Side Note

I don't know how I forgot this side note from the day. Cameron has pooped through five outfits and two bed changes. No joke. It was very gross. Very gross.

The new bin

1. Catching up
I started catching up on life from being sick the past few days. For example, this evening I began taking down the Christmas tree. Owen pushed a box over to the table and began eating the left over food from dinner. Not surprised.

2. Meals are a good time to take pictures
I realized today that I take a ton of pictures during mealtime. I think that this is because the boys can't move, the camera is right there and they are always sitting next to each other. I know that these pictures get old...but here are some more. Obviously expect more meal time pics in the future.

3. Toy room

So grateful for all of the new toys from Christmas. Our toy room is packed to the brim. We got a trunk full of toys from the Orsticklopplands alone. This snapshot was taken immediately when I put the boys to bed. I actually started to pick stuff up right before bedtime tonight in order to find a magical green pacifier. It gets cleaned every night and used every single day. I am very lucky to have this space.
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Oh and yes...you can see two loads of laundry that need to be folded on the couch in the living room.

4. New recycle bin

I asked for recycling for Christmas. Is that nerdy? Today they dropped off my new bin. My new, HUGE bin. It is almost full of paper and cardboard and I have only had it for one day. I am TRILLED to have this addition to my life. Thanks mom and dad!!

5. Garage will be organized soon

I actually took this picture to show a snap an image of how crazy my garage is right now. With only one car I just seem to keep putting things out there for "storage." I would like to point out...there are MORE TOYS out there. In this picture you can see the awesome wagon we got from Erin and Jess that is filled with toys from the toy room.

Sick days

1. Cuddle bug
Cameron and I are feeling pretty under the weather. He has been wanting me to hold him while he is not sleeping and just lays his head on my chest or shoulder. He is usually crawling around and playing everywhere. It has been a nice change to just hold him and relax for awhile.

2. Alone time
Because Cameron has been feeling sick his nap schedule has been WACKY these past two days. Wacky naps for one baby usually means that they are on different schedules. Today I was able to spend time playing with Cameron and Owen individually. Owen is actually still asleep right now while Cameron is eating a snack in the kitchen.

3. Help

So I am sure you can see the theme by now....we are not feeling well. So grateful from the help from Mat and my parents so I could get some much needed rest on Sunday before work.

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4. I missed many diaper changes

Being at work on Sunday night and under the weather myself it sounds like I missed some nasty diaper changes. Trust me....I would rather change gross diapers than feel sick but hey...you have to be grateful for the little things.

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5. Christmas

Wonderful. I did not forget about Christmas. I don't have any pictures right now but hopefully will be able to post some this week. It was a great weekend with the family.

Haircut

1. Owen's first haircut
This morning Owen did wonderful at his first haircut. The top two pictures are the finished product. His mullet is gone!! He didn't smile the whole time and he also didn't scream. He actually didn't make a sound. I was very proud of the little stinker.

**Yes, he looks terrified, but he did great!

2. Santa

This afternoon the boys are going to visit Santa. This should be interesting. I am sure we will get more terrified looks!

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3. Not at work

I am so grateful that I am not at work right now. Work is kicking my butt. I work for four hours this evening but THRILLED that I am not there right now.

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4. Almost done with Christmas shopping.

I am ALMOST done with shopping this year. I tried to buy as much as possible online to collect money for Upromise. Everyday I have been getting packages in the mail. A few more things and I am finished.

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5. The new baby

Holli and Andy welcomed Rafe into the world on Saturday morning. I was working at the time so they called me on the floor and I was able to come up and see the little one in his first hours of life. I am so grateful for their friendship and I am trilled for a new little man to join the play group.

A day in the life

1. Tubes were a success!!
Last week Cameron got tubes in his ears. We were in and out of the surgery center so quickly that we were able to catch a great sunrise on the way home. He has been in great spirits, just his normal whiny self. He is going to be a handful in the future. He really wants....what HE wants.

2. Laughter

I love when the house is filled with laughter. Now that Cameron is feeling better it seems to be a lot more joyful. The boys LOVE to be chased and scared. We are always able to get huge belly laughs out of these two little ones with these those two games.

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Below is a frequent image of Owen that always makes me laugh. He just sits with the blanket on his head. I will take a quick peak of the toy room and he is just sitting there. He also crawls around and plays with the blanket on his head. He cocks his head whatever way he needs in order to see the toy, yet still have his blue blanket on his head. Should I be nervous?

3. Childproof

Since I am in the kitchen a ton....so are the boys. Mat was able to put latches on all of the important cabinets so we don't have to worry about what they are getting into. Trust me it is nice to not have cookbooks all over the floor or Pledge in the babies mouth! (No...the Pledge didn't happen.)

4. Cameron is taking off!!

Owen is usually the shinning start of gross motor skills. Cameron has taken a huge leap and almost caught up with his brother. He isn't taking any steps on his own but I think that in a few weeks he will be daring enough to take that first step. He was essentially released from Occupational Therapy and the physical therapist is very impressed with his improvement. Yay to Cameron!!! This is a picture of him walking with grandpa through the kitchen.

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I don't know if I posted that the boys have been repeating words. The first purposeful word was from Cameron. He says "uh oh" all the time after dropping toys or his sippy cup during mealtime. They both repeat words a ton and it has been fun teaching them to talk.

5. Chicago

This was a busy weekend. On Thursday we took the boys up to Valpo to see my grandparents. Oh how I love staying there. It is peaceful with GREAT food. The boys had grown so much since our last visit. On Friday afternoon my parents met Greg so the boys could spend time with him in Chicago and Mat and I took a train into the city. We had a great weekend. Grateful to get out of the house and spend time in the city.

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Here are some more pictures of our normal lives. This one of the toy room is how they like to play...with toys EVERYWHERE. I clean it every night after they go to bed, and this is what they create throughout the day. Oh...and it doesn't take long for this masterpiece.

Yep...that is a box of wipes ripped apart. He was pretty proud of himself. And that dragon toy in the back is one of the boys favorites.

Colored Balls

1. Brothers
On occasion these two little boys fight, bite each other fingers, and steal toys...but the truth is they LOVE each other. They light up when they see each other in the morning and they share in the laughter when the other gets extra tickles or his hanging upside down. I love this picture because it shows how short Owen is compared to Cameron and Owen has his hand resting on his brother's shoulder! They are watching Baby Einstein from the gate. Yes....this is sometimes the only way I get things done in the kitchen.


2. The flirt
I know that I have talked about Cameron's seductive face before but it is SOOOO hard to understand if you don't see it. I know that he is going through sometime of strange phase and I worried that I will forget about this awesome flirting that he does. Hopefully I will get it on video sometime but if I pull the camera out he is usually intrigued by the electronic device in my hand, not flirting with his mom. Anyways, it is so stinkin' cute. Trust me.


3. The healthy eater
Owen LOVES to eat. I can't really put this another way. He usually eats his food and then tries to steal Cameron's. He keeps shoving food into his mouth until he can't get anything else in. He takes food in his fist and crawls around......loves food. I can't think of anything or anytime that he doesn't eat. Oh wait, his bottle of whole milk. Sometimes he doesn't really like that....but who really likes whole milk anyways...right? In this picture he actually has food in his mouth and in his hands.

4. Breakfast in the playroom
For the past few days we have started to do breakfast in the playroom. Grapes and dry cereal...yum. Well the first morning I did this...I tried colored balls for the cereal. It was a new snack I was going to try so I thought to pull it out and see how they liked it. I left for a few minutes to get sippy cups or do something in the kitchen. When I got back they were putting the colored cereal in their mouth, chewing, and then spitting them out. After the pieces landed on the carpet they spread them into the carpet, changing the carpet it into all different colors. Because I caught them in the act it was easy to clean...and we still have breakfast in the playroom. Now we don't have the colored balls, just cheerios.

5. NEW BOY

Yesterday Cameron was almost back to his normal, fun, non-crying self. It was great. He had a small melt down at 4pm but both boys stayed up until almost 7pm. You know what that sounds like....we might be getting back to our old schedule!!!!

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Right after I typed this the boys started to melt down...before 8am. I guess I should stop bragging.

Feeling Better

1. Owen's curiosity
Both boys are growing and changing so quickly. Today it was obvious how he is smart, interested, and VERY curious. He also knows exactly what is off limits and immediately crawls right over to those items. This is a picture of him this evening. Yes. He pulled the box to the tree and climbed up. He was able to grab all the ornaments. Needless to say, he was loving life.


2. Cameron is starting to feel better!!!
It has not been the best week at our house, but things are looking up. Cameron felt miserable for the past 72 hours. He broke out in a crazy rash (you might notice it in the picture with the boys in their highchairs), he would not want me to put him down, and he was not able to break his low grade fever. It has been mentally and physically exhausting. This evening he has started to make a change. His rash is starting to go away, no fever, and he played (without me) for a short time. Here is a picture of him tonight making his seductive face. And if you notice, he about to start pointing. So wonderful and so predictable.

3. Coffee and Macaroni & Cheese
This morning I was dreading the day. It had been a hard few days, I haven't had much sleep, and I woke up already on empty. The boys took naps at separate times and though it was nice to have alone time with each of them, it never gave me the much needed quiet time. As a quick surprise Mat brought over Starbucks for me and lunch and dinner for the boys. It helped keep me on my toes and get me through the rest of the day. Now the boys are asleep, the house is picked up, and I finally have quiet.
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4. Plates
I decided to start trying plates with the boys. This actually worked out much better than expected. Towards the end Owen wanted to pick up his plate and turn it over but they did great.

5. Vacuum
This evening I picked up the toy room and vacuumed. This is a regular occurrence at our house but MUCH needed since I have been holding Cameron for the past few days. As I put the toys in the toy box Owen proceed to take everything out and throw it on the floor. He was actually quite proud of himself.