Playing hard

(don't mind the snot that is running down his face. it was coming out fast than I could wipe it away that day!)

Micah has a new "house" outside that is very simple and was given to us freely, but he loves it! It's the basic toys that seem like they can entertain the longest. He puts the ball through a hole, follows the ball, gets himself back out of the house, and repeats. All by himself. And for quite a long time. It is nice that he can be entertained by this without needed constant attention (though I think he does like to know that he is at least being watched). Just wait until Judah can play with him too...oh the trouble I'm sure they'll find!

And then the process would repeat over and over...with just a break in the middle to play with a stick...

and so it is with boys.....balls and sticks....

New Sleep Patterns

Micah has recently changed his sleeping pattern up a bit. For the longest time, he would easily take 2 2-3 hour naps a day, as well as sleeping from 7 pm-7 am each night. Around the time we hit daylight saving, he changed this up a bit. Could be the change in light (although he is still sleeping later even though it gets light earlier) or the change in having a baby brother...or that he loves playing hard and just wants to stay awake and keep playing. Either way, I knew we would eventually hit a stage where he would more likely just take one nap during the day and we are pretty close to that, depending on the day. He often still spends another "nap time" in his room but I can usually hear him contentedly playing in his crib. I think he just enjoys the alone time for a bit. And he has gradually pushed his bed time back a bit so it is closer to 8:30, but he is still getting in about 12 hours most nights. He just sleeps in later now. It will be interesting to see how Judah's sleep patterns happen differently than Micah's...is it more environment or genetics?

Friday's Fave Five: April 23rd

I am linking up, along with some other great bloggers and posts, at Living to Tell the Story.
No lying here, it hasn't been an amazing week, but I know this will help me put things back in perspective and will change my outlook for the rest of my day and the weekend! Glad it's Friday!

1. Family visit. My hubby's dad and stepmom came down for a visit, and although it was quite short, we all had a great time! Micah hasn't been around them much since they live in PA, but he warmed up very quickly and was sad to see them go! I wanted a pic of the generations of guys, but I was too slow and lost the attention of the kids... but I at least got Micah sporting his new outfit from Pappy and Grammy.

2. Baby Carrier. Micah wasn't one to want to be carried unless necessary, and he didn't like carriers. I had a few to choose from and was hoping #2 would do better since I would need to be more hands free to help with the quick toddler! I used a sling a bit in the beginning, but recently tried out another carrier I was given and I love it and Judah seems to love it! Makes the thought of going places with both more bearable.

3. Strawberries! They are in season and cheap and I enjoy them greatly. I cut up a bunch and wanted to do something a little different than normal. I found a recipe for homemade vanilla bean pudding and already had everything on hand, so I made pudding from scratch for the first time ever and had some on top of a big bowl of fresh strawberries. It was delightful!

4. Running. My hubs and I continued to workout together this week, but he did something to his neck yesterday and could hardly hold his head up straight, much less do anything, so he gave me a few minutes to get out of the house and go for a run. The weather was perfect, I didn't have to push a stroller, and it felt great to push my body a little harder. At one point in my life I ran a marathon. Yesterday I was excited that I ran for 10 minutes straight! HaHa!

5. Baby Sleeping. Judah hasn't done amazing all week, but last night he did do one 5 hour stretch, and for me, that is an accomplishment and a good sign for the future! His brother is a great sleeper and I am hoping for the same with him!

Okay, I feel much better about my week now!

My babies

So, how many boys are pictured here?
1?

2?

6?

It's been one of those weeks where I have spent some time looking over past pictures and blogs from the last year and a half...and boy (no pun intended) did I ever just realize that I gave birth to twins.

14 months apart!

These are of Micah (center top and bottom, right top) and Judah (left top and bottom, right bottom) from similar ages and stages and I didn't realize fully until looking back how much Judah looks like Micah did!

I know it's only been 14 months since Micah was at this stage, but he has changed so much already that it was hard to remember. Hard to picture in my head. So here is the proof. Two cute little boys with their biggest distinguishing factor being their age!

Sprinklers

I LOVE water! And it has brought me great joy over the past year to know that Micah loves the water too! Baths, pools, the lake, hoses, sprinklers...loves it, not afraid of it, loves IT!
We had the sprinklers on the other night to water the yard and small "garden" we have and Micah went right in! Matt actually had to turn it off and physically get him since he didn't want to stop. This warms my heart!

Friday's Fave Five: April 16th

Last week I felt very refreshed after writing down my favorites from the week as it gave me great perspective on life! So I am way excited to do it again this week, linking up over at Living to Tell the Story.

This week was actually a really good week!

1. Working out! My husband and I dropped our YMCA membership at the beginning of this year to save money. It has not bothered me much until just recently when I have wanted to pick back up with working out after my son's recent birth. We looked into the latest craze of P90X, but didn't want to invest all the money in that right now, so we started our own version this week. Intervals, walking, running, weights, abs, you name it, we probably tried it this week. And my body is SORE! In a good way!

2. Baby Sleeping. My 6 week old has really struggled with sleeping at night, and I have struggled with figuring out what's best for him. But I think we hit a breakthrough last night with just one main wake-up for a meal and getting back to sleep quickly. I hope this is a new stage.

3. Free coffee and a date! Starbucks had a promotion yesterday for bringing in your own mug and getting free coffee in it. I used to work there and still love their coffee, plus it was fun to have a "coffee date" with my husband (and 2 kids, gotta take what we can get right now).

4. Family meal times. My toddler's been pretty picky about food since he was about 11 or 12 months, but he seems like he is hitting a phase where he is being better about trying new foods. This is very exciting for me because I like the idea of fixing one meal and sitting down together to eat it. And this has worked surprisingly well this week, including him trying (and eating!) lots of new foods this week.

5. Coaching volleyball! I have been coaching volleyball for the past few years almost year-round, but ever since my 16 month old was born, I have cut back slightly, just doing whatever I could whenever I could. And this after this past school season I totally stopped (instead of helping with travel ball) and it feels like it's been forever...but I started back up last night! I am doing 7 weeks of teaching 4-6th grade girls how to play the game and I am very excited to be back at it. Absence does make the heart grow fonder!

Friday's Fave Five: April 9th

At some point in the last week I was blog-hopping and happened along Living to Tell the Story's post of Friday's Fave Five. I think it can be easy to look back on a week, or a day, or sometimes even an hour and get frustrated. By all the things I didn't get done. By all the times I got impatient with my kids. By all the time I spent cleaning and cooking and baking and doing laundry and not doing things I might rather be doing. And it has been one of those weeks, and so I think this means I need to look back over my week and find my fave five (if not more) so I keep my perspective in the right place.

1. This past weekend was Easter, and not only is that a reminder of what Jesus has done for me, but I got to watch my 15 month old gather eggs for the first time. What a great thing to experience life (even collecting Easter eggs) through the eyes (and joy) of a toddler!

2. The weather has been absolutely amazing (maybe even a little warm yet for this time of year) and has given me great motivation to get out with my double stroller, my two kids, and to try and get back my pre-baby body.

3. I went to a church service on Wednesday (even with both kids), knowing my toddler has a rough time, but also knowing that he loves music and it would be good for me as well. Well, he is getting to a stage where he is to old to sit still at all but too young to require him to really sit still and be quiet. We ended up out in a large open area with other kids who couldn't quite handle the environment with their families and I just loved watching my son interact with the other kids, running around, chasing, being chased, and just having a great time enjoying space and life and his new friends!

4. I went for a long walk (in beautiful weather) with both boys and a friend who has a son about halfway in age between my two. It was good for our sons to be around each other, good for me to have adult conversation, and good for me to interact with another mom that has a kid in a similar stage. Working on having more times like this!

5. Watching my older son enjoy my infant. The first couple of weeks wasn't this way when Judah was born, but Micah has warmed up tremendously. He loves trying to calm Judah when he is crying, loves giving hugs and kisses, loves holding him, and immediately points to where he is whenever he hears a noise from him. This brings me joy and makes me excited for when they can better interact as they get older!

See, it was a good week. I am mostly reminding myself. Perspective is everything!

Easter 2010

The Family and cousins.

Chad with Ava (11.5 months) Grandma with Micah (15.5 months) and Me with Judah (5 weeks)

I was impressed at how well Micah did with an "Easter Egg Hunt" at Grandma's house. It was just him (and coaxing by Grandma) but he figured it out really quickly and had a blast. Although he may have had more fun throwing the eggs back out of the basket than simply collecting them, but it was fun either way. Don't know why I was surprised, he's a smart kid...and never ceases to amaze me!

Getting Undressed

This is what it looks like for a toddler discovering how to undress himself. He definitely likes being naked, but I'm glad that he has not perfected the art of becoming naked yet...especially while out in public!