Memorial Day

Before I share about our fun Memorial Day Weekend in Tulsa, I have to say...

Happy Happy Birthday to my sweet Gram!!  She is 92 years old today!!!!  She is such an inspiration to all of us, and the best example of living a life for Jesus of anyone I know! She is beautiful on the inside and the outside!  I love you, Grammie!

Aunt Sharon, Gram, Mom

Now, on to our super fun-filled Memorial Day weekend! 

The boys had a wonderful time with their Mammaw and Pappaw, and so did we!  Justin and I actually got in two naps and a date night while we were up there!  Thanks so much, Gene and Kathy!

We went to the Oklahoma Aquarium, which is only 5 minutes from their house, and it was so much fun!  The boys seemed to be just in awe of all the fish, turtles, sharks, and everything else they have there!

W & J watching the fish

Tons of turtles!

3 Generations of Steiner men

Jaws!

My boys 'swimming' with the sharks! ;-)

And we found some cute lobsters in the gift shop too!

The boys had a snack sitting in the barstools!  I just can't believe how big they are getting, that they are able to do this!

Will

Jack

Thanks Mammaw for the yummy food!

Gene and Kathy live on a pond, and the boys had fun playing on their back deck.  They played with bubbles and swam (well, they stood and played) in a little pool too!

J-green, W-blue

Jack saying colors--he had said all of them before, but this time, seemed to like yellow best!

Justin got to mow the lawn with their new riding lawnmower, and the boys needed to have their photo op on it too!  I'm sure they will want to go for a ride and help when they are older!

Jack was trying to help with his bubble mower!

We spent some time fishing too!  The first attempt, the fish were not interested at all.  But we had fun and got a few pictures.

Jack fishing with Mammaw

Sunday was Gene and Kathy's 39th anniversary, so we went out to our favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate.  We had to get a picture of the boys with them after we ate--too bad the boys didn't want to smile!

Our little family with ORU in the background

Our second attempt at fishing Monday morning was a success!  Mammaw caught the one and only fish, and the boys were amazed and both touched it!  I think we'll have some little fishermen in the next few years!

Justin and I went and saw The Avengers Sunday night. We both really enjoyed it!  I have to say, Robert Downey Jr. totally makes the movie!  Thanks Gene & Kathy for watching the boys! They are busy boys! =)

What a great weekend we all had, and I'm really amazed at how much easier it is getting to travel with the boys.  Easier because we don't have as many baby supplies to bring, but definitely with some new challenges!  One nap time, while mommy and daddy were sneaking in a nap, Mammaw found the boys  getting into mischief... they both had crawled out of their pack and plays, climbed up on the bed in their room, and were standing at the top of the bed, on all the pillows, working together to take a picture off the wall.  YIKES!!!  Mammaw got a kick out of it, and sure has a great grandma story to tell of these crazy boys! ;-)

Thanks, Gene and Kathy, for a wonderful time together!

Mother's Day 2012

Mother's Day is such a day of crazy emotions still for me...

I'm so thankful joy and an overwhelming feeling of being blessed are the predominant ones in my heart today, but I'll never forget the years of dreading this day.  The years of avoiding going to church, the years after miscarriages that I wasn't sure if I was supposed to stand up when they asked for mothers.  The extra stinging reminder on this day that my arms were still so empty when the only focus of my life for so long was trying to fill them.  Yes, Mother's Day is a very tough day. For those of you who are still in the midst of the journey towards getting your arms filled, I remember you today... know that your struggle is still at the forefront of my mind and heart, and I'm lifting you up to the Father a little bit extra today. I'm praying that the Holy Spirit will give you His supernatural peace and comfort, but also his JOY!  Joy might seem strange, but I am confident that God has an incredible plan that involves you as a mom! I'm praying that you will have joy knowing that He is in control and WILL answer your prayers!! As always, I'm praying that this is your very last Mother's Day with tears of sadness, and that next year you'll be able to join me with tears of joy!!

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Happy Mother's Day to all of my dear friends as well--you are all examples to me of how to be a mom that strives to show Jesus to my children every day!  I treasure each and every one of you!

And Amy--Happy 1st Mother's Day, my friend!  I've prayed so hard that you would finally be able to celebrate this day with me! I'm just so so so excited for you and happy that God has finally answered your prayers in His perfect way!  Enjoy every minute of being MOMMY today!!!

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I never truly understood the love my mom had for me until I was finally a mother.  Mom--you are truly an incredible woman and I am so amazingly blessed to have you as MY mom!  We have always been close-- I cherish every experience we've had, every talk and chat, every meal we've cooked together, every fun place we've visited together! You are my best friend and I love it that I need you just as much at 30 as I did when I was 5 or 15! =) But seeing you now as "Gigi" is the ultimate feeling of fulfillment to me.  I always knew I wanted to be a mommy, but I didn't realize how much I would love watching you as a grandma!  Thank you for the unconditional love you have always had for me, and now for the head-over-heels love you give my boys each and every day.  You are truly the most caring, thoughtful, and encouraging person I have known, and I'm honored to be your daughter! Happy Mother's Day, Mommy!

To my wonderful mother-in-law Kathy, I'm truly thankful to be your daughter-in-law!  I love watching you as "Mammaw" to the boys!  I have always seen you as a fantastic grandma to Ryley, but I'm enjoying every minute of seeing you interact with our boys.  You are patient, fun, thoughtful, and creative and I love how you always take the time to teach them new things each time you are with them.  I love getting a 'glimpse' of what it must have been like for Justin growing up with you as a mom.  He is a lucky son to have had you as his mom, as our boys are now blessed to have you as their grandma! I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day today!

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And to my sweet sons... I'm beyond ecstatic that God chose me to be your mommy.  I never knew life could be so sweet, that each day could be filled with so many new and wonderful things, and that just a smile from you could melt my heart each and every time.  God created me to be your mommy, and I will always do my very best to teach you, guide you, tell you about Jesus, and take care of you, because you are both my miracles from God! 

 William and Jackson, I love you more than you will ever even begin to know!  

Boy talents...

Thanks Daddy!  I love that they have already learned how to spit off a railing. =(  

Can't wait for all the fun "boy" things that are coming my way!

Hi! I'm Alyson!

(Today's blog is another link-up to Kelly's Korner blog...

a day all about meeting new friends!)

Welcome to all those who have come over from Kelly's Korner!  

My name is Alyson and I'm so glad you stopped by my blog!

I'm a mommy of incredible 20 month old twin boys and am very blessed to be the wife of a wonderful man for almost 10 years! We live in a big red house in an amazing neighborhood in North Texas, about 45 minutes north of Dallas.  I'm super excited about the possibility of meeting some new friends through this link up!  

I truly had no idea of how much harder it would be to develop friendships once you have little ones.  I love meeting new people, but chasing around 2 little busy boys doesn't leave much time for having time to sit, chat, get to know others, and really develop some deeper friendships like I was able to before the kiddos! But it is so important to make the time to develop those strong relationships, especially as a stay at home mom! So if you are hopping here from Kelly's blog, I'm guessing that you might be somewhat similar to me... love to blog and keep up with others who do, most likely a mom who loves her kids more than anything, and someone who strives to live each day for the Lord!  

Please leave me a comment letting me know a bit about you--I would love to get to know you and meet you face to face too!  It's sure nice to find friends close-by! What a great idea Kelly had to do this week's link up!

 Hope you have a great weekend, and thanks so much for stopping by!  Feel free to check out my blog to learn more about us, and enjoy pictures of the cutest little boys--I'm just a bit biased! =)

20 Months Old!

Yesterday the boys hit the 20 month old mark!  I just can't believe that in just four short months, my babies will be 2 years old!  Wow--that just shocks me that we are already this close to that day!

But, right now, they are 20 months and they truly seem to be having so much fun in life!  They are ALL boy and seem to happy to always have scratches and bruises up and down their little legs!

SuperJack

SuperWill

-They haven't grown too much since their last appointment at 18 months... still both near 25 pounds, about 33-34 inches tall, and still wearing 12-18 month clothes.  They are tall and skinny boys, without an ounce of chub on them anywhere!

-They are still pretty good sleepers. They get up around 7:30-8, take one 2-3 hour nap in the day (either from 10:30-1 or if we are out and about in the morning from 12:30-3) and head to bed about 7.  But we are thinking that it is time to move bedtime back a bit later.  The last week or so, we have had two little boys playing in their cribs for about an hour (and thankfully not climbing out again since we moved their cribs), so we are going to try to have more family time/walks/playtime before an 8pm bedtime.  We'll see how it goes!

-They eat all table foods, but the one baby food that they will still eat is level 2 peas, green beans and mixed vegetables.  Strange, since I think those are the yuckiest ones, but at least it helps us to get green veggies into their tummies with they are being picky with the grown up versions!  They definitely know what they want, and we go through phases of shaking their heads and saying no-no to what they don't want.  Sometimes it's super frustrating to me because I want to make sure they're eating enough, but they know what they want to eat! They drink a lot of juice and milk, and they love to try to drink "da-der" (water) out of big cups!  They get so excited when I'll put a few drops of water from the fridge dispenser into plastic cups to let them drink! And they LOVE getting to have sips out our our drinks!

-Since Daddy finished the backyard patio, we spend A LOT of time outside!  They love to climb all over the patio space, play with their water table, sit and play in the grass, try to blow bubbles, and try to pick the flowers! Whenever they see their shoes, they think it's time to go outside! It is so much fun!

-They are getting really good at going up the stairs on their own, with mommy just guarding from behind!  And in the last few days, we have been practicing scooting down on their bottoms too.  They think it is hilarious, and now don't want to climb all the way up, but instead go up a few steps and come back down =).  It takes us a LONG time to get upstairs, but they sure love it! And I'm loving not having to always carry them up and down!

-These boys are into EVERYTHING!!!!!  They love to sneak into the kitchen and open the dishwasher.  I'm not sure how they do it so quietly, but I guess they know they are not supposed to be in it, so they know to sneak!  (I've taken to taping it shut with packing tape during the day to keep them from pulling out silverware or sitting on the open door--you do what you have to do!=) The laundry room pocket door gets taped shut during the day too (the store-bought safety latch has broken twice!) to prevent little fingers being smashed as it slides open. They love to climb on the coffee tables, chairs, stools and anything else they can get their little legs up on!

-They love to pet the dogs.  Our Betsy still won't let them come too close, but they have been able to pet her nicely a few times. My parent's dog Molly loves the boys to come up and pet her, cuddle on her soft fur, and really get right into her face.  We tell the boys "gentle, gentle" and they do a great job!  Now Will says "gentle" as he pets the dogs--too cute!  Even though both dogs have been great with them, we know they are still dogs and the boys are boys, so we always watch the interactions pretty closely!

-They chatter ALL THE TIME!  They are super mimics, so we continue to hear a lot of real words, but they also have a language all their own! They are super intent on what they are saying too, sometimes grabbing my face to look straight at them while they talk to me!  The phrase we hear a lot right is "ga-dah-ga-dah" kind of in a sing-songy way and it definitely means something to them! Their Daddy "talks" back to them in their language, and they seem to understand him!  You should hear the conversations they have! =)

-They still love Superheros!  For the last few weeks, I've been tying their blankets around their necks as "capes" and they have so much fun! So last week Daddy brought home their very first real capes.  And the boys are in love!  They love running around the house with them on, saying "man-man"!

My supers guarding the front door!

-They are getting so friendly with people other than family--especially Will!  His new thing is to wave and say hi to EVERYONE, and they both are getting better at saying bye, waving, or blowing kisses!  It is just the cutest thing to watch them, and to see them do it on cue!


Our boys are just so much fun, and getting even more so each day!  I love to listen to them chatter, hear them saying "Maaaa-maaa" through the monitor, and watch them getting so excited when they see their daddy after work. I never knew that being a mom would be this much fun!

Happy 20 months, Will & Jack!! We love you so much!