Goodbye Old Friends

We hit another milestone today!

Landon is officially off his apnea monitor! No more cords for that guy. They came to pick Landon's up and downloaded the information off of Eli's so hopefully, the doctor will soon release Eli as well.

Doesn't he look excited to be saying goodbye?
Last Tuesday when we were at the doctor, I forgot to ask about the medication the boys have been on since we came home. I have really had my doubts as to how necessary it is anymore - they have been taking the same dosage every since they were born and I'm pretty sure we outgrew that dose a long time ago. If they really needed it, we would have seen problems by now, so I called today and we can stop the prescriptions!!

These are just a few of the bottles we have gone through in the last two months. I finally threw some away last week. I have this strange attachment to anything that has anything to do with my babies, but in a moment of clarity last week...I finally let a few go. I wonder how long these will sit on the counter...



So to you, Mr. Apnea monitor and prescription drugs, thank you for your services in keeping my babies safe, but you are no longer needed around these parts.

We're liberated....well almost.

Landon's Bad Habit

Landon has been trying to suck his thumb for some time now.

He is finally getting it in his mouth instead of rooting around on his whole fist



And now...he is actually sucking
And despite my best efforts to fight this off...I think I am losing the battle. Every time I see him trying to suck his thumb, I put his pacifier in his mouth, but he immediately spits it out and goes to town with his thumb.

I am torn between the nightmares that I'll have a 13 year old who still sucks his thumb and the wonderful thoughts of not having to replace a pacifier in his mouth every five seconds and his ability to self-sooth.

So for all of you mommies out there...thumb sucking - fight it or embrace it?

Ready...set....advise!

The New Eli

Ever since he was born, Eli has been the more serious of the two. He rarely smiled, he always had a very serious look on his face, and I promise he has even rolled his eyes at me as if to say, "seriously? this person is my mom?" I never knew a baby could make you feel so dumb.

Until...recently. Eli has had a personality makeover and we cannot keep this child from smiling. It's not just a smile, though...it's the goofiest, full-faced grin you've ever seen. I just can't get enough of it (unless it's the middle of the night and he won't eat because he's too busy smiling).

I'm working on getting a better picture, but here's a glimpse of the new Eli.

Family, Family, And More Family

The boys certainly got an introduction to family this past week. It exhausts me to think of trying to give an account of all the happenings, but to sum it up, we started out last Tuesday, drove to Lubbock, went to the doctor, drove to Dallas, and got in late that night. Over the next few days, I was able to attend Kristin's recital, several family dinners, lunch with good friends, Katelyn's basketball game, and then we headed home Sunday afternoon. It was a busy week, but the boys did great and we had a lot of fun! A big thank you to everyone who endured my incessant requests to wash hands! It's the number one way to prevent the spread of germs :)
The irony of it all is that I spent the whole week asking people to use hand sanitizer and to keep kids away and in the end...I ended up with pink eye. How do you wash your hands a million times a day, never go in public, and end up with pink eye?

I think almost everyone we saw is represented somewhere in the following pictures.

Littrells

Sisters

Andrew and Julie

McDaniels

"Greaty-Grams"

Watters

My sweet Madison who was so wonderful to keep her distance from the boys.

Aunt Kristin

I have lots more pictures, but I'll pace myself and it will give me an excuse for another post very soon.

My Handsome Boys

Our friend Keva took pictures of the boys for us about a month ago. I find myself just staring at them. They have changed so much even since these were taken and I'm so thankful that she captured their sweetness at this age.


More to come at a later date...

Now that all they do is laugh and smile, I can't wait to go visit her again!

We haven't been up to much. We go back to the doctor on Tuesday. We'll see the doctor, get a shot, and then head to Dallas to stay with Grammy for the rest of the week. We'll have lots of pictures to post when we come back.

I haven't mentioned this yet because I didn't want to jinx it, but the boys have been sleeping so well at night! They go down after their 9 or 10 o'clock feeding and they sleep for 5 hours. They get up, eat like they are starving, and then go right back down for another 4 hours. I feel like a new woman! I've been getting close to eight hours of sleep and it just feels so great! I just couldn't ask for better, sweeter babies.

Let's hope our trip doesn't disrupt our schedule too much. Oh well if it does...

Hope your week is a good one!

-Amy

Pictures and Happenings

It's been a while since we posted pictures, so here you go...

Grammy came to visit us and stayed for a long time...it was wonderful! Being one of five children, there aren't a whole lot of opportunities to have my mom all to myself for five days. The even better news is - she's coming back this weekend and we'll spend a whole week with her. We are taking our first trip to Dallas next week and we'll meet Aunt Kristin, Aunt Laura, and Uncle Andrew for the first time, along with Uncle J and Aunt Susie, and all of the great-grandparents. We are very excited.

Eva also came to see us. I wish we didn't live so far from her! Thanks for driving 8 hours to visit.

We went to Iraan for the weekend. We got to see lots of family and friends.

Landon smiling at Nana

Eli spending time with Daddy

Landon and Daddy - look at him holding that head up.

Aunt Kristin got us these shirts. They are so true!

I love this picture - it looks like they are really in deep conversation.
It also shows how the gap in size is starting to close. I think Eli is catching up!

And this video is from this morning. I just love these smiling, chattering boys. I was really hoping to go back to sleep after the 7 a.m. feeding. They had other things in mind.

Congratulations Elizabeth and J!!

This is my dear friend Elizabeth

Elizabeth has been with me through the best of times and the worst of times. She actually became friends with my mom first - in the closet of a dorm room at Florida College. That first semester at FC, I was terribly homesick and sat in my dorm room feeling sorry for myself and even though Elizabeth didn't know me, she came by my room every day inviting me to go places - even if it was just to the nasty cafeteria. Realizing that this girl was never going to give up, I finally agreed and we've been the best of friends ever since.


It's been about 7 years since we lived together, but we still talk on the phone all the time and when we're together, it's like we were never apart - those are the kind of friends I love.


Most recently, Elizabeth flew in from North Carolina to Lubbock to be with me when Eli and Landon were still in the hospital. She dropped everything to be with me when I needed her and she couldn't have come at a better time. She was a cheerleader for me, she kept my spirits up, she cried with me, prayed with me, and laughed with me and she got me through one of those weeks in the NICU.

She is selfless, giving, hilarious, and kind.

And you must see these onesies she got the boys with her picture on them.

Eliabeth and J have been dating for several years now and got engaged yesterday. I just couldn't be happier for them. While I don't know J as well, I've only heard great things about him and know that he must be pretty wonderful to be marrying Elizabeth. What a beautiful couple!

Congratulations! We love you both!