My blessed evening ❤️

There are times that such sweet things occur between my children that I think no one is going to believe me. 

Tonight was one of those nights. 

The twins came home from Meme and Pawpaw's in a very talkative mood. Hunter saw bananas on the counter while Drake was going to the bathroom with Brandon. He managed to eat nearly the whole thing before Drake came back into the living room. Drake asked for one since he saw the last of Hunter's. He immediately told Hunter he would share without being asked by Hunter. He would take a bite, give Hunt a bite, take a bite, have me pull down the peel, etc. The whole time telling me "I'm sharing with Hunt momma" "I'm sharing because he's my bestfriend" Hunter was so ecstatic he was telling us "Drake share with me momma" "We sharing!" 

After bath time Brandon and I were dressing the boys, I noticed Drake has some red dots sporadically on his body. I told Brandon I may need to schedule an appointment with Dr. Amy. Immediately Hunt starts saying he is not going to the doctor. Drake explains he is going to the doctor and he likes Dr. Amy. He talks about the fish at the doctors office and getting shots. For the record, they hate going to the doctor. So I was surprised by Drake's response. Both boys explain that Drake is going to go to the doctor with mommy and Hunter is going to stay home with daddy. In the moment I was surprised at their willingness to be apart! Lately they have been willing to have different shirts on at times, different snacks, different toys, and  these things have never occurred before.

This quickly changed. Hunter went into full on panic mode when he realized Drake was saying he was going to "stay with Dr. Amy" He was begging Drake to stay with him. Drake was saying he was going in a little bit to see her and Hunt would say "no you go tomorrow!" Hunt kept saying Drake needed to "stay with me!" We could not get Hunt to calm down. He wanted Drake to say he was not leaving him tonight. Finally Drake tells him "I stay with you Hunt because you're my best friend" Then they exchanged several hugs and kisses. They would get in bed and then give each other more hugs! We said our nightly prayers, and I cried.

This. Is. My. Real. Life. 

I look at Brandon and we are both melted. I was in tears. In these moments I look at them and thank God. I thank him for all the amazing people that are in my boys' life. I watch as my boys grow and think there is no better reflection of myself than looking at my boys. Watching their kindness with each other and their love for one another is a sight to see. 

There are days I need more patience. I need to put away laundry. I need to mop. I need to dust. I need to put the Christmas decor in tubs. In moments like tonight, I realize I am absolutely making the right choice when I snuggle them instead of finish cleaning the kitchen because they come up saying "I want to hold you!" 

Before I know it these boys won't want to snuggle, give special kisses, and hold their mommy. So for now, I'm going to embrace these moments and write when the moments are just so sweet I never want to forget ❤️

As I write this and look at the monitor I see they decided to sleep together in Hunter's bed! My precious boys ❤️

Christmas 2013

This Christmas was so incredibly special in our home. The twins will be 3 in April, so they truly understood this year. 

We read bedtime stories every night before bed with the twins. One night in November Hunter started crying because he wanted a Santa book. That night I got online and ordered 30 Christmas books for my boys. I decided I would wrap them as the boys would open them before bed. The boys absolutely LOVED doing this! This experience is what made me realize I would need to wrap more of their gifts this year. Just the unwrapping of the book was exciting for them! 

The enjoyed the nightly routine of opening a new Christmas book. Halfway through the month I tried to give them their books unwrapped. Drake quickly informed me that the books were supposed to be presents that are wrapped. 

The boys loved decorating a small tree for their own bedroom. A couple of their Christmas books came with pop out ornaments that we also added. 

We also did the Elf on the Shelf. They named him Buck, with help from Daddy of course. They enjoyed looking for him in the mornings. Buck made a train, hung from the play room light, stayed in the stockings, and many others. 

Hunter absolutely loved Christmas, Santa, and Frosty the Snowman. He would wake up talking about it. He was completely amazed by Christmas.

The twins understand that Christmas is Jesus Christ's birthday. They had several books that explained the reason for the season. They asked if we would sing happy birthday and if we would have cake. 

They went to Brandon's Union Hall Children's Christmas. We were able to pick a gift for each child. Drake picked Elmo, Hunter picked Super Grover, and Luke got a Weeble School Bus. They were able to sit in Santa's lap for the first time this season at this event. The twins were so excited to tell him what they wanted. They made a point to make sure he talked to their baby brother Luke. They asked for toys, trains, and planes.

My mom and I made Christmas cookies with them. Hunter loved putting the Hershey kiss on the peanut butter cookies! We also made cookie cutter Sugar cookies. I iced them and the boys did sprinkles. Oh. My. Goodness. The. Mess. It was so worth the memories! We also made chocolate chip cookies.

We also took them to the Alvin Christmas Train. This is a short ride through tons of decorated Christmas and nativity scenes.  The boys absolutely loved it. 

They asked to have the outside lights and Christmas tree plugged in immediately when arriving home.

They sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Jingle Bells, and Frosty the Snowman often.

We waited outside for Santa to come by on the fire truck! They loved this! They grabbed the candy from the driveway that was thrown to them!

They really love Christmas. Everything about it. 

They did fantastic with all of our Christmas festivities. 

Christmas Eve the twins had a hard time falling asleep. I went in several times to remind them that they had to go to sleep for Santa to bring their gifts. One of the times I went in to tell the boys to go to sleep Drake told me heard noises, but they were NOT Santa on the roof.

Luke was 9 months old at Christmas, so he did not understand what was going on, but creating the memories was so much fun! 

Christmas morning the boys were so excited! The twins woke up first and were able to come out and see their stockings and gifts. Luke woke up 30 minutes later. 

Hunter's favorite gift was the Thomas the Train PlayHut. He played in it all day.

They loved their Mickey Mouse umbrellas that are just their size.

They love their train table.

Luke loves his Laugh and Learn Story Time Chair and his Fisher Price Swirl and Surprise. 

Hunter sings Frosty the Snowman ALL the time! He asks for his Elf to come back from the North Pole.

All snowmen are Frosty.

Luke at 10 months

Luke is 10 months old!

He is 19 pounds 9 ounces.

He is in size 4 Pampers Cruisers.

He wears size 9 and 12 months clothing.

He is still breastfed! He nurses in the morning, gets two bottles at Sandy's, and nurses before bed.

He eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

He also snacks on puffs, mum mums, Gerber cookies, Gerber crunchies, and Cheerios. 

He loves Gerber Yogurt.

He typically sleeps through the night. He goes to bed around 7 pm after a bath and nursing. I wake him at 6:30 am to nurse before we leave.

He babbles SO much more now. He is finally saying momma! I was so excited when he started doing this! 

He gives kisses unprompted! 

He loves to bounce.

Luke follows the twins everywhere! He plays with them all the time. They are very good with him.

He loves bath time.

He walks behind his walkers often.

He has stood unassisted for a second, but he is still not confident.

Luke cruises down furniture quickly.

He crawls just like his brothers now. His knees do not touch the ground and he is FAST!

He still has only his 2 bottom teeth!

He seems to be teething his top two teeth. He has been fussier at times and drooling a ton. 

Luke loves his Fisher Price gumball machine. He knows to put the balls in it and push the lever down.

He also loves the Laugh and Learn House and Car.

He also enjoys taking DVD cases out of the entertainment center. 

Luke is an incredibly happy baby! He only fusses when he is tired or hungry! He was up all night one night tossing and turning due to his teeth, but after that he was fine.