Is that a leash?

Before we had children we would look at parents of small children and think to ourselves, "are you kidding me?" Now that we have children, we appreciate all the concerns we once questioned. This is a perfect example. We said that we would NEVER put our kids on a leash and I mean NEVER! Is it not considered cruel and unusual punishment? With that being said, today we broke down and bought Zachary a "harness" and no it's not a leash. Zachary does not like to hold hands nor does he like to sit in the stroller for long periods of time. This is why we bought him a "harness". This way he can attend summer activities without us worrying if he will run off or get fussy because he does not want to hold our hand.

Zachary has always loved monkey's, so this works out perfect and the harness seems harmless.

Okay, really it is kind of cute! We are sure we will get those "looks" we use to give others while we are out and about. TRUST US...when you have kids this close together in age you are willing to try anything to make life a little easier. Another life lesson, don't pass judgement on others because one day you may be where they are. Guess we will have to see how it works!

Just remember, it is a harness not a leash!

~Keep your fingers crossed~

Anything you can do...I can do...

You would be surprised the level of maturity in our little boy, Dimitri. He loves to mimic us. Dimitri brushes his teeth, asks to floss, takes showers by himself (we are still in the room, no need to panic) and now he is wearing deodorant. That's right, Dimitri would get upset when we would get out of the shower and put it on and tell him that Secret is "strong enough for a man, but made for a woman". Well, he would always say "armpits please" so we bought him a trial size of Axe deodorant and he loves it. Each time he gets out of the shower he puts it on!

At least our child won't be the one with body odor.

Warning to all parents, Axe may cause excessive flirting!

Meeting a princess...

Tonight, we went over to meet Princess Hadleigh for the first time.
Hadleigh is BEAUTIFUL and she is so tiny.

Dimitri was smitten with Hadleigh. All he wanted to do was hold her, touch her and play with her. Zachary was not sure about Hadleigh but slowly started to warm up.

This is Colter, Hadleigh's BIG brother. Look at those piercing blue eyes! Is he not the cutest little boy?

All three boys playing together. Very sweet!

Hadleigh is adorable and it was an honor to finally meet her and to see Colter walking was darling. We have already volunteered to watch both of the kids if Mommy and Daddy need a date night! Thank you Rollins family for having us over and we hope to see you all soon!

Happy 31st Birthday Cicily...

Today, Cicily turns 31!
In honor of her birthday, the boys and I decided to bake her a cake.
Cicily's favorite cake is German Chocolate. Since I do not bake, I told her that it will look nothing like the one on the box but we will do our best!

Dimitri adds the cake mix.

Zachary adds the water.

Zachary samples the frosting.

Dimitri testing the cake batter.

Aahhhh to be a kid again!

This picture is priceless!

The boys decorate the cake and spare no expense. There are balloons, sprinkles and a lot of candles.

The boys putting the final touches on the cake with the candles. Zachary tried to add a Match Box truck to Mommy's cake, but I explained she would probably like more sprinkles instead.

Oh, isn't that pretty? The dark pink and red spots are sprinkles, a balloon is facing the wrong way and the "a" is upside down, but I think that over all, they did a terrific job!

Honey, we hope that all your wishes and dreams come true because no one deserves it more than you! We love you with all our hearts! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Strawberries & Cream...

Zachary is hysterical. Last night for dessert the boys got strawberries and whip cream. Zachary wasted no time in diving right into the yummy goodness.

Zachary dipping the strawberries in the cream.

Yummy!

Making sure he got it all!

PRICELESS!

What do you cuddle with?

Some kids have a pacifier, others may have a blanket or a teddy bear they cuddle with at night and as parents you learn what is important to them by what they choose. What does our boy cuddle with?

Dimitri cuddles with cars!
If you look Dimitri has cars lined up in a row on his night stand...
our little guy is"organized".

Love is a Battlefield...

Last night, Zachary ended up at Kids Care because we suspected he was getting sick. The doctor decided to give Zachary an asthma treatment immediately with a nebulizer, because he was working a little bit harder to breathe. The doctor said that because he may have asthma it could make the cough worse and appear stronger.

Now, looking at this machine it looks harmless. Who would have thought that it would have caused so much trouble? Zachary wanted nothing to do with machine and put up a fight. Dare we say, he won! Zachary weighs in at 29 pounds and Cicily and I weigh in at....well anyway, we out weigh him significantly. I was seriously holding Zachary with my arms and legs wrapped around him and he would still get away. Cicily's job was to put and keep the mask on his face. I swear if there was a video camera in the room it would have ended up on TV. Zachary was throwing a fit and ripped the cords out of the machine and off the mask. Dimitri got so scared of the events that were taking place he literally hid in the corner telling us to "stop, please stop". Cicily and I were beat up by the end of the treatment. All we have to say is that Zachary is a very strong boy!

The doctor sent us home with one of these. Since Zachary has to have this treatment every four hours, I have had to give it to him all by myself. I pinned his arms down with my legs and held his head down with one hand and used the inhaler with the other. WHEW!

After giving Zachary his treatment I decided to let him play with it so he could come familiar with the apparatus. The first thing he did was give the the face mask a good bite and then he began warming up.

Do you mean to tell me that all we had to do is let him become "friends" with the medical equipment first and then he would voluntarily take it on his own? Lets see how following treatments go! Sometimes, LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD!
Keep your fingers crossed for us! ALL OF US!

We're Expecting...

Happy Mother's Day! We are blessed to have these two wonderful boys and it is because of them, we celebrate today. Over the course of the last three years these boys have become every heartbeat we have had and every breath we have taken! When they have fallen, our heart has dropped, when they have cried all we have wanted to do is take the pain away and when they smile at us, our hearts have melted. We love them!

Our sweet little boy Zachary!

Our precious little boy Dimitri!

We are EXPECTING A NEW BABY niece or nephew. Today, my sister Angela and her husband Jared announced that she is having a baby in December. This was unexpected to all of us! As you know my nephew Austin is turning 15 years old in August. Whew! That is a fifteen year difference. Can you believe it?

Again, congratulations to Angela and Jared!

Mother's Day Garden Fair...

Today, we went to the Mother's Day Garden Fair at the Conservation Garden Park. We had never been there before and all of us agreed the grounds were beautiful.
My three favorite people!

Dimitri on the rock climbing wall!

This is what the wall looked like from Dimitri's perspective. Can you imagine being that little and seeing this sight as you look up?

Our "dangerous" little man, BRAVE little man!

After a quick lesson on forest fires, the forest ranger pinned each of the the boys with a Smokey the Bear pin. They thought that was VERY cool!

The boys received balloon swords from a silly clown.

Another GREAT day!

With Mother's Day tomorrow, we are honored to call these boys OURS! It is a privilege to be their parents!
We love you boys!

Zachary's 18th Month Check Up

I took this picture right before we left for the doctor's office. I told Dimitri he had to be supportive of Zachary because he was going to the doctor and would be getting a shot.

Yesterday, Zachary had his 18 month check up.

Zachary weighed in at 29.1 lbs (85%) and is 33.86 inches tall (87%).

The baby of our family is getting bigger with each passing day.

The doctor said that Zachary looks great and he is proportioned very well (height to weight).

We are concerned that Zachary may have asthma, so we are currently testing with medication. If the medication helps with his coughing, then we know he has asthma and will need to do further testing to see what may be causing the flare ups. He has been coughing for a few months now and it was time to address it with a doctor. Zachary has a follow up appointment in June. We will keep everyone posted.

The bottom line, Zachary is growing into a little man. Our big boy is strong and continues to thrive everyday!

Big boy bound...

Zachary is now in a big boy bed! That's right, Zachary is only 18 months old and he has graduated from his crib to a big boy bed!

This picture is so cute because it looks like his monkey, Lucas,
spent the night with him in bed. After all, they pretty much
have the same pose.

Last night, was the first night Zachary slept in his bed and now there is no turning back. He was such a good boy and did not get out of his bed. We are very proud of you Zachary!