Twin Giggles

Simeon and Lieren have really found each other recently and are interacting a lot. The other day I was changing their clothes when they started laughing at each other and didn't want to stop. It was so cute that I went into the other room to get the camera, came back and they were still at it.

Sim and Lieren Laugh from Brittany Drury on Vimeo.

This is so them. Lieren laying on her back taking it all in and Simeon trying his best to move around!

Warning: Picture Heavy

Shane got to come home a bit ago to grab a late lunch as the babies were going down for their naps. Silas went to nap early (He has a runny nose and I'm praying it doesn't turn into anything else but as the babies were finishing their bottles he said, "How bout you rock with mommy and take a nap?" Poor thing.). So as I began getting the babies in their sleep sacks I said to Shane, "I just changed the 8th poopy diaper of the day!" His reply? "Smells like it!"
.
I have been sick this week. Yuck. Glad to be feeling a bit better today. But since I still don't have the energy to do much, the house is a wreck. I am choosing to ignore it and spend my energy focusing on the fun moments this week.
,
I have been trying to set up a sit-down activity for Silas each day. We do coloring, stickers, play-doh, etc. But this week we also played in flour...

.

We used to do this when I worked in the Early Childhood Special Education classroom. Silas loved it, more at the beginning when it was just flour. He didn't much know what to do with it once we added the water and made it sticky. Today he said, "How bout you write letters in the flo-wer?"
.

And today he played in a tub of beans. I don't know what I was thinking letting him go at it alone while I was feeding the babes. I have a blanket I usually put down for things like this, but I'll blame it on the sickness that I forgot. Thankfully I had decided on beans, which were a very easy clean-up, and not rice.

.
The babies are wearing new shoes today that I picked out at this Etsy shop and grandma ordered. They are adorable and stay on their feet! Finally, after months of trying to get socks to stay on, we have success. Sim's are almost too small so I'm ordering more today. Lieren will get to wear his as a neutral option.

.

Lieren's are about the cutest thing I've ever seen. Have a mentioned that I love having a girl in the house?

.

Shane's mom has been the biggest help the past week. She came all last weekend while Shane was gone on a retreat and has come multiple days this week since I've been sick. We love you, Grandma! ps, Silas took this picture. Pretty good, huh?

.

And here's the real reason I sat down to do this post. I wanted my family to see our Lieren is sitting up on her own!

.

I'm off to rest on the couch till naptime is over...let's hope everyone sleeps well today!

Favorites 2010

For as long as I can remember, when I put Silas to bed, one of the things I say is, "You're my boy." Now he is turning it around and saying a phrase I'll treasure forever, "Mommy's your boy." He is using your for my and in his own way, telling me how much we love each other. Little things like that mean the world. And on a day like today, when he has been especially trying, it is nice to end on a sweet note. If anyone ever questioned the innate sinfulness of man, they must not have spent any time with a 2 year old.
.
Anyway.
.
I thought I'd share a few of the things we are enjoying as Christmas favorites this year. First off, Meet the Sight Words 1, 2, and 3 dvds. Have to give my friend, Rebekah, credit for this great idea! (here is where she blogs about it) These are a great learning tool. Silas is already recognizing about 10 sight words when we read books together (on, my, go, the, with, he, this, like, all, for, I, a, of...) and many more than that during the review at the end of each dvd. I know sight words are just one part of reading, but coupled with the Leap Frog letters and words dvds he got last year, he is building skills that will help in the long run (Rebekah suggested those too!). And another bonus? The babies love Meet the Sight Words as well!
.
2. New bibs! Ha...this is really just an excuse to put up pics of the little ones eating. But yes, Simeon and Lieren did get new bibs for Christmas. They are eating all kinds of solids (peas, green beans, sweet potato, carrots, avocado, bananas, and applesauce). I'm making some and buying some. I have a butternut squash on the counter for the next food to try. Making is so much cheaper but takes time, which is precious in this house!

.

3. Laugh and Learn toys. We love these and have several different ones. They always seem to be what keep our children's attention. And they play with them over and over and over. Silas still plays with that door/house toy we've had forever. Sim got the workbench and Lieren got the kitchen...

.

4. Ok. This could be the toy of the year for us. Alphie the robot. Silas loves him. No guarantees that your child will, too, but Alphie is filling Silas' insatiable desire for learning. It is great because he can do a lot of it, but some of it is just enough over his head that he can easily teach himself or let us teach him. We've already replaced the batteries, if that tells you anything. Great tool for learning to match, phonemic awareness, colors, counting, etc.

.

5. And finally, Craigslist! We found several fun things for Silas on Craigslist (including a whole set of Cars paraphernalia). But this find was excellently cheap! And even on the coldest of days, getting out for a spin has been fun. I can't wait for all of us to be out there in the spring!

.

This Holiday season I didn't have much time or energy to invest in building family traditions. But the one thing Silas and I talked about over and over was that while all our gifts are wonderful and we are excited about them and can be extremely thankful for them, there is One Gift that is much better. And even now if asked, Silas will tell you the best gift of all is Jesus, because He helps us with our sin.

.

And whether a 2 year old knows it or not, that is what we really need.

Crazy Hair

All the babies are in bed for naptime. I love Sunday afternoons. We typically get home before lunchtime so have time to unwind, eat, then play a bit before heading upstairs for naps. I am usually extremely tired myself by the time everyone gets down but something about knowing the children are sleeping and letting myself ignore everything that needs to be done around the house is energizing. So I'm jumping on here to wind down myself before I nap.

.

Our Silas finally got a haircut. We've been putting it off partly due to busyness and partly due to our dislike of all but one of his cuts in the past. But his shaggy locks had gotten out of hand. Here he is over Christmas with second cousin, Anna. His hair was even longer than this by last week...

And here he is after getting home from seeing Miss Cassie. Seriously stylin'...

He kept telling us, "Your hair's not crazy anymore!" (Silas still refers to himself as "you" most of the time. He is in a funny stage where he is using I, Si-si, you, me, my, and your all for himself as he learns what is correct. I don't correct it, just model using the right thing. So we have to really pay attention to context to know what he means sometimes!)

.

On another note, Silas is learning to read! He is beginning to recognize sight words as I point to them in books when we read together. I'm planning to share some of our favorite Christmas gifts and will include the sight word DVDs that are teaching him. In a season where there is so little time to foster his incredible love for learning, these have been a great gift!

And I Just Keep Telling Them, Mommy is Way More Fun When I'm Rested!

We have had a glorious resurgence of sleep the past few days. The babes slept 11 1/2 hours last night, with just a quick 10-minute rocking of Simeon at 5ish. I haven't slept this much since June. I hate to say it out loud, but I'm starting to feel like a normal person again.
.
These two are going to be seven months old in just 10 days...
.
With Christmas falling as they turned six months, we waited to have their 6-month well baby check-ups until last week. They are both growing and developing just fine, but are so different!
.
Simeon weighed in at 18 pounds, 7 ounces. That is just average for boys his age. Lieren was 15 pounds, 7 ounces. If you have been around our babies lately, you are not surprised that Simeon weighs a whole 3 pounds more than his sister. It is pretty obvious when you pick them up that he is significantly bigger. As Shane says, Lieren is a petite flower.
.
Silas was only 17 pounds, 10 ounces at his 6 month check-up. I couldn't believe it when I looked back and saw that Sim is starting to outgrow him! But I suppose I shouldn't be that surprised because Sim is giving Silas a run for his money in all areas of development. Here is a post with pictures of Silas at about this same age.

.
Simeon has just started sitting up independently. He will crash over now and then, but can sit for extended periods of time and catch himself if he does start to tip. He is also rolling all over and scooting some. He can go backwards pretty well, it's the going forward that is hard. But he is already pulling his legs up under himself and has gotten on all fours a few times. Yikes! I'm going to have a crawler before I know it! He is so desperate to get at things he wants that I know he will be moving as soon as he can.

If there were one word to describe Lieren, it would be content. She is the sweetest baby. And it shows in her development. She would love to lay on her back and talk to someone all day. And while toys that are just out of her reach look fun, she is happy to lay and talk to them. Why bother reaching for them? She is rolling from her tummy to back and has become more interested in sitting the past couple of days. I can't get over her darling personality. And the jury is still out on her hair color...we might have a strawberry blonde on our hands!

.

The babes shared a twin moment in front of the window the other morning...

.

And if their gaze would have actually reached above the windowsill, this is what they would have seen...

.

Two posts in one week, I know! But don't consider it a trend, yet! We'll see how the sleeping continues...

The Silence and The Learning

Life has been so...well...lifey lately. From a trip to the ER whilst under blizzard warnings for Silas to get stitches in his lip to preparing for Christmas, from traveling to visit family to everyone getting sick (including the babes!), from getting settled back home and attempting to re-establish some kind of routine to having students and youth leaders over to hang out...there have been few, if any, dull moments around here.

.

And so this little blog has faded to silence.

.

But in the silence, I am learning. Learning that without a doubt there are many other women who do a better job than I at mothering. Many others who have more energy than I. Many others who are more creative, more organized, and who can cook a better meal. But at the end of the day, I'm ok with that. Because at the end of the day, the three little ones in our house don't really care about other mothers. They just want this one.

And I am learning that daily there are things that have "happened that the works of God might be displayed in [us]". (John 9:3) I am praying for eyes to see our circumstances not from my very temporal perspective, but from His.
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (2 Corinthians 4:17)