:08:53.721-05:00Growing up TOO quickly!!Sorry I have been kinda MIA lately! We have been SOOOO busy! This is such a contrast from the last two summers! Of course, we are busy with the home search, more about that later! BUT, we have been busy going and doing, shopping and playing, and just plain enjoying summer and being TWO! We are lucky if we stay home one day a week. We have been going to parks, story times, playdates, various shopping trips for groceries, freebies, crafting supplies, etc.<br /><br />The boys are changing so much! They are SO smart! They remember EVERYTHING! This can be both a blessing and a curse! They are talking so much now! Ayden regularly combines two words and Ashton is right behind him. Both boys are trying to potty train! I wasn't going to push the issue until we were moved, but they had other ideas I guess. Ashton was going 2-3 times a day for about 2 weeks until last week when it started to taper off. Last week Ayden started going about twice a day and is now up to 4-6 times a day. Last week we bought some "big boy unders" and I think that is what helped him. SO, I let him wear them all day yesterday, except nap time and he did great! We still only have one potty and I am not pushing the issue, just getting them comfortable with the potty, etc. I think they are ready though so we will work a little harder once we get settled.<br />They have so many new interests lately! Jada (our dog) is high on the list! They also love their train set and the new airplanes Daddy brought home last weekend. The are getting more curious about numbers, letters and colors. They love to cuddle! They do LOTS of pretend play! This usually involves cooking. The other day they even pretended to give an imaginary Papa a drink! They also love to be in the kitchen with me and watch me cook. I always have to turn the oven light on so they can see what is in there.<br />They love to play in the water hose (aka: "hoa") and the splash pads! Last year they were terrified of these! It is so much fun to see them have so much fun in the water. I have a lot of childhood memories of my sister and I playing in the hose/sprinklers.<br /><br /><br />OK, now, about our never ending moving process...<br />On a positive note, our house in Oklahoma has finally closed!!!<br /><br />Now we are faced with the daunting task of finding something in our budget, within certain school districts, with the square footage and features on our long list of must haves! Let me tell you, it has been a full time job! We have been to see about 40 homes and have looked at several hundred online. It started out as fun and exciting and has turned into a job I dread! I even have dreams/nightmares about homes!<br />I think we have our search narrowed down to 5 homes. We are going to go look at these homes on Saturday. Hopefully we will be ready to make an offer on something soon!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIWQ0BKmsHwkQ860ZiriTBXluUEAj-FZdrc9vp8r7jkOlTP4JYFIft0Kf9znqkBcUCOpkMvpvRhyphenhyphenndTIzzh0DQ0dwwk6FJDdJJl2sUCk5oHVEvachKe0xj8ItY-1FzDjK6hMvZfJUMnM/s1600/26th+month+134.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnIWQ0BKmsHwkQ860ZiriTBXluUEAj-FZdrc9vp8r7jkOlTP4JYFIft0Kf9znqkBcUCOpkMvpvRhyphenhyphenndTIzzh0DQ0dwwk6FJDdJJl2sUCk5oHVEvachKe0xj8ItY-1FzDjK6hMvZfJUMnM/s320/26th+month+134.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486069232304738258" border="0" /></a>Potty training and painting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBaF6QM3qPbjY0fIMtszx2QWYOfYbF-Sgzbp0NPjrhWrwCbWrKcE0Y17cSHm0TJp6ARVqlrdCeHAu02viTbcpHqMGa601fudtus9LU7KleZlKUYKAS8Ifop3ILgIC3FK8jgQezVJ-lcE/s1600/26th+month+140.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnBaF6QM3qPbjY0fIMtszx2QWYOfYbF-Sgzbp0NPjrhWrwCbWrKcE0Y17cSHm0TJp6ARVqlrdCeHAu02viTbcpHqMGa601fudtus9LU7KleZlKUYKAS8Ifop3ILgIC3FK8jgQezVJ-lcE/s320/26th+month+140.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486069245794289890" border="0" /></a>Sand/Water table<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jcPHy0_1HklkL_KfXG8ftlXHYttkIxUpQEmlnsqbqpM-r6hmImGEUOzbZVMhWOTDtpC1iHgYvbs7BGORqYQjNTTdZxb4T3h2WoBqpWxukoT_96ybEeTKpyflXdLna7XRlyiL5ehoDfg/s1600/26th+month+108.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jcPHy0_1HklkL_KfXG8ftlXHYttkIxUpQEmlnsqbqpM-r6hmImGEUOzbZVMhWOTDtpC1iHgYvbs7BGORqYQjNTTdZxb4T3h2WoBqpWxukoT_96ybEeTKpyflXdLna7XRlyiL5ehoDfg/s320/26th+month+108.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486064227628143682" border="0" /></a>Ashton painting<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93zj7xbTA4fbtldTPlbmPIb7F-YwIIA1vPZfmy-vIIJ4jYAB7dG-Uc2A5adbehEmlHJmCbZL1Fmq6dKqYQ05SckPc2uLupuWGeF0_KIbWH5BHRuX_VFWcTxvBZJ4UEF_JxR1ppaRkboU/s1600/26th+month+116.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93zj7xbTA4fbtldTPlbmPIb7F-YwIIA1vPZfmy-vIIJ4jYAB7dG-Uc2A5adbehEmlHJmCbZL1Fmq6dKqYQ05SckPc2uLupuWGeF0_KIbWH5BHRuX_VFWcTxvBZJ4UEF_JxR1ppaRkboU/s320/26th+month+116.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486064217774467154" border="0" /></a>Ayden painting<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGLJalc56TnkqiBc68nUb-cFu6w_OxbE7F7ydgKd664vNrlyF6pEEwAZkTBGEp2FJamgmnKKTLmBk5-rehoh8aY5U4yfEr7k-Ez3meRkiXmnEZKT9bQTz_gUgPhZ6Z63kybNC8bND9O4/s1600/26th+month+090.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGLJalc56TnkqiBc68nUb-cFu6w_OxbE7F7ydgKd664vNrlyF6pEEwAZkTBGEp2FJamgmnKKTLmBk5-rehoh8aY5U4yfEr7k-Ez3meRkiXmnEZKT9bQTz_gUgPhZ6Z63kybNC8bND9O4/s320/26th+month+090.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486064205577953810" border="0" /></a>watering our garden<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlI361736nrYuQyscfKH5rySVnlCLAzlyVIGDXdY2EmHGvPK-bKuR55Ir2JPHPQqAthyeVzl2sMlx9mdAActd_qvDuhyphenhyphenAVQ-x9WmFUEy4vQdRJjMGRIZLCoK9khjU_XYavTEW5-qvrQU/s1600/26th+month+026.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSlI361736nrYuQyscfKH5rySVnlCLAzlyVIGDXdY2EmHGvPK-bKuR55Ir2JPHPQqAthyeVzl2sMlx9mdAActd_qvDuhyphenhyphenAVQ-x9WmFUEy4vQdRJjMGRIZLCoK9khjU_XYavTEW5-qvrQU/s320/26th+month+026.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486064202706167826" border="0" /></a>Ayden painting<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9L3_HmgBj4baSM3DGXxW5qui5WYlmqhCtNFWRknXHaRvXzNJSOYov2-Lv8AHAXWJb15zPF65N1ApcVGpkCGMFP0lrnlnFUG_eRNgno00XjJ_L10HKE45DIahvASQfwcUFKOaNqmETbg0/s1600/26th+month+001.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9L3_HmgBj4baSM3DGXxW5qui5WYlmqhCtNFWRknXHaRvXzNJSOYov2-Lv8AHAXWJb15zPF65N1ApcVGpkCGMFP0lrnlnFUG_eRNgno00XjJ_L10HKE45DIahvASQfwcUFKOaNqmETbg0/s320/26th+month+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486064189262689154" border="0" /></a>Ashton painting<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTyydPy_7LkEqRcijugtrcXh_4gucWMnyAoFFphpXA1QYHSPnDTPCbmoIo3rt0Bjdu65p5PTP9ZjvknKa7SdFfSMBq91MqfZZ-mCi6LXTugoaQpzEDFxM9I_6DaGit9U9FhM0e4mlz_k/s1600/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+072.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDTyydPy_7LkEqRcijugtrcXh_4gucWMnyAoFFphpXA1QYHSPnDTPCbmoIo3rt0Bjdu65p5PTP9ZjvknKa7SdFfSMBq91MqfZZ-mCi6LXTugoaQpzEDFxM9I_6DaGit9U9FhM0e4mlz_k/s320/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+072.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486077593046752050" border="0" /></a>Such a big boy<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSoba_-ShvZEHDdAKCf3uX7puPRnSdnZTI2gS31St4_LauoMBGYFPuqBcp1dkvXpgqrZ4ByJL4yzzM1uFCo8BdUxRF8VewCZuOOwAaxFgAuHG4JU1jNrwZ5oOFH7AhR_ynzYD25b-iXU/s1600/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+057.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSoba_-ShvZEHDdAKCf3uX7puPRnSdnZTI2gS31St4_LauoMBGYFPuqBcp1dkvXpgqrZ4ByJL4yzzM1uFCo8BdUxRF8VewCZuOOwAaxFgAuHG4JU1jNrwZ5oOFH7AhR_ynzYD25b-iXU/s320/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+057.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486077585087607650" border="0" /></a>Ashton playing with slime<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXExWu48CgrpfkLE_1d5QlI85ago2Znx_TF04n_9QdL2zwVRxwKjJirQiAfii8SnsM51lf0QOcbcCf815Cq5nunMfomPx4G69kWx8jBnkfV_ADBIVTynVNdpw1TPtxIOJemTD0lVDN0YE/s1600/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+002.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXExWu48CgrpfkLE_1d5QlI85ago2Znx_TF04n_9QdL2zwVRxwKjJirQiAfii8SnsM51lf0QOcbcCf815Cq5nunMfomPx4G69kWx8jBnkfV_ADBIVTynVNdpw1TPtxIOJemTD0lVDN0YE/s320/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+002.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486077578177461170" border="0" /></a>Ayden playing with slime<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBf7x-tJAFj6pox7p6TXBDYrViAB5x0mb_xK554yBlMjvk0ysApOkmf8MKQmp0CxLcbh5Ra2q8Ro4vkR6KhI_2e9Y040LIRrRro0TzAp1hV0706KKGlWtzagYLURc5fusY7QtejY5tFfg/s1600/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+007.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBf7x-tJAFj6pox7p6TXBDYrViAB5x0mb_xK554yBlMjvk0ysApOkmf8MKQmp0CxLcbh5Ra2q8Ro4vkR6KhI_2e9Y040LIRrRro0TzAp1hV0706KKGlWtzagYLURc5fusY7QtejY5tFfg/s320/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486077568502020242" border="0" /></a>Ashton at the splash pad<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCt2omzfaZ4rRJ8-X04chgL38cP2ZQI6r0GftKncjfZ11derqn12f-L1Gc7T5bbslz2SqDr6vZVeDMXu-npwd6dIxdNNEPc1L59Rr89vSll7fSQhyphenhyphenCtkZf9ljzvOzlVUou4yF-GrXmms/s1600/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+009.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCt2omzfaZ4rRJ8-X04chgL38cP2ZQI6r0GftKncjfZ11derqn12f-L1Gc7T5bbslz2SqDr6vZVeDMXu-npwd6dIxdNNEPc1L59Rr89vSll7fSQhyphenhyphenCtkZf9ljzvOzlVUou4yF-GrXmms/s320/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+009.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486075570797590802" border="0" /></a>musical instruments at the park<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAF0Am-9XaWgzaZ6SRCWP_fMixbp0wVibrQeRuhCSlj_xh441R-jjGiGxBulDzNWn3rRAwbdZmIYWn_C_yJQJx84L51ndD7b8xM4KVTGPZCHfZ1qm5ShwOPyiMoZHTCKk_dGA3WynOYI/s1600/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+046.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYAF0Am-9XaWgzaZ6SRCWP_fMixbp0wVibrQeRuhCSlj_xh441R-jjGiGxBulDzNWn3rRAwbdZmIYWn_C_yJQJx84L51ndD7b8xM4KVTGPZCHfZ1qm5ShwOPyiMoZHTCKk_dGA3WynOYI/s320/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+046.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486075566949918706" border="0" /></a>Ayden at the splash pad<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YexLfvE5aTlC621dCLOEiWrn-MUBntANaBQrBREt9SqnLsRrT4aojswxnkzlrMQL1oV7FhPxCWPgRAXpnqpKCjqZLz5a2hJQPk_ghfMaw4f4CRpgrVH9iUqvJYepG2JOOp3p5Jt2mUs/s1600/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+061.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5YexLfvE5aTlC621dCLOEiWrn-MUBntANaBQrBREt9SqnLsRrT4aojswxnkzlrMQL1oV7FhPxCWPgRAXpnqpKCjqZLz5a2hJQPk_ghfMaw4f4CRpgrVH9iUqvJYepG2JOOp3p5Jt2mUs/s320/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+061.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486075556709556370" border="0" /></a>My cool Cards fans!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJTDQJxROj_NwkfdDpbn34JOMa6-eOBoZSYAGAxN36gKAfOIL7tbqOLWDjxWW4eURX4WtI9NQMcbjOw4qvEcJXefbo0vMOKbRxPEcOcHNpAJtCJvhT42MH0tzVlJQz0VD9XRN1z42XgE/s1600/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+069.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJTDQJxROj_NwkfdDpbn34JOMa6-eOBoZSYAGAxN36gKAfOIL7tbqOLWDjxWW4eURX4WtI9NQMcbjOw4qvEcJXefbo0vMOKbRxPEcOcHNpAJtCJvhT42MH0tzVlJQz0VD9XRN1z42XgE/s320/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+069.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486075553197778114" border="0" /></a>Playing in the hose!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYOQODz4I4AepIIdZqSSNEevZH0OY_lVL0pZmSu-JxZKYRMo2s1_lgoaMJZQ7HivhmQdp0aOC_hzO8T6B1BC29nu6LjKm-CMd7y84g4MmrzoKdbCu-xa-gyEmKSL71uSPoeQiIdzoIGY/s1600/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+048.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYOQODz4I4AepIIdZqSSNEevZH0OY_lVL0pZmSu-JxZKYRMo2s1_lgoaMJZQ7HivhmQdp0aOC_hzO8T6B1BC29nu6LjKm-CMd7y84g4MmrzoKdbCu-xa-gyEmKSL71uSPoeQiIdzoIGY/s320/25th+and+26th+month+from+iphone+048.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486075544359754194" border="0" /></a>Going grocery shopping (notice the baby in the front of the cart!)<br /></div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-36380278457143162682010-06-20T21:02:00.004-05:002010-06-20T21:09:27.122-05:00Happy Father's Day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQp-eXVJ3KcIeLfE_hCq8MmBIMqqUpnQhsl078y2-ooQrn0qj37l2WjfRThY9sK2fGWEjB98DRFYfNw6Rm2rTHjZJaxrRpbuQEgFiSVH0w_pPQdpp7-NFfHaoPhUffChpSRus8diVhe2I/s1600/26th+month+208.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQp-eXVJ3KcIeLfE_hCq8MmBIMqqUpnQhsl078y2-ooQrn0qj37l2WjfRThY9sK2fGWEjB98DRFYfNw6Rm2rTHjZJaxrRpbuQEgFiSVH0w_pPQdpp7-NFfHaoPhUffChpSRus8diVhe2I/s320/26th+month+208.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485042962919137298" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqI7PYxXgQnroZg-NPRq7QFVP0-F4tEV4rHCyhM_s6Er4sSie-BmMnNE5F8l4CHtXfhQjBVavmmB51UaPuPKBKfAibsMMSoIxqMrsghsv9W4bcIuWS05RUrvvRiWjZJviB1jUkiC_-8sM/s1600/26th+month+230.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqI7PYxXgQnroZg-NPRq7QFVP0-F4tEV4rHCyhM_s6Er4sSie-BmMnNE5F8l4CHtXfhQjBVavmmB51UaPuPKBKfAibsMMSoIxqMrsghsv9W4bcIuWS05RUrvvRiWjZJviB1jUkiC_-8sM/s320/26th+month+230.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485042937523272434" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsBedJUgPpEwNC-wtIJQFMZ8Xs40uiIiL9gZZeOnP_ACMvt46vpp0p59U_XUjknIgS0fXaWsdTzmCwOL7p3YXmfhUoyo-xgl4ZCCJmKu3Q9L3jporOK_luLPmAC88WRFNRnTr78eiJw0/s1600/26th+month+192.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsBedJUgPpEwNC-wtIJQFMZ8Xs40uiIiL9gZZeOnP_ACMvt46vpp0p59U_XUjknIgS0fXaWsdTzmCwOL7p3YXmfhUoyo-xgl4ZCCJmKu3Q9L3jporOK_luLPmAC88WRFNRnTr78eiJw0/s320/26th+month+192.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485042921968334178" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI41YLMTmgD_qHWVekQ1kYlE8b6-eXCNknTciYAG63vald4kY0_8EqsuFqqBnFxNbOW-AYrdg25DmfU1XX2eEM3ybStHZkyYUxjwpmLl-4C4c3FAQYsuH243KJvBnYBIM83Y-cIGzJY2U/s1600/26th+month+146.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI41YLMTmgD_qHWVekQ1kYlE8b6-eXCNknTciYAG63vald4kY0_8EqsuFqqBnFxNbOW-AYrdg25DmfU1XX2eEM3ybStHZkyYUxjwpmLl-4C4c3FAQYsuH243KJvBnYBIM83Y-cIGzJY2U/s320/26th+month+146.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485042899716714258" border="0" /></a><br />To a wonderful, loving, and fun daddy and husband! We had a great afternoon with you!<br /><br /><br />It was so cute to be able to have the boys actually say "Happy Father's Day" to their Daddy and Papa's this year! Can't wait to celebrate many more Father's day's with all the great men in our family!<br /><br />Happy Father's Day!Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-49843129799366517692010-05-24T14:52:00.006-05:002010-05-24T16:10:13.995-05:00Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow?!<div style="text-align: left;"><br />Errr...Ashton and Ayden, how does your garden grow? WELL, it grows much better when you don't have 4 baby bunnies living in your back yard!<br /><br />A couple weeks ago we went back to Oklahoma to empty out our house (phase 5 of our move if you are counting!). Afterward, the boys and I stayed in Grove to visit with Nana, Papa and Gigi while Jeff drove the moving truck back to MO and unloaded it at yet another storage unit. After a few days in OK we made our way back to MO. I was so excited to get home to see baby bunnies hopping around in our backyard! I WAS excited, until I saw that our first red strawberry was nibbled on and half gone!! After closer inspection I saw that even all the white strawberries where nibbled on! I was so disappointed! BUT, the bunnies are SOOO cute that I can't even get too mad! I am not sure what happened to our tomatoes, but the plants had disappeared all the way down to the soil. I don't know if this is a result of the rabbits or some other "hunter" but, no homegrown tomatoes for us this year.<br /><br />Ashton and Ayden love watering their flowers, herbs, fruits and veggies each day! I got them some small watering cans so they can do it with less assistance now. Now we anxiously await the day we can start eating from our garden. OH, better yet! We anxiously await the day we can plant our "garden" in our very own home garden instead of our make shift/temporary garden! Hopefully I can update more on that later, but I will wait until I have more solid information to share! ;)<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0R2bonVBt1S_c2oAQUcUkuNoPWBYcpkGMHymYznssNQfV-51jZjW2fhS4AyIhGz33hw3ZF0nfH0YE8stUovQAQ0Dfdd2-463yt3QNm2E3YpRgSytXLvZW1Vmm95Db9SRtidgtpTJYs4/s1600/26th+month+090.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0R2bonVBt1S_c2oAQUcUkuNoPWBYcpkGMHymYznssNQfV-51jZjW2fhS4AyIhGz33hw3ZF0nfH0YE8stUovQAQ0Dfdd2-463yt3QNm2E3YpRgSytXLvZW1Vmm95Db9SRtidgtpTJYs4/s320/26th+month+090.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474943731310589586" border="0" /></a>Ashton watering the growing garden<br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACunqchJHK1cLVS241I3PWdQ1ow3vnTRPyS7yrBduU5f07cb6ENMhXNXflVwG6fgxDa1KoENsZ_tNDA2-dUv3zeTJx_6BDV33K8DC73JOV-SlSJDYEfecnR177y8QP8WaXZNhXRceNys/s1600/25th+month+008.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiACunqchJHK1cLVS241I3PWdQ1ow3vnTRPyS7yrBduU5f07cb6ENMhXNXflVwG6fgxDa1KoENsZ_tNDA2-dUv3zeTJx_6BDV33K8DC73JOV-SlSJDYEfecnR177y8QP8WaXZNhXRceNys/s320/25th+month+008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474943722761933298" border="0" /></a>Tomatoes - GONE!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8rB-ppr2b7DPhMhXvxP5RcCURW3rQhxYKCy8F5QW0yUw5WTFO_RL-hsxIHWwKCZ6TSE5XkYR5BXdtcpCUzbJB09kp8FC4tDU8XR2Earzt-PMMjScUL9Aori-o-gQh1XwDq5VWlRcMm8/s1600/25th+month+011.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ8rB-ppr2b7DPhMhXvxP5RcCURW3rQhxYKCy8F5QW0yUw5WTFO_RL-hsxIHWwKCZ6TSE5XkYR5BXdtcpCUzbJB09kp8FC4tDU8XR2Earzt-PMMjScUL9Aori-o-gQh1XwDq5VWlRcMm8/s320/25th+month+011.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474943711857921426" border="0" /></a>This couldn't have tasted good - guess that is why they didn't finish it!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJ-zXLR2_7JkJzt8VywYQK4LBPDv5E6N0y8b-ACPyRtzS9i08HRaYX78dS60VPqTGDUtsQFEIzNQd10S7kmonmc3DXs3tD-GF1VSQ-M-hkFxMSsJPGuMLG8-dMLLvukGgPv-zjJKHdtM/s1600/25th+month+001.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJ-zXLR2_7JkJzt8VywYQK4LBPDv5E6N0y8b-ACPyRtzS9i08HRaYX78dS60VPqTGDUtsQFEIzNQd10S7kmonmc3DXs3tD-GF1VSQ-M-hkFxMSsJPGuMLG8-dMLLvukGgPv-zjJKHdtM/s320/25th+month+001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474943702422912850" border="0" /></a>Can you see the bunny? On the left corner of the grass, by the patio and flower bed. (click to see the larger view)<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFezRchJ_Y1Dn5bdSXIy5WKqtR74eB7QzHjXGC77Cd74wghFBL2pxhFw5oZy0FrYdbGjWKwuUYJidUIUr94TJ6_epAbi23mUgSu6mDLnSQ_C9WsSZRswfs9jpcJwgEj9tkWlPW8QaiNE0/s1600/25th+month+010.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFezRchJ_Y1Dn5bdSXIy5WKqtR74eB7QzHjXGC77Cd74wghFBL2pxhFw5oZy0FrYdbGjWKwuUYJidUIUr94TJ6_epAbi23mUgSu6mDLnSQ_C9WsSZRswfs9jpcJwgEj9tkWlPW8QaiNE0/s320/25th+month+010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474943693369143330" border="0" /></a>So sad! :(<br /><br /></div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-45672681553648436322010-05-19T14:44:00.006-05:002010-05-19T16:20:05.104-05:00What is in a name?<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEICzwoPNi7bSiHvCcfgQTBwMh1StwXBjXOtKR3avIGSR5uV7NjBuYPMwLvKilVekthb85e6GwGe9gK3DLQxBARgLqZ-5gfsmM5IBIot2KfSyAc9WT44INaq7nmiXyrTn2DTxLiCbERc/s1600/25th+month+004.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEICzwoPNi7bSiHvCcfgQTBwMh1StwXBjXOtKR3avIGSR5uV7NjBuYPMwLvKilVekthb85e6GwGe9gK3DLQxBARgLqZ-5gfsmM5IBIot2KfSyAc9WT44INaq7nmiXyrTn2DTxLiCbERc/s320/25th+month+004.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473092544905487010" border="0" /></a>Ayden</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-hnxz-XnYRjeR4AIIeiaeuyM4jA0oM8EIBwN4VKeEm9Zq9erczeq0LPVu3Cj7e3lIiULCuXwL8dKX2ON-P7h6IriPPk5fn7_wXpZsRZjUI8X7D2lyXNu93dlsdEOxK3ydQ8vkeDeclk/s1600/25th+month+007.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT-hnxz-XnYRjeR4AIIeiaeuyM4jA0oM8EIBwN4VKeEm9Zq9erczeq0LPVu3Cj7e3lIiULCuXwL8dKX2ON-P7h6IriPPk5fn7_wXpZsRZjUI8X7D2lyXNu93dlsdEOxK3ydQ8vkeDeclk/s320/25th+month+007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473091918758041042" border="0" /></a>Ashton<br /><br /></div>When we got pregnant we never even looked at boy names because if we had a boy it would be Jeffrey Charles III. We found two girl names we liked, but decided if we went to the 20 week ultrasound and found out we were having a girl we would decide then. So, obviously, we didn't just find out we were having one boy, but two boys at the 20 week ultrasound! Now we were in a real pickle! Jeffrey III and Jeffrey VI?!? Uummm...NO! So, we started from scratch finding two boys names that we could agree on. Within a week we had settled on Ashton and Ayden - fairly quick and painless!<br /><br />A few weeks ago Jeff was taking the boys out of the bath and said something about "Mommy". Ayden immediately repeated "Mommy". Up until this point both Ashton and Ayden referred to me as "Mama" and Jeff as "Dada". After this both boys would randomly call me "Mommy". Random has now turned into about 90% of the time. I loved when they first started calling me "Mama" so often, but I just may love "Mommy" even more!<br /><br />Ashton and Ayden have an ever growing vocabulary but, their favorite words have always been, and continue to be...<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">names</span>. Ayden does something we affectionately refer to as "role-call". He just calls out everyone's name in the room. Sometimes he adds names to the list as well. Both boys also participate daily in a game where they call out someones name in a way that suggests they have something to tell you or a question for you. We usually respond by repeating their name or by saying "Yes?". To which they always respond with the name of the person again. This will go on and ON and <span style="font-weight: bold;">ON</span>. We always participate and think it is really cute! Lately Ayden has been changing it up a bit and will sometimes say "HI!" after my response.<br /><br />The boys love their "Nana" and anxiously await her arrival home from work each evening! Lately she has also received a new name - "Nanny". They first started this the same time they started calling me "Mommy". I just figured they were playing with a new sound. But, it stuck to "Mama", but not to "Nana". All of a sudden this weekend they started calling her "Nanny" again and doing it probably 75% of the time.<br /><br />We have referred to my mom as "Grandma". My niece called her "Amaw" (pronounced as if the gr were left off of grandma) when she was little and it kinda stuck, but we were just going to go with "Grandma". As usual, the boys had other ideas! They picked up on "Amaw" really quickly and after visiting them two weeks ago, they are talking about "Amaw" all the time now!<br /><br />And then their is the issue of "Papa"! We have a "Pawpaw" and a "Popa". The boys don't seem to distinguish much between the two pronunciations though. (It should be interesting to see what happens when they are both in the same room for the first time since the boys have been talking!) Nevertheless, "Papa" is a commonly heard word around this house!<br /><br />And now the new fav - "Amy"! I wish I could somehow portray over the internet how <span style="font-style: italic;">cute</span> this is when the boys say it! Ayden insists on calling "Amy" almost daily lately - he will actually get daddy's phone out of his pocket while saying "Amy, Amy!!" in a <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> insistent tone!<br /><br />I could go on and on with the stories of the boys and their use of names! Everything is about the people in their lives. If they see something that belongs to Nana they say "Nana". If they see a gift from Aunt Amy they point and say "Amy, Amy". When they want to be picked up they say "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, up!"<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">This is such a fun stage and I am loving every minute of it!<br /></div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-91122138199370348392010-04-26T22:01:00.000-05:002010-04-29T22:43:51.576-05:00Coming to a close<div><br />Well, the birthday celebration week is now over and the 2 year check up is complete. That means this will be the final entry into this blog book. I was going to put the boys' first year of life into a blog book. I later decided to do the first two years since I didn't start the first year until they were more than 6 months old. So, here goes the final chapter in Double the Love the First Two Years!<br /><br />So, here is the scoop on all our birthday celebrations!<br />After our great Lego party on Saturday we kept the rest of the celebrations more low key! Thursday, April 22nd (also Earth Day) was the boys' actual birthday. I wanted to fix all their favorites for meals so I started the day with banana pancakes for my birthday boys - they LOVED them! To celebrate both their bday and Earth day, we went to Powder Valley Nature Reserve. This is a part of the MO dept. of conservation. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was really neat. Because I wasn't sure what to expect inside I opted not to take the stroller in. This, of course, made the trip more enjoyable for Ashton and Ayden, and more difficult for mama! We got to see lots of animals, both real and stuffed, as well as puppet animals and pictures of animals. We saw lots of animal habitats as well. The reserve also offers classes and many hiking trails. We didn't do any of that today, but it was still a great morning! When we got home we watered our ever growing fruit and vegetable garden. The boys love to do this daily chore and check on the progress of our sprouts. For lunch we had another favorite - leftovers from a pasta dish the night before, cottage cheese, toast, strawberries and mixed veggies (not so much a favorite, but mama insisted!) Then, off then bed for a much needed nap! While they napped I made them a special birthday treat! After nap we played with some of their new toys before I had to start dinner. Of course, another favorite, sloppy joes in a biscuit bowl! After dinner we sang "Happy Birthday" (for at least the 100th time that day!) and presented the boys with their first ever brownies! Since we don't give them sweets and junk food this was another rare treat. In fact, we realized that this was only the second time they had ever had any chocolate. The first was their 1st bday cake. They both ate it, but they didn't seem to just be crazy about them and took their time eating the 1/2 a brownie given to them. After cleaning up the chocolate mess we gave them the remainder of their bday gifts. They are so fun to watch now as they tear open each of the gifts without any help! We got them two different sets of Melissa and Doug wood play food sets to go with their kitchen. They also got a starter wood train set and 8 Dr. Seuss books. Nana also had a book set for each of the boys.<br /><br />During the day we talked a lot about it being their birthday and we sang happy birthday SO many times and I also told them about their birth and what was going on during that exact same time two years beforehand. By the afternoon they were both repeating "happy birthday", by the end of the day Ayden was freely saying "Happy Day!!". It was adorable! When I was telling the boys how the dr pulled them out of my belly by their feet first, Ashton, who was sitting on my lap, put his foot up to my belly as if to reenact the scene! They just get smarter and more fun each day!<br /><br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464931033728928546" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6x0nGyxsPeqtoUjcQ3onAlkzcqLHJFdyBVx2wUDTFcx61dhtZxOQodeBuPxDYkHkUcvpqopoTq0R-6-NGrpzOVG6rjIMNqx58gZ2iNAzpvdj0w5hik0s9F_6-nhv7U32-FweJ3MwY2dU/s320/24th+month+257.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464930310476934274" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgRWGWMIEfA8XU2QvPzPH8T7jjs-cLdTy-t2WPaYp0hG4wLN5EJyPEikHUO5XjTPjxHlS0jRuihGoHNXXyhvqScVQ_8blpXsrUxQh1I9z7zJ_LJXfMLpcp1PlYNRASc67EkRQpZkRI_0/s320/24th+month+237.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464930300721949634" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1hYdfoZGEbcOEQCevN02oLQNXluC8iCfcknrTwp_GEQJZWbwz_cJFhdxJin-i9Nuck_oGuwoh1SWlvqkyNOPLhlvCzStZ_hkIz6_64ourHNN9faBbEzjBaqHXtpTkITHuVh61hhCzHTU/s320/24th+month+231.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464931054622953330" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE3ANerwGJMxqu6O5rD-qPWkjJC07p_TYhMgsFNgS86_WlMm99JQRTA1oV8N09zseiUim3hGCnedj2FUisdIH4_5fZ_gAga7wV1f_nNguVZSnhqlgIyaXlFnk3Enr69JlGmaCrAxuQBsw/s320/24th+month+276.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464929316110359442" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqa3sRS0sAMUZ8Y6G3IwKJNmnSj0tuGqnzyoOo2cBhykE0H-C3rRjZe5TaaQY__m1yv5SgFovMsQ5otqetCBWThQ2Gv5xl1C7PD1bAAKrUNY9fi5Srt7qsbkhzxbiUULxkENayoybv9RM/s320/24th+month+218.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464929350307788178" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjych8LquTd9ZLFMgGLyBxcIrkw5a53VQN4SU9lIxRkFZWrhmQA7x2_R2B53Qx3MclSPRiqK3Xm8-T5_1uZ978aazBu32RqYADe0DmD9_ePpXuGnRKGYDYfU7dFTqdZryAzHJK08AgcL_E/s320/24th+month+232.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464930335993852146" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizXiwyLxAwf1RviDSQiocFQQsh06JHudmtq3iBPC9BAiBF6hyphenhyphenKztYb2FpfqQ1HO9qqLQNXeOjT1i_rKpwpj4CVT9l5jjBRE9WxoXSr3BRvB0AR85Rdpj54b_mUWJIV_ASEXZnwHD_Cmn4/s320/24th+month+256.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464929333797050002" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn60rLFlRfgKk4MFMJRSDQ-tFtXyfinfbFiXn7XCK5woRezAgjKYtuakYxqrk2yQx_UXM4n9yyaHGlvRmIO8jtH4dCwj-YhBcFofPqonsnrzVbsmBEXVVYGuELEMPqLy-mcNxuxwxVj9g/s320/24th+month+228.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464930315669409762" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcApq9BK1LvMxG_5pL2ws4JfQNrPlHnGz0DC_NlPkDGt7VRIDp5gRErLJ3rFOHDO-_82Se1Kq-6feN9c9Jl18tAwEiKkVnp60dxRwE7k7SWP51ItXwD8QkRP07N8Iu0OeWsDWi25Bwy3Y/s320/24th+month+239.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464930320660738098" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYJosckn__3ExMl1zUXeNJYnnXmkle6KZL54K6tLBGWkpQkBZOrjBJdTl0R4FTOKzsStQmczp1booo70eVryqqR5APCe92euRZRiIMN24LPMQOUDassLiZQMjAw4gmX2q6WMXAN2GfX-I/s320/24th+month+246.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465283682140161218" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYsoNwEr26aNV4L880-pQBPNXf0H8yjf3fpLyDAYig6P7Xba0lEhe5VDtVGPa0BqvYMvyXUWbNzWdvAU3McHCN8CaJ5odsYIwF8sSIyv5sUle9dr9FeXrN__wmof0FBYE-tUtNAMlFvQ/s320/2nd+bday+011.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465283674029990610" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJG-vzcqQVpPqF4NMyuOpzU5ZFU4VTtg96LcB706oXnq-rWHLACo372t7ZtjfQQvc9v6LQ00R_u0wA_i7ZT5CFEptRZ2hbZqYGaMc2UVWmTsA-pl0DvRKkNjYv2ZN3k9bit60963dIVr8/s320/2nd+bday+010.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465283690833736114" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQYOhwo_ocFbvJ23L4u0GJvQmOszVIajiIBEj2OzdUiZzakGC_HkhhVxKw4XAwcjWUSa5qJtdfjJJYHiXTR9i8f9rMmO7mrFd1RUpGESeCa2-Ggz27KCS3nBP3XPHhW1jFch-wU_-0po/s320/2nd+bday+015.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465283703353808562" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25puB8NzObj5YSVg_G1EyilIHyLm2BQzgTSbFxnb-OjeG6KCP1glXcSv7-YJAe5GzlkEDkPhKb4imdUcJk3IpvNvAbQAqWnGsXRMUcvN_Q0TzI8WiQi3G_4eELdlwRbQz9u-0LI2QbkQ/s320/2nd+bday+020.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465283710426420114" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ4vX43_pQ9uRqP5Vtjt_QLlOhS_Ux7QwFrplkPAJzTRZc_mAbgDu9vuw-MPOvvyeEhZ6xRjpbd-Gp46ShvAfz86gCstYQ0CA6l4aekgtgpygXVC9ZSu1QI1XosTv1IAgwRJftkzZxytk/s320/2nd+bday+054.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465288633404438002" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbKLQWEJ9gxT3lfG0du9CJ4HbNkKS8DMe8Nr8oVM4tygX9GR7c9fZIeD17YBxcvgYRkvUO3EHG8HvM3Ag1o4CPluwOVc1uYttPX_RorycWtkXTde1tqRZ_iRFWD4WDJlwVxx2eXP12Zk0/s320/2nd+bday+059.jpg" border="0" /><br />The celebration continued as my parents, Papa and Grandma, arrived in St. Louis on Friday! Saturday morning we went to the Museum of Transportation where we saw lots of old cars and trains. They had so much more, but that was all we had time for today! Papa even bought them a train to go with their new train set! After lunch and a nap the boys were excited to open even more gifts! Gigi sent a two sided chalk and magnetic board with the alphabet as well as a cube toy with a play cube. Papa and Grandma brought the boys a shape sorting wood Noah's Ark with all the animals (times two of course!) and a Band in a Box set. These were both Melissa and Doug toys, causing us to refer to this as the Melissa and Doug birthday since that is the brand of most of the gifts they received! My parents had to return home on Sunday, so we spent the day relaxing at home. We have been so busy that this was the first day we have just stayed in and relaxed in more than two weeks. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465288626938037314" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 214px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI47He6DtfX0DPabqeKvVuyiKvJqbSKS1L2WlchIh-jq89iMaxE2E1bXoSUIQycrdmPMRsKw_1BWTawM9SKrBJt5-BLIDBjZQ5PTSEzUEGy8E0nruPkniniSCzyw29nJLkfZl2EdHkbvY/s320/100_3079.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465288644302546978" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhla1Li6AQ8vFdy9C4SKs_qqcHH48UE96QAx-S3gmqwGB1HGOZTPv_pIPloUgeeTITwSmK7LD0WBf63mr-yMDwncAYvh4PGjLxDmR9i7fUEV34SAHSLgoiz-drDbMjkMcKKX5tYeu8bo2E/s320/100_3084.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465288653256960658" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrDIM8fDKn1meAGPAHTwRkhgpqiNz9K4AoVLaWVYzp_P7eZzgBewsCVzs-kTi9_SPyoOYjNu1p4ftBKZS1hmnqAyMZxwRazmyqpF2qi8UEfu6_T4kpBMWyoyhTA7qfMKxCsTaszGWVA1I/s320/100_3086.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465288660258507298" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQjAEh2BwBVuGF-3Db0Ft8lFq-TaTmYa0fggZtI5R30doxip774oGFtF9hneHhdEl1dMenYxREh-mMf8ZHZ1N4aaXVkyV-6h52nATo-p0MZ405qUPwB4hAAzl5HeFKgnZgE0Um34bIv0/s320/100_3098.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br />This week marks the end of the second year with the two year wellness visit. We saw our new pediatrician is St. Louis and were very comfortable with him.<br /><br />Here are the stats: </p>Ashton: In general under the 50th percentile<br />Weight- 26. 4 lbs<br />Heights - 33.5in<br /><br />Ayden: Overall between the 50th to 75th percentile<br />Weight - 30.4 lbs<br />Heights - 34in.<br /><br /><p>So, now all the birthday celebrations are complete and I have come to terms (I think) with the fact that my babies are really no longer babies! I feel like they knew that they were crossing a milestone. They have changed a lot over the past week or so and are doing so many new things. They are talking so much more and are going up and down stairs so much better than just a few weeks ago! Ashton and Ayden both have a new independent streak as well. Ayden wants no help going up and down the steps and Ashton climbs up into his highchair/booster seat all by himself and wants no assistance.<br /><br />Now, it is time to say good bye to the first and second years of life for my precious babies Ashton and Ayden. But, we are welcoming in the third year with optimism and excitement!<br /><br /></p><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">THE END </div></div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-2246400769829391512010-04-26T22:00:00.013-05:002010-04-27T23:47:40.298-05:00Keeping Busy<div align="left">We have been so busy during the past month or so that I have not had time to share pictures of all of our adventures! So this is a random post about all the fun stuff we have been up to! </div><div align="center"><br /><br />We planted daises, sunflowers, and an herb garden. We had so much fun the next week we decided to start growing a fruit and vegetable garden. </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464925425408150370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnwg0-pmFzdeNJ_TSgI8Y1ZpDbvxEtuMYTKBjwqDftG61SFnJLJPV5QgMsYFr_cSuUBz9VZu6dE6K26tEt5yTsDZJDXoB0GeNdn9ttJjKzYBmq_U1C-jhcZw5dvAAc_OVjCFadKoaqDys/s320/24th+month+183.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464927219612659762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHVpGcHqRGG5BO-qGPYXIYY9YUxIbg9H7qfGWnmgHKrDitlKUVQ7uc2wJsV4w3KEnKh7Lc1YF0zJIWu5hst06E-nonyjAv6eQ_Wa8uL4Ls4Bk0W7RcFZxcKgpq9a_Z6PaUPOiDV4Ec8k/s320/24th+month+245.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464928327049272946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-n05oQx3x0U11ZB-RY9GGmMLAVmIUKrRgBaFUa-hhhJfSrrNJavKN6OkGa5DQduRdrGsOeJ3OjK_-xabWGh6IVU6jvjXp_-DeXnxJy8prIvF8Ppxbc2XOafZ6_pSjcPL-LuZmmcfSsho/s320/24th+month+272.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464927206684376578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZdXlE4X2dOWQuRN17HjRRtMCPjiF0fK3uGySOBo3BghResiouV8iPPM8pN5Uib3Yp5J4zSiQtVI2CGk8CnX1PPCG9pwZGi3iIr1bfKb2E8qOuIMhveEY7h8orvHUMS-ml3fGAowwzfM/s320/24th+month+223.jpg" border="0" /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464927187838193442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV-Afpf8C79Lm9_D8-omtKhbqESNfbRSJiv5vUlfKTYBM00KJRCNOlfZz759q7QyhmoQJPWIXdHSOBcFsEbb9knFT8-YyTA3l8e5pCkWoN-3LLYfuCgDsiVYFIsAgADmOnXInaAXjcOqs/s320/24th+month+204.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"> Painting with watercolors </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464914709399613986" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9kOaGpvbxd1P9xQLGZGpOp1H_OS4QAzf3DVBbNEWhhndjQnmqOvDVcijO_iFnyE3rxUme2Eu_aNpfKjjtkJw_taEIDtq1Ge53gGvyISv3W8xwHO7a8d958AzD1aeAwN0HXthFnOsVbMw/s320/24th+month+010.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464914694942413874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYhZLT-tgXXWcjYCKev7IidLVaMUaITvzNY5ZsnqR_dbYBMs3DDXk64g6rJEj0utmN4FI_gePKH0l5jokib24eaxvK9HSev2OxCfmDV-lDaBMm-7PpGQO_8k9nuSywMTyr14WIZhi-UK4/s320/24th+month+003.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464914728020122642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaEbGxeies1vaCWgZjmQRIQ0GGMXSKZcVt10qy7czv7zj8XcCX8es_7rC-l0GxPOafi8WmCnvGasy3LQPaaGPyQQHJhgXk_SWy0Xrhv1PoT78Fxxl1f2ZmCvEutfIro1V2RA6HNiBCUb0/s320/24th+month+025.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464914718747404770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxW1ICXYkxJ9hT6XRXAjLGkr553ncBvDXq9cJpvSfPYxO-AiYTQIHJDTydQsU6srrqvp1HfnSlqJTJdjXJ7gBMuin8EZiQN6ZrzZXH14p1KBBRCQWvctX3AI1v4ekbK_Y7CeSFD6eHpmU/s320/24th+month+017.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><br />Matching and sorting Easter eggs<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464914734326171122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2d17TXcqXJl06rVZqFeY1oJ7YknEfa57yBckSF_IBWCY4zBaGYFU9QYRfYFPV3dzjhV6l58g9LKNVLKYn2NBEGsrCE9Fm7c5wQzUYXvPS92Ea9w9jid6Wu_A7dU-eOzCjdm1YL-lvSY/s320/24th+month+041.jpg" border="0" /><br />Rice and Beans <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464927199889058450" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAY7GG3rlvWF6tWtu1JozHyLNakL116yacRdJFBYR4YLIKxB7_aVdwITf9o9T0dAZlcNxeBQZ-G_0qt6RG4pIFtoKjNB1NMbQ33UB3XkX0Q_FbF_grl-YWkx1XZoeBUiA1JfUU-NsWcc/s320/24th+month+212.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">Yummy...Spaghetti! </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465037962376420514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKj1TEOzF7EJa2ZQGHZg5mKtQR8TZqCjIAcvgLbDb_yr-cFN6c2SUs6Ss2-bh-NxawRMhoFY8y3iRELPT3QqtcfJv2-dXB3k2eOkyPXo6zQBPdWxjt0IeBvxW-eICebXzHB4sg_Ilh1i0/s320/photo(3).jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"> Silly Putty<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465038918973868674" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgALnonJSjbqkjtfhGHVZN1l-YBT_l8hQR9y_QSjjb55_BF8yGxD0_KQFBEy3RVTf5-r4K01qcTnK3gQHA0IHkIuen4uisGdDYhiAo9dinW-GYsQ8-ODsUzi54ea74Nm4511wS3Hgu0Z48/s320/photo(5).jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">Water Play </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464928295447395042" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXQbMtrs4NdoCuao4oAKQggu958HTIiSj0FXgKRzxefZLlw5dQdBZZ9EqRmWJYbuKQMiZ3-7SrEdZQB3kFVusB2R_29N1dUrM7FzK009bMo2b_wzSIZJDqj1a2Sbj2EPCYcZkTaxx_Sg/s320/24th+month+250.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464928309376194578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggtTRKINSaBEXUEObdeSTqCch4xm2se3tuRaW7PB7jXpF46mhMEMloFA6LQr9rMwv10rxLbZpvnllogAb6jI_t5CzufBxeB2XYx_fgLuTkPbsABwh5JLZyDhc9k5r3BnQu9-RuLoBd4wA/s320/24th+month+263.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464925440725672178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwvuwXk4eYYAOCVIQMsrJvSUPdrjqpjPwhJzpuAA-zRv-RSP_eZgkexD0_no8UAVVRGylQkSgh3QiI2ewPP1Q-mvG5whghvW-8AfkqpzG9gWD9BEtyNzlqpY7jjhtX2YYhWg0CrD73_nU/s320/24th+month+215.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center">Building with daddy </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465037972313716338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_t68adEvoZXq7IcHedCwFXqD92C1yvChegusQ1e9eV30AmtqvBX8SgpspygCPU2HtAf6myr0kq9Jk9_a8-YUXK7yAUx-eMZv0qt0W5KuRevHjvB3fBVKl4fTqEgnrQVjgsx3DR0Ezjk/s320/photo(4).jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><br />Tunnel and tent play </p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464925459221420290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqhxvyvH_bjx8fuYU2FNtkb1i2qkBm5_zLg3hhHaHrCGncqgz0m9LGETaTiWN-amCMscLI7xh8YzVErLX1Qptvl0JW9jI91W51gHkkrRCeMf-QKvQ8zQHyfY_w8I3qqS0XVD-6ZghBjY/s320/24th+month+184.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464925444931808498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2d-VELqWvYuD687M-Y_LuxRL2HXtDG51EVR1jfoZqWOd40AFWMtj2dohQkV9lXnQrIkHI9XrwcbFGkii8juJywxUMuw34GEejcKqv14aKryOcLwhHSsiHpwnUZgk1D12fTg_JcHcg_2Q/s320/24th+month+076.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"> Just being cute<br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464927193510287554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyonon6gwEmK3_kU66KaOYFQuorl1M744rZ7_owPgxsEK05sSEvYdQjk7jVdND5kZRka7ZFqRahC8nincakRnmEjHRO8rX48QZB4UPhwUg5aprBXmJ5s110g7-E3sbPuaXOmtgpPT5sg/s320/24th+month+211.jpg" border="0" /></p><p> </p><p>We have also been enjoying the nice weather by playing in the yard and watching everything grow! We have been to several parks and have still gone to a few story times. There is so much to do in St. Louis, and we are just starting to be able to get out and enjoy it all. I can't wait to take the boys on more of the great adventures this town has waiting for us!</p>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-35164124236620453042010-04-25T23:20:00.003-05:002010-04-25T23:23:18.896-05:00Delta Gamma - Run For SightAs many of you know, Ashton and Ayden were born with two genetic visual impairments: Ocular Albinism and Nystagmus. Although these impairments make it difficult at times for them to see; they have persevered through it very well in their first two years of life!<br /><br />Our young family made the move to St. Louis, Missouri as Jeff got a new job in November of 2009. We were here for less than two weeks and visited the Vision Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital. We were met with more information, amazing resources, great doctors and helping friends than we could have ever asked for. One of the best resources was a contact at the Delta Gamma Center, a center for children with visual impairments.<br /><br />Although we're new to the various programs available at Delta Gamma, we have already experienced an explosive growth in the development of Ashton and Ayden. We, as parents, have been able to learn more about these visual impairments by interacting with all of the other parents that this amazing center provides for.<br /><br />These services are <strong>ABSOLUTELY FREE</strong> of charge to participants like us, and the mission statement clearly defines the scope of their goals:<br /><br /><em>The Delta Gamma Center for Children with Visual Impairments is committed to helping children who are blind or visually impaired reach their full potential through individualized education and therapy services for infants (birth to three years) and their parents and through support services for children of all ages, their families and the community.</em><br /><br />We know that we're less than <strong>1 WEEK</strong> away from our event, but we're confident that with <strong><em>your</em></strong> help, we can give our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Delta Gamma Center for doing all that they have done for our boys in these past few months.<br /><br />Thank you in advance for your assistance!<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />The Kitsmillers<br /><em>Jeffrey, Darla, Ashton & Ayden<br /><br /></em><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);font-size:130%;" ><b>Link to our Team Page:</b> <b><br /><a href="https://secure.getmeregistered.com/homepage.php?id=2194" target="_blank">https://secure.getmeregistered.com/homepage.php?id=2194</a></b></span><br /></div><br /><br /><em><br /></em>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-72315041123097976872010-04-22T23:05:00.007-05:002010-04-23T01:39:09.248-05:00Dear Birthday Boys<div align="center"><br /><div style="font-family: verdana;" align="left">What a long way we have come! Before starting this birthday letter to you I decided to take a peek into our past and reread the <a href="http://doublethelove08.blogspot.com/2009/04/happy-birthday-my-loves.html">birthday letter I wrote to you last year</a>. It brings back so many memories, yet reminds me how much has changed in such a short year! In this year you have gone from babies who could not walk or talk, to full fledged toddlers who can not only walk, but run, and are repeating everything you hear!<br /><br />This year we have watched as your personalities began to really blossom. You both still have very much the same personalities and temperaments as when you were babies, they have just continued to grow and development over this year.<br /><br />Ashton - You are very much an independent child. You jump right in, you observe, you study, you do things in your own time and your own way. But, you are still very much a mama's boy! You love knowing that I am nearby and are always running to find me if you can't see me. You call out "Mama", just to check on me. You love to be held, cuddled, kissed and rocked. You stay pretty calm and quiet most of the time. When it comes to talking you let Ayden take the lead, but you are always right there behind him. You thrive on consistency and order. You always let us know if something is not where it should be or if a door is opened that should be closed. You have formed an attachment with a particular blanket that you sleep with and call "B".<br /><br />Ayden - You are a very social child. You love to get attention, smile and wave at passersby, "act" shy, and most of all, get your way! You know exactly how you want things done and you make sure everyone else knows how that is! You love to laugh and giggle, especially at Ashton. You are always babbling about something. Luckily for us, the babble has recently turned into many new words and we love knowing more about what you are thinking. You have an extraordinary memory and are always surprising us with what you remember. You love to be held and carried (not so easy now that you weigh about 30lbs!) and you enjoy holding hands. You have some sort of attachment to Dr. Seuss books. We don't know how you know they are Dr. S books before they have even been read, but you do. You always have a book in your hand and 8 times out of 10 it is a Dr. S book.<br /><br />These tidbits are just the tip of your traits and personalities. You charm, entertain and amaze us everyday. I feel so blessed that I have had the opportunity to be able to stay home with you these past two years and be the one to care for you, guide you and witness the amazing changes taking place in you each and every day. As I said last year, you can't fully know everything parenting entails until you experience it for yourself. You can't know the pride and joy you feel watching tiny babies grow into curious toddlers. I would have never guessed that I could love you more than I did the day you were born, but I do!<br /><br />You are learning and taking in so much right now and it is an incredible thing to watch. Everything is new to me again as it look at it through the eyes of a toddler. A simple things like planting a seed and watching it grow brings wonder to your eyes, and then to mine! I watch in awe as you experiment with scooping, pouring, pulling, pushing, turning, writing, splashing, cooking, and cleaning. What you learn in a day is astonishing and exhausting! You amaze me with how quickly you pick things up and remember things. Everyday is something new and different and I love experiencing it all with you!<br /><br />Yes, as you grow there are things that get harder as well. You often exert your emotions and opinions in ways that are "less desirable" and this brings a whole new twist to parenting. As much as I hate to admit it...You aren't perfect! There I said it! You are only human, just like your mother and father. You get mad, you get impatient, you get frustrated and tired. When these things happen you do cry, bang your head and stomp your feet. But, you are learning a better way and we will get past it. We are not going to use the phrase "Terrible Two's" at our house. Not because you wont' ever have a fit again, but because we aren't going to put a label on a whole year of your life. We aren't going to have those kind of expectations or excuses for behaviors. We are choosing to parent you in a way that will make you loving and caring children and we have no doubts about that!<br /><br />So, "Terrific Two's" here we come! Again, I look forward with excitement thinking about all that will come in this new year of life for you. I am so proud to call myself your mommy!<br /><br />Love you,<br />Mommy </div><br /><br /><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463215303960632818" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ8gAbfZARQ6JO7gLAjwy5-nFWZ4JbzTKDQYvJQX0uDnU7ZVevJulrTmUKrwnYqOrRRUUm77q1JM6ivQf07us2kyt1cEbCcM_9unGCXqSG6vd9jAOBKYg_S6-EV83JFF6-JSIc1eq-VmM/s320/twins+1st+week+023.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="center">Ashton at birth</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463215311741669394" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 240px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheTnZ3icAxM2vxvIln2ni4T7-41fLBNGuF5NrCyC_gHN0_YRVq3CGSellwX1cotmMKiawmdAUjrO6ajeGYQPHAFkwScrB5Uy5W-lzjaxi3MDKY_3gbxUliduvAg6II3NROxSx6PJb4bxs/s320/twins+1st+week+024.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div align="center">Ayden at birth</div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463215322315245202" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; cursor: pointer; height: 214px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimFs_bzaGBWCvTJD7thyphenhyphenzSQ8_PzhTPxHpPH2GgtaEyaZBcW9QnzWCUmZxm5rMivPITV6E-B3feb1wehkkcydXrSUehEHOETQQxeK1CHWoFH_JVuaMj1GtKr0-SK8BbDU01OICN3P61210/s320/1+year+and+family+pics+066.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><p align="center">Ayden and Ashton at 1 year</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463217305520837282" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjevX9m9uC99fhcBq9Ks792h1RwxrPE5eVer0wb6z6c5ks6a8QhBQcd2fltBoPP373s2KF-houj1VHYgE9B5eacrLfyk555BGC7MoteukoOMyxOuDIABxht3fqzLxoD-i7JsTWP-AF_zH4/s320/24th+month+268.jpg" border="0" /></p><p align="center">Ashton at 2 years</p><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463215356351111074" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 240px; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBxCLs54fFgO2wh7_pV0DTtEmr2GN3dagYDhV9dTzK0SLhLUfjSwT2pOg-_rtkZSp-n-0FHV_mVq3qgTkKP9OZ32J8GYSOFaXmgM2QCB6MChWIoSXVhDhDb9ChhBf1IJpPBq6BM2XRf2A/s320/24th+month+219.jpg" border="0" /></p></div><p align="center">Ayden at 2 years</p><p align="center"> </p>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-88677908305919599912010-04-18T15:19:00.017-05:002010-04-21T23:47:04.510-05:00Building up some birthday fun!<div align="left"><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;">What a beautiful weekend to celebrate the birth of my beautiful baby boys! I can't believe we are already celebrating the passing of two years since their (surprise) birthday! To celebrate this milestone Jeff and I selected a Lego theme for the party. Ashton and Ayden both love all kinds of Lego's and blocks so we thought it would be both fun and cute! We were right! The party was a success and we all had fun! </span></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><div align="left"><br />The party day, Saturday, started out with a "bang"! No...really! The bang of Ashton's head hitting the ground as he jumped out of his crib! (He just saw his brother also do this for the first time on Monday night!) Unfortunately, this was only the beginning of the incidents for poor "Ashton Love" today! </div><div align="left"><br />After getting Ashton calmed down we preceded with our normal morning routine of breakfast and getting dressed, etc. While we were getting ready in the house, Daddy and Papa got the patio and back yard ready for the party. Then we finished up getting ready and decorating the inside just as our family and friends arrived for our birthday bash!<br /></div><div align="left"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462800940199677154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiTV5eGFFLv2XWjpNelm3XFUu7XKQN3cmaHJ_1p01NKC2nhHlVD4OTx_C77pJIZ8CQSBbhIlAMj_a62YnUCMFFeyNRaAmFkE8_MVPXdf4pqQQdwVbGuTyWrdK3ye1UUJKZJHgJWGJXSg/s320/2nd+bday+005.jpg" border="0" /> After playing with some Lego's (of course!), the boys dug into the mountain of gifts awaiting them! They got so many great things and loved ALL of them! They got the usual clothes and jammies, but they got some great big boy toys and some outdoor toys as well! These gifts included a sand and water table, complete with toys and sand, from Nana and Papa. A picnic table from Aunt Amy, a golf set from Cousin Chase, Aunt "Juju" and Uncle Larry a bubble mower and Lego's from Karen and even more Lego's from Great Aunt Janet and Great Uncle Don. Jeff and I got them a double sided easel and all sorts of things to go with it and a wooden bead and lacing set. We will be saving their other gifts for their actual birthday. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462800950337952850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQpwf7wfRX-UQN8yeevenZ9_ORt_sMzg_cuAO4IjYehfC8xvmjHii25huSRhv1A0Fw7jRHX1cvQizEhljOLkHikG_Tbo8gdhenKV0lpAO2a3JqhtzFeoOm2MNf9_fpdc0pH1qCoBwRk7w/s320/2nd+bday+011.jpg" border="0" /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Ayden and Aunt Amy</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462800959450634802" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiBDAByoSqOlNEl5r_harWt6ukTUtCaBaITRufwBZQWuRQXPXmfoQgilK7bzMlxg0x32zQ6koG0AtwjdilXzMEw4R9E0nEWUQImOTFxD0gmHhe9UFH8L4EJLIWqnCNZjv9ByyJWatE6qk/s320/2nd+bday+015.jpg" border="0" /></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Yes, it's true...I actually ended up in a picture!</span></div><div align="left"><br /></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462800975226260066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghoC5QuhEDUUPKtHYLgpyd29ThO0gLGIp91ONYhUpSVHKg2iiNSL54XNpOzzFJTXZzdTNBmwSw-RmiX6maHYWoZM8hQT7Za5vu4ZEtkNUFurbaFm68flYxS_JzJeu1ZBic_xOsTBcYjQg/s320/2nd+bday+068.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462800966341562786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIYy3e8CR9bKyPohbK8zw3ZE1v3OZZEMmKmlVLs6j5jEfBftsazYadCUvdulw9QJczxQH06lVoIL2JGB6l1cDRf584fSm99KQwwC-G3NUNGNhiInfihlF8rThJpWNuGlzf7SId-iqRt8E/s320/2nd+bday+036.jpg" border="0" />After so many great gifts we had to go outside and break them all in! It was a beautiful day, 68 degrees and bright, warm sunshine! The kids all had a great time playing outside. Jeff picked up some pizza and brought it back for lunch. We continued our backyard party and ate on the patio and the boys enjoyed their new picnic table. After lunch came the "masterpiece" I stayed up working on until after midnight the night before. (You wouldn't know that I made it, as opposed to the boys, to look at it! Much less that it took me nearly 4 hours!) Oh, well! It was fun and pretty cheap and tasted fabulous! I bought premade pound cakes and cut them squared into different size Lego shapes. I also baked some cupcakes and cut them round and flat to be the Lego nodes. I also attempted to make Gigi's 7 minute icing recipe. It took me two tries and more than 7 minutes each try...but I got the icing made! The pound cake soaked up most of the icing during the night and I probably should have made a double batch....again, oh, well! The boys got the idea (I think!) and it tasted great! Why I choose to make the boys cakes from the red icing colored with red food coloring I will never know! Bad idea on so many levels! In the end I don't think they ingested too much of it and I don't think we will have any stains once I get finished with the laundry! Ayden didn't want much to do with the cake. Ashton dove right for the cupcake on top and ate it, but was pretty much done after that. Since we don't give them sweets this was quite a treat, but they certainly didn't care to indulge. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><div align="left"><br />After a busy and fun filled morning it was time to clean up and take a nap! After the kids got down for naps the adults continued the party on the patio. We just sat enjoying the weather and each others company! It was so nice and relaxing! </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462807019933136562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifEt36PfXqtAyqlk72WfaEFpVa5dU9WBT1oCqO8pPq0dP0-jHq5d1n4eA0VX47qabJhsvO9ydpC5ZH_QzE9iLLsNfn5gl7NnHgMHxsfYZw2EAemMgfpUeR8jbmGeYufQSMtNzTHLgcvc4/s320/2nd+bday+073.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"> </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Ayden and Aunt "Juju"</span><br /></p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462807056855645858" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOdAg9-m3wF083cVDwRjk6l3cDAaV9AcUd3yYmMjXlaKmyF-71q8UQdrcIXQ6mSnAvfePGlO2uLZa7S-A5VRlbrUmaHEZAE9xKe5RhuC-fCuZD7IJ9Wcqyn_iwVhUwB8SlUVZDpoj6JFM/s320/2nd+bday+100.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462807054166541362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6bluXwa-AwMi14LafbyvTihENNz4ZuZp0LLx29cpUKXBJUjJH07M7TOq504nF57j-C8PLTprEHUna0vX92eu6FHfkFwyNh9lwVxUakJucHweglOi0vnduGDuwlONRQIdZ0zFYSNsyr0/s320/2nd+bday+096.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Our cool Lego shirts made by mommy!</span><br /></p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462807042305275794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQJgJaJZ7qBLhjrFhH0jaemiY6HYVSGGEHNXEvoaM_RHndAl0mKU2CLZI2-pGA5lIITsMg87ouieWgV4wnpvz82XfKu7h8-xa1OfTlPT-mX6_Wx-KFMIkROGYUgGnTsaIWO-9e3TO4-c/s320/2nd+bday+090.jpg" border="0" /></span> <div align="center"><div align="center"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Ashton and Chase</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462807028419430626" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJfrwz8u1gnnbts9vub7j_TaojJ-zPFuq-gVIyX3x7OOoRV30ab4VcnODsFdD96LvnonhigcEMRfr9Yxcc6-BsZcb65Pz7e9RqHTzr570-BAxILl51ZqdBV0KOD2xxYY2V1v_eCsm9xCQ/s320/2nd+bday+080.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462809295296099874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXXylaOv4bZrB4RV4RAcuDb6A-x7gGuvbkp09-5dC8W2as5z7xEt4X-kYFdH5aumFnajK903VwK2R3Tsgxd9S2NAiMg02fNJzUK1zzS7XkvlvV3Lq_5IoIjCbruxn5HEEiHnInVGKJdug/s320/2nd+bday+129.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462809305946858194" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5HZ8kr-tX0gTHr1-_rg3PJvb89CtaE_Hn97ztoIEA2lKY4wL1BM-k_De_ovbn3_3D5g8SQSGwonnGHQQXe4DieB_fQviYWmJ_1cWWG3aFw4DjvvK5B4XMe8qxbvlRvpTLNyd6lVvouX4/s320/2nd+bday+155.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462809314049763682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9VBF5hEdKnIaz6Jc_z82ElZ0JteE7qT6CQ2iC1_SsHIKSNpuvSlR-cJfBa2NMhNNTB6Xi82q3hGXuJSoXoVhJ8NeCBDzX7vS1KrGSV1ba1STaQ15Aa4vIg4-d33njBPFR5vhSKLa0Vfg/s320/2nd+bday+172.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462809320135684514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif81i17f2gv5MjwM3naqNTBjP2agY9ZKRzT9tmxKSwfWnILpZSAH8QKDecAIgwdeDaMlBypCZBDtXP9oAOdvknTli1N2eQtN0NNuUTUxYutPYIX00F0Dg7X57S6eMvg9yF5vFyuGuHcH0/s320/2nd+bday+195.jpg" border="0" />After all the boys woke up from their nap they enjoyed a snack and more backyard activities. We sat up the sand and water table and the bubble blowing mower while they were napping. These were both a great hit with all three of the boys! We again spent the afternoon relaxing in the backyard and watching the boys play. The "men" also started up the grill and cooked turkey dogs, chicken, brawts, and burgers. We then enjoyed a great bbq on the patio! <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462809330716967842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5BYgLJmmM2FeyjCSyuwMZmHDi5mJPuKC1Q0V3A9zCVPZMWMV0nHt4FOVGk6Q23NopVnIy7fUtgDrO_q5hQBK4brNCoWdRmoYoUrlFeEKizvu7aGwUmENjlAZE6GWxF8dl9x6xEQLnbWY/s320/2nd+bday+202.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462813350806699650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJM2vIXccRTBQXLMtlaFRCxpoAMz_Gyu8AYn5oCG-dgTkTIDroToPQUXitfJnz2JhGDD-imJ8ToKv7b15hVEoulQuOfll2j1wYiwibqQ7V_t0xbOjtrnQonZZUuKKUWgCEzeFpRnl3f8/s320/2nd+bday+267.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462813340874233138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXdLTeraE5vY7EYx4TOoGXxba95jYqSWG771CZPwPVImQDuGdL1I8A5qtCi2h5CyTWYa5cIXs6FJiZAmrv1NAmzNybmGhNlrKMBC20hMxIftn3p-ryrX23fryvxBL33s3sDzhzci4a8k/s320/2nd+bday+237.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462813335386554866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguFe3uJuUAW6N3WS1F8qtuoedbh8x_CCTtmxVbn4hmRC79V_4r-djPRLRAWkZOM8_KT2-OPGqjeDcPBLtAAaYXUGa2VqOGH68fIc7i_-Ete0bmTDbZ8mdy4b5w9Sk2hhys09fGqWFBcXU/s320/2nd+bday+216.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462813356753788018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw3h_CtdlD4cP62u5A6CRo3-4JxNCYbzLKy51pLtsPMhjN4zBddqeFrPYkDegBaZMhBGSBndp4dHvKDfq1IBED5zkf5VmvO63jkUvHZt8nQJvG1DxQuBC46eEMXR6uw9CbFUtoW4tAXo8/s320/2nd+bday+281.jpg" border="0" /><br />After dinner as we were cleaning up the toys and food Ashton ran after me and fell and skinned his knee on the patio. This was not the first or even the second time he did this today, but it was the third time! And, this was by far the worst! He also hit his forehead when he landed this time. He just seemed to have a rough day! Falling out of his crib, tripping, running into things...it was one thing after another all day! </span></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462817583627753730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjzI-Yiq_iLRPxxNGxs_ZOh2B4iO1XziS_G-MIpuJP5D5I2aVkwthzloUJD73HE5YdUppUe3ZDfjfVKARYahUb5po4djcDi9htRhU1RaIEYBtRXjSAsBTLmIrTetIjtWsUhf39n1K4I8/s320/photo.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Ashton's poor knees!<br /></span><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />It was a great celebration for our great boys! The day could not have been more perfect! (Well, I guess maybe if my family could have been there too!) Now, time to plan the day for their actual birthday! </span><br /><br /></div></div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-215457612942620852010-04-12T22:41:00.007-05:002010-04-12T23:32:46.947-05:00Easter!<div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><div style="text-align: left;">We had a great Easter Sunday complete with church, a birthday lunch for Nana and an afternoon Easter egg hunt! Sorry these pictures are all out of order! Blogger and I are not getting along and I am too tired to mess with it! :)<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmLQ7eX51cf-MN0MvznLW0Gx9Y9rIdPwHS2vI0rCrpnDH7dpjuTLdX6L2O_uHCGJAvs3NL5bXG8NUqGS_s7krmhyphenhyphenGmWdrvcLJCXZUPb5l2N69U-1jGDLoMI2yINmgWd9e_Sc64ejYTyc/s1600/Nana's+camera+180.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOmLQ7eX51cf-MN0MvznLW0Gx9Y9rIdPwHS2vI0rCrpnDH7dpjuTLdX6L2O_uHCGJAvs3NL5bXG8NUqGS_s7krmhyphenhyphenGmWdrvcLJCXZUPb5l2N69U-1jGDLoMI2yINmgWd9e_Sc64ejYTyc/s320/Nana's+camera+180.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459473113074623746" border="0" /></a>Mommy getting the "do's" ready<br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmtWmrUNFNemH__VO5dXUoy4V4_w40RjyBcJ1ATsOTeultQ95ji-hegjVYKHacnFM2RdMaGkZ02IMB61yeQoxkpKi2_71nk3e3ryIE2jEgk0qSyTub58K0wCmgG397Z55ytI2p_SiEU8/s1600/24th+month+190.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHmtWmrUNFNemH__VO5dXUoy4V4_w40RjyBcJ1ATsOTeultQ95ji-hegjVYKHacnFM2RdMaGkZ02IMB61yeQoxkpKi2_71nk3e3ryIE2jEgk0qSyTub58K0wCmgG397Z55ytI2p_SiEU8/s320/24th+month+190.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459472884604204034" border="0" /></a>Giving Nana her birthday gift!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5t7QuZBlmlObhiQ9htjbVtN66VTVP1kKwQO9XEs8TWpgKhcmuTd9xq0wD0Y5bHguoPkFZsiWMof2pOs1ljV81jMrHfkmr9B4gEijBO4BHAK0PF4JPWItAMU-dbYzBCVLm5Geda9CQnSw/s1600/24th+month+147.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5t7QuZBlmlObhiQ9htjbVtN66VTVP1kKwQO9XEs8TWpgKhcmuTd9xq0wD0Y5bHguoPkFZsiWMof2pOs1ljV81jMrHfkmr9B4gEijBO4BHAK0PF4JPWItAMU-dbYzBCVLm5Geda9CQnSw/s320/24th+month+147.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459472873503414434" border="0" /></a>Egg hunt!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqw5gXGNmBVpgVi9KubM0FMiV9RkAfLbol8pzfS_DDNv7x8u1SGZNRWAH5sTz2mHDnigWvSzTwze-FknQC7MUYQ_UofIA1P4_c30qR2ybWKy9V4xujNMp1B5qpiNSGFttM4kX6OPoeGs/s1600/24th+month+119.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSqw5gXGNmBVpgVi9KubM0FMiV9RkAfLbol8pzfS_DDNv7x8u1SGZNRWAH5sTz2mHDnigWvSzTwze-FknQC7MUYQ_UofIA1P4_c30qR2ybWKy9V4xujNMp1B5qpiNSGFttM4kX6OPoeGs/s320/24th+month+119.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459472867806736530" border="0" /></a><br />But, mama, I see one over there!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9yvieAR-zW20RFb8_Dd3qiPEEcIUuBYKWsIXHsA6HF69HdOfIIMWUYAbjTlsqHwJQdE3RBaQvDrKFrjm2eVEd_avMtg2-sgprQPF6kXwgLEQuzr0RK5JvakGsdwZEj2RBZnzKwbE4DQ/s1600/Nana's+camera+199.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ9yvieAR-zW20RFb8_Dd3qiPEEcIUuBYKWsIXHsA6HF69HdOfIIMWUYAbjTlsqHwJQdE3RBaQvDrKFrjm2eVEd_avMtg2-sgprQPF6kXwgLEQuzr0RK5JvakGsdwZEj2RBZnzKwbE4DQ/s320/Nana's+camera+199.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459470386167288210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">My handsome little Easter men!</span><br /></div><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjma8se_IG4jocjaO-aztVI72GEw5P-9afp51grptgniIhelgT8TemHd09wMKL-3owTV0vrkbeyYaLrRTRwWOyxiVMIW5eCiyUq8LnF79VCKJONOVa8RNLvRiiJpO4xhcP24NRStnxW0/s1600/Nana's+camera+185.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjma8se_IG4jocjaO-aztVI72GEw5P-9afp51grptgniIhelgT8TemHd09wMKL-3owTV0vrkbeyYaLrRTRwWOyxiVMIW5eCiyUq8LnF79VCKJONOVa8RNLvRiiJpO4xhcP24NRStnxW0/s320/Nana's+camera+185.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459470383951674418" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXloR0sNz5o7ZcpxVb9o1M6Tjt_zjAOYnpTrl2epyt00808A7LgkPcHYsnJbt1lyj3Rh_fn0H1yxQB7vfNswdIZe-9eWw3tWu_fCexrJLaa_2kDdTCNIvcv7AJePSHYPLE63JItTxNZjM/s1600/Nana's+camera+182.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXloR0sNz5o7ZcpxVb9o1M6Tjt_zjAOYnpTrl2epyt00808A7LgkPcHYsnJbt1lyj3Rh_fn0H1yxQB7vfNswdIZe-9eWw3tWu_fCexrJLaa_2kDdTCNIvcv7AJePSHYPLE63JItTxNZjM/s320/Nana's+camera+182.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459470370078735138" border="0" /></a>Daddy and Ayden getting ready<br /></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPpxGzw4QqdcVybSykPUAQ_wo1iZbZnj7T_TrvQa5lpwjQJ2DdPdUdZEyB7w3uKEi7QqujEEX3kQn75F1AdkxIi2Jcr632ppzQMw7L_3Yj3D-xp7Dr-JP1gurmFut90CeHKBjw2BRkN4/s1600/Nana's+camera+186.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPpxGzw4QqdcVybSykPUAQ_wo1iZbZnj7T_TrvQa5lpwjQJ2DdPdUdZEyB7w3uKEi7QqujEEX3kQn75F1AdkxIi2Jcr632ppzQMw7L_3Yj3D-xp7Dr-JP1gurmFut90CeHKBjw2BRkN4/s320/Nana's+camera+186.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459470376845720434" border="0" /></a>Our castle from Aunt Amy<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFKaEa_hHTQ0_yhwe0drJYPciF7Ua6bjPTQWIjKtODS8rgtSbtKVNvhQCVGQVxPUARVijS_3R4Z-1RQAF-TPxEezdJ2V6YdTq4dH72TQZPRD2p7B58RjZTEymWRYBv6xD8_VQLt7i3sM/s1600/24th+month+099.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYFKaEa_hHTQ0_yhwe0drJYPciF7Ua6bjPTQWIjKtODS8rgtSbtKVNvhQCVGQVxPUARVijS_3R4Z-1RQAF-TPxEezdJ2V6YdTq4dH72TQZPRD2p7B58RjZTEymWRYBv6xD8_VQLt7i3sM/s320/24th+month+099.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459468363020903362" border="0" /></a>Going through their many Easter baskets<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1eB3pZIzkHqGuEQbIkcy85zEXKB08u-PpNwXaknbADaedn5Y-DwJpbqWi_bpRZDsJc77FfOV3soOKnnfLhu9J3ylvK96x03QewOgYLeWVLrP7f63UqxvmnGApfsB0EKn-02G6xzJXJ0/s1600/24th+month+057.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX1eB3pZIzkHqGuEQbIkcy85zEXKB08u-PpNwXaknbADaedn5Y-DwJpbqWi_bpRZDsJc77FfOV3soOKnnfLhu9J3ylvK96x03QewOgYLeWVLrP7f63UqxvmnGApfsB0EKn-02G6xzJXJ0/s320/24th+month+057.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459468370994026194" border="0" /></a>More eggs!<br /></div><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DgQS0lx1IgHI_X5YcuhiuYMWeApqfk6IeeQqnXNiL-a5jKjviCxNLdn51yCfn9D4IR2GBAcTxzSO3Yu3oxDesrIdRraA85JtuFamPrjOv6Rsk1D4DDSyNBsTzr9Ni-ih4frafS6_3WQ/s1600/24th+month+066.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DgQS0lx1IgHI_X5YcuhiuYMWeApqfk6IeeQqnXNiL-a5jKjviCxNLdn51yCfn9D4IR2GBAcTxzSO3Yu3oxDesrIdRraA85JtuFamPrjOv6Rsk1D4DDSyNBsTzr9Ni-ih4frafS6_3WQ/s320/24th+month+066.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459468354770043170" border="0" /></a><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Sh95xdMIKleVM_5VPv4lUeGX6H4ueubiOyDZtpstnBQUF27dpBQ2HhQwaxqI5vOtNYooUOV2wM6qbH4TjBwVBDSbm22tRn_gYmC4ts2uVwuNGQdjVKtBBiLpCbqJUB8uHfCQCgBWEKg/s1600/24th+month+068.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Sh95xdMIKleVM_5VPv4lUeGX6H4ueubiOyDZtpstnBQUF27dpBQ2HhQwaxqI5vOtNYooUOV2wM6qbH4TjBwVBDSbm22tRn_gYmC4ts2uVwuNGQdjVKtBBiLpCbqJUB8uHfCQCgBWEKg/s320/24th+month+068.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459468343104119666" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoC1uIYvGtfA-cxOQwgIL9n-JIvinty1Vx0mo5maaD9NbjKZAg5l833LkP_L0qTiCW3XRvHQ94xoXDV6mOlX7UQibhU7iLWQhxdyntAfUQ7iTE4awhrBVgWwTI0ZKOi3h_WpSfqcpxQo/s1600/24th+month+062.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoC1uIYvGtfA-cxOQwgIL9n-JIvinty1Vx0mo5maaD9NbjKZAg5l833LkP_L0qTiCW3XRvHQ94xoXDV6mOlX7UQibhU7iLWQhxdyntAfUQ7iTE4awhrBVgWwTI0ZKOi3h_WpSfqcpxQo/s320/24th+month+062.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459468335711619170" border="0" /></a>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-82895378763170954662010-04-06T14:19:00.006-05:002010-04-07T15:16:19.508-05:00Pearly, White Chicklets!I am a little behind (as always!). The boys had their first dentist appointment two weeks ago. The pediatric office was amazing! They had a large bird cage, large aquarium, children's play room and huge waiting room. The boys saw a great dentist named Dr. Dan! Until children are 3 they do a lap examine, or what they call a knee to knee exam. It was done in the dentists office while the boys sat in my lap and leaned back onto Dr. Dan. Ayden leaned back and laid perfectly still while Dr. Dan checked out each of his amazingly perfect chick-lets! Dr. Dan was very impressed! Ashton was next, and as expected, was not fond of someone trying to get in his face! Nevertheless, Dr. Dan was able to check out each of Ashton's equally perfect teeth! We left there with stickers, rubber ducks and new toothbrushes!<br />After the visit we decided to check out our new community a little and stopped at a park and sculpture museum we passed. It was really neat! I wish we could have stayed to see a little more but Ayden got tired of walking and mama got tired of carrying Ayden!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl27y-b8V89I7dUYun_c5ciBNv09HJHgk4HkmcT1B3K4v1xv45-b1WzXtVgicz2FeZECLgOQQ7PfTnajoEJx-IcNPCozkQjSeHBhE_aeBSl75DC20i9WSOe9rm1txCkgtLzlsENCTkCb8/s1600/24th+month+156.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl27y-b8V89I7dUYun_c5ciBNv09HJHgk4HkmcT1B3K4v1xv45-b1WzXtVgicz2FeZECLgOQQ7PfTnajoEJx-IcNPCozkQjSeHBhE_aeBSl75DC20i9WSOe9rm1txCkgtLzlsENCTkCb8/s320/24th+month+156.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457489657738999458" border="0" /></a>Ashton - "our little explorer"<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbs5IaN7dYvkvmW0Bt4T8WKjoipL-frC2_Z7hwY6AaePQz6GEMJC0Tk7Th8deEn__NAaRu3wu7_Wgq93bpEw2jgWeGDhGp7spelAFdzcn7ocYEChyS-lseH8B8QuMDnfQ51boH6ZY-rk/s1600/24th+month+189.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSbs5IaN7dYvkvmW0Bt4T8WKjoipL-frC2_Z7hwY6AaePQz6GEMJC0Tk7Th8deEn__NAaRu3wu7_Wgq93bpEw2jgWeGDhGp7spelAFdzcn7ocYEChyS-lseH8B8QuMDnfQ51boH6ZY-rk/s320/24th+month+189.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457489648136509330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPuy6rUMXvi7FkFny9I5Ue0N03DL9Sm6_Oww0DBy4r4dfV_LGMjWy038T3JByuI-XW1jMeJaB_jp8TjL93HR74-htVF6qKABWsI9WriAY6h8td43IIlKhEN8Zg1xNWxzbZPGSL-OZK5z0/s1600/24th+month+129.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPuy6rUMXvi7FkFny9I5Ue0N03DL9Sm6_Oww0DBy4r4dfV_LGMjWy038T3JByuI-XW1jMeJaB_jp8TjL93HR74-htVF6qKABWsI9WriAY6h8td43IIlKhEN8Zg1xNWxzbZPGSL-OZK5z0/s320/24th+month+129.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457489636603516402" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgv3rxkBJNDC9n9CyQDZ6tH6AJAEYdNaL8wipwIW11vEaWCKH_rD6aRuLHKPV0JFNdcx4WruGnreg0M64_BbRPiwDRVwKoIibxGwWum6tOdPWRTK1oX2U6b-VjQ2B9a7FjALcMtdh4o0/s1600/24th+month+127.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGgv3rxkBJNDC9n9CyQDZ6tH6AJAEYdNaL8wipwIW11vEaWCKH_rD6aRuLHKPV0JFNdcx4WruGnreg0M64_BbRPiwDRVwKoIibxGwWum6tOdPWRTK1oX2U6b-VjQ2B9a7FjALcMtdh4o0/s320/24th+month+127.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457489630132405650" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77h_B_ukFpnbHtkNq-iLCHWsuVD2qrdl0AeCLIB57eqKBjYEzUioCYbIukTsqfX7JXqL9OkslK6bflVr4Ps3cbakzdshJAprclQIPDBWxbSKWlKRS1-z_yAWHOziAzJYY9UTcUVPxtDc/s1600/24th+month+100.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj77h_B_ukFpnbHtkNq-iLCHWsuVD2qrdl0AeCLIB57eqKBjYEzUioCYbIukTsqfX7JXqL9OkslK6bflVr4Ps3cbakzdshJAprclQIPDBWxbSKWlKRS1-z_yAWHOziAzJYY9UTcUVPxtDc/s320/24th+month+100.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457489621299266482" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjnUDeK4J8QcN8QYd_PRyldprf5xSM2UuOTaho0U78BFEBJgYwYUNAkdGO0E_1ejRB3LKWk8GUrQfLupqL5-y38Vrj4f6Me9szdFPwwecTZ1J0gB845tR1j1NS5-sXp5T4ynITqDrr8k/s1600/24th+month+111.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsjnUDeK4J8QcN8QYd_PRyldprf5xSM2UuOTaho0U78BFEBJgYwYUNAkdGO0E_1ejRB3LKWk8GUrQfLupqL5-y38Vrj4f6Me9szdFPwwecTZ1J0gB845tR1j1NS5-sXp5T4ynITqDrr8k/s320/24th+month+111.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5457490740349647490" border="0" /></a>Ayden - ready to go...or at least be carried!<br /></div>Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7874001516740442042.post-85963100644102094812010-03-24T22:23:00.007-05:002010-04-02T15:11:03.436-05:00What do YOU do with 200 ounces of breastmilk?!<span style="font-family:verdana;">Well, I used half of mine to make a super soft, all natural, full of wondrous healing power breastmilk cream! A mom from my wonderful APA forum makes natural baby products under the name </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://hyenacart.com/TiedUpWithStrings/">Sudzy Baby</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">. She recently began making a kit she sends to mom's with instructions on how to make their own breastmilk cream. All you provide is the milk. Her kit normally uses 7oz of breastmilk and makes 6 oz of cream. I had so much milk that I asked her to do a large batch kit for me. The kit I used called for about 90 ounces of milk and made over a gallon of this white luscious stuff!</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I started out by defrosting all my precious </span><del style="font-family: verdana;">liquid gold</del><span style="font-family:verdana;"> breastmilk. This was all pumped by me about a year and a half ago! I hated that dreaded pump...but I love the results!</span><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMpALnuyHqdDr40L0127oCHC-p7eKnTTnq3BB0_gGh_cETfqJuD-bLfZyAshL2MtXbs6KJQi_R3HgPRg62O40ciIipafGxcx8cx2bT08nIk_e8aeEoQmWhkoClyIWBP-B-XOgZNBbDSE/s1600/23rd+month+301.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMpALnuyHqdDr40L0127oCHC-p7eKnTTnq3BB0_gGh_cETfqJuD-bLfZyAshL2MtXbs6KJQi_R3HgPRg62O40ciIipafGxcx8cx2bT08nIk_e8aeEoQmWhkoClyIWBP-B-XOgZNBbDSE/s320/23rd+month+301.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455632859844930498" border="0" /></a><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiESqtaTwxsxPo1yDjeqsiMlaEX1fbfECEP0LWAW0ipbhGO21vXYVYOsPwvIxginzugnxz1BM1QBk-TW37qh9T4Qn3ZDM4tTNiCPn2aZ8iDoPxYENZL_ITCjyHKdJR0XLa-ofCIHviSo/s1600/23rd+month+303.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSiESqtaTwxsxPo1yDjeqsiMlaEX1fbfECEP0LWAW0ipbhGO21vXYVYOsPwvIxginzugnxz1BM1QBk-TW37qh9T4Qn3ZDM4tTNiCPn2aZ8iDoPxYENZL_ITCjyHKdJR0XLa-ofCIHviSo/s320/23rd+month+303.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455632867259899218" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">I mixed the ingredients and melted them all together in the microwave. After they melted I whipped it up in the blender. While it was still hot and fairly thin I poured it into 2 gallon freezer bags (1/2 full) and I filled two 1 liter pump bottles.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">In the end I had THIS!</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYHhUos2svq2VI2AQY6lYBI3jXQg4MEIu1wdPO_163ucAxCL9CJ8KiuUNKE7F7ZH1RyLcdpQblNH5Nm3CE_qV0Ze3vj8SHgiWB9OCDLGmamAF-6ssL66ED3mljMPJbsE3C6plwunAfDE/s1600/23rd+month+339.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkYHhUos2svq2VI2AQY6lYBI3jXQg4MEIu1wdPO_163ucAxCL9CJ8KiuUNKE7F7ZH1RyLcdpQblNH5Nm3CE_qV0Ze3vj8SHgiWB9OCDLGmamAF-6ssL66ED3mljMPJbsE3C6plwunAfDE/s320/23rd+month+339.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455632872750780674" border="0" /></a><br /></div><span style="font-family:verdana;">We are now set for lotion/cream for quite awhile! Since I was with my family I let them all try it out and everyone was impressed. My dad and my husband both thought it felt like having a paraffin hand dip! (Yes, they have both had this pampering procedure done!) Ayden has a form of dry skin which causes little bumps on certain areas of his skin and we are hoping this helps. We also use a balm from Sudzy Baby that has been wonderful for his skin this winter. Whether you have 7 oz of breastmilk or 100 oz, I highly recommend ordering this wonderful kit. What can be better than lovingly massaging your little one with cream that was made from love and boobs!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >Now I have to figure out what to do with the remaining 100 or so ounces!</span>?Darlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18433019225610144423noreply@blogger.com2