Ready for the church nursery...

Well, we finally took the plunge and sent our kiddos to the church nursery a few weeks ago. At 7 1/2 months, it was that time. We have been bringing the kids into the service with us since they were 2 months old and started coming to church. However, the days of them sleeping through the service or minding their own business are OVER! The thing that sent us over the edge this past Sunday was when Caleb starting grunting out loud and his face turned red...we (as well as the pews around us) knew that he was trying to take care of some personal business so I quietly escaped to the back of the church as my face turned bright red. Tim was already out in the foyer with Matthew who had been cooing at people around him. I asked Tim if he thought it was time for the nursery and he replied, "YES!" Thankfully, there were 2 familiar faces in there who were so excited to see our boys so we left them there with no worries. When we went to pick them up, the ladies said that the boys' first trip was uneventful and they had a great time...what a relief! We'll be back for round #2 next week!!! The boys bundled up in their navy fleece sweaters for the cold weather outside...

Daddy and the boys before church....

Two to kiss, Two to hug, Thank you God for Two to love...

Sometimes I think, "Life cannot get any better than this..." when I am holding these two precious kiddos in my lap and they look up and grin at me. And then, the very next day they will do something that makes me laugh out loud or tear up and it makes me excited all over again. We have such a creative, wonderful God.

Sure, there are really hard moments like when both kids are covered in carrots and sputtering the remainder of them on to my shirt...or when they are both crying at once and there is only one of me...or when they don't nap during the day...or when they both start screaming in the middle of Target when I have a cart full of groceries...But, it is all worth it of course. I know that I need to treasure these moments because they are only this little "once."

I think I am getting a little sentimental because I have been going through some of the kids things from the NICU that I am making into a scrapbook. I found their two little blankies that I slept with the night that I gave birth to them and then sent to Cooks for them to snuggle up with the following night. The idea was for them to learn my scent and get to know their mom, even though we were separated. I remember praying and begging God to let Matthew and Caleb make a full recovery and just dreaming of what it would be like to hold them in my arms. Now, sometimes when I look at them, I just get overcome with emotion thinking about what a blessing they are to our entire family. We are so thankful for them and I don't think I will ever take for granted getting to hold them in my arms.

With that being said, they are sweet, but SOOO ornery, too! They are changing so much every day and showing more and more of their independence and strong wills. Matthew now throws mini-tantrums if we take away his sippy cup at the table and Caleb loves to take toys from Matthew when they are playing on the floor together which really gets Chooch going!

Matthew grins and makes funny noises at Caleb all the time, but Caleb is more interested in everything else besides his brother right now. They both laugh out loud when tickled right below their chest and love it when their Dad sings them silly songs. They have started sitting up on their own with us nearby to make sure they don't tip over and crash too hard.

One of our favorite times is reading stories with them. They love to touch the pages and get excited when we talk in funny voices. They now know when it's time for bed because as soon as we walk in their room and turn on their "nap music" and give them their blankie/lovee, they start to pucker up. The crying lasts for about a minute, and then they crash. I think they are so active when they are awake that they sleep pretty hard! Here are some pics below of the boys eating at a restaurant and then hanging out playing...

Chooch is in his big boy seat at the table...

Cabers is ready for some grub!




Does it get any sweeter than this? Maybe equally as sweet in the picture below..:)

Caleb is full of JOY...you can't tell in this picture, but his hair sticks STRAIGHT up! It's so funny!

GO FROGS

Here are a two pictures from Dad's camera over the last few weeks that I just downloaded to my computer.

They have both become pretty smiley lately. In fact, Matthew has completely changed his personality and now smiles and laughs even more than his brother.

This is Matthew getting a bath from mommy.

The Cotton Bowl...

Well, we decided to end the holiday break by going to the Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss game. Tim and his brother and some friends tailgated in the RV and so the boys and I joined them the day of the game along with Tim's dad. We had a great time even though Tech lost. The boys showed lots of school spirit in their Tech gear.Cabers and Daddy hanging out watching the game..

Mommy and her lil' Red Raiders...

Grandpa and Chooch pulling for the Raiders!!!

Rough housing...:)

Watch out! The boys are rolling everywhere these days. Our days of putting them on the floor with some toys and walking away for a few seconds are OVER! The twinkers are on the move!!! I was trying to get ready to run some errands and put them in my bedroom floor. They ended up rolling over in front of my bathroom with Matthew rolling over on to Caleb! Hey brother, let's play!

Caleb defends himself by pushing Matthew away...

Matthew says, "i'll show him" and proceeds to spit up on brother...!

Merry Christmas to all!

We spent several days during Christmas in Henrietta with my mom's side of the family. We had a great time together and it was the first time my parents had Christmas at their house since Casey and I have been born. It was very special for them and then of course they loved having Matthew and Caleb there to celebrate their first Christmas. The boys were actually sick over the break and Tim and I ended up getting sick as well. We were thankful to be with family because they were a HUGE help as we were all recovering. We couldn't have gotten through that time without them! Unfortunately, I think we passed around the bug to all of them...but, they would probably all say it was worth it to get to love on the boys!

This is Nick (Emily's cousin) and Caroline, the newlyweds who were married in June, hanging out with Caleb.

This is Papa and Chooch playing on the floor while Mommy and Daddy were probably napping...

Grandma and Graunties did lots of breathing treatments on the boys to help them get over their respiratory infection. Papa got out his own breathing machine to convince Caleb that breathing treatments were lots of fun!!!

Daddy arrived in the RV on Christmas Eve and we were all happy to see him!!!

Special deliveries...

Well, it has been forever since we have posted! Things have been sooo crazy around the Bates household. After we got back from Utah for Thanksgiving, we moved into a new house. It is our first Glendarroch home to live in and we love it. It was pretty crazy moving with two little ones but it gone done with help from friends and family. The week after we moved, we headed to Houston for Christmas with the Bates and then left a week later for Christmas with the Stanfords. We are now home and it's great to be a little more settled. I will post more pics from the holidays soon!!! Our sweet Caleb...our nickname for him these days is Cabers...he continues to be sooo smiley and has a really pleasant disposition overall. He is our cuddle bug and is always up for watching a ballgame with his dad. He does not like to sleep as much as his brother, though! Tim says he just doesn't want to miss anything!

Here is Matthew, who is better known as "chooch" these days! One of our favorite things about him is his giggle. He is soo ticklish and laughs out loud all the time now. He is our active and energetic child and always wants to be standing and on the move when we are holding him. He is a great sleeper and we've decided he uses up so much energy during the day that he needs the extra sleep!

Tim and I could not be more thankful for these guys during this Christmas season. It is such a blessing to share Christmas with them. God is so gracious to give us these little miracles.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

This is a pic ofTim with Caleb and Papa with Matthew. There is a lot of smoochin goin on!

More smoochin from GranMary...this is Mr. Chooch-Clause.

Merry Christmas to all!!!