Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving was awesome this year. Honestly, I didn't lift a finger! Cody was the chef of the day, and he did so amazing. He smoked a turkey and it turned out amazing, he made the best parmesan mashed potatoes, whipped sweet potatoes, and homemade stuffing. Our good friends the Holdsworth's and Jeremy came over and brought rolls and pie. I couldn't keep my hands off the rolls! Everything was so tasty and we had such a good time. Crystal and I even played rummikub, my favorite game.

Of course, the day after Thanksgiving is the big decoration day! It was so much fun to get all of the Christmas fun out, especially my new nativity I got last year. The boys tore down the stockings right away, so they are now taped to the bottom of our television, and the bottom 1/3 of the tree doesn't have any decorations on it. The presents are already getting unwrapped, and I couldn't be happier! It is so fun to have these 2 little crazies crawling around and grabbing all they can get their slobber-filled hands on.

200 DAYS!

 Can you believe it? WE HAVE ALL SURVIVED 200 DAYS!!!! It's a miracle. The past 6 months have flown by. I can't believe my little 5 lb. babies have tripled in size and in personality. It is wild to see them rolling, scooting, and falling all around my house now. They are just starting to notice one another, and boy is it hilarious. They are wrestling, giggling, sucking on heads, toes, and legs all day long.
Dax is my open-mouthed smiler. He smiles all the time, even when he is crying you can get him to crack a big smile for you. He rarely sheds a tear...although lately when he falls down from sitting up he wails pretty good. He has been tempermental lately because Barrett can scoot circles around him, while he, um, just spins in circles:) He can crawl, too...only backwards! Poor kid just gets farther and farther away from every toy that he wants. It's so sad!
Barrett, O how this boy giggles. He laughs so hard at the most random times. Even when he is in his crib half asleep he starts giggling. He loves to be tickled, loves to attack whatever he can with his mouth, and is full of grunts. Lately he likes to steal his brothers toys and scoot away as fast as he can. He can now get to me wherever I am...bye bye alone days:) He is our resident drama dude. He can be laughing his head off one minute, only to be in tears 5 seconds later. We love it though!
Just recently we have a little bit of a schedule. They eat 5 times a day, nap 2 long naps (haha...this is my make believe world schedule:)) and one short nap. Seriously everyone that I am around can't believe how happy our little men are. They are the best kiddos, even when they are dog tired they try their best to put on a good face. They make me laugh every day, especially when they are interacting.
I couldn't be more grateful for my 3 boys. They make my day to day all worth it. I love you boys!

Happy Boys!

Wow. 5 Months!

I am just feeling so blessed lately. My boys are happy and healthy and I love them more every day. To see updated pictures, go to my photography blog...
www.winterhollerphotography.blogspot.com
They JUST started napping at the same time. They are 5 months old! Holy cow it was a long 5 months with no breaks all days, but I wouldn't ask for anything different:) Dax would nap for about 45 minutes in his crib or bouncer, and Barrett, well, sweet Barrett would scream in my arms until I could somehow get him to go to sleep...holding him. Then I was tied to the kiddo! Good thing Dax is a stinking awesome baby, he was my saving grace! Really Barrett didn't nap for long in my arms, so most of his naps were in the stroller or the carseat. Needless to say, I made sure to go somewhere one or two times a day to get that boy a little rest.
After our Montana trip I decided to buckle down. We are on day 7 of 2 naps a day...at the SAME TIME! They aren't perfect, but let's be honest, they are babies. I feel like a new woman though:) We had dinner at 530 every night last week! That is a first in, well, 5 months. I love, love, love to cook, and it was seriously such a nice refresher. Hopefully the kiddos will be happy happy when they are awake now that they have a little more of a schedule.
Barrett. O I love this dude. He is dra-ma-tic! He is such a laugher. It is so funny when you tickle him he grunts to try and hold it in, but in the end he always ends up with a huge belly laugh. Cody says Barrett is going to be a momma's boy, we will see. He loves to read. LOVES IT. I think I could read to him all day and he would be happy. All of a sudden he likes his binkie, but not when he is really, really mad. Then he could care less about it!
Dax follows me around the room with his eyes. Never wants to let me out of sight. He never, ever stops smiling. Even when he is crying you can squeeze a smile out. He doesn't produce tears, and if he does, he is really, really mad. He is a hard one to get to laugh, but if you can do it, it is so worth it! He is our little tank. He feels so much heavier than Barrett, but I think it's because he is more compact. He is grabbing toys and scooting around like a mad man. Dax loves his silkie from Auntie Missy. He pretty much smothers himself with it to sleep, and I have to go move it after a few minutes because I am an uptight mom:)
The boys are REALLY starting to notice one another. They hold hands when the nurse. It is heaven sent:) On the flip side, about 2 weeks ago, I heard some screaming from the living room. They were tugging on each end of a little football, yep, fighting over it! They were both screaming and it was so funny! Here we go...:) Let the fighting begin! They are playing together a little bit more, too. I hear giggles sometimes and it just makes me smile. They love to roll over onto their tummies and look at one another. They both have already had their fair share of bumped heads, on one another and on our hardwood floor. They cry for a few seconds and then get over it.
My boys love me. I walk into a room and they are instant smiles. It makes me feel so special!
Cody is the best daddy. He walks in from work and gives me a kiss, then goes straight to a kiddo. He tickles and plays with them, and gets them all hyper:)

Dax

O my Dax man. I just love this kiddo...so many expressions! I know the first one is crazy, but I think he looks like he is rockin' out:) The third one is my favorite. Love the hair.

Blessing Day

Today was the boys blessing day! It was perfect. They were both so good, and they looked adorable in their ties!