Author Archives: Laurie Blundell

Perfect Spring Day…

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Today started out much like any other typical Sunday.  We woke up, got everybody ready and headed to church.  After church we decided to try and get some photos of the boys in the bluebonnets.  We got a few but not really any keepers.  It was really bright outside and the ground was still wet and muddy.  We brought the boys home and put them down for their nap.

Hayden

Ian

After the boys woke up, we ate and just played around the house for a while. Jonathan has a new game with the boys where he pulls them around on an old dolly.  They absolutely love it!

A little later we decided to try and retake the boys pictures in the bluebonnets, this time turned out much, much better.

My Boys

Trying to run away from me

Hayden

Ian

After pictures, we went to the park and let the boys play for a while before coming home and putting the boys down for their 2nd nap. So much for that! Hayden didn’t want anything to do with a nap, while Ian slept for about an hour. I didn’t get any pictures of the boys at the park – I was too busy chasing them and making sure they didn’t break anything climbing up playground equipment.

After dinner, we went outside and the boys had a blast playing in the water in the bird bath. Needless to say, they were wet and dirty! So I just let them play more in the back and get as dirty as they want. I filled up the bird bath in the backyard with water and let them splash all they wanted.




A much needed bath was due and then a fun time reading books and playing with blocks before bedtime. I absolutely love days like this. I love spending time with my family and this was a perfect spring day in my book!
Family

My Wall Project

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For almost a year and a half I have had no clue what to do with the boys room. The room is rather small and when you add 2 cribs in there, it is even smaller and crowded. So my dilemma (well 1 of 2 dilemmas) has been how to arrange the cribs that optimizes the space and gives them more room to play in there, especially now that they are older and playing A LOT more in there. Oh how nice it will be when they are old enough to move them into much smaller, toddler beds…and then bunk beds – but that’s another story for another day! Anyway, back to my dilemma, I have tried probably 3 different options on how the cribs are arranged. I’ve had them end to end on the same wall, the cribs on opposite walls from each other and now in an L shape in the corner. I think the L shape has worked the best as far as optimizing the space in the room, but the least aestheticly pleasing – I’ll just have to live with it.

               Nursery

So I have figured out what to do with the cribs, now onto dilemma #2 – the walls. We had this really cute tree decal that I put on the wall when the boys were itty bitty, but one of them decided to pull them down one day during their “nap”. Well I moved some things around and got that wall taken care of, it has their names in wooden letters on the wall. But there was still this big blank wall staring at me every time I walked into the room. It was driving me crazy because I had no clue what to do.

I was walking in Hobby Lobby one day and saw some of those vinyl lettering phrases and thought, that would be cool…so I found one that Jonathan and I really liked for their room. I came home and put it up – I loved it! The only problem is that our walls are textured and the paint we used on the walls is a semi gloss. Put those 2 together and vinyl letting does NOT stick to the wall. I was back to square one…..or was I? Since I really liked the phrase that I found, I decided to trace the letters and then paint them on the wall, viola!

If you know me, you know that when I decide to do something, I want it done yesterday. Well, the optimal time to do something like this is when the boys are sleeping. The boys sleep in the room I am painting…
So, it took me about 1-2 weeks to get it all painted. Once the letters were all done I added a few stars to it and then got some pictures printed that we had taken of the boys to put around the phrase. It turned out great!

I am in love with it and its something that can stay on the boys’ wall for a while and won’t have to be changed when they get a “big boy” room.

Here is what the wording alone looked like:

And, here it is with all the pictures around it:

Spring is here…

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The warmer weather means we get to play outside.  Our boys love playing outside – especially Hayden.  When Hayden wakes up in the morning one of the first things he does when he comes into the kitchen is walk over to the back door to go outside.  My parents had a slide at their house and they gave it to us so the boys are learning to climb up the ladder and slide down.  Of course, they want to climb up the front of the slide so we are trying to teach them the correct way to get to the top of the slide.  They also like to swing and play with the bird bath we have in the back yard.  The other day it was in the 70’s here so we were able to play outside for about 45 minutes after I got home from work.  And of course, that gave me ample time to get some video of the boys.  So here is a video of the fun we had…its about 5 minutes long but I think the best part of the video is close to the end when the boys are interacting with each other.

oh boy…..

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Ian on the go

We are in for it! The last few weeks Ian has been giving us a glimpse into the terrible 2’s…can it start as young as 15 months?! Wow….my sweet Ian has been turned into a toddler all of a sudden.  Example #1 – all because he didn’t get his way – one minute he was standing right next to me, the next minute, he was lying on the ground crying, partially screaming.  Example #2 – he didn’t want to go to bed, so he throws his head back and arches his back and cries/screams. But the best part was when he would quiet down in between screaming – when I wasn’t looking! Little booger would cry when I was looking at him, and when he realized I wasn’t looking, he would stop.  The second you give him what he wants, it’s all over as if nothing happened.

Well, this momma doesn’t play that game! The boys will learn that If I said no, I meant no, and screaming isn’t going to change my mind.  Also, if I can’t hold them this very second because I have to hold their brother who just smacked his head on the wall, they will have to wait. Even though I know this will mostly likely result in one or both of them throwing themselves on the floor and crying.  I am only 1 person

Then there’s Hayden…Jonathan was in their room putting their PJ’s on while I was fixing dinner and all of a sudden I hear this yelp, and it wasn’t from the boys.  Hayden bit Jonathan’s foot – hard! The boy has like 12 teeth, so he can bite down. He bit Ian’s finger one day…but in Hayden’s defense, Ian put his finger in his mouth.

The boys have also been trying our patience lately…just to see what they can get away with.  We have started using time-outs with them after they get 3 warnings.  Since they are 1, they get a 1 minute time out.  By doing this, we are hoping they learn cause and effect and that their actions have consequences – yes, we are starting them young, but that’s the best time to start.

I’m sure this is just a glimpse into what we are going to go through when they are older, but I’m ready for it!

Little Hands

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10 little fingers…20 little fingers can get 2 little boys into a whole heap of trouble.  Our little ones like to get their sticky little fingers into everything so they can test it out.  At 15 months old, they aren’t getting into stuff out of spite or being malicious about it…they are simply curious.  They want to know what it is and how it works.  Now, sometimes they may start out doing this and it ends up with “oh, mommy said not to do this, lets see what happens if I keep doing it!” It still their curiosity getting the best of them…they are simply learning cause and effect.

The boys are getting to the point where if you take their hand to hold it and walk with them they will actually grab on to your hand.  I love it! There is just something about a little, tiny hand.  Those 4 little hands represent the world to me. Whenever I see them, they remind me of what all we had to go through to get them; the pain, anger, frustration, and heartache.  But they also remind me of all the joy, laughter, smiles, and anticipation of what is still to come.  Its crazy how something so simple as a pair of hands can mean so much!

15 months old

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My boys are 15 months old, and my how they have grown in the last 3 months.  I am now doing the picture in the chair every 3 months instead of every month.

We took them for their 15 month check up and they are both doing great.  Gaining weight like they should and growing taller….but still taking after mom rather than dad in this area.

They had to get 2 shots each and boy they did NOT like it! We are going to start putting rice cereal in their milk (cow’s milk) because of their reflux.  We had to switch from Prevacid to Prilosec because it’s on back order from the manufacturer and it doesn’t work as well.  So we are keeping our fingers crossed that they get their act together soon so we can get our boys back on the stuff that works!

Other than the reflux, they are doing great with no other issues.  They are both running everywhere and getting into EVERYTHING….hence this photo!

  the boys helping momma put away their clothes

We finally had to break down and get those little latches that go on drawers so they can’t pull them out.  They love to get into the kitchen drawers and pull everything out.  I don’t mind this, but I’m afraid someone will accidently put one of our sharp paring knives in the drawer and they will stick their hand in and cut it. So they are no longer able to pull open the drawers – and they were not happy when they figured out they couldn’t do it anymore!

We’ve gone to the park a few times with the boys when the weather was nice, and they have so much fun.  They love sliding down the slide and swinging.  These boys love being outside any chance they get! They are going to have some fun this spring and summer when they are able to go outside everyday.  We may need to get a slide or something for them to play with in the backyard.

Hayden swinging
Ian swinging

The boys have their own distinct personalities, and I love it! I love that they aren’t exactly alike.

Hayden is a very caring little boy.  For example, the other day he went and picked up his taggie and Ian’s was laying next to it, so he picked it up and took it to Ian.  Then later that day he picked up his pacifier and gave it to Ian.  As sweet as he is, he also has a very stubborn streak. He is still a very curious little boy.  He likes to figure out how things work and loves to fill things up…shoes, cups, buckets, you name.  He will fill it up with anything he can find.  He was putting baby wipes in his shoes one day and put some blocks in my moms shoes the other day. Hayden does this thing with his foot.  He usually crosses his feet when he sits down and he has started doing this thing where he twirls his foot around in a circle, almost every time he sits down…its pretty funny.

Ian is a sweet boy too.  He loves to sit in your lap and snuggle…until he sees something that catches his eye, then he’s up and on the go.  If Hayden is upset at something, he will stop what he is doing and look at us as if he’s saying….”he’s upset, do something.”  Ian loves to run…he runs around the house all day. He is Mr. Fidgety….he is always playing with his hands.  Ian is a talker.  Hayden “talks” a lot too but not as much as Ian.  Granted I have no clue what either of them are saying, but they sure are talking.  They talk back and forth a lot like they are having a conversation with each other, but again, I have no clue what they are saying. Ian does say doggy – well his version of doggy, and now he will say nana for banana.

I am loving his stage that the boys are in and it is so much fun.  They are growing up really fast and they’ll be 2 before we know it!

 

goofy boys…

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Most people don’t get to see our boys like we do.  No one really gets to see the goofy and crazy side of our boys like we do.  Especially Hayden…the boy is stoic! When he meets people for the first time, he doesn’t smile much, doesn’t really talk or laugh.  But let me tell you, he is a hoot!

This is how most people usually see Hayden:

Hayden

But this is the goofy Hayden we get to see every day:

It is never a dull moment at our house.  The boys keep us on our toes and keep us laughing constantly.   They are always doing something new and it is so much fun to wake up and see what they will do that day.

Goodbye 2011…Hello 2012

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2011 was a big year for our family…and a lot of firsts for our boys. So here is a look back at some of the highlights of what happened in 2011.

Lets start with our family picture from last New Years Day.

1) In January my brother, Brian, got married and we welcomed Stephanie to the family. I am so happy for Brian and that he found the love of his life! We love Stephanie and I am so glad to have her as a new sister-in-law.

2) We got like 10 feet of snow in January…ok, so it was more like a foot.  But when you aren’t used to all that snow, it seems like a lot. The boys got to see snow for the first time, too bad they won’t remember it! Then in February, because we didn’t get enough snow in January, we got more snow. I think we had a total of 5 “snow” days between Jan and Feb where we got to stay home from work. We loved getting to spend the time at home with the boys and just relax.

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3) I had my first ride in an ambulance (pretty fun), unfortunately it was to the ER (not so much fun). After this one and 2 other trips to the ER, I finally had the problem fixed – just a simple surgery to remove my gallbladder! Who needs it anyway?!

4) The boys were evaluated and fitted for DocBands (orthotic helmet to reshape their head) and only 6 weeks later graduated from them! What a world of difference the bands made. They had to wear them 23 hours a day/7 days a week for the full 6 weeks. The therapists were impressed with how fast their heads reshaped. We caught them right in the middle of a growth spurt and that was a blessing because that meant they didn’t have to wear them as long.

Doc Band graduation day!!

5) My other brother, Brad, opened up his new Gymnastics facility…Best Gymnastics – go check it out sometime! This has been a dream come true for him and I am so happy for him and proud of him for this accomplishment – he deserves it!

Brooklyn with the boys

4) We celebrated 4 years of marriage and our first real mother’s day and father’s day.

5) We introduced the boys to our pool for the first time, but it was still kind of chilly so they just got their feet week – literally, they just put their feet in the water. A month or so later we did get to go “swimming”, for real this time, and the boys loved it.

Swimmimg

6) The boys had their first haircut at about 8 months old – by Granna Vicki of course.

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7) They have both learned to sit up, crawl, walk and now run…and with each of those has brought new challenges for me and Jonathan. But I wouldn’t give up those challenges for anything!

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8) The boys got to watch their very first world series…and one that our home team was in. Unfortunately they lost, but it was still a fun experience.

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9) We have had a blast throughout the year watching the boys grow. We have just had fun with them, going for walks, swinging and just goofing off with them.

10) The boys celebrated their first birthday on October 21

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11) And lastly, we celebrated the holidays with all our family.

Checking out the Christmas tree...

From my family to yours, we hope you all have a wonderful, safe and happy 2012.

Christmas 2011

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This year was so different than last Christmas. The boys did a whole lot more this year. Instead of just laying there and being passed around from person to person, we were taking turns watching them as they run around the house! They weren’t too into the whole unwrapping presents, but they did love what was inside all the wrapping.

Christmas Eve we went to church for the Christmas Eve service and then had my parents and Jonathan’s parents over for dinner. The boys got to “open” their gift from Jonathan’s parents and were to interested in playing with it to go to bed when the time came. They got a big truck full of blocks!

Christmas Day We opened present at our house and then went to my parents for lunch with my family.  My parents got the boys some riding firetrucks so we have been playing with them for the last week. After lunch we drove to s=Sulphur Springs to spend the evening with Jonathan’s family.  The boys did really well for not having more than an hour of sleep all day.  We expected them to sleep the whole way home from Sulphur Springs but they did no such thing! They were over stimulated, over tired and not in the mood to sleep.  Overall, it was a fun day.

Here are some photos of all our Christmas fun.

Christmas Eve at our house

Christmas Morning

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas from the Blundell Family