Scary Sunday

We pulled out all the stops for a great photo session this morning and all we got was frightened looks or a deer in the headlights look.
What got into these guys?

Grandma Merris bought the boys these great onsies so we were excited to get some cute pics of the boys wearing them. But the above was the best we could do. Their onsies say "Double Trouble" and "If you think I'm cute you should see my twin". Oh well, maybe next time.

Visit from Great Nanny

Jake showing off his Halloween shirt. The boys grabbed at eachother's shirts all day trying to get characters not realizing they were wearing one themselves.

Great Nanny and Anderson

Nanny and Jake

Today my Grandmother stopped in for a visit. She doesn't see the boys very often but she calls almost daily to check in on them and of course they are on her "prayer list". For those that know her you know what I'm talking about :). She always gets such a kick out of the boys and covers them in hot pink lipstick. I'm glad she was well enough to come by even if it was only just a short time.

Off Topic (sort of)... Meet two of my heros

Although Anderson and Jake have cured my childlessness, I still spend a fair amount of time obsessing over my infertility and have found a safe refuge with those who have walked a similar path. I don't know either of the courageous women I name as my heros but I would be honored to. As a wise Tori Amos once said "How many fates turn around in the overtime"

This blog is about a heartbreaking Guatemalan adoption gone awry. This mother has been in Guatemala for 10 months fostering her baby waiting for the adoption to be finalized. Generally this process is completed in 6 months or less. If the government does not approve the adoption by December she will lose the baby she has been raising for 10 months forever due to a change in adoption policy. Her daughter and 5,000 other Guatelmalan babies who have been matched with waiting families will be sent to overcrowded orphanges losing their chance at a forever family. If nothing else please take the time to sign her online petition for her fight to bring her daughter home.
http://www.sunflowersandladybugs.com/blog.asp?ID=548


The following is an article written about a woman's personal journey through infertility and the lengths she and many other woman are willing to go to to have the family they have always longed for. Her unwavering strength is unfathomable to me.
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/09/30/Life/Longing_for_a_baby_at.shtml

Counting my lucky stars,
T

Recreational Time

Anderson James

Jake Thomas

I love that big fat baby face!

Ma, you're in my way!

The boys LOVE to jump around in their doorway jumper and jumperoo. Jake has figured out how to slingshot himself around and he squeals in delight everytime he is successful. Anderson generally jumps in between watching Jake with awe. Here are just a few pics of them from this morning.

Baby Time

Anderson (L) and Jake (R)

Anderson takes a swing.

Serious Jake

Having fun in the laundry basket.

BZZZZ

Anderson (L) and Jake (R)

Hanging out in the grass.

BOO!

Handsome Boys

Having some fun together.

Anderson and Jake enjoyed the nice weather today. They cruised around the block in their cars, went on their swings, and played on the grass. And it's only 2 p.m.! This morning Daddy took the both boys to the grocery store with him while Mommy stayed home to cook Italian casserole and baked apple cake. Kevin must have been quite a sight with Anderson in the bjorn and Jake hanging out in the grocery cart. It all went off without a hitch and I was quite impressed with the smoothness in which he did it all.



The boys were wearing their ghost shirts today. I love Halloween and we've gone a bit overboard with the Halloween shirts. Each boy has 6 Halloween shirts each and a pair of Halloween pjs. Anderson and Jake are going to be bumble bees for their first Halloween. We are looking forward to heading down to the pumpkin patch in a couple of weeks for our annual cider/donuts/carmel apples/fudge day with the McBrides. Yes, we do it all and skip breakfast and lunch to make sure we have the room.

Twins....the trailer.

Aunt Sara put together this great slideshow of the boys. Thanks for taking time out from your studies to put it toghether. Go Blue! (you'll need to crank the volume after the first 20 seconds to hear the audio, it goes way down)

I'm so tired..

Anderson after eating cottage cheese. I love his crazy bed head.

Jake always has this determined look on his face while eating. I always feel so pressured to feed him fast enough to his liking..."yes sir, right away sir".

Things got quiet while I was putting together dinner, usually it means trouble. In this case I found Jake just lounging around after a hard day of play.

Holla! I'm starting to figure out this creeping/crawling business.

Jake had chicken and stars up his nose. Instead of being a thumb sucker he is an index sucker.

that I can't even pull myself together to go to the MOMs of Multiples meeting I was supposed to go to tonight. I've been looking forward to meeting other moms of twins, trips or more who "get it" and that have been there done that. But its not going to happen tonight because Momma is exhausted. We have had a busy week with Physical Therapy appointments, a helmet adjustment (all the way to downtown D), and an appointment for me. I had an appointment with my endometriosis specialist and I had not seen him since he had put me under the knife twice in 3 months and purposely put me in a temporary menopause. It was not good times back then to say the least.

He is this tiny little persian guy, sassy as all get up and excrutiatingly honest. At the time I hated him because he was always giving me bad news and he literally stole my ovary without my prior permission. Of course he felt it was in my best interest health wise as to lower my risk of ovarian cancer but from a fertility standpoint it was the last thing I wanted to give up. From there he sent us on our way in hopes that a pregnancy would occur. The last thing he said to me 2 years ago when I left his office was "Don't let your infertility take over your life, ruin your marriage and steal your happiness. I promise you the next time I see you, you will be pregnant with twins and I will laugh at how fat you have gotten."

Well in a wierd, unexpected turn of events the s-o-b (I say this with pure love in my heart for him) was right. It was great yesterday to see him again under happier circumstances and to show him the products of his labor and expertise. He was very pleased with himself and gave himself more accelades than we did, it was pretty funny. I think he stopped just short of "I told you so" but I didn't mind. He said when he saw me in the hallway he remembered me and thought to himself she's a tough one, I better make sure she leaves here happy. As far as my endometriosis goes, well I didn't find anything out. Its off for more bloodwork and ultrasounds to make sure everything is in check.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow, I get to go to the spa! I'm being treated to a manicure, facial and massage and at least 3 hours reprieve from bottles and diapers. I'm fairly certain I've earned it!

Grant's Football Game

Claire and Jake.

Anderson and Papa.

Grant the quarter back and Jake.

Fighting for the same toy.

Nanny feeding Anderson his bedtime bottle.

Today we went to see Cousin Grant in his final football game of the season. Grant played a great game with a lot of heart. Cousin Claire helped to take care of the boys and keep them happy. The boys enjoyed being outside and around their family. They even got to stay up a half an hour past their bedtime.

Spaghetti Anyone?

Spaghetti Monster!

I loved my spaghetti so much that I smeared it all over my face and helmet.

No spaghetti, I'll just stick with my daily happy meal and ice cream sundae for dessert. J.K!

We are starting to transition the boys to food with a little more texture. We have been giving them some finger foods from our plates for some time now so we figured it was time. Jake woke up first from his nap so I gave him some organic spaghetti with cheese. At first he looked at me like I was feeding him rat poison but quickly changed his mind. He ended up enjoying his dinner with only minor gagging incidents. Much like his Daddy he will eat just about anything placed in front of him.

Anderson was a different story. He was convinced I was feeding him something inedible and would only hang in there for a few bites. He never gagged so I don't think the texture was the issue but moreso the little guy doesn't like spaghetti. I'm baffled, how does one from my family not like spaghetti? For those who don't know I'm an embarassingly pickey eater. No exaggeration, I have NEVER eaten steak, ribs, fish, most vegetables (I'm turning red), the list goes on and on. I have a feeling Anderson will be joining my club. Paybacks are hell!

Fall Pics

Jake (L) and Anderson (R)

Ha, ha, ha, I'm a little devil in disguise.

Okay, I'll smile this one time.

Jake's helmet gave him a boo boo on his forehead. We're off for an adjustment tomorrow.

Anderson James

Uncle Jared spent the day with us today and we tried taking some semi-professional pics. The boys had other ideas in mind. They collaborately decided they both would refuse to nap, spit up on their outfits, and only smile when they felt like it. Poor Uncle Jared worked so hard to set up some props, situate the boys and he even layed on the ground to take the pictures. I stood above him and made every crazy noise and funny face I could to get them to laugh. The neighbors must have thought we were crazy! By the end all four of us were either crying or close to being in tears. It's not peaches and cream every day that's for sure.

AIDS Benefit Walk

Jake in his new car.

Anderson says "beep, beep".

The boys had a great time cruisin down the street. Jake was really serious about 10 and 2 on the steering wheel and Anderson liked to beep the horn.

The Edgars at the AIDS walk.

From Left to Right...Jared, Brian, Jake, Anderson, Kevin and me. The starting point was out in front of the Farmer's Market.

We had a busy weekend. Today we took the boys to Royal Oak for the annual walk for AIDS. The members of our team were the four of us, Jared, Brian, Erica (Jared's cousin on his other side), and friends of Jared and Brian. The walk was 5 kilometers down sidestreets and Woodward. Jared raised over 500 dollars on behalf of our team! The boys loved the walk and people watching. The adults enjoyed some warm spiked cider and zuchinni and chocolate chip bread compliments of Jodi. Thanks Jodi! It was a fun day for a great cause.

ETA: The boys and Uncle Jared appeared in the Detroit News this morning. Here they are at the AIDS walk, you can see them in the background!

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070917/METRO/709170361

Put me in the zoo

Checking out the turtles

My mantarage

The Family Pic in front of the giraffes

All tired out.

Jake and Daddy in the polar bear exhibit.

One of the boys favorite bedtime stories is Put me in the Zoo so today we decided to take them to the Detroit Zoo for the very first time. It was a cool day but comfortable with them all bundled and layered up. Although we saw close to 20 different animals we are certain the boys "saw" about 5. They definitely saw the turtles up close in their tanks, they babbled at them and banged on the glass. They saw the tigers because they were close enough to us and moving around. Jake saw polar bears and sea lions but Anderson fell asleep for that part. And finally we can confirm they saw the monkeys because they reacted to those as well. Everything else...well we're not really sure, if it wasn't movin' they didn't see it.

Quick update

Monkey see, monkey do. The boys always seem to mimic eachother's behaviors. One is sucking his fingers so the other does the same.
It was definitely feeling like Fall today when we went on our walk. Winter hats all around.
Cutie pies. The boys checking out eachother's Robeez.

Anderson and Jake are enjoying the arrival of Fall. Now that the weather is cooler we have been taking longer walks and spending time playing outside on a blanket. They had a great time on Saturday watching Mommy and Daddy trim shrubs and trees. They can find so much interest in the most simple things. But then we remember that they are experiencing everything for the first time...it's so sweet.

You may remember a while back when I said that when the boys played together that no one showed themselves as an aggressor. Well things have changed! Although I won't say Anderson is being aggressive he is definitely mischeavious. He has made it his business to consistently take away any toy that Jake picks up to play with. It doesn't matter if I try and hand him a brighter, flashier, or better toy, he only wants what Jake has. Poor Jake, most times he just stares at Anderson confused and bewildered and then picks up something new to play with. A couple times Jake took a toy away from Anderson and Anderson freaked! He can dish it out but he can't take it.