Boy's First Christmas

December has been a busy month to say the least, but it has been one of the most fun!  The boys are meeting more milestones and that is one of my most favorite things.  There is nothing better than watching a child learn or discover something for the first time!  Blake is so close to crawling and Bennett can now sit on his own!  On Christmas day Bennett gave us the best gift of all...he ate all of his bottles on his own for the very first time!  He hasn't done it since then, but now we know he can do it...it's just a matter of if he wants to!  The boys are 'talking' and interacting with each other more, it's great to watch them carry on a conversation.


Some interesting adventures this month include trying to find a new nanny.  The interview process has been interesting.  We interviewed 3 people.  One had a language barrier and made the boys scream, one was perfect but wasn't available for very many hours, and the other was an interesting caracter that I wouldn't leave the dogs with.  We offered the job to the perfect nanny eventhough she didn't have as many hours as we would like and then she called to say her car was broken and she didn't know when she would be able to get it fixed.  I think this is a sign that I need to put my big girl pants on and figure out how to take both boys out at the same time.  They are getting much better when we take them out and I am starting to think that I can do it with some extra planning.  Guess we will find out when Jason goes back to work!

Blake got his second hair cut just this week.  He was starting to get mistaken for a girl so we thought it was time!

We have been working on getting the boys to sleep through the night and we have been fairly successful.  Bennett is totally my child and likes to sleep in and Blake takes after Jason and usually is up at 5am for a bottle and if we are lucky he goes back to sleep.  There has been some crying through the night and it makes you feel like a terrible parent, but I am a much better parent during the day when I have slept the majority of the night!  They will thank me when they are older!

Opening presents on Christmas morning!

Christmas with cousin Maddie

Opening presents with his Mia

Mickey is Bennett's favorite TV show...he watches everytime he eats his bottles and now he has a Mickey of his own...He really only likes to chew on his ears!

9 months old!

How cute are they??

Here are a few 8 month picts since I forgot to post them

8 months old!

Poppy teaching Blake to crawl

 

We made 1st Christmas ornamates with the boys feet prints!

Tonight as we look forward to 2012, I must admit that I am anxious to see what the new year holds for our family.  2011 has many memories that I never want to forget and a few that I wish could.  It has been the hardest, most emotional year of my life, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.  My hope for the new year is that our family stays healthly, I'm able to become more of the parent that I aspire to be, and that we enjoy the simple things in life!

CHRISTMAS PICTURES!!

Today we turned the living room into a photo studio and took Christmas pictures of the boys and their cousin Maddie!

It wouldn't be a true photo shoot if my boys didn't cry...!

 

Happy Holidays!

So Thankful!

This day last year was by far the worst day of my life.  We were told that Bennett did not have kidney's or a bladder and that he would not survive more than a few hours after birth.  At this very moment I am thankful that modern medicine is not always right!

Today was the best way I could have spent this day with my boys.  They turned 8 months old today and we took them to see Santa for the first time!  A year ago I never thought I would get to see his first anything.

These 2 boys bring so much joy into my life and I am thankful for every moment I get to spend with them (I am also thankful we are spending less time together in the middle of the night!)!


We went to the Gaylord today hoping to avoid the crowd to see Santa.  We are trying to limit Bennett's exposure this winter to try to keep him healthy, but he still has to do all the 'normal' firsts!

I thought for sure that 'stranger danger' would set in as soon as they were in Santa's lap.  I was shocked when there were no tears, but there were no smiles either...maybe they were upset about the hats!

Yes, he is trying to teethe (he still doesn't have any teeth) and you are lucky to find a time when his hands arent in his mouth

Yep...he's working on his 3rd tooth!

I am thankful to TODAY and getting to spend it with BOTH of my boys!  

Pictures Take 2!

Today we went back to the Arboretum for round 2 of pictures in the pumpkins!  It was stragetically planned with multiple reinforcements to help keep babies happy and snap extra pictures.  This time we got about 30 minutes of happy babies before the massive meltdowns began.  Overall it was success compared to last time!

Sweet Bennett!

Precious boys!

Discovering a pumpkin

Mia and Blake

Cousin Maddie Claire

Look at that bow!

Peek-a-boo!

Blake and Addison...want to share a giraffe?

Warner and Duncan Twins!

Sweet Luke was there too!

Meredith, Bryen and Maddie

Proud Papa

Mom and her Princess

They have more than pumpkins...

Blake pushing up...I was hoping it wouldn't look like he had bed head...

There were a few tears, but much less than last time