Time Flies

These sweet baby boys of mine are definitely too big to be called "babies"!  If the running didn't convince me, the new words have.  Jordan is repeating everything we say (at least trying), even in phrases.  He gets a lot of it right, too.  But he's so impressed us with putting things together, like, 'uh-oh tractor' and 'bye-bye daddy'.  Aidan does the same, but he usually only repeats what he's asked to; although, he's definitely listening to everything.  *The tractors go 'uh-oh' because they insist on watching the movie Cars everyday.  It's amazing what they pick up on!  They just started making the tractors tip over one day.*  We have a couple of DVDs that are teaching tools - one is letters, one is numbers, one is colors, one is shapes.  And they know those as they see them on the DVDs.  They recognize letters everywhere else.  They know what numbers are, but they only say a couple of them in books and things.  They know a few shapes outside of the DVD.  If you ask them to find a specific color ball (from the ballpit), they will almost always get it right!  But they'll almost always tell you the wrong color if you ask what color a ball is.  Funny, isn't it?  Their new favorite tricks are 1. to drag their little folding chairs over to the counter and stand in them to "help" me cook, 2. to put a finger on their lips and shush people (SO cute), 3. to say Daddy & Mommy instead of dada & mama!!  The last one is mostly Aidan, but Jordan has proven that he can.  The really fun part is that after he got the hang of Da-dee, he went on to Ma-mee (which came out mee-ma for a day or two), and has now decided that all names should end with a y.  Like Bubba became Bu-bee and Aidan is sometimes Ai-dee.  I do correct him on his own name, but it's really funny to listen to him say all of those.
I'm just continually amazed at what they can do and learn.  It kills me how fast time flies with these little guys.  I try to keep it in perspective throughout our days because I know that soon I won't be able to carry them around... or they won't want me to.  Sometimes I just sit and watch them and try to etch those moments in my mind forever and try to just be thankful to God for these little gifts.  I am also continually amazed that God has entrusted me with 2 precious babies at once.  (I know, they're not babies!!)  What a priveledge I have to watch these two connected, but separate lives grow up together!  I pray God will help me impress on them how special their bond is and how He has blessed them in that way.
By the way, one of their favorite books is The Jesus Storybook Bible.  It's a fabulous little storybook of Bible stories that says how they reflect God's plan to send Jesus in the "great rescue."  Mostly, they like to look at the big fish that swallowed Jonah, but I pray they will grow to love and read those stories and that it will help us lead them to the cross of Christ.

Baby Ball Pit

We're on our 2nd baby sized ball pit - the first was a $5 Little People train engine that got a hole in one of the panels.  The second is a minivan with no back to it that we were given for Christmas (how did they know we needed one?!).  These are a bit much for our little house, but perfect for the winter weather.  Well the minivan is a good bit smaller than the train was and Aidan lets me know it's not big enough for him to sit in with his brother.  So they fight about it and then quit playing with it most days.  I told Andrew that I'd been thinking about opening up the pack-n-play and putting the boys in it and then throwing all the balls in on top of them, just to keep them contained one day.  So this weekend, we did it!  They thought it was hilarious!  Much more room than the minivan ball pit AND the balls don't roll out when the kids are little too big for it.

 And everything is more fun when you don't have to wear clothes!

 Did I mention the mesh sides that make your face squish in funny ways?

 Even Lion had to try it  :) 

sweet brother kisses

Come on, Spring!

Bring on the warm weather!!  We will be so spoiled if this warm weather fades back into winter.  It makes our days so much more fun (and fast) when we can spend it outside.  Sunday afternoon we went to the playground in Mt. Laurel.  The boys refused to nap after church (I tried for an hour), but fell fast asleep as soon as we got in the car.  It's only a 10 minute drive, so I let them sleep 20 mins longer once we got there.  But they did really well, considering that was all the nap they got ALL day.  They LOVE slides.  Especially the big kid slides that they're technically too young for.  Fearless.

Church Website

a little plug for our church:
We have a new website up!  My hubby did a lot of the work, so I'm very proud and excited to share!  Our vision statement as a church is that 'we exist to value God above all else.'
Clearwater Community Church