Eat!

There's a party in my tummy! So yummy, so yummy!

Try it; you'll like it! Try it; you're gonna like it!

These are some of the lyrics to two songs from Yo Gabba Gabba that I used to sing like a madwoman to Evan to get him to eat. Ryan has always been a hearty eater, but not Evan. Evan was transitioned to Neocate from breast milk before he was discharged from the hospital because of a suspected milk allergy. He eventually passed a milk challenge and it was determined that he is not allergic to milk. I never thought he was allergic, but a real-life Dougie Howser child prodigy at Yale was convinced that he did. She put him on neocate and I didn't push the issue--my mistake.

If you know nothing about Neocate know this: it is the nastiest formula every known! It is nasty...as in gross and disgusting. I know this because in a moment of desperation I tasted it. YUCK! I never liked the fact that Ev was on it. Eventually, it became harder and harder to get Evan to drink this stuff. I told the doctor, but he said that Ev didn't know the difference. Uhhh, sorry sir but you don't know my child! Ev got to the point right before his party where he flat out would not drink it. He just wouldn't do it. It used to help if I waited until he was falling asleep and then he'd take it. Nope! That stopped working too. At one time he wouldn't have much to do with solids either. This put me in panic mode, as you can imagine, and I started obsessing over what and how much Evan ate. Thus began my stint as a singer/entertainer/magician because I tried everything to get Evan to eat.

Finally, I just gave him one of Ryan's bottles. I didn't know what else to do. And guess what? He drank it--willingly. No singing, dancing, or other methods of me making a fool of myself were required. He drank that bottle and he hasn't stopped eating since! Evan eats everything now! Well, I should say everything except baby food. He wants table food only! He literally will eat all of your food if you keep giving it to him. He'll attack over scrambled eggs, pry a piece of chicken from your hands, and seriously hurt you for a honey bun! It is amazing. Evan likes Haitian food, Spanish food, and of course soul food. Collard greens? Yep, loves 'em. Peas and beans? He tears those up too. Lord only knows how much this child will eat once we get down South! It's like he's a new baby. Sometimes he even eats more than his brother! I say eat on, Evan, eat on! :)

On Sunday my Line Sister, Quionna, and her family drove over to Connecticut for a visit. They live in San Diego but were in the city visiting Quionna's in-laws. It was the first time that I had a chance to meet baby girl M! Have you ever seen anything as precious as this little baby! M is such a sweet and calm little girl. And that hair?! Lord, Qui is gonna have so much hair to comb pretty soon! :) We had a great time catching up and we had a tasty lunch at an old southern favorite---Cracker Barrel! I know, we are SO high class:) What can I say, you can take the girl out of the South but you can't take the South out of the girl! Quionna is from Georgia, and she'll be headed down this week as will we. We were talking about all our fav restaurants from home that we'll have to visit while we're back, and Quionna mentioned how much she missed CB. We just happen to have one a few miles from where we live so that's where we went. The Peas were on their best behavior and got lots of attention as always. Twins are people magnets, I tell ya! It was so great to see Quionna, as we last saw each other over three years ago for out 10 year anniversary. We couldn't believe that we used to go to college together, pledged AKA together, and now here we are wives and mothers. Where does the time go?

We will be headed home this week and I can't tell you how happy we are about it! Sure I live and work in CT, but Alabama is still home:) I've been busy getting the boys all packed up, mapping out our route, and making arrangements with my girlfriends! HA:) This will be the first time many of our family members will meet the boys and we super excited to introduce them to everyone. I'll try my best to blog as often as I can, 'cause there will be lots of picture taking, and lots that I'll want the boys to know about our first family vacation.

Quick Pics :)

Biting :(

So Evan and Ryan have started biting. Evan seems to really enjoy sinking his teeth into any part of us that he can. He particularly enjoys biting my shoulder if I'm holding him, but he'll settle for any other part of me--my thigh or my toe will suffice. Tonight, Ryan followed his lead and chomped on my finger. Hard. I tell them no, of course, and I do so in a stern and firm voice. They both just look at me. Ryan looks really serious as if he's considering my request. He usually just finds something else to do. Evan, on the other hand, looks at me, blinks, and proceeds to bite. The Peas don't discriminate, as Daddy P gets it too. I'm just happy that they haven't started biting each other...yet! sigh

Crawling!

We had a pretty bad storm here yesterday and lost power. We checked into a hotel last night after spending a few hours out and about killing time hoping that our lights would come back on. It was late and the boys were totally off schedule, so there was no sleeping because R & E wanted to play! Evan has been belly crawling for awhile now. He can get on his knees and play and he also pull to a stand now! Well, he's been toying with the idea of crawling on all fours. He'll crawl for a bit and then it's back to the belly crawl because he can move a lot faster. Well last night he did it! He took the leap and started crawling around on all fours. I'm not sure if it was the comfort of a carpeted floor or the excitement of being up so late and in a new place. Either way, we'll take it! Good job Ev-Man:) And of course we are proud of our Ry-Guy too! I don't have it on video yet, but he can stand without holding on to anything for a few seconds! He'll take the leap and walk soon--I just know it!

Swinging!

We took the boys to two birthday parties this past Saturday. Clearly, the Peas have a more extensive social calendar than we do! Both parties were celebrating the birthdays of our NICU buddies. At the second party, Joseph & Rafael's, there was a swing set and the boys loved it! We actually have a set at home that the former owners left, and at first I wanted it gone. I noticed at the Peas' party that the kids were playing on it and it was in pretty good condition. You know what that means! Daddy P is on a mission to spruce up our set for Ryan and Evan. He's staining it now and we bought these same swings and a new tarp. I think we'll be spending a lot of time in our backyard this summer:)

The Party is Over

I found this adorable construction worker cut-out and I meant to take R & Es picture in it during the party. They were so busy being spoiled by everybody that they didn't have time for their mama though! I decided to take the pics the next day, but as you can see they were so over it by then!

Ryan was tired of this whole construction worker stuff!

Evan looks like he's being tortured!

Alright, that's it! Enough is enough, already. I'm outta here!

I love this picture of the Peas with Cousin Betty! This is their first time wearing the big boys PJs that she bought for them. Betty was a brave woman--she wanted to bathe the boys and get them ready for bed all by herself. Mama appreciated the help:)

Daddy P and his boys. They are getting so big!