"Let it Snow" Late October/November update

Well, usually I don't post until the very end of the month, but here it is November 24, 2013 and we are snowed in! Eli is sleeping and Edward is playing with Daddy, so I thought I had better take this very brief moment of nothingness to record what has been going on.

Here are some amazing moments that have happened recently with Edward:

• Towards the end of October Edward became Mr. Independent and would take his bucket from his room (that was full of toys), dump it out and carry it with him. He uses so he can wash his own hands at the kitchen sink, or open the garage door by pushing the button.
• I will often tell Edward "I love you" and now he will say "love you" and will often add on "Eli love you too"
• I just finished up-modeling our kitchen by removing our apple/pear/grape wallpaper and painting with a pretty green, and during the reno Edward would say "apples?"
• We have forever been waving to our neighborhood bus when it goes by dropping kids off from school. It is often the highlight of our afternoon, the bus driver has gotten to 'know' us and waves back and usually expects to see us. It has been this month that Eli has started waving to the bus as well, and the nice lady bus driver gave us 2 free frosty coupons from Wendy's, so nice.
• Edward has started to read with me, when we have a read a book and few times and it might have fun words like "splash" or "no" repeatedly he will chime in when we get to that part! I love it that he is enjoying reading!
• Our Canyon library rocks! They are currently setting up an amazing train set, and we got to see it in action before it really is in action. The train went around it's big oval train track and "ringing" and "tooting" . Edward stood there smiling, studying and sucking his thumb and Eli waved each time the train headed our direction.

Here are some amazing things Eli has been up to:

• Eli loves "indian calling" (end of October)
• Eli is getting picky, he was picking out the colored cheerios (11/11/13)
• He tries to climb up on everything and has discovered how to climb up onto Edward's bear chair, so now we have to be on watch when he's back there.
• Eli stands on his own for several seconds but on the 12th he took his first official step forward!
• He knows how to help me blow on his food when it is too hot to eat (17th)
• One of Eli's favorite things is to ride in Edward's jeep with him (of course I'm holding onto him the entire time and feel like my back is going to break) but the joy on both boys' faces!!
• Eli loves reading/looking at books on his own, but his favorite two for me to read right now are "Where's baby's belly button?" and "Hand, hand, fingers, thumb" his face just lights up!

It's the Holiday season....Late November/December 2013

Well, it IS the Holiday season!! I love this time of year! This year is turning out to be particularly special for many reasons: It's our first year in our new home in Canyon (we were here last Christmas but were living with my parents') and I love the fact the Edward is old enough to understand much of Christmas! Let's start with Thanksgiving. We went down to Granbury to spend Thanksgiving with the Emerine's. We had beautiful weather, lot's of yummy food and lot's of play time with cousin Chandler!

Here are a few things that have been going on:

• Edward saw his first Santa for the year, at Home Depot in Granbury and would not sit on his lap, but did manage to ask for Santa for what was on his list "train" and was very happy to accept the candy cane.
• On December 2nd we went to Lowe's to pick out our tree, Edward loved pushing the big cart around and Eli was really good at crawling all over the floor and getting real dirty :)
• Around December 3rd Eli began taking sliding steps on the floor and now on December 19th he is taking 4-6 steps at a time! He also began climbing up on his sitting toys/cars and climbing up on Edward's 'bear chair' which he also managed to fall off of!
• Eli is so silly and funny and smart and slobbery! He is completely wonderful! He loves books and prefers them almost over anything! He will "uuhhh, uuhhh" with a book in hand until I come and read it to him! He will clap if the book says clap, wave, and cough when the limo in "Little Blue Truck Leads the Way" breaks down.
• On November 27th we took Edward to "Sesame Street Live" it was our first time to go to a concert, movie etc and we had a blast!
• Breakfast with Santa at the Discovery Center on December 7th was filled with crafts, food, fun and a long Santa line. We did however manage to get a decent family photo with Santa, we all had to be in the picture because Eli refused to sit on Santa's lap, but Edward was much more open to him this time round.
• We also went to the Panhandle Plains Museum on the 7th and got to do more Christmas Crafts and decorate a cookie!
• Jingle Jam and lights at the botanical Garden was a great way to spend a special evening as a family.
• On December 14th, we left Eli with my mom and took Edward to a "Safari" night at the Amarillo Zoo! The zoo was decked out in lights and décor and the lions were "roaring" and putting on a show! It was a great time! Right before this Edward got to go pick out his own toy for filling up his marble jar :)

I just feel completely blessed for having TWO amazing little boys and don't want to ever forget all the memories that we are making together!

Bring on Fall--September/October 2013

Let me first start out by saying how much I LOVE Fall! The cool, brisk mornings, the beautifully colored trees, pumpkins, football, and much more. There is just so much to love about this season!

Here is a quick run-down of a few activities that we participated in during the month of September:

• Laugh and Learn at the NW library in Amarillo--Firetruck and Dinosaur's marching are still our favorites--Edward's--Eli just loves any music!
• checking out books and playing with the 'train' at the Canyon library
• Park playdates and Hunsley Hills Park
• Church at Hillside West
• Music with Miss Celeste--LaDeeDa
• Weekly Letter Activities with mommy--We've done some really cute activities
• C is for Cookie
• C is for Camping (since we were going camping this weekend)
• M is for Mouse
• M is for Mustache
• M is for Music
• Gymnastics on Friday evenings!
• Lowe's Build and Grow--A time for Daddy and Edward to get to put their manly skills to work! What a great bonding activity for them. This was the first one they attended and they got to make a FIRE TRUCK! Perfect!
• CAMPING--for 2 nights with 2 boys 2 and under! We went camping on September 20-22 in Cimarron Canyon at Maverick Campground. The weather was GORGEOUS!  This was kind of a last minute trip, I just HAD to get to the outdoors and camping before it started getting too cold. The boys loved being outside and Edward LOVED sleeping in the tent, he even WANTED to take naps! The boys dug in rocks, dirt and sand and we walked and watched fishermen fish. Max played in the cold river and Nana, Grandaddy and Ethan came up to visit and eat with us on Saturday! It was perfect! I was where I loved being more than anywhere, surrounded by majestic mountains and God's beautiful work! Yes, there were rough moments/hours where I questioned "what was I thinking?"! but the good definitely out weighed the bad. Eli, DID NOT sleep well in the tent, so about the middle of the first night, he and daddy found themselves sleeping in the car for the remainder of the trip. And Edward was not pleased about the tent being taken down Sunday morning, so the whole campsite got to hear two tired boys screaming for lots of minutes straight...but like I said Good prevailed!
• DFW area trip--On Saturday September 28, me and the boys got in the car and headed towards Plano. We spent 2 nights with the Heersink's and visited with many of our friends while we were there. We had a great Sunday spending it with the Graham's, oh how I love and miss them, and seeing the Winan's. Then on Monday morning we headed to Emily and Harper's house for lots of fun!
• Fort Worth Zoo! We had a great time seeing the 2 baby elephants and the big white tiger. We also got to feed the birds. There was a small train inside the zoo, that we got to ride and boy was that fun stuff to my train-loving two year old!
• We went to the local Aledo home-coming parade and got lots of candy!
• Went on a train ride in Fort Worth, and this was the best thing ever! We even got to stop at the half-way point and get popcorn!!
• Loved playing at Emily and Harper's new home, so much to do! We all had toys to ride on and Edward fell in love with a no pedal bike that they had...possibly a future Christmas gift...! What a huge blessing it is to have such wonderful friends!
• Eli started standing up/pulling up! I guess I made such a big deal out of it in the beginning, that Edward began to get really excited "Ewi standing" !
• Edward also says that Eli is "cute"--makes my heart sing!
• Eli discovers the kitchen drawers (sept 3) and begins pulling out Tupperware! Luckily I had thought about what I wanted in those bottom drawers when we were moving in, so the items are baby proof!
• Eli starts waving. (sept 9) This has got to be one of the cutest things. To see your baby waving 'hello' or 'bye bye', so sweet!
• Ohh did I mention, we are completely off formula and bottles! Yippee!! Straight up Cow's milk!
• On the 27th I heard Edward verbally count to 10! I had always thought he could, but had just never heard him, but on this day I did...now has he done it for me since?? Nope.

ELI'S BIRTHDAY MONTH!!
Here's what went down in the month of October:

• Cheer Texas--They have open gym on Friday's so I decided to take the boys, and it was fun, but ever so tiring! I had to be the mommy on the move chasing boys (usually Eli and I following Edward around) and making sure that they were playing nice and safely!
• Maxwell's Pumpkin Farm--we went twice during the month of October because it was just so much fun! We got to take a Hay ride (pulled by a tractor) out to the huge pumpkin patch! There were slides, goats, bounce houses, tractor trains and much more! A kids paradise! The second time we went Nana and Grandaddy came and joined in the fun with us! Lot's of fun memories and we can't wait til next year to go again!
• Laugh and Learn on Friday's
• Gymnastics Friday evenings
• Music  on Wednesday's
• Playdates at the park, our friends home's and at the Paramount PlayZone
• Letter activities with mommy
• P is for pumpkin
• P is for Polka dotted pumpkin
• H is for Hands
• H is for House
• My 33rd Birthday....
• Eli's FIRST Birthday! We celebrated his first birthday on October 26th with friends and family. It was a Harry Potter Birthday Bash! I had made a Hogwart's Express sign and set out my HP books and made food in the HP spirit--chocolate covered frogs, snitches, butterbeer, cauldron cakes, magic wands! Eli dressed up as Dobby, the house elf, Edward was Harry Potter (but refused to dress up at the party), I was Hermoine, and Erick was Ron! I was hoping for a family picture all dress up as characters, but since Edward refused, we didn't get one.
• Halloween Festivities! On the 30th we went to a couple of churches and did "Trunk or Treating"  and one of them even had bounce houses for him to play on. Edward loved getting suckers in his pumpkin bucket! And yes, he did wear his costume, because I told him he couldn't get candy if he didn't.
• Eli's Birthday! We had saved a couple of presents for him to receive on his actual birthday, and boy was EDWARD in present heaven....haha! Then that evening we went to my parent's house and went trick or treating in their neighborhood. Edward and I had been practicing knocking and saying "trick or treat" since this was really his first year to understand/care about the whole thing.
• Edward wakes from his naps asking for Eli, so sweet :)
• "Eli baby", "Edward Big boy"
• Around the 8th Eli starts putting food on top of his sippy cup and giggles and finds this to be a very proud moment.
• Eli decides it's hilarious and fun to fall backwards and to his back around the 17th.
• Eli has started liking his story time before bed and enjoys listening and looking at the books.
• On October 15th, Eli and I had a great game of football going on in the kitchen. We must have played for 15 minutes straight, just throwing and watching the ball bounce in funny directions, then Eli crawling after it. Love these moments, where life slows down just a little :)
• Occasionally the boys will take their baths together now, and boy did we have splash central in our kids bathroom on the 26th! Eli just started hitting the water and splashing it everywhere and would just giggle and giggle, so then of course Edward had to chime in, and in no time I was completely covered in water too!
• I'm convinced that Eli is going to teach himself how to walk by pushing all of Edward's toys around--dump trucks, tricycles, jeep, wagons! I'll call him 'Adventurous Eli'! Because there is not a day that goes by that I'm not trying to catch my breath because he makes me so nervous doing all the crazy things he does!
• Head scooting--yup--Head scooting, Eli does this....
• Clapping started around the 28th, too cute!
• Eli is my little music maestro! Any time he makes a toy sing or a song comes on or I sing he smiles the biggest grin and he loves to dance!
• Sliding fun! Eli loves our small plastic slide that we have in the back. He can pretty much climb up but doesn't know how to swing his feet towards the slide so that they go down first, so he usually ends up going head first with me holding the back of his shirt so he doesn't face plant! But along with this, Edward and I have a game on the big slides, I pretend that I'm asleep at the bottom of the slide, he climbs up and starts going up and startles me awake. Well now that Eli likes to slide, Edward pretends he's asleep at the bottom of the slide and Eli slides down right into him and they both just laugh and laugh!

Having two amazingly healthy and active little guys is the hugest and best blessing from God! Thank you Lord.

August 2013. Conclusion of a FUNtastic summer!

My beautiful, brilliant little boys never cease to AMAZE me! In MY house, we "ROAR" at flies to 'shoo' them away and we randomly express our feelings by shouting out "YeeHaw!" .

Here are a few other things that Edward has been up to:

• Thinks he's going to receive a 'surprise' nearly every day and will ask me "prize" while signing it. It's cute, yet is it bad that he's expecting a 'surprise' on a daily basis??
• He expresses the word 'exercise' by lifting my legs up and saying "exercise" or by performing a front roll!
• speaking of front rolls he does them EVERY WHERE! On beds, floors, couches, and even in swimming pools!
• Edward has an impeccable memory and hearing and catches EVERY THING! Nothing gets by this little dude! We were at the hospital to visit Grandpa and Erick and I had discussed possibly going to feed the ducks afterwards, but soon realized we would not have enough time. Grams brought up the ducks and we looked at her and said with a hidden sign, 'no' , so she covered it up by stating that the ducks were asleep. Edward didn't seem to be paying attention to any of it, until we got in the car and he stated "ducks sleeping". Blows my mind!
• Here's another example. Just the other day, I pulled out my flour canister to make some   cornbread, and when I opened it I realized there were bugs in it, yuck! So I was telling Erick about it, and how I've never had bugs in a canister before and how gross it was. Well, during this, Edward was sitting in 'his' chair in the living room watching Curious George and mellowing out before bed. The next morning, he walks into the kitchen and points to my canister (which had been washed out) and says "mommy get bugs out"! It's crazy enough that he heard my 'bug' conversation, but the fact that he could point to the exact dish that contained the bugs completely baffles me!
• "Boy song" "boy song", this seems to be his number one hit on the mommy music station! He loves the "boy song" from 'signing times'.
• If we are getting ready to load up the car and we've been outside with Max, Edward will demandingly state "Max backyard". Guess he's heard mommy say that a few times :)
• Love how Edward's imagination is starting to shine through! He loves to make me 'pancakes', and I 'gobble' them up like they are the best thing ever!"
• Five little Monkey's jumping on the bed"! Or should we say 'couch' because that's what we do every time we hear this song!

For Eli, nine months, leading into ten months has been a very exciting one! Here's why:

• Eli really started pointing his index fingers at things/people towards the beginning of the month.
• August 11th was Eli's first time to go from a laying down position to sitting up!
• A few days later I started noticing that Eli's knees were getting red because he gets in the crawl position quite often.
• On August 19th, Eli tried to crawl over our sit on train. He ended up stuck like a beached whale, with hands and legs flailing!
• Then on August 20th, Eli started CRAWLING, and my life has changed forever, haha! I'm already breaking up brotherly fights! As soon as he started crawling he began chasing Edward while he was playing with his trucks. Sometimes Edward thinks its hilarious and encourages Eli to "chase" him, while other times, he just wants to be left alone!
• Eli also loves to be in the 'bear crawl' position, which tends to look like him standing on his head :)
• The sense of accomplishment in Eli's eyes' when he started moving from room to room in the house was miraculous! He was quite proud of himself, and now I love to say his name and get his attention so that he can come crawling into his mommy's loving arms!
• One of the best crawling magical moments we've had was when Edward and Eli were playing chase through the tent tunnel that I had set up in the living room. To hear the laughter from Edward as Eli crawled and chased was so magical!
• On August 22nd, we had a frog adventure in the early morning. It was Eli's first frog to see/touch and it was the only frog Edward remembers seeing/touching. Of course, the frog peed all over my hand, but the boys big eyes sure did light up when they saw what mommy had in her hand!
• Eli now has FIVE teeth, 2 on top, 3 on bottom!

I love being a mommy and feel so blessed for each and all of the magical moments we get to create together each day!

July is Flying by....

July 2013, in Amarillo Texas has been an unseasonably cool month, Praise God! Rain and cool temps have been amazing!! So as for the boys, we have been trying to stay super busy, which is quite a bit easier now that Eli is down to two naps for the day. He wakes around 6:30, 7am and naps at 9 and 1 then goes to bed around 6:45. So we have a couple of slots that we are able to get out and about.

Some of our favorite activities this month include:

• Laugh and Learn at the NW library--"Dinosaur March" and "Firetruck" are our 2 favorites!
• 'Mommy and Me' Gymnastics--Edward has been taking a gymnasitics class at AC and has loved getting to jump on the trampoline and walk on beams and do so, so much more! Nana has been watching Eli :)
• LaDeeda--Music class with Miss Celeste. We love our Wednesday's and the time we get to spend exploring new music and instruments!
• Canyon library--checking out new books each week and playing in the kids area. This month they have had a big train and some birds on display. Both Edward and Eli LOVED the birds this past week, they even had Eli giggling :)! Out of all the books I check out, the car, train and Curious George books are the biggest hit! One of Edward's favorite books is "Goodnight, goodnight Construction Site" and it really is a terrific book! I even have Edward, Eli and myself enrolled in the summer reading program :)
• Swimming at the Amarillo Town club--We try to go swimming twice a week, one during the weekday with Nana's help and then once on the weekend when Daddy is home. Edward is getting better each and every time we go.
• Splash pad--this is a great afternoon outing when I don't have anyone to help me with the kids. We can run through the water then go to the playground and ride down slides!
• Wonderland Park--Edward's first amusement park (Eli stayed home with Nana)! It was a perfect night for a 2 1/2 year old to ride the horses (carousel), cars, boats, helicopters and the Log ride! He was in Heaven!! And we never had to wait in line, so we got to ride almost non-stop for 2 hours!

Here are some really neat things about Edward this month:

• On July 4th, we were eating at my parents' house and had all started to eat with out saying the prayer and Edward said "Prayer", he reminded us to pray, Amen!
• He will occasionally read/draw with Eli and now will try to actively play or show Eli what he is playing with.
• He will say and said "bless you" after Eli had sneezed
• "Roar" we "roar" a lot around this house right now. Especially towards the end of dinner and Eli , Edward and myself all end up cracking up.
• Edward will randomly perform a front roll anywhere at anytime.
• Around the middle of July, Edward started waking up in the middle of the night screaming, so I began to discuss with him what it meant to be a "big boy" and if he ever wanted to get a "big boy bed" he needed to sleep through the whole night without screaming. So on July 29th and 30th, when I went in to get him the next morning I congratulated him by saying how big of a boy he was and he said "bed, big boy bed" "no scream". He is so incredibly smart and NEVER ceases to amaze me!!
• Just yesterday after dinner (31st), me and the boys were playing and I was pretending to be asleep on the couch, Eli was jumping in his jumper and Edward would climb up on the couch. Well Eli would let out a happy scream and I'd pretend to be completely startled and Edward and Eli would just start cracking up, laughing so hard! I am so blessed! Thank you Lord.

Here are few tid-bits about Eli:

• He now has 4 teeth, 2 top, 2 bottom.
• He wants to be where Edward is (that's usually where the action is)
• Jabbering quite a bit and definitely reacts to different situations.
• Loves be sung to and read to
• Rolling and scooting all over the place and he will rock back and forth on all fours, just hasn't quite transferred all the motions to a full out crawl yet...soon, very soon....then life will change...

Being a mother of two beautiful Boys rocks!!

CB 2013

Crested Butte, Colorado, June 15-21

We spent a wonderful week in Beautiful Colorado! We were joined by my parents', Nana and Grandaddy, and Aften and Greg. We rented a 4 bedroom cabin just a few miles south of Crested Butte, right on the river. The weather was beautiful and the memories were grand! Here is just a quick glimpse of our fun.

• Edward loved watching Max chase his fishing pole line. He laughed and laughed!!
• We fished at Irwin lake and managed to catch around 15 trout. Edward got to see a fish and immediately started doing the mouth puffer fish action and talking to the fish "Hi, hi" and waving to it. It was so cute!
• Ice cream!! On Main street in CB which then led to a SUGAR RUSH!! Which led to a crazy toddler running up and down the driveway non-stop.
• River swimming with Max, Edward loved to see Max get in and out of the river and then shake--wet dog!!

Looking forward to MANY more magical memories to be made in Colorado!

Bring on Summer....JUNE

These sweet boys of mine are just changing too fast. Please dear God, help me to remember all of the joyful and sweet moments we share together.

One of the sweet things they are doing right now (June, 2013) is talking to one another at the dinner table. Edward will start screaming playfully, Eli will look his direction, smile and then join right in on the conversation.

Here are a few other things Edward is currently doing:

• Edward's version of sharing is letting Eli play with the toy for a few short minutes/seconds then he will take the toy away and say "tank you" (thank you), the best part of this is that he says thank you to congratulate himself for sharing, it's soo funny!
• He remembers everything you say or tell him! A few of the more random items he is remembering is "Aften paint plate" because there is a plate hanging in our kitchen that she did indeed paint, and "paw" for Max's paw print on the concrete when his feet get wet.
• No French toast, but grapefruit????.....
• Recognizing some letters (d-dad) and colors (orange)
• "Watch this, watch this" repeated over and over one day while playing outside on the basketball goal.
• THE Coolest story this month was that of the 'Grasshopper and Jeep'. If you ask Edward about this story and listen very carefully he will depict exactly what happened. We were outside playing and I saw a grasshopper and quickly called Edward over to take and peek and of course Max came running as well. When the grasshopper jumped, Max chased. This occurred a couple of times when the grasshopper took a leap and landed in the back of Edward's Jeep--memorable moment of the month! Edward was completely delighted and excited beyond words! then of course, Max chased and the grasshopper jumped, but this story will hold itself in the Hall of Fame for some time....! "hopper" "jeep"

Eli is making some huge strides himself:

• He is observing everything, people, sounds, animals, and especially his hands and feet!
• He loves the remote control and my phone...
• He is rolling over from front to back and back to front, every once in a while...
• He doesn't seem to mind tummy time nearly as much as he even did at the beginning of June, and is moving around a little bit...I better get ready for TWO moving little people!!

"May" I inform you....

I ADORE my boys! Here are some wonderful triumphs that have been going on in our household!

Edward:

• He gives the sweetest kisses with his bottom lip puckered out! Too cute!
• He stacked his "salami blocks" at lunch and was very proud of himself!
• Edward did a somersault all by himself around May 21st and has done a few since then! He is going to love the gymnastics class we are going to do this summer!
• We have been playing ball over the fence, where I stand on one side and he stands on the other and we throw the ball back and forth. Often Max ends up fetching the ball and Edward at first would get real angry, but then I told him how to get Max to drop the ball and now when Max does drop the ball Edward will say "good job Max" and pat, pat him on the back.
• Often when I go in to get Edward after nap or in the morning he will be quite chipper and want too toss 'doggie' and 'blankie' in the air and catch them, I just think the way he does this is so cute.
• Why have a been finding extra toys in Eli's bed when I go to lay him down???.....Edward....
• One handed driver--enough said
• Edward decided to read Eli a book one day. I walked in from the kitchen and there he was laying on his back next to Eli with a book in hand, babbling. My heart melted!
• On the 19th Edward said "love Mom" as I was walking out of his room that night. Sweet!!
• There has been a couple of times where Edward will accidentally knock something out of my hands or drop something and he will say "Oh" and cover his mouth with his hand. Such an expression!

Eli:

• Eli has been eating lots of new solid foods and I'm trying to come up with more! He's eaten peas, carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, avocados, apples, mango, banana and baby cereals (rice and oatmeal)
• Eli loves Edward's dance and sing Elmo, but the only thing is Edward is still working on having to share his toys with Eli.
• Eli loves to watch Edward play or eat and he will just smile from ear to ear when he sees his big brother! I hope that last forever.
• Eli really enjoys being sung to and especially loves 'itsy bitsy spider' and 'this little piggy'
• On the 21st, Eli and Edward were 'playing' together. Eli was sitting up (which he can do, just a little wobbly sometimes) and pulling Edward's hair and they were both cracking up laughing!
• Eli has his FIRST tooth! I noticed it on Memorial Day, the 27th, so exciting! But along with the excitement also comes the fussiness. It is his bottom left tooth and the one right next to it is on it's way.
• Eli had a doctor appointment this week (almost 7 months) and he weighs 16 lbs 15 oz (25%) and is 28 1/4 inches (90%) tall! As happy as I am that he's growing, I'm sad that time just seems to go so quickly with sweet little babies.

"Tiss" is for kiss....

So it's Wednesday May 8th, 2013 and I just wanted to write about a few more of the adorable things my boys are up to.

Mischievous Edward:

• Not sure how he is going to handle it when Eli starts crawling and wanting to play with ALL his toys....right now he is quite possessive of his toys when I ask him to share...
• Somewhere around Mid-March/April Edward became very aware of who was/is home. "Momma home" over and over and over...."Daddy home"....and he will go down the list. If Nana comes over to our house it's "Nana home" :)
• We LOVE the outdoors and are so thankful it's starting to warm-up. And sometime within this last month, Edward has REALLY learned how to drive his Jeep. He turns it so it misses objects and can even drive it back and forth through the gate. He loves his jeep!!
• Snack time outside....sometimes I think he just wants a snack outside so Max will chase him around, haha! So funny!

Today's Magical Mommy Moment:

So the boys usually both are ready for a nap between 12:30 and 1, so we all go into Edward's room and read books together. Edward always insists "Eyi books". After books, I lay 'doggie' down in Edward's bed and then pick him up and lay him down too. Today Edward asked for a "sip" of milk, then he says "Eyi tiss"--Eli kiss, I've been holding Eli down over Edward so he can give him a kiss, but today was the first day he actually asked to kiss him. This just makes me smile, then to follow that, I always say as I'm carrying Eli out the door "Have a good nap brother, I love you" and today Edward says 'I love you' although it was not completely clear, I knew what he was trying to say. Precious, unforgettable moments!

Today's Magical Mommy Moment was brought to you by "Big Brother Edward and Little Guy Eli"

A little before and after the "Big 2"!

I cannot believe I haven't posted anything since January! I must get better or I'm going to forget all those magical Mommy moments....

Here are a few of the things that Edward has been up to:

• In the Fall Edward could not get enough of Mickey Mouse, but in February he found Curious George and he is still a George Fanatic and we just entered May!!
• It was in February that Edward started becoming attached to "Doggie" (a stuffed dog) and now it sleeps with him every night and nap.
• In February he began saying some 2 word sentences and lots of jabber, some of which I could/can make out. And now in early May he repeats any word you say and can remember it so he can use it again.
• When I ask him how old he's going to be he holds up two fingers (one on each hand) and says "2" (February)
• Sweet brotherly love moment was when Edward took the xylophone to Eli and let/wanted him to have a chance to play.
• Edward is very protective of Eli. When we are out and about, if another child comes to look at Eli, Edward will be his body guard, to the point of screaming and telling them "No"!
• When the song "If your happy and you know it" came on, he clapped Eli's hands for him, so cute!
• "Bugar Bubbles"! Yes, he runs away when I try to wipe his nose, and at one point this winter wanted to wipe his "bugar bubbles" all over the house....
• So we have a baby doll that hangs out around our house, and one day Edward decided the baby needed to go potty, so he took her to the bathroom and let her use the potty!
• "1,2,3 Jump" It seems like in the beginning of February he was trying to learn to jump and now at the beginning of May he can Jump and both feet actually leave the ground!!
• Towards the end of February/March Edward became obsessed with the movie "Cars"! He could not get enough of it, so we actually had to stop watching it all together, and now we only watch it on special occasions.
• One of my favorite things that Edward started doing around mid-March is saying the word "yes", and it's just the way he says it, that will completely melt your heart--at least it does mine!!
• Edward never ceases to amaze me. We listen to lots of music (kid-tunes) and when he hears a song that he has seen on a movie/show he can identify it within the first 5 seconds of listening. He can be in a completely different room and hear a song and identify it "Lion King", "Cars", "Mickey", "Big Bird" ect....He is so smart!!
• Beginning of April Edward starts to identify "boys" and "girls" by naming people he knows and classifying them as boy or girl. "Daddy, boy" "eli, boy" "Nana, girl" , although for the first couple of days everyone was a boy, but now can look at pictures and say "girl" or "boy" and even identifies animals as "boy or girl" . He knows the male lion has a mane and the girls doesn't so he can tell the difference.
• In April, he started wanting to "Hold Eli", so I set Eli down next to Edward in the chair and this seems too suffice for him :)
• Edward is a "by the book" little guy. He likes routine, for instance if my hair is down instead of in a ponytail, he states quite firmly "Momma's hair" and won't stop until it's pulled back.
• Edward turned 2! We had a Curious George party at our house with friends and family. We cooked hamburgers and hot dogs and had cupcakes. It was lots of fun!
• Edward's 2 year doctor appointment was fabulous! Super healthy dude, developing just as he should, 30lbs, 36 inches tall (3 feet)! So if it holds true to double his height at 2, he will be 6 feet tall as an adult.

Eli is such an amazing little guy. Here are a few little tid-bits about him:

• He loves, loves, loves his big brother! He loves to watch him play and smiles any time he sees him.
• Eli is so observant and focuses on whatever is going on in the room.
• Now at 6 months he is so much stronger and does not like to be left alone, he wants to be where the action is!
• We had a little scare with Eli and his weight at his 4 month (almost 5 month) appointment. He had only gained 3 ounces, so I had to begin supplementing formula with my milk. And now at 6 months he weighs 15 lbs 9 oz. So he is back on track, praise the Lord!
• Just last week we started adding some solids, starting off with rice cereal and now we've done a little bit of butternut squash and rice cereal with bananas. his face when he tries new food is hilarious!
• He's still not rolling over, but will move all over his play-mat and definitely has the strength too, but just doesn't seem to mind just hanging out.
• He loves his jumper, I think a lot of the reason is because he can see everything that's going on in the house.
• He has slept through the night 3 times, I think...but usually only wakes up once, maybe twice...He also, is a great nap taker as long as we are at home. He still takes 3.

I am so grateful to God for my two beautiful, healthy boys! Thank You for blessing me with such beautiful gifts.

Life with TWO boys....

Life with TWO boys can definitely be trying and tough some days, but the good always out weighs the bad.

Here are some things Edward is now doing:

• Repeats actions and words
• Says "shooey" to wet/dirty diapers and stinky feet
• Calls people by their name; "Daddy" "Mom" "Nan" ( nana) "Eyi" (Eli)
• Likes to help by covering Eli up with the blanket, whether he needs it or not
• Becoming more particular about what he eats
• Often hard for him to have to 'share' Mommy with Eli

Here are some things Eli is already doing:

• "Coo"ing, he began talking quite a bit around 1month. He just lights up when someone talks with him.
• Strong, with good neck control
• I can lay him down for a nap and he will cry for a brief amount of time and then go to sleep, this just started over the last week or so and has been so FREEING for me.
• Sleeps for 5,6, and sometimes 7 hours at a time at night!!

I know there is so much more that they are both doing, but I can not keep all my thoughts straight since it has been such a long time since I blogged! I'll get back on track and record all the adorable and non-forgettable moments when they happen so I don't forget!!

A lot has happened....

A lot, a WHOLE lot, has happened since my last blog. So I'm going to do my best to give  a quick and brief overview of all the big moments.

OCTOBER--In October we started the moving process to Amarillo to get set up for Erick's new job at Enviro Ag, he was due to start on December 3rd. But before we could fully move we needed Baby Plum to make his/her appearance. We had movers pack the house and move all our stuff to storage in Amarillo. They packed everything except what we needed to have to stage the house for it to sell more easily. In the meantime, we try to continue as normally as possible, go to the park, have play dates, go to the library and Edward went to MDO on Wednesday's.
As Halloween grew closer, there were lots of fun activities to take Edward to that would keep him busy. We went to a pumpkin patch in McKinney that had a petting zoo and bounce houses and also went to our church "Kids Karnival". The 27th, which was baby plum's due date, came and went and still no baby and then on October 29th at around 11pm I started contracting, finally! I continued to have contractions all day on Tuesday the 30th, but they still were not close enough together to head to the hospital. And then finally at 2 am on the 31st I could not handle the pain ANY longer. So we called my doctor and headed to the hospital.
Eli Tucker Emerine was born on October 31st at 11:52 am and weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces and was 21 3/4 inches long. He was alert and such a beautiful baby and I was the first one to see he was a BOY! I was released from the hospital on Friday November 2nd and we headed to Amarillo on Sunday November 4th.

NOVEMBER--The first few weeks in Amarillo were pretty rough, I for one, could not walk at all! The birth of Eli had taken it's toll on my body and I was in pretty rough condition. Also, Erick was still in Plano finishing up with his job there. I was in Amarillo tending to a brand new baby and a strong willed toddler. It was really helpful to have my mom to help with Edward and cook some meals for us. Edward turned 20 months and Eli celebrated 1 month of life, it was a hard and trying month, but it was also full of beauty and love. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Erick joined us full time in Amarillo. We started house hunting as soon as Erick got to Amarillo to stay and within a few weeks we found a beautiful home on an acre of land between Amarillo and Canyon!

DECEMBER--I finally started feeling more normal physically in December, praise the Lord, because for a while I was weighing my options on what I should do. Thankfully, my hormones weren't quite as crazy as they had been with Edward, so my main concern were of course, the boys, and getting my body back to a  functioning condition. Around mid-December, Aften and her new husband, Greg, came to visit and spend the Christmas holiday. It was so nice to have some extra hands to carry and cuddle with Eli and to jump and run with Edward. It was a wonderful Christmas to have our whole family under the same roof celebrating the birth of Jesus and all the miracles of the 2012 year. Around the second week of December we found out that Erick's dad had cancer again, so we all began praying for him and a healthy recovery after surgery.Edward turned 21months and Eli 2 months.

JANUARY--2013! Well, it's a new year and we have so much to be thankful for. We closed on our new home on Friday January 11th and are set to move in the following weekend! Bruce's surgery went well, and now he is just in a tough recovery process. The boys are healthy and beautiful. Edward is still having a tough time adjusting to having to share his mommy, but he is just completely amazing. They both are, thank you God for healthy, happy boys!