Giving Thanks

Although we are thankful each and every day of the year, today we are especially thankful for everything we have.  We are thankful to God for blessing us with our 3 miracle children who make us smile and laugh each and every day.

We are thankful for Easton and his un-ending need for exploration and climbing.  He sure keeps us on our toes and keeps us thinking of new ways to keep him out of places he doesn't need to be exploring.

We are thankful for Christian and his beautiful smile, his infectious laugh and easy-going attitude.  We are thankful for his determination in life.

We are thankful for Charlie in knowing what he wants from life, his constant need for snuggles and determination to be strong and thrive.

I know I am thankful that my family is all together, happy and healthy.  It's been one heck of a year, but  we have been incredibly blessed by the Lord and I know he is forever watching over us.

9 Months Old!!

I can't quite believe it myself, but Christian and Charlie are 9 months old today (6 months corrected tomorrow)!  It seems like it's taken forever to get to this place and at the same time I wonder where the time has gone.

CHRISTIAN

Christian is on the move.  By rolling and scooting and pushing with his feet he can get anywhere he wants to and quickly.  The other day he found Easton's wagon full of blocks and thought that was pretty cool to play with.....Although, Easton didn't find it amusing.

He's also working hard on sitting and from the looks of it will be doing this on his own in no time.  Check this out......

And have I ever mentioned he's the happiest kid ever?  I'm not exaggerating.  He really is happy almost ALL the time.  It makes this mama very happy to see such a smile every day and hear such wonderful laughter from him.

CHARLIE

Charlie, our little man.  He's growing and experiencing so much.  He's also working on sitting, has been rolling so much more lately and all of a sudden LOVES tags.  We have a soft tag blanket that has been entertaining him for what seems like eternity and he especially loves the tag on his blankie.  And he has so much hair!  We joke that Charlie will need a hair cut by the time he's 1, but that Christian probably won't need one until he's 3!

How can a person resist this face?!  Really, how?  Charlie has started eating more solids lately along with his milk and we're hoping that will have a nice impact on his weight.  Both boys have their 9 month check ups on Monday next week where they will get their second flu shot and their first Synagis shot which helps their bodies fight RSV if they are unfortunate enough to get that this year.  We're praying and crossing our fingers that they don't.

More updates next week after their appointment!

Happy 9 month milestone baby boys!

Raising Boys

I know it's been awhile since I've posted anything new.  We haven't been doing much, but at the same time have been extremely busy.  Doing what, you might ask?

Other than trying to keep a low profile so everyone stays healthy.........

Well, Easton has been going to "school" on Monday evenings in order to get him out of the house and run off some of the pent up energy that only a 22 month old can have.  It's a community Education class where he can meet and play with other kids his age and where they have lots of age appropriate toys and activities he can experience.  He loves to go to school and always walks into the room like he owns the place! Mom or dad always stay with him, but I don't think he'd care if we weren't there!

Easton painting for the first time at "school"

Other than going to school, Easton went trick or treating for the first time this Halloween, carved pumpkins for the first time and he's been busy helping dad with fall clean up inside the house and outside as well!

Kids = Cheap labor!   Just kidding, the one spot he washed was very clean though!

And he got to ride the tractor with dad too!!  The highlight of his week I think!

This kid LOVES his tractors!

Christian has been busy learning how to move all over.  He is rolling like a pro and has even started scooting around a bit.  He tries to get his knees up underneath him, but doesn't use his hands at the same time so isn't quite up on his hands and knees.  Regardless, he can get places fairly quickly with his scooting!

Floor time with his big brother

Christian is still one of the happiest babies I have ever met.  He is truly a blessing and a joy to have around!

And Charlie....Our little Charlie Bear works so hard....between eating enough each day, trying to gain weight, going to physical therapy AND learning new skills, this is one tough kid!  Along with his bottles, Charlie has started eating more solids which we hope will help pick up his weight gain.

Yes, Charlie fit in one of our pumpkins!  He looks thrilled, right!

Charlie enjoying his first solids....

He has really started to enjoy eating

And.....Charlie got his first battle wound from growing up with a big brother.  Easton decided it would be fun to throw Christian's half eaten bottle at Charlie's head.  Charlie ended up with a goose egg and nice bruise on his head and Easton ended up in time out.  Easton decided it wasn't so funny after-all once he sat in time out for 1 minute (which, keep in mind, is like forever for a 22 month old!).

Poor Charlie recovered quickly after some snuggles with mom.

So, we've been asked how Tyler and I are holding up with our 3 hooligans.........We're doing okay.  It's chaotic and stressful at times, but we can't imagine life without any one of our boys.  We get out from time to time on date nights which helps us re-group.  This last weekend we had a "mega-date" where the boys went to grandma and grandpa's for the day and night and Tyler and I were able to spend some much needed time together where we explored a cave in St. Paul, went rock climbing, got to eat 2 full meals without interruption and then enjoyed a concert AND got to sleep in.  I know, unbelievable!  But we realized that we're getting too old to do all that in one day and stay out so late.  I think we're both still recovering 2 days later!