Tractor Tractor Tractor

This story is especially for the Hart side of the family...although I'm sure Pawpa will be proud too!

From the start, my boys have amazed me. 

• We were so excited to be pregnant, then we found out we were having twins!  AMAZING! 
• We thought we had everything we needed for these 2 babies, but still made MANY trips to BabiesRUS after they were born.  AMAZING!
• We have been mesmerized by every development as they have learned to sit, crawl, stand, and even walk.  AMAZING!

Well, the pattern continues.

The boys are talking more and more each day.  We still can't understand most of it, but a smile automatically comes to my face when I hear them jabbering.

The boys say the normal things kids learn...ma-ma, da-da, uh-oh.  Then, we started hearing the boys say each other's names.  You really have to listen close to catch Jackson saying "Lincoln", but "Jackson" is pretty clear when Lincoln says it. 

I wasn't really surprised to hear them say each other's names - they hear them ALL THE TIME.  However, I was surprised when Lincoln started saying tractor.  Seems like a hard word for a 15 month old.  Aren't they supposed to say "doggie" or "book" first?  Oh no....not Brian's son.  He says tractor.

I think it all started with books.  We have an A-B-C's of farm book that has a tractor in it.  We also have a 100 Things that go book that has a lot of tractors.  Additionally, "Santa" brought the boys a My Giant Tractor book.  These are now the books that Lincoln always wants to read.  He will bring them to me or Brian, then sits and points at the tractors and says the word over and over.  It is adorable.

Lincoln's vocabulary is growing each and every day.  We hear him say "thank you" when we hand him a cracker or his drink cup.  He's starting to say cup and milk.  And the past few nights, he has been saying "head" - which he has learned from school and us singing the Head Shoulders Knees and Toes song.  Truly AMAZING!

Lincoln is more vocal than Jackson.  Jackson jabbers, but we haven't recognized as many words from him, but they are coming.  We can only imagine what all they will be saying by the end of the summer!

Hope everyone is enjoying the stories we are sharing!

More teeth and checkup to report...

Wow...has it been fun in our house lately (NOT!).  Both of the boys have been teething.

Last week (I think it was Thursday 5-20), we found another molar in Lincoln's mouth.  It is his bottom left side, so only one more to go for him.  That makes 11 teeth in total.  We love his "toothy" grin!

Last night (5-25) I was brushing Jackson's teeth, and his top right molar is through!  I've been looking for his other 2 bottom teeth to come in first, so I hadn't been checking for his molars. 

Monday, the boys had their 15 month check up (yes, we are about a month behind because their 1 year check-up was late as they were sick).  Lincoln tipped the scale at 27 lbs 8 ounces, and measured 33 1/4 inches long.  Jackson is still about a pound lighter, and we didn't get an accurate measurement on him.  He wasn't so sure about the nurses, so he wasn't cooperating - Brian even had to get weighed with Jackson.

Dr. Korn says both of the boys are doing great.  Happy and healthy - we like that!  The boys were playing, talking, and even gave the doctor "high fives".  If only they were that good all the time...

The boys got 2 injections (vaccinations), so they won't need any shots at their 18 month check up the end of July.  YEAH!

Hope everyone is well.  We'll write more soon.

Love,
Kate, Brian, Lincoln and Jackson

Trains with the Brocki's

The weekend after Easter, Barb and Pat Brocki stopped in for a quick visit on their way home from Nashville.  Friday night, we had dinner at a local restaurant "Through the Garden".  The boys did fairly well considering we weren't very prepared with snacks. 

Saturday, we had a big breakfast, then headed out to Entertrainment Junction.  Unfortunately, the boys hadn't napped yet, so we were a bit hesitant to go.  However, they had a toy train show going on, so we checked that out, and gave the boys some play time.

After checking out the trains, we stopped into Graeter's for a sweet afternoon snack before saying goodbye to our dear friends. 

We sure hope they will come back in August to visit and go to a Red's game!

Easter Sunday

We had a full Easter weekend!  Saturday we spent the day with the Hart's, and on Sunday, we spent time with the Muehlfeld/Wappes clan!

We started the day off by going to 8:00 a.m. church.  Church was going pretty well until I lost Jackson.  He was playing in the pew beside me, and I looked away for a moment to wipe Lincoln's nose and he was gone. He crawled under the pew and was trying to make a get-a-way. Brian caught him before he got too far.

 

After church, we visited with Great-Aunt Shirley and Great-Uncle Larry for a while.  Then the weather was so nice, we took the boys outside to run around. They loved all the open space to roam, but wore Brian and I out chasing them!

 

The boys were the entertainment for all of the Great-Aunts and Great-Uncle's on the Muehlfeld side.  They all laughed at the "production" - we had to set up their highchairs, feed the boys snacks, try to keep the tablecloth ON the table, feed the boys, and then the clean up (boys, chairs, floor, etc.).  Although it is a lot of work to travel, it is always worth seeing everyone, and sharing our boys with extended family.

 

Two of my uncles from the Wappes side came over to visit around lunch time - Uncle Bryce and Uncle Bruce.  It was great to see them, and catch up as it has been way too long!

 

After lunch, it was time for the third egg hunt of the weekend.  Check out this bunch of go-getters!

From left to right:

Lyn's two kids:

- Knox (10 weeks older than the boys)

- Lylah (age 3)

- Jackson

- Lincoln

In front, my cousin Chad's little boy:

- Levi who was just born in September. 

By now, Lincoln was a pro, and he found 13 eggs (the most eggs of all the kids)! 

Jackson looks to be "all business" in this picture, but was still pretty content as long as he had an egg in each hand. 

I love this picture!  It captures everyone's personality: Lincoln sitting and watching what is going on; Jackson curious and wanting to know what all those things are in the basket;  Lylah is being the big cousin and showing Jackson the eggs.

The boys greatly enjoyed the candy they found in the eggs...I only wish I would have taken a picture of Mawma and Pawpa's screen door with the chocolate hand prints on the glass to prove it!

After the long drive home, the boys finally got to see what the Easter Bunny brought them!  Their baskets were filled with lots of good stuff:  new socks, new onesies, books, and of course CANDY!

Thanks Easter Bunny!  BAWK BAWK!

Easter Saturday

The boys participated in their first Easter egg hunt this year! On Saturday, we took them to St. Paul's church outside of Fort Recovery.  To be honest, it was over before the boys even knew it started!  All the kids who aren't of school age were in the same group.  Basically the eggs were laying on the ground, and the kids ran and picked them up.  Seriously, it was over in less than 3 minutes. 

Jackson found 3 eggs - mostly by luck, as we were

standing by one egg, and very close to a bush that contained 2 more.

Lincoln found one egg, but someone was kind enough to give him another one so that he had a prize egg!

 

For their prizes, both of the

  boys received "squishy"

  balls...you can

  play with them in the

  pool, bathtub, etc.  They both

  ended up with a little bit of

  candy, and a "money egg"

  too.  Very egg-citing!

 

In the afternoon, we had an egg hunt at Grandma Hart's.  Each child was allotted so many eggs that they could find, then they were finished.  This allowed the younger ones to have an opportunity to catch onto the idea. 

Aunt Beth helped Lincoln find his eggs, while Brian helped Jackson.  Jackson almost found the "special" egg (which means you get the really big chocolate Easter bunny), but Brian told Joey he could have that egg.  

Both of the boys brought home lots of candy, and some money too.

It was a great start to our Easter celebration - good food, some sunshine, and spending time with family!

 

May special dates

A special Happy Birthday to...

• Aunt Lisa Haas turns 44 on the 6th
• Eli Hart turns 2 on the 9th
• Grandma Janice Hart turns 64 on the 17th
• cousin Taylor Zank turns 20 on the 20th
• Brian's Goddaughter Ashley turns 4 on the 21st
• Uncle Rodney Muehlfeld turns 41 on the 24th
• Alyssa Maier turns 12 on the 27th
• cousin Chad Muehlfeld turns 33 on the 29th, and Davis Brown turns 17

Happy Anniversary to....

• Nate and Jess Wappes celebrate their 3rd anniversary on the 17th
• Jay and Tracy Wagner celebrate their anniversary on the 21st
• Matt and Jennifer Schug celebrate their 15th anniversary on the 25th

We wish all the mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and god-mothers a Happy Mother's Day on May 8th!

Our cooks...

The boys seem to be facinated with "cooking".  It all started when I was trying to bake cookies for the bake sale.  It's somewhat difficult to bake with two little guys underfoot.  So, I gave them some spatulas to play with.  Brian was playing with one of the boys later that night, and they would stir, then taste the "imaginary pudding".  Now, the boys get my pasta strainers out of the cupboard, "ask" for spoons or spatulas, and make "mmmmmm" noises during their tastings.  It is totally cute.

Easter fanned the flames.  First, the boys loved playing with the O'Connor's toy kitchen.  We even had to keep a close eye on them, as they were putting their sippy cups into the fridge.   

Next, cousin Katelin decided that the boys needed to "look the part"...so she dressed them up in aprons and chef hats!



The boys played "kitchen" most of the day on Saturday, other than when they were eating or hunting Easter eggs.  Even when we arrived at Mawma and Pawpa's that night, they were excited to find another play kitchen!  They immediately started opening and shutting doors, and continued refining their cooking skills.

Daddy is a little sad that his boys are imitating mommy, but I think they will find things to "copy" daddy on too!

Tooth update

I have been remiss in keeping everyone updated on the "tooth situation".  Evidently, I've even been remiss in looking for them!

Lincoln 's other bottom tooth (his bottom right next to his front teeth) came through right before Easter on 4/21.  Additionally, Tuesday night, while brushing his teeth, I found that his upper left molar has popped through!  Last night, I noticed that his upper right molar has arrived as well.  Guess this could explain why he has been a bit fussy lately, not sleeping through the night again, and very clingy.  Poor thing! 

Jackson is still holding steady at six teeth, but hopefully we'll have a new update for you soon!