Christmas time is coming!

It's been a long time since we posted. Life is busy and crazy all the time and we really should do better about updating, but we do the best we can.

Ava and Ben are no longer babies officially now. They can tell me what they want, don't want, and everything in between. Ava speaks in sentences most of the time now and Ben usually says 2 to 3 words together.

We recently went to see Santa. They both talked a big game, but were terrified of him. I even asked them if they wanted to go see him again and they both replied "NO". Maybe next year it will go better.

They also loved helping decorate the tree this year. They actually move the ornaments everyday to different places on the tree.

Crazy

Vacation!!!!!!!!!!!

We arrived at the beach on Saturday. The kids have been having a blast, but of course are exhausted. Ben, as usual, has been running a fever, which he always does when we are away from home.

Ben loves every aspect of the beach, the sand and the water. Ava is getting better. She likes the ocean, and the pool, but is not crazy about the sand. They are both very fearless and jump off the side of pool for us to catch them. They are trying to swim and will kick their feet and try to float. They are also even trying to blow bubbles on top of the water in the pool.












Yesterday and today, both babies have fallen asleep at the beach. And actually napped for about an hour and half. It was nice to have a moments rest and really sweet to see them laying there so peacefully.

Toddlers!!!!! Oh what fun!!!!!!

Oh what fun 2 toddlers can bring!!!! Things are changing and growing so quickly in our house. We used to have lots of gates and those are slowly coming down. Not because I want them to, but because it is safer than 2 monkeys climbing over them.

Of course, they think they have finally beaten mommy, but really they just won a battle and not the war.






It's stays busy around here and they are learning new words everyday. Ben is a rough and tough boy who likes to kick, run, and jump. He is full of giggles and destined to be a fantastic soccer player with his kicking skills. Ava is just a barrel of laughs. She is very funny and can light of the world with her smile. She is the group spokesperson. She answers questions for her brother and decides when he is allowed to talk. She is definitely the boss!!

The following pictures are some examples of how much fun 2 toddlers can be. The good thing is they can usually find entertainment in anything.





But all good things must come to an end!!!!

New Pics and Sad News

We have had a pretty bad week. Our beloved dog, Alex, started having a really hard time last week and it just got worse this week. We tried some steroids, but they didn't give him as much help as usual. When I came home form work on Thursday, he looked really tired and sad and I knew it was time to make the decision to let him go. We took him this morning and he will be greatly missed. I think he took a little part of us with him. I have some pics of the kids with him.

Crazy days!!!!

Here are a few pictures just to show you some of Ben's newest tricks. He is quite the monkey!. This past weekend he learned to climb out of his crib. If he is awake for any small amount of time in his crib, he will climb out. Ava has not figured that out yet, but I'm sure she will from watching her brother.







Tha babies have also starting taking their clothes off. I usually take their shirts off when they are in their high chairs instead of getting stains all over their clothes. Ben decided he could take his own shirt off the other day. You will also notice in some of the other pictures, Ava has her pants down. This has become quite frustrating for me because they take their pants off and then their diapers off!!!

Hospital Stay

Some of you may already know, but Ava has recently been in the hospital. In fact, we just got home today. I took her to the ER on Thursday night/Friday morning with what was almost like an asthma attack. Once there, I found out she had croup and pneumonia. So we spent a couple nights in the hospital and it was the longest 2 days ever. My mom came to help with Ben and I stayed the entire time with Ava. This is the first time since right after the babies came home that I have been away from 1 of them. I never knew you could miss something so much, but I sure did miss that little cute boy. I did talk to him on the phone a couple times a day, but I'm not sure he understands that yet. My mom said Ben looked for his sister, and he even piled all of her stuff up for her just waiting on her to come home.

We did take a few pictures of Ava for her scrapbook. She was quite the sick little girl and it was so difficult to see her so pitiful. Thankfully she is on the mend and now we just pray that Ben does not end up as sick as she was because we all know that when 1 gets sick, the other gets sick.