Fourth of July- Round 2

Well, this was our second 4th of July with the boys and it was wonderful. Last 4th, they had just gotten home from the NICU the day before and we took them in the stroller decked out with little American flags around the block. This year, we had a very adventuresome day loaded with good fun, food, and friends. We spent our morning out a cookout with friends from our playgroup over at the Downings home. Then, we went to the Branaghs (great friends from TCU) home for a cookout that evening and then headed to Colonial with everyone for their fireworks show. Caleb was awake for the entire thing (didn't go to bed till 10 PM, which is a first for us!), but Matthew finally konked out in the stroller in the middle of the fireworks. People always ask me how our kids don't wake each other up during the middle of the night if one of them starts fussing. Well, there's your answer--if you can sleep through fireworks, you can sleep through anything! Our good friend, Daniella, came down from Dallas to spend the day with us and was a HUGE help with these kiddos. I think one of the biggest blessings as parents is when people just genuinely adore and love on your kiddos. Daniella does that to perfection!

Matthew LOVED John and probably sat with him for 45 minutes just hanging out! It was really sweet.
Here are John and Daniella hanging out with our kiddos while Tim and I grabbed some dinner.

Matthew pouted at first when we put the boys in the pool, but quickly decided he liked it!

This is the boys getting sprayed with the water hose, which they loved!

Hanging out in the water!

Timmer and Matthew decked out in his 4th of July outfit!

This is Matthew and Caleb with Nadia, a friend from church. Poor Nadia...she was playing happily and then I asked her Mom if we could take a picture with her because she was just too cute! Caleb LOVED Nadia's bows in her hair and couldn't stop staring at them. I know he was thinking "I can't wait to get my hands on those bows and yank them." Fortunately, mom intervened before that happened.

Texas Rangers

This is dad checking in again. The All Star game is upon us at around the half way point of the MLB season. This is a message from the Bates family (specifically Matthew and Caleb):

We want the Rangers to know that we are BEHIND them 100%. We have come too far this season so there is no turning BACK. Toward the latter part of the first half the season we started to BACKslide so we need to turn it around. If things start to get worse, then we might have to start drinking MOONshine to help ease the pain!!

When the second half of the season starts we'll have to take another CRACK at leading the division and making it to the playoffs. Because of the team that Nolan Ryan and John Daniels have put together, we are no longer the BUTT of any jokes about bad teams in baseball. If a media member does say something bad about us, I am sure that we will follow the Bible's advice and turn the other CHEEK toward them.

The Robot

This is Dad again. I was downloading some pictures from my camera and I came across this gem of Caleb caught in the act of doing the "robot" like he's at a 80's dance party.

I think this is what Caleb was trying to pull off (below)

Ruidoso with the Stanford Clan...

We took a trip to Ruidoso (the boys and Tim and I flew) and my parents and brother drove and met us there. The resort we stayed at was beautiful and we had lots of fun! My brother celebrated his 21st birthday on the trip and my parents their 33rd wedding anniversary. We had good food and lots of fun!!! Grandma and Matthew having some time on the porch!
Daddy, Caleb (left), Matthew (right)...

Papa and Matthew, Grandma and Caleb

Family pic by the lake...

Tim pushing Caleb and Uncle Casey holding Matthew on the way to dinner...

Kisses through the window...Mom is with Caleb...

Chooch LOVES these bouncy balls...

Mommy with her boys...

Daddy and Caleb...

Uncle Casey was a jungle gym on this trip :)

Tim and Casey on the golf course...

Papa and Daddy were trying to teach the boys how to play blackjack!

Papa and his buddy, Caleb...

Daddy at Breakfast Time...

Caleb saying "Da-da...."

Daddy doing the monkey---which Chooch loves!!!

Our Dad is CRAZY!!!

The following two pics are why I entitled the post "Our Dad is Crazy."A few weeks ago there was a bad thunderstorm that rolled through town. Tim started to get a little anxious about the weather and informed me that we needed to go into "emergency mode" with our kids. He scurried around the house getting flashlights (actually candles and matches because we couldn't find our flashlights because our children hide them from us) and necesary food items together before he proceeded to gather the kids up and head to the makeshift storm cellar (a closet underneath our stairs). We fed the kids their bottles in there next to all of our "crap" that we store in that closet. I will give him credit--the tornado sirens DID go off for about 2 minutes, but we stayed in that closet with our 1-year olds for a lot longer than that!

Poor Matthew taking his bottle in the storm shelter with Mom's vanilla candle going strong!

Tim and Caleb hanging out in the smallest square footage in our house! You can see Tim is a little cramped for space!

Okay, I think I fully know the definition of "double trouble" these days! Caleb opened the pantry door and started pulling down baskets from the bottom row. Well, of course Matthew followed his brother into this mess and ended up being the one who got caught!!! Caleb was just grinning the whole time thinking he outsmarted us!!!

The boys' Grauntie Nelda and Gruncle Steve sent them these balloons for their birthday and they played with them for two weeks! They loved them!!! Here is Matthew sticking his tongue out at the balloons :)

Caleb's ornery look :)

Remembering a year ago...Happy Birthday Boys!!!

This was me with Matthew 3 days after he was born and I was discharged from Harris SW Hospital and allowed to finally meet and hold my babies for the first time. I will never forget that day, EVER...I just remember the Lord giving me this overwhelming peace and being able to see past all of the breathing and feeding tubes and i.v.'s and just be comforted by the fact that God was in control and was sovereign over every detail of their life...every breath, every heartbeat, everything. That is the only thing that comforted me during that time. I really want to thank our family for loving us so faithfully during that time through daily shifts at the NICU, taking care of Tim and I through meals, cleaning, etc.., and praying for us daily. Our friends and church body continued to love us through all of this as well and I cannot thank you all enough. Raising children really is a group effort!

This is our first family photo that was ever taken which was at Cooks in the NICU. It was the first time the boys got to be next to each other since the womb. It was amazing and a picture that we will never forget. It is such a picture of HOPE to me. The doctors told Tim the morning of the boys birth that Caleb and Matthew may not live, may live but have permanent disabilities, or may be totally healthy...that only time would tell. It is amazing what time has told in a year. We thankfully have two healthy children whom God has blessed us with and given us the task to raise them up in the admonition of the Lord. It is a big task, but what a privilege. May we never take it for granted...

This is Tim with Caleb the day he was born and transferred to Cooks. What an emotional day for Tim...I was given so much medication that the day the boys were born is an entire blur to me. But, Tim had to endure every single moment of uncertainty that day and it was a really rough 24 hours for him. I remember he felt so torn going back and forth from the NICU at Cooks to Harris SW where I was still a patient for the first 3 days of the boys lives. It was a crazy time for us, but we did not take for granted being able to take our babies home at 3 1/2 weeks of age...we were SOOO excited. What a WONDEFUL day it was!!! Okay, enough sappiness...let's move on to these crazy boys of ours who our little wild men now! They may have had a rocky start, but they are moving full speed ahead now and Tim and I are along for the ride...it's a really fun one, too!

The boys had a great first birthday filled with fun, including yellow cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles!!! This is Caleb devouring his cupcake!

Matthew hesitated at first and just wanted to play with the cupcake. But, eventually he decided he liked his cupcake, too!

Daddy and Caleb swimmin at the pool...Cabers loves the water, especially alongside his Daddy.

Dad and Caleb with Uncle Tom and Tyler...

All the birthday fun pooped Matthew out!

Caleb started off his birthday morning by eating styrofoam...LOVELY!

The boys LOVE the dishwasher...(for all of you worried, there were no knives in the bottom that the boys could grab :)) and as soon as I open it to put something in there, they are right beside me and crawling on top of it. This could be great for the future...maybe they will love to load it as well as play on it!

Matthew loved his birthday breakfast which included a blueberry waffle with whipped cream!

Caleb just wanted to chew on the "1" birthday candle instead of eat the waffle!

************Dad Insert*************

If you notice in almost every picture now Caleb has this look like he is angry at the camera. That is because mom's camera has this red light that flashes on the target before it takes the picture. Caleb will be completely content and playful and then as soon as that red light is on him, his face sours and he gives us the teenager I'm-mad-at-the-world scowl that all of you parents with older kids would recognize!!! The picture at the top of our blog really shows this face well.