We Love Grandma!!

A week ago we had LOTS of family in town for my brother's graduation. He earned his Phd and I am SO proud of him! Everyone stayed at our house and we had SO much fun together!!



When the party was over, Jason went to Maine, so my mom stuck around to watch the boys while I went to work every day. I am so grateful to her for staying and we had lots of fun together. The boys have really gotten to know Grandma Hall and they LOVED having her around. It's amazing how much the boys have learned in just one week.

A few of the boys' new talents:
Grandma taught both boys how to confidently crawl DOWN the stairs. Goodbye baby gate!!!!!!!
Arlo can blow kisses....MUAH!
Josiah makes car noises when he pushes his trucks & cars....vrrroooommm...


Arlo & Grandma


Josiah & Grandma

My Cousin's Wedding

While we were in Virginia last month, our family drove down to North Carolina for my cousin's wedding. We filled up the minivan with women & children while the men stayed home and went golfing! The twins only slept 30 minutes on the drive down so we were working with a VERY short nap for the day. Judging by the photos, you can see we had a crazy day, but, they did well considering all. (Sorry, no pictures of the actual wedding, I had my hands pretty full.)




Minutes before the ceremony started with cousins Matt & Cline
(they were actually very quiet during the ceremony)


Josiah during the reception


Arlo during the reception (I think he was a little constipated here)


We discovered a nursery in the church & the boys were MUCH happier!!!


Josiah in the nursery

I have one-year olds in the house!!

It's true. They boys turned one year on June 9!!!! We had a really fun party for them. Arlo's party theme was alligators & Josiah's was lobsters. They wore appropriate animal shirts, had matching party decorations & matching cupcakes that spelled out their names. I'm sure they were unaware of the party planning, but maybe next year!
This past year has flown by so fast and I need time to slow down. I cry when I think about them growing up, going to school, missions & getting married & having their own kids..... I try really hard to focus on the present & enjoy every minute of them TODAY!

Some of Arlo & Josiah's many talents:

• They are not quite walking, but are certainly on the right path towards the goal.
  
• They seem to understand everything I say and even TRY to mimic some of my words, like DOG & TREE & BEAR & UP. They have mastered a few words like 'mama' & 'dada' & bah bah' & 'ball'
  
• Excellent at shaking their head 'no' and sometimes nod for 'yes' (mostly 'no'!!).
  
• Eat pretty much anything now.
• Can fall asleep in their cribs without being rocked or without a bottle.
  
• Can make the popcorn motions for the song "popcorn popping"
• Can give you "Five"
  
• Clap when you say "YAY"
• Wave when you say "BYE"
• Can dance when there's music. (aka: bending their legs & bouncing)
  
• They lift their arms when you change their shirts & "switch" hands on the bottle when you strap them into the car-seat.
• Arlo's new favorite food: GRAPES. Josiah's favorite food is still: BANANAS
• Arlo's favorite pastime: sitting on mommy's lap reading books. Josiah's favorite pastime: exploring. (aka: NOT sitting still)
• Love swinging at the playground, but are both scared of the slide.
  
• They both love bath-time, but Josiah is always the first to get out.
• Love to climb UP the stairs, but are still working on going down. (& scare their mama to death!)
• When they wake up from naps, they spend 10-20 minutes just passing toys back & forth between the crib slats & laughing.
  
• Both boys absolutely LOVE LOVE dogs & are not scared of them.
  
• Give kisses by biting your nose.
• Both love mirrors & give themselves kisses on the mirror. (yes, our mirrors are ALWAYS dirty)
• Josiah is a stuffed animal lover & gives hugs & kisses to all of his animals. Lobster is still #1
• Arlo loves any toy, but is attached to burp-cloths & uses them to suck his thumb.
  

the fam at the party



Arlo's table decorations



& Arlo with his cupcake


Josiah's table decorations


Josiah & his cupcake


Arlo hitting the beach ball pinata



Josiah's turn at the pinata


After all the kids did their best at the pinata, Jason took care of business!

4 Month Update...

Hello friends and family...
Do NOT give up on my blog!!!! I promise not to leave you like that again. I can think of a million excuses why I've neglected it, but I won't bore you or excuse myself. So, here is a quick review of the last 4 months and I now promise WE ARE BACK IN BUSINESS!! (And a few photos for your viewing pleasure:)


(family pic in Virginia)

FEBRUARY:
I had my birthday on the 24th and I spent it in Virginia with my family. My mom threw a party for me with friends, uncles, aunts, cousins....my mom throws a great party. The boys got to meet their newest cousin Corban and we're excited for them to be great friends. After a few days in Virginia, we made our way to Florida to visit Jason's family. Josiah and Arlo experienced the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. The water was too cold, but they put their feet in and got to experience sand for the first time. The boys FINALLY met Grandma & Grandpa Thompson for the first time and boy did they have fun. J&A also met Great Grandma Thompson and Aunt Debbie for the first time.


(Arlo & mom at the beach in Florida)


(Josiah & dad)

MARCH:
As soon as we got home from VA & FL we packed up our house and moved down the street to a bigger place. It took us a few weeks to get unpacked & settled in, but we were able to do a few fun things in the meantime like visit the farm at Thanksgiving Point. Also, Jason took them on a day trip to CO. for a bull sale - they LOVE animals!


(Arlo was chasing me, trying to grab the camera)


(And of course I turned my back & Josiah helped himself to his oatmeal)

APRIL:
Jason finished his MPA at BYU and it's SO nice to no longer have classes in our busy schedule. For now, he's still working at BYU Redd Center until we find the right opportunity for our family. The boys LOVE the wide open space they now have in our house. They are crawling around like crazy getting into EVERYTHING! We've started experiencing lots of bumps and bruises with their new adventures and I'm sure it gets worse as they get bigger. Oh, and Jason gave the boys their first haircut!


(When they hear the door open, the boys crawl up to the gate and wait for daddy to come greet them)

MAY:
I guess this would be my first OFFICIAL Mother's Day since the babies were still in my belly last year. We celebrated in El Paso with my sister's family and boy did we have fun!! We did lots of shopping, eating out and we took the boys swimming for the first time. They both LOVED the pool, but I think Arlo is our little fish. He would try swimming out of our arms while in the pool and it seemed like he knew exactly how to move his arms and legs. Josiah was totally in love with their dog, Peach. He was so distracted by her and just kept saying "dog" over and over. Neither he or Arlo cared about Peach licking them on the face. Eeeww...


(Arlo in the pool)


(Josiah in the pool)


(Josiah greeting Peach after she took a swim)


(Josiah taking ownership of the balls in the yard!)


(Arlo & Tigger)


(The boys on one of our many shopping trips in El Paso)


(Obviously the pants were inconvenient, so Arlo took them off!)

MAY:
We finished this month off by taking a trip to MOAB on Friday. We met up with our dear friends, the Manderinos for camping (in a cabin:) and hiked Delicate Arch on Saturday. We had two hiking backpacks, but one got left at home, oops. Arlo insisted that mom carry him, so Jason took Josiah on his back. The hike was 3 miles round trip, which was perfect for us. I think we all had a really good time.


(what??!! No kids in this pic??)


(Jason & his boys at the Arch)


(Group shot with Lisa, Chase, Melanie & Caleb)

Learning to stand

So, last saturday we were moving and of course we left the cribs until the very end. We used one of them as a playpen so the boys wouldn't get hurt during all the hustle & bustle. They thought it was pretty fun, for a while. Anyways, I caught a pretty cute video of them standing in the crib....just watch all the way through because the last few seconds are the funniest! (Arlo - we are laughing WITH you, not AT you!) (p.s. - no babies were hurt in the filming of this video, it was just a box of wipes!)

8 months old!

The boys turned 8 months old yesterday and they are becoming more and more fun every day! I may have parent goggles, but I think they are the cutest little boys ever! They are both sitting up on their own, they are learning to crawl & have both discovered their feet....in fact, they love to pull their socks off. Many people ask about their personalities and I will say that they are VERY different. Here's a little snapshot of each boy.


Josiah Weldon.
Name: Josiah comes from Jason's side of the family. The man was Jason's 5th great uncle who joined the LDS church in Maine; crossed the country & settled in Heber City, Utah. This is particularly cool because Jason is a convert to the Church, and we found pioneer heritage in his family history! Weldon was Dana's paternal grandfather. He was a great community man who was loved by everyone who knew him. I didn't get a chance to know him, but I imagine he was a lot like my dad.

Looks: Just like his daddy.

Personality: Not only is he named from his daddy's family & does he look like his daddy, but he also acts just like his daddy! He is a very determined & persistent little boy. If Josiah wants something, he will not stop until he gets it. Between the two boys, Josiah has always been the first to achieve the physical milestones like rolling over & crawling. He is a very happy baby and is quick to smile!! Josiah LOVES toys and needs one in hand at all times!



Arlo Nathan.
Name: Arlo was Dana's uncle (mother's brother) who was fun-loving and very athletic. My mom says that she has never heard a more beautiful tenor voice than his. Nathan is Jason's best friend who introduced him to the Church when they were 16 years old. Nate is a very genuine guy and a great example to us.

Looks: Just like his mom.

Personality: Arlo is named after his mommy's family and what do you know?....he has his mom's personality! Arlo is very laid back and just enjoys life as it is. He is a little chatterbox & loves to squeal. He is very ticklish. Arlo watches Josiah & is quick to learn rolling over & crawling just like his brother. Arlo loves music - loves to listen to it & when he wakes up, he sings!! When it's time for bed Arlo finds his thumb & sings himself to sleep.

MEET LOBSTER....

Josiah has a siamese twin - attached to Josiah's mouth is his buddy, lobster.
We got the lobster (& of course one for Arlo) from some our friends in Maine. It's got to be Josiah's #1 favorite toy ever because his whole face lights up when he sees lobster. If he is sad, just give him lobster & life is better. He has a death grip to the little animal and cries when you take it away. I like to put lobster on the other side of the room to entice Josiah to crawl. He gets pretty hyper and upset if I don't help him get to lobster FAST! I'd like to give lobster a real name...any ideas?

Arlo likes lobster but doesn't mind letting Josiah have it. Arlo loves all his toys equally & unfortunately no toy entices him enough to try crawling. He's a pretty laid-back kid and is content to just sit & play. He does get pretty crazy in the bouncer though!!!

So, I was looking through some photos & found a few of josiah with lobster...

And of course I cannot post pictures of one boy without the other...my little Arlo =)

6 months old...almost 7 months...

Time flies when you're having fun....sorry I'm so slow to post on the blog. I have good intentions & I think about it often, but the time to sit down & post always gets put bottom on the to-do list.

Josiah & Arlo turned 6 months old on December 9. It amazes me how fast they are growing and how much they learn DAILY!! At our check-up they weighed about 15lbs. each. It seems big to me, but they are only 4-7percentile on the chart. While at the check-up, they also got H1N1 & seasonal flu shots. We feel really good about it & have started taking them out of the house more often. Both boys have found a LOVE for TOYS!! When they are awake it seems that they need a toy in hand at ALL TIMES!

Mr. Josiah....

& Mr. Arlo...

They are eating baby food now. I am making all their food so far & it's turned out to be pretty darn easy & a heck of a lot cheaper. It saves money, but I really like the idea of knowing EXACTLY whats in the food - no preservatives or any of that junk. Eventually I'll give in to processed foods & all the junk I eat, but for now, while I can, I feel good about what I'm feeding them. So far they have eaten rice cereal, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, peas, butternut squash & banana. Can you guess from the photos which baby is easier to feed?



Josiah has really taken to baby food. He gets all excited when I put him in the high chair & is like a bird with his mouth wide open. I seriously can't get it in his mouth fast enough & he's finished eating all his food in a matter of minutes.He's such a good eater that he hardly needs a bib.

Arlo, on the other hand, likes a big production when it's time to eat. He likes a little dab on his lips at first while he tastes the food. From there, he usually takes his spoonful of food & spits it out. He doesn't just spit though, he sputters it out & the food flies EVERYWHERE! I usually wear an apron when feeding him because the food gets all over the tray & my clothes. This would be cute, if it wasn't so frustrating! He did enjoy his sweet potatoes yesterday though because I let him feed himself. It was a pretty messy ordeal, but he had a LOT of fun with the spoon. (& the photo of Arlo is on a good day...typically it's messier!!)

Josiah & Arlo are so much fun & we're so blessed. They keep us on our toes all the time & I'm sure it becomes more hectic as they learn to crawl & walk....look out world...here they come!!