Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail!

Hi!  It has been way too long since I updated our blog!  So sorry!  A lot has happened in the past few weeks... for starters- Ty guy is basically crawling!  Well-he's army crawling, using only his arms to move around- but hey, he's moving!  Austin is "scooting" backwards... he hasn't quite got the forward motion yet.   It is so fun to watch my lil men try to get around.  I am amazed the Tyler can pull his lower body so quickly... I mean his legs have to weigh about 10lbs- easily half his body weight.

We celebrated our first Easter together as a family.  The Easter bunny even made his grand debut during Easter brunch.   Austin was all smiles for Mr. Bunny, but Tyler- well let's just say he had a different expression.  He gave the Easter bunny his "smug mug."  Which is basically a look that says, "who the hell are you?"  As I watched Tyler stare the Easter bunny down, I could hear the person inside the bunny suit laughing.  Ha- i mean seriously, when was the last time an eight month old gave you a look?  It is quite comical.

We also have had a lot of visitors.  The boys got to spend time with their Aunt Karla, Uncle Gary, Aunt Rochelle, Uncle Ried, Aunt Renee, Mom-mom, Aunt Amby, Aunt Ashes (yes their are two aunt Ash's- Ash Kantruss and Ash Knoch), Aunt Cheryl, & Uncle Doug. Thank you so much for coming down and visiting! You have made lasting memories with the boys!! Thank you!

Well with out further ado... here are a few updated pics!



A very tired Austin!



Great side hair shot!

What?!

No hat mommy!

I would rip these bunny ears off if I wasn't too busy eating!

Smug mug!

Here comes Peter Cotton tail!

Easter Sunday!

Aunties!

7 Months!

I cannot believe it's already March!!!  Time truly flies when you're having fun!  The boys are now 7 months old.  They are practically driving- ha- well not really but they are eating solids, sitting up, and rolling over.  We have come so far!  The other day in Target I got behind a lady in line who had three month old twins.  She was strolling in the same wheels we use to get around- the Double Snap N' Go (thank you April for letting us borrow it), and she seemed excited to see someone with a similar method of transportation.  We exchanged a friendly "hello- how old are your twins?"  And when she told me that hers where 3 months old, I noticed the bags under her eyes... to which I smiled and said "Mine are 7 months, and yes it gets easier."  It felt like I had come full circle because I can clearly remember when the boys were 4 weeks old and I was in Target with the boys and my mom, and the lady behind us had four month old twins.  I remember shouting through the line, "Does it get easier?" and "Are you breastfeeding?"  I was so consumed with trying to master the delicate art of breastfeeding twins- it didn't even occur to me that it was maybe a little awkward for the other Target patrons to hear me scream about tandem feeding twins, and having to use a nipple guard.  This past trip to Target, I was the cool, calm, and collected momma who is still breastfeeding and not screaming about it awkwardly to other strangers (oh yeah- I have to toot my own horn every now and then-toot toot))!

Okay enough about me- the boys- they are doing fabulous.  I think 6-7months is my favorite age so far.  They are not yet mobile so we haven't encountered all those obstacles, but their not lil blobs either.  They have lil personalities, and are exploring and learning new things everyday.  Austin does this thing where he grabs my face and sucks on my chin, and I swear it is him trying to give my a kiss.  (He is probably just hungry and confusing my chin for something else-but one can pretend).  Tyler- oh my Ty- he just melts my heart with his big dimples and his chubby legs.  He gives me a smile, and I swear I crumble.  The boys now have a favorite TV show- "Clifford the Big Red Dog", and a favorite book- "Elmo, So Big".  It is not by chance that both of these lovable characters are red... I think that's their favorite color:)  Anytime they hear the Clifford theme song they stop what they are doing and watch and grin... I know they really shouldn't be watching TV this young, but- well see above about Tyler's dimples.  Man oh man- they smile and laugh- and I will give them anything they want.  (I know I need to toughen up).   This weekend the boys will celebrate their daddy's 30th birthday!  Yes Daddy is getting old:)  Happy Birthday Daddy!  Before long Spring will be here!  We are excited to dust off our jogging stroller and put it to good use!   Below are some pictures of the last few weeks.  Enjoy!

Austin was just lounging with the video camera in his lap

PITT Jackets from Aunt Cheryl Knoch- thank you!!

First Superbowl Sunday!!

The Steelers didn't win- but Daddy couldn't be upset with these two lovable lil men around!

I think he might be getting brown eyes like his daddy!

New favorite toy- the TV remotes- they are staring at the TV because they turned it on!

Austin's first baseball game!  GO ECU!  He got to see his cousin Chris play, and spend some time snuggling with Great Aunt Deb!

Austin cheesing with mom-mom!

Your limo driver awaits...

Tough guy ty... he is a true italian!

Grammy says he looks like a babydoll- I am starting to believe her!

This is my model shot!

One Year Ago Today...

At approximately 3:30pm exactly a year ago, Joey and I found out we were having twins.  I am really nostalgic today... because the day I found out I was having twins, was a important and life changing as the day I found out I was pregnant.  As I sit here and type this blog entry one handed (Tyler is in the other) all I can think about is how extremely grateful I am to have these two amazing boys in my life.  I am humbled daily by how extremely lucky we are to have two healthy boys.  They enrich my life in a way I cannot describe.  Its been almost six months since their birth, and I cannot imagine life without my two lil men. 

First Christmas as a Family

Well we made the long trek to Philadelphia and celebrated a white Christmas (well almost- it snowed the 26th) with the Kantruss clan.  The boys did remarkably well in the car.  Joey, who I affectionately (well sometimes affectionately, sometimes sternly) refer to as "daddy", calls us "The PERPETUA TRAVELING FAMILY CIRCUS."  I think it is a well deserved title after we have been to Pittsburgh twice and Philadelphia once in the last 30 days.  We have all gotten really good at packing... even Austin...

Christmas was great.  The boys got to celebrate their first Christmas eve with the Gosiks.  Tyler was super psyched for the occasion- he even wore a tie...

The boys even got to meet a special guest on Christmas eve...

Austin even showed off his new skill for Santa... holding his own bottle.  (Not too shabby for a 4 month old to hold his own bottle;) )

At the end of the night, the boys went to bed and had sweet dreams about Santa...

They woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:30AM Christmas morning, ready to open there gifts...  Really?  Well not really- they were actually ready for their 5AM feeding, but hey we can pretend! 

Anyway- Austin was really great at opening.  He was really just trying to eat the paper, but we all start somewhere:)

Tyler was a little more relaxed when it came to the present opening...  He just watched in amazement as Austin ate roll after roll of wrapping paper! 

Over Christmas break the boys also began eating something other than wrapping paper... baby cereal.  It has been really fun to watch them learn how to anticipate the spoon and open their mouths.  They really enjoy eating, and I am looking forward to feeding them baby food soon!

I promise to post a video soon of them eating- it is super cute!

Our first Christmas as a family was great!  Happy New Year!

4 Months old!

The boys are now four months old, and getting so big!!!  We celebrated our first Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh.  We stayed with Aunt Cheryl, Uncle Doug, Ashley, and Ryan.   It was great!  The boys got to witness their first snow, and they loved spending time with their family.  They even had a boys night... I am not to sure what they did- but daddy said their was lots of football and of poop involved.  (I am hoping the poop he was referring to came from a baby:))

Tyler looks like he is ready to take a bite!

We also got a new jogging stroller!  It has been great!  I bundled the boys up to take them out for a jog, but I think Tyler may have out grew his snowsuit... it was ready to burst open!



Austin fit in his snowsuit a little better...

Well we beat our first family sickness.  We got the stomach flu.  It was terrible.  It broke my heart to watch Austin and Tyler struggle with feeling sick, but I think it has finally passed.

We are so excited to celebrate our first Christmas together as a family!  We tried to take the boys Christmas shopping this weekend, and Austin pooped through his pants.  He must like the Christmas crazy rush as much as his father!  I guess I will be leaving the boys at home when I go back out to conquer my Christmas list.   

3 Months!

Well the boys are now three months old! I know I constantly say this, but man time flies! They are so big, and growing so quickly! Tyler has nearly tripled his birth weight to a whooping 14lbs! I remember when we used to call him “5lbs of attitude.” Well he still has all the attitude, just triple the pounds! So we celebrated our first Halloween. The boys were two peas in a pod! They were so super cute in their little pod outfits, I am tempted to dress them up as pods daily, only I don’t think I could stand the stares I would get.

In other Austin and Tyler news- THEY ACKNOWLEDGED EACH OTHER! I know this may seem crazy, but the boys really paid no attention to one another until recently… and I GOT IT ON FILM! Check it out… it makes me cry! BTW- they are wearing their swim outfits:)  I usually don’t dress them in just shirts and diapers.

2 Kids, 2 Years

Joey and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary on Monday... It was as we were sitting at dinner that I realized we have two kids to match our two years being married... I had to laugh because nothing says class like having two kids before your second anniversary! 

The boys are growing like crazy.  I swear every time I look at Tyler he has another chin.  He is my little chunky monkey.  Austin is also growing like crazy- just he seems to gain it all over rather than just in his face.  Joey and I often joke that Tyler is like a squirrel storing milk in his chubby cheeks.  He actually passed Austin in the weight department... at their two month  doctors appointment Austin weighed 11lbs, and Tyler tipped the scales at 11lbs 4oz. 

Well, my mom has left and these past few weeks I have officially been on my own. I must say, while it has been extremely challenging and I miss my mom so much, I also love the time with the boys.  I pretend like I am on the old game show, "Double Dare," and I am constantly taking physical challenges.  I realize that I must stage everything in order to be successful.  I have a baby seat in literary every room.  It somehow works.  I also am blessed with two really happy little guys who are obsessed with ceiling fans.  If I ever need to go to the bathroom, take a shower, or make a call, I just lay them down under a ceiling fan, and I usually return to lots of coos and smiles.  I must admit the other day I was feeling a little jealous of the fan- they just love it so much! 

Well without further ado, here are a few updated pics of the boys!  I am going to try to post a video on here soon- I promise... I just haven't gotten that far yet. 

At the Pool- they love the water

Aunt T and Uncle Andy come for a visit!

Play group- Tyler's girlfriend (yes he has a girlfriend) is in the ACDC onesie- she's a cutie