Race For The Cure

Last weekend I ran Race for The Cure! I haven't ran a race in years and was so excited to do one again, especially for such a great cause! I was once again nervous for the boys like I always am when they miss there morning nap, but I was so proud of them (once again) they did so well for there Dad while I ran the race! I found out about the race on a commercial a few weeks before the race so I didn't have much time to prepare and I definitely had not been working out, unless you count all the rocking and standing, and holding two 20lbs boys at the same time, as exercise! I ran on my treadmill the Tuesday before and ran 3 miles in 33 min. (so 11 min. miles) which is definitely a lot worse then what I could do in high school, makes me feel like an old fart! But let me tell you, I was so dang proud of myself, I ran it in 25 min 50 sec!!! I made it in the top 200 people, there were 30,000 down town, how many of those people ran the race I am not sure, but there were A LOT of people. I could tell I was way out of shape because while I was in line to hand them my tag I was dry heaving, I know really gross (it's a good thing I didn't eat much before the race or a lot more would have come out!) I have never done that before at the end of a race, I guess my body is telling me to get off my but and into shape!

It was such a great experience, my friend and her husband and little girl, Maya, came as well and she did great, especially for not exactly loving running, but wanting to support the cause. We also ran into a few other friends that were down running the race as well. It was so amazing to see all the survivors and families supporting there loved ones. They were either celebrating their recovery or honoring their loved ones who had passed away. I loved the atmosphere of being downtown, with all the booths and energy that was around us..really I had a great time! I am excited for the next race, and hopefully I can pull Jordan and the boys out of bed once again, I was grateful they were so supportive.

After the race


Alright, so I know I was pretty sweaty, but he was craving something salty, so why the nasty face?! =)

Memorial Weekend

We had a good relaxing weekend. Friday our friends were going to the Toledo Zoo, something we have been wanting to do, so we invited ourselves to come along as well as Kassie and Travis who also came! =) It was such a warm perfect day to go, and we haven't had a lot of days like that around here yet. We were a little nervous as to how the boys would handle it because we had to wake up early to get there which meant they would be missing their morning nap which is their longest one of the day. Ayden fell asleep right when we got in the car and slept an hour, but Gavin slept for probably 10 min. They did so good! Since they have been eating more snack foods we made sure we packed a ton not only because there are two of them, but they drop stuff all the time and we have to have back ups and not run out. Jordan hates it because they are so messy, but hey, I say it keeps them busy and things wash. They have been going through a lot more clothes these days, they are such a mess! Their favorite snack lately has been apples. Usually they just naw and suck on them like crazy, but Ayden is now starting to eat his (after it has been softened by all of his saliva!). It's been great because I have been putting lemon juice on them so they don't brown and this has been a very useful tool. I wasn't sure if adding that would change the boys mind about the apples, but it doesn't seem to bother them a bit.

The Toledo Zoo was great and I am sure the boys will enjoy it even more as they get older. They had a little petting zoo with some little goats and Gavin had a huge smile on his face when we got him close, he made sure to get a good grab of their hair as he tried to pet them, just like he does with our cats. They also had a carousel there and we thought finally Ayden would be able to have a turn because last time we saw one (in florida) he was alseep, but wouldn't you know it, he was asleep again when we got to it, so once again Gavin had all the fun on that.

After the Zoo we went to my favorite ice cream place.......FRIENDLY'S!!! They don't have any on the west coast, I first started going when I lived in NY and have loved it ever since. When I found out there was one close by Toledo we had to go! By the end of the day the boys were so tired, especially Gavin, I had never seen him like that before. His eyes were trying so hard to stay awake as they fluttered back and forth as he tried playing with his toys and pull his brothers hair. We put him in the bath to get him ready for bed and he was just about asleep in there as well, it was funny, but sad, he was just so tired!

We ended our weekend on Monday by going to our ward picnic and playing some soft ball and afterwards stopping by 7 eleven for a nice cold slurpee and some ice cream candy bars! It was again a warm day and I was impressed with the boys, again they did so well with being off schedule with there nap.

8 1/2 months old!

Gavin was being so funny and playful in these pictures , it's like he thought he was in in his own photo shoot and Ayden just has such a sweet pleasant look on his face in all of these....so cute!

Say Cheese!

Roar like a Lion

Give me Playful

Now show us some love!

The boys are growing everyday and we are having more and more fun with them. Ayden has made a huge difference this month than last, he now babbles like Gavin and says "Dadadadada" rather than "geeeee" and then spitting, it is so cute. He has also started taking an interest picking up his food, like cheerios and gold fish, and just recently he has discovered the sippy cup! We have been trying to work on this for a while and he has got the hang of it, he is like an old pro and can even drink it one handed. He was so funny one day, he took a bite of something and started choking so he grabbed for his sippy cup and took a drink to help it down, my smart little man.

Gavin now offically has TWO teeth!! They were little bumps forever, but they are now finally here. He has learned that he does not like things taken away from him and freaks out if you even touch what he has in his hand. One night I was just pulling up his sleeve while he was eating an apple and he got so ticked and freaked out because I was moving the apple from his mouth while pulling his sleeve up, he is such a stinker. He also loves to steal Ayden's binki, seriously he is so funny it doesn't matter what it is, whatever Ayden has Gavin wants he steals everything from Ayden, what a little bully! Gavin is very sweet and playful and full of energy. He smiles and has this loud scream that he thinks is pretty funny, he also uses it on Ayden when Ayden is trying to steal a toy from him, smart little tactic if you ask me to scare Ayden away. Ayden is so sensitive it probably works!

They are both trying so hard to crawl. They are very different in there attempts. Gavin rolls to get places and lately has been getting on his hands and knees bopping trying so hard to figure out how to move. Ayden lifts himself up like he is doing push ups and ends up on his finger tips and tippy toes then goes down on his knees and bopps, somtimes he'll even hop forward like a rabbit. They are both getting really close.

We finally said ENOUGH! We are so done with getting up baby after baby whether for a binki, or a 2 oz bottle that we water down and only add one scoop of formula to, so really, the bottle is for us to help put them back to sleep, so I am sure it is not to satisfy hunger because that can't work! So we did a trial night. Gavin has been waking up like an hour after we lay him down just for us to rock him once again so he doesn't wake up Ayden. Then he wakes up a couple hours later, it just seems like he has been getting worse with waking up, not better. So on a Fri night we just let him cry, at first I said ok for 10 min, then it became 20, then it became and hour an a half!! Finally I went in there and rocked him back to sleep, it was so sad. If we went in there to pat his back, it only got worse so we couldn't do that. Then, he didn't wake up until 2 and we just patted his back and he went to sleep, never even put up a fight for his bottle! Ayden totally slept through it all but woke up at 6 or 6:30 as usual. The next night it took only 10 minutes for Gavin to put himself back to sleep. For the most part he has been pretty consistent in the 10 min thing, he still wakes up an hour after we put him down, sometimes he makes it with out getting up that hour. Gavin also gets up at 3 now, not 2 and for the most part will put himself back to sleep. We are working on this sleeping through the night stuff, but man, it is so hard and sad, we love them so much. Ayden officially does sleep through the night, I am so happy he can sleep through Gavin's crying. Even though they wake up so dang early, it's better because at least I am getting more sleep at night which makes me feel like such a better mom, more alert, awake and attentive. I really love my boys so much.

Here are some cute pictures of the boys we have taken lately..seriously we can't get enough of them, we have so many pictures and they are always so cute of them!!

Swinging at the Park

We have had a lot of fun taking the boys to the park on the days the weather is looking nice. We are hoping for more consistent good weather! Here are some pics of the boys and a video clip so the Grandma's and Grandpa's can feel like they are swinging with them! There is also a little clip of Ayden sitting up, he has finally got it down!

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My little Ayden

So the boys have been teething and have been taking turns being cranky or sometimes they can't handle being cranky alone and decide to have a party and "crank out" together. Ayden woke up pretty early from a nap and if it's too early he'll want to eat early which would put him and Gavin off schedule. Since that can't happen I have to be creative in keeping them occupied. Gavin can pick up his cheerios and feed himself almost any kind of finger food (age appropriate) that I give him. Ayden on the other hand has picked up the little puffs and cheerios before, but he's funny, once he is able to do something he feels like he's "been there done that" and kind of quits doing it, which he no longer will pick up the puffs, cheerios or any of the small foods. He will hang onto the bigger items I give him and chew on them for a little bit. Anyway, so we are working on that and trying to use a sippy cup.

I got a different assortment of food for them to try the other day and when Ayden got up early we spent a good hour going from one food to another, he'd get bored of one so we'd do another one. We had a lot of fun, he was being so funny and I think he enjoyed the attention all on him while Gavin was asleep. Here are a few pictures of my messy little man!

High School Buddies!

Then...

Now....

A couple of weeks ago 2 of my best friends from high school came into town, I was so excited to see them!! I wanted to go to Chicago and meet up with t hem, but it would have been a disaster if I left them alone with Jordan, even if it was for a day and a night. I honestly think people think or say they know it's hard, but until you have actually experienced even babysitting twins for a day you have no idea, they are a handful, but very worth it! So I was excited when they said they were coming up Sat-Mon.

They got here and we went straight to the Melting Pot, sooo good! we had some great cheese and Chocolate fondue, by the end, honestly just looking at it made my stomach rumble, I ate way to much, but again, awwwwe it was worth it! We then went and saw "What happens in Vegas" It was a very entertaining movie I must say I laughed quit a bit. After the movie we went to Big Boy, nothing like Merritt's, but it would have to do! We had some milkshakes, mozz sticks, and onion rings. Jordan was amazed, he saw how stuffed we were when we left for the movie, he couldn't believe we went and got more food after the movie. I haven't had a late night like that (of fun, not of rocking babies) since Ayden and Gavin (again, it's ok, the boys are worth it) but man, I was grateful for their visit, it was a refreshing break! While waiting for the movie to start we got a little carried away with the camera...aren't we beautiful...we were trying to show EMOTION.......

The next day was more toned down. We went through old photos, had a walk through the woods behind my apartment, and I highlighted Becky's hair. I was so excited to have them here, it was fun to be silly for a night. I am so grateful for their friendship and I know it will last far longer than it already has! More pictures from our visit.....