I have moved!

Just to let anyone who reads my blog know, I have moved to another site. We are now located at Team Gillis on wordpress. I wasn't happy about moving because I know how this site works, but thanks to work firewalls, I had to switch.

Please come visit over there and change your bookmarks!

Happy Big 0 - 1, Boys!

As of 9:34 and 9:37AM, by baby boys have officially turned 1. I cannot comprehend that this day is here, and not only is it here, but it came flying at about 1,000 miles per hour! Yet, at the same time, I find it hard to remember life before the boys...like they've always been meant to be here and their arrival was just another jig saw piece put into the puzzle. It's amazing how much love you can have for two little beings that have existed just barely a year!

I plan on posting a year in pictures later, so stay tuned for that...but for now, here is some photos of the boys enjoying their big birthday party last Saturday. It was a fun bash in which over 30 friends and family came to celebrate with Team Gillis, who absolutely adored all the attention (and the food!) :) Please take special note of my cupcakes...again, one of my many great ideas that aren't all that great when I realize how much time and effort it is really going to take!! Enjoy!!

We are the birthday boys!!

yummy, pizza!

Josh's new favorite camera face.

Serenading the boys

Josh Before

Josh After

Brody Before

Brody After

Spill-Proof Sippy....my @ss!

There are many mythical creatures, ideas, and notions out in the world that people would love to believe in, would do anything to see, would try anything to get to. You know - unicorns, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, world peace, and spill proof sippy cups.

Oh sure, all the fancy packaging out there touts "No Leaks", "Spill Proof" and all sorts of other blatant lies, but the worst offense is even mentioning the fact that ANY sippy cup is actually spill proof! I have shelled out too much money than I care to admit, just to find that elusive sippy cup that actually does not end up all of the surface of where ever the boys are drinking them. I thought, OF COURSE, just like everything else...if it cost more it must work, right...right?!?!

Nope, nada, zilch. In the world of toddler drinking (and not of the alcoholic variety, what kind of mother do you take me for??), there is no holy grail of spill-proof sippy cups. And it is a sad realization when you discover that the mythical item that you were sure you'd find, never existed in the first place.

I guess I should say how lucky I am for being able to transition from the tag team of bottle/formula to sippy/cows milk. I have heard plenty of horror stories of the pleading and begging of parents to their little toddlers, to "puh-lease just try the sippy cup...it's for BIG boys and girls, don't you want to be a big boy and girl??". None of that in the land of Team Gillis, but really, are you surprised?? I mean these kids eat OLIVES for crying out loud!

So, the best option I could find was the high-tech "Straw Sippy"...ooh, I know sounds fancy, doesn't it?? It allows them to suck just like on their bottles, but this tricky contraption is actually a straw and they have just hopped, skipped, and jumped from bottles to straws, not even stopping to stay at the actually sippy cup for a moment. So surely, I was joyous, thinking I must have the special mommy touch for bottle transition!! I should order up an info-mercial stat and let everyone know my tricks!!!


But really, the joke is on me. Thinking the boys would make less of a mess with said "spill proof sippy straw cups" than they did shaking their bottles left and right just mesmerized with the white splatters all over the floor, the wall, and our clothes. I think in actuality they make MORE of a mess, and yes when they shake there are no more sprays of formula erupting out of a tiny pin prick of a hole...but now they have figured out in their demonic little toddler brains that if they suck as much as they can through the straw, it can't possible all stay in their mouth, but dump all over the front of them on the floor. Which in turn soaks them and completely messes up the floors.


Oh and another clever little trick they have figured out (who knew two "under-oners" could be so smart!) is to leave a little milk at the top off the straw where there is a little well and then they flick the straw with their little teeth and voila! White spray everywhere! ::sigh::

Sorry, don't have anymore time to post, must go wash off my floors, my walls, and my children!

Somebody kidnapped my babies!!

And in their place left me with these two toddlers:


Seriously?!?!? Where did my baby boys go to? I don't recall them growing up before my very eyes, but I guess the camera doesn't lie, does it? There is no denying that they aren't babies anymore and not just based on this picture, but on lots of things that have snuck up on me:

1. Josh is officially crawling....wounded soldier crawling, but crawling nonetheless. And man can that kid move only using one good arm and dragging his legs behind him. And what does he craw to the fastest??? The wires of course!
2. Brody is standing better and better when hanging on to something. While he has no interest in crawling, his favorite activity is spinning around on his butt.
3. Table food, here they come! They will eat any and everything you give them - no joke! I was eating olives the other day and Brody whined and whined until I gave him a piece, thinking he would spit it out immediately, but nope, he just whined for more!
4. They both have so many teeth! They are actually trying to chew things, including my feet.
5. Josh is clapping, and not only clapping, but with the accuracy of a Simon champion of the '80. We clap once, he claps once. We clap five times, he claps five times. No getting anything past this smarty-pants.
6. Brody is drinking not only from a sippy cup, but a straw sippy cup. And, they don't mind the taste of cows milk which has been slowly incorporated in their diet. But of course not, it's food, isn't it?
7. They have outgrown all their "age equivalent" clothing and have moved on to 18 & 24 month sizes...preemies, what preemies??

But alas, no mama...not even close, of course if you count "maba" close. Which I don't. Heck, if Matt didn't even count "a da" as close how on earth can I count maba? The quest still continues...maybe, someday, I'll get my wish. To be called the name that I am sure will drive me nuts for the rest of my life. But for now, lay it on me kids....mama me up, mama it to me, it's all about the mamas (wha!wha!) baby!

As for me, I'm getting quite weepy at the prospect that I no longer have two little preemies to care for, but two growing, independent on my hands. Really, where did the time go?? And to think, about a year ago I was on bedrest in the hospital on the precipice of some fantastic voyage that I hadn't the faintest idea what was in store for me. All the sleepless nights, all the hospital visits, all the hospital stays, all the spitty clothes, all the blow out diapers, all the thoughts of how on earth was I going to take care of not one, but two infants! I won't lie, I've thought about running away a few times (ha! The way I run, where was I going to go, to the end of the neighborhood before I was done!), but it was all worth it. All the smiles, hugs, giggles, raspberries, and all the new things they are learning by the second. It was worth EVERY minute I spent on bedrest, in the NICU, and nebulizing two very angry boys. They are a joy to behold and cannot wait to see what the future lies in store for us...

Maybe, just maybe, a "mama" :) Pretty, puh-lease!!

Just a running talley...

...of the boys' vocabulary so far: dada, baba, yaya, fafa, uh-oh, and all done! (don't ask...)

As you can see, there is one word that is strangely missing. One word that you're sure would be spoken before uh-oh and all done for that matter! Well, at least I was SURE that the elusive "mama" would have been uttered before any two word phrases. But sadly, it has not :( Well, I am fibbing, because just today, Josh said maba...but in my book that just doesn't count!!

And, with me going away on my first business trip since the boys have been born, I am now worried that they will indeed utter the words that I have been practically willing out of their mouths. Of course, why wouldn't they say mama while she is 3,000 miles away??

I also dread that I will miss them crawling, not that they aren't already mobile, because they are. They can roll so quickly across a room, it'll make your head spin. And you know what they are rolling to?? Nope, not all those bright, loud, and colorful toys....not those, but those fascinating wires coming out of the wall. And that absolutely intriguing dog toy that MUST be much more fun than one of their 10,000 toys scattered around the house!

So, now I am faced with a decision...go the full disclosure route with Matt, with strict instructions to videotape any new milestones, or I could decide that the "ignorance is bliss" mind-set is the way to go, asking to not be posted about ANY actions that may or may not have occurred while I was gone. The jury is still out, but I have a feeling that I will want to know if they have indeed called out for their momma. A little piece of my heart might break at the fact that I wasn't there to hear it, but at the same time it would be nice to know that they didn't forget about the person who loves them more than anything in the whole wide world, even though I have to be away from them for 4 full days...sigh.

So I will let you know how it goes to be without all my men for the first time since their existence...I'm not going to lie, I am looking forward to waking up to an alarm clock for the first time in 10 1/2 months instead of waking up long before the alarm is to go off and ages further from the sunrise itself. But man, will I miss the smiles, and the giggles, and the funny faces, and the games, and the snuggles. But, strangely, I won't be missing the super-duper explosive wonders that come from an hour in the jumparoo :)

Wish me luck, tomorrow...and not too many tears when I leave. Don't worry, I've already loaded my ipod with hundreds of photos to remind me of them and have demanded that Matt send me photos on my phone throughout the week! And here's some photos to make me (and hopefully, you) smile, because I need it.

Which is worse...

A) That I didn't take the boys' 10 month photo until a week later (and it says so in the sigh, you just can't see it, heehee),

B) That I am not that upset about waiting a week until their 10 month photo,

or

C) That the pajamas and bedhead are not because they just got out of bed, but because they just got up from their 2PM nap??

My guess is that none of you MOMs will think any of the above is bad or out of the ordinary, and pretty much neither do I. I'm just glad that I got their 10 month photos taken in the same month, let alone the same week!

'tis life with twins...your best laid plans kinda get thrown out the window, that is the window of a skyscraper, in the middle of a hurricane during the end of days. In other words, your plans will go pretty much the exact opposite that you were hoping. You start to actually consider yourself lucky if 10% any plan sees the light of day. "Oooh, the boys are being particularly good in their jumparoos today, I think I will organize my pantry" And the boys will be perfect angels up until you have ALL the items pulled out of the cabinet and you are actually going to start the organizing process...that is when both of them decide almost on cue, that they are capital D-DONE with the jumparoos thanks to their incredibly poopy diapers in which the poop has not only made it all the way down to their toes, but in fact has gone against gravity (as only poo can do, I'm convinced) and worked itself up their backs. It's then time to dump both babies into the tub and clean them while trying not to re-poop them with the clothes that you are wearing. So you decide to strip down naked since you are filthy and they are soaking you anyway. By the time you've bathed them, dried them and dressed them, it's time for their next meal in the disaster area that's called a kitchen because you thought it'd be a GREAT idea to organize (never again...my pantry can stay disorganized, thankyouverymuch!)

So I had all these great plans to update my blog regularly while on my Christmas vacation and as you can see, I did a piss poor job at it. But what can you do?? I'm just proud that I haven't thrown my hands up in the air and decided I'm through with this whole blogging business! I sure could use the free time for something more "me" oriented...like taking a long bath, reading a trashy magazine, or even just doing nothing (I know, I know, I'm so silly that way!). But in reality, I love doing this...updating people on my life as hectic as it is. And I love that one day I can sit Josh & Brody down (if they're even speaking to me, that is, since I will sure be so uncool) and show them what it was like for us when they first entered the world. The joys, the setbacks, the disappointments, the craziness, the laughter...all of it! So, while I may not post as much as I'd (or my family) would like, I am in this for the long haul...some posts just might be lengthier than others with all my updates :)

Speaking of lengthy posts - this is going to be one of them. If I'm boring you to tears, feel free to leave, I won't take offense...or just browse through the photos if that's what you're really here for, I don't mind. The fact that you've even read this far impresses me beyond belief!!

Alright, so Christmas was good in the Gillis house. Not great, thanks to the boys starting down the slippery slide to sickness again. Thankfully, we were able to nip it in the bud pretty quickly, thanks to marathon nebulizing sessions. The boys are now on an inhaled steroid for a month in order to help keep the brochiolitis at bay and maybe eliminate the chance of future asthma. And they are doing pretty well with it, well, I mean with not being sick, they actually HATE the nebulizer mask with a passion and it's always fun to guess how they will struggle today to get out of it. I'm thinking their father is teaching them wrestling moves already, and it's sad to say that they are working on poor old mom.

Anyway, I digress...Santa was so good to the boys (I remember telling Santa to keep it low key this year, AHEM), and they got all sorts of fun toys and warm clothes. Here are some clips from the holidays:

The Stockings hung with care:

Brody's 1st Christmas Gift

Josh loving the paper more than the gift!

What are you trying to tell me, dad?

Can't wait to get that giant ball in my mouth (minds out of the gutter, ladies and gentleman!)

Wow, this toy is loads of fun!

Aren't we freakin' cute in our Christmas outfits??

Brody, and old pro at opening gifts now...

What is this box of awesomness?!?!

How many days is Christma, Ma??

As you can see, they were literally opening gifts for days!! It was so much fun to be a part of that, and can only imagine how much fun next year will be with two toddlers...yikes!!!

Speaking of toddlers...our boys are "this close" to crawling. Not to say they aren't mobile already, cause those two are some seriously mean rollers. They can easily get from point A to point B (usually an electrical cord or a socket) in a blink of an eye, but it's not through traditional crawling. I was told that I never really crawled myself, I scooted backwards and then went straight to walking, so I'm wondering if the boys will take after their mother on that front. Of course their father was walking at 9 months, so I'm sorry to say that they aren't quite there yet. Well, to be honest, I am not sorry that they aren't walking yet. I am really dreading two mobile babies and was perfectly happy with raising two baby blobs for the rest of my life! Unfortunately, the babies have already had a taste of mobility and will most certainly be crawling and walking in no time...and once that happens, life as I know it will be over...along with my savior, the jumparoo!

What else??? Well, both boys have two bottom teeth and Brody has a top one surfacing. I have yet to capture a good photo of the teefies, but will be sure to post when I do. And they have figured out how to feed themselves, but that's a whole other post :) We are still able to feed them for the most part which makes my life a little easier (and WAY cleaner), at least for now...

Other than that, i am trying to eat up every moment of their first year that I can, because in less that two months, my boys will be ::GASP:: 1 whole year old! Project "General Lee" is in full swing...and if you aren't sure what I mean, you will!!

Thanks for stopping by and being patient with this blogger. Hopefully the cuteness helped lure you back in :) And I'll end with a few more since it's been such a long time: