Stats

I'm sorry it's been several days since I last posted - the week got busy and got away from me! I should report that on Thursday, we took the boys to the pediatrician for their 18 and 9 month well visits. All is well! And here are the stats:

Tyler:

Weight: 20 lbs., 2.9 ozs.

Height: 32"

Evan:

Weight: 17 lbs., 8.1 ozs.

Height: 28.25"

I would have bet money that Evan weighed more than Tyler - good thing I didn't! But - less than 3 lbs. between them. Not surprising at all! I suspect by Evan's one year appointment, he may outweigh his big brother.

In other news....

Don't know how well you can see it, but if you look closely you might be able to see the purple spot (lump) on Evan's forehead. Yesterday he was sitting on the kitchen floor playing while I was putting dishes away and suddenly I heard a loud "THUD". I turned around and he was flat on his face on the floor. Not sure what happened exactly, but he wasn't happy about it, and it wasn't long before a nice little purple bump appeared on his forehead! I think he was jealous of all his brother's injuries so he thought he'd get one of his own! And just so Mimi doesn't panic - the bump is gone today, and the bruise is nearly gone as well :).

Here are a few shots from the past week:

I'll be back soon!!

More party photos...

I just had to add these because they are so cute. One of the parents at the party on Saturday (Tyler's friend Zach's dad, Sam) took lots of pictures and they were sent around to all of us. Here are some good ones he took of our boys!

Thanks, Sam!!

Weekend business

Well, we have had quite a productive weekend!! Unlike last Saturday, this Saturday was one to be outside. So like good little entrepeneurs, Evan and I set up shop at the semi-annual Kingstowne community yard sale.

Lots of little baby clothes and accessories, including the infant car seat and frame stroller. Of course this prompted my mother-in-law to query "So are you saying there won't be any more children?" As sad as I am to say it, no, there won't be. Unless I win the lottery, it just wouldn't be practical. If we could afford it, I would already be working on three more (through biology AND adoption)! So as it stands now, I might as well clean out the garage and make a little money in doing so!

We were out there for a few hours, and did pretty well. A couple of times Mitch and Tyler walked over to visit and to bring food and drink.

All told I made $135!! Not too bad. Got rid of almost all the big items, but still have a lot of clothes left. But since they are mostly summer clothes, I think it will be wise to participate in the Spring sale. I'll probably get rid of all of it then.

After the yard sale, it was time to go to a birthday party. One of the little boys in the daycare, Eric, turned 2 and invited all the children to attend his party at "My Little Gym." Can you believe I forgot my camera (just as I did back in March when Eric's sister Emma turned 3 and we went to her party)?!?! Luckily, my phone takes pretty decent pictures:

And video!

Evan got in on the action too:

Everything was going smoothly until Tyler stuck his hand in the cake just as it was set in front of the birthday boy... no pictures of that - but I'll be sure to tell him about it someday!

It was a very busy day. So much so that Evan didn't really nap except for maybe 20 minutes in his little tent during the yard sale. So I had him fed, bathed and asleep by 6:30 p.m.!! I myself was in bed by 8:15! Can't remember the last time that happened... And this morning, Daddy took Tyler and Evan downstairs so I could sleep in. I am by no means complaining, but it looks like I missed a good time!!

Today we've basically taken it easy, except for a trip to the mall to get Tyler's haircut. This is his third (professional) haircut! Usually, he sits on daddy's lap and cries most of the time. But for some reason today, he sat in the chair all by himself, and was the picture of composure the whole time!!

I think the whole time Evan was thinking, "Am I next??"

Not yet sweetie!!!!

And now it is Sunday evening. I hate Sunday evening. I'm usually feeling lazy, and then I have to rush around preparing for Monday morning, doing things I should have done all weekend long. I guess that will never change. Once a procrastinator, always a procrastinator. Of course, these days, I can use the boys as an excuse! I guess I should be thinking about all the things that I DID do this weekend. But instead I'm always thinking about everything I didn't do.

Oh well, there's always next weekend!!

Remembering 9/11

I hadn’t planned to do a post about 9/11 today, but I am feeling compelled. It was seven years ago today that the world changed, and that is worth remembering.

I think back to who I was then. Certainly different than I am now. Mitch and I hadn’t even been married for a year, and children weren’t even on our radar. I remember how horrified I was by the whole thing. I remember my mom frantically trying to get in touch with me to make sure I was ok. I remember lying to her – telling her not to worry, that my office was “nowhere near” any building that anyone would want to attack – and yet I was three blocks from the White House. I remember how Mitch and I quietly made our way to his parent’s house because it happened at a time when our particular commuter train wasn’t running and we couldn’t get straight home.

So today I find myself imagining how scary it would have been if we had had the boys at that time. How we would have been scrambling to try to get to them. How I wouldn’t have been able to breathe until I held them in my arms. I am thankful that I didn’t have to experience that, and hope that I never will. And yet, at the same time, I am grateful that I have such beings to worry about. May they always be safe in this unpredictable, sometimes scary world. And may I always be able to protect them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today also has significance for other reasons. Four years ago today, my father passed away. And one year ago today, his father, my grandfather, passed away. On a day so wrought with memories of loss and sadness, I will take a deep breath, and hug my boys extra hard and give them extra kisses, thankful that at this point in their lives, the date “September 11th” means nothing to them at all.

Video mania!

This evening when we got home, Evan decided that he was indeed big enough to try out big brother's table and chairs. Tyler didn't know quite what to think... (this video isn't as clear as others because it was taken on Mitch's Blackberry)

And here are a couple of other random videos of Evan, well, just because they're cute:

The screaming you hear in the background of this one is Tyler having his usual ball of a time in the bathtub!

My little man...

When Tyler wakes up in the morning, the usual routine is daddy takes him downstairs, straps him into his high chair and fixes his breakfast. But today was something different! This morning, on the day he turns 18 months old, when Tyler arrived in the kitchen, THIS is what was waiting for him:

(The turning 18 months old really has nothing to do with it, it just so happens that the table arrived last night so it's like we can pretend it's a gift for a reason rather than just because...)

It only took a moment for him to get it and he was totally on board!

Isn't that CUTE??? It didn't last too long and he spent the rest of the morning pushing the table around upside down in the living room and throwing the chairs... but I mostly chalk that up to the fact that lately he hasn't been terribly interested in breakfast. Anyway, we'll see how he does with the table at dinnertime. I hope Evan isn't too jealous... but as you see, there is a second chair there, just waiting for him to be big enough to join his brother!

What a difference a day makes!

It's beautiful today!! Sunny without a cloud in the sky and hot - but not humid! With no reason to stay inside, Tyler and I headed to a nearby playground with my friend Tiffany and her little ones (Chelsey who is almost 4 and Cameron who is a month and a half younger than Evan). Evan stayed home to nap and watch football with Daddy! Here are a few shots from the playground that I managed to get before my camera batteries died:


It was a great playground because they had a section for little ones like Tyler and then the rest for bigger kids. I'm sure we'll be going back there!