Have to share some cute pictures!

Daniel and Nathan

Emily is sharing a story with you.

Watch me walk!

Daniel, Emily, and Nathan

Emily, Daniel, and Nathan

Although I wasn't going to write until they turned 1, I have some cute pictures I have to show you. The children love to smile - but these were the first pics I had where they almost all smiled together. You can see Daniel clapping in one picture and Emily's two teeth. I am excited to announce that Daniel cut his first tooth this morning and Nathan is soooo close.

New activities - let's see. Nathan loves to climb up the fireplace and stand up. Daniel loves to change the controls on the television. Both Daniel and Emily love walking using the walker, and Emily likes to stand without holding on for short amounts of time. All three love to make noise, and sometimes I think they are saying dog or mama or dada - but not always at the right time.

They turn one a week from today, and we have a busy week planned. We went to a Playgroup Halloween party today where our football players and cheerleader got to play with four bumblebees, a puppy, a tiger, and two deliciously cute M&Ms. The kids were adorable but wouldn't sit still for a group picture. We'll post some pictures next blog. We did miss Leila and her boys at playgroup today. Tonight, we are going to a neighborhood Halloween party. Next week, we are going shopping, getting ready to turn one, and have all four grandparents coming at the end of the week to celebrate with us!

Enjoy the pics and have a Happy Halloween.

11 Months on Tuesday

Can they really be this old? I look at them every day and sometimes think they are growing before my eyes. Other times, I think they are so little - after all they are my babies!

It has been a hard couple of weeks. After much anticipation, we left to go to Florida for Will's business trip. As we left the neighborhood Nathan vomited all over himself and the car seat - leading us to begin an exciting adventure with the stomach virus. Nathan's lasted over a week and Daniel's lasted 3 days. I won't go into the gross details, but at least we were able to see my grandmother twice, hang out with Will's family and my family. Will's sister, Jen, was even able to introduce the children to her colleagues.

We returned with my parents who stayed with us another week when Will went away on his business trip. Emily came down with the stomach virus then. It was another rough week. The boys were still irritable and sleep was very minimal - actually still is. We are excited Will came home last night but sad that my parents are leaving today. I like having one or more adults per child at night. We're wishing for more sleep soon.

The children are continuing to grow through all this and were able to smile even when feeling awful. It's fun to watch them cruise around. They are all getting more sturdy on their feet. Daniel has had a few fun conversations with the dog. She barks and he talks back. This can go on for minutes or until I get my camera. Then it ends. It is such fun to watch. He also is cruising Nathan used a push toy for the first time yesterday at play group. He went a few feet forwards twice. He doesn't want to get in the correct position behind it as he wants to play with the gadgets on the front, too. Emily is cruising everywhere, likes to shake her head and can stand not holding on for up to 30 seconds. She and Nathan have had a couple of great laughing conversations. I am including a video of one at the bottom, albeit a little fuzzy. How can you not laugh at babies laughing together? I was thinking that maybe they haven't changed as much this month. Then I read last month's blog again. The children love to stand up and look out the window (or eat the window). They are standing more than anything else (which leads to a few bumps and bruises now and then). Their favorite toy now is the toy that someone else is playing with. They love their race car and steering wheel. They're in the process of learning how to roll a car. It is cute!

Someone asked me what I do with the comments. Each blog and comment gets saved on a Microsoft Word document. When the children are older, they'll be able to read their blog and the comments people make. Thanks, Rachel - you have been a comment queen!