Leaving

We got about 20 inches of snow yesterday. It snowed for about 27 hours straight! We were supposed to fly out on Saturday afternoon. We got a hotel up near the airport for both Friday and Saturday night. Friday we went to the Christmas party at the Hardesty's and were planning on heading up as soon as the snow started to fall. As soon as we got to the party Chris got a phone call from the airline telling us that our flight had been cancelled and rescheduled for Monday afternoon. I was so bummed. I did not want to wait an additional two days to fly up and see my family...but what choice did we have??

The boys have both been fighting a cold, so we decided instead to come on home and spend the weekend here. We lost the price of our hotel since we had purchased our rooms through Hotwire without trip protection. We were completely snowed in yesterday and enjoyed watching the snow come down.

We celebrated Christmas with the boys yesterday and enjoyed watching them open and enjoy their gifts.

At one point in the day Grayson was chasing after the cat (what else is new??) and I turned and saw him crawling up on his little table. He had climbed up in the chair and then up on top of the table! Little monkey!

Ethan has started to show his feelings at the dinner table. He has been taking his food and dropping it on the floor. He puts it in his hand, looks right at us, and then so quietly lifts his little arm out to the side and lets go of the food! I have to be so straight faced and tell him that we don't drop our food on the floor, but that we eat it instead. He just looks at me so seriously and says "Da Da?" He then shakes his head no and drops it on the floor anyhow. I am so not good about the whole not laughing or cracking a smile thing. Sometimes I have to look away for a second or two, regain my composure, and then try to be stern Mama again.

We fly out tomorrow now instead and I am so ready! We have been living out of our suitcases the entire weekend and are trying not to make many messes or any more work for ourselves!

Woo hoo!!!

Merry Christmas everyone! I love this time of year!!!

Ethan is 1!!

Ethan on the left and Grayson on the right sharing birthday kisses

Ethan

Grayson enjoying birthday cake round 2

And Then They Turned One...

Today our Ethan and Grayson turn a year old.

Today they officially enter the world of Toddler hood and leave behind the stage of infancy.

Every parent says it. It's so cliche to say, but yet rings so true... "Time flies...."

With every passing month we watched, monitored, and recorded their milestones...

first bath

rolling over

first smile

sitting up

first tooth

pulling up

first steps

...

So much have they changed. People would often say to us when they were born "Just wait a year. You won't believe all that will change between now and then." And they were right.

Now we look at our sons and we see these two little boys with personalities as big as the sky. With blossoming curiosity, playfulness, and intuition. Smart little men who can do so many things and make us such proud and thankful parents every day.

A year ago at this time my little babes were a little over an hour old, fighting for their lives.

Now they are sound asleep in their cribs, home where they belong.

It was so hard for us to imagine a life of normality when they were first born. I would often dream of a year from the point of the NICU...imagining them as big, strong, smiling, giggling boys...but it almost seemed too hard to grasp.

It is so easy to take for granted these boys in our lives now. They have become such a part of our family and a part of us that it truly is hard to remember what I did with my time before them! It's days like this though where I really take the time to stop and think back on the miracle of their lives.

That is what this blog is called: It Can Only Be Called a Miracle.

And a miracle they are and will continue to be.

I pray for continued guidance and wisdom as Chris and I raise these two young men.

Wisdom to be the best mother that I can be for them. To raise them up in the way that they should go. To give them the best possible footing to start out on. To make this home, where their story begins, a place of immense love, forgiveness, gentleness, peace, and laughter. It isn't always that kind of home. I'm not always that kind of mother. I have learned so much every day of this past year and continue to learn new things every.single.day. I don't know it all. Not even close.

But one thing I do know is that I was given a gift. An incredible, priceless, unexplainable gift.

I will take that responsibility seriously.

I love you my sons. I love you Ethan Douglas and Grayson John Hardesty.

God Bless You on this big day.

Happy 1st Birthday.

Love,

Your Mommy

WinterONEderlands and Surprises

We celebrated the boys first birthday a bit early so that all of the family on Chris's side could make it. Our theme was WinterONEderland. I loved the theme because I didn't have to do much more work than I would have done anyhow! We put our tree up, adorned our house with Christmas decor, a couple snowmen, snowflakes, and a few balloons and voila! A wonderland!

It was pretty obvious that God was digging my idea for a theme, so he sent 6 inches of snow to truly make it fit. He pays attention to details like that. Nicely played. :)

We kept the party pretty small and just invited family. This house heats up like an oven when people come over and there isn't a ton of space for inviting, so we figured that for this year smaller was better.

People began showing up around 4. We had appetizers and drinks set out so we were mingling, eating, and talking before dinner. At one point Chris's mom went and shut the front door that we had propped open. She said she was cold which was completely crazy - cuz I tell ya people - that woman is never cold! :) Chris and I looked at each other a bit skeptically, but forgot about it and moved on to other conversations. The thought did cross my mind that perhaps she had a surprise Santa coming for the boys or something....but I never was expecting what did come!A few minutes later this blue Equinox slowly made the way down our street. I glanced out the window and saw it, but once again thought nothing of it as cars turn around by our house all the time. My niece Jessica asked "Who is that?" Linda was quick to pipe up "Oh, I'm sure it's just someone turning around!" She then got me talking about working out or gallons of ice cream or something...

A couple of minutes later the front door opened and I heard my fathers voice singing "Happy Birthday to You..." AHHHHH!!!! I lept from my chair. I think I seriously ditched my son in the middle of the living room floor and flew to the top of the steps. There stood my parents, my brother Mike, and his wife Hayley! I could not believe it. Could not. I never, ever suspected anything and was completely caught off guard. I don't think I have ever been so surprised in my life and I think I showed it too. I couldn't even hug them! I ran back the hallway, came back and looked at them, and ran back down it again. I was screaming and crying - and just making a plain fool out of myself!

It was truly the best gift that they could have ever have given to me. It's hard sometimes to have my family so far away - especially now that I have children that I want them to be involved with. I hated the thought of them missing this party and not being here to see them eat their first slice of cake.

It just made it so complete and made me one happy little hostess.

The boys did great throughout the entire party. They ate their dinner, with the help of Grandpa, Aunt Hayley, and Daddy. They opened their gifts and really enjoyed tearing the bows and paper off the packages. They received so many beautiful, thoughtful presents.

They weren't so sure what to think of the cake. We set down a slice in front of them and Ethan started to cry! I think he was overwhelmed with this big ole' hunk of food in front of his face. I broke it up in to smaller pieces for him though and he then dug right on in! Grayson made such funny faces whenever he would take a bite of the frosting. They both polished off an entire slice though and had the mess to prove it!

I can not believe that my little men are going to be one. I still have five days before that reality needs to sink in though, so more on that to come at another time!

Mom!!!

So surprised!

The gang (James, Jessica, Mary, Dad, Linda, Grayson and Renee's nose and knee :)

Are we eating or are we playing?

This is serious stuff!

Opening gifts (G with Chris and E with me)

Sweetie Eety

The cake (not made by me!)

Singing Happy Birthday

Ethan digging in

What a face Grayson!

Because reading a blog just isn't as fun without pictures...

Ethan left/ Grayson right - Holly Jollying it up (Never mind the kitchen rug all disheveled;0)

Grayson having some QT with Daddy

Oh Vey Uffda Ney Mama

Happy toothy Grayson

Ethan in his happy place

Things that Make You Go Hmmm...

Raising kids is kind of like clipping your toenails.

Okay - no, it's not. Not at all really - but I couldn't find a more clever way to start this blog entry...so, it works for me.

Yowza Wowza - time flies when you're raising wee ones. Days do not drag on in this house like they used to when I was the Quality Control Lid Inspector in Alaska, or when I called random people on the phone conducting surveys during their dinner time. (Always a pleasant conversation. *sarcastic tone*. There was that one time though I was proposed to by a man from Michigan. That was nice. (I turned him down btw.)).

We are trucking along over here in our little home in our little town and doing just dandy. Life has it's moments where I shake my head in complete and total disbelief over the truth that I really am raising twins. Sometimes that still hits me. Especially at those moments when I have four little hands dangling from the dishwasher as I try to close it, or the times when all I want to do is pull one thing out of the fridge and then in a flash there are two little boys pulling ketchup bottles and apples on to the floor and then melting down in to a little slumped pile when I take all their fun away.

Grayson took his first steps last night! Chris and I were sitting in the kitchen and we look over and Grayson is just standing there all by himself. He had let go of the chair beside him and he was just standing there with these huge ole' eyes looking at us like "WHAT IN THE WORLD DO I DO NOW??" He took four awkward little steps and then fell back down to his knees and zoomed off to do something else.

Ethan is completely not interested in the concept of walking. He can pull up and scoot around the furniture just fine - but crawling seems to be working just fine for him at the moment thankyouverymuch. When we try to stand him up on his own the bones seem to disappear out of his legs and they just go completely limp. He thinks it's pretty funny.

Soaking It In

My dearest Grayson.

My 11 month and two day old son. How did we get here? How did we get to the place where you are able to snort on command, climb on top of laundry baskets, and suck down your bottle in 20 seconds flat?

You are a joy.
A ceaseless, boundless, little bundle of boy.

You are an explorer.
A daredevil.
You are not easily afraid or intimidated.

You play fierce and hard. You explore. You destroy. You investigate.

But at the end of it all. When exhaustion begins to find it's way in to your little body...you always need to find your Mommy.

And you come crawling up. Eyes locked on mine. You lay your head down on my chest, or my leg, or my cheek...and you suck your thumb.

You lay content - so long as I am rubbing your back and singing soft songs in your ear. I whisper to you that I never want you to outgrow this stage...but I know that you will.

And so I breathe you in. I make note of your smell. The feel of your tiny body curled up next to mine. The sweet sound of your thumb being sucked. The softness of your skin on the back of your neck.

I love you deeply. I love so many things about you. You are captivating. You are sensational.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My tender hearted Ethan.

You have the softest, sweetest giggle.

The kisses you give me make my heart melt. You put your mouth right on my cheek and say "ahhhhh."



You are methodical.
You are sensitive.
You love to read books, to sing songs, to clap your hands and stomp your feet.

You love to laugh. You do it often.

You love to mess things up and hate when toys are picked up. You instantly go right to where they're stored and take them all back out again.

You love to grab your toes while you drink your bottle.

You love when we pretend that your feet stink.

You are so big and you show us often.

You are my frequent cuddler. You love to crawl up in my arms for a hug and then scurry back off again to the next thing. You are a mover. Always in action. Always trying to figure things out.

You are a dream. A blessing far beyond explanation. I love you deeply Ethan.

I find it impossible that in just a little under a month my itty bitty preemie twins will be turning 1.

I will be the mother of toddlers.

It makes my heart ache. It makes me so excited for the things to come, yet so lonesome for those little newborn boys in my arms.

I lay with you both often. I study you while you play and see how you interact. I make it a point to soak it all in because you're changing so fast. So fast.

Bath Time

There is nothing like bath time. When the boys hear the water start in the tub they go "running" and giggling all the way back to the bathroom. They stand, watching the tub fill up, yelling at the water the entire time.

They so badly wish they could climb in all by themselves. Notice Grayson's little leg lifting up in the picture.

Mamie Ursula

Mamie (taken just after a kissing session)

Mamie and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember.

She was given to me when I was just a little girl. She went with me everywhere. My brothers would lock her in the back of the car and laugh when her face melted, but good ole' Mamie always popped right back to life after a little cooling down.

I was recently going through old boxes of stuff that my parents had cleaned out, and I found her. I just had to introduce her to the boys.

They loved her from the start! I know they will just love the fact one day that I took pictures of them kissing a cabbage patch doll.

Ethan

Whenever I pull her out of the box I say only one word... "kiss?" They both get huge grins on their faces and they come zipping across the room to lay a big slobbery kiss all over her face.
She doesn't seem to mind!

They are such sweet tender hearted boys. They love to give kisses, and luckily not only to Mamie, but also to me!

Grayson planting one on

Ethan tipping her back

Busted!

A Special Gift

When the boys were infants we had one little basket that held a few rattles, rings, and books. It was all they needed. As they have grown, so have their amount of toys. We started to use laundry baskets to store everything in, but I was running out of places to stack all our laundry!

So - I asked Chris's father, Doug, if he would mind building a simple toy box for the boys.
And this is what he gave them.


It was a box that was made by Chris's great Granddad. It was made about 60 years ago~around 1950.

Doug took the box, repainted it, put the cute little airplane and train on the front, and painted the boys names on it.

The boys were thrilled with it. They climbed right up on it and started sucking and chewing it. I love being able to toss all their smaller toys in one big box at the end of every day and keep our living room looking a bit more welcoming and less cluttered.

This is such an awesome gift that will be treasured for years and years to come. I love the history of it, but also the personal time and attention that the boys loving Grandfather put in to it.

Perhaps some day our grandchildren will dig their toys out of it when they come to visit!

Thank you Pop!

WHOA Mama

This picture was taken almost a year ago. I can not believe the size of that belly! It is amazing how quickly you forget what it's like to have to sit 3 feet away from the table to eat your breakfast! It made me chuckle and I just had to share!

Nine Lives Out the Window

I was born in the prairie of Minnesota

I was abandoned by my mother when I was just a kitten

I've had fleas

I traveled half way across the country in the back of a Chevy Corsica

I have caught bats in my bare paws

Climbed up Christmas trees as tall as houses

Terrified visitors and plumbers for years

I was so tough.
Fearless.
Invincible.

And now...
The world as I knew it is gone. Invaders have taken my peace, my quiet, my security.

I am no longer safe.

I can't lay still for longer than 5 seconds without them coming after me - pulling my tail and grabbing at my face.

I try and walk away. I really do. But they are so persistent. They never tire of this game of chasing me from room to room.

Under tables, over chairs, on chairs...it doesn't matter...there is no escape from those little hands.

Nine lives?

Hmph.

I think one will be all I'll want.

thankyouverymuch.

Kodiak

Buds

You both

see each other across the room

and crawl and squeal to one another

as fast as your little legs and arms will take you

until you smother each other

in slobbery kisses