Praisin' & Fussin"

I know it's been a long time since my last post, but things have been especially busy. The Peas are doing well; they are learning new things daily and keeping us on our toes! Here is a video I managed to shoot a couple of weeks ago. In it you can see Evan and his daddy doing a praise dance. Evan usually claps too, but he felt more like fussin' than he did praisin' this time. At the end of the video you'll see his newest thing. He puts his hands in the air, our cue to pick him up, but now he says (I mean yells), "Up!" This boy is demanding, I tell you!

Twindemoneum

This is what happened 10 minutes after The Peas and I got in their nursery last night. As you can see, Ryan took it upon himself to choose his own outfit, and Evan was pulling out wipes to find the perfect one for me to use on him. What you can't see is the dresser where I was standing to take this picture. All the drawers were open and there were clothes strewn about. By the time this was over I found my slipper and a toy cell phone in the hamper and a measuring cup in one of their drawers. **sigh**

First Haircut!

On Saturday Ryan and Evan got their very first haircuts! I have to admit, I was NOT ready for this! Daddy P had been talking about it for awhile now, and I made excuse after excuse why they shouldn't get a haircut. Finally, Daddy P had had enough of my shenanigans. He said, they're going to get a haircut this weekend. What's a mama to do except tag along and bring the camera and ziploc bags for the hair?! (is this the best way to preserve their hair??? I dunno!)

I do have pictures of them actually getting their hair cut; I'll update this post with those pics soon. I gotta say, these two handled their first haircuts like CHAMPS! There were no tears and no squirming. That's not surprising since these kiddos of ours are nothing less than AMAZING! The barber said he'd cut their hair any day! They were the best behaved babies he's ever had! These were taken just after they were done.

Ryan is escaping with his bag of hair...

Evan is munching on his bag of hair!

I must admit, they look so grown up and even-stinkin'-cuter than they did before the haircuts!

While Daddy P got his hair cut the boys and I waited in the waiting room. We did not have a stroller with us. Big mistake...HUGE! I couldn't keep these two still for the life of me. Good thing I could close the waiting room off, so at least they couldn't get out. They pushed chairs all around that little room, tried to knock the gumball machine down, and wanted to pick up every thing they saw on the floor. Let's just say the waiting room of the barber shop and the Peas sans a stroller do not mix! A little boy came into the room and saw them pushing the chairs around and he said to me, you do know that's a video camera right? ROFL! I was sooooo tickled! That little boy was too much. Bless his heart! He helped me straighen up the chairs and Daddy P came and got us just in time.

We spent the rest of the morning going Costco shopping. We snagged their Octoberfest costumes ( that's IF we go this year) and we even saw one of the nurses from the NICU! She kept saying how good they look:) The Peas came home and played on the deck for a little while. I'd say it was a good day:)

Finally, I have to say that I spent the day with a remembering heart as we marked the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. We will never forget those who perished, nor their loved ones.

Happy "Welcome Home Day," Evan

Today marked Evan's first Welcome Home Day! Six days after Ryan came home, our family was finally complete; we picked up our babiest boy and brought him home where he belonged. Evan spent 95 days in the NICU. His discharge was less climatic than Ryan's. After the whole back-and-forth about Ryan's discharge, Daddy P and I were like, call us the day we can bring our boy home and we'll come get him. It was tough with one baby at home and one still in the hospital, but we made it work. Daddy P worked late almost every night during that time and I stayed home with Ryan. After Parker got off work I would drive to Yale. This was usually late at night, but I didn't care. We made sure that Evan had one of his parents there with him EVERY single day. Discharge day is really a blur. My grandmother was on her way into town and her flight was delayed. We had to make it from New Haven to Queens to pick her up, and we had two little, and I do mean little, babies in tow! It was crazy! I didn't take that many pictures of Evan on discharge day, but I did manage to snap this one:
This is Evan and Doreen, one of his primary nurses. I loved Doreen sooooo much! I loved the care she gave my Evan. This was Evan's absolute last day in the NICU! I still have the pants that he's wearing in this picture. T-I-N-Y!

And look at our guy on the night of his one-year-home anniversary! We celebrated at the Olive Garden. He had a blast walking all over and charming everyone he met. I love that he's holding up one finger in this picture! He knows it's his first anniversary! :)

He ate his dinner really well tonight. He even managed to eat a little broccoli! We got him ice cream for dessert, but Ryan was more in to it than he was:)

When we got home he had a chance to play with his "Congratulations" balloon. I thought it was sweet that he wanted to share his balloon with Ryan

Here's to you, our sweet boy! We love loving you! You are the strongest most determined person I know. I love that you NEVER give up. You truly inspire your mama!

It's Not Time To Worry Yet

Have you ever read To Kill A Mockingbird? Scout will make you laugh, Atticus will make you think, and Tom Robinson will make you cry.

And they should.

Let me tell you, I love me some Atticus Finch. In the book, he tells his children "It's not time to worry yet" as they face the toughest time of their little lives. That is one of my favorite quotes ever. I used to find myself telling myself this all the time. When I was going through something, I remembered this quote. When I found myself worried I remembered this quote. But there's something bigger at work here.

I am a child of God, and for a child of God there's never a time to worry. Easier said than done, though. I was worried ALL the time when the boys were in the NICU. I lived in worry every.single.day. Worry was my constant companion. My go-to-quote didn't even work for me. "It's not time to worry yet;" I would tell myself, "remember Atticus." Yeah, it didn't work.
But you're a Christian; but you're a preacher's wife, for goodness sakes!

Yep, I am and I am. Still didn't work for me.

Here I am fifteen months after the early birth of my children and I can honestly say the worry has stopped. Actually I stopped worrying months and months ago. Love him though I might, it wasn't because of Atticus and his wise words. My faith has grown. I learned to trust God; to take Him at his word; to rely on Him. My husband would tell me all the time when the Peas were in the hospital that this was not about the twins. The experience was for us. And you know what? He was right. We went through that for a reason and there was something that we were supposed to learn. Nothing that we go through is really about us; there's something much much bigger at work.

When Evan had his procedure last week I noticed that something was missing. As I walked down the hall of the hospital after leaving my baby with the doctor, I realized that there was not an ounce of worry. I forgot all about my favorite quote. Daddy P and I even talked about it. He asked me if I cried when I left Evan. Nope. I didn't. But I remember a day....let me tell you! I told him, either I'm going to believe God or I'm not.

I'm not really sure why I'm posting this; I just really felt like I needed to today. Maybe somebody who's reading this needs to know that it's not time to worry. Maybe I need to see these words. I've actually been thinking about this for awhile now.

You should still read To Kill a Mockingbird, though. Harper Lee is a literary genius. The last few pages of the last chapter? Gives me chills every time I think about it! Atticus Finch? Wisest character. EVER. Law students actually study this fictional guy who was based on Lee's father. I think parents should study him too.

So, it's not time to worry yet. But not because Atticus says so.

15 Months!

Yesterday the Peas turned 15 months old! We never adjust their age, but if they were born on time they would have been 12 months old ( their due date was supposed to be September 16th). In honor of them I'm going to share 15 things about Ryan and Evan.

1. THE PEAS ROCK!
2. Ryan loves to carry things around; he always has. He loves to carry my shoes!
3. Ryan loves to give spontaneous kisses. He'll come right up to you out of nowhere and plant one on you. He loves to kiss Evan too!
4. He likes fruit salsa and homemade cinnamon sugar tortilla chips. (check out http://divascancook.blogspot.com/ for the recipe.
5. This boy loves to climb on anything. He is ALL boy!
6. He's not the friendliest person! People come up to them all the time, and Ryan usually has the meanest look on his face. You've got to win this one over.
7. Other times he's all smiles, especially to little girls!
8. He loves to figure out how things work.
9. Evan LOVES his big brother something fierce!
10. Ev is *gasp* a bully sometimes. He takes everything from Ryan. What Evan wants Evan takes. He'll push, pull, hit, and scream to get what he wants. It doesn't matter that there are two of everything around here. He wants the one that Ryan has!
11. He tries to put his pacifier in my mouth all the time!
12. He loves meat!
13. His dad taught him how to do a praise dance. Too funny! I'm trying my best to get them on video!!!
14. Evan is very observant and he tries to imitate everything he hears and sees.
15. Evan isn't a fan of fruits and veggies.


In honor of them turning 15 months old, the Peas got a special treat yesterday. I made fruit salsa and homemade cinnamon sugar tortilla chips (yummy and easy!) for their afternoon snack.
For dinner they had homemade chicken strips and crash hot potatoes (the Pioneer Woman's recipe) and carrots. Since the boys are eating table food now I'm trying to find new recipes. I love trying new foods (Daddy P, not so much!) and I want to expose the boys to as many foods as possible. Now that I have children, I think more about the food that I prepare. I've seen a day when I was the queen of out-of-the-box meals! Better yet, I was the queen of go-out-to-dinner! Now, I try to prepare more of our meals because I know the cook :) and I know what's going in our food. The Peas enjoyed their meal, but I think they enjoyed throwing the remnants of it on the floor better! Way to show your mama you appreciate a home cooked meal, eh!

Cute! Cute! Cute!