Father's Day

Last year we missed it by a few days, so this was Brian's first Father's Day! He has always wanted kids just as much as I did. In fact, being with Brian is really what made me want kids. I knew he would be a great dad, and I was right. He isn't just "fun-time, I'll play with you when I get home for a few minutes" dad. He is full service, bottle feeding, diaper changing, book reading, song singing, stroller pushing dad. You can tell he always wants Nate and Lilly to know how much he loves them. One night I was in the other room and I heard him reading a book in a silly voice to Lilly as he held her in his lap and it just hit me how much he loves both of them. It fills my heart to see him smooching all over them and makes me love him even more.

In the hospital just before the babies were born.

First photo of daddy with Nate and Lilly.

Sleeping on the floor by me in my hospital room.
Hard to believe Nate was ever this tiny!

Snoozing with a tiny little Lilly.

Bath time!

Thanksgiving Day 2008

Not to be forgotten- Happy Father's Day to Brian's dad, Dick!! We are so glad you and Diane were here to celebrate it with us this year. The babies think you guys are pretty cool, I could tell (maybe it had something to do with all the sugar you were giving them!?)! We love you!

First Birthday Party!

The big first birthday party is over, and we had a blast! Tons of friends and family came to celebrate with us. The party was over at my mom's (thanks mom!) and theme was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because the babies are so in love with that show! We ate food, opened presents, and then the babies had their first taste of cake - yummy!!

I am deliriously tired so I will try and tell the story with this obscene amount of pictures..

First, the cake and decor for your viewing pleasure..

Lilly in her pre-party attire.What's a first birthday party without a shirt with your name on it?

Lilly had one too, although it's hard to see the name and the number one. This is the best family shot we got that day. Things got a little crazy after this.

First we had some socializing with lunch.

Then we opened presents.. wheeew!! Sooo many for these lucky babies! Time for cake so we stripped down to bibs!

Then we let the babies play half naked for a while with friends.

Clothes back on and more time with family!
Cousins!

Baby girl was pooped.But Nate was ready for more action!
So glad Grandma and Papa could come from out of state to be at the birthday party! Thank you to ALL of our family and friends who celebrated with us! WE LOVE YOU!

The babies' real birthday was today. I have to write another blog about that and one about Father's Day! I have a lot of catching up but way too tired tonight! I just wanted to get a post about the party on here. More later!

So excited!

..for a lot of reasons! The babies' first birthday party is Saturday, my aunt and Brian's parents are in town, more family and friends will be here for the party and I got a new camera! I will do a longer post later, but for now we are just hanging out finishing up last minute planning for the big party. Brian and I both took Thursday, Friday, and Monday off work to be with his parents and celebrate our babies turning one!

So, this new camera is my new obsession. I am determined to get my money's worth and figure out every last thing I can do with it. I have no idea really how it works yet, but I am already in love with it. I'm sure I am annoying Brian's parents taking pictures of them every two seconds! I love it! More pictures later, but here are a few from today and yesterday.. testing out the camera..

Papa reading to Lilly
Nate gives grandma sugars

Grandma playing!

Yes, those are crusty peas on her face!
Close-up

What do you think of the new camera so far?? Can you tell a difference?

Play nice.. or NOT!

How did my babies go from playing nicely to mortal combat right in front of my very eyes? I love it when Nate and Lilly are sweet and they can play and laugh together, but lately every time they get close, they are knocking over, pushing, stealing toys, just aggravating each other. I find myself cringing every time they are within grabbing/eyeball-gouging reach of one another! They are both instigators, but Lilly is definitely the bully and if I was the betting type, I would bet on Lilly to win almost every time.
I am using the word "NO" more than I ever thought possible! They both understands what it means now, but when I say no to one of them, the other looks confused like "Wait.. What am I doing wrong?" Last weekend I would say "no!" to Nate, and Lilly would just look at me and start crying like it just hurt her poor little feelings so badly! Sigh..


She's as sweet as she can be..

Until you get between her and something she wants..

Nate takes toys from Lilly too, I just haven't managed to get an action shot of that..YET!

Welcome to the world!

As of early Saturday morning we have a new nephew! Brian's sister and her husband had a baby boy at 1:43 am on Saturday, June 13th. He weighed in at 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long. He is a beautiful perfect healthy baby. This is their third baby in under four years- pheeew! And since we are keeping count, this makes ten nieces and nephews we have to love!!

Thank you God, for another sweet blessing!
We wish we were closer and can't wait to get up there and see you guys. Give him a big hug and kiss for all of us. Love you!