Pics Pics and More Pics

I've been a picture-taking slacker lately! I'm not sure why, but it just hit me recently that I hadn't taken pictures in awhile, so here ya go!

Evan's first taste of peas. He'll tolerate them, but he's not a fan. I don't blame him.

Don't let the picture fool you! Ryan loves peas:)

Evan is learning to sit up!

I took this picture immediately after a meltdown. Can you say crocodile tears!

Here's the meltdown.

A smile from Evan-kind of. I promise this baby has the biggest cutest grin ever!

Ummm...Ryan is so over the boppy. Literally! (PSA: No baby was hurt in the taking of this picture)

Why are our children wearing their bibs backwards?

Evan couldn't decide which toy he wanted most so he took both of them!

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The boys are doing well--praise God! They are growing and changing so quickly. In a way this is bitter sweet because my babies won't always be babies! Pretty soon they'll not want me to hold and love on 'em all day. On the other hand, I'll be glad to see them develop into little boys. I can't wait to see their budding relationship with each other as they grow older. They love to smile, touch, and look at each other already. Evan showed me tonight that if given the choice between looking at Mommy shaking a light up toy like a crazy woman and gazing at his big brother, the big brother wins hands down! Built in playmates is what they are:)

The boys gave changed since the latest video I posted was taken. Can you believe that?! Here's the latest:

• Both boys are playing with their toys now. This one little keyboard thingy is going to drive me crazy, but anything for the Peas!
• They reach and grab for everything! My hair and pearl necklace included! Note to self: look for that lost pearl! *sigh*
• Evan has gotten even better at escaping tummy time. Now he immediately rolls over when I put him on his tummy--he doesn't even bother to humor me now! BUT he will stay on his tummy for a little while if I put one of his toys in front of him. Let me emphasize for a little while!
• Ryan does this scooting action to get around. He's figuring it out, ya'll :)
• Both boys are working on sitting up.
• The boys are getting long! I put brand new outfits on them this week and hubby came home and asked if their pants were supposed to be "knee-knockers." LOL That would be a no. These babies are growing fast. I took a picture of their "getting chubby" little legs in their makeshift "knee-knockers" and I'm going to post them. Aren't parents supposed to take embarrassing pictures of their kids!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

On the Move II

Here is Ryan in action. Please excuse my commentary!:)

The Peas on the Move

I realized that I haven't posted any videos of the twins lately, so here is one from today. Now you can see what I meant from Monday's post with your own eyes! I have a video of Ryan on the move but eblogger is not playing nice tonight:( I'll try again tomorrow.

The tummy time saga continues...

Updates

I haven't done an "updates" post in awhile, so here it is:

Ryan

• Ryan is on the go! It is so hard to keep up with this kid--when he figures out how to crawl we will be in serious trouble. I have to use every pillow in the house to create a barricade so he won't fall on the floor. Once I had him on the bed (barricaded of course) and I placed him near the foot. I look away and hear a little shuffle. I look for Ryan at the foot of the bed where I know I placed him and he was at the head of the bed. How he managed this I still don't know.
• Ryan has decided that if anyone is going to hold him they must allow him to stand on their legs. If you won't agree to this, you can't hold him. He gets the biggest kick out of it.
• Ryan laughs! It is the cutest sweetest baby laugh ever. You'll get to hear it if you let him stand on your legs.
• Both boys love watching TV. Ryan will actually strain his neck to see it if he has to. We discovered their new found interest in television a few weeks ago. Since my new favorite show is The Sopranos (I know I am a few years behind the rest of the world on this!) I realized we needed to do something quick. I don't want the kiddos spending too much time with Tony and the crew ("woke up this mornin' got yourself a gun..." I HAD to do that!) so we bought them some Baby Einstein DVDs. They love them for at least 15 minutes. That is a lifetime for a mom with twins!
• Ryan had a corneal abrasion last week. Ouch! All I know is I left the room to warm bottles and the boys were separated. I come back and The Peas had wiggled their way to each other and Ryan is crying and won't open his eye. So who was the eyeball scratcher? Keep reading. A quick trip to the doc and now all is well.

Evan

• So you know Evan and I have an ongoing battle about tummy time. Well our child has a solution for this. He lets me think that I've won the battle and he will tolerate being on his tummy without crying. He lets me get all happy with this fact and laugh and clap and do a little dance. He looks at me and laughs and then rolls onto his back! He then proceeds to give me a look that says "Your move." The little stinker! This game can go on and on. The good news is that my child can roll. The bad news is that I can tell he is stubborn and so am I, so there will be plenty of these shenanigans for years to come. sigh
• The Hubby and I were watching him the other day and he was just lying around happily sucking on his fingers. He was on his back and started to roll to one side, but he must have felt himself getting too close to rolling onto his tummy. He threw his leg back with the quickness. We couldn't help but burst out laughing, and look at each other and say, "That's your son!"
• Evan now loves his oatmeal and he loves sweet potatoes! I spent the weekend making my first batch of homemade baby food, and first up on the menu were the sweet potatoes. Both boys love them! I also made them green peas, but they won't try that for awhile since we just introduced a new food. I hate peas, but I sucked it up and tasted them since I can't fathom the idea of giving my kids something that I haven't tasted. Oh the love of a mother! I still hate peas by the way!
• Evan is starting to assert himself. He is quite the spitfire! His newest thing is scratching and clawing. Get too close to him when he's mad and you will get it! I wouldn't be surprised if I have the Baby One to thank for Ryan's corneal abrasion!
• Evan is not as in love with his Binky as he used to be. He only takes it if he's sleepy and only for a little while before he spits it out. The Binky has been replaced with his hand--his whole hand! He tries to shove is entire hand in his mouth, but he really only ends up with a few fingers to suck on.
• Ev likes to stand too, but unlike Ryan he really doesn't care if you don't let him. He's content to let you sit there and just cuddle him. Just don't make him mad and don't let him get his claws near your face!

I have been working on some art for the boys' nursery. I was surfing the net and came across a fabulous webiste that sells hand painted canvases featuring your child's name or initial. I seriously considered ordering them but then I remembered that I'm kinda crafty. I have a new cricut and some other tools in my craft room and I know exactly what I want! The problem is I haven't painted before! Wish me luck--oh and tell me how in the world I'm supposed to find the time to get this done:)

2009

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear I will help you.

Isaiah 41:10, 13

2009 began last year with us finding out that our prayers were answered and we were going to be blessed with a child. Shortly after that there was shock and awe when we discovered we were having twins. TWINS! And far too early, we got to meet our beautiful baby boys and our world was forever changed. 2009 has been a very challenging year for our family. What I have come to realize, though, is that God is the God of our challenges just as He is the God of our triumphs. When the babies were in the NICU I used to read this scripture to them before I left for the evening. These words were for me just as much as they were for the Peas. This was one of the scriptures that got me through the most difficult time of my life thus far. God came into that NICU and showed me that He could bless right then and there. Despite the scary sights, sounds, alarms, sickness, and even death, God was still God. I watched Him uphold our children with His righteous right hand and protect their tiny little bodies from the biggest and scariest hurdles that they faced because of their prematurity. I saw Him help us be strong and endure and believe. So despite its challenges, 2009 was a great year. I feel blessed that God chose me to be the mommy of these awesome miracles of His creation. I'm blessed to be the wife of a true man of God. And I am blessed to be able to share our family's testimony with friends, family, Internet friends, and even complete strangers through this blog. 2009 was a great year indeed.

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There's nothing fancy about these pictures of Ryan and Evan. There are no props, poses, and cute little outfits. I took these shots tonight before I got them dressed for bed and they were full of drool and their diapers were wet and they melted my heart just the same. These pictures are so them. My two little Peas. 2009 was a great year indeed.

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

See, the Baby One really does smile! By the way, I do dress my babies in socks; I promise!

Oh how I love this boy!

Cuteness personified!


I have to comment on these pictures of Evan! In this one it looks like he's going to give me a karate chop for taking his picture!

"My mama is a 'stalkerazzi!' Please, no more pictures!" ROFL:)

The Parker fam had a fantabulous first Christmas! The Peas were blessed to receive mounds of adorable outfits, toys, books, money, and monogrammed piggy banks from both sets of grandparents, aunts, Cousin Betty, their Godmother, and our church family! Wow! They got soooo much stuff! These babies aren't going to have to wear the same outfit twice at the rate they're going. We had a lovely and lazy day together, and to top it off the hubby surprised me with a Cricut Expression! I was running around the house like a kid when I opened that thing! Last year he bought me the "Baby Bug" and I never expected to get the Big Bug this year!

I love to scrapbook, stamp, make cards, and other crafts and this machine is the mother of all die-cutter machines. I'll give you one, no two guesses who the new inspiration will be for my upcoming projects:)

We hope you all had a wonderfully blessed Christmas as well!

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

and there are babies in our arms and snow on the ground...what else can anyone ask for for Christmas? The babies enjoyed yet another day of pampering as we prepared for our very first Christmas together. And of course they were smashing in their " My First Christmas" outfits!

The fellas hung out with me in the kitchen as I baked homemade chocolate chip cookies. The Peas got a kick out of me and the mixer! It was the silliest, cutest thing; as soon as I turned on the mixer they both laughed and kicked up a storm! Note to self: pull out the mixer the next time the boys are fussy:)

Evan conked out on us early, but Ryan must have known something special was in the air. Much to our opposition our boy decided that he wanted to usher in Christmas morning by staying awake until 12:30! I tried to wait him out, but I had no choice but to put their toys and gifts under the tree with him watching me. When I was a little girl my mother never put anything under the tree before Christmas. We'd wake up on Christmas morning, race down the stairs and there all the gifts and toys would be--unwrapped! I can still remember how exciting that was for my sister and me. I can't wait until the boys get old enough to really know what's going on! More importantly though, I can't wait to teach them the real meaning of Christmas--the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He has done so much for our family. We have been kept and blessed beyond measure. Thank you, Jesus.