Two times two

Happy Birthday today to our Patrick and Luke! It's totally unbelievable to Mommy and Daddy that they are already two. Time sure flies.

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Since we went in to get the out of bed this morning by singing "Happy Birthday," they have been singing it all day long. We celebrated with their favorite meal, (soy) Mac and Cheese and CAKE!
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After I made the cake, I set it on the table and stepped out of the room for (no kidding) 1 minute and this is what I came back to. Look at that little guilty face.

One big difference in our boys is how they eat. As you can see from their cake, Luke is very neat and tends to not need much clean up. Patrick, on the other hand, usually need his hair washed after every meal. It's pretty funny.

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Even Joe got in on the cake action. Sheesh, who taught him his table manners?

The Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch! It was a beautiful fall day in Wisconsin - perfect weather for picking out a pumpkin on a hayride. (pulled by a McCormick Farmall tractor, Grandpa…) The ground was a little muddy and the boys’ little feet would get caught in the vines, but they didn’t seem to mind at all. (shocking, I know, that little boys wouldn’t mind getting all muddy)
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Mom looks to round up the boys after the pumpkins have been selected. A minute later, the pumpkins were dropped and mom was in hot pursuit of Patrick, who was running right into the corn field. Would we ever be able to find him if he made it in?
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Patrick especially was fascinated with the horses.
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Luke didn’t want to touch his nose, but opted for his leg.
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Then, apparently, he needed a taste test. The horse is wondering what sorts of manure he had recently been rolling in. Yummy!
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Daddy fed the baby goats, then Joseph, who immediately dropped his goat food at the first nibble. Poor hungry goats.
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We finished our day with some warm cider and a caramel apple. Could it get any better than this? The boys were so good, too. We didn’t even get out the stroller. They were pretty compliant and did well holding hands with us and with each other. I think they also appreciated getting outside after being cooped up all week. We had a few nice days this week, but mom still wasn’t feeling brave enough to venture out doors.

"The" talk

Mommy: “The baby’s in there” (pointing to tummy)
Joseph: “Oh, is you tummy going to get bigger and bigger and then the baby comes out?”
Mommy: “Yes, that’s right”
Joseph: “Oh, and is Daddy’s tummy getting bigger and bigger?”
Mommy: “No, only mommies can have babies growing in their tummies, not daddies.”
Joseph: (totally seriously, very confused) “I think that’s not right.”
Mommy: “No, Daddy doesn’t have a baby growing in his tummy.”
Joseph: “You’re kidding me” (starts to laugh)

Fig Newton

Things are just clipping along here. The twins are starting to say so much more and string words together to form sentences. They’re favorite sentences: “Where’d Daddy go?” and "My turn!" The other night, Scott and I got the kids' night prayers started and then just listened as Luke “said” all of the names of the people we usually pray for. He didn’t quite pronounce them all right, but the intonation and rhythm was correct – he didn’t miss anyone! Joe prays the other two prayers that complete our litany, the Angel of God and the Hail Mary. We’re working on the Our Father.

The other day, Patrick announced that he had a poopy diaper. By the time I got to his room, he had climbed up on the changing table and way laying there all ready for me. Now, if I could only get him to change the diaper himself…

The new baby is 11 weeks along and is supposed to be the size of a fig (according to BabyCenter.com.) The funny thing is, I have NO idea how big a fig is. The only ones I have encountered have been wrapped in a Newton. The reference for a 10 weeker’s size was a kumquat. Frankly, I don’t actually know what that is. Another dumb reference for the folks at BabyCenter (an otherwise okay website)

Cruzin' Cooler

Scott brought home a Cruizin’ Cooler to “test out” for work. I don’t think any of the boys were quite as excited about the new ride as dad was. Everyone got a turn. Really, all of the neighbors were joking with me about how funny it looked. I just HAD to agree.

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Wow, mobility and cold beer all in one. What genius came up with that?

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That thing went pretty darn fast. After the initial rides, we decided on helmets for the kids.
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Daddy and Joe leaning in to the turn. Click on the headline to see their totally not-hickish website.

'Tuck, Mommy!

I came into the living room to cries from Joe that Patrick needed help.

This is what I saw:

Patrick was wimpering "'tuck, mommy, 'tuck." Of course, like any good mother, since he wasn't in immediate danger, I went in search of the camera.

Luke also tried to get himself stuck when he saw I was taking pictures of Patrick. What a little goofball!

Tim-ber!

Yesterday, we had three trees removed from our front lawn. I was sad to see our big shade tree go, but it was half dead already. The boys enjoyed watching the tree men work and watching the big tree fall.

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There she is... I always thought she was taller than that, but the top hardly went into the street. They sawed off the big limbs and she was in the chipper in no time.
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Here's the last shot of our two ugly and crooked spruce trees. The left one leaned toward the driveway, and the right one leaned toward the street.

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Good-bye and good riddance!

One inch of wonderful

For those of you dear readers that hadn't heard the news, we are expecting another baby! This little one is already 10 weeks along and is one inch long. Mom heard the heartbeat this morning, and has been experiencing what her doctor calls "good pregnancy symptoms, " aka, lost of nausea and fatigue.

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Luke, especially, loves to give the baby kisses. When we told Joe about it, all he said was, "I want ONE baby!" We didn't even know he realized that they came in "ones."

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The official due date is May 7, but at the very latest, this one will be here a week before then.

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Please pray for us. Since we had some complications with the last two pregnancies (HELLP syndrome) that caused them to end early, we are concerned that this pregnancy will also result in another premature baby. HELLP syndrome is rare before 27 weeks, so at least the baby will be viable in what is probably the worst case scenario.

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In the meantime, we are looking for suggestions for names. Any thoughts?

Mr. Fix-its

All of the boys wanted to "help" Grandpa fix the ride-on tractor.

Is it just me, or is Joe a little too close?

How did Grandpa ever get his work done?

A week ago today...

Happy 30th Birthday to Daddy!!!

We love you very much!
Love, Mommy and your boys

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