Last Soccer Game

Today was Jack's final soccer game, and he insisted on wearing the turquoise bandanna you see below. So he played the entire time with this bandanna on which got all hot & sweaty.......and then notice his forehead in the next picture - permanently blue! Even after a shower it's still blue!!



Jack is building with these fantastic magnetic blocks he received for Christmas from Grandma & Grandpa Lambert. These are by far one of Jack's favorite toys and he has played constantly with them since Christmas! So if you have a preschooler or know one you would like to give a fantastic gift to, consider these blocks because they have been one of our most enduring toys. (Also notice the picture frame in front of Jack's place mat; it's a photo of Jay & Jack at Disneyworld last October. The picture now sits with us at dinner every night so Daddy can still eat with us. Awwww!)

So I have mentioned that the babies are on the move, and they are catching on quickly!! I was attempting to wash bottles yesterday afternoon and as I was standing at the sink I looked down to find TWO babies clinging to my pant legs. Literally....one on each leg. I had to step back and take their picture as they surrounded me on the kitchen floor. :-)


These next two shots are for our dearest friends the Binkleys who sent these great onesies to us.....I get more comments on them when the babies wear them out and about! Thanks ya'll!!!

(Matty)

(Nate)

Sitting & Crawling

At nine months old Matthew is still not too big to fall asleep all curled up in the baby swing (he's a little peanut). I'm not sure what I'm going to do when they really do outgrow the swings.....they are a lifesaver when both babies are cranky!!

The babies can finally sit up on their own! I thought it would never happen.... (FYI - Matty is on the left and Nate is on the right, I usually try to do it the other way around)

Now that the twins are on the move but not proficient at it yet, they often get stuck. Such as Matty did here behind Daddy's favorite chair. And while Nathan crawls the traditional way (and IS getting quite speedy), Matty does it more commando style by pulling himself on his belly across the floor with his arms. Not as nice to look at but it definitely works!

Goodbye to Daddy

We said goodbye to Jay today which was difficult (it always is) but made harder by the fact that we had to keep our emotions somewhat in check for Jack's sake. Jack, on the other hand, seems sort of blissfully ignorant as to how long daddy's "long trip" really is and I think this is a good thing!

Jay's ship.

Jack & Daddy snuggling before we said our goodbyes.

Spring in VA

Jack doing his "roar" face.

We spent Mother's Day at this wonderful park (we'd never been there before). Jack had a fantastic time feeding turtles, playing in the river, and as you can see here dragging "big sticks" up "big mountains".

The babies and I watching Jack playing in the river. It was a beautiful day!

Jay and Jack snagged a free paddle boat ride!

Jay & Jack in front of the huge bear carved out of wood (Jack was a little leery at first until he realized it was just a wooden statue!)

Jack wanted to have a tea party....so we turned it into a sweet tea party (I make it with decaf tea and splenda so it's kid friendly - having lived in the south for several years now I have become completely addicted to sweet tea!). Duckie was invited too (that's his seat next to Jack - the stool). And Jack insisted that our cups match our plates....hmmm....apple doesn't fall far. :-)

Jack holding Nathan - he did a great job and had so much fun doing it! Jack really loves being a big brother.

The babies playing - one will bounce and then the other bouces back. I must admit it is kind of handy that they can entertain one another....helps me get more done because I don't feel as bad leaving them to play on their own since they've got each other!

Nathan has mastered going backwards...and often gets stuck! The wood floors certainly don't help the crawling effort either.

Our first experience with teething biscuits. Although you wouldn't know it from their expressions, they actually devoured them!

All my boys are captivated by the TV...wonder who they get that from...oh yeah, Dad! :-)

Nathan.

Matthew.

Matthew smiling even after Nathan just stole his binky right out of his mouth (a new favorite pastime of Nate's even though he sucks his thumb).

Our first date night since the twins were born! How exciting to eat at a restaurant with cloth napkins and NO kids' menu!!!

Sorry blog.....I joined Facebook!!!!

Nathan laughing at Jack.

Matthew laughing at Jack.

Jack's huge icicle he found hanging from our deck...which he subsequently insisted on bringing inside.

Matthew asleep in his feeding seat.

Matthew asleep in his feeding seat....again!!! (maybe if he didn't wake up every few hours at night screaming like a banshee he wouldn't have such narcoleptic tendencies!!!!!)

Jack having fun holding Matthew....Matty, not so much.

Getting ready for Jack's first soccer practice!

The babies watching Jack playing soccer - they're so enthusiastic....

Jack's first soccer match. He pauses often to stop and wave at us....in the middle of the game.

According to Jack, "The Easter bunny must like the babies because he left them presents too!!" These are their new Easter toys. (And yes they have jackets on....it was cold in the house when we got up that morning and I hadn't turned on the heat yet!)

Matthew smiling.

Me trying to get two babies to stop crying!

Jack's favorite thing to do in the whole world is make the babies laugh...and he's really good at it!! They LOVE to watch him and laugh at him.

Matthew unusually happy after waking up from a nap.

Nathan happy as usual after a nap.

Jack hanging out in his toy room (having this space was one of the major reasons we chose this house).

The newest addition to our family room....attractive isn't it??

Help us - we're being held captive against our will!!

Jay took this picture...a typical purchase of baby food.

We've had several unseasonably warm days so on one of them I pulled out these great onesies that say "Daddy's Little Wingman". Maybe someday.....if they don't have my eyes!

Sorry for the LONG delay in posting and the even longer string of pictures. Under the pressure of many friends, I joined Facebook which has been wildly addictive. It actually is a really useful tool for reconnecting with long lost friends.....as well as people you didn't know were your friends. :-)

We are settled into our new life in VA and have come to really appreciate what a great part of the country this is. I love the fact that you get more of a distinct feel for the four seasons here. Right now the area is just blossoming with flowers and new leaves/buds on all the trees. It's just wonderful to see spring in full swing!!!

Jack has ever so slowly adjusted to his new school and has even made several good friends. Although strangely he still doesn't know the names of all the kids in his class. He has also started playing soccer through our YMCA which he just loves! Although a little clarification was needed because upon learning he would be playing soccer he said, "Alright! I'm going to score a touchdown and run around ALL the bases!!"

The twins are getting so big along with their appetites!! I cannot believe how much formula and baby food we go through! The transition to whole milk and table food cannot come soon enough. They still refuse to eat any of the baby meats (which, granted, do smell a bit questionable) but they eat everything else, usually at a voracious pace. And while they eat about the same amount of food, Nathan is still roughly one pound heavier than Matthew. We will get more exact weights next week when they, thankfully, receive their last Synagis shots (special antibody shots to protect them from RSV; they've been getting them every month since last September). But Nathan is about 16lbs now and Matthew is around 15lbs. Nathan is finally ready to move into size 6-9 months and size 3 diapers, but Matty isn't quite there yet.....at 8 months old! They are almost a full size behind their actual age, but I guess when you start out life roughly half the size of most babies you've got some catching up to do!!

Our biggest battle has been with colds. All the kids have been sick off and on since the end of January. YUCK. It hasn't really slowed Jack down too much, but the twins just keep getting whatever Jack brings home. They will finally get rid of their runny noses and then boom, they're sick again. We have also had some ear infection issues with the twins which is new territory for me since Jack has never had one nor has he ever been on an antibiotic. It started in early February with both the twins having ear infections. Nathan's cleared with one 10 day round of amoxicillan (sp??) but Matty just couldn't kick it. So three antibiotics and three months later and he STILL has one ear that's infected. Apparently, according to the doctor, they don't usually put tubes in just one ear for babies. So since Matty only has problems in one ear they aren't sure what to do with him. Right now we are just waiting to see what his little body can do on it's own (but I have a prescription for a fourth antibiotic on hand in case he acts like he is really in pain) and will re-evaluate at his 9 month check. Now, mind you both babies are cutting three teeth at once and, of course, have colds again so I'm not really sure how I'm suppose to distinguish possible ear pain from the also just as likely teething pain or potential fussiness from yet another cold.....

Jay is getting used to life on the ship but none of us are used to the idea of him leaving for seven months. His departure date is looming (May 12) and I'm still in denial!! I know I have been spoiled, but on Jay's previous deployments I have been able to see him at some point during his time away. Not so this time around which is difficult for me. I worry too that I'm going to be spread a little thin which means I might not always be such a nice Mommy! I don't want the pressures that I will face with having to manage everything on my own to trickle down to the kids - they deserve the best that I can give, especially during such a hard adjustment. Pray that I have enough energy to take them places and play with them and still have enough left that I don't end up making Mac & Cheese for dinner every night!!!

Again, sorry for the long lapse in posting! But, on the bright side, once Jay leaves I'll be posting all the time so he can see pictures of the kids!!! :-)

We Made It!

Yeah! We made it to VA!!

Hey Mattie!! Still always has an arm in the air.

Nate chillin' on the floor....he smiles at anyone.

Nate on left and Matt on right.

Nate playing with his new favorite toy.

Nate checking out big brother Jack.

Being weird.

Santa found us!!

Santa brought Geo Trax to our house (and new footsie jammies and a turtle fur hat)!

Santa also brought a Bozo punching balloon, which sadly didn't last more than one day at our house before he got a hole in him.

Jack got to pick out one book at the bookstore....he chose a Tiara-making book. Jay was thrilled. Here is his finished Tiara. :-)

Well, we made it to VA and we are actually almost unpacked!! It was a stressful move already because of the babies but it was compounded by the fact that it was Christmas time as well. But despite all of that both us and our stuff made it to the new house unscathed. Unfortunately, everything was just too much to handle for one of our cats, Zack. He became ill on Christmas Eve and after some tests we discovered he in fact was much sicker than we imagined (kidney failure among other things). Upon the advice of our vet we made the difficult decision to put Zack to sleep. We all miss him....especially Timmy, our other cat, because they were good buddies. On a lighter note, we still had a nice Christmas (Santa managed to find us in VA!) and have had fun taking "field trips" exploring the city. I must say it's a welcome change to actually have interesting places to go visit! Not to mention all the great restaurants we have nearby - eating out is one of our favorite things to do and there wasn't a whole lot to choose from in FL. :-) Jack is enjoying his new school but it is a lot different from his old preschool so it has been somewhat of an adjustment for him. All the other kids in his class are there all day (to accommodate working parents) so the fact that his schedule is different (he is there a half day)sets him apart a little. But he seems to be warming up to it and hopefully will make some new friends quickly. The babies continue to do really well and turn 5 months old today, believe it or not!! At their last check up right before Christmas Matthew was up to 11lbs and Nathan was 11lbs 15oz. Nathan finally can fit into 3-6 month clothes but Matthew has yet to make that jump. I have started to experiment with feeding them rice cereal which initially was met with overt rejection (Nate refused to even swallow and while Matt swallowed a little he looked like I was poisoning him). But today Nate decided he liked the stuff and suddenly couldn't get enough! Matt did not eat any this time and still gave me the death look for even trying to get the stuff near his mouth. So maybe we'll try some veggies soon and see if Mattie likes those better!! Jay leaves on Sunday to return to FL for a few weeks to finish up at the squadron and then he'll be back with us in early Feb. He checks into the ship in Feb. but will be taking the month off to spend time with us before he really gets back into the swing of things with the ship as it is gearing up for deployment in May. Well, that about does it for us!!