2 more days...

Two more days before the big FIRST birthday!
We are feverishly preparing for the big party on Saturday.  We are greatly looking forward to celebrating this first birthday with our close family and friends.

Uncle Rodney and Uncle Dennis will be arriving from Phoenix on the boys birthday (Thursday), but we have to wait till Saturday to see them.  The boys have never met Uncle Dennis in person, and Uncle Rodney hasn't seen them since the Sunday after they were born.  BOY- is he going to be surprised by how much they've changed!

Some other news to report - Brian's mom has been having some difficulty swallowing, so she is going to see her surgeon tomorrow (Wednesday).  They are going to scope and dialate her throat (stretch it out), which hopefully will rectify her issues.  Please say a few prayers that everything goes well!

Hope everyone has a great week.  We'll post details regarding our birthday celebrations late this weekend or early next week...along with some pics or video, I'm sure.

Love,
Kate, Brian, Lincoln, and Jackson

Walking and Talking....and upright.

Here is a great video of Jackson walking and talking at the same time....and you won't have to tilt your head for this one!

A typical day....

Wanted to share a snapshot of a normal day with all of you. 
In the beginning, you can hear the boys saying "uh-oh".  The main portion is the boys fighting over their toy laptop.  They fight over everything.  They can each have a sippy cup, but they want the one that their brother has - not their own. 

Brotherly love...

As you can see, the boys are inseparable sometimes.  But they do have their squabbles.  Watch till the end when you see why Jackson doesn't have much hair - Lincoln is pulling it out!

Long day...

Well, we experienced a new "first" last night, but one I hope we don't repeat for a while.
Jackson had the flu for the first time ever! 
Unfortunately, Brian was sick yesterday, and Jackson was about 24 hours behind him. 
Everyone seems to be doing better tonight, but we'll see how it goes!

Bye Bye Bottles and Big Boy Car Seats

Oh how I wish every weekend was a three day weekend!
We had such a relaxing, yet productive long weekend.

The boys have 2 accomplishments from the weekend to share:

1. For the second weekend in a row, the boys drank their milk out of a sippy cup.  They are doing so well that I packed up half the bottles on Monday!  They still get a bottle at bedtime, but planning on weaning them off that next weekend.  I can't tell you how happy I will be to put all the bottles away! 
2. The boys had their very first car ride facing forward Tuesday morning! We swapped out the carrier car seats for the big boy car seats.   I don't think they realized it on the morning commute, but when we picked them up from daycare, they were all smiles in their new seats.  They must be comfortable, as both the boys fell asleep on the drive home.

Here is what we were up to this weekend:
Saturday

• Brian spent the day in Fort Recovery working on the floors in his Grandmother's house. 
• I went shopping with my brother Aaron for food for the boys birthday party.
• The boys became HUGE fans of Graeter's Black Raspberry Chip ice cream.  :-)

Sunday
The whole family went to church, then made our weekly trip to the grocery store.

Monday

• We spring cleaned the family room - knocked down cobwebs and cleaned the baseboards. 
• We wiped down the kitchen cabinets, and also the cupboards in the downstairs bathroom. 
• We cleaned out the window seat storage - boxing up all the stuff the boys have been trying to get into. 
• We washed up bedding and the car carriers so they could be put away.  Definitely a transitional period for us - putting away the "baby" items, and making the house more toddler friendly.

Yesterday it was back to work, but we plan to spend the week continuing to work on things around the house to prepare for our guests in a week and a half.  Hard to believe a week from tomorrow the boys turn ONE!

Hope everyone had a great weekend, and that the week ahead is a good for all as well.

Love,
Kate, Brian, Lincoln and Jackson

Jackson Walking...

Well, evidently I didn't have the camera held the right way, and I can't figure out how to turn it. So, just tilt your head to the side and enjoy! (I'll try to remember for any future videos that I have to keep the camera upright)