Merry Christmas Eve

Buy gifts - check
Wrap gifts - check
Make food - check
Pack diaper bag - check
Load car - check
Enjoy a wonderful evening with family unwrapping said gifts and eating food. - CHECK!

Rounds 1 and 2 of Christmas are complete. We had a great time despite the treacherous drive in the snow between houses. Yikes! Our families are the BEST!!! Feeling blessed.

Can't wait to see the boys faces in the morning!

My Attempts at a Christmas Card Picture...

Silly me for thinking it would be a good idea to sit them in front of the tree. There go the ornaments and beaded garland!


On the couch where there are less distractions. In this picture, Kai's head looks funny.

And, now Sage's head looks funny.

Oh well, guess we can try again when they're, oh I don't know, maybe ten!!!

2 Little Monkeys Jumping On the Bed

This is one of the boys' favorite activities - turning the alarm clock radio on full blast and dancing/jumping on the bed. Kai always acts as the DJ and Sage is the dancer. Apparently, it's even more fun on laundry day when the sheets and blankets are off the bed.

First Snow of the Season

Sage loved it! Kai not so much...

Welcome Charlotte Rose!

Welcome to the family Charlotte Rose - Jon and Sarah's baby girl.
Born: Saturday, December 4th.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Our house is decorated - well as much as it can be with two toddlers in the house. We had to put the tree in the back where access to it can be supervised and the ornaments on the tree are limited as well. Sage and Kai still found a way to do some damage though. It shouldn't be a suprise that two little boys think bright red, ball shaped Christmas ornaments are meant to be thrown across the room. Thank goodness for shatter-proof ornaments.

We've been listening to holiday music and on Saturday, we finally went to see some lights. I took the boys out to Our Lady of the Snows. Sage LOVED driving through the tunnel of lights and said, "Again! Again!" I actually made a second trip through the park just to see his face light up as we drove through the tunnels.

Kai loved the petting zoo. At the petting zoo, Kai hung out by the baby goats and kept shouting "Baa! Baa!" to anyone who would listen. Of course, everyone thought it was adorable. When I picked him up to get back in the car, he threw a fit and I'm pretty sure the same people did not think that was adorable.


After the lights, we went to Toys 'R Us for a shopping adventure. I had a really good coupon that expired that day, so I braved the crowds and took the kids - two things I would not normally do. I do believe it was the first time my boys have ever been to Toys 'R Us. Sage didn't know what to do with himself especially when we got to the Thomas the Train aisle. I thought I was going to have a hard time getting him out of there. But, actually, it was Kai who threw a fit when we left because he had fallen in love with the "Hokey Pokey Elmo" doll. Good thing Santa's bringing Elmo!



Last weekend, we celebrated my mom's birthday by meeting her at the Botanical Gardens to see the toy train exhibit. Needless, to say, Sage was in heaven! He loved seeing all the choo-choos.

Bedtime Battles

For the last week or so, the boys have been battling us at bedtime and beyond. They refuse to go to bed without being held, patted, rocked, or just having one of us in the room. When we finally do get them down, they're awake again a few hours later. Aghh! Jared and I are at our wits end with Sage and Kai up and down, up and down all night. They want to sleep with us and that doesn't work for me. They snore and squirm all night! We have to figure out what is going on soon because bad things happen when Momma doesn't get enough sleep. :) To be continued...

Ewww!

So, we have the stomach flu at our house. And, it definitely ranks right up there as my least favorite malady. Sage started it on Thursday and puked his poor little guts out. Passed it to Kai who had it coming out the other end yesterday. This morning, my turn. Ugh! Even if I hadn't caught their little bug, I would still want to puke everytime I changed their diapers which are a soupy mess! Disgusting!

Once bitten, twice shy

Kai had his first official time out this week for biting. He's been testing out his new chompers on me and bit me three times on Sunday. So, on Monday, I asked Julie, the babysitter if he had been biting over there. He hadn't...yet. On Wednesday, he had THREE time outs for biting his friends. He's sneaky about it too. He'll act like he's coming in for a snuggle and then...chomp! Gotcha! Hopefully, he will outgrow this as he gets used to his new teeth.

Just some pics

I love taking pictures in the fall! Here are some of my favorites from this week. All of these were taken with my iPhone. I can only imagine how much better they would be if I had used a regular camera.








Obviously, Sage is harder to catch on camera - mostly because he never holds still! He is a busy little body - always running, never walking.

Happy Halloween

Halloween weekend was a busy one! Saturday morning, Sage and I went to Boo at the Zoo with Jon, Sarah, and Noah.



Saturday evening, Jared and I took the boys to my work for trick-or-trunk. At the beginning of the night, Sage wasn't sure what was going on with the whole candy in the bucket thing. He thought he had to trade - I give you this, you give me that. But, by the end of the night, he had it all figured out - gimme, gimme!

Sunday afternoon, we went to Mady's fifth birthday party. I can't believe she's five already - big girl!


Then, Sunday night, we went trick-or-treating. Sage was hilarious, saying "tk-r-tweet" followed immediately by "thank you" and "your welcome." Both boys had a blast. They were wired! The whole drive home, they just giggled at each other. Then, when we got home, Sage and Kai bounced on the bed and off the walls for a long time. We finally had to separate them to calm them down and get them to bed.

Want some candy, brother?


Hmmm, what else is in here?


Aren't we adorable?

Kai dancing

Babies, Books, and Other Blessings

At a work meeting a couple weeks ago, I was asked what I would title my autobiography. My response was "Babies, Books, and Other Blessings." Mostly, because I feel blessed in my life by many things. Everyone knows my love for my babies! Most people also know that I love to read and love to teach kids how to read. So, when I see a moment like the one below, I can't help but capture it!

Sage and Kai enjoying a rainy Sunday afternoon by reading books in the toybox.

This is why I usually don't take kids with me to the grocery store...

My mistake for giving him a donut in the first aisle - I had to buy some wet wipes a few aisles later!

Talented Tots

Over the last few weeks, we have come to realize that we have two talented toddlers. Kai is officially walking.



Kai is also learning to talk very quickly and has words for: mom, dada, book, bubba, milk, bottle, again, more, bed, all done, dog, and much more. He also knows baby signs for more, all done, bed, and bye. Kai loves to sing and knows the motions for his favorite songs: Ring Around the Rosy, Itsy-Bitsy Spider, If You're Happy and You Know It, Pat-a-Cake, and The Hokey Pokey (he loves to "shake it all about").



It's just amazing to see him learning new things everyday. I'm also happy to notice he has taken a much greater interest in books lately. He loves to grab a book and crawl into our laps.

Sage is also learning quickly and his memory is fantastic! He has words for everything he knows. And, when he doesn't know something, he says, "what's that?" Sage loves to be outside playing in dirt or water. We've been taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather lately and taking a few extra romps in the fountains around town.



Sage is also becoming more social and loves to make new friends. He has a first friend, Clayton, that goes to the same babysitter. And, of course, his brother is his best buddy too.

The Great Forest Park Balloon Glow

Last night, Sage and I went to the balloon glow at Forest Park. It was so awesome! Imagine nearly 50 giant hot air balloons peppering a field about the size of two football fields. Just before dusk, the balloons are deflated and lying on the ground. Then, all the sudden, the balloons rise to life in the form of giant balloons, bunnies, bears, and even beers. Sage favored the American flag balloon and my favorite was the St. Louis balloon. As the night grows darker, the sight grows even more incredible! The glow of the hot gases flowing into the balloons makes it magical. Then, every ten minutes or so, a whistle blows and ALL the balloons light up at once!





Wow! Sage and I were both amazed.


The night was even more fun because Sage took a ride on a choo choo tractor and on a pony. We shared some funnel cakes and frozen lemonade before heading home.



One tired baby - the sign of a fun night!

Guess who just turned two?

Sage turned two on Thursday! Our baby boy is growing so fast! We celebrated the day by going to one of his favorite places - Monkey Joe's. Sage loves that place so much that when we pulled into the parking lot, he started shouting, "Ah Ah! Ah Ah!". He calls monkeys "ah ahs" because monkeys say, "oo oo, ah ah.". So, he streaks through the parking lot shouting, "Ah ah!". Then, once we got inside, he shrieked with delight the whole time we were there. Well, almost. Towards the end of the evening, he was starting to get hungry and tired. Sage and Kai both fell asleep before we got out of the parking lot. That was the end of the night for those two.

Happy birthday to my little love!!! We love you more everyday.

Thank You!

Just in case you missed my crying speech at the party...

I just want to take a moment to thank all of our family and friends.

As I was driving down to my parent's house on Saturday, I was reminded of the year before. Kai spent his first night home from the hospital there and then we celebrated Sage's first birthday the next day. Kai was just over 4 pounds then and we were so worried about him. He was eating less than an ounce at a time. But, now, he's a thriving one-year old who weighs six times as much and is an eating machine. I dare say he is even a little chubby!

So, thank you to all of you for everything this past year. Jared and I never could have made it without you. We appreciate everything from babysitting to the unconditional love you give to all of us.

We are truly, truly blessed.

updates

As parents of two bouncing baby boys (and I do mean bouncing), time flies by! Tomorrow is the first of September and both boys are one year-old - fun, fun, fun.

I'm back at work full-time and both Jared and I are back in school. Jared is finishing his last semester of his MBA and I'm starting my Educational Specialist degree. In my first class last week, we were making introductions and I mentioned that I have two sons who are both one, but not twins. It's fun to see people try to figure that out for a few seconds!

Sage is totally into choo-choos and after his birthday party on Saturday is in choo-choo heaven! He tries to carry all of the trains with him everywhere he goes. This morning, he tried carrying one of the tracks out the door too! Sage is talking more and stringing words together to make sentences. In big news, he is in a big boy bed! Well, sort of. We converted his crib to a toddler bed because he was climbing out all the time anyway. So far, he stays in it! Yippee!

Kai also has a new bed. We finally gave up on the boys sharing a room. Thus, we moved one of the cribs from Sage's room into the third bedroom. Finally, Kai is out of the pack-n-play and into a real bed.

Kai is growing by leaps and bounds. He is an eating machine and eats everything we put in front of him, he does not discriminate! Kai recently learned how to blow kisses - adorable. He has taken just a couple steps, but is growing more confident with his standing skills and I expect him to take off anyday now. Kai is a rough and tumble little guy. He definitely prefers wrestling to reading.

Rosco gets an honorable mention here. She is the most gentle, patient dog. Rosco lets the boys climb on her, pull her tail, chase her, and even try to ride on her. She is often seen hovering under the highchairs waiting for food to fall - and it always does (thus, a need for frequent baths). Rosco loves the boys as much as they love her.

Birthday Bash

On Saturday, we celebrated Kai and Sage's birthdays.
30 plus family and friends
2 gallons of mostacholi (a lot of which Kai ate - see pic below)
8 sub sandwiches
24 cupcakes
2 cake covered babies
plenty of child and adult beverages
+ lots of gifts
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ONE GREAT PARTY!!!
We had a great time. Thank you so much to everyone who was there in body or spirit. We appreciate you taking the time to celebrate our boys!