A new toy!

The boys' cousin Jake has been nice enough to lend them his exersaucer for awhile! This has started a new trend of babbling to each other from each perspective exersaucer. It's adorable. It also means free arms for Mama! Yipee!!! Thanks, Jake!

Jax is testing out the new exersaucer while Jake shows Dex how to walk around the outside. What a neat trick! 

More wedding photos

Thanks to my friend, Sophida, I have a few more photos from the wedding reception! Here's Jax goofing around with our friend, Mike.

Mama and Jax... getting ready to dance the night away! 

Daddy with Dex and Mama with Jax. What fun! 

Ooh la la

These are the three guys that took me home Saturday night... lucky me! I'm fairly certain that Jax is on the left and Dex is on the right. This is one of those angles where it's hard to tell!

The Wedding Crashers

Dex and Jax went to their first wedding reception on Saturday. I have to say, I had some major anxiety about it! Their usual bedtime is between 6-7, and the reception didn't begin until 7:30. Saturday morning, I was convinced we shouldn't go... I told myself I would rather back out sheepishly at the last minute than have to make an emergency exit at the reception with two screeming baby boys. Thankfully, my mom talked me into braving this new experience!

We gave the boys a late afternoon nap, dressed them in their snazzy new sweaters, spiked up their hair, and we were out the door! They slept the entire 30 minute drive and awoke to a room full of people and loud, loud music. I held my breath as I waited to see how they would respond.... and.... THEY LOVED IT! They were completely loopy with excitement as they danced with their mama and daddy, ate cheerios galore, smiled for the wedding paparazzi and made googly eyes at anyone who would stop to coo at them. It was as if they were thinking, "So THIS is what happens when we go to sleep every night!"

They managed to stay up until 9, at which point, we made our way back to the car with two sleepy boys. When we arrived home to take our sleeping munchkins out of their carseats and up to their cribs, they stirred a bit, opening their eyes to examine their surroundings. The expressions on their faces were priceless. It was as if they were thinking, "Where's the music? Why aren't we dancing? Was it all a dream?"

All in all, it was a great evening. Sure, we still had to leave earlier than we would have had to without the babies. Sure, we may have left a trail of cheerios behind us. Sure, D.R. and I had new, and much smaller, dance partners for the evening... but it was SO worth it! I can't wait for our next family outing!

Grandpas have the best laps

The boys love their grandpas! It must be all the baby holding they've done over the years! Jax thinks his Grandpa's lap is SO comfy. 

Dex finds a comfy home on their other Grandpa's lap.

I could stay here all day... 

When I grow up...

Dex is contemplating the possibility of his hair one day turning blue like his uncle Seth's. 

A picture is worth a thousand words...

... or at least a few, "ba ba ba's"... Here is Jax reading his farm picture book to his mimi. 

Oh, how far we've come

Last night, D.R. and I braved another social event with the boys. You see, we've gotten fairly used to having people over to our place, but we haven't had much luck with evening "outings." The boys usually fall asleep for the night around 6 or 6:30, so it makes leaving with them around this time rather difficult. Yesterday, however, we turned a new page! I gave the boys a late afternoon nap, about an hour and half before we normally would have put them to bed for the night, bedtime was extended by a good two hours... and the rest is history!

Though they were greeted by a small room full of people, there were no major meltdowns (okay, so there were a few initial tears... but we're talking seconds, here). We placed the boys in the middle of the room with a few toys, and they sat (yes, they SAT!) and played for the longest time! In fact, we were able to stay until a bit past 8:00, when it became clear that they did, in fact, need to go to bed. Ocassionally, I would find myself deep in conversation with another adult (no, I wasn't dreaming), look over and see our two little boys sitting and playing together, and wonder how we ever made it this far.

Yesterday, they were the tiniest little babies who were completely dependant on my constant care and attention. They required frequent feedings, diaper changes, much rocking and holding, walking, singing.... basically, they required everything I had to offer at all moments of the day and night! How did the past few months go by so quickly? Don't get me wrong, I clearly and vividly recall the moments I thought would never pass, the hours of babies crying, the endless nights, the days I sat exhaustedly praying that I would somehow make it to tomorrow.... and, yet, somehow, I suddenly find myself having dinner with friends, arms completely vacant, listening to the sounds of our two little boys cooing and giggling as they sit and play in a completely new environment. Amazing.

Hee hee hee

I can't help it... I giggle everytime I look at this! Jax (right) has the goofiest expression on his face! They're both still really into keeping their tongues out of their mouths as much as possible. :)

What do you think?

Some days the boys look so much alike, and other days, they look SO different! See, in this photo, it's pretty easy to tell that Jax is on the left and Dex is on the right. In the next photo, though, they look pretty similar. Hmm... it will be fun to see what happens as they continue to grow. 

 

 

 

Big Blue

I've started calling the boys Big Blue and Big Blue Number Two. Here's Dex, our little Big Blue, showing off his daddy's hairstyling. 

Lions and Tigers and Beards, Oh my!

Over the course of the past 7 1/2 months, the boys have learned a range of emotions and responses... happiness, pleasure, sadness, frustration... the list goes on and on. It is always interesting to me what triggers these responses. D.R. is highly adept at eliciting rounds of giggles from the babies, they are easily frustrated at items beyond their reach and being put in their cribs is a sure trigger for a moment or two of protesting tears. In the past few weeks, however, I've also learned a new cry... a new response... and it's triggered by fear. The sound of a sudden loud noise (a sneeze, a cough, a cupboard being closed too quickly), a stranger reaching to hold one of the babies, the moment one of them realizes that I've left the room...these may all bring about a cry that is absolutely heartbreaking, though easily remedied by a few moments in Mom or Dad's arms. Most of these fears make perfect sense. A sudden noise will even make me jump, I would certainly be frightened if someone I had never seen before tried to lift me into their arms and feeling suddenly abandoned can be an awful feeling! We're starting to notice, however, that a few of these fears are simply because they involve the unknown, and from the vantage point of an experienced adult, they can seem downright funny. The most recent involves beards. Yes, beards.

Christopher and Sarah stopped by last week to visit and, normally, the boys adore both of them. Christopher had recently grown a dark beard, though, and when Jax first came down the stairs and saw his uncle with this beard on his face, he screamed long and hard! We couldn't help but giggle. It took awhile for him to realize he had nothing to worry about... and for the rest of the visit he would look at Christopher with a bit of skepticism. Dex had a similar response. I wonder how long this fear of beards will last!!