I have always been a rollercoaster fan, BUT.....

Okay, so it is 1:30pm and I am I AM READY TO GET OFF OF THIS ROLLERCOASTER RIDE!!!!!

1.  The day started off with me opening the boy's door to find Cooper had taken all of his clothes off (pajamas and onsie) and had thrown everything out of the bed, sorry no picture to show......entering the rollercoaster and it started taking off...not too bad.

2.    Carson decides to get his vacuum out and the duster that spins around and starts to clean the house......this is a major high, who wouldn't love this one.

3.  After breakfast, the boys listen to music and decide to hold hands and start dancing around the 'freshly cleaned' kitchen floor........another definite high and delight to watch.

4.  After playing for a while we leave to go to the gym and after 20 minutes of working out, I got paged to the Kids Club.  This happens every once in a while because Cooper gets a dirty diaper and needs changed.  I go into the room to see one of the girls holding Cooper and his face looking like the picture below.......I'm sure your with me when I say this was an EXTREME LOW!!!!

 

5.  A quick call to the doctor on whether to go to her or the emergency room, visit to the Doc's office, cleaning and liquid stiches and we were on our way home......or so we thought.  (By the way, Carson was an absolute perfect child this entire time.  He sat in the chair at the doctor's office with his legs crossed Indian style and watch everything going on.)

6.  I pull into the driveway, look in my rearview mirror and see that Cooper has proceeded to pull of the bandages the doctor put on his face (including the 2 sterilyte, butterfly, bandages he put on the deeper cut under his eye). 

7.  A quick call to the doctor, visit the Doc's office again, cleaning and redoing the dressing and on our way home again.

8  Chris waiting for us when we get home.....a much appreciated high after everything that has gone on.

NO MORE ROLLERCOASTERS TODAY!!!!!

BTW:  Cooper was such a tough guy with all of this.  He stopped crying when I went and got him in the Kids Club and didn't even fuss or fight when the doctor was cleaning his face and putting all of the stuff on it.  We are once again reminded of how blessed we are with our boys and how God has them both covered with his hedge of protection.  It could have all been much worse (less than an inch higher and it would have been his eye) and we are thankful for things playing out the way they did.

 

2 years......really???!!!???

We just had the boy's 2 year check ups yesterday (I know we are running about 2 months behind).  It is hard to believe that we have had them in our lives for 26 months.  We already have so many good memories and new traditions that have come from them.  It is hard to remember what life was without them.

Anyway, for the specific updates:

Cooper:
36 1/4" tall  (in the 90%)
35 pounds  (off the charts)
21" circumference head (by the way that means that he wears bicycle helmets that were meant for 5 year olds)

Carson: 
36 1/4" tall (in the 90%)
34 pounds (off the charts)
20" circumference head (ditto on the helmet thing)

Although the boys look so different and have completely different body types, they are still "neck in neck" when it comes to the stats.  Chris and I both thought there would be a big weight difference between the 2, but Gaga Linda was the one that was right with only 1 pound difference.

As usual, the doctor is so amazed at how they came into this world as premies being 6 weeks early and are where they are at now.  All 3 of us agreed at the appointment that God was doing me a big favor by have Carson's water break 6 weeks early.  We can only imagine how big they would have been if they had gone full term.

An extra bit of knowledge we picked up is that they usually double a child's height at 2 years and that is how tall they will be as an adult.  So, it looks like they are getting their height from their dad (good thing). 

The doctor said the visit would go in her record books for the best 2 year old check up she has ever done.  There was nothing wrong with either boy, no fits or tears during the entire visit and Carson decided he would flirt with Dr. Edwards.  Just a reminder at how blessed we are with our 2 boys.

Dizzy, Dizzy, Dizzy

I thought we would share a new trick the boys have learned. I am beginning to think we should take it "on the road"......enjoy:)

By the way, don't worry, they weren't going quite as fast as it looks like. It looks crazy in this video.

Christmas in the Village

We got to experience Christmas in the Village an entirely new way this year. Having 2-2 year olds with us made the usual seem surprising and new. We got to hang out with Grandma Linda, Aunt Brittany and Uncle Cory and do several new things with the boys. Pics and narration are below.

The boys were warm and bundled in their bunting bags. As Aunt Brittany got to experience, we get several comments on our stroller and the boys wherever we go. (hats courtesy of Uncle Ken and Aunt Neila from our Canada trip)


This was probably the boy's favorite part of the parade. They were so excited to see the train.

We missed the shot, but the boys got to give the United Way bear a high-five. Of course, at this age they are quite intrigued by the big animals.

Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus closing out the parade.

We didn't get an actual picture of the trolley we were on, but it ended up taking us on a tour of Zionsville.....unfortunately we thought it would just take us on Main Street. By the end Cooper was quite happy to exit the trolley.

This is Cooper at the beginning of the trolley ride with Gaga Linda. He was quite excited.....By the way, Carson seemed to have a worried and confused look on his face for most of the ride.
He knew something just didn't seem right being in a moving vehicle and not in a carseat.



It is hard to see, but there is a reindeer (elk) in the cage. The boys weren't sure what to think of him. He was HUGE!!!


And this was probably the best part of the entire day. The train was giving rides, so of course the boys wanted to participate.......


You'll notice Carson is sitting on his own. I thought the ride would be like the train I grew up watching in the mall that just went in circles. So, I put Carson in on his own (while not noticing Chris was getting in). I didn't know any better until the train took off and started going down the road.....at first I thought I would follow behind the train or walk beside Carson....that thought lasted for about 3 seconds (no way would I basically run by the train:)) So long story short, Carson got to be a big boy and ride on his own for the entire ride. You'll be happy to know he stayed completely still the entire time.

And yes, to top it all of, Cooper was that child that throws a huge fit when having to get off of the ride. He cried while I carried him away and continued to cry for about 2 blocks, until Gaga gave him a sucker to hold onto (thanks Gaga).

All in all it was a great day.

Carson flying

This is a video of Chris and Carson at the beach at Lake Michigan. Carson loves it when Chris tosses him in the air! (sorry I don't know how to rotate the video clip.) As you can tell from the sound, it was quite windy but it really was gorgeous fall weather the whole time we were there.

The Frog and Chicken

Just a quick little video of Cooper and Carson wearing their costumes. Cooper thought Carson was dressed up just for his pure enjoyment. He wanted to pull him around by the beak. In case you can't hear, Carson's costume is playing the Chicken Dance during the video. Don't forget to pause the music in the right hand side of screen.

Hi Aunt Jenny!!

As many of you know, Chris' youngest sister, Jenny, is studying abroad this semester. Since the boys have been unable to Skype with her, Chris took this video for her to see. Feel free to enjoy it yourself as well.