Eli & Landon's 2nd Birthday Party

I almost didn't have a big party this year. My sister is getting married this month and her bridal shower ended up being on the same date I had planned on having the boys' party. So I struggled with whether or not to go ahead with it, move the party up, or not have one at all and just do something really special with just me, Dustin, and the boys. My love of parties won this battle and so with just one week to get it together, I decided on moving it up a week to this past Saturday.

I'm SO glad that I did. Eli and Landon were beyond excited about the whole thing. They loved the decorations. They loved the balloons. They loved their dirt cake. They LOVED when everyone started arriving and all of the people they love the most were all in one place. I pretty much loved all of that too. It was a really fun day and I appreciate so much how all of our family drove so far to help us celebrate.

Here was the invitation (sent out only a week before the party...better late notice than no notice at all I guess). We (just barely) did a dump truck theme. Eli and Landon love dump trucks!

And here are just some random pictures from the day:

I did individual dirt cakes with gummy worms instead of a big cake. The boys certainly enjoyed theirs, as you will see later.

We had pulled pork sandwiches, chips and dip, veggies and dip, caramel corn, and dirt cake. 

All of the Grigsby men going back for more food.

Dustin borrowed a big table from work and it worked out perfectly. All of the men were quite happy to be outside because...

Dustin rigged up a T.V. out there so football could be on at all times.

We sang happy birthday to the boys, but they were very unsure about blowing out their candles. Landon finally blew his out, but Eli never did. You would have thought Landon made the winning point in some high stakes game the way we all cheered for him. I love making a really big deal out of my boys!

And then we left them alone to enjoy their dirt cake. And enjoy it they certainly did.

We opened presents after that. It was a little chaotic and I didn't get any pictures. Eli and Landon got a t-ball set, lots of stinkin' adorable clothes that we can't wait to wear this fall/winter, dump trucks, movies, balls, cars, toys, books, tractors, and new cowboy boots. They put their boots on and wouldn't take them off the rest of the day. They are loving all of their new toys!  We spent the rest of the day outside playing with all our new stuff. It was SUCH a beautiful day. 

Sweet, sweet Brynna even got in on the fun.

And D'Laney pretty much stayed in this big planter and played in the dirt most of the afternoon. 

Eva was so sweet to come on Thursday and hang out for a few days and help me get ready for the party. I love this girl! This is the only picture we got and Lance took it, so it isn't exactly in focus...

Most everyone was gone by about 4:30 so we laid our very exhausted boys down for a nap. 

And just because...here are some pictures from the park this morning. 

And just for the record, here is who came to Eli and Landon's 2nd Birthday Bash:
Daddy, Mommy, Grammy, Katelyn, Nemo, Papa, Lance, Kevin, Amber, Kathy, Shawn, Ryder, Loren, Orin, Amy, D'Laney, Brynna, Susie, Lloyd, Eva, Cathy, Heather, Phil, Autumn, Sarah, Joshua, Karly, D'Ann, James, Keitha, Karen, Perry, and Rick and Starkye stopped by on their way out of town.

It was a fun day for Eli and Landon and we are blessed that so many people that we love wanted to come and help us celebrate these two sweet little lives.

Graduations

What? My babies are old enough to graduate something? Turns out they are. A few weeks ago, Eli and Landon graduated from the cradle roll class at church and are now the proud members of the 2 and 3 year old class. I couldn't be prouder :)

It was a hard transition for me. You might have noticed that I still call them babies. They are. Just because they'll be two years old in a week or so does not mean they are little boys yet. I don't know how to come to grips with reality in this area.

Of course, I was ready with my camera. We got to class, I turned it on....and it was dead. I was devastated. Nothing goes undocumented around here and I certainly couldn't miss their first day of 2 and 3 year old Bible class. Luckily, Starkye came to the rescue and emailed me these pics:

We are so grateful to all of the teachers that taught them in the cradle roll class. Those are some really special ladies who we love dearly! Eli and Landon are blessed to have new, wonderful teachers in their new class. They are a little hesitant about staying in class, but usually come around. They have already learned really important things like how God made their eyes and their nose. I love that they come out of class with little papers or projects they have made. They are just so big!


Speaking of big...a couple of months ago, they decided they were too big to be confined to a crib any longer. The first time I realized they could crawl out of their cribs, I went in and they were both dangling one leg over the side of their crib and laying face down on the top rail. A few days later, they were laughing really hard when they were supposed to be sleeping, so I went in to find Eli standing on the back of his crib and he had pulled all of his curtains down. Nice.

So we decided to go ahead and change their cribs to toddler beds. Like all changes, I was really hesitant about this one. I didn't want to give up the freedom it gave me to just stick them in their cribs and walk out like I've done for over a year now. I also didn't know how they would handle their new freedom and I was anticipating a lot of "training" time to teach them that they had to stay in bed when it was bedtime/naptime.

So, one Saturday, Dustin and the boys spent a little while changing the beds over. Eli and Landon were a big help.

Turns out that all of my worry was for nothing (imagine that). Eli and Landon have done great with their new beds. I think they sleep even better now than they had been. We do our nightly routine and lay with them for just a couple of minutes and then they stay there and sleep all night. It is wonderful. My favorite part is how they get up in the morning and immediately run into my room to get me. I love the sound of those little feet pattering all the way to my room. Such sweet boys!

So here's to growing up. I guess I can handle just a little of it. Defintely not much more though :)

I'm Back!

I don't know what happened to me these last few weeks. I just haven't had it in me to blog. But I'm back now and we have a lot to catch up on, so let's dive right in.

I took a quick trip to San Antonio to see Elizabeth who was in Texas for a few days. I got to hang out with Eva and Elizabeth, as well as Elizabeth's sister and her sweet baby, Danika. It was great to see them and it was nice to have a little time all to myself on the drive there and back. The bad news is...I got back home and got really, really sick. So naturally, I called in sick to work and stayed in bed all day. Just kidding...I laid on the couch while Landon and Eli crawled all over me and reeked havoc on my house. It lasted for four full days before I could even function. It was awful, so let's move on.

As soon as I could function again, it was time to start packing for our summer family trip with Dustin's side of the family. We met them down near Kerrville and had a great time just hanging out, sliding down the dam, eating great food, swimming, playing dominoes, and watching movies. I love my in-laws. I really do have the best family!

Sometimes, there are just no words for Cameron. He thought this would be funny...and it was. (He does have shorts on under there.) Amy, please contact me immediately if Cameron would like this removed :)

I've never met a child who didn't LOVE Loren! She's just great.

Dustin's parents took the boys home with them for a couple of days so that Dustin and I could go to San Antonio and spend a few days with our good friend, John. I was uber prepared for this trip, so I bought tickets to Six Flags online and even got a parking pass so that we could avoid any delays. It has been years since I've been to an amusement park and I was just beyond excited to be going. Monday morning, we headed to the park full of anticipation and there was not.a.single.person to be found. Turns out....starting that very day, Six Flags was no longer open on weekdays. It was a very sad day for me.

Joke's on them because we still had a great time. We went to New Braunfels, ate at a hole-in-the-wall cafe, rented kayaks, and headed down the river. It was peaceful and relaxing and fun. The rest of our time we spent eating out, shopping, going to the movies, and walking around downtown San Antonio. It was great to spend so much time with John and it was really great to spend some time with Dustin and no kids!

We got home and I just felt kind of "blah" for a while. The weather cooled off and normally fall excites me to no end, but this year it feels different. I don't know if you are familiar with the winter we had last year, but it was cold...really, really cold. For a really, really long time. Really cold for a really long time does not bode well with a stay at home mom of twin toddlers. I could feel the depression setting in.

Luckily, it warmed right back up to the 90's and I haven't thought of it much since :)

Here are some things that I am really excited about this fall.
*I am excited about Ladie's Bible class starting back up. We have a great teacher this year and I am so excited to get to hear her. Unfortunately, circumstances beyond my control have kept me from it the past two weeks, but I have high hopes that I will get to attend at least a few times.
*I am excited to start taking Eli and Landon to the (free) storytimes offered twice a week here - once a week at the library and once a week at a local coffee shop. How fun.
*I am teaching Bible class this quarter. I have some real sweethearts in my class and I hope I can devote enough of my time and energy to this commitment to at least teach them something in the three months I'll have them.
*Eli and Landon turn 2 in less than a month. For several reasons, I wasn't going to have a big party, but I can't stand the thought of not celebrating them big time, so I made the decision and we're going ahead with it. I do love a party!
*My little sister is getting married at the end of October and I'm looking forward to that event. I love seeing lots of family and friends!
*Dustin and I will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary at the end of October. We had really planned on taking some sort of trip this year, but...it's not looking like it's in the cards. Hopefully we can at least do something small and special around that time. I love that man!


I was really excited to start our new, fun, filled with outings, schedule this week, but as fate would have it...we got sick AGAIN. Seriously...it seems like lately, we can just hear about something and catch it. I'm totally embarassed to admit this, but my children contracted Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. Disgusting...I know. So we've been stuck at home for 6 days and counting and I am about to lose my mind. I'm not about to take them anywhere if there is even a remote chance that this virus isn't completely gone, so we'll be in for a couple more days.
The best part is: adults don't normally catch this thing, but guess who did. Yep...me! So just like before, I called in sick and enjoyed a glorious day in bed.
Almost...I gated the boys in one part of the house, said a quick prayer for their safety for the remainder of the day, and passed out in an almost-coma. My poor children. I literally had to crawl from my bedroom to the kitchen to pass them a nutri-grain bar over the gate for lunch...at 1:30 in the afternoon. It was bad.

So, now you might understand why I've been absent. Who wants to live through that, much less write about it. The good news is...we're all caught up and I'll hopefully just have fun things to write about from here on out.

Sad Night

I just got home from the grocery store. Don't worry...I'm not going to tell you about any meltdowns or show you pictures of what I got. But something did happen that is heavy on my heart.

I just needed a few things, but I was by myself, so I was leisurely walking down the aisles. I noticed a young girl in one of the aisles and thought to myself, "I wonder if she knows she looks pregnant in that shirt." I know...that's not nice and I'm way too critical. I'm just being honest here.

So I finish my shopping and get in line and notice that same girl coming up behind me. The two cashiers immediately recognize her and say, "girl, we heard you're having twins.That is crazy!"

Excuse me? Did I hear that correctly? I got a knot in my stomach and tried not to pay too much attention, but had to look at her one more time. Maybe I was wrong about how young she was. Nope...still a very obviously young girl. I mentioned to her that I had twins and what a blessing they were. She asked if they were a handful and I replied, "Oh, yes! But they are a lot of fun, too." She'll know all about it soon enough.

But she won't know about it like I do. She won't know about it within the realm of a great marriage. She won't know about it with a very supportive husband. She won't know about it with the privilege of staying home with her babies. (I assume all of these things of course).

She'll know about it as she finishes high school, as she takes drivers education, as she grows up way too fast, and as she does it alone.

Her experience will most likely be night and day from mine: in a much harder, much lonlier, much more overwhelming way. I just can't imagine...she is really only a child herself.

I think about the frustration and exhaustion that I feel at times. I think about the times I have thought to myself, "Nobody deserves two babies at the same time....this is just too much for anyone to handle."  And I think about how toddlers always do what you don't want them to and never do what you do want them to. And I think about the messes, the fits, the screaming, the crying, the whining, the biting, the never ending workload.

But much, much more often than those feelings above, I look at my children in awe and think to myself, "Nobody deserves two babies at the same time...this is just too great of a blessing." And I joyfully watch them laugh and play and discover and learn everyday. And I just get lost in their hugs and kisses and cuddles and love.

I know she'll feel the frustration and exhaustion. I just hope she can feel the joy and the awe as well.

So tonight, I pray for her and for those sweet babies.