11 months & 2 years

So... we lost our camera battery charger.....replacement. Yes, it's ridiculous. We didn't have our camera for Christmas or for Tristan's birthday party which makes me incredibly sad/mad at myself for failing to just order another charger. Therefore, all of the following pictures are from cell phones. Lo siento. Oh well...live and learn I guess. We've got the charger now so we're all powered up and ready to go (now that the holidays are officially over)!!!

Tristan - 11 months

Tristan has remained my "chill kid" by comparison (because Elijah is insane) but around the 11 month mark, he really began to show his silly side. He giggles at his brother all of the time and has started chasing him around with his weird, little crawl. 

For the most part, the boys have started playing really well together. So well, in fact, that I have been able to leave them to their own devices long enough to make dinner in peace (well, 'peace' is a relative term in my household). Tristan has started to get less and less patient with big brother's craziness though and will start crying if Elijah is getting on his nerves. Elijah, fearing the wrath of his parents, immediately stars kissing Tristan to try and make up for his wrong-doings, but to no avail...this only makes Tristan more upset. lol 

The following provides a substantial amount of proof to the silliness that has blossomed from my youngest. Enjoy...

This might be one of the best pictures I have ever seen.

Tristan with his Great-Grandma, Brenda

I have no idea why my kids are so goofy. It's not like their parents are big dorks or anything...

Elijah

This little boy is the heart and soul of this family. He is so hilarious and smart and stubborn and ridiculous. He has the biggest imagination and the goofiest personality. Every day he is telling us stories about what he has done that week or talking his Papaw's ear off on the phone. He is a constant source of entertainment and energy and, although life with this terrible-two-year-old is exhausting, it is SO MUCH FUN. 

He can say the entire Lord's Prayer by heart. He knows every word to Lord Prepare Me (his favorite song), Jesus Loves Me, and many, many more. It blows my mind how smart this kid is. He can count to 20 (although he generally skips 15 and 16) and he knows all of his colors. He is a mad-man by day...but at bed time, he's a cuddly little puddle of love and it is the best. 

This boy ADORES his Papaw

10 Months - Best Big Bro Award

About a month ago I had to quit my job to stay home with the boys [again] because the cost of daycare was negating my paycheck. In all honestly, although I was disappointed to leave my job because I absolutely loved it and all the people I worked with, I'm happy to be given this opportunity to soak up all of the littleness of my children while they still have it. Yes, being a SAHM is the most challenging thing I've ever done - especially now that I have two children to contend with - but I'm working diligently to find constructive ways to regain my sanity and to entertain my children in constructive ways. When we really get into a good, educational routine I will post more about that. But for now, we shall focus on my blue eyed, blonde haired little heart-throbs. Seriously guys...just look at Tristan's little face. I don't think he could possibly be any cuter!

Tristan has finally mastered the art of crawling! Well, I don't know if "mastered" is technically correct. I call it his "Gollum crawl" because he looks sort of creepy when he does it. He basically uses his left leg to support himself and uses his right foot to drag himself around. It's weird and hilarious to watch. It's even funnier now that he's gotten quicker about it. When Eli runs by and Tristan decides he needs to grab him, he ninjas over with that creepy little crawl and I can't help but laugh out loud! 

He also officially has six teeth! SIX! Ok so, maybe that's not such a big deal for some of you, but Eli didn't get teeth until he was 16 months old (I know some of you think that's impossible, but I assure you, it is...If anyone needs tips on how to feed a one year old with no teeth, I got you) so for me, it's a HUGE deal. 

This is Eli at 13 months. See...no teeth. Nada. Zip.

The whole teething experience wasn't as terrible as I expected it to be either. Where Eli didn't get teeth until much later, he was able to handle the pain really well and didn't really complain that much so I wasn't sure what to expect with a younger teether. With Tristan, we didn't even know he was teething at 6 months (partly because we didn't expect it that early) until he smiled and there was a little white pearl peeking out from his bottom gums. At his 9 month checkup our doctor told us that Tristan was getting four top teeth at the same time and we were in shock! Granted, this undertaking much much more difficult on our little trooper and he had some fevers and quite a bit of whining and crying but all his efforts have paid off and we can officially see all four little top teeth! 

Those eyelashes.

Awkward big brother kisses are the best kind of kisses.

As you can see from the photo above, Elijah is my entertainer while Tristan is my observer. Eli talks and sings constantly and Tristan just looks around and takes everything in. A friend of mine was holding him once and she said, "He makes me feel stupid. Like, he's staring at me like I'm an idiot." Haha! He really does though. I feel like he might be some sort of genius master-mind under all of that contemplative exterior and he's probably smarter than I am. Basically, Eli is a dog person and Tristan is a cat person. Figuratively. Eli runs and jumps and talks and always has energy to burn. If I don't find constructive ways to burn off that energy, he destroys my house. He's always seeking approval but he can be very defiant if I'm not stern with him... He's a dog person. Tristan, on the other hand, waits and watches. If he sees something he wants he's at it as quick as a flash and he looks at people like they're idiots. He is also very sweet and cuddly for a while then he'll randomly smack you in the face.... he's a cat person. No, I do not think of my children as animals nor do I treat them as such, I just find that analogy hilarious. 

 I can never get good pictures of Elijah because, when I say he never stops talking, I mean he NEVER stops talking. Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't. Regardless, he tells me stories, sings me song, goes on adventures, uses random objects and dubs them even more random objects (blocks become "uhnockalars" [binoculars], etc...). He's an endless source of entertainment and stress, but I will never want for conversation around him, that's for sure!

He laid down on the concrete to take a nap. An obvious choice for a comfortable bed, don't you think?

Every day, if the weather permits, I take the boys outside to let Elijah run to his heart's content and let Tristan explore. we often visit the neighbor's horses because the boys love them and so does Lakota. 

PS... Let me just talk about Lakota for a minute. I have never in my life seen a more patient dog with children. When we got Lakota, everything we read said we needed to be careful with them around small children because they are so hyper they might unintentionally hurt them. Granted, he has knocked Eli over a few times trying to play with him, but for the most part he is so, SO good with the boys and they absolutely adore him! He never leaves Elijah's side and when Tristan was tiny, I would lay him down and Kota would lay right next to him. Every time Tristan looks out a window now he says, "Dot! Dot!" [Dot = Dog] and when Kota licks him in the face he just laughs and reaches for him. I could not be more thankful for such a wonderful dog and what he means to our family. 

He did not like the feeling of the cool grass on his feet. 

I love these little moments: Tristan was upset because he didn't like the way the grass felt on his feet. He was whining and growling about it so Elijah came over and sat down next to him, obviously perplexed at why he was so upset. I told him Tristan didn't like the grass on his toes and Elijah said, "It's ok Bubby. The grass won't hurt you toes." Ok...now I'm crying. These kids are just precious. And Eli is the best big brother. He then proceeded to pick a dandelion and pick it for Tristan. Seriously? Be still my heart. 

Oh, and this face has become a staple with Eli. He does it all of the time for completely unknown reasons. Hahaha!

9 Months - Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

These little incredibles had so much fun! Tristan's hair wouldn't stand up like baby Jack Jack so we tried to help it out a little. lol

We went to their Deedee and KK's house in Indiana and let Eli have his first Trick-or-Treating experience. He was ecstatic! Tristan, on the other hand, looked like he would rather be asleep. haha!

The cutest little Incredible in all the land.

When that first person dropped candy in Elijah's little bucket, he acted like it was the most magical thing that had ever happened to him!

That first bit of candy and the priceless look on his face.

He yelled, "Trick or Treat!" to everyone we met and wasn't scared by any of the costumes and creepy houses we came to. He had so much fun and talked about it for weeks afterwards! The wonder of little children is a really magnificent thing. I miss that sense of unending possibility, but I'm so glad to experience it in my children.

8 months - Let's Play Catchup!

Ok guys, I missed a few months. I'm trying to get caught up, but I couldn't pull anything out of my brain for the moths of July and August. I started a new full-time job and the boys started daycare, so every day was pretty hectic and the weekends were so precious that I didn't spend much time taking photos. But I'll try my best to catch ya'll up on our lives!

Tristan

Teething is in full-force right now and Tristan has earned 2 bottom teeth from all his efforts! He gnaws on everything like a ravaged beaver, but him demeanor remains as sweet and patient as ever. 

He is so calm and he just sits and takes in all the madness from his big brother. He's very observant and very silly. I've never seen a child so patient and I love his constant cuddles. He loves his mommy and daddy so much! (Even if he refuses to say Momma...I know he loves me.) 

Elijah

This little boy had a pretty eventful month as well. He was getting sick all of the time and we could tell that he was having trouble breathing. When he spoke, it always sounded like he was holding his nose because he was so congested. We took him to Dr. Tad Hughes at Lexington ENT (who is FANTASTIC with kids by the way. I would highly recommend him to anyone!) and he said that his adenoids and tonsils were enlarged and his airway was 90% blocked. He suggested we have them removed because otherwise, they would just continue to get infected. 

Now, I have never been through a surgery before so I had zero idea what to expect. Keeping a rambunctious toddler occupied in a tiny little pre-op room is not fun, but the aftermath of the surgery was miserable. When he woke up from surgery we hadn't been allowed back in the room yet so he was absolutely terrified and in pain. He finally fell back asleep after a heart wrenching amount of screaming and some other yucking happenings that I won't go into detail about, but only for about 10 minutes while I held him.  

Pre-op Elijah in his teeny-tiny little hospital gown.

 After they moved us up to the floor where we were to spend the night (they don't usually do this surgery on children under 3 years so they wanted to monitor him overnight) Elijah started to improve rapidly. Within an hour after surgery he was walking laps around the nurses' station and mowing down popsickles. He improved so much that Dr. Hughes told us we would be able to go home that night! 

Walking laps

The first 2 days post surgery weren't so bad, but days 3-7 were definitely the worst. We needed lots and lots of suckers and pop-sickles to ease the pain. But the results were worth it. His voice is different, he can breathe SO much better and he hasn't been sick once...NOT ONCE since the surgery. This kid who was sick every single week. It's really incredible the difference it made. I wish I could include a few voice clips on here so you guys could hear the before and after. He just sounds so much different!

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Now, I'm going to preface the following with the fact that there are a lot....I mean A LOT of photos! So much happened this month and I just can't bear to omit any of it so, here ya go!

The Walk to End Alzheimer's was this month in Lexington and the boys had a blast! We walked with the wonderful folks at Baptist Neurology Center whom I love and cherish so dearly. 

Elijah loves his daddy.

Tristan made friends with little Miss Blake

And Tristan lasted all of 5 minutes into the walk before passing out. ;-)

The next event was a baby shower to celebrate my dear friend, Ricki Brooke, and her sweet baby Ada. It was a beautiful, story book themed shower put on by my girl friends. They did a super job! 

Ricki is one of the most kind-hearted, thoughtful people I have ever met and she is going to make THE BEST mommy!

The boys didn't accompany me on this trip, but I still wanted to share!

Ricki Brooke's niece, Anna Claire

Gosh... these two goofs make me so happy!

Mrs. Ashley

Ricki's mom was seriously concentrating on these baby food flavors

Ricki was not impressed

All the conversation sisters have

Breanna is the best at leading games!

Ashely, Kayla, Blossom

Janna, Emily

Kayla and little Ellia

And lastly, and most excitedly, my new baby nephew is finally here! Guys, meet Everett Orion Blanton. The littlest Blanton and the only Blanton boy (so far).