Christmas Card Photo Challenge

Getting the perfect Christmas card put together this year was way more of a challenge than I expected. I started researching some poses and ideas from the Internet and got set on the idea of having small white Christmas lights in our photo that would light up our faces and use something involving the phrase "Merry and Bright". Yes, this is what we would do. What I didn't count on was the fact that I have two 18 month old boys who have no interest in holding still, posing and smiling, and found the lit lights to be slightly scary and uninteresting. I was certain they would be fascinated by them. Wrong. We even ordered a wireless remote so we could set the camera on the tripod and snap photos ourselves of the 4 of us. Ha! A couple of weeks ago I planned what we would wear to church so we could come home and try some shots throughout the day while we looked nice. I about lost my mind. First of all, post-church is almost always a cranky time for them for whatever reason. So that was pretty much a bust. No matter. I decided we would get our perfect shots after naps when they were fresh. We tested lighting and I set up our scenes. They may have been more rested, but they still had no interest in posing for photos with scary lights in front of our tree. We tried group shots, individual shots, inside, outside. I was getting so frustrated. It was just another moment of great expectations and vision that was quickly deflating to hopelessness and frustration. I looked through the hundred shots that night and actually found a couple of family shots that would probably work. Good of BJ and me with the boys looking stoic, but not angry. I figured I could get individual shots throughout the week. I had a couple potential ones of Pierce, but Blaine the mover and shaker would not do it. Finally one evening with BJ home, we threw on their new sweaters, did our goofiest voices and moves and got some pretty good ones. The final product may not have been perfect, but it was close enough! I know I'll be happy for the 348 attempt pictures we have. They are pretty funny!

And the final product...

Hilarity at dinner

Last week we had one of our most hilarious twin moments yet. BJ and I laughed so hard we cried. We were all sitting down having a happy dinner (a very rare occasion) of pizza. All of a sudden Pierce rips of the biggest fart ever. It lasted so long that he had time to look up and grin. We couldn't help, but start laughing and Blaine began laughing too. Then the next thing we know, Blaine is clapping and Pierce quickly begins to clap as well. This made BJ and I laugh even harder! I know this is only a small glimpse of what's to come with 2 growing boys. So funny!

18 Month Update

Whew, it has been one sick Fall. I really don't think that all 4 of us have been healthy more than 2 consecutive weeks since September. Even after we got better from Pertussis, I got a slight cold, gave it to the boys who had it even worse, who gave a light version to BJ. Good grief. We're finally over the hump though and I am praying we stay that way. Please!

- Blaine currently weighs about 25 1/2 lbs. and Pierce is right around 24 lbs. They are almost an inch apart in height.

- Blaine continues to be a really good eater overall. It's funny though because there are a few things that he just definitely doesn't like. It always catches me off guard because he's usually so good to try things and like them. He will not eat applesauce from a big jar. I know it cannot taste that different from the baby food cups I used to give them, but he apparently knows the difference. I've tried just putting a little on a spoon, putting it in their squeezie pouches, etc. No go. He also won't eat veggie straws. He did at first, but after one of his illnesses would not anymore. He only throws them.

- Pierce continues to be our picky eater and keeps me humble as a mom. This is probably my biggest frustration of motherhood yet, and I have to consciously try not to worry about it. I'm still not positive of what his criteria is for liking something, but if he does he'll eat it well. His consistent favorites are peanut butter and honey sandwiches, usually chicken nuggets (esp. from Chick-fil-A), pizza (esp. herb chicken mediterranean), muffins, veggie straws, bananas, and most of the time grapes. The frustrating thing for me is that he won't even try something. Often just putting something new on his tray can send him over the edge. Dr. Harman has assured me he will probably grow out of this. I so hope so.

- They are both learning new words a lot now it seems. Here's the current list...

Blaine
-Go
-Gigo (Diego)
-Mama (only on command)
-Dada
- Hot
-Sssssss (which is "shhhhh" while holding his index finger to his cheek. Way cute!)
-Ball
-Mane (Amen)
-Neeeew (No said which a perfect oh on his lips)
-Di/Bee (all animals)

Pierce
-Nana
-Papa (usually said in succession)
-nana (banana)
-ball
-Dada
-Mama (rarely)
-gaga (cracker)
-This?
-Wazzat?
-Dat?

- Both boys have become fast! Blaine can pretty much jog and Pierce can toddle along pretty quickly, although he still does it with both arms at shoulder level for balance. I love this!

- Pierce's main loves right now are trains, cars, trucks, and pointing to anything in a book and asking "Wazzat?". Blaine continues to love animals. He loves pointing out animals in books and exclaiming "Dee!". 

- They continue good sleep patterns. They usually go to bed between 7 and 7:30 and wake between 6:30 and 7:30 if we're lucky. For awhile Blaine was waking in the middle of the night (3-5 AM) and was pretty awake. We'd go in and then it was over for the night usually. He was up. So we started getting tough with sleep training and letting him go without going in there and he started going back to sleep. Thank goodness! And he's even been sleeping in more as well. (Knock on wood.) He is definitely our earlier riser though. Pierce will often sleep another hour in the mornings if Blaine doesn't wake him up.
 

Although this is a busy, exploring, mischief making phase, it really is fun. They are becoming little people with individual thoughts, desires, and wills. I know we are entering into more need for boundaries and discipline and I pray I/we are up to the task. We try hard to praise for positive behavior and re-route negative actions. We say it a lot, but we genuinely believe we just have good kids with sweet hearts. We constantly talk about how much we just love them and the immeasurable joy they bring to our lives.