Holy Batman!!!

Well, the boys will be 18 months tomorrow. I cannot believe they have been in our lives for 18 months. They seem like such young men now, with their own distinct personalities, needing mommy and daddy for less and less. I'm sure that will only continue to be the case. Here are of a few pictures of my crazies!!! What would life be like without them??? Most likely...BORING!!!! However, they keep life busy and exciting, so time to run and chase after them!

Checkin' out the good stuff...Just like Grandpa drinks...

Brody's already double fisting...

Aidan's not so sure...

Aidan brushing his choppers...or smiling for the camera...

Brody has lots of teeth to brush, so he's more focused...

This pictures makes me smile every time I look at it!!!

This is my "Super Hero" face...

This is mine...You'd smile this big too if your abs looked like mine!!!

Hello Blogging World!!

So I know that I am the worst blogger ever!!  Trust me I've heard, but I thought I'd throw a quick update on here.  Well, a picture update actually.  I know that I am going to be super disappointed in myself for not keeping an updated statistics or teeth count, but I just don't have the time that I used to.  The boys are doing great.  They are each other's worst enemy and best friend all in the same day.  I am just amazed when I watch the two of them interact.  Aidan started walking at 15 months...exactly 2 months behind Brody.  I never did get a video of his first steps, Josh said it was because it was our "second".  I just laughed.  Brody has 12 teeth and Aidan is at 10 now.  I think the last time they were weighed, Aidan weighed about 3.5 pounds more than Brody.  As far as the phases they are going through right now, well Aidan is my angel and Brody is a little schiester!!  He's so clingy and always wants to be held by mommy or daddy.  They are really into movies right now, and when I say movies I mean Shrek and Horton Hears a Who.  Brody can walk down stairs on his own using the mini-railing.  They still don't really say much in terms of "English".  Mama, Dada, hi, "what's that?" and that's about it.  They seem to mumble conversations to each other all the time.  They love playing with Atlas, he keeps them entertained.  That's about all I have for now.  I cannot believe that they will be 18 months soon.  It really does go way to fast.

This is Josh's favorite recent picture...mostly because of Aidan's feet and how relaxed he looks!

Tough guy Brody....

So innocent...

Aidan the Angel...

Goofy Brody...

Took a break from enjoy movies in our bed...

Communication

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We're Back...

So after a very long absence from the blogging world...we're back. Although I cannot promise how much time we'll find to blog, but I hope to be a better mom and journal about my babies...well more like toddlers growing up. I also would love to catch up and see how everyone else's little ones and lives are.

There is probably so much that has happened since I last blogged, that I most likely miss most of it. I will try to highlight a few of the key points:

1. We moved successfully. We are all settled in. The boys were awesome through all of it. They didn't miss a beat. We love the new place and are looking forward to raising our family here.
2. I found a job!!! Yes, that's right, it's back to the working world. I start tomorrow and am super excited (and nervous) about it. I will be working for Cottingham and Butler in Dubuque. I went through 3 full days of interviews, but they finally decided to offer me the job.
3. Josh is LOVING his new job. He's doing so great and we're all so proud of him. He continually works on building his practice and we're all so thankful that he stumbled upon this opportunity because we think it's a perfect fit.
4. The boys say "mama", "dada", "uh-oh" and "hi". When you ask them where Atlas is (if he's no where to be found) they'll turn their hands up in the air like I dunno. They wave good-bye, give high five, clap, signal "TOUCHDOWN" and can give a heck of an Indian call.
5. Brody is walking (or running) everywhere and has 4 new molars in.
6. Aidan is still walking on his knees and has eight total teeth.
7. They got their first haircut back in the beginning of May.
8. They have a new cousin...Evelyn Kathleen Taylor "Eva"Here's a few quick pics of my monkeys!

First time with ice cream cones...YUMMY! Bath time fun...

Getting into my Baking Cupboard

14 Month Pictures

Our New Home

Some of you have been asking for pictures of the new home. For the most part we are all settled and loving it. We are still waiting on a few finishing touches: curtains, our new entertainment center that's being built, the TV I hope to talk my husband into once I get another job, and just some odds and ends. We have not decorated two of the guest bedrooms yet. For now they are furnished as is and there are no pictures of them. Maybe I'll get around to those sometime soon. Enjoy our new home...there's lots of pictures, so enjoy!

The Great Room - This room is probably still the biggest work in progress. It's pretty messy in these pictures too. Sorry about that. There are still some finishing touches to put in the kitchen, molding, shelves and curtains. The living area is getting a new entertainment center for sure and possibly that TV I keep speaking of. Notice Josh managed to find room to tuck his bar back in the corner, so we'll always have a cold one waiting for visitors. The white door is our private entrance to the basement.

The stairs lead up to Josh's new office.

Brody sitting in his big boy seat...we're still waiting for Aidan's...should be there today.

The patio door leads out to our back porch and the door to the right of that is our room.

The bar is tucked away back in the corner...the picture is kind of dark.

The Bathroom - Well, this is probably the biggest room in the house. When they built the house, they really thought this room out and I love it! There is a room with a shower and tub in it, a separate room with a sink and toilet in it and the main part of the bathroom with a double sink, storage closet, whirlpool tub and TV! Too bad the TV only has one channel. However, I do figure that my Thursday nights can be spent in the tub with a bottle...I mean glass of wine...watching Grey's Anatomy.

Here is the crapper room...The main room...that's the shower room on the left and the hallway door to the right of that...TV, storage closet and entry to the wash room...Tub and I forgot to mention the little guys' sink!

The shower room up close...

Our Room - This is a smaller room, but we love how it turned out. We used an old dresser my mom had and painted it black and antiqued it. We got an old end table from a garage sale and I covered my old headboard with black fabric (this was the second time around). Kathy still needs to work with the curtains, that's just what I threw up there to see with the colors. We can't wait to get the boys' one yearictures taken this weekend to put more pictures of the cuties up.




The Boys' Room - It's the biggest room in the house (well maybe except for the bathroom). It has a huge closet, which Aidan and Brody were nice enough to share with their mommy. I love how the decal turned out on their wall. That was from a good friend at work...thanks Holly! They love playing in their room so far. There is a surprise in one of the pictures...can you find Waldo?

Happy Birthday Aidan & Brody!

Aidan and Brody's birthday was nothing to write about. Poor guys! We were busy packing up the last of the house, but we did manage to squeeze in dinner at Chili's and cake with some of our best friends. Here's a few of the pictures. Their birthday party is going to be this upcoming Saturday, so hopefully there will be more birthday pictures soon to come!

Aidan is excited about food!

Brody's cheesy smile...Being goof balls...The whole happy "green" family...Finally...Cake Time! Thanks for making the great cake Kelly!

What Could Be More Fun?

So, finally a post, this time before I go MIA for a long time. Unfortunately, I will be busy this week packing and moving instead of practicing and watching the Pointers play basketball. We suffered a disappointing loss on Friday in the Sweet 16 to Illinois Wesleyan in Bloomington. We lost by 13...we didn't play well and they shot the lights out. It's so hard to swallow such a tough loss when you know the team did not play their best basketball. Although it is sad to see the season come to an end, no one would have given us a chance to make it as far as we did this year. I am so proud of these women...it was a blast and a great way for me to go out. Not only is it the end of a season, it's the end of a chapter of my life. It is going to be so hard for me to say good-bye to these outstanding young women and all of my friends in Stevens Point to start building our new life in Lancaster. However, as saddened as am I am leaving, I am just as excited for my family to be making this move. It is what is best for us...now we just need to find a job for mommy!

So, yes we are busy getting ready for the big move. Josh and I have been able to pack up almost the whole downstairs today and rented the U-Haul truck for Tuesday. We hope to leave town early Wednesday and be unloaded by Thursday with just a few days to unpack and get settled. Then it's back to SP for one week for Josh and the boys before they leave their lonely mommy here.

As most of you know, the big birthday is right around the corner. Unfortunately, due to our traveling for the NCAAs we had to postpone the boys birthday party until April. We will have a small party with good food and great cake for the boys on Tuesday and celebrate with more family and friends when things die down a little bit and everyone can come see the new place.

An update on the cuties...well Brody took 4 steps today before falling. Josh and I both witnessed it in amazement. It's not going to be long now. He also now will stop WHATEVER he is doing (even crying) to give you the cheesiest smile for the camera (proof below). Little Aidan has 4 teeth through with 5 & 6 almost through. They are so much fun right now and I love spending time just watching them. They play a came of hide 'n seek daily. They like to copy what each other is doing and then giggle uncontrollably about it. Brody has been saying "uh-oh" quite a bit, which is pretty funny too.

Anyways, wish us luck these next few weeks as we transition two 1 year olds to a new home, new babysitter, new routine and a mommy away from her babies. It may be a rough transition, but one that will be worth it the long haul.

Aidan checking out his toys, but... He thinks that boxes are more fun...

Playing with the boxes as we pack them up...note the cheesy grin from Brody... And in case you needed more proof, here's a few more...