Letters To Santa

They told me what to write so here it goes (notice their vocabulary it's awesome):

Dear Santa:
My name is William and I have been real good this year. Mommy says you are very busy so I can only ask for a few things. I’d like a Scooby Doo House, Scooby Doo and Shaggy action figures, an ant party, and 9 dinosaurs with a mean T-Rex. Thank you Santa.
Love,
William

Dear Santa:
I think I've been a very good boy this year. Since you are so busy I'll only ask for a few items. I would like Freddy, Daphne, and Thelma action figures, a puzzle, a pirate ship, a ladder, and a Curious George.
Love,
Joseph

Our Family

My nieces Rosie and Lili

Nana and PawPaw J

3 year Dr. Appt.

Yesterday I took the boys for their 3 year dr.'s appointment. My children love the doctor, dentist, etc. and always have. So here are some stats:

William:
Weight: 35 pounds
Height: 37"

Joseph:
Weight: 33 pounds
Height: 36 3/4"

The doctor was of course very impressed with their use of large words and their vocabulary. William told her "he was going to see baby Lily at the hospital and he was nervous."

Joseph is back on his Zyrtec daily and more med's for his eczema which I can't seem to control.

All in all they did great and I still can't believe they are 3.

Other tidbits:

William:
Can jump in a pool and swim back to the side without any assistance or swimmies on his arms.
You can throw him a ball and he can hit it every time with the bat.
He is not a very good catcher but can nail you with a football every time. He is going to be the quarterback.
He is a very fast runner.
He is still very cuddly and lovable but is still very aggressive and acts out more than Joseph.
He can now sign in phrases instead of just words. Like "may I be excused" and "I love you mommy".
He has a very short attention span and very BIG IMAGINATION!!!!!

Joseph:
Can jump in a pool and swim but he does not like to have his swimmies off unless he can touch the bottom.
He does not seem very interested in sports.
He can put a 52 piece puzzle together with very little assistance.
He is very independent.
He can dress himself, put his shoes on and dress William in the morning when he gets up. If I don't leave clothes out for him he will just put anything on the floor on.....
He can help wash the dishes and pick up trash. He is also good at scrubbing things.
He is very sensitive and cries when he is frustrated.
He has a very long attention span and can put anything together and take it apart. He is very academically gifted (my girlfriend who is a teacher told me that).

He is very interested in signing and does a lot better with it. He can actually sign lots of phrases.

They are both spoiled rotten but very good boys. We are having issues with sleeping right now they want to start out in our bed with a movie and now we can't get them to just go to bed at night. We are working on breaking the habit. It's just so hard cause I just want to cuddle and squeeze them all the time.

Michael and I strive to spend time with each of them one-on-one as often as possible. We encourage them to be different and separating them at preschool has been one of the best things we have ever done. My heart breaks for parents of twins who refuse to separate their children. It's so sad that they will grow up only knowing how to depend on each other.

We must say that our 3 years with the boys feels like a lifetime and I often wonder how we ever lived without them........

Voting

Well this past Tuesday marked a historical event in two ways.

One: I have never voted before (I already know its bad). I went and voted (in and out in 5 minutes) and I feel so great about it. I did not vote for Obama and I was very disappointed that he won.....

Two: We now have a black president. Even though I did not vote for him and did not want him in office for political reasons. I am very excited to be a part of a nation that has elected its first Black President. We have come a long way since the 50's and 60's. What a great story this will be to tell our kids.

By the way Michael did early voting and waited in line 2 hours....HA HA!!!!

TRICK-OR-TREAT

Halloween was a great night for us. For the first time ever we took the boys trick-or-treating. (We usually go to something at our Church). They were so cute and William was really into it. They were Cowboys and at each door they said "Trick-or-Treat" and "thank you partner". We went to the old post office in Harrisburg for some games and a train ride, but it was getting cold so we headed home. Actually I went to the grocery store to shop (not a soul in there) and Michael took the boys to his brother Danny's house for Sophie's birthday.....

For those of you that always ask. We don't own a digital camera that is why I never post pictures....

Pictures in the Park

This past weekend my sister Hope came to visit us. She has started her on photography business and I set-up some appointments for her to take pictures in the park near my house. I had 10 appointments for her which was our goal. Someone cancelled last minute and one was a no-show (how rude). Anyway I know that my sister is very talented but I had NO IDEA how talented. She was awesome....... I was her assistant and I had to use the shade thing to help with shadows etc. It was a lot of hard work...... Everyone that did the pictures were blown away by the quality. She was just amazing...... We were both totally exhausted when we finished at 4pm on Sunday. Two days was a lot.

My mom and step-dad came down too to watch all the kids while she and I did this. The kids were great. My sister brought her two little girls Rosie and Lili. It was truly a wonderful weekend and I cannot wait to get my pictures back so I can post some up for everyone to see!!!!

Daddy's Birthday

We celebrated Michael's (37) birthday on October 20th...... Bill and Nancy (they keep the boys during the day) made steaks, potatoes, shrimp, salad, etc. for dinner. I got off work early and went and picked up a few gifts for him. I told him I had to work late so he would have to pick up the boys at their house. He was surprised that we were all there (Joy came too).... It was a wonderful dinner, very low-key and just what Michael needed. The boys greeted him at the door screaming SURPRISE! It was too cute. It was the perfect end to a long day........

Birthday Party Fun

We had a great time at the boys party. Of course true to form Michael and I were running around like crazy all day and the boys and I were 20 minutes late to the party. We had a great time though. The boys were really into it. All their friends came out and I think they had a good time too. I'll post more pictures later......

Easter 2006

The boys 5 days after conception

Some of my favorite pics (boys 6 weeks old)

Christmas 2005 (Michael is Santa in the pics.)

Visiting Barney even though I don't like him....

Christmas 2007

Hope, Lili, Tom and Rosie

Karcen, Chad, Christy, Lane, Carley

Christmas 2006

Southern Women's Fashion Show 2007

The Boys Second Birthday

THE BOYS FIRST BIRTHDAY

Turning 3

Can you believe the boys are turning 3? I cannot. Where did time go. They are having a Cowboy themed party and I am so behind on getting invitations in the mail............