Week at Nana and Papa's

Tyson was gone for a week at a conference in Philadelphia, and since there is no freaking way I would tackle taking care of two babies on my own for that long, we headed to my parent's house to visit (aka have someone else take over the 2:00 am shift).

Bonus: this was the scenery for most of our drive.

(Not a bonus: babies who are now all too aware of taking a four-hour car ride, resulting in me making part of the trip wedged between their carseats in the back of our Prius.  And I fit.  Buckled, even.  With my hips jammed at an angle.)

This is how Caden feels about the large kitchen Nana and Papa have to crawl around in:

(He's super excited, in case you can't tell.)

(Also super exciting?  Papa has a phone that Caden got to actually touch, instead of having it cruelly yanked away.)

And this is how Brooklyn feels about the large kitchen Nana and Papa have to crawl around in:

(Not too shabby.)

And they were both pretty excited to chase Papa around the island:

This is how they feel after doing all of those laps:

(Oh wait, maybe that was because we decided to wake up just about every hour each night we were there.  And by "we" I mean CADEN.)

This is how mommy feels about waking up every hour several nights in a row:

(Translation: bring coffee.  All of it.)

But then THIS is how mommy feels about going to her favorite apple orchard:

(Also seemed a festive way to celebrate their 8-month birthday.)

(Nana enjoyed it, too.)

(I spy two babies.)

This is how Caden and Brooklyn feel about getting back to Nana and Papa's to do some more floor crawling mischief-getting-into with Uncle Tyler:

(Suddenly: Caden!)

(Brooklyn crawls over the top of Caden approximately 3848 times a day.  He never seems to mind too much.)

This is how Caden feels about going over construction plans while wearing matching white tees and sweats with Papa:

(Don't look too excited, Caden.  It's probably for a sewer or something.)

And THIS is how babies feel when DADDY gets home from his time away:

(YAY)

(!!!)

(That was mommy's reaction, too.)

Eight Months

Post Weekend

We spent some time cuddling, since these two were sick with some runny noses.

(Brooklyn still gave things the thumbs-up, though.)

We also spent some time in front of the mirror.  These two were just fascinated with the babies in the mirror.  It made for the BEST babysitter.  

Although once I pulled the camera out, that was infinitely more fascinating.  Expensive pieces of technology always are.

Needless to say, that mirror got some massive cleaning once the day was through.

Plopping them in front of the mirror meant I got some things done, like cooking...

Baking bread (well, rising bread...)

And baking apples for applesauce.  Caden and Brooklyn will eat up just about anything with cinnamon in it (well, Caden will eat up just about anything...).

So that was all well and good, until immediately following the weekend (like, oh, starting at 3:00 Monday morning) Tyson and I were sick.  Like nasty stomach-bug (food poisoning?) knock-you-off-your-feet kind of sick.  He's better, I'm almost there, and somehow we survived.  Actually we survived with some help from some good friends to watch Caden and Brooklyn for a few hours each day and a delivery of dinner last night.  SOOOO helpful!

Besides the sickness part, this week has been otherwise exciting with Brooklyn both figuring out crawling yesterday (just up and went on her hands and knees, after WEEKS of dragging her belly on the ground), and also cutting her first tooth.  She seems to be exploding in development lately, between crawling, teething, enunciating her "words" more, and sitting up while she plays.

Caden and Brooklyn's Blessing (aka Post (Baby Dedication) Weekend)

We dedicated Caden and Brooklyn at our church over the weekend. 

This is the blessing that we wrote for them, and read during the service:

­­Caden and Brooklyn,

Today we celebrate the opportunity to dedicate each of you to God.  We are making a promise, both to you and to God, to raise you in a Christ-centered home.  We are so thankful to have you as a part of our family---our very own “double blessing”.  You are each such beautiful gifts.  We are blessed that you have been created to be such happy, healthy, and energetic babies.  You are each so playful and already have fun playing and being together (well…most of the time).  We are excited to watch your relationship and friendship with each other grow.  While we don’t expect you to get along all of the time, we hope that you are able to be more than just siblings, but to also be, quite literally, life-long friends.

Caden David.  Your names together mean “beloved warrior”.  You are beloved to us and to God.  We pray that you grow to be strong and wise; someone who is filled with integrity and compassion.  Joshua 1:9 says to “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”  This is what we ask for you.  Not only that you continue to grow in strength and courage, but that you are able to do so because you lean on the Lord.  We know that he has a plan for your life, and pray that you are able to trust him completely and without fear.  The strength we wish for you is not only physical; we pray for you to also develop a strong character.  We hope that you are able to defend those who are weaker or wronged in life, and that you are able to do so with tenderness and compassion.

Brooklyn Marie.  You are our happy, bubbly, feisty, baby girl!  You already bring so much joy to us and those around you.  Our deepest wish for you is that you retain that joy throughout your life.  You have such a bright spirit, and we pray that you share your light with others.  We wish for you to develop deep and wonderful friendships throughout your life, and know that others will be attracted to you through your joy and laughter.  We want you to grow in knowledge, both of the head and the heart.  We also ask that as you continue to grow, you are able to find your joy and hope in the Lord.   Romans 15:13 reflects your character and our prayer for you: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

As your parents, we promise to always have your best interests at heart.  We are committed to giving you an example of both a Christ-centered home and marriage.  We don’t know what the future holds, but we do know one thing: we will make mistakes.  Yet, just as you continue to grow and learn about the world around you, we will continue to grow and learn about how to be your parents.  For ourselves, we ask for the wisdom and guidance that we need to be the best parents to each of you.  Seven and a half months ago, it became the four of us, all in this together.  We are so excited to watch you grow, learn, and develop more and more into the people God has created you to be.

(Brooklyn really wanted to help Tyson out with his reading of the blessing...)

We also had lots of family and friends in town to help celebrate...

Not pictured: lots (and LOTS!) more family and friends!

It was a busy, event-filled weekend.  The twins did awesome with all of the attention and were (mostly) their usual happy selves.  Of course, they had no idea that the big party at the end was for them, all they knew was that there were a lot of people around to bug/hold/cuddle/talk/play with them all weekend.

Also: parties are exhausting, even with a LOT of help.  I have thereby resolved to do nothing for the rest of the week.  (So far that "nothing" has looked like doing five loads of laundry, baking/pureeing sweet potatoes and carrots for the week, making a quick Target run, and washing/putting away various things from the weekend.  Here's to actually doing a lot of nothing for the rest of the week...)

Four

First comes love...

...then comes marriage...

...then comes a ba-

...wait a minute here...

.....

(!!!)

Ok, fine.

A baby...

...and then ANOTHER baby...

...in a (double-long) baby carriage.

(I think we skipped a step here...)

Happy (fourth!) Anniversary honey!  Here's to us...

...the FOUR of us.