pictures to prove it

that's "one" handsome Mr. B!!

small prop block, party of 2

if you look closely, C has cheese puff shavings on his right cheek ... no wonder he's all smiles!

"what is this thing?"

rocking the fedora! (backwards)

going to get this one up on a canvas on our wall soon!

fabulous smiles sitting on daddy's lap!

... acting up on mommy's lap

making the escape

B wants to know, "Will you be mine?"

cutie patooties :)

running away from the set ... again..

"did you take it yet?"

*pucker up*

Heyyyyy ladies ;)

Super Cooper!!!

missing Michigan again

Say that 5 times fast :)

We had a lovely time in Michigan recently. Gram Spencer flew to our house from TN and spent a couple days here before her, me, and the boys flew up to my sister's house in MI. It was a bit chillier and snowier up there than our last visit in June!

It was so nice to be there again and watch the boys play with their cousins Lara and Calliegh. Upon our arrival, the girls had the living room set up as a baby play area with all of their fun toys from their own baby-days. The boys hardly knew where to begin (and when to end and go to bed!).

Brayden & Cooper missed seeing their Uncle Ryan this time as he was gone for work, but they did get to see Papa Spencer since he was able to fly in for a few days!

having SO much fun playing in the play place at the big mall in Des Moines

after picking Gram up at the airport

Brayden practicing to be a master chef -

he didn't seem to mind that the majority of his cousins' toys were pink and girly

Lara fitting Cooper for his apron

story time with Papa -

B found it way too cozy of a spot to stay awake

it's never too cold for ice cream!

everyone eating ice cream (in their winter coats:)

Daddy enjoying double snuggles at the airport before sending us off to MI

we had a total of 4 flights on our trip: 2 there and 2 back

The entire first flight, I was hoping this would happen and it finally did ...

in the last five minutes

 our first flight back home -

Brayden preparing for take off

Cooper preparing for take off - "is this how to buckle it, mom?"

our layover in Chicago -

Gram watching the boys as they intently watched the planes through the window

'sick' of winter

If it's not one thing ...

then it's vomiting.

Just when we think the boys are finally doing better, they turn around and get sick again! They've had quite the rough go of it this winter. First it was a cold. That settled into a nasty cough. The nasty cough lasted for nearly a month. There was one very nice week when the coughs were dwindling and a healthy future seemed to be on the horizon. And that's when the stomach flu hit our house.

I feel so sorry for them when they get sick like that because they can't tell us how they feel, and it's hard to know just what they need to feel better. So it's lots of checking temperatures, giving tylenol, and snuggling. Oh the snuggling ... it's the only enjoyable part of the boys being sick.

The following is what I had posted on Facebook during the week of the stomach flu:

"We were still up last night when we heard Brayden crying from his crib. He didn't cry very long and was quiet by the time I got to his door, but I decided to go in and check on him anyways.

I walked into their room and was hit by an overwhelming smell that caused me to wonder when the diaper genie had last been changed. One more sniff and I realized that wasn't diaper stink... that was vomit stink. I looked in Brayden's crib and sure enough, he was sitting up holding a puke-drenched lovey and looking extremely confused as to why he had acquired a new foul-smelling hair gel.

I was so concerned with getting him bathed and everything washed up that I hadn't even thought to check on Cooper until Nate said, "Hey did you see that there's a pile of vomit in Cooper's crib too?" 

Apparently Cooper had finished his throwing up business and went right back to sleep without bothering to let us know.

It's not until one of them gets sick that they truly demonstrate the art of 'sharing' ... they've already generously shared their illness with their daddy, now if I can just steer clear this one!

Hoping they all feel better soon."

All 3 boys are feeling better now, and somehow (luck?) I was able to avoid it! Nate actually had two bouts of the stomach flu this winter ... hoping there's not a '3rd time's the charm' for him around the corner. At the mention of sick babies, Gramma Lora crosses the river with homemade chicken noodle soup, even when it means walking right into it and paying the price by getting sick herself.

Hoping for healthier (and warmer!!) days in the near future - spring can't come soon enough in my opinion!

All that nasty throwing up business calls for some teeth-brushing!

doctor's visit

Took the boys to their 12 month checkup yesterday ... their colds are just hanging on by a cough. Glad they are finally at the tail end of it! They didn't miss the chance to terrorize the checkup room: the trash got emptied, the bin of books got rearranged, and the doc's rolly chair went for a spin.

Then the hallways echoed with the ear-splitting screams of 2 one-yr olds getting 5 shots each. After all was said and done, we rewarded them (and ourselves) with a cold stone creamery treat.

Apparently they were quite worn out because they didn't make a peep going to bed last night. I told Cooper it was time to go night-night and it appeared that he was running away from me, but then I realized he was going to his crib to get his lovey blanket and go "ny-ny" as he said! It melted our hearts since he's always been one to fight sleep so badly.

happy first birthday, Brayden & Cooper

Turning one was so much fun!

Don't tell our parents, but the fun's just begun.

Opening cabinets and pulling on drawers,

Dumping cereal all over the floors.

Throwing sippy cups and all kinds of food,

Emptying the bath water because someone pooed.

One going this way and the other, that,

They (mom and dad) can't remember the last time they sat.

But double the snuggles, the hugs, and the kisses,

Hold us close and forget the dishes.

We're only one once and we're growing so fast,

Enjoy every moment, this age will zoom passed.

Love you Mom & Dad!!

- Brayden and Cooper

Three birthday parties later, the twins are officially one year old! It's both hard to believe and very believable ... depending on how it's looked at. I'm enjoying getting a ton more sleep now than I was this time a year ago! Not getting much sleep those first few months made it seem to drag on and on and on, but now looking back at photos of our newborn baby boys from a year ago makes it seem like it can't already be a year. This past year sure has brought a lot of changes to our family ... having a baby (or 2) is a lot more sacrifice and work than I could have ever imagined, but it has also brought way more joy and love into my heart than I knew it could hold. I'm so thankful they're ours! Even when they are teething, fighting, screaming, and, yes, pooping in the bathtub.

So back to the "three birthday parties" statement:

• Their first birthday celebration was with the Spencer family at my parent's new house in TN over Thanksgiving time.
• The second celebration was a little to-do at our house on their actual birthday with the Stidolph clan and a few close friends.
• Their THIRD and final shebang was at Gpa & Gma Stidolph's house 5 days after their birthday which included the Stidolph family and other family and friends in the area.*

*We had to push the big Iowa party to a later date due to the nasty cold virus that swept through our house the week of the boys' birthday, causing ear infections in both boys and striking Brayden with a perforated ear drum.  :(

Thank goodness for the grandmas -- Gramma Lora was to our rescue, getting us all better in no time. We were even able to get Gram Spencer here for a couple of days to help us fight the nasties and get us back on our feet.

The boys are doing much better now ... if only we could stop those runny noses!

To sum up, I'm glad birthdays only come around once a year. Now on to the photos :)