Naps

1. 3 weeks
So I am sure that if you look back in the posts about three weeks I talked about Owen trying to roll all the way over. Lately Cameron has been trying to roll from his back to his belly. His arm gets stuck so he stops trying. He is so sweet. Cameron usually does everything 3 weeks after Owen.

2. The Warning
Thank you Kelly and Matt for warning me about poops. First I want to mention that pooping does NOT make me happy anymore. I think that the breast milk is making these boys poop a million times a day. Anyways, Kelly and Matt warned me about once the babies start to eat solids..their poop changes. Both boys had monster diapers when they woke up this morning. Thanks for the warning!

3. Pictures
I just got pictures developed today from Shutterfly and picked them up at Target. Most of them have been in these posts.

4. Owen is asleep
We have been doing GREAT on our schedule. Until this afternoon (when it actually mattered.) I needed to take a nap this afternoon because I work tonight. Instead Owen decided to stay awake during the entire nap time. When I finally got him into bed...it was time for Cameron to wake up. Oh well. At least he is asleep!

5. Done with the bags
I don't really know why I put this at the bottom of the list. I have been looking forward to this day for awhile now. I am finally done with the bags of frozen breast milk. They would leak and cause such a mess. Now I have just a few bottles frozen and back to straight formula.

It has been a week

1. Updating the blog
I can't believe it has almost been a week since the last post. For a lucky few there were a few posts up that needed to be deleted. (So I am not 100% neglectful to my blog.) Anyways, thrilled to be posting again. (I sound so nerdy.)

2. Solids
The boys are doing much better at eating. Tonight was sort of a disaster for Owen. This tired little fellow wanted all the attention to himself. He still ate though. On a side note: when the boys are next to each other they LOVE to hold hands. This includes sitting in their highchairs. I wasn't able to snap a shot, but they sure are funny.

3. Great Day

Today I had a great day. I was pretty productive. I was even able to get yard work done for an hour thanks to my dad! Right now I am catching up on the computer and eating pancakes. Yes...I made myself dinner.

4. The Mommy Hook

This little hook did wonders for my Walmart trip with the boys yesterday. My sister introduced me to this hook and I love it. It is a huge hook that goes on the handle bar of my stroller and holds all my reusable bags. When the boys are in their car seats I can't store anything under the stroller so this little hook is a life saver. Thanks Erin!

5. Play dates

Yesterday we had a play date with Ethan and Johnny. Tonya made us a great lunch and Shelby was able to fill me in on all the work gossip. It was nice to get away from home and be with other adults.

Beauty

1. Old pictures
I am using my parents computer to do the blog and I found some old pictures. This is one of my mom's many hairstyles. The other picture is one of all the Abel children with me and Erin.


2. The rain
It gives me a good excuse not to work in the yard.

3. Owen's appetite
Owen is doing great eating solids. Cameron is still pushing everything out with his tongue. To be honest, they both make me happy.

4. My health
I don't have a cold or allergies right now~so that is good. And I am especially happy that I don't have a backache like my poor, miserable mother.

5. My mom's beauty
I am lucky that I can even be in the same room with her...she is that stunning. If you don't believe me look at the pictures above.

Earth Day

1. The garage
So if you remember at all...a few weeks ago I mentioned working on the garage. It is on my TO DO list every day. Today I worked on the garage!!! I am so thrilled. I have new shelves up, the floor is swept, I threw stuff away...it is great. There is still more that I need to do but we got a ton done. Thank you dad for your help! And for Greg and his dad to watch the boys so I can have time to get stuff done.

2. The Abel Family
Yesterday evening I was able to spend time with every person in the Abel family at one time. It was fun. Not only did Jenna and Melissa came into town, I was able to meet sweet baby Max who is perfect. I wish that I was able to spend more time with everyone but glad that we were able to spend the few hours that we did!

3. Earth Day
Today is earth day. I must mention that in my blog. It is a gorgeous day out. Once I am done with this blog I am back outside working in the yard.

4. Upromise
I don't know if I have talked about Upromise on the blog or not. I am trying to pay my student loans off. It has not been going well these past few months. Anyways, I use Upromise to help me save and pay off the loan faster. It just saves a few cents at a time, but eventually they all add up. So my new thing is to buy gift cards off ebay and then use them at the store. If I use ebay, 2% of the purchase goes towards Sallie Mae. So I just did this with a Target gift card because we get our diapers from Target and it worked out great. So yeah...Upromise and Ebay make me happy.

5. Mulch
I am putting this on the list to see how long it takes to make the top 5 again. I need to put mulch down...desperately. I can't remember how much mulch cost (that is how long it has been.) So I need to start project mulch and figure out how to get mulch down in my yard. The promise of new mulch makes me very happy.

Kelly

1. The boys
I know that it goes without saying....but I want to say it today. The boys make me so happy. To watch them interact and grow has been wonderful. It has been hard to capture their interaction with each other but I look forward to them getting just a tad older and playing together.

2. Visiting Kelly, Matt, and Savannah
So we took a trip to South Bend yesterday. The boys did not love the car but we survived. It was great to get out of the house and switch up the routine. Here is a picture of Owen playing with one of Savannah's toys. He loved it. Savannah is so big and was crawling circles around the boys.

3. Kelly
I love being friends with Kelly. I don't really know how to put it into words. I am lucky to have a friend who understands me and who I feel 100% myself around.

4. Our walks

In nursing school Kelly and I went on walks everyday during lunch. Sometimes we even worked out. Crazy...I know. Anyways, after school ended, when we would get together, we would continue going on walks. Yesterday was beautiful out and we walked for a really long time. It was a good thing too since I ate a really huge lunch. This picture is near the end of the walk. Savannah was tired of sitting in her stroller so Kelly was carrying her.

5. Nails are cut

This morning I finally cut the boys nails. It was long over due.

Monday

1. Amy and Patrick's New House
Today I was finally able to see Amy's new house. LOVE IT. They have done so much work and it looks amazing. It has inspired me to continue with my own home. hmmm....now I just need some money.

2. Cameron's belly laugh
To make Cameron laugh and laugh and laugh is so much fun.

3. Monday night
I seem to enjoy Monday nights...a LOT. I am doing laundry, running the dishwasher, and enjoying a glass of wine. It is sort of like my personal Friday.

4. Trader Joe's
I took a big step today. I ran a "quick" errand with the boys. I had to run into Trader Joe's to get champagne for Amy and Patrick and some wine for myself. I put the boys in their stroller, grabbed my bag and conquered the aisles. It was a quick trip, and a huge success.

5. The nightly routine
So tonight the boys took baths, ate, and then went to bed. They get exhausted, fall asleep while eating, and go down easily. This new phase in our life is great. Let's hope we can keep it up.


The boys were looking at each other while smiling and laughing. It was hard to capture.

Done

1. We're done
You don't even want to know what time it is...and I am typing in bed. Thanks to my parents, Ashley, and Justine, I was able to work a 16 hour shift yesterday. Needless to say, I am exhausted. The boys are also completely worn out from all of the playing with their visitors. And not sleeping during the day while other people are here. The good thing is...they are sound asleep in their beds right now. These pictures are from a few weeks ago...but isn't sleep great.

2. Parents Magazine

I actually look forward to getting this in the mail. It will be nice when the boys are a little older and I can use lots of the great ideas in my own home. I just got a new one and read it last night at work. Love it.

3. Free Formula

Today Tiffany Childress brought me formula AND Similac checks into work. This stuff is so dang expensive so I am super excited to get some for free. Thank you!!

4. Ashley's new toy

Yesterday Ashley brought us a toy to borrow. It is great. The boys kick at it and it makes noises, plays songs, and moves the toys. We love it. Thank you!!

5. Last one

I am happy that the blog is no over and I can go to bed. Trust me...you don't want to know the time.

Erin's Sitter

1. 5am
You would think that I would get use to getting up between 5 and 5:30am. Well you would be wrong. It is still hard every morning. One thing though makes it nice~Cameron doesn't cry when he wakes up. You just hear him talking away. I took these pictures last week at 5am during the feedings. You feel like no one else in the world is awake.






2. The bottle holder
So this is our new nighttime bottle holder. It actually works really well. Towards the end of the bottle the boys need help but this is working for now! You need this kind of help at 5 am.

3. Erin's Sitter
Erin was having a very hard time finding someone to watch Sawyer while she goes back to work. Yesterday she found someone she trusts. She lives pretty far away so Erin will be in the car all day.

4. Dad/Grandpa
I mean do I really need to write anything? Really?




5. Rolling
I am sure I have noted before that Owen LOVES his belly. He prefers to be on his belly. If you place him on his back he immediately roles over to his belly. He only roles to one side though and this morning Cameron was in the way. If nothing is in his way he will just keep rolling and rolling. Soon I am going need to baby proof my house.

Wonderful Day

It was a great day...but I am exhausted. Here are FIVE wonderful updates.

1. The pulmonologist
I might be in love with Cameron's doctor. Not in that way...but WOW he is a great doctor. He spent over an hour with us and really made us feel comfortable walking out of the door. We are following up with an ENT and everything should be ok. Sorry but I am too tired to write more.

2. MAX
Max arrived today. We are so excited to add another little boy this year. Soon we will have our own little league team. Congrats go out to Kara and John.

3. Nap Time
So this is going to happen in our house. It started today. Every child must rest between 11 and 1. Today the boys slept until 3 so that was good. (The last hour I had to hold Owen.) Anyways, today was the first of many exciting days filled with naps.

4. Cleaning
I FINALLY got the bathrooms and kitchen floors cleaned. I did it during nap time. Ahhhh....it is nice to have a clean house.

5. The Lawn
Today I had a professional do my lawn. Don't worry~I am still very poor. The Drake's set this up for us as a gift and it is WONDERFUL. I can not even tell you. It might make me work extra hours so I can always have a professional do my lawn. Thank you!!!

Jeans

1. Family


2. Physical Therapy
It is sometimes hard to do PT because it interrupts our day. For example, Cameron was asleep but I had to wake him up to do therapy. Regardless I still love for the boys to have therapy. Today we are bored around this house and the therapy gives us something to do. It also shows me every week how much they change.

3. Tomorrow Cameron is going to the doctor
I have been looking forward to this appointment for awhile now. I am nervous and excited to see what they will say and get this baby healthy again.

4. Food
Yesterday I flew around Kroger and picked up some new food. I got strawberries, salami, and salad. Yum.

5. Jeans
So I have lost some weight (which makes me happy) and now I can fit into jeans that I have not been able to fit into (and look ok) for awhile. So yesterday I piled up the boys and took the jeans to be hemmed. That is exciting. Brand new designer jeans from Steph!! Well new to me.

Back in Town

1. The boys are back in town

The boys were in Chicago this weekend with Greg's family for a wedding. It is great to have them back. They ate and fell asleep. We tried to go on a walk but Cameron had a full meltdown so I walked back through the yards. Both boys are doing great. Here is another picture from Erin's visit. Owen cracks me up.

2. Slow

It was a slow night at work. This made the night DRAG ON FOREVER....but at least nothing crazy happened. I had great patients and great people to work with. I would much rather the night be slow than crazy busy.

3. Chili

I am going to make chili after I am done with the blog. I know that it isn't chili season right now but I love chili. Plus it is cheap and easy to heat up.

4. Walks

I am happy to be going on a walk with the boys later this afternoon. The first walk didn't go to well and only last a few minutes but the next walk will be GREAT. I have a good feeling about it. Since the boys were gone for a few days I have been missing my walks. I did talk a walk with Erin and Sawyer but I was in jeans and flip flops so it didn't count. I will say though that Sawyer has a great stroller. We are jeleous.

5. Trees

So I have a few trees in my yard that look AMAZING this time of year. The flowers are beautiful. I love the spring time.

Sweetness

1. Italian Beef
My grandma made Italian beef last Thursday when they came into town and I just had left overs. I LOVE Italian beef. Yum.

2. Lived through the night
So I am the biggest scareddy cat ever. I was home alone last night and every noise in my old house scares me. So basically I am glad that I am still alive.

3. Church
This morning I went to church with my mom and Wendy. It was nice to get out of the house and hear a good sermon.

4. Sweetness
I just can't get enough of these boys. I placed Cameron down next to Owen and they immediately started grabbing at each other. Obviously Owen wouldn't smile for the camera but Cameron always makes your heart melt.



5. Hanging out with Erin
It was great to have Erin here the past few days. We were able to just hang out and talk. I look forward to them moving to Indy some day.

Great

1. The Greats
Here are some pictures of MY grandparents with the little ones. That means that they are GREAT grandparents. They are wonderful. I can't imagine our family without their great influence and advice.

That is Cameron underneath the blanket....he likes to sleep with a blanket on his head.

2. The Blind Side

I watched this movie tonight for the first time. It was great. I watched it with Erin and my parents. What a good movie.

3. Weeds

So this evening I pulled some weeds. I hate doing this but I love the results....no weeds. It doesn't take long and if I do it during the afternoon I will get some sun. Anyways, glad the weeds are gone.

4. Shopping

Did I talk about this yesterday in the blog? If I did...sorry for the repeat. It really makes me happy. Today us ladies went shopping and to lunch again. This time lunch involved margaritas. I got two new things for me and lots of diapers for the boys.

5. Ice cream

Do I really need to elaborate?

Cousins

1. Sawyer Harris
They arrived in Indy!! I finally met little Sawyer. He is so sweet. He sleeps, eats, and smiles. It is great. I don't think that I heard one little peep out of him the whole day. He is so little and it is hard to even imagine that my boys were once 8lbs. You feel like your not holding anything. So glad that I can spend time with them.

2. Pictures
Yesterday we had lots of babies over at my parent's house so we could all meet Sawyer and see the new mom. I had my mom take this picture of me with the boys. It is the only one I have besides from when they first came home. I am always behind the camera.

3. Cousins
Yesterday I was able to spend time with Kara and Laurie and my boys were able to spend time with all the other babies. I know that they are babies so they don't really interact but boy will it be fun in a few years. It will be fun when they are all running around. (We will have to make them play outside.)

We put Sawyer in between the twins and immediately Cameron was flinging his hands around and knocking him in the head. So it didn't last for long. The boys look like giants compared to him.


4. Pedicures
I have lots more pictures from yesterday that I will post tomorrow. It is just takes too long if I add a lot of pictures at once. So this afternoon my mom took us girls to get pedicures, to lunch, and shopping. It was a blast. Now I am home and going to take a nap!!

5. Friday
How can you not be happy that it is Friday. I work on the weekends and I still love Fridays!!

Fighters

1. Rolling Over
It has been so fun to watch the boys get older. (Now I just wish they could tell me what they want when they cry.) But anyways, during these past few days the boys are getting so much better at rolling over. Cameron easily goes from his belly to his back and prefers his back much better. Owen on the other hand prefers his belly. (I think it is all the time spent with Grandpa.)

So today Owen was on his back trying to roll over like usual. The problem is that his arm would always get stuck. Next thing I know I look over and he is on his belly. I didn't see him do it--but success! (Arm and all.) It makes me happy for him that he can make himself comfortable.

2. Fighters

This picture makes me happy because it means Owen is ASLEEP. Their nap time started a full 90 minutes before this picture was taken. (I took the picture 2 seconds after he fell asleep--he is still in the same position.) My point is....these boys are fighters. They HATE, HATE to sleep. I don't know if they think that they are missing some type of party but regardless sleeping is on their "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT" list.

3. Rain is on the way

I love the sunshine and being able to go on walks but I also love the smell and feel of the weather when rain is on the way. Today is one of those days. It feels like there could be a down pour any minute. The boys have PT in an hour and then after that if it doesn't clear up we might have to go to the mall to get out of the house. But yeah...love this smell.

4. Peace

So right now since both boys are sleeping I decided to do my blog. I think that this is actually making me feel the best. The peace and quite in my house. No TV, no crying, just the sound of the washing machine, the monitor, and of course, Cameron breathing. Love, love, love this peace and quite.

5. Money

I just want to say...I know that money doesn't buy happiness BUT if you can't pay your bills you are not happy. I am able to pay my bills (don't worry mom) but since I thought about going to the mall today, money would make me very happy right now. It's a good think I have lots of gift cards!!

BORING

1. March Madness
So this year Butler made me (and lots of other people) very happy by making it all the way to the NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP game. They played last night and ended up losing by one point. I am a huge fan and they have made it a great few weeks. Not only that but I tied for first in the bracket. I think that this is the first time I won (or even close to winning) since my junior year in high school.

2. Hair dryer
I am going to finish this blog quickly today and then dry my hair. I rarely have enough time to dry my hair everyday but when I do...I love it.

3. Bathing Suits
So I decided to keep my suit from last year. (The one I bought because I was pregnant.) It makes me happy to not have to spend money on a new one. But....yeah....

4. Trash day
Today is my trash day. I just want to say that it is a good thing that someone comes and picks up the trash in front of my house. If they didn't I would have to either put that in my car or have a landfill in my back yard. Yuck. So today garbage men make me happy.

5. Brinks
It makes me feel safe. It is worth the money!

Tonight is THE night

1. Staying home during the week
Being able to stay home during the week makes me SOOOOO happy. I can experience sweet moments like this. Even though I slept this morning I am still home when the sun is shinning and able to spend awake time with my kids. I don't miss much. It is great. Today when I woke up this was how Owen was taking his nap.

2. Learning to eat

So they are just so not interested in eating. I am still trying to put food in their mouth and they just spit it right back out. They don't get fussy they just use their tongues and just push the food back out. Needless to say it is a quick experience at the table. This week I am going to try and make an effort to do solid food every night. (Even though they don't eat it.)

3. BU-TLE-R you a bulldog...Hell Yeah!

4. Feeling rested

I use to DIE if I didn't get sleep. On the weekends it is now getting pretty normal to not sleep for 24 hours and then get 4 or 5 hours of sleep at the most. It is strange how your body adjusts. I got 5 hours of sleep today but was up for over 24 hours before that. Even with such little sleep, I feel great. (Dragging a little but if I tried to take nap I wouldn't be able to fall asleep.)

5. Butler Basketball

Final Four

1. Ashley and John

Ashley and John bought me a ticket to Butler's Final Four game. Yes. You are reading this correctly. They bought me a ticket. I know...I couldn't believe it either. What wonderful friends. We had such a great time. Before the game everyone was out at the bars downtown. It was crazy. Someone compared it to a huge welcome week. The people who were seniors when you were a freshman where there and then when you were a senior the people who were freshman were there. It was wild. Lots of fun to get out of the house and into the world. Here are some pictures.

Our seats were pretty high as you can tell but lucky I have watched so many games that I could tell who the players were and never watched the screen...except once. I can not thank Ashley and John enough. This could not of come at a better time.

2. Butler is going to the National Championship

3. Schedules
So I have almost successfully gotten the boys on a schedule. I have a long nap time in the middle of the day and bedtime and feeding times....it is great. Cameron is having a hard time during nap time but Owen has been sleeping for four hours. Cameron JUST fell asleep and I will have to wake him up soon to eat. (Yes--with twins you might have to wake one up.) Anyways, I love the new schedule.

4. The week ahead
I am actually really looking forward to this week. Monday night is the championship game. I had a ticket but decided to stay home with the boys since I have been working this weekend and then gone last night. Then on Wednesday night my sister is coming and I will meet Sawyer. I am so excited to meet him. YEAH!!!!

5. The Butler Way
The Butler Way demands commitment, denies selfishness, accepts reality yet seeks improvement everyday while putting the team above self.

Dedicated to Ashley and John

1. Ashley and John
I don't want to say quite yet why they are making me walk on the clouds today...but I did want to mention that they have made my day. More to come.

2. Cameron's first day home
So as many of you know, Cameron came home from the NICU 4 weeks after Owen. The night that he got home I made the boys take pictures for our Christmas cards. Here are some of the pictures that did not make the cut. They are so tiny and so sweet. I wish those outfits still fit.

3. Shelby

Last night Shelby text me and I had to start forwarding it to my family. So I wish that I was smart enough to figure out how to put the actual picture that she sent to me onto the computer...but I am not that smart. So anyways, this picture below is the picture that was on the front of our Christmas card. The picture that Shelby sent me had this picture on her fridge next to a dry erase board that said, "GO BUTLER!!" with an arrow pointing to the card. Her text said, "The boys are our Butler mascots. We have nothing else butler in the house but we are rooting for them! Go dogs!"

It is much better if you just had the text, but it was awesome. Trust me.

4. The Butler Flag

This flag has been hanging outside my house since the first game months ago. I live on a cold-a-sac so not many people see the great flag. Regardless...we show our support. Anyways, I don't know my neighbors that well. But I bet they are happy for us. haha.

5. That I am a mom

I love being a mom. This exhausting job of laundry, feedings, naps, doctor's appointments, cleaning, sleeping...just everything....is great. It is very hard but I love it. I feel at times that I am on the top of the world. I love this time with the boys and I look forward to seeing them continually change and grow.