Happy Birthday Boys!

Carter Francis Hill... my first born baby is now 4 years old. I can't believe it! I am so proud of the sweet young boy he is becoming. He is a mini Dave in every way. He even shares the same silly sense of humor as his Daddy. He is doing really well in preschool and has made many friends. He loves everything Star Wars and marches around the house humming the Darth Vader theme song. He is still a cuddle-bug and he manages to sneak into our bed in the middle of the night to cuddle. 

Archer Anderson Hill...my baby is not a baby anymore! I can't believe he is 2 but sometimes I feel like he is much older. He desperately tries to keep up with his big brother. He hates that Carter gets to go to school without him and begs me for his own pack-pack so he can go to school too. He is pretty silly too. He is such a chatterbox. He gets up super early every morning and immediately begins chatting... "Lets go downstairs. I want chwochwit milk and growna bars. I wanna watch Mickey Mouse Cwub house." Both boys love their Daddy more than anything and anxiously await him coming home from work every day. 

This year we decided to throw a birthday party for the boys. They wanted an Angry Birds Star Wars party. We tried to keep the party small since we held it at our house but we did manage to squeeze a bounce house in the backyard. It was a blast! It is really fun that the boys share a birthday... I am still wondering how much longer they will be happy with it.

Archie carries this around the house saying, "I don't wike it!"

On the boys' actual birthday we went to the cemetery to visit Grayson. This was the first time that Carter seemed upset by it and he actually said, "I miss Grayson." I think my heart broke all over again. Sometimes I forget about what kind of an impact losing his twin will have on his life. We do our best to talk about Grayson and keep him as a part of our family and I hope that this will bring some comfort to Carter as he grows up.

Lastly, we bought the boys their very first bikes! I was shocked at how brave Carter was (he is usually very nervous and timid about trying new things). He rode it pretty well although he stares at his feet as he peddles and then forgets to steer! But I am hoping with a bit of practice, I will be able to ride my bike alongside him.

Fall Festivities

To start off, Dave and I had a date night. An awesome amazing date night. We ate delicious food at a restaurant called The Farm in LA. Then we watched the LA symphony perform the Danny Elfman songs from all the Tim Burton movies. Then, Mr. Elfman himself came out and sang all the Jack Skellington songs from Nightmare Before Christmas. It was a really fun night and I loved every second of being with Dave without our little stinkers for a change.

This was probably the most fun we have had during Halloween. The boys were certain of their costumes (Darth Vader and Yoda) months before Halloween and they were thrilled to dress up (unlike the previous years where many tears were shed putting on the costumes!) The concept of trick-or-treating finally made sense to both boys and they loved going door to door and gathering up their goodies. Archie kept saying with delight, "My punkin is heavy!" (His treat bag was a pumpkin.) This year we also went to a pumpkin patch festival at the Irvine Great Park which was fun in theory but way too crowded. The boys did get a free pumpkin though, so that was nice.
Carter is loving preschool. His teachers are fabulous and he is learning so much. He has many friends and his personality is starting to shine. He is definitely the class clown which is so bizarre to me because that is probably the complete opposite of my personality as a child. He is definitely a little Dave in every way. I have had a chance to help out in his classroom a few times and it is such fun to see him so independent. I am really proud of all of his accomplishments this year! His class dressed up on Halloween and paraded around the club and then had a class party.
While I helped in Carter's class, Archie got to go to work with Dave. It looks like he had a blast!

Our pumpkins were such a hit this year that people were sitting on our step and taking pictures with them!

Lastly, this was a funny video clip I got of Archie reading with his Daddy. Dave was trying to read to Archie from a CD booklet, but Archie kept trying to copy and repeat what Dave was saying. It was really funny... Archie was mimicking Dave to make fun of him!

Carter's First Day of Preschool

So I know there are many first days of school ahead...fourteen more and then of course, is college, which my boys will be attending whether they like it or not...but this was Carter's absolute first first day of school. Big deal, right? I think it was far more emotional for me than it was for him. (There is a Grayson in his class and seeing their cubbies with their name tags... just hurt my heart.) I had first day of school jitters and I wasn't even the one going to school! Carter was awesome and did just fine. I wandered around my house counting down the minutes till pickup time!

Wearing his new Space backpack

Our Family!

Snack time... I blurred out the other kids because I wasn't sure it was okay to post their picture on my blog!

The aftermath...

Mid-Summer Highlights

So I may be jinxing myself by writing this but we are having an awesome, mild, beautiful summer. We have managed to not turn our AC on for over a week and saved a ton of electricity (cue Dave doing a happy dance). We have been swimming, gone to water play parks, birthday parties, concerts, movies, etc.! It's been a great summer and the kids are so happy to be outdoors, splashing in the water and playing in the dirt. I bought an inflatable pool for very cheap on Amazon and it has become the highlight of their day. I give them cups and they pour the water out of the pool...they can do this for hours. (Cups are banned in the bathtub after Archie decided it was way cool to dump out all the bath water as fast as he could.) Carter is embracing the role of big brother to the extreme. If Archie does something naughty (like digging metal forks into our new wooden kitchen table) and we take the toy or whatever away, Carter literally jumps up and starts yelling for us to give Archie his toy back or to make Archie happy. He hates to see Archie cry and tries to protect him all the time. I love his sweet nature. He starts preschool in a month! Where did the time go? As for Archer Anderson.... well, he lives to test our boundaries. His adventurous spirit is hard to keep up with and he definitely keeps me on my toes. He is truly no longer a baby as he has moved into a big boy bed and now shares a room with Carter. The boys picked out some cool space posters for their room and it looks really cute. Lastly, we are taking our first family camping trip in September so stay tuned!

Last night the boys drove their jeep to the park. Dave played a game where he was a zombie trying to attack them. It was hilarious to see Carter scream and speed away and to see the concerned look on Archie's face!

Happy Father's Day

I know I say it every year... but Dave is an awesome father. He is the complete opposite of me which I think makes for a great balance. The boys certainly choose him over me for nearly every thing but I think it may be because I fit the care giver/disciplinarian/teacher role and Dave is the hip, fun, cool, playful parent that is quick to give out kisses and cuddles and spends most of his time making his boys squeal with laughter as he tickles them or throws them up in the air! What I love most is the fantastic example he is setting for my boys. Dave is hardworking, creative, smart, playful, laid-back, sensitive, and sweet and loving towards me. I intend my boys to grow up the same way!

I made cinnamon rolls, eggs, hash browns and bacon for breakfast. Yikes! After all that food, we decided a hike was in order. We walked Oso Creek Trail which was beautiful but pushing the double stroller up the hills was nearly impossible. An awesome workout though! The boys played at the park, then we went swimming. It was a long, fun-filled exhausting day. It was fun to spend a day celebrating Dave. Carter kept thinking it was Daddy's birthday and now keeps asking me when it is his turn for a birthday!

My Kids Are Amazing

Starting to look like a big kid!

Cutest face ever.

The day has arrived--these boys can now share clothes and shoes!

So I find myself comparing my kids a lot... to each other... to other kids....to the milestone e-mails that Babycenter sends me... and today I had a breakthrough. I vow to stop! I can't do anything except teach, love, nurture, and guide them into the awesome little guys that they are destined to be. My kids are amazing for many reasons but let's start with Carter. Born 12 weeks early and at 2lbs, the doctors gave us a lengthy list of the impairments, disabilities, health problems, etc. that he would be faced with in his life. The first few months were rough but he conquered all the scary stuff and we were left with a healthy, normal (but tiny) little guy. I did research on preemie babies born at the same gestation and many of them have continual health problems, development challenges, etc. Carter definitely has some "unique" characteristics that remind me that he is a preemie (sensory and eating issues) and certain milestones are a bit delayed in relation to his peers, BUT he certainly makes up for it in the areas that he excels in--his amazing memory, his sweetness, his love of learning, his Angry Bird skills, and his love of singing. Plus I just learned that John Keats, Mark Twain, Albert Einstein, Victor Hugo, Franklin Roosevelt, Thomas Hardy, and DH Lawrence were all premature babies. I can definitely see Carter growing up to be a scientist, author, or poet!

As for Archie...he is equally a little miracle baby as we were pretty certain I couldn't get pregnant. We are thankful every day for this little munchkin. We found out today that he is only in the 20th percentile size-wise so I guess I just make small kids! Archie is hilarious and his little elf voice makes us smile all the time. I have a feeling he is going to be a jokester....just like his Dad. He has excellent motor skills (which he also gets from his Dad) so I have a feeling he is going to enjoy playing sports.