We're still here!

I know that I am a terrible blogger and that it has been way too long since I have posted, and I have no real excuse, other than "we're always busy!" The boys are doing very well and we are all happily looking forward to the end of the school year and the start of my summer vacation! I can't wait until I can spend all of that wonderful time with my boys!


We have been trying to get out and enjoy the nice weather as much as possible. Last weekend, we hung out at Station Square. The boys rode the train and had a blast watching the fountains, listening to the music, and having some ice cream. Here are a few pictures from that day:

All three cousins listening to music and watching the fountains

Riley and Uncle Seth riding the train in Station Square

The train in Station Square

The boys have become Thomas the Train fanatics and are quickly accumulating trains and tracks and bridges. I was lucky enough to find a used train table at a great price! At first, Riley was using it more than Ross, but this evening, Ross spent a lot of time driving the trains all around the track and talking up a storm the whole time! I am sure they will have tons of fun with this table.

Finally, just because I think they are super cute (I know I am totally biased!), I took a bunch of pictures today before we went out to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and to splash in the fountain.

This is the first time both boys purposefully attempted to smile for the camera at the same time!

Brotherly love

It's almost time...

It is almost time for the 2009 March for Babies! This Saturday, we will be walking in honor of Ross and Riley, and we will celebrate the amazing progress they have made since their premature birth. We will also be walking in honor of all of the other premature babies that the March of Dimes strives to help and hope that our contribution will help make more miracles happen.

Thank you so very much to those of you who have already given so generously! It means the world to me to have your support for this cause which is so dear to my heart. In the next few days, I would love to get as close as possible to our goal, so if you would still like to donate in honor of Ross and Riley, please click on the badge below and it will take you directly to our personal walk page.

Thank you!

Another post of pictures....

Today was "Take Your Child to Work Day," so I brought the boys in to visit my classroom for a couple of hours this afternoon. They both decided that "typing" on the computer and spinning on Mommy's chair was the most fun part of school!

They also had a great time climbing on the play equipment outside of the preschool classrooms down the hall. Riley was still talking about "driving the bus" as he fell asleep tonight at bedtime. In this picture, though, Ross actually got a turn to drive!

In other news.....Riley has been sleeping in a semi-standing position lately. I have found him like this several times, sound asleep. Does anyone else have a toddler who sleeps like this? I think that maybe he fell out of bed, and fell back to sleep in the middle of climbing back in! He looked so cute that I had to take a picture!

We went to the Carnegie Science Center recently and everyone had a great time! Ross LOVED the laser light and music show! He sat and watched the lasers and sang for nearly 45 minutes! Riley was actually bored during the show, but he was happy to cuddle with me and get a back rub. Both boys enjoyed the model train room and I got this adorable picture of them walking through it with my brother, Uncle Seth.

Thanks, as always, for checking in with us! Leave us a comment and let us know what's going on with you!

New pics to enjoy

The boys and I are finishing up our spring break, and I am headed back to work tomorrow. This vacation wasn't anywhere near as much fun as I has hoped, because Ross and I both had strep throat and I had some other unexpected doctor's appointments that ate up most of the week. Thank goodness Katie was willing and able to come bail us out, so I could take care of the doctor stuff and know that the boys were in good hands!

We did manage to pack lots of fun into the last couple of days when we were all feeling better!

Last night, I took the boys to Bruster's for ice cream, which Ross has always refused to eat in the past. (He has some very specific sensory issues/preferences around foods.) This time, he very carefully touched it to his lips several times, then touched it to his tongue, then took a big lick, and then proudly announced, "Mmmm....it's good!" He then proceeded to eat almost the whole kid sized scoop of chocolate oreo ice cream, dividing it equally between what actually went into his mouth and what was smeared all over his face, his shirt, his hair, his ears, etc. It was so much fun to watch him explore a new "sensory" activity, and be a totally typical toddler covering himself in chocolate ice cream! I didn't have my camera with me, so you will just have to trust me that it was adorable!

Riley ate most of his scoop of cherry vanilla very neatly, wiping his face and fingers between each bite with a napkin. He also continually begged me to wipe Ross off and was flabbergasted that I was allowing Ross to sit there covered in ice cream. "Wipe Rossi, Mommy. He's sooooo dirty! Wipe him!" was pretty much the conversation from his side of the table. What can I say? Riley likes to be clean!

Today, we went out to brunch with our family and then over to Reid's house to play. It was so nice to be able to spend time relaxing with everyone together. Here are some pictures from today:

Our family!

Mommy and the boys.....and sunglasses!

"Mimi is so soft!" according to Riley.

Cousins on a couch

The Ugly R-Word

Ross and Riley would like you to take a moment today to go visit www.r-word.org and pledge your support to end the use of the "r-word" in our everyday conversations.

The casual use of the word "retard" has become commonplace, and yet that word is painfully demeaning to people with disabilites. It is just as hurtful and ignorant as racial and ethnic slurs, and there is no acceptable time to use the word "retard" in everyday dialogue.

If each of you visit www.r-word.org and pledge to end the use of the "r-word" and then share the site with your own friends and family, perhaps we can truly begin to remove this ugly word from our language.

Ross and Riley say thanks!

Video Clips

For the past few days, both of the boys have been singing "Happy Birthday". We haven't celebrated any birthdays lately, but they are both really into the song these days. Tonight, at dinner, Ross belted out his own version, and then did a little improv at the end, which I managed to capture on video. He doesn't say all of the words, (he skips "happy birth-") but he is clearly saying 'day to you".

Riley has learned the names of many dinosaurs, thanks to Katie! I love how he sounds when he says "stegosaurus," "triceratops," and "pterodactyl"! I took this video tonight of him naming most of the dinosaurs in one of his books.

Exhausted but adorable

I just had to post a couple quick pics from this weekend. The first one is the boys in their "bunny glasses" that my Mom gave them yesterday. They both love wearing them and looking at themselves in the mirror.

The transition to the big boy beds has gone well for night time, although it does take Ross quite a while to settle down and actually stay in bed. Naps during the day, though, haven't gone well at all! Neither of them have napped at all this weekend and they were both completely exhausted by late afternoon today. This picture was taken right after their bath tonight. They both climbed onto the couch, Riley put his arm around Ross, and Ross reached up and held Riley's hand. They look like they are about to fall asleep right there!