Getting Ready

Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm up to my eyeballs in grading and planning at school. On the home front, we're busy getting the house clean and ready to celebrate Aiden's and Reid's first birthdays this weekend.

Eric vacuuming the nooks and crannies:


Reid is enjoying being able to stand up and open the shutters to see outside:


Aiden is still hooked on flipping through books:


Before I forget- last week I was talking on the phone with Eric, while Aiden and Reid were fighting to gain control of the same toy. Aiden ended up accidentally knocking Reid over, which of course caused Reid to start sobbing. I picked him and held him on my lap while I explained to Eric what had happened. In the mean time, Aiden lowered himself down (they had both been standing up and using the couch to hold on to), scooted over to a pile of toys, and grabbed a ball. He brought it back over to my feet, stood up, and handed it to Reid. It made my heart melt.

Almost one year ago, our first family photo:
(Aiden on the left, Reid on the right.)

This and That

Both Thursday and Friday evenings, the boys insisted that I be the one who gave them their bedtime bottles. Two bottles, two babies, and one momma isn't the best ratio, but I managed to get it done. I think they were still adjusting to me going back to school after spring break.

On Saturday, we headed to Costco with my parents so I could order a birthday cake for the boys. I'm hoping to not have to do Costco on a Saturday for a very long time. It was overwhelming. I'm still not used to the attention that we get when we're out and about and I hate being in other shoppers' ways, so I tried to navigate through as quickly as possible. Reid loved being the protector of the Cheerios.

Keep away!

Reid has started this little game with me. (Speaking of; guess who just started crying? Be right back. Just rocked him a little bit and he went back to sleep. He was a little out of sorts this evening, because he didn't fall asleep for an afternoon nap.) Towards the end of the meal, he likes to chomp down on the spoon to try and keep me from getting it out of his mouth. He has a pretty good poker face, because I never know when it's going to happen. He then likes to give a nice, sly grin. Gotcha, Momma!

Aiden, still a master of the cute and innocent look.

This is what happens when I try to eat in the living room. Two little beggars. At least this has been a good way to get them to try different types of foods and textures.

After a week of being back to school, I seem to have lost my A-game when it comes to taking care of the boys. (On a related note, I accidentally washed two more disposable diapers. Luckily, they didn't fall apart this time.) After I finished feeding the boys their lunch on Saturday, I left them in their gated community (the living room) while I made my lunch and sent my mom an email. The boys were having a great time and I could hear Aiden migrate to the other end of the room. He has this cute little giggle when he's having fun, but I realized that the giggling was coming from the wrong location. I had forgotten to put the gate back up in front of the stairs and Aiden had made it all the way up to the landing. He was giggling so much because he could see me sitting at the kitchen table as I was starting up my computer. I scurried up the stairs as quickly as possible before he decided to come back down. The boys have the going up part, but we still need to master getting back down the stairs. Safely.

Later on, I went upstairs to get ready to go to Costco. I could hear the boys playing and then silence. Not a good sign. I quickly went downstairs to check out what they were up to. My little angels were just enjoying a good book together. Aiden could spend hours pouring over their books and Reid was enjoying having someone flip the pages for him. These two are quite the good buddies.

Happy Birthday to Me :)

Eric grilled steaks and my mom made a chocolate cake. It's been a great birthday with lovely greetings from my friends and family, near and far.



Aiden and Reid worked on ripping paper.

My mom and dad provided memories of my birthday from 33 years ago.

More Spring Break Adventures

We took the boys on a couple of errands with us- Babies R Us and the grocery store. They kept watch by the gate while we hauled in the goods from the minivan. Playing in one of their forts. The second trip to the park- this is a good shot of Aiden's two little bottom row teeth. Aiden's crinkled-up-nose smile for Auntie Kelsey. Reid, aka Joe Cool. Aiden; must have inherited some of my geekiness. Reid; ride 'em, cowboy! Reid and Mommy. Aiden and Daddy. Reid will often times grab his right ear while he's sucking his left thumb. However, if someone else's nose or ear are within reach, he goes for them instead. Grandpa and Grandma, Super Nannies! Jockeying for position in the book bin.

A Room with a View

Now that Reid and Aiden are tall enough and steady enough on their feet, they've been enjoying the opportunity to check out what's going on outside. Here's the picture I received from my mom today.


Here are a couple of shots I took of the boys watching the rain from the same spot.

One of the Best Parts of Spring Break...

Extra snuggling with my boys. It's pretty rare, but every once in a while both boys need to be held at the same time. I was happy to accomodate their requests this morning. They went back to playing for a while, but Reid soon returned for some extra snuggling. They let us know they want to be picked up by crawling over to our feet and then laying out on their bellies and waving their arms and legs around. Sort of like Reid's sky-diving move. After 10 days of spring break, my parents are going to have a couple of mama's boys on their hands tomorrow.

Future Occupations

It's always interesting to guess what the boys may be up to in twenty years based on their current interests. Right now I would guess Aiden will be a librarian (will that job still exist?) and Reid will go a little more rock and roll.



They're also discovering their talents in pushing their Bumbo seats all over. Looks like Eric and Grandpa will be able to retire from lawn mowing duties before too long.


P.S. to Cousin Paul:
Reid likes to make noises that make him sound like he's warming up an engine. RRRRrwerwerwerwerrwe. I remember you doing the same when you were little. The boys also wanted you to know that those Damn Yankees are going down tonight. Go Twins!