One of these things is not like the other....

I am pondering pictures. I love to compare photos of the boys to see if Jax is going to be just as good looking as Des. See if you can tell who's who. Make a guess in the comments I would love to know if you all think they look as similar as I think they do. =)
(hint: there is a physical attribute that is a dead giveaway every time).

And another thing....

Just a small video of Jax talking a little (with Des and I in the background). Figured it was time for the "little" one to make his film debut.

A breath of fresh air.

Marc came home a few minutes early on Monday night and the water bill needed to be paid so I took the chance and left all the boys home and went to pay it. Our church friend works the counter there and she raised children 13 months apart (ours are 14 months apart). She was very concerned about my well being and encouraged me. Then I crossed the street to make an eye appointment (you can't have your eyes checked while you are pregnant or for the 3-6 months following - and I've been pregnant for two years so... its been awhile). The folks there go to our church, too and they made a fuss over me saying how they missed me in choir and asked how I was doing. That was encouraging as well. Last on my list was the grocery store for milk and I ran into a gal that goes to play group and she asked how I was doing and encouraged me. So - it was a short 30 minutes of errands but to this strung out mama it was a breath of fresh air!

I can't tell you how relieving it is when people sympathize with my difficult task. I do NOT ask for pity because I signed up for the adventure - BUT I am so relieved when people recognize that it is definitely a challenge - it makes me feel like maybe I'm not so weak but maybe the load is a little heavy. Does that make any sense? I even had two moms that raised twins tell me that they thought what I was doing was harder. So there's a reason I'm so stinkin' tired?!?! phew.

"Come to me all you who are heavy-laden and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Juice mustache.

The boys "playing" together.

Finally!

If you didn't know - Tana doesn't exactly like Des. So I was thrilled when today they (finally!) found something that they can enjoy together: watching the birds at our feeder! =)

btw: Its the first bird at our feeder - does that mean its spring??

Off To Work

Our typical morning: Des wakes us up and he and I head to the kitchen for cereal and juice while Jax sleeps (ideally) and Marc gets ready for work. As Des and I sit at the table enjoying the break of fast, Marc meanders out tying his tie and gathering things for the workday. He then puts on his shoes and coat and says "bye-bye."

In the evening the process is reversed: Say hello to Des, shoes off, coat off, tie off.... Invariable a tie ends up somewhere close to the door. Today Des found said tie and putting it around his neck he walked purposefully to the front door began putting on Marc's shoes and turned to say "bye-bye." Apparently Des was signed up for the evening shift at the high school and needed to get going. =)

We have a great kid.

Animal Sounds and Elmo

Des is currently working up an impressive repertoire of animal sounds and shares them readily with us. He also continues to have a keen eye for animals that require narration throughout our daily adventures. Such a keen eye, in fact, that I sometimes cannot find said animals. It is very amusing, too, the sounds that he assigns random animals if we have not yet taught him the appropriate sound or if the animal has no sound to teach. He is very smart and very cute! But you all knew that already, right? The following is a list of his 'vocabulary.'

Monkey, Pig, Cow, Dolphin, Mouse, Cat (big news: he's added the M to his 'ow), Tiger, Lion, Bear, Frog, Seal, Elephant, Owl, Horse, Dog... I think there are more but that's all I can think of at this late hour. A couple of animals have actual names: Deer, Bird, Zebra, Bunny, Hippo and last but not least: Elmo. =)

Marc was out of town this weekend to help his parents move to their brand new house. Very exciting. Then he attended a conference with some co-workers on Monday and Tuesday where he was officially recognized as Teacher of the Year. He even was presented with a trophy. It was a state wide event and all the districts' Teachers of the Year were recognized. My parents came down to help me with the boys while he was gone for the weekend and then I followed them home for the begining of the week because Des had a doctor's appointment anyway (which turned out just fine). I was leaving on Wednesday when they got a call from my brother saying their baby #2 was arriving that day ahead of schedule so we had me packing up my little family to leave at the same time as my mom and dad were packing up to leave - busy household! We are blessed to have a second nephew making a grand total of 4 grandsons for my parents.

Here are some moments from the past couple of weeks, enjoy!

Jax's happy baby look.

Our first family dinner... Bumbo courtesy of U. Justin and A. Erin.

Des is also perfecting his musical abilities with the harmonica

And piano. Yes, he's playing it with his head - resourceful and creative little boy!

Massage

So, I got my very first professional massage today! It was a gift for Christmas and I have been looking forward to it. I have never had one before and it was very therapeutic. The gal that did it said I was "all knotted up" and I responded with: that's what happens when you have two under two! She was impressed with that and said it was a good excuse to be tense. Anyway... she worked at all my knots and I feel a lot better physically. I didn't realize how having some massage therapy could make such a difference in your physical being, I just always thought the relaxation was for the duration of the massage with out many after effects. But I highly recommend it!