Boys are 20 months, I am almost 35 weeks..... and it has been almost TWO MONTHS since last post (sorry)

I am so sorry it has taken me THIS long to get out here. For those of you on Facebook, at least you've gotten to see a few new photos, but it has been almost 2 months since my last post - how pathetic. Do you know how long this post could get with all the updates? :) No... I won't do that to you. I will try keep it basic and leave the details to their journals that I keep for them (that I was slacking on as well - behind by 6 weeks).

I'll start with the easy stuff and give a "Baby Evie"/pregnancy update. I am almost 35 weeks which is a major milestone, as babies born after 35 weeks usually have full lung capacity and need no NICU time - so HOORAY. But still have another 5+ weeks to go - which I am sure won't go very quickly for me :) Things are going SO much better for me this time around (knock on wood).... no sign of PUPPPS rash like last time, no carpal tunnel, and minimal heartburn and restless leg at night. All doable. But MAN is this baby sticking STRAIGHT out. All of you who have seen me recently can attest to that - it's like a bowling ball sticking straight out and LOW. And she is STILL insanely active in there. Gives me peace of mind that she is doing well, but geez girl, give me a break now and then :) At my last OB appt we talked more about the VBAC (which would be induced) and Csection options I have before me - which made me even MORE confused about what I should do. But we made a tentative date that we will solidify this week (I hope) for whichever one I opt for..... Thursday August 6th, which is only 2 days before my due date, so hopefully I can carry that long. I'm still measuring 2+ weeks ahead (me, not Evie) which is a nice way of saying that I look huge :) But all is going well and we're growing more and more impatient to meet this little princess.

The boys.... wow. Where do you start? They are at such a fun (and intense) stage now. Into everything and love making messes... BUT on the plus side, they also love to organize and clean up too. I think they call it "Dump and Sort". They've enjoyed going to a few local parks that we've taken them to recently. MacKay prefers the swings and playing with the big steering wheels that most of the gyms have on them.... while Oscar is infatuated with slides and those bouncy/sway things that you ride on with the big springs. And they are getting near impossible to keep up with lately, so it is a must to have both Chris and I available for anytime they play outside. Too often they are jetting off in opposite directions. They are learning new things, actions and words... little sponges I tell ya. Our new favorite words are: Hi, Bub Bye, Door (Doh), Car (Cow), Owie, Go, Nah Nee (Good Night), Puppy, and of course...... NO. We also get a lot of "All Done"s and "More More"s - especially at dinner time. They know a lot of things as well, we can ask them to go somewhere (to the car, to the door) and they know exactly where to go and usually are happy to please us by doing that. We can ask them to clean up and bring certain items, whether it by by name (vacuum, mower, dump truck, car, teddy bear) or directing them to something by pointing, they can bring us what we are asking for. All you have to say is nap time, bedtime, change into PJs, change your pants and they go running for their room. I'm so amazed at how quickly they pick up all this stuff. And we've tried a lot of new foods as well - pizza burgers (Gma gets the BEST ones from her daycare), pizza, peanut butter, a variety of new cereals, etc. We also have removed the spill proof valves from their milk sippys and they are doing a pretty good job of not throwing those or spilling - tho on many occasions they like to turn them upside down and "paint" with their milk on their high chair trays. I must say, that MacKay is STILL eating 2x or more what Oscar eats but is still the scrawnier of the two - that kid either has AMAZING metabolism (like his Uncle Dennis) or maybe it explains why he has so much darn energy on a daily basis and runs me ragged daily - tho on that note, so does Oscar. :) They also love doing Itsy Bitsy Spider and do almost all the actions to it - they also love Head Shoulders Knees and Toes - and are learning more body parts that they can usually successfully point out: knees, forehead, chin, neck, chest, fingers etc. We've also taught them how to "smile" (on cue) which should come in handy when we want to take nice family pictures, or snap some cute ones of the boys with Evie when she arrives. The smiles they come up with are quite amusing as well (see pictures below).

One of the cutest things they have done lately is saying their names, as well as each others. MacKay just BEAMS when he sees a picture of himself or looks in a mirror and says (in the sweetest voice) "Pi-TAY". Now he knows how to make the "M" sound, so I don't know why it isn't "Mi-KAY" but either way he knows himself and his name. MacKay also calls Oscar "Ahh-TEES". Again, I cannot explain this one as only the first syllable is even remotely close. But Oscar is Ahh-Tees for now. Now Oscar..... Oscar will mimic you saying his name and gets close with "Ahh-Ga" ... but this also happens to be the name they both call Angus too :). And Oscar's version of MacKay is "Mah-Tay". I also need to note that BOTH Chris and I are "Daddy". UNNNGHHH, breaks my heart. :) I spend all day with them and I am constantly called "Daddy". Working on that one, in fact today at lunch when they were trying to hand me food they didn't want they were calling me "Daddy" and I had to correct them like FIVE times :) Oh well.

We're having to do a lot more disciplining with them now too - a lot of it is working, some not. Oscar habitually steals whatever toy MacKay is playing with - he just isn't interested in playing with something if MacKay doesn't have it. Which results in MacKay getting upset and biting Oscar. So we're trying to be proactive and get Oscar to stop stealing, or at least give it back and promote sharing (which they do a lot too). And DEFINITELY trying to break MacKay of the biting habit as he sometimes will do it to us too when he gets really angry. Needless to say, we have our good days and bad days.... and Oscar's arms are riddled with many teeth imprints and bruises. All in all though I think they are learning their place and are pretty well behaved boys...... BUSY.... but well behaved and play well with each other and others. So I'm still pretty proud :) And I heard they were pretty well behaved for their Gpa Dean and Auntie Connie when they came to take care of the boys for a couple days when I went down to the cities to stay with my mom after her surgery. Was so nice to hear they were in good hands and in good spirits. Apparently they got pretty spoiled with Connie's good cooking (tons of treats, roasts etc) and Dean taking them outside practically for every waking moment of the day. Thanks guys

And like I said in the title..... they are 20 months today. Can't believe that much time has flown by. And in another month we'll be starting this all over again with Evie.

Well.... I have a TON of pictures to share. Started out with like 50 of them and had to pare them down which was a doozie of a job. Hope you enjoy, and I hope to not wait this long before posting again as it is too hard to recall all that is going on with us when this much time has passed.... and I HATE having to pare down the pictures that I want to share. So many cute ones of them doing funny things. Onto the pictures......

Some pictures of the boys at Whipple Beach Park.

They were obsessed with running down to the lake and roaming around on the beach. Just some cute pictures of them walking with Daddy too.

MacKay loving the swings as usual, and a rare smile before heading down the slide (they usually freak him out)

Oscar loving his slides and just crawling around on all the levels of the gym

The boys talking on the phone with Gma Chris. Every time I am on the phone with my mom they just HAVE to get their chance to talk as well. Most of the time it is like pulling teeth to get them to talk, but every once in a while they get pretty chatty.

Just a few cute pictures of the boys together and being silly. Here MacKay is doing this "shaking" thing where he pulls his fists up to his chest and gets all tensed up and shakes - funny enough, this is something I did to amuse people when I was his age. And Oscar just showing us all HOW BIG his mouth really his - he has a HUGE mouth (Daddy says he takes after his Mommy on this one).

Fun Outside with the Bubble Machine and the Hose. The boys love their new bubble machine and chase around the bubbles... but they also loved playing with the hose Daddy was using the water some of our plants. Funny that MacKay screams bloody murder when we put him in the bath and pour water on him to rinse him, yet has NO problem dousing himself with cold water from a hose. Oscar didn't stay none too dry himself either.

The boys in their new outdoor yard chairs, and sitting with their cousins Kelly and Brandon listening to Brandon's iPod. They look so hip holding the ear pieces up to their ears. They sat like this for over 45 minutes listening to music with those two.

First "swim" for Summer of 2009: Man what a difference a year makes in what they do in the pool. Last summer we sat there nervously waiting for them to topple over while sitting in only an inch or two of water, now they are running around splashing. Just a mishmash of photos here, they are pretty self explanatory so not much to say..... other than our little Oscar is the typical fair skinned red head who we had to try keep a hat on as much as possible. When the sun hits that head of hair, MAN is it red though :)

MacKay and Oscar donning their "smiles" for us after a bath.

Some more fun outside when Gpa Gary and Terri came to visit, riding around in their cars, playing with bubbles, and swinging in the tree swing.

Shortly after Gpa's visit, Gma Chris came up for a few days while Daddy went on a fishing trip to keep us all company. During her stay our new kiddie table/chair set arrived. The boys love it and sit there to eat snack every day. And some pictures of the boys in hats. The boys in their safari hats (surprisingly Oscar's matched his outfit perfectly), ..... the one on MacKay's head in the picture didn't last long as he was in a crabby mood and ripped it off quickly after the picture was taken. MacKay is not so much a hat guy. And just a super funny picture of Gma Chris with our little Oscar who just LOVES to wear hats lately. He wears them all the time and giggles when he sees himself in the mirror wearing them.

Lastly, my goofy boys and their Little People figurines stuck to their faces. Their equally goofy father was playing with one a while back, squeezing it and suctioning it onto his face when the boys caught him doing that and wanted in on the action. Since then they come to us all the time with these wanting us to stick them on their faces, their heads, their bellies.... etc.

Check back again soon - I'm sure I'll have some more updates and pictures after the July 4th weekend.

18 MONTHS and lots of updates (sorry, it's been a while again)...

Yep, the boys are officially 1 1/2 years old now. CRAZY how fast time flies.... yet I feel this pregnancy is just inching along. To date I am just over 26 weeks, about to enter my 3rd trimester... yet I look like I am full term. We had another OB appt last Friday (May 1st) and I measured 2 weeks ahead (my belly) and we asked our OB if he would do another ultrasound for us, just to verify it is, indeed, a girl in there .... and he was more than happy to do a quickie ultrasound for us. And he validated it for us..... it is our little Evelyn Christine in there - no questions about it now. So it is official, we can sell all the boys clothes that they have outgrown and start buying some pink :) So if any of you out there are in the market for some VERY nice, gently used boys clothes, we have TONS that we will be selling at a garage sale in the next couple months hopefully. Let's see, what else is new with us..... Chris had to go to NYC for 4days/3nights to take a test (licensure to do surveying in NY state) which was my first time being with the boys alone for that long of a stint. Usually Gma Chris comes up to help when he has to go somewhere, but we thought we would tough it out this time. It all went well, tho I was exhausted by the end of every day. We also just got back from an overnight stay at Treasure Island Resort and Casino. The Hoglund/Ledwein family got together for a day/night of gambling, drinking (except me), and taking in the Temptations Review show there. Always a fun time with that crew - will have to plan another one of those "adults only" getaways after Evie arrives so I can partake in the drinking portion next time. :) House is still on the market, we've had a couple showings the past weekends but no offers yet - hoping the market keeps picking up. And we've been trying to take advantage of all the nice days we've had recently to go on walks and get the boys outside and running around. They LOVE being outside (duh)... the only downfall is when we have to go back in.... MacKay throws the worst temper tantrums when we go back inside. He's a true outdoors man just like his Daddy.

Some general updates on the boys: We're using forks/sporks, spoons and bowls/plates a lot more now..... should be noted, that we only use bowls/plates with suction grips as they try their darnedest to get those off their tray and throw them. But they are getting so much better at using utensils - YAY. The boys accompanied me to a lunch with my old coworkers a couple weeks ago too and were very well behaved little flirts. Gma Chris came up to visit that weekend as well and made it up in time to join for lunch and help me with the boys so I could visit more with my friends which was very nice. Later, after their nap, Gma Chris and I brought the boys up to Zaisers (in Nisswa Square) to get the boys some new shoes. Come to find that I am a horrible mother who has been putting shoes on her kids that are WAY too small for them. The shoes they had been wearing were 5.5 (wide for Oscar). MacKay measured in at a size 6.... and Oscar just over 6.5. YIKES. Definitely a good time for new shoes. So we got the boys some new Keen Newport H2 sandals and they LOVE them (as do we). Oscar got a size 7, and MacKay size 6 - THANK YOU GMA CHRIS. Gma Chris also got to see just how much of a handful these little boys are while we were there too.... chasing after them the entire time in the store (thankfully they didn't pull anything down or break anything). They kept trying to make a break for the door and get outside. Needless to say, we were both exhausted and sweating after that experience trying to keep up with them - man they are FAST. Gma Chris also got to partake in the haircutting experience at Great Clips that weekend too.... they both looked so handsome afterwards (regardless of tear stained faces), even though MacKay got scalped in a few areas (the stylist claims HE moved when she was trying to use the clippers). They both love to sit on our laps lately and do Itsy Bitsy Spider (they do the spider movement with their hands/fingers), the ECFE Choo Choo song (patting lap) and Patty Cake. Both can accurately point out (on themselves or others) nose, eyes, mouth, ears, cheeks, hair, feet/foot/toes, hands, belly, and butt :). And they have learned how to "blow kisses" back at you as well. They are little sponges lately. "All Done" is a new word/phrase we hear a lot from them during mealtimes lately too - right along with it they are doing the ASL sign for it too. And they understand SO much more now as well.... like, Let me check your pants, let's go change your pants, time to brush teeth, let's go get our PJs on, Let's go outside, Go to the car, Sit down, Go to your high chair .... etc. And there is LOTS of fighting over toys (or us) lately too. Oscar wants anything that MacKay has.... yet MacKay thinks that when he leaves a toy for another, that the other toy is still his - so if Oscar actually waits his turn and for MacKay to give up a toy, MacKay will freak out if Oscar goes and plays with something he has left behind. We've tried a lot more new things to eat too.... Pizza Burgers was the most shocking one. Chris and I even tried them first and commented that there was NO WAY they were going to eat them cuz they were SO zesty and spicy. But MacKay dug right in and ate about 3/4 of a burger by himself. The faces he makes are so hilarious too.... he looks like a ravenous animal tearing into the carcass of another (see pictures below). We're now eating normal cereals for breakfast and the boys seem to love them: rice crispies, cheerios and golden grahams - they were getting pretty bored with the same old Oatmeal every morning I think. I should also note that at their 18 month check up the boys were at or above average with weight and height. Oscar was 27 lbs 6 oz (65%) and 33" (75%) and MacKay was 26 lbs (50%) and 33" (75%). And I am happy to report that the boys are getting over yet another cold and the runny noses are starting to subside. Onto some details about each....

MacKay: MacKay has developed quite a few more words lately.... Eyes (points them out on EVERYTHING), Mouth (sound like "M-ow"), Up (finally... been working on that one for a while), Evie (so cute), Yes, Wow and Puppy. And along with a lot of words... he has a ton of new teeth. He now has 15 total.... just one more to go (upper left molar which should pop through the skin any day now) and he will have caught up with Oscar. At that point they both will just have their 2nd/2 year molars left to go and they will have all their baby teeth. We also have had to do some more safety proofing in the house.... as far as MacKay is concerned, we had to buy those door knob covers cuz he has now figured out how to open room doors - even the ones that stick a bit and are hard for even us to open. Poor MacKay got hit the hardest (he always seems to) with this recent cold.... had a temp for a couple days and just generally looked like a Mac truck ran him over for a while there. Turns out he did have some inflammation and fluid in his ears - so the doc put him on antibiotics. But he also has been the fastest to recover as well, so that evens things out a bit.

Oscar: Oscar has developed a few more words as well .... Eyes (points too), and Nose, Owie (Ahh-wee), Whoa, Hi, and No (or I should say "No no no no"). Our biggest news for Oscar though.... to add onto the previous post - Oscar finally escaped from his crib on 4/17... actually I should say he fell out of his crib - not sure how intentional it was. I was getting their breakfast ready and watching him on the monitor, but obviously missed the ~5 seconds it took him to get up and over the edge and fall out. Heard this big thud noise and dropped what I was doing and ran in there immediately. When I got in there he was picking himself up off the floor but hadn't even started crying yet cuz I think he got the wind knocked out of him or was in shock. Needless to say there was lots of crying..... but he was all right, other than a bruise under his chin where he must have hit one of the sides on his way out. So we invested in a very nice gate for their bedroom doorway (to at least keep him contained in the room), tho he hasn't repeated this action since. I think it will just be a matter of time before we drop the side of his crib to make it into a toddler bed - I personally, am just not ready to deal with the "Stay in bed" fiasco...... so just biding my time until I am forced into that. Other than that, Oscar is our little fish in the bathtub. LOVES being in there and just splashes to his heart's content and makes a complete mess - but he has so much fun doing it. He also LOVES slides and cannot get enough of them.... at ECFE we've been going outside (if weather is nice) to play on the outside equipment and he B-lines it right to the slide EVERY time. The only thing is that he constantly over estimates the room he has to either turn around or sit down when getting to the edge of the slide..... we always have to grab him and sit him down cuz it looks like he's going to do a nose dive and go head first. I don't think it is his intention, just hasn't learned how to get himself positioned BEFORE getting to the edge of the slide - so we'll have to work on that with him. Plan to visit many of the area parks up here this spring/summer to get them out of the house. Oscar has been quite the imp lately, climbing over the edge of chairs/couches to get back to "Angus's corner" (where his water and food are - that we have blocked off with gates and furniture) .... he repeatedly goes back there after being fished out and disciplined, and the minute you look away for a second he is right back at it, KNOWING he is going to get in trouble. UNNGHH :) He also loves to throw things. We're working on showing him what things he can and cannot throw cuz he really has an arm on him and has whipped a few hard things at all of us (Angus included - poor dog). But it is hilarious cuz he put the ball over his head, and then walks toward you, getting within inches of you and then just zings it at you as hard as he can. So we have been trying to show him he doesn't have to get so close..... and the other day worked on catching with him too. He LOVED playing catch with Daddy (with Mommy helping him to do the catching)..... and actually got pretty good at it. We also did this with MacKay (who was watching us do this, patiently waiting his turn)... and MacKay did the cutest things with his outstretched hands when waiting to catch the ball..... he would open and close his fists, alternating between hands, almost as if to say "OK I'm READY... gimme gimme gimme".

Well..... that is about it for now. Onto the pictures... which I am sorry to report, there aren't many of. Will try to do better next time at both getting on here more frequently (it's hard to remember everything that has gone on since the last post when multiple weeks have gone by) and at snapping some more pictures to share.

Oscar and MacKay self spoon feeding themselves some pudding. Not doing too badly at it either.

The boys eating a Culver's Butter Burger with Cheese for lunch one day..... check out MacKay's face, trying to open his mouth as wide as he can and just really tearing into that burger.

The boys outside on a nice day helping Dad lay some grass seed.

Miscellaneous pictures: Oscar doing his best impression of mommy with her little Evie belly. More hugs - I love these moments. Lastly, the boys standing at our porch door laughing at Gma Chris on the other side.

Had to include this picture, not cuz it is a great picture of them.....but cuz MacKay and Oscar LOVED riding around in this cart at Cub. It's shaped like a Rocket Ship .... they had a blast in this, and I loved being able to use this vs their stroller as there was WAY more room for all the groceries I needed to pick up while Chris was in NY.

Lastly - some recent purchases. First, something I just HAD to buy when we were at the casino this last weekend. Saw this in a shoppe there and knew I HAD to get it for Evie. I like that it's a bit more on the sassy side with the zebra print ..... it's true, girls are fun to buy for :) And the other picture is of the boys' snazzy new Keen sandals from Gma Chris.

See ya next time around..... take care.