Christmas!

Christmas celebrations are made for kids. We are so tired but had so much fun with the boys. We managed to have the presents ready and a yummy breakfast of sausage, eggs, french toast and hot chocolate which the boys thoroughly enjoyed. They are just now exploring all of the new toys but the new sippie cups from cousin Linda were and instant hit.


Technicaly, it wasn't their first Christmas, but last year at 2 weeks old, they didn't react much to the activities. On Christmas Eve we went to Debbie and John's for a great of ham, citrus ginger sweet potatoes, homemade rolls, Amazing Salad, and Swedish rice pudding. It was all followed by a fun Christmas program. Michael and Sam loved dancing through the house singing "Nu Ar Det Yul Igen."

Last year Micahel was the baby Jesus, though but this year he made a dashing shepherd with a striking resemblance to a Jedi Youngling in his khaki gettup.








Sam and I were wise men. As this is possibly the worst picture of me EVER just look at Sam putting the crown on his own head. Way to go, Sammy!
The best part of Christmas was two Sundays before when Josh and I turned on all of the twinkle lights and wrapped the boys' gifts while we watched A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott. We opened one present that night - snowmen hot chocolate mugs with a frother and some Williams Sonoma peppermint hot chocolate from Dave and Liz. It really felt like Christmas. All month Michael has been pointing at the nativity sets and lights and tree and asking me "That?" I have loved showing them to him and explaining what Christmas is and why we have it. I tried to explain that without Jesus there would be no Christmas, no earth, no hope, no light, no . . . anything! All of this transpired while listening to Christmas music and feeling so grateful for the Savior and for children to teach about Him.

Another highlight was attending the local Lucia program on Saturday, December 15 at the Sweden House Swedish embassy in Washington. It turned out to be a performance for families only, no audience, and as I danced around the tree holding Sam, I cried with joy. He loved it and I was so happy to be passing on that tradition. We may be able to have the boys be star boys next year!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

So, because it was the first one with the boys aware of things and because I practically slept through it last year, this Christmas will be one I always remember.

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday!

Happy 1st Birthday(s)

Happy Birthday to Michael and Samuel! Although they were still recovering from the stomach flu, Michael and Sam were still able to enjoy their birthday.

The day was pretty low-key with the exception of several spontaneous performances of the Happy Birthday song by mommy, but as dinner time approached I decided that sick or not, you have to have a cake on your birthday. So I made a vanilla cake - two 9" rounds - and frosted one in blue for Michael and one in green for Sam. Those have become their colors for things like bath towels, sippy cups and toothbrushes.

Josh got home early and we all ate dinner together. The boys were thrilled with their birthday cards. They kicked and giggled and spend a long time looking at and comparing them. They liked Granny's the best with the little boy and his dog in a rocket. Granny knows boys!

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It has been the best and busiest year of our lives. The busy part doesn't even matter. We have had so many moments where we're just full of joy and awe that we have a little family. Christmas has been especially wonderful as I have explained almost daily what the nativity set and Christmas tree are for. I cry a lot and I laugh a lot and my heart has grown about a million sizes.

Michael ate his little piece of cake in bites like a big kid.
I love you Michael Bear!

Sam preferred the approach where you lick all of the frosting off the cake before you eat it.
I love you Sammy Angus!

They loved their new walkers, books, and jack in the box. They're really moving on to toddler toys and have been having fun with them since they opened them. Of course, opening them was enough fun in itself!

Here's a reminder of how they looked last December.


We can't wait to live each day of the next year with our sweethearts.

A Flu Christmas

I've been inside for almost 2 weeks straight and had time to write this little ditty to the tune of Elvis' "A Blue Christmas". I know it's too long but I had to record the whole experience.

We had the flu with two little babies.
If you've had it too, you know it gives you the crazies.
Plus their dad sure feels bad, it’s the worst flu he’s had
Yes, we had the flu and two babies.

On Monday night, little Sam didn’t feel right.
He couldn’t sleep and we heard a little peep.
Josh picked him up, he threw up, and I had to clean up
Then we had the flu and two babies.

Then Tuesday night, little Michael didn’t feel right.
He couldn’t sleep and we heard a familiar peep.
His bed and his head – it was all cover-ed!
Then he had the flu, my poor babies.

Then Thursday night, Daddy Josh didn’t feel right.
He stayed in bed and I said I can't handle this.
But the days all went by, and the flu passed me by

'Cause I never caught it from the babies.

I did my best to keep up with the mess.
Towels, sheets, and clothes, heaven knows, laundry woes.
Then what to feed? What do they need? When’s the last time they peed?
Now I have two dehydrated babies.

We watched TV, quietly, by the Christmas tree.
We drank sports drinks, looked up web links, used up the Lysol.
On the couch, my bed made, oh yes I sure prayed!
And I never caught it from the babies.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a wonderful visit from Grandma and Grandpa. Within minutes of their arrival Dad was reading books to Michael and they became instant friends. Sam was teething and took a little longer to warm up but both boys loved the one on one attention.

Our table wasn't fit for royalty, but we had turkey, rolls, and all the fixin's and we listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing "Bless This House" as we ate, so it felt like home.


The boys became so attached that they crawled all around the house the day they left looking for them. We had fun just hanging out in our pajamas and eating meal after meal.

Grandpa did the dishes for me after every meal and Grandma helped with all of the cooking and even took the stroller out for a spin!

We watched "The Shop Around the Corner", got PF Chang's takeout, and Josh and I even got to go out and buy the boys birthday presents and go out on a date.

Now that they're gone we miss them as much as the boys do. Thanks for such a fun visit!

Tagged

They found me and I've been tagged . . .

Four Places I've Lived
1-Stockholm, Sweden
2-Chesterfield, MO
3-Salt Lake City, UT
4-Bloomington, IN

Four Jobs I've Had
1-Grocery Store Checker
2-Temp Agency Office Manager
3- Sales Rep
4- Senate Hearing Planner

Four Things I'd Like to do Before I die:
1-Go back to Sweden
2-Learn how to be calm
3-See the constellations of the southern hemisphere
4-See a show on Broadway

Four Favorite Desserts:
1-White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
2-Hot fudge sundae
3-Apple crisp
4-Coconut cake

Four Interesting Facts about Me:
1-I rode a camel in front of the great pyramids.
2- I starred in our stake musical 2 years ago.
3- I traveled throughout western Europe but as an infant so I don't remember any of it.
4- I have twins but that doesn't mean we had our family in "one shot." We still want more!

Four Favorite TV Shows
1- Lost
2-Heroes
4-Martha Stewart - yes, she still has at least one fan left
3-Arthur

Halloween Pictures

Happy Halloween!

We never posted pictures of the boys in their costumes. Here we are before the ward Trunk or Treat party. I love how they're both biting on their fingers in this one! They look like that most of the time these days.

Here's Sam playing peek-a-boo out of his hood at dinner.

Someone asked me if Sam was the Beast to go with my Belle costume - the same one I've worn each year since Mom made it for me in 1993. Thanks Mom! So, here's a "Beauty and the Beast" shot. He let me hold him all night. A rare treat from this wiggle worm.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Here's a video of Michael after the party. We had to capture his new grunting laugh! Click the forward arrow to play it.

This one was actually taken on Halloween. We met at my sister's house and took the boys to a few doors on their street. They loved it! Sam couldn't stop looking around and Michael was just happy. He kept laughing and looking at all of the kids outside. He is so social. They kept us warm in the cool air and we got to eat all of their candy. Sorry, boys! Better luck next year!

The age old delima - chocolate or fruit flavored candy first?

Happy Birthday Daddy

It was recently Daddy's birthday and let me tell you birthdays are a hundred times better with kids in the house. Maybe it's because I was home instead of working and I got to do more or maybe I was just excited to celebrate with the babies but it was the most fun birthday we've had at our house to date.We started the day with waffles that the boys were able to eat with us. Daddy had the special birthday plate and was able to play for a few minutes before dashing off to work. Later, my friend came over and asked me if I wanted to go out to lunch. Five second consideration - YES! She helped me feed the boys and made it so much easier to get them in and out of their stroller and car seats. She even played peek-a-boo with them at the lunch table and kept them entertained. We went to Marshall's which is my new favorite store and got some presents and 10 things I hadn't planned on buying but needed.

The boys took 2 hour naps that afternoon and I was able to wrap all of the presents and make the chocolate cream pie. When Daddy came home - early! - we had shredded beef tacos which had been quietly cooking away in the crock pot all day. The boys were so confused when I turned out the lights to bring in the pie with candles on it. They clapped when I sang Happy Birthday and laughed when Daddy blew out the candles. I gave them little tastes of the pie. Sam kind of threw up his bites. I guess that's why we're supposed to wait until after 1 year to introduce chocolate and milk. Hope he's not allergic.

We gave the boys baths and put them to bed, then watched "Transformers" which we missed when it was in the theaters. Save yourself $5 and 2 hours and skip it unless you were a huge fan as a kid. We skipped a lot of scenes to get to the end, but it was a good excuse to sit on the couch and eat popcorn.

The whole day was made sweeter because I knew the babies would be there for the party and because Josh has been working such long hours and was recently out of town for a few days and was sorely missed.

He received phone calls from all of his siblings and cards from most of mine. Thank you to everyone who made it such a great birthday!

Happy birthday Daddy! Next birthday is the boys'!

Adventures in Laundry

After doing all of the laundry the other day, I found this pea in my washing machine. I have so many questions. How long had it been sitting in the laundry pile? How long was someone wearing it in their clothes without knowing it? Is it clean enough to eat now that it's been through the laundry? How did it remain intact? It's not even wrinkled! Now that the boys are feeding themselves more and more, do they sell garbage disposals for washing machines?

A Weekend

Every weekend I need rescuing from the fictional reality my brain creates while taking care of the boys all week long. My great husband always promises he will "cure" me each weekend, and he always does.

Friday night we watched some back episodes of "The Office" and "Hero's" which are now free! I only wish we could have saved our money on all of the "Lost" episodes we downloaded last winter.

Saturday morning started with the first family fort. Sam is crawling all over the world and climbing onto and over anything he comes across. They spent the morning playing in the fort and knocking down Dad's towers, like this one.


Then I got to go to the Relief Society Super Craft Saturday where I did not do any crafts but got to talk for a while. My pre-paid craft projects are now sitting on a closet shelf. I hope I will not only have the time to do them, but that I'll be able to figure out how to do them with no instruction!

After that, I got to go to Target all by myself. I bought the boys their Halloween costumes and their first official "Church Clothes" hanging on the armoire in this picture. Sam is our little monkey - the climbing - and the sounds he makes. He wasn't sure he liked the costume but Michael got the giggles seeing him in it!


Michael is so in love with his bath-time ducks we thought he'd like being a duck and he does! He laughed seeing himself in the mirror. They are so squishy and snuggely in these outfits! We will have a ward Halloween party and I will try to take them to the parade at my niece's school before doing some real trick or treating early on Halloween. We can't wait.

Saturday afternoon we went to a nature preserve and let the boys play with leaves and help us throw rocks in a stream with no buildings in site. I went to the grocery store at 10pm last night and got everything we'll need for the next week - using a shopping cart instead of putting what I can hold into the stroller. At church today the boys wore their new clothes - their first button-down shirts - for the first time. They looked like little men. Sam was so entertaining in Sunday School that half the classroom was looking at him instead of paying attention to the teacher so we had to take him out. Michael is teething, I think, and was a little warm so we took him home before the last hour. During dinner, Michael sang along with Josh to some hymns and we took this picture of them in the bath tub. We had black beans and rice and quesadillas for dinner and I didn't have to do a single dish.


I took 2 hour naps Saturday and Sunday. I didn't make a single bottle of formula all weekend. I got to update this blog. I hardly did the dishes all weekend and I got the precious gift of the weekday fog lifting so I can see my family as it the priceless treasure it really is. Thank you for a great weekend, hubby!

My Favorite Picture

That is a Cheerio stuck right into his chin dimple. Prize winning photo, don't you think? He should be the Cheerio's poster child.

My Pumpkins

My Pumpkins!

On Thursday we made a trip to pick apples. This was a dream come true. A real mother-child outing and I was so happy! We went with my neighbor and her daughter. It took a lot of planning and a lot of work, but it was so exciting!

The drive to the farm was beautiful and we felt like we were on a real get away from the city. The leaves are changing and the babies enjoyed looking out the windows at the new scenery.

We ate our lunch on a quilt by a duck pond. Not one of those ponds more full of bread crumbs than ducks, one actually clean and clear with 4 white ducks swimming around and delighting us all by poking their heads into the water and their feet into the air.
The apple orchard was fragrant with the smell of the fallen apples and there were butterflies and bees. Sam couldn't stop trying to touch everything in sight. He really loves being outside and was content the rest of the day. It seemed to be as relaxing for him as for us moms!
Michael looked so cute with the pumpkins. We've always said he reminds us of Charlie Brown sometimes and I wished I had him in a yellow shirt to make this into a "Great Pumpkin" picture. He was a little sleepy and may have inherited his dad general allergy to the outdoors. He is as sweet as he looks in this picture. Truly, there could not be a more loving baby.

I haven't made any pies yet, but we did enjoy the apple cider I bought and I made the boys some quick applesauce that night which they loved.

The Homeland

Getting all of that saved up love from Granny and Pepaw!

We had our annual pilgrimage to Salt Lake in late August and had a wonderful trip. Despite the fact that neither one of us grew up in Utah, we feel uncomfortable if we don't get to say we're going to Utah each summer with the rest of our ward. Actually, we took the boys to see their great grandparents and some aunts and uncles. It was amazing! We loved being able to hold the babies one at a time for a large time bloc on the plane. Seriously, it's not something we get to do very often. They were very good and Dad had a great time looking out the window with them as the plane took off and landed. Everyone was very friendly and helpful and we arrived only slightly exhausted.











We had an exciting time with their cousin - one week younger than S and M. They were so cute playing together and were quite the scene all lined up eating baby food at the restaurant. We can't wait to get them together again!


Michael got his first kiss from his Aunt K and fell head over heels.

He also fell in love with his great-grandpa C and couldn't take his eyes off of him. We stayed with Aunt M and Uncle E who were so generous to us and who they boys loved playing with. They explored their place with new interest each morning.

The boys could sense we were doing something special and as their minds expanded with the new experience they started babbling , Sam started crawling, and they got new teeth. They were good sports with our busy schedule of waking up in a different place every time they napped (granted, that wasn't very often) and they didn't even get sick when we got home. I could not believe that. We then finished packing our apartment and moved into a 2-bedroom apartment 2 days after our return. After they figured out that this apartment is their new home and they will not be dragged around anymore (except to Grandma's house) they settled into a new routine and gave up their 3rd nap. We're officially on a 9am and 1pm nap schedule and life is good.