Thanksgiving Down..... Here Comes Xmas

Well the boys are now 13 months now and have had their first real Thanksgiving celebration (I say "real" cuz last year we didn't do anything for Tgiving). We celebrated over at the Hehir's (Chris's sister and family) and had a blast. The boys were in the BEST of moods and were so giggly and playful. Jolene had them in stitches when she offered Fruit Loops (which they love) for them to munch on.. and accidentally dropped one while trying to hand it to MacKay, which for some reason struck him as utterly hysterical. He was in a fit of laughter for the longest time over that. We also got to see some old home movies of theirs..... the hightlight when Brandon (at about 2 years old) answered his mom's question of "How much do you love me" with "THREE INCHES". Classic.

Both of our lil dudes are loving crawling on things.... especially the couch if we are sitting on it. Oscar now has also learned how to get on the coffee table (something MacKay mastered a couple weeks ago but was told "No" so many times I think we scarred him for life)... and he just watches your reaction every time. And if you say "No" and head in his direction as if to remove him he VERY quickly scoots backwards and slides off before you get to him. He knows better.... but still tries to get away with it. Even tumbling face first off of it didn't seem to deter him.

They're little eating machines too - although they are starting to get their own "tastes" and getting picky. One day they will like something new that they have tried, and then the next (and the days that follow) you can't get them to eat it. And they are smart too - they KNOW what it is before they even get it in their mouth. MacKay tried and loved real oatmeal the first few times and now he won't even try it. Same with peaches - you have to trick him (but he's getting smarter and smarter). Oscar still loves to put stuff (I should say CRAM) in his mouth.. but then after sucking all the taste out of it (ham especially) he spits it out. Oscar is also known for spitting out whatever is in his mouth when he sees you bring out something else to eat that he would rather have. Doesn't quite realize it doesn't have to be one or the other. They crack me up. They love jam sandwiches, grapes, and nilla wafers though... and KIX. Boy do they love Kix. Kuddos to Daddy for picking that up on our last grocery run. He thought they might like them and he was right. They giggle the entire time and RARELY do we ever see a Kix on the floor (like most of the other food).

Oscar is quite the little stomper around here too. He practically runs. Very sure on his feet. MacKay is getting better and is initiating walking more and more. Still crawls here and there but he's seeming to tend toward walking as a first attempt to get somewhere. Lots of giggling too. It's so nice to have my boys back and not have them feeling under the weather. They are SO much fun when they are in these good moods and playful.

Saturday we took the boys out Xmas shopping. I would venture to say we are about 90% done with our shopping now. Just a few little odds and ends we still need, and I must say it feels WONDERFUL to be done this early this year. We also noticed that the Brainerd Mall (which is pathetic to say the least) has a Santa available for pictures. The boys weren't really dressed too nice for our outing yesterday so we decided we would get them spiffed up and bring them back on Sunday instead. Was very excited to see how they did with him. Unfortunately, there was some miscommunication between Santa and the mall staff on what time he was supposed to be there today though. Everyone else (and all schedules and signs) said noon.... but he and the photographer weren't planning on being there til 1:00pm. We didn't find this out til we had already been there waiting for over 30 minutes though. Normally the kids are fed and down for naps by that time so we couldn't wait any longer. UNNNNGH. I have NO patience for things like that, so that totally ruined my day. BUT... we decided to take the boys and sit them in his GIGANTIC chair and take a few pictures since we had already made the trip. We'll have to see if we can catch Santa another time......

Well, as always....... (drum roll please).... the pictures:

First off - I just had to put this out here cuz I saw this in a Target ad the other week..... can you believe there is a book out there called Ozzie and Mack? Seriously.... what are the odds?

MacKay and Oscar love to crawl over and on top of us when we are on the ground with them..... Here they are wrestling Chris

And speaking of wrestling..... yep, they still do that a ton too. Usually MacKay attacking Oscar. Here Oscar had laid down to take a breather and MacKay pretty much pounced right on him. It's all in good fun.... tho sometimes Oscar gets a little sick of having his face rubbed into the carpet and calls for help.

MacKay LOVES pillows. If you throw one down on the ground he B-Lines it over there and just throws himself on it. Here he was just sitting there so he handed it to him and he just grabbed it and hugged it tight. So cute. And the other picture is a new "trick" the boys have learned where they fool mom into thinking they are drinking their milk... but then spit it out and let it drain right down the front of them. Unnnghh. :)

They guys are always playing with our bar chairs... pushing them around, crawling around between the legs, swivelling the seats and crashing them into the granite countertops..... so I thought we would sit them in them to see what they would do. MacKay loved the new view, Oscar was more in awe and shock.

Like I said - the boys, LOVE to crawl up on the couch if that is where we are. Here's Chris trying to juggle the two of them at the same time, and both of them peering over the back of the couch looking for me (hide n go seek is always a crowd pleaser with them).

Oscar caught in the act of crawling up on the coffee table.... at the point this picture was taken he was in the process of getting down (cuz Chris was coming after him)... tho Chris stopped halfway when he saw that Oscar was getting down, which Oscar also noticed and just hung on there like that for a while to see if Chris was really going to come get him. Man, they test us. And MacKay loves digging around in our mouths and playing with our teeth.... here he is playing a game of "speed" with Chris to see if he can avoid getting his fingers chomped.

Some Thanksgiving Pictures:

Here are MacKay and Oscar eating their Fruit Loops...... we had MacKay laughing for so long just by dropping Fruit Loops when we tried to hand them to him. (Note Oscar's hair, we tried a new "do" for him that day - somewhat of a "faux hawk"... tho his hair is too long and the faux hawk just sort of curled - still cute though)

MacKay and Oscar enjoying their first Thanksgiving sitting at the table. We even gave them some mashed potatoes and stuffing (both with gravy) and they LOVED them both.

Oscar loved playing with Jolene's make shift drums (ice cream buckets) and utensils...... but really his favorite was walking around with John's water bottle. Earlier in the night they were entertained playing with a six pack of bottled water. Again - why do we get toys? And our naked (semi) little MacKay, walking around prior to getting his jammies on and heading home.

Lastly, our picture of MacKay and Oscar with Santa...... errr... ummm, I mean.... MacKay and Oscar sitting on Santa's chair.

I'm bound and determined to get a picture with Santa..... so stay tuned.

Just a simple update....

Just a simple update with some more pictures. The boys have been doing so many new things lately. Lots of "so big" and stretching their arms way up high. They love giving high 5s and saying "uh oh" every time they drop something (usually their sippy cup) and Oscar is even saying "Bye" (in just the sweetest little voice). And I should note, we have been done with bottles for a couple weeks now - YAY. Not even something I tried to wean them of... they just weren't interested anymore. They both are so very cuddly lately too, especially MacKay - tho they are becoming little Momma's Boys though. Uh oh! :) They are constantly playing with each other and doing so much mimicking of each other and of us. They swipe their hands across their high chair trays when I am cleaning them (mimicking me washing), and will cluck their tongues if we do it to them, clap, sign for milk, make similar noises..... and best of all they are dancing when they hear music. MacKay more does a "bopping" sort of motion, whereas Oscar sways back and forth, even picking his feet up as he sways. Oscar is also getting to be a GREAT walker..... he even walks backwards now and is practically running (uh oh). We're still doing lots of practice walking with MacKay who is getting better and better at it and is just so giggly and proud of himself the entire time he is doing it. He still prefers to crawl when he needs to get somewhere fast, but initiates walking on his own too. Oscar also has started the game of showing and giving things to people. He loves to hand things over and then take them back after you've had a look at them. And jus the other day we caught the CUTEST thing.... Oscar had come over to the couch and was leaning up against it and put his head down on the cushion and was just resting there... MacKay went up to him and put his arms around him and laid his head on Oscar's back. MacKay kept re-situating himself on Oscar too, but it was clear he was cuddling with him. I think these guys really are going to be buds... they very rarely fight and seem to really love each other's company. Such a wonderful thing for us to witness.

Chris was off hunting with some friends (Wadman family) for about a week in early November... he didn't get a deer for himself, but came home with a pretty amazing story. There was a new hunter in the party this year.... Ashley (12 years old). It was her first hunting experience by herself.... and on the second day she nabbed herself a deer that, as Chris stated it "He will never shoot nor even come across in his lifetime". She got herself a 13 point buck that was just enormous. Needless to say she was pretty stoked..... I feel bad though, cuz how can ANYTHING ever compare after this? :) And lucky for me, my mom (Gma Chris) came up and helped me with the kiddos during the time Chris was gone. She even helped me pack everything up and head back down to her place for the boys' 1 year pictures with Mandy Birdwell.... so she got to see first hand the chaos of packing up stuff for two infants.

Pictures didn't go so well with Mandy the other week... so I was pretty disappointed. Mandy assures me she has some good ones... but we will have to see. MacKay pretty much bawled the entire time.... just minutes into the shoot Mandy had to unroll a bit more of her white backdrop and it made a thunderous sound that freaked him out, and after that he wanted NOTHING to do with being anywhere near the backdrop or having his picture taken, or not having his mommy hold him the entire time. I know there were some very cute ones of Oscar, since he was pretty cooperative... but poor MacKay was so freaked out we just couldn't get anything of him. I'll share what we have once I see it.... but I have been working to try get some pictures myself of them (I had such cute outfits picked out, just HAVE to get some cute pictures of them in them)... and if that doesn't work we might just need to take them to Sears/BRU/JCPennys/Walmart or something like that to get some good 1 year pictures, and maybe even something cute to put on our Xmas cards this year (which will be a first for us).

We also were just down in the cities area this week for Chris's Gma (Marion)'s funeral. Gma Marion passed away last Sunday, and the funeral was just this last Thursday. We stayed at Gma Bonnie and Gpa Deans... and they watched the boys for us during the funeral (who apparently were angels - thank god). Very sad day, but was so great to see the Doerr side of the family again..... especially the newest member, Dalton. He was born Nov 5th and was a little peanut just like MacKay and Oscar (weighed right between the two of them at birth). He's so adorable and his Mommy (Noreen) looks so great and is just glowing with happiness over finally meeting the newest love of her life. We are so happy for them.

The boys have been working on getting over some illness too (Daddy as well with ear and sinus infection). But they look to be on the upswing. MacKay lately has been showing SEVERE signs of separation anxiety... something pretty typical for his age. Apparently from about 6-24 months it can come and go here and there.... unnngh. My back and arms are killing me cuz he wants to be held 24/7 - and only by me. I can't even get up and walk over to the other side of the room without him starting to throw a fit. And lately Oscar has been waking in the middle of the night and moaning/crying... but isn't really awake. Not sure if he is having bad dreams or what... poor little guy.

Well, I don't have a lot of good pictures to work with as the boys have had sniffly runny noses for quite a while now, so there wasn't much to choose from. But all the same.... some of the better ones:

The boys opening their birthday gifts from Gma Chris. A ton of Little People sets, a Animal sounds machine and a ton of Little Einstein DVDs

The boys eating chocolate pudding (they love pudding).... but note Oscar's new fettish of pulling his ears out. Big ears run in the family so we're trying to get him to stop that for fear he will stretch them out :)

Just some miscellaneous fun pictures of the boys. Gma Chris caught MacKay in a good mood and had him in stitches. Naked Oscar (just before a bath) sporting only a diaper, socks and his shoes - sexy eh? And MacKay with his newest feat..... crawling up on things (here, an otoman). Unnnghh, he does it ALL the time now ... couches, gates, coffee tables - and falling down hasn't stopped him one bit.

MacKay and Oscar in their studly striped shirts meant for their 1 year pictures (this was after the shoot). Oscar is pushing a box around Gma Chris's kitchen (why do we buy toys?) and MacKay is being naughty and repeatedly sticking his hands in the opening to the VCR player.

Lastly - my best attempt at some quasi professional 1 year pictures using just a white sheet as a back drop (and a stool I made in woodshop class in 8th grade). Out of the 200 some pictures I nabbed of them, maybe 4 were "acceptable"....not good... but acceptable. :)

Check back again later for more - Have a good and safe Thanksgiving everyone.....

Eating Champs.... Walking...... First Haircut at Salon...

This morning I took MacKay to Cost Cutters for a much needed trim. He looks so handsome now, and ready for his 1 year pictures with Mandy Birdwell on Thursday. Super excited for the photo shoot and to see how they turn out..... stressed about planning for it and trying to figure out which outfits to bring along for it. MacKay did very well sitting there for his haircut though, and Oscar was a champ and sat there patiently drinking his sippy cup and flirting with the ladies who worked there. We also stopped to vote on our way home.... so got that out of the way too. Hope everyone out there is doing the same today.

Not too much is new since our last post..... but I am SO proud of the boys. They are just becoming such great little eaters. Oscar rarely ever spits stuff out anymore and tries everything (like his big brother MacKay does).... and they are eating everything we throw at them. Some new stuff they have tried recently is ham, turkey, eggs, steamed frozen peas, etc. Oscar wasn't a fan of the scrambled egg.... but MacKay kept shoveling it in. I think we can say goodbye to purees now - thank god.

And MacKay took his first stabs at walking and standing up just hours after I wrote our last post. Friday night we were just sitting in the living room with the boys... and I turned to look at the TV for 5 seconds and looked back at MacKay (who previously was standing at the coffee table by me) who was a couple feet from the coffee table and just standing there. Shortely thereafter he fell down... he doesn't make it far... but he is showing initiative though which is great. And later that night he even got up in the middle of the room and tried to stand up... as soon as he straightened out he lost his balance though and fell down - but again, he tried. He's really enjoying walking around with us now too and only needs to hold onto one of our fingers to steady himself. He smiles and cackles the entire way.... so proud of himself, as are we. And Oscar is just blazing around... getting faster and sturdier on his legs. Hard to look back at pictures of them when they could barely even sit up without folding like a taco...... and then look at them now. They change and mature so fast.

Well, as always some pictures to go along with the updates and stories....

Some autumn pictures of the boys out in the yard prior to Daddy doing his yard work. MacKay just rips off (immediately) anything we put on his head. These hats are so darn adorable and we can't even get him to wear it long enough to take a picture.

GOT MILK?

Just some new things that entertain the boys. They both love playing with this toy vaccuum cleaner that actually makes suction noises and plays tunes (which I sing in my sleep, thank you very much). And Oscar for some reason enjoys lifting heavy things and carrying them around lately. Our little He-Man. Lastly, MacKay continually tries to climb up on the coffee table now. You have to hear the little grunts he makes trying over and over again.

Our trip to Cost Cutters: MacKay sat so well in the chair, and the stylist was so gentle and quick.... was much more painless than I thought it was going to be. And Oscar waited so patiently... just drinking his juice. The last picture is an "after" shot of MacKay and his handsome debonaire new hairstyle.

Wish us luck on Thursday at our pictures - will certainly post my favorite again like I always do when I get them.

ONE YEAR OLD ! ! ! ! !

Crazy that an entire year has already gone by. In one way I feel like it has gone so fast... but then again, I cannot remember my life before them so it feels like I have had these guys in my life for 5 years. A lot has happened since the last post so I will try to go in order.

Last weekend Chris went up north with Waddie to scope out hunting spots for this year, while the boys and I headed down to the cities for a visit. Grandma Chris was so excited to see Oscar walking and did lots of "exercises" with MacKay to help him on his way to walking as well. He's showing those early signs that Oscar showed about a month or so ago.... so I think in a matter of weeks MacKay will be walking as well. Friday night the boys' Uncle Dennis popped over to cut my hair (had about 6-7 inches cut off - looks SO much better now), and give the boys their birthday presents (some Little People sets). He also gave both the boys a trim.... tho Oscar doesn't really need it, his hair stays the same length but just keeps getting thicker. Saturday night I went out with my girlfriends to celebrate mine and Heidi's birthdays. Lots of the girls showed up and it was SO good to see everyone and catch up.

While we were down in the cities MacKay started to get the sniffles and had a runny nose, which Oscar quickly caught as well (there is no use trying to keep one well, if one is going to get sick, so will the other). And I started feeling a little under the weather at the beginning of this week too (could have just been sheer exhaustion or too much partying too)..... but I got better after a couple days. Unfortunately the boys weren't so lucky. They've been hacking and sneezing, stuff is oozing out of them all the time. Poor MacKay has a chapped filtrum too (area between nose and lip). And it is rather untimely as we were supposed to have their 1 year pictures on Sunday with Mandy Birdwell down in the cities. I had to cancel that and we're trying to figure out an alternate time to do them before she has her baby. I hate when they are sick..... they just LOOK so miserable. But they have their moments where they are all fun and games and giggly and look like they are on the upside of all of this.

Tuesday Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Dean stopped by to drop the boys' birthday gifts off. I thought it was good enough that they got them some cute shirts... but then they followed up by lugging in TWO...... count them, TWO Little People "Tot Rod" cars. They have one at their house for when the grandkids come... it is a little motorized car that has a controller stick so that we can walk behind and control it, tho it also has a button on the steering wheel so they can control it. We got them all set up and got the boys in them.... Oscar QUICKLY figured out that this little button on the steering wheel made it go. He was buzzing around (jerkilly) and at times even running over MacKay with it. We were all laughing hysterically at them. MacKay seems to have figured it out as well and it is so funny to see their reaction when it takes off. These boys are so spoiled.

I have to say I am also fairly excited at the boys' diet lately as well..... they are eating SO many other things now. Cheese, diced apples/peaches/pears... even carrots, bread (sometimes with raspberry jam), grapes, raviolis, goldfish crackers, nilla wafers, .... and we're almost done with our formula. They could have totally been purely on milk about a week ago... but I had some left over and am determined to use it until it is gone. AND..... we've even dropped one of our 3 bottles daily and are down to 2. They weren't taking their first bottle after breakfast....... so decided to try a few days without it and they seem to be doing just fine. Funny thing is, almost EVERY night MacKay refuses his nighttime bottle before bed too. I totally thought that would be the hardest one (and last one) we would get rid of. I am starting to wonder why I even stressed about trying to transition to milk and get rid of bottles..... they seem to be doing just fine and don't want them anymore anyway. These boys are just sooooo good. We are so lucky.

Onto the birthday celebration...... we decided a while back to forgo the idea of the big party and kept it simple. Just us. We invited Jolene (Chris's sister) and family over since they live in the area and were dying to be a part of the festivities and it was a blast. They got to our house last night around 6pm and we had pizza (boys already had their supper). And then they opened their presents...... Jolene and family truly spoil and shower these little boys with attention and gifts. They got a whole slew of stuff and absolutely love their new camera and cell phone to play with. And of course they brought the best gifts ever...... helium balloons. They can be entertained for HOURS with those.

Then we got the boys stripped down (thank god we did that) and gave them their cupcakes and sang Happy Birthday to them. They were slow on the uptake for figuring out what was sitting in front of them... but once they got their hands dirty they dug in. Someone (I'm not naming names JOLENE) thought it would be funny to get them to do "SO BIG" while they were eating their cupcakes.... which made both of them put their grubby little hands over their heads and mash everything into their hair. :) So after we got about 1000 pictures of the mess, we threw the boys in for baths and got them all cleaned up. They had a blast and were in such good spirits considering how they were feeling. All in all it was a fun birthday.

Here are some recent pictures..... enjoy....

We took the boys to BW3 (Buffalo Wild Wings) the other day with the Vagts family who lives down the street from us. Seth comes over to visit on the days he rides the bus until his parents get home... so I drove him in with the boys and we met for some yummy dinner. The boys did pretty well but got rammy after a couple hours. But Chris snapped these pictures on his phone camera of the boys wearing their BW3 hats. Oscar wore his the entire time - don't think he really knew he had it on. MacKay on the other hand ripped his off the second we tried to get it on (hence the blurred hand in the photo reaching for it)

Pictures from my get together with the girls. Had to throw in this picture of our cute little pregnant friend Lisa.... who I am happy to say is adding another boy to our group of kids.

The boys with their rocker toy. MacKay recently has learned how to get on this (swing leg over) by himself. I looked over the other day and he was just on it.

Just some funny pictures of the boys caught in the act. MacKay LOVES the weather channel... specifically Local on the 8s. Whenever we turn it on he B-Lines it over to the TV and gets so excited. Oscar lately has been showing off his prowess by lifting up his exersaucers.... do we detect a future olympic weight lifter?

These outfits are so simple but they are so cute on them. Here they were enjoying playing with the many storage bins I have for storing away the massive amounts of clothes they have that they can no longer fit into. I have 3-4 storage bins completely filled at this point and we're only in 18 month clothes at this point.

Just some goofy faces and hair. MacKay gives this devlish smile much too often. His whole face wrinkles up - he's such a clown. And Oscar woke from a nap with this rather nappy looking "do". There was no taming this either.... no matter how hard I tried his head just looked fuzzy.

Had to stick this picture in cuz it is just one of the neatest ideas for gifts for the boys - then again, it comes from a guy that loves to fish. :) Kevin and Lyn Wolfe had these shipped to us. They are "Cars" fishing rods for the boys for next summer. The handle lights up when you push on the casting out button so they love that.

Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Dean's visit. While MacKay worked on the wrapped presents, Oscar chose to help Grandpa Dean unbox the "Tot Rods" - I think he was more in the way, but he thought he was helping.

And the boys in their "Tot Rods". MacKay kept wanting to honk the horn (tho it makes no sound). And the picture of Oscar standing in it was actually taken while it was moving. Apparently we need to teach him vehicle safety.... or at least be good parents and strap him in next time. :) I love the "laid back" picture of Oscar..... likes he's picking up a couple of babes on the side of the road and trying to act aloof and cool.

The boys unwrapping their gifts from the Hehir family (Jolene, John, Kelly and Brandon) on their birthday yesterday. They got a few balls to play with, a cell phone, a camera, and this multi skill cube toy.

MACKAY AND OSCAR'S FIRST BIRTHDAY CUPCAKES

Let the mess begin....

Let's start with showing some before pictures taken while we were singing Happy Birthday to them.

Messy MacKay:

Who, by the way, fed the dog most of his cupcake, but thoroughly enjoyed smashing and mushing up everything on his tray. But he definitely got the jist eventually of cramming what was left into his mouth.

War Zone Oscar:

Again, Thanks to the "So Big" (JOLENE) :) ...... Oscar was definitely the messiest. You can even see in some pictures he has the confetti pieces from the cupcake stuck to him. Not sure he ate much of it, even tho Kelly was helping him eat it.

The Clean up:

MacKay had a blast in his bath afterwards..... Chris was kind enough to give him this nice mohawk for the pictures. And Meanwhile Oscar just kept making more of a mess of himself and thoroughly amusing himself and laughing himself silly.

But eventually they both came clean and played with their cousins (Brandon and Kelly) for the remainder of the night

Hope you enjoyed...... more to come later (hopefully some professional shots)....