One month from today Ryan and Evan will be one year old. One year old.

It has been quite a year for our family, and we honestly can't imagine life without our two Peas. Time has gone by slowly and quickly at the same time--it's hard to explain. I felt like it took forever for our babies to come home to us, and then I woke up one day to find that our babies were growing up so fast. We are blessed beyond measure to have these two in our lives. They are happy, healthy little boys who are thriving each and every day.

Ryan- Ryan has discovered that he can crawl on all fours, yet he would much rather use his scooting method since it gets him where he wants to go faster. He pulls to a stand every two seconds, and will even let go of whatever he's holding on to if one of us gets close enough to him. He loves to eat, but is still a little leery of table foods. He is a big boy...he's heavy and solid! I have no idea how much he weighs because I can't remember the last time he's been to the doctor. This is a good thing--a very good thing! The sight of our dog Badger makes him squeal! He is always on a mission to get this dog:) He's a very sweet boy; if his brother is crying he'll go over to him and give him a kiss.

Evan- Evan recently completed a milk challenge and passed it with flying colors! This means that he does not have a milk allergy like one doctor suspected and will be able to eat dairy products. He has learned to sit unassisted now and he does a scoot/army crawl to get around--and he's fast! He watches his brother a lot and I think he wants to do the same things that Ryan does. He's doing well with his band, but we can tell now that he doesn't like wearing it. He went in for a check and is already half way there!! We should be out of the band this summer as planned. He's a very picky eater. He loves cheese and will eat an entire slice. He loves to give kisses! If you ask him for a kiss or some sugar, he'll be happy to oblige! You'll get a sloppy, wet, and open-mouthed kiss right on the lips!

And in one month they will be one year old!

I've been scarce on posts lately since we are in full planning mode for their birthday bash! It's hard work planning a birthday party! I've been busy making invitations, picking out cakes, finding decorations, and trying not to go too crazy with this thing! LOL

The party will be on Saturday June 12th. Invitations will be mailed out to their kiddie friends in about week. If any of you would like to attend their party, we'd be glad to have you! It doesn't matter if you have any small children or not. We have so many readers who have been praying for Ryan and Evan and enjoy keeping up with them and we'd love to have you celebrate with us. E-mail me at 2peasmama@gmail.com and we'll go from there.

Sailors!

Have you ever seen...

anything as sweet as this?

Evan the Destroyer!

Yes, Evan made this mess all by himself! **sigh**

Birthday Bash!

On Saturday the Peas went to celebrate Baby E's first birthday! Baby E, the one on the far left, a was NICU buds of our boys. Look at him now! We were thrilled to celebrate with him and his mom and dad. His mom and I actually had the same OB and never knew each other before meeting at Yale. You see that pretty lady in green? That's Baby G's mommy and she, of course, is holding beautiful Baby G. She was so awesome to me when the boys were in the NICU. It was great to talk to someone who had been on the journey I was on. When R & E were born Baby G was headed home from the NICU and I was thrilled to see him on Saturday! He is so handsome:) It was like a mini NICU reunion! Did I mention that all of the babies pictured were 25 weekers? AMAZING! They are all doing fantastic, thank the Lord. It was great to see the mommies and the daddies and to talk to people who get it. We had such a blast and the weather was beautiful--a perfect day for a birthday celebration!

Random Pictures

Ryan and Evan are growing and changing with each passing day. It's hard to believe it, but our precious Peas will soon be a year old!

Almost every night our Baby One decides that we need his company, because he wakes up and cries so he can sleep in our bed. We really don't mind having him there, except he has started to completely take over! I took this picture last Saturday morning. I usually sleep where Evan's feet are! You can see from the picture why this was a problem. On this particular morning I just decided to let Ev have it! This baby will kick and push until he's all sprawled out :0

Both boys are using their sippy cups more. Of course they sip on them for a little while and then throw them!

If Evan is giving me a hard time eating his solids I'll give him the sippy cup. When he opens his mouth to suck on it I get a few extra spoonfuls in him! Sneaky I know, but a mama's gotta do what a mama's gotta do!

One thing that we have discovered Evan doesn't have a problem with is chicken (kinda). Daddy P recently made his famous bar-b-que chicken, and after I ate a drumstick I decided to let Ev have a shot at the bone. Hey, I'm a country girl and this is how we roll! :) I made sure the bone was clean so he wouldn't get any pieces of chicken in his mouth...this was just for the flavor. Let me tell you, I was trying to hold the bone and Ev was trying to take it from me! He had a grip on that bone that was incredible! I don't blame him...Daddy P's bar-b-que chicken is de-lish! I was finally able to wrestle the bone from the child!

Ev loves potatoes (he's his mama's child!) and this is him after a meal of mashed potatoes from KFC.

Two different takes on the bouncy seats! This morning Evan decided that he wanted to be under the seat, and Ryan chose to use it to pull up! I told you he was pulling up on EVERYTHING now! Get close enough to him and he'll let go and try to come to you. He is a daredevil I tell you! My Ryan isn't afraid to try anything. Sign of things to come, you think? Still no teeth for Ry yet, but there is no shortage on drool, as you can see! Something's bound to come through soon.

Walking for Babies

Sunday turned out to be a rainy, cool day :( We were so excited to participate in the walk for babies, and I was disappointed that the weather did not hold. Too bad, since the location was so beautiful --scenic Fairfield Beach. I bundled the Peas up and off we went with the intention of greeting our team and turning in a donation. The Peas were both recovering from colds, and I came down sick last weekend, so I didn't want either of us to risk walking in the rain. As it turns out, most of the team members were unable to come to the walk, which I totally understood. Mrs. B braved the weather and came out with the boys and me and it was such a blessing to have her with us. Here she is with the Peas!

Thanks for joining us Mrs. B:)
I was one happy mama!

The Peas all bundled up! We thought we were done with the "Bundle Me's" for the year...

Checking out Mrs. B

Even though we didn't actually walk it was an amazing experience to just be in the midst of other families who were marching for babies. Premature birth affects so many people, and the fact that I was there with my children and not in memory of them was not lost on me. I am so glad that we participated. Team 2Peas exceeded our goal of $200!! Thank you so much for your generous donations. Your support means that other babies will be given a fighting chance. On this cold and rainy day, I showed up not just for R & E, but for these babies too. I also want to acknowledge some of the other precious babies that were on my mind and in my heart on this day:

• Baby E, the Peas' NICU buddy, whose 1st birthday party we will be attending this weekend!
• Baby A who we love and can't wait to meet in July
• Babies R & J (NICU buds) who will surely be the Peas' brothers from another mother:)
• Baby G whose mommy was such a blessing to me when the Peas were in the NICU
• Babies R & S whose mommy and daddy were able to see the Peas and have some hope
• Baby Z who was hopefully discharged on Sunday
• Babies J & J who were recently born and are in our prayers
• Baby J who went home to be with the Lord

We plan on participating in the walk next year as well. I pray that the walk will not be on a Sunday next year though. I want to do it big next year--an increased fundraising goal for Team 2Peas, t-shirts for our team members, posters and pictures of the Peas, and last but not least, two Peas WALKING in the walk themselves!