The Cousins

The past few weeks we've been blessed for the twins to see all their cousins. First up, we went to NC and played with the little red-headed sweetie, Gwennie B -

- who's toes are equally as sweet!
Then we drove to Paris (Texas) because Jonathan had a work conference in Dallas. We got to see the newest cousin - baby Jude and the I-man.

{Baby Jude}

{Isaac gave the boys lots of hugs.}

And last of all, on our way home we swung by Tyler and ate at the best Mexican food restaurant in East Texas - Mercados - and had a great lunch with Caleb, Bethany, and Josh.

We had so much fun! We love all you guys!!!!!!!
Credits: Frame by Ellie Lash's On the Move Kit.

11 months

The countdown is on. The boys will be one-year-old in exactly one month! I'm typing as fast as I can right now to get this posted before the little boogers wake up. They are still doing great - sleeping through the night, taking two 2-hour naps a day, taking four bottles of formula, and three meals.

Their new favorite past times include puffs - these little Gerber snacks for babies that dissolve in their mouths. They go bonkers when they see the puffs container. And well, if you shake the cans so that they hear the puffs knocking around inside, well, then they turn into little rockets ready to shoot out of their high chairs. It is too funny. Sometimes I shake the can just to hear them squeal a few more times. Is that mean?

They also love to crawl and stand up. Zach has been mobile for a while and Jonah just started crawling and pulling himself up this week. Zach mastered the stairs and both of them can get down off the couch by sliding on their bellies. We have been amazed at how little you have to teach them - they just figured out on their own how to crawl and stand and slide around. They didn't see us doing any of those things. They just did them.

The boys are babbling like crazy - saying mama and dada. Sometimes we hear Zachy whispering to himself like he's telling himself a secret. Both are clapping and when they return your smile it melts the heart. Yesterday, I went into their room to get them up from their naps, and both boys were standing up in their cribs facing each other, just talking away to each other. I guess it is a sign of more things to come...

My Friend Britt

My friend Britt is pretty special. We met each other when I first started on my masters and she was working on her undergrad. There are many things that I admire about Britt. She is a superb cook - I've tried to replicate her Cowboy cookies and cheesecakes on numerous occasions, but to no avail! She is a loyal family member - she put her school work on hold to move in with her grandparents a few years ago when they needed help. And she is beautiful inside and out - I've never met anyone with a bigger servant's heart (she and her husband helped my parents with my graduation party, my wedding, my sister's wedding, her sister's wedding, and everyone else's wedding...you get the picture).

She and her husband, Bradley, are expecting their first baby girl soon. So, when I went to NC recently, we had a little girls lunch at my favorite restaurant, Zest, to celebrate her new arrival. My mom, sister, and good friend, Alicia Wong, and I had so much fun. Thanks girls! Here are some pics!

Melissa's Graduation

This is Jon posting some photos from Melissa's graduation. She just graduated from Southeastern achieving a Master's of Divinity with Biblical Languages! It's been quite an amazing journey for her to finish up the 90+ hours of classes spread over many years of hard work. We were lucky enough to travel to Wake Forest, NC to watch her walk across the stage and celebrate her tremendous accomplishment. We are so proud of her, all three of us boys!!!

Here are some pictures of the ceremony and party that her parents hosted afterward. The graduation ceremony was unbelievable, as was the graduation party(the Kings really made it special, and a great mix of people came including friends, other students, and some of Melissa's professors). More pictures to come of the trip especially ones of the boys playing with their cousin Gwen, who came up from Florida with her parents. Make sure to give Melissa a huge pat on the back (or hug) for what she has just completed. We love you, Melissa! Outstanding job well done - we could not be more proud of you!

Happy Mother's Day

My first mother's day was really great. When I woke up, the boys each gave me a yummy candle. Now how did they sneak out of the house and get all the way to Bath and Body works without my knowledge? Zachy must be a faster on his knees than I orginally suspected. Then we gathered the troops for church and celebrated the day with some great friends at UBC. Our pastor's sermon was on the faith of Jochebed (Moses' mother), and it was one of my favorite messages he's shared this year in his series on Exodus. Last night we celebrated my birthday and mother's day by eating at DOUGH here in San Antonio. It was out of the world - they make their own mozzerella fresh everyday! Then on Sunday night, Jonathan let me kick back and enjoy the boys while he us dinner! Thanks Jonathan - I loved the whole weekend! Here are some pics below:

10 months!

The boys turned 10 months two days ago!

They are getting so big that we had to upgrade their bathtime accessories! Now I don't have to bathe them one at a time - this makes things so much faster! They loved being able to sit up and splash around together! (In the pic below - Jonah on left, Zachy on right).

Jonah is our little sweetheart. He loves to cuddle and is content to stay in one place and look at books. He is focusing all his energy on trying to communicate. His little arms are constantly waving around. He can clap and we think he can make the hand sign for "more" - although it is pretty close to clapping. He babbles a lot and says mama about 100 times throughout the day.

We can tell the boys apart, but when their hair is wet they look really similiar. Here is a close up of Joners. I left his eyes blue so you could see how blue they are (with a little saturation added in Photoshop!)

Zachy is a bundle of fun. In the span of one week, we went from rocking on all fours - to crawling - to sitting up - to standing in his crib - to sitting up on his knees. This weekend we raced out to buy all sorts of 'baby-proof' items like gates, cabinent locks, outlet plugs, etc. It all happened so fast! The standing up in the crib thing was cute for about 2 days (see previous post) until he discovered that if he peered over the left side of his crib, he could see his brother. Now he tries to 'chat' with bro and makes nap time pretty much impossible for either of them. Great Zachy. Real nice. Just in time for finals.

Zachy is our mover-and-groover. He is so much fun. In this pic Jonathan is tickling his feet. I never knew he was ticklish until Dad bathed him one time. Isn't that funny - I'm with them all day and then 'the Dad' can figure something else out! They love their Daddy. If Dad picks one up, the other one will usually protest. Dad is just so much fun!

Credits: Zoo elements from "A Day at the Zoo" kit by Jessica Edwards. Frame by Ellie Lash's "On the Move" kit.

Crazy Day

Have you ever had 'one of those days?' Where everything is just sort of strange?

1. Zach has started to stand in his crib - he is really proud of being able to stand up by himself. But he fell and hit his eye (see pics below) before I could catch him. I mean, it didn't require a rib-eye steak or a pack of frozen peas or anything - but it was just sort of weird how one minute he was there and then the next he wasn't!

2. A bird flew into the house and my frantic screeching and broom waving woke up the boys from their afternoon nap. (And no, the broom didn't work. So I had to resort to oven mitts.) (And yes, I extracted the aforementioned birdie all by myself without calling Jon.)

3. Everyone is so worked up about this swine flu. We just finished our self-imposed quarantine for RSV season, and now I'm dreading the impending decision to quarantine ourselves if they shut down San Antonio schools.

I was thinking about how wierd today was ... while scrubbing pureed eggplant off the dining room wall. Maybe this is the new normal, I thought. Maybe its just called parenthood.