Terrific Tuesday...

We had a really fun day on Tuesday as a family. Parker took the day off from school (all he had was his tax class and he's kinda a tax pro already :) so he can manage skipping every so often) so we decided to have some much needed fun family time! First we took the boys to their first movie! I was kinda nervous to see how they did because they have yet to sit through a whole movie at home and have never watched TV for longer than 5 minutes at a time so I was curious to see how they did. We took them to Madagascar 2 at the dollar theater and they were SO cute! They lasted about halfway through the movie and then lost interest, but it was ok cuz there was only like 15 people in the theater so I don't think they were too distracting to anyone. Also, for $0.75 per person I think it was worth it. They LOVED the endless popcorn and sprite though, that was probably their favorite part!

After the movie we took them to the little playplace at University Mall, they loved hanging inside the dinosaur bones...

After the mall we went to Auntie Lindsay's house for a few minutes, which they always love! Then we took them to McDonalds to play for over an hour, and they had SO much fun! It was a fun day for them and they both fell asleep in about 5 minutes on the way home, which was nice. I love my family!

On a side note, Joshy said something cute yesterday...him, Jack, and daddy were at Costco and Joshy just randomly said..."me get baptized, go way under water!" We were kinda surprised he knew about baptism because we really haven't talked to them about it yet! So when they came home I asked Josh where he learned about baptism and he goes, "Jesus taught me mommy! Me get baptized, go under water, just like Jesus!" It was SOOOO precious! I just love their little spirits at such a young age!!!

Sweet Husband and Fun Baby Shower...

So for the past month or so I haven't been sleeping well because my pillow is too flat and I just can't get comfortable. But, I have been putting off buying a new one because-let's face it-money is tight and luxuries like new comfy pillows are just not in the budget right now! Also driving me crazy is my alarm clock by my bedside, it suddenly has a mind of its own and goes way fast so it's always anywhere from 10 to 80 minutes off! Again, I don't wanna spend money on a new one so I just use my cell phone to check for the real time. SO...today Parker comes home from school with a big bag and says, "I have something for you!" He bought me a super comfy new fluffy pillow and a new alarm clock!!! What's even cuter, he went to the store JUST to buy that! He went to the store with me in mind and wanted to make me happy. This may not seem like a big deal to some but Parker is kinda a penny pincher (law school debt will do that to you) and he's not always the most thoughtful of guys (not because he's a jerk but because he literally just forgets about things) so it meant a lot to me. I love you babe and thanks for thinking of me!!!

I also had a fun night tonight, I went to my friend Mikaela's baby shower! Mikaela and I have been friends since kindergarten and have really grown up together, we were even roomates at BYU! She is having her first baby, a little boy, in a few weeks and I'm so excited for her! I went with my other friend Tiffany, who is also pregnant and it was fun to all get together!

Tiff didn't want her picture taken but here's one of me, Brandi (Mikaela's older sister who was good friends with my older sister) and prego Mikaela! Congrats Mikaela!!

Tub Time...

Tub time is one of my favorite times with the boys because they have the funniest conversations with eachother! They also play hilarious games and always make eachother laugh. This morning this was their conversation while playing with their Noah's Ark animals...

Josh: Me want to play with the zebra Jack
Jack: No, you play with the giraffe Josh
Josh: When I get older, me play the zebra?
Jack: Ya, when you get older and bigger like me
Josh: Ya Jack, you older and bigger than me huh?
Jack: Ya, I am...someday you will be bigger Josh.

HAHAHAHAHA, I love it! Apparently they don't know they're twins! Although, Jack is a couple inches and a couple pounds bigger! So cute, they crack me up!

POTTY TRAINING...

So I really haven't thought that my boys are ready to potty train yet, and I definitely don't want to push them if they're not, but Josh has been showing a lot of signs that he might be ready. I kinda feel bad leaving Jackson behind but we can't hold Josh back until Jack is ready. Also, I think doing one at a time will be easier. The PROBLEM is this...
Hahahaha, this is how I found Jackson after 15 minutes of trying SO hard to go potty! We made a big deal out of Joshy going potty so Jackson wanted the attention too, the poor guy was trying SO hard and couldn't go! HOW CUTE DOES HE LOOK? ALL HE NEEDS IS A NEWSPAPER!!!

So I don't really know how to go about things with Josh and I'm looking for suggestions!?!? I would love to get him potty trained before we leave for the east coast! Today he wore pull ups and was SO proud! He kept it dry all day except for one accident tonight. I am so proud of him!!! Anyways, those of you that have boys in the 2-3 year old range that are potty trained I would love to hear your suggestions on how to potty train Josh!!!

Mommy is So Proud...

Today the boys had their neo-natal follow up clinic appointment up in Salt Lake. Since they were so preemie, they qualify for this program where once or twice a year they go in for a complete evaluation of weight, height, nutrition, vision, hearing, development, and speech. I have loved it because it's always nice to know that they are growing and developing normally! They were extremely patient considering we had to wake them up early and it took about 4 hours of seeing doctor after doctor! They loved the pyschiatrist and speech pathologist because they got to play with blocks and read books. Jackson hated the hearing test and Josh hated having his eyes dialated!!! The good news, they took a THREE HOUR NAP afterwards!!

Jackson weighed 29 pounds and was in the 45% for weight and 75% for height! He's tall and thin like his daddy! Joshy weighed 26 pounds and was in the 15% for weight (up from the 10% last year!) and 50% for height. Both of their vision and hearing were perfect!

The speech doctor did a series of tests with them and rated Jackson as understanding at a 2 year 6 month old level (which is how old he is) and his speaking was at a 2 year 9 month old level. Josh was rated as understanding at a 3 year 2 month old level and speaking at a 3 year 9 month old level! I was so impressed! In Jack's defense, he was in a pretty grumpy mood and didn't really feel like cooperating with the doctor, I really don't think there's that much of a difference in their speech.

The pyschiatrist rated Josh's cognitive development, analytical thinking, problem solving, etc at a 3 1/2 year old level! I couldn't believe it! He said by the time he starts kindergarten he will be a full year ahead of other kids his age! He loved the games he got to play and sat there trying to figure everything out, he's so daddy's boy! He rated Jackson's development at a 3 year old level! He did really well and there were only a few things he couldn't do. However, there were some things he did faster than Josh! Ok so I'm not blogging about this to brag...I'm blogging about it for two reasons, 1) personal history of their childhood and 2) I FEEL SO BLESSED!!!

I swear I was beaming from ear to ear when I left the clinic, because I am so proud of my little angels and how well they are doing. I feel so blessed to have kids that are developing so well and that are just so happy to learn. It's hard to believe they came into this world as tiny little 3 and 4 pounds sacks of skin hooked up to tubes and IVs in the NICU for 5 long weeks. So much could have gone wrong between then and now, and look at them just excelling! I am SO proud of my boys, I love them so much and can't believe how fast they are growing up! Our family has so much to be grateful for!

Just a reminder of how these guys started...

Poor little Joshy on oxygen...

Tiny little Jackson (notice the bruise on his little foot from getting poked so many times)...

Look how little Josh looks laying on me...Together under the biliruben lights...
Best buds in the hospital...

Ok so sorry if this was boring, but it was really for me. I cannot believe how far they've come, I'll never forget when the neonatologist came in to see me before the boys came..."since they are so preemie they will probably have many problems including brain damage, they may even die." Ya, he had great people skills. But, that was a reality for many preemies...but Jackson and Josh were fighters and mommy IS SO PROUD AND LOVES YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

Daddy Is So Proud...

So today when I went to pick up the boys at the gym playplace after my workout the lady told me that some kid was picking on Josh the whole time. She said Josh was just trying to play with this ball and this kid kept pestering him (stupid punk kids, haha). So tonight at dinner I was telling Parker about it...

Parker: "Joshy was a kid being mean to you at the playplace today?"

Josh: "Ya, he try to take my ball away! He mean to me all day!"

Jackson: "Me just run away."

Hahahaha, so good to know that Jackson doesn't stand up for Josh, he just runs away! Hahaha, daddy was SO proud! =)

Random cute pics...

Yes, they have "raisin boogers" in their noses...

Jazz Game and My Blond Little Sister

Saturday night Parker and the boys went to the Jazz basketball game with Parker's mom, sister Tegan, and my niece Abbi while I had a girls night out with my little sister and Nicole (more on that later). It sounds like the boys had a great time, especially Jackson. Joshy has been a little sick so he wasn't quite himself but Jackson apparently was the cutest little guy. They took the trax to the game, which they loved-ate lots of popcorn, which they loved-and got spoiled by grandma, which they always love! Jackson also loved the Jazz bear! Park took some pics with his cool new Blackberry...

On the train...

At the game...I'm so glad they had fun, thanks mom for the tickets!

So while they were at the game, Lindsay, Nicole, and I went to dinner at Olive Garden! We had so much fun, but the HIGHLIGHT of the night was my blond little sister....HAHAHAHA. Ok so we got to the restaurant around 5:00 and Linds dropped me off to go put our name in while her and Nicole parked her car. There was a long wait so we walked across the parking lot and went shopping for about an hour (and got some SUPER cute clothes on sale!). Then we went to dinner and ate for about an hour. THEN...we're walking out to Lindsay's car and she's all, "you guys I can't find my keys!" THEN..."WAIT, my lights are on!!" THEN..."OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS MY CAR IS ON!!!" HAHAHAHA, yes she left her car on, unlocked, running, for over 2 hours in a dark parking lot. ONLY IN UTAH would that car not be stolen!!!! I love my blond little sister and thanks for the laugh Linds!!!!! =)

Farm Country...

Yesterday my friend Melissa and I took our kids to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point to see all the animals. It was fun but SOOO cold! We didn't realize that most of it was outside and it was about 30 degrees and windy as can be! We were the only people there! But the kids had fun. Then we went to a yummy deli and ended up talking for like 2 hours! It was a fun day!

Getting ready to go...

They liked the wood cow...

They wanted all the toys in the gift shop, haha...The pony ride...can you tell how freezing they are???

The whole clan...how cute are Melissa's girls??Later that night we went to my sister Lindsay's house for dinner and games. Our friend Nicole is in town from Oregon and the boys have just LOVED having her here! Jackson especially is really attached to her, it's so cute...This is how Joshy was watching his movie...Cute guys cute guys!

All Is Well...

We had our ultrasound and doctors appointment and everything looks great!!! There's ONE healthy baby growing inside me and my due date is August 4th! We are excited to experience a singleton and hope that all continues to go well. The good news is I've been feeling so much better too! I think, knock on wood, I'm getting to the end of the morning sickness! YAY!!!

Random Post...

I don't really have anything important to post about but I am in a typing mood so here goes!!! The boys are finally out of their high chairs and into booster chairs, which may seem like a small thing but last night at dinner they just looked SO grown up to me! In some ways it is nice, they're becoming easier to take care of and what not, BUT...I can't help but be sad! Luckily I have another one on the way to help curve some of that baby hungriness!!!

They have been growing and developing so well and they are so smart! They love to learn, read, and sing and are still just not interested in TV. Jackson has been very sensitive to me since I've been so sick, he will just walk up to me and give me loves and rub my stomach, it makes my heart melt. He will sing me songs to cheer me up and it ALWAYS does! Josh is into saying prayers by himself now and gets so proud when he does. He is also playing cute with Jackson, always trying to include him in what he is doing.

Here are the boys today before church...

They both love church and nursery and come home telling us all the new things and songs they learned, it's amazing how much they can learn at such a young age!

So my ultrasound is Wednesday and for some reason I'm so nervous something is going to be wrong! I'm 10 weeks and have been really sick and have lost weight, which worries me. I'm also excited though to find out how many babies I'm having! Chances are it's one, but you never know! Anyways, sorry this is a little boring...I'll post Wednesday, hopefully with good news!!

It Was the Best of Times it Was the Worst of Times...

HERE WE ARE, we made it through the craziness of the holidays! We got home at 3:30 this morning and are TIRED but happy to be home! We had a great week with my parents at their house in Eagle Crest (central Oregon) and miss them already! Why then was it the best of times AND worst of times? I WAS SOOO SICK! Ah I was so bummed because I just wanted to have a fun vacation before Parker starts school, we move, the baby comes, etc. I had a combination of morning sickness, stomach flu, and celiac side effects so needless to say I was MISERABLE! I feel like I was in bed over half the trip and poor Parker had to take care of the boys all week, sorry babe!!! And the worst part is, since I was down most of the week...I only got TWO pictures! =(

Here they are with grandpa eating popcorn at the bowling alley...

How pathetic is that? Two pictures for a whole week of fun! The boys had a blast swimming, hot tubbing, bowling, and spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Barraclough and Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Jason (Dana and David were suppossed to come too but bailed on us, which we are all STILL not happy about!). We enjoyed the time with my family, I love them so much and we all have so much fun just being together. I am going to miss that so much when we move to the east coast =( Ok, now I'm getting sad and this is a happy post!!

Anyways, thanks mom and dad for a great week and sorry I was such a bum!!!!

Wednesday is my first ultrasound and I am so excited!!!!!!!!