Friends don't let friends get eaten by Mommy

Me: I'm going to eat Judah all up!  He smells so yummy!
Eli: NOOOOO!  Don't eat him!
Me: Why not?  He is delicious!
Eli: No Mommy!  He's not delicious!  He's my best friend!

Early Summer Playground trip

Eli, Jude and I went to the park the other day to play around! Sorry this video is so long coming, we just haven't had a whole lot to put up video wise and with the holidays, we've both been pretty pooped.



Look forward to this summer's videos at the playgrounds, zoos, museums, and trips across the country as we get ready for a fun summer!

Waffle-Maniacs

This morning, shortly after our morning potty-trip, I had this conversation with Eli.

Mommy: What do you want to do?
Eli: I watch Yo Gabba.
Mommy: Okay, do you want a waffle?
Eli: Of course.  And sippy.

Well okay then.  At least he knows what he wants.  I also promise they are wearing pull-ups in this picture.  :)

100th Post!

Well, I thought Alex would have liked to write this one, but I promised Dad (Hi Dad!) that I'd do one of these blog posts each week, in light of not updating as regularly in the past.

I honestly think that the 100th post of a blog about babies is a bit silly. After all, don't we have enough milestones to celebrate with our kids? Speaking of which, next weekend we're going to be trying a different approach at potty training: full-on. The boys are definitely showing all the signs, especially not wanting to keep their diapers on. The only reason we're not doing it this weekend is that I think Alex needs to recover some more from her back mishap so she'll be at her best for potty training, which is sure to be a long and arduous process. I do hope the boys make it easy on us though!



Also, we had an unexpected but delightful visit from Nanny and Poppa (my grandparents) this last weekend while Alex was hurt. We've been meaning to get up to visit them for nearly 2 months now, but every weekend, we have some catastrophe or illness that we don't want to give to them, but this last weekend, Nanny and Poppa came to visit us with Emily and Jeremy, my cousin and her husband. It was such a nice visit, with the babies playing with their great grandparents and having fun with their new presents that Nanny and Poppa brought with them! The pictures above come from their visit, with the boys thouroughly enjoying the visit with their great grandparents. We also had a little fun putting them into the gift bags that were brought to hold the presents, although one of them broke, so we had to put both babies inside one. Notice the longhorn pajamas? Got 'em on clearance from Target. I love good deals!



Well, that's that for now. The boys are bugging me to read books to them, my favorite type of pestering. See ya next time blog world!

Happy Birthday To You...

Well folks, it's hard to believe but today Eli and Jude turn two.  That's right, they've been on this planet for two years.  I know it must be shocking to you because I can barely comprehend it myself.  These last two years have been both very short and very long.  When I think back to the day they were born it seems like only yesterday.  I still remember the times before the babies (no matter what other mothers say about forgetting) and it really doesn't seem like that long ago.  But then I think back to those sleepless nights and marathon feedings and passing out on the couch while nursing at 4 AM and it all seems like another lifetime.  I suppose that this is just the nature of parenthood.

Two years ago on December 30, 2008 at 7:28 and 7:30 AM, Elijah Lee and Judah Maxwell entered this world at 34 weeks gestation.  They weighed 4 lbs 14 oz and 4 lbs 12 oz and were 19 1/2 inches and 19 inches long.  Today, Eli and Jude weigh around 26 lbs each, give or take a couple of ounces (Eli is still a little bit bigger) and are approximately 35 inches tall (Eli is also still a little taller).  They run, hop, climb, slide, and swing like pros.  They can count to five successfully every time by themselves and to ten with help.  They can recognize all of their letters and sometimes sing along to the ABCs.  They love music of all kinds but especially pop and dance music.  Much to Travis's dismay, they very much enjoy Ke$ia.  Their favorite television shows are Blues Clues, Yo Gabba Gabba, and the Fresh Beat Band.  They love dogs, cats, and ocean animals of all kinds.  They like to eat pizza, grilled cheese sandwiches, clementine oranges, Eggo waffles, cheesy scrambled eggs, and pretty much anything sweet.  They are pretty good at eating with spoons and forks but still struggle a little with cups with no lids.  Their favorite playmates are still each other.

In the last two years, my babies have become little boys.  They play hard and love life.  Even though another birthday means another year farther from those precious baby snuggles and coos, it means so much more to learn about the people we are raising.  I look forward to all of the joys and surprises to come in this next year!

Pull My Finger Gets a New Meaning

Eli and Jude have been practicing hand-holding so that we can get them to walk more rather than lug the huge stroller everywhere or have to carry increasingly heavy boys.  Both are getting the hang of it but Eli has decided to use his skills to drag me everywhere he goes.

He walks up to me wherever I am - sitting, standing, cooking, doesn't matter - and grabs my index finger with his whole hand and pulls me until I follow him.  Usually it's just around the room or over to a door he wants me to open, but it's one of the funniest things he does.  This morning, he walked me over to Travis and my bedroom door and knocked on it calling "Dada!" then looked at me expectantly, like I would open the door.  I told him, "I'm sorry, but Daddy's sleeping.  Let's go read a book instead." and he pouted for a few minutes.

Later, I asked him to come give me a hug and he shook his head vigorously and yelled "No, No, No!" at me, then gave me the stink-eye like I give him when he does something wrong.  I thought it was hilarious but was also taken aback at his new attitude.  I hope this is not a sign of angsty teenage years to come...

Johnny Rockets!

Today we drove back down to San Marcos to get the windshield replaced on the Odyssey. What could have been mind numbingly boring for Eli and Jude was actually a pretty fun (though probably still a little boring) afternoon at the Outlet Mall! We walked around and browsed a little bit in a couple of stores for me - it was torture tearing myself away from the Coach purses that were an additional 20% off today only - but mostly stores for Eli and Jude. We got them a couple of pairs of cheap Osh Kosh shoes because we seem to keep losing the right shoe to most of the pairs we have. We also dropped by the Sony outlet to try to see their new 3D televisions but the outlet didn't have one. Instead, Travis got himself a new PS3 game as a birthday present.

In the middle of the browsing, we stopped for lunch at Johnny Rockets! Travis loves the '50s diner and apparently has been disappointed that the one in Austin closed years ago. And who doesn't love a restaurant that gives the kids cute hats? We jammed out to oldies and ate some tasty burgers, shakes, and fries. I couldn't resist taking a few shots of the adorable paper hats either. Too bad Eli and Jude wouldn't keep them on their heads! Eli warmed up to it after a while but Jude was having none of it.

Why is your mouth blue???

So, this morning I tried to teach the boys how to color unsuccessfully. I read in our What to Expect: The Toddler Years book (or, as Travis and I call it, The Baby Manual) that this month they may be able to scribble a little bit so I wanted to try it out! Over the weekend, Travis and I bought some construction paper and these crayola toddler markers for the boys and I've been itching to play with them. Also, I'm getting ready to do a big deep cleaning of our kitchen and thought some cute artwork from the boys would make an excellent addition to a newly clean refrigerator door. Both sides of the family have artsy people so I thought, "It's in their blood! They'll love to draw and be great at it!" Ah, how naive.


My first mistake was probably putting them in the high chairs. I read on several websites that the best way to avoid technicolor walls at the beginning to always do coloring activities while strapped into high chairs. Sounds brilliant, right? Well, since Eli and Jude only go in their high chairs when they eat - plus it was almost meal time - I can see where there could have been a misunderstanding as to our activity.

My second mistake was looking away. After showing both boys how their markers made pretty colors on their own paper and saw they weren't quite getting it, I thought that I should probably model how to do it and color with them. I looked down at my page for just a moment and when I looked up Eli had blue lips, a blue tongue, blue teeth, and a few blue fingers. I took the marker out of his mouth and said "No eating, we use this on paper." but it went right back into his mouth. I glanced over at Jude and sure enough, he too was green in the lips, tongue and teeth. After a few attempts to get them to stop eating the markers and color with them, I gave up and took them away. This brought on lots of tears and anguished cries but they were fine when I gave them some oranges and waffles.

Luckily, because these markers are marketed for toddlers, they seem to be mostly water with a tiny hint of color. By the time I thought to take a picture of the aftermath, most of the pigment had come off of their faces and hands already. But, we probably won't try coloring again for a while.

My baby is a GENIUS!

So, we had a big exciting day at the park today - we even bought some sand toys to play with in the sand volleyball court - and it was seeming like a day like any other. Eli and Jude have become so much more adventurous on the playground. They're running around, climbing on the playscape, and even trying to slide down the slides on their own. That in itself would have been enough to write a blog. Judah was positively adorable when he went down the slide without me and fell right off the bottom and bounced. He smiled, got up, and started to climb back up the steps.

But the real action happened tonight when we were getting the boys ready for bed. We were to the reading portion of our bedtime routine and Daddy chose to read Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boynton - one of the boys' favorites and a guaranteed laugh riot - and he started with the first line "A cow says..." and paused to see if the boys would try to answer. I was dumbfounded when Eli smiled and said, "MMMMM!" Okay, not quite the "moo" I was expecting, but a cow noise nonetheless. We praised him (I was practically jumping up and down, I was so excited) and Travis continued with "A sheep says..." and Eli answered again "BAA!" I almost fell over, I was so surprised! It's official, ELI IS A GENIUS! He didn't quite get the "la la la" part and didn't answer any other animal noises but two is plenty. Especially for a first time. I'm just still so stunned and pleased. Eli's really shown an interest in speaking the last few days but nothing like tonight. Not even close. I can't wait until he can read the whole book - at this rate, it won't be too long! : )