Brotherly Love (Kind of...)

And so it begins...



I couldn't help but laugh. I'm assuming it's only going to get more interesting

Sleeping Babies

I love it when they go to sleep.  I really enjoy the quiet time.  Now if only I was sure I wasn't going to be woken up in about 4-5 hours I'd be really happy. 

I love these babies, but I miss my sleep.

Girl's Weekend - My First Trip Away as a MOM

Life is rough...

This year girl's weekend was combined with my Bachelorette party.  A big group of girl's get together every year to take a small break from the day-to-day stuff and enjoy the sun, good company, and yummy cocktails!  I look forward to this weekend EVERY year.  But this year was a little different.  It would be my first time leaving the boys overnight (3 nights actually) and I wasn't sure how I was going to do.  Well actually that's a lie.  I knew how I was going to do.  I was going to miss them like crazy and before I even got to the river I was looking forward to getting home to them on Sunday.  But I knew I would have no problem leaving them.  Not one tear was shed when leaving them.  The boys were with Mark and I couldn't have been anymore comfortable.  I knew me taking a break would make me that much better when I came home.

Off to the weekend we go... Left Thursday day in my mom's RV.  Came home Sunday in the RV.  :)

  DUH! Everything else in between is TOP secret and if I told you I wouldn't be invited back.  I will say this though... I'm very grateful to have people in my life like Kathy and Korina who opened their home and weekend to me and made it about me instead of the normal weekend.  Korina made fun shirts for everyone and someone I had never met in my life baked me a cake (I won't say what kind of cake).  Like who does that?  An extremely unselfish person that's for sure.  Thanks Holli!  So glad I got to meet you.  My mom who let a whole bunch of people stay in her RV and drive us out there.  Not to mention she knows how to have a good time.  My sister hooked everyone up with nice little goody bags.  They were cute.  A seven hour river float allowed me to learn things about people I didn't know and hear some very interesting and even touching life stories.  You can learn a lot about someone by listening to them tell a story about themselves.  I enjoyed listening and laughing with a bunch of fun and entertaining women.


My weekend was fun, but as I floated away from the sandbar I watched a group of young 20 something year old females dancing on a boat with a bunch of 20 something year old guys and I remembered how that used to be me.  I looked at them in their two pieces and EXTRA care free and looked at myself in my tankini thinking I should probably drink a water cause I don't want to be hungover and giggled inside.  I loved that part of my life...But I love this part more...

Until next year girl's weekend...we shall meet again...

SEVEN MONTHS!!!

Love this picture!!!  As you can see, the boys are sitting up now.  They really enjoy the new views and seeing things from a new angle.  It is really easy to make them laugh and we all love to get them going.  Now I don't know exactly how much they know that the other one is around but if they are sitting together facing each other they do babble and giggle together. (This was shot on the 9th of July on my phone.)



I love watching them interact (whether they know it or not).  I like to think they're super advanced and they just have this crazy intuition with one another.  I can think that right?

 Look at this happy guy!  His nose and lip are still pretty sensitive to the touch but we're really happy with his surgery results.

Still a silly guy!  Still chatting it up with anything and everything.  And when Cannon is hungry or tired he'll tell you and it's not pretty.  I swear he throws tantrums already.

Both both are so curious and love to grab at everything.  They swivel on their bellies to turn in different directions and bring their knees up under their bellies.  My prediction is that they will be crawling before nine months (and I'm scared).  They are both eating two meals a day, lunch and dinner.  They have tried many things so far:

Peas, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, prunes, bananas, apples, pears, mango, avocado and just recently I even boiled them chicken.  The pediatrician has given the okay to go ahead with the proteins and up to 3 meals a day but I don't think I'm ready to do 3 clean up sessions a day.  The boys tend to like the vegies more than the fruits (but Cannon eats it ALL).  Cooper tends to reject fruits that I think may burn if they come out of his nose.  (pears and apples)  Because of his cleft palate it's a little more challenging for him to eat solids and it's normal for it to come out of his nose.  It's actually guaranteed.  I do my best to protect my clothes every time I see him getting ready to sneeze cause food goes EVERYWHERE. 

The wedding is around the corner... It's not the easiest thing to plan and stay on top of while dealing with two little monsters, but I wouldn't want it any other way.  Mark and I have decided we want to add more to our family in the future.  When that's going to happen, we're not sure...

Identical or fraternal?  We're still not sure. Only a DNA test will tell and there's no real reason to hurry to find out. (except for allergy issues)

Life is good.  It's tough sometimes, but it's fun.

MAD props to the single moms

The flu has been going around my family and yesterday it was Mark's turn. I spent all day taking care of two needy babies.  They're in a very NEEDY phase right now.  According to the book I reference The Wonder Weeks they are learning depth perception.  Basically if I'm more than three feet away from them, they're not happy campers.  The day took every single last ounce of patience that I had.  

Yesterday made me think about single moms.  How in the F do they do it?  Mothers with significant others barely get breaks, but if I need 30 minutes to myself all I have to do is ask Mark and he says sure.  (which I asked for just to write this post.)  Single moms don't have that option; don't have a partner to say, "your turn."  Part of me wants to feel bad and sorry for them cause they don't have what I have but a bigger part of me wants to acknowledge what awesome and strong people they are.  There is no way I could do this by myself for 24 hours a day. 

While playing with the boys on the floor or trying to get them to go down for naps I thought about the Saturdays and Sundays I used to spend watching movies ALL day.  Taking a day to myself and doing NOTHING.  I daydreamed about doing that yesterday.  I even tried to watch a movie while watching the boys.  It must have taken me 4 hours to get through a 2 hour movie.  It just wasn't the same.  Even now as I sit here taking my 30 minutes I'm feeling guilty that Mark is taking care of the boys so I'm not really even 'relaxing'.  I guess this is me getting some things off my chest. 

Everyone told me life would change and I knew it would but this is an experience everyone has to go through and experience for themselves.  My sister told me about this day.  That was yesterday.  The day it really hits you.  That you are a mother the rest of your life. 

I am so grateful that I do not have to go through this alone.  I have a great partner in life and have an AMAZING support group.  Where I do not feel all single mothers go through motherhood "alone", I must give you mad props for all your hard work.  I hope you get your "30 minutes" every once and a while.