Christmas Morning!

Merry Christmas!!

The boys were super spoiled this year!!

It was a very fun holiday!! They had fun "helping" Daddy with the 'some assembly required'....

New play-kitchen, pots & pans, trucks, cars, they each got a cabbage patch kid....

Matt's got a little boy that's fair and blonde with brown eyes, named Scotty...AND Josh has a little boy that's darker complexion but bald (preemie), named Linus. (LOL)

They both really liked unwrapping the gifts and BOTH of them had no problems doing so!

We spent Christmas Eve at home, watched "The Santa Clause 2" (it's Matty's favorite movie), then we watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (Daddy's favorite movie) and then read from Luke 2....then right before bedtime we donned our NEW red monkey PJ's given to them by their Auntie Sarah, and we read "Twas the Night before Christmas...." and then we put our little munchkin boys to bed....

Not that they actually STAYED in bed! LOL. That would've been too picturesque! No, Matt was so keyed up about Santa coming to his house that it was about 11:30pm before he was actually snoring away in his little blue racecar bed, dreaming of sugarplums (more like M&M's...) in his head...

But we had fun. It was pretty low-key. We were bombarded with snow though! :) The boys loved it too! :)

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and know that the boys are very, very loved. :) We so appreciate you and your family - especially around the holiday season. We look forward to hearing from you soon - and hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas season!

God Bless You All!

Stann, Liz, Matt & Josh

Preparing for Christmas....

Just a quick note. We're just getting ready for Christmas....

Stockings Hung? Check.
PJ's ready? Check.
Letters sent to Santa? Check.
Camera's charged? Check!
Cookies are being made as I type....

We're ready. We're set. The kids are soooo excited for Santa to come to their house. It makes me wish I'd bought a Santa suit to have one of Stann's brothers dress up in.

We'll be traveling to see our families tomorrow, and we want you to know, that we'll be thinking of you - and posting pictures just as soon as we get back to our house...unless I actually remember and bring all the right cords to download it from my parents' computer while we visit.

The boys also got your package of the books and ornaments last night, forwarded by Marcia. Thank you. Really, truly, Thank you. I think we read "Go, Dog. Go!" twice to the boys last night. They loved it! :)

We will post more pictures just as soon as we can!!! :)

We wish you and your families a very warm, bright, wonderful Merry Christmas!!

Much Love,
Stann & Liz and the boys.....

December Updates thus far....

We made the very, very long trip to go see Zoo Lights! The boys LOVED it. They especially LOVED the train ride. (Josh kept saying "woo-woo" and pointing to things saying "dat!" when he liked the lights.....)

They did really, really great. They ran a lot of their energy out - and loved looking at all the lights and identifying which animals were there.

We're thinking about (next time we're going to Portland, as there's not much going on near us...!) hitting PIR, Peacock Lane and the Grotto. We'll see though.

Next up on our list: Visiting Santa.

The boys have made out their Christmas Wish List - and we have mailed letters to Santa.

Josh wants a "dolly" (I have to laugh, because Stann cringes at this...but it IS normal for little boys to want to hold and love babies I tell him...) and he wants "little people" - which we've already got for him.

Matt wants a wrench. A BIG wrench. Where did this tool obsession come from? Who fostered this in this child?! (LOL) He is his father's son....! Still not used to him running whenever he hears "Ask this old house" music come on. It's really a sight to behold!!! :)

Anyways....I'm hoping this won't be my last post for December. There's lots and lots more to update you on....I could brag on and on about the new things they learn daily....the small victories that are won - Matt learning to use his words to express his frustration, rather than his teeth...Joshua finally understanding he needs to keep his diaper and pants on during his nap. We celebrate the little things....!

We hope you all are having a wonderful, happy Holiday. We wish you the very best, send our love as well as the boys' and hope you have a very, Merry Christmas!

November Updates

Getting time at my computer is getting harder and harder to do!

Both boys are quite a handful....

Matt was super excited to be "Spider-Matt" for Halloween.

Josh was not excited at all with our hand-me-down Chewbacca outfit. He hated the hat.

We avoided the major meltdowns Halloween night, by just trick-or-treating around the block (half of it anyways) and going to 4 or 5 different friends in our neighborhood.

Josh was super excited about his 2nd birthday. We kept things pretty low-key this year. If you watch the video - you'll see he actually blew out his own candles. :) Smart kid! :)

This is how Josh and Matt like to be tickled. They've got the best laughs!

They've really started to come into their own....

*Matt is a virtual magpie. He repeats everything. Everything!

*Josh has an obsession with frogs. He really likes to hop like them and even say "ribbit".

*Both are really into "Little People" - as in the Fisher Price toys...not real people.

*Both love to run, play and WRESTLE. (Coming soon to a WWE ring near you....)

*Both LOVE to sing. :) YAY! I love to hear them sing. Josh has found his voice, and loves to sing the "Itsy Bitsy Spider".

*Josh has now mastered the words "No" and "mine".

*Matt is biting. :( We're working on that.

*Matt & Josh have started to "get" who Santa is...and Matt is looking forward to putting the lights on the house with Daddy this year. When asked by Marcia what Matt was going to ask Santa for this year, he promptly said "A wrench." Hmmm. We may have a slight obsession on our hands....

More to come...

Sorry! Things are a bit crazy...our camera is "down" aka the boys got to it...and I'm trying to get it fixed to get the Halloween pics posted. Should have SOMETHING NEW by the end of today! Woo-Hoo! :)

After moving, we had no place for our dogs to go. :(

It just wasn't fair for us to put our dogs into a small, cramped little yard, when they'd had free reign over our acre...

So, Stann's Dad took the puppies.

Here are pictures of the boys helping their Daddy and Grandpa out - according to Matt - they were makin' houses for the doggies.

The boys were very fastidious in their help. Hammering and nailing away. It kept them busy for the better part of TWO HOURS.

They were so serious! Look at Josh's little tongue stickin' out of there....!

And Matt was soooo proud - see the hammer?

These two make quite a team! Watch out world!!!

Matt turns 3!

Here's a video from his 3rd birthday party with a small part of our family. The words in the Happy Birthday song we sing are:

"Oh somebody's had a birthday, oh little children dear -
May Father in Heaven bless him, through all the coming years...."

Followed by the traditional "Happy Birthday" song. Matt LOVES to sing this. And he's been singing it ALL WEEK to himself. LOL.

Matthew turned 3. (sigh) I'm feeling old. It seems like just yesterday he was a baby and we'd just barely got him. He's now an independent, free-thinking (and speaking!) 3 year old. Here's an update of his likes:

*Tractors
*Trucks & Trailers
*ELMO
*Builder Bob
*Little People (toys & dvd's)
*Singing: Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus wants me for a sunbeam, Popcorn popping on the apricot tree, Happy Birthday & the Alphabet song
*Animals (especially dogs!)
*Being the big brother....he's kinda bossy.
*Coloring. Lately it's been my walls.
*Riding his "bike" (he's getting a real "big boy" bike on Friday - his actual birthday)

He's a joy. He's very gentle, compassionate, loving, a wonderful helper, loving big brother (albeit bossy), and he's just amazing! He's looking forward to Christmas so he can see Santa again....I think he just likes the presents! LOL. Smart kid already made that connection.

He's just a wonderful, delightful, intelligent little boy, who lights up when he sees his Daddy, loves to be "helping" his Mommy with every task at hand, playing with his brother and cousins at any given time and wants to go for walks daily. :)

Our lives have never been so full or so busy! He's just a wonderful miracle - there are just not words enough to write about all the joy he brings to our lives each and every day!

And it's so hard to describe the gratitude we feel towards you all - for your sacrifices and love, but I can only start off by saying: Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the gift that is Matthew! :)

Intro to Blog Land....

So much has happened since we've seen you all last!

I've not mailed any letters or pictures, as our lives have been topsy turvy for some time...!

Here's a brief update and explanation why we've not been in touch...

*I (Mom/Liz) had an emergency hysterectomy in May. :( This unfortunately, has hindered a lot of what I do and how quick I've been able to do it! And it slows me down a little trying to keep up with my boys!

*We've moved! Still in state, but away from our little farmhouse remodel.

*Josh & Matt both had pneumonia - NOT FUN. This is normal - as they both have asthmatic tendencies - so any flu/cold they catch leaves them more susceptible to catching other things...

I will continue to keep in touch thru this website...as it seems much easier to post about all that they do when they do it and not just every six months...!

We hope you enjoy this, and know just how deeply these boys are loved, wanted, and just how much they mean to us day to day....

Much Love,

Liz & Family