What We’ve Been Up To

We are in between computers right now, so trying to update the blog has been challenging.  Thank goodness for Facebook and a family that is mostly online to check the occasional picture updates. That and two very active almost-three year olds, make it really hard.  Luckily, we had the boys three year photos taken and the photographer, the talented Kerri Gagne, who has been taking the boys’ pictures since they were seven months old has blogged about their pictures. You know, the photographer who has photographed moments like these -

Pictures with all the Grandies Blogged

 

First Birthday Party Pictures

 

First Photo Shoot

She just blogged about the boys’ 3rd Birthday photo shoot at the beach.

Kerri Gagne Blog about GnR

It was kind of a crazy thing to do after we were basically housebound for over two weeks of sickness.  The boys have had a ridiculously bad cough that kept them from two birthday parties among other activities, and vomiting up phlegm, and just being miserable for weeks.  The photos were rescheduled among other things, but taking two boys to the beach for photos after being stuck inside was a bit nuts!  Nonetheless, Kerri was able to capture their personalities and showcase their amazing blue eyes.   I adore the picture of the boys in the lifeguard stand both clutching their sides in laughter.  Gus was definitely more into getting pictures that day, so his smiles are a bit brighter, but both of them are just so darn amazing.  We are truly blessed to have them in our lives and so thankful for all the moments we have shared so far.  We have a few great adventures planned for this year, and cannot wait to see how they change and blossom. in the next three years.

 

The boys had an amazing birthday party early this year, this past weekend. We have had two years in a row of having so many kids to the park for a party, and this year we tried to keep it more low key by having it at our house.  This meant a smaller party with less friends, which sucked in a way to have people we could not invite, but it was also great to really enjoy the party with the people we spend a lot of time with, too. The boys had a ball.  We did too.  Here is a video I put together of the event. Put your music on, it adds to my tear-age 

 

They are growing up so fast.  Every day they say more, communicate more like little people rather than toddlers, and it is mind blowing, really mind blowing.  One of the things I say every now and again when I am having my not-the-best mommy moment, is “am I talking to a wall?”  Well, today, after saying something to the boys in that nature, Gus turned to the lifeguard stand, clearly a wall and yells “Hey, I’m talking to you.”  And then looks to me and says “Mommy, I’m talking to the wall, am I talking to the wall?”  Then starts chanting or singing, “I funny man, I funny man.”  Ugh, yup, you sure are Gus.  Boy!  Kind of sucks to have super smart kids, doesn’t it? 

The other exciting adventure I have been on more so than the boys, is playing with my new DSLR.  Of course, if you know me, you know I love to take pictures. I have been using basic point and shoot cameras for years and I asked Matty for a real camera for our 10 year anniversary. Yes, 10 years!  I love the camera and am learning so much and am having a great time really working on getting better at taking real pictures.  So far, we’ve been to the beach a few times and I have had a ball taking pics at the boys’ party, and I look forward to doing more soon.

I Have an Idea and Other Musings

The boys kill me with what they say most days, and my favorite thing out of their mouths lately has to be when they say “I have an idea.” (Actually it is usually “me have an idea,” or “here’s an idea,” since they still only use the pronoun ‘I’ sparingly).  They will say it in the correct context, too.  You never know what the idea will be.  It can be, an idea to have a “muff” cake, or build a fort, you name it.  It is adorable!!!!  Today they were playing outside, yes, we are thoroughly enjoying the seventies again, and Gus was on his “motorcycle” or big wheel, and Raleigh was sitting on the porch watching him. Rals asked if this was a parade, and then yelled “beads!!!”  Love it.  They are so Tampa! Gasparilla veterans since they were nine months old will do that, I suppose.  Speaking of Gasparilla, here are a few shots of the big Children’s Gasparilla Extravaganza from last weekend.  We did the preschooler’s stroll for the first time. It fell during nap time, but we survived.  They were extremely tired afterward, but still, we had a ball with our Mothers of Multiples friends who helped walk with us.

 

The boys giving their friends E & S a kiss during the parade, needless to say, the crowd loved them!!!

We had gotten into the spirit the night before by reading a new Mem Fox book sent to us courtesy of the boys’ great-Aunt Julianne, and great-Uncle Tony.  Boris the Pirate is a bit scary, but it certainly set the mood for us!

Here is a look back at the two previous Gasparillas.  Of course, you can click on the tag “Gasparilla” and see much more from year’s past.  Enjoy!!!

First Gasparilla 2009 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

Second Gasparilla 2010 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

 

The boys are still doing really well with their alphabet recognition.  Raleigh has caught up to Augustus and although, he doesn’t want to play with the magnet letters like Gus, he will point out letters when we are reading books. And they are still really into reading. Their favorite book right now is The Polar Express. Not sure if they are just missing Christmas, or just love the story.  If we read a a book right before bedtime, they wake up and immediately ask for the same book again.  Their memories still freak us out.  They seriously never forget.  However, if you ask them what they did today, sometimes they just start making up these elaborate stories…hmm, reminds me of a certain Uncle the boys have named Tommy!  If you ask them what they want to do today, Augustus will nine times out of 10 say he wants to go to Sea World.  I guess we need to start planning a return trip soon.  They have really enjoyed watching some football games with me this year.  The Packers are really the only team I will watch, being from Green Bay and all, so we don’t get all their games televised, but of course, with them going to the SUPER BOWL this year, we’ve watched the play-off games together, and the love it.  Yay!  Since Matty rarely watches it with me, it is nice to have some company.

 

In other news, the boys Nonnie turned 60 this last week. It killed us with the planning, but we were able to keep her party a secret!!! I really don’t think she had a clue.  We had a “Sweet 60” party complete with her favorite Hello Kitty decorations and all pink. Everyone wore pink to the party (well, two guys wore more maroon, but other than that, all pink).  My mom had to do a change into pink half way through the party, but we got everyone into pink.  The boys were so excited and never spilled the beans.  They did go to bed at 7 with some tears, but they did fall asleep soundly despite the ruckus downstairs! They were kind enough to let us sleep in until 7:30 as well.  After going to the Green Iguana after the party, I was grateful!  Happy Birthday to my amazing Mom!  60 is just a number because you surely don’t act your age, and I mean that in the best possible way!  Thank you for teaching me to stay young at heart and having so much fun with the boys all the time!!!!  Love you!!!

 

This is the CAKE!  Can you believe it???!!??  I did not get a great picture of it before we cut it…but believe me, it was amazing!  Thanks Eli for taking care of the cake, I could never have picked a better cake!!!

Lastly, Eli also had personalized M&Ms made for the event, they say “Sweet 60th” on them and have champagne glasses.  Cute.  It was sad that so many of my mom’s best friends and family live so far away and could not make it to the party, but it was great to see her so loved by all her friends in Florida.  She is truly a special woman!

Boys 2nd Birthday Slideshow!

Just click on Raleigh's picture and you can view them all. I hope you all enjoy these as much as I did!  They are great pictures by my friend Sara, who is just starting out her own photography business!  Please let me know if you want Sara's information.Simply amazing shots!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Augustus and Raleigh!

Today is the boys’ actual birthday.  Wow, two years already?!?!?!  Where does time go?  I remember the day my water broke so well. Running around with my head cut off trying to get ready before Matthew got home from work.  I still managed to shower, clean up the “water” that my cats were trying to lick up, yup, you read that right, and running next door to tell my friend Ann that there was a great turkey dinner ready on the stove, she and her family could enjoy it!  I had just been put on bed rest the night before.  So glad I got to enjoy one day of R&R at home;) My poor mother left me about 20 minutes earlier after spending the whole day cooking and doting like only a mother can.  Only to turn around and race back like a mad woman. 

I can also remember being in the hospital two years ago and laughing every time a doctor came in telling me we’d get to Thursday – four days later – before the babies would arrive.  Ha!  What did they know? Those boys were willful even in the womb.  They decided it was time to come out and no amount of magnesium or any combination of drugs was going to slow them down.  I had contractions, about 6 an hour, since I made it to the hospital, At about 10 in the morning, about 15 hours after arriving, I said I felt like I had to push.  When the doctors finally checked me and I was seven and a half centimeters dilated already.  Then they rushed me to the OR and got going.  They had already cut me open before Matthew even got in the room.  Another one of my favorite, most embarrassing moments is when I was on the table, before the doctors came in, and one of the nurses yelled “she’s not shaved, yet.”  OMG – could have died, but she meant fully shaved, a must for the C-section, I guess…she did not mean that I was not properly “groomed!” 

Alrighty, on that note, back to the boys.  They have had a great day. They even slept in…almost making Daddy late for work!  We had planned on Skyping with the Grandies in Oz and Auntie Peta of course too, so Matthew had put all the presents out in the boys’ playroom so we could just bring them down and let them enjoy it while the Grandies watched.  The big wheels were a big hit, thank you Nannie and Poppy.  However, we bought the boys two trucks, a fire truck and a recycling truck, and the recycling truck is the biggest hit.  Really?  They call it the “hcckkk” truck.  You know, like yuck, ick, hcckk, for garbage.  They have always imitated my noise for garbage.  As in, ick, don’t touch that, it is dirty, garbage. Now all garbage trucks are “hcckk” trucks.  Got to love them! The other funny part was when Raleigh finally got to play with the truck – Augustus was fully attached to it for a good 30 minutes – he immediately looked at me and made his fingers into a sign for scissors, and said “man, out.”  He knew he was locked in there, and wanted me to cut him out.  Really?  Smarty-farty.  So, I took the twist tie off the man so he could take him out.  Happy days. 

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After our tile man left today – yup, finally pulled up the shower floor and found that the tile mesh backing had never set – we headed to the post office to pick up the packages from Nannie, Poppy and Peta.  I hauled them in their wagon because I knew I could not hold their hands and the packages.  Very smart on my part because, GEEZ, those were some heavy packages!  The boys loved every second of all the attention they got in the post office, let me tell you!  I tried to bribe the boys through lunch before giving them their presents – sorry Daddy, we could not wait for you…these boys are present crazy right now.  The bribing did not work for Gus. Raleigh – he ate a bit more, but the excitement got to him too.  They love all the goodies in their bag, and the cutest part was when Gus bit into the chocolate bunny rabbit head.  Right through the foil.  He has never even had one of those before, but somehow he knew he could eat it!  Then when he got to Peta’s package, he said CHOCOLATE and tried to eat through that package too…oy!  Here is a short video of him opening the present, you have got to check out the look when I say Gus bit the bunny head! 



Thankfully, they still fell asleep quickly, with sugar in their systems and pounding from construction on a new house right behind their bedroom.  Whew!!!!

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Tomorrow we head to the pediatrician for their two year well visit.  I cannot wait to see how tall and big these boys really are!  I know they both have not had much of an appetite lately, and Rals had already lost a pound or more over his last bought of sickness, so hopefully he will have gained some back.  I hope these last few two-year molars come through quicker than the first one since that is causing them a lot of discomfort!  Plus, it seems like they are to the phase where they are too busy to eat!  Well, off to enjoy another hot cup of coffee before the boys wake up.  Much love to the family and friends we are especially missing on this special day!  Hugs and kisses from us to you!

Love, Gus, Raleigh, Brooke and Matthew

We Survived Birthday Weekend!!

The party was great, naps this weekend, not so much.  Today, we planned on staying some and laying low so the boys could be in bed early.  Well, that worked, although it still took Raleigh 45 minutes to fall asleep.  I hope this is just a byproduct of Daylights Saving, sugar, and added excitement, and not a trend for turning two years old!
On Sunday the boys opened up their birthday presents.  Well, the ones from their party at least.  The books the boys got were all amazing. Additionally, one of our friends actually made the boys some t-shirts and bags.  Both had their names on them. The shirts have trains and the bags have a kangaroo on Raleigh’s and Augustus’ has a koala.  How cute!!!  if you are on Facebook, check out her stuff on Sugar Magnolia.

Today, the boys actually wanted to come inside to play with their new books; the Usborne Wind-Up Train and Airplane books in particular.  Wow, how cool are those!?!?!?  Thanks Christian and Zachary for picking these amazing books out!!!  There is a train and airplane that winds up, thus the name, clever, huh?  The toy then fits into a track within the book and goes around all over the page.  There are so many things for the boys to look for – their favorite thing to do while “reading.”

We are holding off on our presents until Thursday, their actual birthday.  Matthew could not hold off giving the boys one present though. The basketball hoop.  Raleigh enjoys it. Augustus would rather mow the grass! 


We know Nonnie gave the boys their presents early since she had planned to go by Uncle Buck, aka, my brother, for a while.  We also have plans to open Nannie and Poppy’s birthday presents for the boys Thursday morning via Skype with them.  After a marathon of present opening we headed to the Airfest with friends, including one in the military, so we had no lines!  Yay!  Plus, the boys got to hand with their BFF Conner.  It was great to see the boys check out the planes and all the crazy military toys.  I think Matthew was the biggest kid in the candy store though! Then the rain came and we headed home.  Which was a good thing because the boys were tired.  Of course, Raleigh fell asleep for all of five minutes in the car, so that was the end of his naptime!  Oy.

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We did take the boys to Publix yesterday, despite their tiredness, and I found the coolest plastic plates to try out with the boys.   Here is another fun product review;)  The boys are really great at eating out of bowls and cups, but plates are a challenge.  They constantly want to pick it up, go figure.  So, I saw these cafeteria type plates and had to get one for each
of the boys. I was uber-excited to try them out at lunch today. I am happy to report we did much better than the usual plate attempts.  Plus they were only $1.50 or something like that.  The boys even managed to eat a bit of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich…something they usually reserve only for Grandpa Pickles.  I love the compartments, and as you can see by the clap from Gus, they liked it too!

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All Aboard the Two-Two Train!!! Big Birthday Party!!!

As you can see from the last post, March is all about birthdays for us. It is cool that we've been able to get to an actual birthday party or two recently, before the boys' big day so they understood it better.  They are able to say "happy" very well, and Raleigh was able to wish Poppy a "happy birthday" in full via voicemail, but they really just enjoy saying "happy" more than anything.  Every time they see a cake, they say "happy" in a precious sing-song way. 

Well, today was their big party.  It was great fun, and was so awesome to see so many of our friends come in and join in the celebration. We are talking 29 kids!!!! We missed Nanny, Poppy, and Grandpa Pickles though:( Of course we missed the aunties and uncles as well, even those special aunties and uncles, meaning Kristy and Heath.  The boys were happiest when everyone sang them happy birthday; individually of course, and Raleigh went first this year after Augustus had his song and cake first last year.  Then, at the very end of the party, Gus and Rals went crazy in the water fountain, or as we say in Wisconsin, "bubbler."  Their very best twinkie friends, E and C were there to join in on the antics, with their Daddy egging them on too, but only Conner was really into it with the boys.  I think that was my favorite part of the day!  The giggles out of those three boys were enough to melt anyone's heart.

The day could not have been better; well, I guess if the boys had napped better, it would have been easier on the crankies this afternoon. Not to mention it took some serious work to get Raleigh asleep by 8pm tonight!  Oy!  Good thing birthdays only come once a year, except of course, their real birthday is next week!  Here are a few pictures of the day.  I really tried to relax and kick back instead of taking 1,000 pictures.  We are looking forward to other pictures our friends who were all over taking pictures, especially Miss S.  She was kind enough to come and take pictures even with her three babies at home.  Lastly, the day was so crazy, the boys still did not open their presents.  I just could not dream of tearing the kids away from the beautiful day and play time, so we took everything home wrapped.  Then it was so beautiful this afternoon that we let the boys play outside all afternoon with Conner.  Good times!  I am crossing my fingers that they sleep well despite being overtired!

Thanks again to all our wonderful friends who made today really special.  I know they will not remember the day, but hopefully we have some good stories to pass on to them.  We also collected toiletries for The Ronald McDonald House again this year. Once again, our friends are so generous to help support a non-profit near and dear to our hearts!

We also had the boys' pictures taken last week by a new photographer since our usual photographer extraordinaire was running a race on the boys birthday party day.   The photographer's business is called Little Lane Photography.  She did a great job and came up with some interesting places to get some train-esque shots.  We only got a few sneak peek pictures in time for their party, but we love what we see so far. Unfortunately, the wind and weather were not as cooperative as today, so they boys look a bit miserable and not their shiny-happy selves in the pictures thus far.  Nonetheless, these two are pretty magical if you ask me!  Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Auntie Peta, Uncle Tommy & Poppy! And Another Sad Good-Bye

I have been a little slack in posting about birthdays, but since the boys are super excited to say "happy birthday" or at least the "happy" part, I figured it was a good time to post.  Today is Poppy's birthday in Australia.  The boys just called him to wish him a great day.  Raleigh was very excited, talked all about his birthday, and his dinner of rice and beans, and then kindly said "buh-bye" and closed the phone on him.  We have been cooped up much of the day inside, except a quick trip to Grandpa Pickles for breakfast with him and Uncle Jer-Jer, so I cannot fault his need to keep moving and say a quick bye-bye!  We are excited to catch up with Auntie Peta this weekend via Skype, and cannot wait to hear all about her big day.  Just to be safe, I am wishing Uncle Tommy - or "Bama" as Raleigh says - a very happy early birthday as well!!!

Unfortunately, another day with a sad passing.  My Grandma's husband Elmer passed away this morning.  He died peacefully and that is really all you can ask for when you have lived a very full and long life.  We are sad for the entire family, especially for my Grandma and Elmer's children and all the grandchildren.  I know he will be truly missed.

This weekend we have no big plans, just to get ready for the boys big day coming up.  We have lots of preparations to make for their second birthday party. Grandpa Pickles will miss the boys birthday party this year, but it is important for him to be there for his Mom!  We will sure miss him:( Of course, we'll miss all the Hamiltons and other family members who live too far away to make it, as well. Lucky for Matt, the boys amd me, we have made really great friends here!  Here are a few cute pics of the boys today at Pickles. He read the boys "Twinkle, Twinkle" and when Grandpa got to the part about a diamond in the sky, both boys made their diamonds with their hands.  Precious!