Good Morning

 Just some photo back-up from our many days without a computer.  Life was tough, man!  I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for my iPhone!

Last night we had dinner with dear friends.  It was a nice night away from the kiddos, at a local place that turned out to be quite excellent - for years we have been meaning to try but did not.  Despite being pricey, it was a nice atmosphere, delicious food, and delicious drinks.  Though it still seems as though no one knows how to really make a Sidecar.

Anyway, my point was that the couple we were with also have two boys, within one or two months of our boys.  And the husband said: "It is just going to get easier and easier."  He is so RIGHT!  The first few months with two kids was the worst.  I should say here, it really wasn't terrible in the grand scale, there could have been something actually wrong, someone sick, we were all healthy and we had a happy and healthy new baby boy - obviously.  But, all that aside, adjusting to a family of four was the most difficult thing, ever.  It was rough man.  I damn near lost it (I actually think I did loose it) once or twice.  Sleepless nights combined with a needy toddler combined with family obligations, combined with lots of visits and lots of this is my life forever thoughts by Mommy was a lot for our family.  But we pulled through, and it is only going to get easier.

Even now, Baby James is a reliable sleeper (knock on lots of wood), and we are back to our routines.  Joel Andrew is thriving and learning and growing like crazy.  James does not need to eat every five minutes and can generally eat the food at our table.  Can you imagine in a few, very short months when James no longer needs a bottle, and Joel Andrew no longer needs diapers?  I think we are at the 1/2 way point to extreme fun - when both boys will be out of diapers, into beds, done with naps.  Don't get me wrong, that presents its own challenges sure, but think of it.  How much easier it will be.

At least for me.  I know a lot of people out there that would take babies over toddlers any day.  I am just not one of those people.  I will ooh and ahh at your babies but I will mock you behind your back about how crazy you are for voluntarily going to the no sleep, poop every three minutes, spit up all over the place, struggle with nap time, not yet big enough to do fun things like amusement parks the movies, museums or whatever stage.  (combined with the crazy emotional Mommy not fitting into her clothes and boobies shooting milk stage).

All that being said, I will remember and cherish my babies when they were babies.  But I will be more excited to remember and cherish the way they were this morning.

 This morning was awesome.  You would think, after a night out with friends at a restaurant with good drinks, this morning would have been rough.  Perhaps it was the water I chugged at 4am this morning, but I prefer to think it was my boys.  When I woke up at 7:15 and looked at my monitor and saw I had two awake boys, I thought - Uh, Oh.  I blew it.  I need to get up in time to head Joel Andrew off at peeing in his pants, and to change Baby James right away since he has had incredible diaper rash recently.  But there the two of them were, on the monitor, just chilling in their cribs.  I love them.

I went to get Joel Andrew first, and asked him if he had to go potty.  He said, "yes!" And then proceeded to take off his pjs and run to the bathroom.  Totally dry diaper.  Potty it was.  He is totally getting this potty training thing and now it is just time to bite the bullet, underwear time.  The only thing preventing us is public bathrooms.  Mommy is scared of them.  What do we do if he needs to go potty in public?  I can't get over how much easier the diaper seems to be at this point...  I know it is only a few months of annoying asking every 20 minutes do they need to go and having a boy hover over the potty (I am hoping he will get standing and peeing sometime soon, don't they?). But, I am lazy.  But, he is ready.  We are really doing him a disservice.  He asks to go to the potty when he has to, and in the past week has averaged only one wet or soiled diaper a day and that is 99.9% of the time due to Mommy and Daddy having been lazy about asking him if he needed to go/we were in public.

Anyway, apart from potty training, my pro son then asked to wake his brother up.  So, we get Baby James who is as happy as can be waiting in his crib for us.  The poor kid has an ear infection, and all the medicine he is on is making him have terrible diarrhea, which has led to the worst diaper rash I have ever seen.  The little man is trying to tough it out.  He was a doll as always even through the worst of getting him changed, and the two of them played until my toddler said: "We have to brush our teeth!"  Seriously, how awesome?

Anyway, one more thing and I will stop posting about how awesome my children are (by the way, I owe them this because during the preliminary Baby James months I was not this nice, I was kinda mean)...  Baby James is starting to babble actual things.  So, this morning I kept saying "Dadadadadada" - nothing.  I repeated, nothing.  Finally Joel Andrew says it, and wouldn't you know, Baby James repeats right after Joel Andrew. I try again, nothing.  Joel Andrew tries - and he repeats right away.  We did this for 10 minutes, until of course Mommy got the video camera.  They everyone stopped.  Sad!  Maybe next time!