10 months old!

OMG my bitty beans are 10 months old! It makes me so sad to think of them not being babies anymore sometime in the very near future.

There 10 month b-day landed on the day of the big K-state win so of course they were wearing their jerseys courtesy of my friend, Valeri!

New "skill" - clapping hands:

Very happy about the K-state victory:

"Ok, sons, this is a football. You will never be playing this sport because I don't want to deal with your mom being scared to death the entire season of you getting hurt!"

"That's right! Listen to your dad! Ben, don't try to ignore me, I know you are the meathead of the group but you are still not playing football!"

New developments this month:

Both:
- Speed crawling all over the place
- No more pureed baby food! When we were on vacation I bought a bunch for quick meals and by the end of the vacation they refused to eat it!
- Eating pretty much everything if it's broken into bits of pieces
- More babbling
- Clapping hands on demand (unless we are in front of other people and then they won't do it and make me look like a liar)
- Got a virus that made them break out into a bad rash all over there body!

Ben:
- Another ear infection :(
- Really enjoys eating and very serious about it
- Likes drinking out of regular cups and sippy cups
- Has 4 teeth now (2 top and 2 bottom)
- Happier and more interactive now that he can crawl
- Still twists his wrists but it has significantly decreased once he was mobile
- Stopped saying "bop" and now says more mama and dada words and other unidentifiable words
- Constantly trying to put everything in his mouth- especially small, hard objects

Sam:
- "Cruising" on furniture but shows no other signs of wanting to walk
- Says "da" appropriately sometimes and calls out for "da" when Matt leaves the room (sometimes)
- Has 2 teeth (one top and one bottom)
- Very needy right now. Always has to be held
- Loves playing in the dirt
- Loves playing on the back patio
- Pushes objects alongside him while he crawls
- Not too interested in eating but usually cleans his "plate"

Is 10 months old a bad age? I feel like whenever I am home alone with them they are both crying at me and wanting to be held. It has been a particularly tough week with Ben's ear infection and Sam getting another tooth.

I hate to complain or sound ungrateful because of course they are my dream come true. But, man are they bad boys right now!!

Our first family vacation!

Matt, the boys and I got back last week from our first family vacation to Denver! We had such a great time! We stayed with one of my best friends, Betsy and her family (husband, Leo, and boys, Oliver and Murphy). They were soooo nice to play host and hostess for us - thanks again Boots! It was such a perfect 1st vacation for our family!

We got in on Thursday Sept. 16th. Our friends Lonni and Ian hosted a get-together that night so we could see all of our friends. It was one of my bff's, Elena's b-day and she lives in the mountains so she came down that night to celebrate her b-day and see the boys.

Matt golfed on Friday morning. We were also down there for a friends wedding so he got to golf with the wedding party. Of course, he loved that! Us girls went to the Botanical Gardens with the kids. That night Betsy and Leo had a BBQ and all of Matt's BFF's and their kids and one of my BFF's, BK and her boyfriend came over. Betsy made these delicious enchiladas, which I will be calling her for the recipe and making tonight! I've already got the meat thawing out!

Saturday was the wedding and the K-state game! So, we just hung out at the Rowen's house and watched the game all day. Honestly, I think that was the boys favorite day because they loved all of the Rowen boys toys! They have a big playroom filled with toys and it was like Disneyland to Ben and Sam.

Saturday night was the wedding, which was so much fun. We had never met the bride before so I told Matt to be on his best behavior and no concerts on the dance floor. Of course, at the end of the night, Matt was the last person off the dance floor. Betsy and Leo babysat the boys for us. THANK YOU GUYS!!

On Sunday us girls (Betsy, Lonni, BK, Krista and Beth) went to a yummy brunch while Leo and Matt watched the boys. Afterwards, Betsy and I toured some beautiful open houses. We both like looking at houses so we took this opportunity since we didn't have the kids.

Sunday night we went to the Inmans for dinner. Aaron is one of Matt's best friends. We got to hang out again with Matt's friends, their wives and kids. It was great! I loved getting to know the Denver crew's families.

Monday we went to the zoo. Ben and Sam actually enjoyed looking at the animals. Ben would point and grunt, as usual. He even noticed a peacock walking towards him and Daddy before Matt noticed it. Their favorite part was all the puffs they got to eat in the car ride to the zoo!

Mom and Baby:


Mom and Babies
Murphy, Ben, Oliver and Sam at the zoo:


Monday afternoon we just hung out at the Rowen's house. BK, Kevin, Krista, and Lonni all stopped by to see the boys one more time!


Matt showing off our "home away from home", the Rowen's house!


Oliver learning to skateboard:


Murphy learning to skateboard:


And Sam learning to skateboard (kinda):


Tuesday morning Lonni was at the house to take us to the airport bright and early!

Ben and Sam were ok with the plane ride. Ben liked looking at all the people on the plane. Sam just wanted to get down and explore, which of course he couldn't.


At the airport. This pretty much summed up Sam's feelings:

Matt is so excited for the flight!
1st Family photo on an airplane:


All in all it was a perfect trip for us! It was a great mixture of hanging out and also seeing parts of Denver. It was very different from past trips to Denver....but our life is very different now! This is the new "normal" and I love it!!

Ben at the airport after we landed in KC. What a trip!

Happy Birthday to the Amazing Aunt Jamie!

Happy birthday to my beautiful cousin, surromom of Sam and Ben, and our angel! I wish we could be here for your b-day today but we are thinking of you! We will be telling Sam and Ben what a wonderful day it is because you were born on this day and you are the reason they are alive!

After reading some of your Facebook posts, Lauren said to me the other day "Wow, I can't believe how selfless Jamie is!". It's not just the amazing gift you gave us, it's the way you life your life in general that is so giving. You are always doing stuff for others in need- much more than anyone else I know! Connor and Colton will be so proud of you once they are old enough to realize what type of person they have for a mom! Seriously, you are the most amazing woman I know!

I love you so much, Jamie, and you know it's because of what you did for us that we have happiness and joy in our lives everyday.

Happy Birthday and start thinking where you want to go to lunch!


Superwoman with Sam!


Superwoman with Ben!

Happy Grandparents Day!

Today is the official "Grandparents Day". Sam and Ben are so, so blessed to have four wonderful, amazing grandparents! I don't know how we would do it without all the help and support they have given to us as new parents of twins. My mom or dad comes over to help almost everyday and Matt's mom and dad babysit almost weekly. Ben and Sam LOVE their grandparents too! They are starting to know who they are and it's cute to see them smile and respond to them. My dad even has his own song....da da da da da da - da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da, GRANDPA'S SHOES! Daily, I really couldn't do it without the help my mom gives me!

Happy Grandparents Day to the best Grandma's and Grandpa's ever!

Waiting for Grandma and Grandpa

Here is a pic of the boys and Maggie while they were waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to get to our house the other day. They love to look out the window and everyday when Matt gets home from work I put them at the window and Matt kneels down and talks to them from the outside. They pound on the window and just laugh and smile and scream...it's so cute!

How did I get so lucky?

I honestly think this everyday. I thank God at least 5 times a day for blessing us with these 2 perfect little guys. They are so sweet and so funny and I can't wait until they wake up from their nap so I can take them to Toddle Time!



"Let me outta here!"
"Awww, Maggie! Leave me alone!"

Bop

Ben has a new word....bop! He loves to say it and he loves hearing people say it back to him. He starts warming his mouth up getting ready to say it and then it comes out...bop, bop, bop! The word itself makes him smile and it's so fun to try and get him to say it. The other day I was trying to get him to say "mama". It totally looked like he was going to say it...mouth in the mmmmm position and everything...and then just "bop!" came out. When he is in a really good mood he will repeat it back with the same inflection or number of times we say it.

Here is Ben in his highchair eating some pasta. He was in a great mood because he loooovvveeesss to eat so he started in on the "bops"

Mid-"Bop"
Proud of himself for saying the word (we were also clapping for him at the time so that didn't hurt the smiles either):