Woah. Okay. I totally meant to get this done before now. I mean, now I really have a ton to share. Grab a hot cocoa and a warm blanket and settle in. It's gonna be a long post.
So, I left you in mid-January. Here are a couple random shots of sweet baby W, a boy who is fast outgrowing that name...
We haven't gotten much snow this year, so we've had to enjoy every flake that's come down. Miss L likes to "shovel."
Look at that red nose!
After we "dug out" we headed to a local place that specializes in moon bounces. They host open gyms several times a week and we like to go blow off some steam during the long winter months. Miss L had a blast this day with her buddies mister E and miss C.
We also passed some time drinking milkshakes at Red Robin.
This one has nothing to do with anything, I just like the peaches on his shirt and his expression.
On the 15th, we dropped the kids off for a parents' night out and met some friends at Maggianos for some yummy food. Oh my goodness, it was good and since it was something like the second time we'd gone out since the twins were born, it might have tasted even better.
Miss L doesn't often take naps anymore. In fact, we try to encourage her not to take naps since it just makes bedtime that much easier when she doesn't. Sometimes, however, it just happens and waking her up can be very difficult! This day she fell asleep in the car and we picked her up and brought her in the house. She headed straight for the couch.
She's slept like this since she could first roll over. I think it's really cute. I especially love the feet.
While miss L was sleeping on the couch Brad and sweet baby W repaired the baby gate at the top of the stairs. Sweet baby W was very interested in the drill.
He says... I wonder what that tastes like...
At some point we made homemade pizza. It was yummy...
...but that wasn't the best part. The best part was that sweet baby W thought it was yummy (though honestly he pretty much thinks everything is).
I don't know when I stopped taking photos of miss L eating. It was probably when she stopped getting it all over the place, I guess. I just can't resist a baby with food on his face.
Miss L is very into dressing up lately. On this particular day she put on this outfit and I asked, "Are you a cheerleader?" and she told me, "No. I a basketball player!" :o)
Here's just some random shot.
So this doesn't happen that often, but it does seem to happen more lately. It's awfully cute and we've gotten pretty good at transferring him to bed.
Another messy baby photo...
So I blame Brad for this. He is definitely not afraid to have fun in ways that I would never allow on my own for fear of someone getting hurt. After those games get started, though, they have a tendency to work their way out of the part of the day when Daddy is available and usually I come around to deciding that they are okay.
This is one of those games.
You start by taking all the cushions off the couch and standing on the back.
Then you JUMP!
...and you land on the cushions on the floor, never on the couch, cause mommy gets irritated about that. We do have to keep the couch in working order, after all.
Miss L isn't the only one who likes this game.
It's just sort of perfect for those days when it's too cold to play outside.
The other activity that mommy doesn't like? Wrestling. It's all fun and games when daddy is here, but it makes me so nervous when miss L and sweet baby W pull on each other and crawl all over each other. I try to let it play out, because I know that miss L is very careful with her little brother, but you know how accidents happen. :o)
You can see what sweet baby W thinks about it.
In late January, we finally got some snow.
It was the sort of snow that fell super fast and heavy and required several shovelings during the snowfall itself. Sweet baby W was sad watching his sister and daddy clearing the sidewalk that evening.
The next day when the sun was out and it was time to dig out the cars we suited up to go outside. Sweet baby W had been so interested in the snow the day before that I thought he'd be excited to go out.
Miss L, knowing what she was getting into, was extremely excited about the snow.
Miss L went out and got to playing in the snow. I sat sweet baby W down in the yard and I'm not sure it was exactly as great as he thought it might be.
It was alright until he fell over.
For the record, sweet baby W does NOT like to touch snow.
Miss L, on the other hand, loves it.
Sweet baby W was a little happier sitting on the porch.
Miss L climbed to the top of the snow berm for a photo and you can sort of see how tall it is. In the end we only got around 12 inches of snow, but it was the heavy wet stuff that piles up.
I wanted to get a photo of both kids on top of that snow berm, but sweet baby W just really didn't want to sit in that snow. You can see what a wonderful big sister miss L is. She's singing softly to him in this photo, trying to make him feel better.
After digging out both cars, Brad and miss L were cold! Luckily, we'd picked up some mini-marshmallows and cocoa the week before at the store and we had a yummy treat!
Sweet baby W is going through a pointing phase right now. Everything he is interested in or wants he'll point at and say, "Yeah. Yeah." and nod vigorously. It's pretty cute and a little exhausting. :o)
In the evening, just before it got dark we decided to build a snow man out back.
Sweet baby W watched from the window and seemed to want to give it a second try so we got suited up and gave it another go.
He seems a bit skeptical about that snowball.
Miss L and her daddy built a snowman and a snow bunny.
It was getting a little too dark for photos by this point, but we were still having fun. They had a mini-snowball fight.
Eventually, sweet baby W made his feelings known.
We headed inside to get ready for bed.
The next day miss L had a friend come over while her mom was out. We've discussed many times that when more than one friend comes over we cannot take the cushions off the couch, but when it's just one friend, then it's fine. First they built a "road" out of the pillows and then set up the "slide." (please pretend like my house is sort of clean)
I love that miss L and miss C are having so much fun and I think it's so fun how sweet baby W is just watching it all.
We also spent some time playing with toys.
Sweet baby W thinks he is so big. He really just wants to play on the couch cushions like the big kids.
Now, let me assure you that he wasn't hurt. Also, that I didn't realize he was going to go OVER! My heart stopped for a minute though he thought it was pretty funny.
Eventually we laid down and turned the tv on for a little quiet time.
I mentioned a while ago (well, probably just in my last post ;o) that miss L had gotten some trains from her cousin K. It has been a BLAST to have those trains and I think that Brad is almost as excited as anyone. We've expanded our collection for the motorized Thomas trains and miss L and her daddy have a WONDERFUL time putting them together. Usually we try to keep sweet baby W out of the trains, but after everyone is done playing he usually gets in on the action. He loves to watch the train go round and round and try to grab it.
He loves to chase the train.
He's so proud when he gets it.
All he wants to do is taste it!
So far in her short life my baby girl has been little interested in girly stuff. We have gone through a bit of a princess phase lately, but now we've hit a huge ballerina phase. She wants dresses that "spin," and she wants to wear a dress everyday. This is a challenge for a girl who has one church dress (and that's the one she really wants to wear and asks for it often) but we're building our dress collection for playclothes. The other thing she's loving is wearing her ballerina costumes for dress up. I just think this is so cute.
She's starting the dvd player in that photo. I can't believe she's so big!
Sweet baby W likes it though...
February 2nd came fast. It was a bittersweet day spent remembering sweet Ben and how it should have been his birthday, but also how it was sweet baby W's birthday. We're just feeling our way through. I feel bad for sweet baby W that he'll never have a day that is just his the way that miss L has a day that is just hers. At the same time I want to honor Ben's memory and keep him "alive" in our family. It was a wonderful day at any rate and sweet baby W had a great first birthday at home with our family.
Of course there were gifts.
Sweet baby W got a water table from mawmaw and pawpaw and I decided fairly early into the project that I was going to punt putting this together to Brad.
We had a lovely dinner and then returned to the house for cake.
The focus is obviously not where I wanted it in this photo, but it's really cute!
There was plenty of help opening gifts.
He wasn't crazy about the cake, but I really think that was because he was exhausted. We are going to get together with another family for another party for sweet baby W and I'm thinking he'll destroy that cake. On his birthday though, he mostly just got it in his hair.
After that it was an easy bedtime. Miss L did talk to her daddy during "cuggle" (cuddle) time about sweet baby Ben. I'm so impressed that she knew that it was his birthday too, but I was all kinds of emotions after Brad told me about this conversation. Miss L asked her daddy why Ben didn't get any cake. He explained that Ben was with God in Heaven and that he doesn't need cake anymore. She said that she wanted to see Ben, right now! She didn't want to wait. Brad told her that he did too. She said she missed him and wanted to sing happy birthday to him too. Brad listened while she sang to her baby brother. She's so wise beyond her years. What an amazing girl.
This wasn't that night, but this is a scene I walk in on often. Many nights, sweet baby W wants to nurse, but after he's full (he's just had dinner many times) he still wants to nurse but gets frustrated. At that point, he wants his daddy and I hand him off and Brad rocks him the rest of the way to sleep. After 20-30 minutes of silence I check on them just to make sure that everyone is alright. Usually, everyone is alright, in fact, they've just fallen asleep together.
Soon after sweet baby W's birthday we broke out the water table. It was a blast! My floors are a bit cleaner and I'm pretty sure that miss L was fairly dry and sweet baby W was soaked.
We've worn birthday hats a lot lately. In fact, we've sung the song a lot too. This was just a regular dinner, but a little more festive, perhaps.
You can't hear it, but I'm telling you the boy is loud. I know, I know. You are all chuckling a little right now thinking about how he sure is related to his mom. It's amazing. He has got a set of pipes!
I wanted to do something different with miss L's hair for Valentine's day. It had been awhile since we'd done a long lasting style and I'd heard so much about yarn braids and decided to go for it. It's really cute. It isn't a style I'd want to keep in all the time just because I don't want her to think that she needs anything extra in her hair to be beautiful, but I do think we'll do it again sooner or later. I haven't gotten a lot of great pictures of the hair, but we have taken a few out and about.
We went to the mall the other day and had lunch. Chick-fil-a will allow you to trade in your toy from your meal for an ice cream cone.
Yum!
We also played in the play area for a bit and I thought it was hilarious to watch sweet baby W play just like a big kid.
When sweet baby W is concentrating really hard he does this thing where he breathes in and then out of his mouth sort of blowing up. It's really cute.
Miss L had a party at school last week and opened her valentine's this weekend.
Valentine's day we were up early. Sweet baby W has had the flu and thank goodness miss L got the flu shot because though she's had a fever and a bit of a cough, she's been almost healthy. Sweet baby W only got his second flu shot last week so it hadn't taken affect yet when he got the flu. Poor baby boy. He hasn't been sleeping well (until last night, fingers crossed!) so we've been up in time to see daddy leave for work. Everyone likes to see him off.
We had an errand we had to run that day and so we put on clothes long enough to make it out. I had to take a Valentine's Day photo of the kids.
Last night (and tonight) sweet baby W fell asleep at the dinner table.
Tonight he actually stayed asleep, but last night he woke up in time to eat some potatoes.
Miss L has inherited our old digital camera. She got one for Christmas, but the quality isn't great and she likes this one much better. I'll have to post some of those photos soon.
Have a wonderful week! I'll see you soon!
