Bad Blogger!

I have been a very bad blogger. So much has happened since the last post. We had an official 1st birthday party for the boys, Jack and Braden celebrated their first Thanksgiving at home with us, Jack is walking and probably most importantly - Jack got great news from his cardiologist. He wore a holter monitor over Thanksgiving and it showed no SVT episodes. This is such a positive step for him. Because he still has abnormal EKG's we know the pathway is still there, but because he can go 24 hours (at least) with no SVT episodes it appears his body is learning how to work around it. We will go back to the cardiologist in a year.

In the meantime, we have two little boys walking around the house. Braden is far more steady on his feet than Jack. If he thinks you are chasing him, he will almost run! Jack is just getting steady enough to walk across the room, if he thinks you are chasing him he breaks into this crawl that is as fast as any "run" Braden can do.

The birthday party was a huge success! Brian and I spent the night before making the cake. Brian spent a lot more than just the night before preparing for this party though. He cooked meatballs, sausage, sauce, lasagna, eggplant parmesean, salad and garlic bread. He went to the boat club early the day of the party to set up and finish cooking (thanks to Bill & Deb for helping with the decorations). Brian worked hard and it payed off, everyone had a lot of fun, especially the boys!

We also had a wonderful photographer, Christina Houser, come to the house and take pictures of the boys for their birthday. We were so thrilled with the pictures. Christina is such a wonderful photographer and she was so patient with the boys. Her website is www.christinahouserphotography.com.

Here are some photos Deb took at the party.











Mrs. J - We love our birthday present! We are a little too scared to crawl through it, but we will keep trying!

Happy Birthday!

It is so hard to believe that an entire year has gone by. Despite everyone warning how quickly this day would come I just can't believe it is here.

When this journey began a year ago it was rocky. Leaving the boys in the hospital was the single hardest day of my life. It would have been impossible to know then how much joy these two little boys would bring to our life. It is amazing how time seemed to stand still those five weeks they were away from us. But, on December 15th both boys were home and it is then the days started to drift together. I guess we have proved the adage true; time truly does fly when you are having fun.

Happy, happy birthday my sweet boys! Your mommy and daddy love you so much.





















A video from Jack & Braden's first year

Happy Halloween!

The Super Mario Brothers!

We went trick-or-treating at Grandma's and ran into a princess and a police man!


Then we went trick-or-treating at Mrs. J's house!


We ended the night at Ron & Sharon's!

Pumpkin Picking!

Grandma, Uncle Kevin, Aunt Robyn, Hailey and Matthew went pumpkin picking with us yesterday afternoon. We had a great time! Matthew wasn't there 3 minutes when he spotted a John Deere tractor with the hay ride attached.

In other news, Braden is officially walking. He will be standing at one toy and decide he wants to go somewhere else and for the first time earlier this week he turned and walked to it! Brian and I were lucky enough to be sitting close by.

Here is a quick video




While everyone went on the ride we took some pictures of the boys!
Jack is in the grey sweatshirt and Braden in blue

Play Date!

The boys had a play date the weekend before last with Auntie Brooke, Uncle Jamie and her kiddos. They had such a great time. Catherine, Brooke's oldest daughter, made the boys the most adorable envelopes to hold their toys. I don't think she like the idea of just throwing them in a bag. Brian and I played in the Italian Open, we had a lot of fun. Thanks again Auntie Brooke and Uncle Jamie!!
Here are some pictures Brooke took.

Brooke's kids waited for the boys to arrive before eating breakfast so that they could all eat together.


Cara took the boys for a wagon ride!








I think (I hope ) everyone had a great day!

Vacation!

We were off over Labor Day and went to Cape Cod for the week. The boys were so excited to make the trip! (L -Braden R- Jack)


When we got there, Grammy had a special treat for the boys - teething cookies! They thought the cookies were so good! (Top - Braden Bottom - Jack)



I thought they were messy!


We did tubbies in the pool in the front yard!



The boys thought Grammy's laundry baskets were the BEST!



We went for a walk on the board walk in Sandwich. It was a little chilly, but a lot of fun!



I got to enjoy a nice "girls" lunch at Tina's with my mom and Kate while the boys took a nap!


Thanks for making the trip Auntie Kate (and Uncle Doug!) It was great to see you guys!


When we were at the Cape for Fourth of July Braden learned to crawl and we joked that when were down for Labor Day he would learn to walk - HE DID! He took a couple steps toward me! I can't believe how close we are to having two little boys running around. In the meantime, it's time to go shoe shopping! i can't have these boys walking with no shoes on their feet.

I forgot!

I forgot to add these two pictures to my last post and they are too cute not to share. Jack loves to zerbert. I caught him in action.

Happy Days!

I can't believe it has been two weeks since the last update! They boys are doing great! Jack is getting another tooth, his fourth on the bottom - that makes EIGHT! Both boys are now standing on anything and everything. Braden can move from object to object. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before he is off and running - literally.

As you can see, feeding both boys at the same time has gotten a LOT easier.


Braden can even take a sip in between bites of pancake!


Yesterday we had some great playtime while Dad took a nap.






Braden even read a book to his big brother.


All that playing and the boys were hungry!


They love to play together!


Also, I changed some things around on the blog. If anyone is having trouble viewing pictures or something looks funny, leave me a comment!