Bella, Gabe and Josiah

Since Bella was here, we decided to decorate for Christmas. Normally that would be something you really should do after the baby is in bed, but apparently I didn’t think that part through until we were opening up boxes and Josy was super excited about it. We only had one casualty and I’m the one that dropped it, so I can’t even blame anyone else... Bella found the Santa hat and beard that we got for Max, but Lucy was not having it. Bella also refused to put the beard on her. Josy really to help me put up the lights. But he was also very confused about what was happening and wasn’t sure why I kept climbing in the chair. It was a lot to process for the little guy. I took down one of the pictures in order to hang up a Christmas picture in its place. This was just too much for him, so he carried the giant picture back to its place in the hallway so I could put it back. Silly kid. In the middle of decorating, Gabe let the cat outside and came in with a package from the children’s ministry a

 Happy Thanksgiving! Like most people around the country this year, we had a pretty quiet Thanksgiving, without lots of crazy plans and extra people.  Actually, Bella came home on Tuesday for a few days, so it was our first holiday ever with just the five of us. We started out with Sticky Buns for breakfast.  Josy was super excited about this fancy breakfast option and I hope he doesn't start expecting it for breakfast every day... After breakfast, Gabe and I went and ran the Turkey Trot.  It was a virtual race this year, so it was definitely a different experience, but it was still fun to run it with my favorite little running buddy.  He actually ran a lot more than he did last year and he held my hand the entire way.  I've never run a race like that before.  Pat was actually thinking about joining us (which is a shock!), so I have a feeling that next year this will be a full family event.  Well, minus Bella.  I don't think there's any way that we'll convince her t

More Josy-is-growing-up stories... He’s at this age where he’s making brain connections so fast you can almost see it. On Thursday he was digging in the diaper bag before school and he pulled out a little book that attaches to a stroller. Since we were getting shoes and coats on to leave anyway, I told him that he could bring it in the car. Then it got dropped and I forgot about it. We got shoes and coats and he picked up his blanket. I told him that he couldn’t bring his blanket in the car, so he put it in the landing of the stairs. (It actually took him a long time because he had to make sure that each piece that was hanging down over the step was up on the landing and it’s a big blanket and he has little hands...) Once the blanket was situated, I opened the door and told the boys to come so we could leave. Josy walked by me all awkwardly, but I figured I’d just load up the car and them come back and get him. I put the lunches in the car and when I turned around, Josy was standing on

Sometimes I get the funniest pictures from school. I have no idea what they’re about, but they’re funny!

We were having our morning snuggle this morning and I told him to stop growing up. He looked at me and whispered “Don’t worry. I’ll always be your baby.” Also, sometimes I feel like I’m snuggling with Gabe’s stuffed animals, more than Gabe...

Yesterday was World Prematurity Day. So I wear purple in honor of my favorite preemie, my micromiracle, my Gabe. It also marked 5 years since we were told to just go home and wait for our baby to die. In one moment our entire world crashed around us. Words cannot express how thankful I am that God had other plans. This year I’ve been thinking a lot about how if we lived in a different time in history or even a different part of the world, we would be one of those couples who were never able to carry a baby long enough to survive. My body simply wouldn’t do it. But instead, we’re here, with these two crazy special little boys that make every day brighter. I’m so very thankful.

Two more my-baby-is-growing-up-too-fast things that I forgot to share yesterday... Josy is officially in the toddler room. He was doing the slow transition, but as of yesterday it is official. He is a toddler. I’m not okay with this... Secondly, he’s now in a big boy carseat. He’s still rear facing, but he really doesn’t fit into his infant carseat anymore (the same one that Gabe used until he was nearly three...), so we got him one that will work probably until he’s done with a booster seat. Seriously. Growing up way too fast.

Just catching up on life... Nothing too crazy is going on. The boys continue to grow and keep us entertained. I actually moved both boys up to another size of clothes. Josy is up to 18 months and Gabe is wearing 3T! I’m glad because I was legitimately concerned that they might both be wearing 2T at the same time... Also, Josy popped two new teeth, his upper ones next to his eye teeth. I didn’t know he was teething, so he’s handled this round much better than the last. He’s up to 6 on top and still just 2 on bottom. He’s also getting much better at telling us what he wants. He’s not talking much (unless you count his favorite word: huggie), but he can communicate. He’ll hand you things or make your hand do what he wants. He’ll get his shoes and coat and hand them to you and then walk to the door. He’s tried to pick up my feet to get to me to stand up. And he can definitely understand what we’re telling him and respond appropriately. If he’s thirsty he’ll dig a sippy cup out if the drawe

M: Gabe, come snuggle with me. You’re getting to be such a big boy that I want to remember what it’s like when you snuggle up next to me. G: How about if you take a picture? Then you can print it out and you’ll remember what it’s like to snuggle. Not the same, kid. But okay.

The neighbor gave us a giant collection of movies this weekend. Seriously, it was a huge box of mostly Disney movies that we didn’t have. We will never need Disney+ at this rate...  Anyway, I wasn’t feeling good today, so we all stayed home today. After nap, Gabe and I watched Bambi (which made him giggle so hard!). When Josy woke up, I turned on Winnie the Pooh.  We haven’t let Josy watch much TV at all. If Gabe is watching a show he’ll watch through the gate, but we’ve only let him sit and watch a couple of other times. Well, he definitely loves Winnie the Pooh and was excited to get to sit and watch a movie! We even had Timmy, Timmy Jr and Lucy. We were just missing Tommy and String. Well, and Daddy.

Monday morning we woke up to a city-wide power outage. Overnight we’d had a massive ice storm that took down piles of trees all over the city, causing all sorts of problems for the power company. Because there was no power at daycare and the roads downtown were terrible, school was canceled. (Ironically enough, since all the school-aged kids are doing virtual school, they didn’t get a snow day...) There was no point in getting up with no shower, no heat and no coffee, so I stayed in bed after Pat left for work. Eventually Gabe joined me and we snuggled until the power eventually came back on. While we waited, we heard a noise on the window. G: What was that noise? M: Something hit the window. Maybe it was rain, or snow, or ice. G: Or maybe someone is hitting a fish on the window. M: Possibly. Probably not though. What I wouldn’t give to be in that kid’s head sometimes... Eventually the power came back on and we all got up and ate breakfast. Then we decided to go play in the snow. Unfor