17 months?!

Tomorrow my sweet babies will be SEVENTEEN months old ... that just sounds old.  Here are the things I want to remember about them at this age ...

Amelia ...

Favorite word: Doggy!  Everything with four legs is called a doggy ... close enough, right?  The other night we were literally chasing two different neighbors down the street to pet their dogs -- Amelia loves dogs!

Favorite food:  Anything.  I kid you not, this girl can eat.  Favorites include sweet potatoes, turkey, cheese, watermelon, strawberries, green peas and raisins.  Also, she loves chocolate the few times we've let her try it (can't imagine where that love came from!)

Favorite activities:  Anything to do with water.  She literally drenches me and our bathroom every night  during her bath because she has so much fun splashing.  She also loves any type of ball -- she actually has quite an arm on her!  Amelia is fascinated with small details -- she loves to play with zippers, buttons, ties, laces ... she seeks them out and I can just see her wheels spinning trying to figure out how things work.  She is a very determined girl.  When she sees something she wants she sticks her tongue out (so cute), gets this very focused look on her face and GOES for it.  The other day she all out tackled Luke to get her play shovel back from him!  Ha!  What a sight!  Most of the time she's a pretty easy going and relaxed kid, but if there's something she wants -- she WILL get it!

Luke ...

Favorite word:  Ball!  Also, his first word, it's the one I hear him say most clearly and most often.  But he has an amazing number of words that he understands.  I will ask him to do things like, "Go get your coat and shoes and bring them to Daddy" and he DOES it.  Watching their communication develop has been such an amazing and rewarding process.

Favorite food:  This has been interesting.  If Luke had it his way he'd live on cheese!  So we've had to slowly stretch his diet and encourage his tastes!  We also started juicing (today the kids were downing a lovely orange/carrot/broccoli juice ... ugh!) which is a great way to back in extra vitamins and minerals into a more picky kid.  But in the last month we've seen a great deal of improvement in Luke's willingness to try new foods.  Current favorites include: avocado (always been a favorite), strawberries, french toast, black beans, ravioli, sweet potatoes.

Favorite activities:  Reading!  And yes, it makes my heart happy to write that :)  Right now Luke is in a phase where he just loves to be read to.  Dozens of times a day he'll carry a book up to me and say, "uhh uhh" meaning: "Mama, please read to me" ... so I pull him on to my lap and we snuggle while I read.  He's a very active boy so it's pretty much the only real snuggle time I get anymore so I soak it up!  He is happiest when he's outside.  He LOVES to play outside.  Finding sticks, digging in the dirt, smelling flowers (his book showed him how to do it and now he always walks up to flowers to smell them ... so precious).  His dad may have a thing or two to teach Lukey about yard work over the years!

I love this phase.  They're so curious -- loving to explore, test, figure out the world around them.  Two little scientists at work!  But they're still in constant need of reassurance -- always wanting snuggles from mom and dad ... and more recently from each other (cutest.thing.ever).  They sleep through the night probably 90% of the time which means I'm much more emotionally available to them since I'm not fighting constant fatigue.  I'm feeling so thankful tonight for these two ... loves of my life!

We've been having a great visit with Grammy and Gramps -- I always am in awe of how smoothly things run with extra adults around.  Tonight Grammy and Gramps did baths while I cleaned up the kitchen after dinner.  By the time the kids went down I was done with my chores which meant that I had a whole extra hour (a lot of personal time these days!) before bed!  What a treat!  It's just so fun to watch L and A develop a relationship with their grandparents.  Here are a few pictures ...

Look out!  Driving Gramp's truck!!

More water play (always!) with cousin Caroline and Grammy

Gramps and Lukey reading :)

Water Babies!

These two monkeys, like most toddlers, LOVE water play -- of any variety!  This first video is of them playing with the hose with Scott and I love how it captures Amelia's real deep down giggles that she saves for things she loves (apparently like water play!) ... I also think it's hilarious that Caroline (My sister is up visiting this week) shows up to play with a whole mouthful of dirt -- oops!  That's what happens when we're trying to keep track of three one-year-olds!  Although there were three adults too, so I guess we don't have excuses.  But Scott says, "Is that dirt?  I thought maybe she was eating oreos!"  Ugh.  Oh well, good for the immune system, right?

The second video is of my two babes puddle jumping for the first time ... it went on well over an hour because they were having so much fun.  It had been one of those Portland spring days where it's rainy all morning and sunny in the afternoon -- perfect weather for mud puddles!  So we broke out their new raincoats and they spent the afternoon stomping and splashing away.  It's the little joys and sweet moments that I feel like motherhood has softened me to and made me more aware of ...

 

Allie and Jon!!

Saturday could not have been a more beautiful day!  What a joy to get to witness the wedding and beginning of the marriage of Allie and Jon.  Allie and I spent 10 weeks together working in a camp kitchen when we were 18 years old ... ironically (considering that she's now one of my closest friends) we actually didn't like each other much when the summer started (that's what happens when you both like the same boy!) but because God has a sense of humor, we got to spend a LOT of time together and realized that we really loved one another.  We also got to live together senior year of college which meant lots of late nights talking, dance parties, praying together and sharing meals.  I knew it would have to be a special guy to get to be with Allie -- she is a pretty amazing girl ... and Jon is definitely that man.  When he sang to her at the reception (Wow, he's got a great voice!) I teared up and just felt so much thankfulness in my heart that God had brought these two together.

Scott along with Grammy and Gramps (who are up from Arizona to help with the monkeys while Scott's back is healing from an injury at work) had things well "controlled" on the home front while I was away for the weekend.  I came back feeling so refreshed -- amazing how good sleep, good friends and a bit of alone time can renew and rejuvenate!  

Getting ready for the Big Day!

Amazing reception venue!

Beautiful.  Enough said.

Wedding party ... Jon is one of seven kids!

Katie and Katie ... enjoying the sunshine!  Couldn't have asked for more perfect weather.

Congratulations!!

Ready. Set. Play.

The playroom has finish work still to be done -- trim painting, a rug, curtains ... but it is play-able and we introduced the kids to it tonight ... I think it was a hit!!  When we originally thought of doing a basement remodel we figured it would be for a guest room but then we realized that a playroom would be used every single day.  When people come to visit we can easily put down a mattress and call it good :)  Looking forward to lots of arts and crafts, play dates and fun memories in this new space.

The race is on ...

So thankful to be married to a man with a great sense of humor ...  How does he come up with some of this stuff and how does he get two babies to cooperate with him?!

Oh sunshine!!

We've had unusually warm weather the last few days -- a great Mother's Day gift.  Scott asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day and I told him that I wanted a fun family day.  We headed to church this morning and after naps we went downtown to Jamison Square and let the kids play in the fountains.  They absolutely loved it.  These two are water babies for sure.  After a rough week (we all got taken out my the stomach flu, ugh.  I always wondered how do parents take care of their kids when they're really really sick?  The answer:  Not very well!  We were quite a sight, Scott and I laying on the living room floor, monitoring play time while we took turns throwing up ... ha!  Well, funny now that it's been a week!)  Scott also hurt his back at work so we've been laying pretty low (the kids require so much lifting still that it's hard to try to "rest" your back) but my arms will get extra strong I guess!  So a day in the water and sunshine was just what we needed.
Mother's Day always overwhelms me with thankfulness for the blessing that it is to get to be called "Mamamama" by Luke and Amelia.  The  love I have for them is deeper and more powerful than I ever could have imagined.  Becoming a mother also has made me so much more thankful for my own mom ... I may have thought I'd outgrown some aspects of needing her .... I was wrong.  So many days in the hospital I only wanted Scott and my mom with me.  I was too scared, uncomfortable and overwhelmed to be with anyone else.  But with them I could just be.  Thanks mom, for holding my hand even though I was almost 30 years old!  Thanks for showing up at 5am when the babies were little because you knew I probably hadn't slept much and might need to go to bed.  Thanks for mothering me still even though I'm a mom now too. Mothering is a powerful thing.

"Don't worry guys, I got it!"

Yep, fully clothed and loving some pool time.

Jamison Square!

They couldn't get enough

Celebrating Caroline!

Wow ... it's been a whirlwind these last two weeks, mostly fun, partially exhausting,  but I guess that's life with two one year olds, right? :)  Mostly amazing -- semi-insane?  We started with the kids getting a cold -- for Luke that means a few days of runny nose and coughing.  For Amelia (who continues to have more respiratory issues related to her prematurity) it meant another case of pneumonia and a flare-up of her asthma.  We are so thankful for antibiotics and steroids!  We now also have a nebulizer at home which is so much more helpful than inhalers.  I wasn't thinking I'd make it to Seattle but the meds kicked in quickly for Amelia and my mom assured me that she too is a nurse and a mom and could handle it ... Mom to the rescue!  I had a wonderful time in Seattle celebrating Allie and Jon's upcoming marriage.  It was refreshing and quite a treat to have some good girl time and stay in downtown Seattle at a fun hotel.  We enjoyed an amazing dinner out, good wine, lots of laughing and coffee the next morning by Pike's Place Market.  I'm getting excited for their Big Day coming up in a few short weeks.
This afternoon we flew home from Boise after celebrating Caroline's first birthday ... Happy birthday sweet girl!  It was so fun to see the three cousins playing together.  Hard to believe that it's already been a year since I got my sister's phone call and heard her say, "Sister -- it's a GIRL!"  And what a joy she is!  The trip had it's complications (like Amelia getting a stomach flu last night and throwing up over a dozen times ... sweet girl has had a rough go these last few weeks) but we are so glad we were able to be there to celebrate Caroline.

We just might have to get a wagon too -- they LOVED it!

Amelia getting a ride with the birthday girl :)

Playing with Great-Aunt Linda (note: this picture was taken before Michala cut Amelia's hair)

Visiting Great-Grandma Ruth

Luke is the only one who kept his hat on for more than 2 seconds!

The birthday girl smearing frosting all over her daddy!