Life as WE know it

Dear Faithful Blog Readers,

I have been away and blah blah blah.....sorry. I can't even pee without two VERY loud boys protesting that I have left the room. Not fun.

So much has changed. The boys started walking, which soon turned into running and is now following mom EVERYWHERE. I now have two very curious monkeys hanging from my legs while I do everything. Who ever thought that cleaning dishes would be so interesting to 14 month olds when there is a room full of toys right there? Not only do they love the kitchen and everything that is in it, including the dishwasher, they love the laundry room too! Never have my dishes sparkled so much (they turn the knob to "on" when I am not looking). They also love to push the buttons on the washer and dryer. Fun never ends!

I could look at it two different ways....I could be ticked off that they are turning machines on and off, or I could just go with it...and maybe teach them how to load the dishwasher and wash the clothes. Eventually. A girl can dream, right?

They are learning to help, though. If I want them to bring me their sippy cups all I have to say is "Bring mommy your cups" and they come over with a HUGE grin and a look of accomplishment when the trade off is made. Of course, they get a kiss and hug and a "Thank you" from mommy.

Daddy has been traveling a lot for work, but he has contributed to this chaos by teaching the boys how to make the touchdown call with their arms. All we have to say is "touchdown" and 4 arms go up into the air, regardless of what they are doing. Sometimes, if dinner is being eaten, the touchdown call causes some food -to -hair issues, especially on mac and cheese night!

The boys have reached a new, screeching level with their separation anxiety. I can't even leave the room that they are in before they are instantly screaming or crying. Its flattering that they want to be with me so much they cry ( a fact that I will remind them of when they are 16 and hate me) but it is also very challenging. Going to the bathroom is met with hysterical sobs. There are days when I play "how much can my bladder hold until naptime". Its a fun game, it requires alot of hopping around. Thankfully the boys like to watch mommy hop and find it funny. Everyone wins!!!

Their vocabulary has expanded as well. They speak so much gibberish, mixed in with various words, that it sounds like a drunk frat boy.

Examples

"sheshiehsic blah ahhhhhh HOT lishhhhh TWO wwwwaaaaaa MOM phhhhhhsssss"

This goes on all day, they have many opinions. I feel like I am the moderator at a debate. GOOD POINT, BOYS...

Life is great, it is fun and ever changing. Hope all is well with everyone else!

Behind the LENS!! An expose...

Taking pics of children is a BIG job and I always admire anyone who does this for a living. Trust me MILLIONS of pictures have to be taken in order to get a few that look decent. It takes a village of people making funny faces, singing funny songs, and holding up stupid looking puppets. What you also don't see off camera is the many people ducking to get out of the shot in case one of the little buggers tries to make a break for it or face plant off the couch.

Here are some pics that should show what it was really like, as well as the good ones too!! Enjoy!!

The pics on top are the crazy ones, the pics on the bottom are the ones we finally got right!!!

P.S. Happy Fathers Day to all the dad's. Our boys have great role models to look up to.

Oh Happy Days!!!

We have just gotten back from 3 fun filled weeks in Vegas with family and friends. We got to spend time with my Aunt Joanie, Uncle Carl and Christine for her 21st birthday and then we got to see Grandma and Grandpa Palermo.

It was really nice to have my mom around for her birthday and both my parents to share mothers day with. It was my first official mothers day and now I felt that I was part of the club!!! We had a nice day, sitting outside by the pool.

We also spent time with friends while we were there too. Although, one of my best friends Courtney was missing in action (she was back in Chicago) we did get to spend time with her husband Jason who was home holding down the fort for his family.

The boys love the Vegas house. They LOVE swimming in the pool, sitting outside, and the room they have to "drive" around in their little cars. It was a fun and relaxing couple of weeks for all of us.

Updates on the boys- both sit up on their own. Alex is crawling, and Jackson is on all fours rocking and hopping. He also army crawls. They both love to laugh and do so often. They are good sleepers, good eaters and good boys!! Jackson has his top two teeth and bottom two teeth. Alex has his bottom two teeth and is getting one top tooth right now. There is alot of drool in the Bickler household right now!!

There are more good times to come as summer begins!!

Mommarazzi

I couldn't resist taking some pics of the boys this week. I got in their face like the paparazzi... they eventually got annoyed!!

Alex will crawl like any minute now, Jackson has four teeth. It is crazy how much they are growing up, and SOOOO fast too!! Every day is an adventure.

We are off to Vegas for a few weeks. I will try to update again while I am there.

Love to you all!!

HOPPY EASTER!!!

I am just the laziest person on the planet because I haven't updated the blog since Febuary. I can give you a MILLION different reasons why I couldn't but lets just say I'm too busy. Seriously. Busy.

Jackson, Alex, Jason and I have had a stomach virus and it has been Vomitfest 2010 over here. The stomach flu is a NASTY creature that has to inhabit your house and take down everyone in it. The beast!!!

Here is the "Official" easter pic. I will post again soon when the quarantine has lifted off of our lives. Let's hope next Easter this virus will pass our house and the Easter Bunny brings us candy instead!!

SUPERBOWL!!!

Hi Everyone,

It has been so long since I have posted a new blog. So much has changed with the boys since Christmas. They can now sit up (assisted), feed themselves their bottles (HUGE help) and they can roll over. Life is getting predictable now as they are on great nap schedules. They are also eating real food now!

Well, real food consists of various puree's so I guess it is real food for babies and adults with no teeth....

They also "talk" all the time now. They do say "mom" and "mama" now but it is usually in the middle of crying. They know I am a big softy and can't resist them when they say that. When they "talk" it is more like babbling, and they also squeal when they like something. They laugh all the time. Jackson laughs at the word "Piggy" and when we play peek a boo. He also finds his winnie the pooh bear funny when pooh "jumps" on his lap (I of course do this to him). Alex loves to play "Where's Alex- There he is!", peek a boo, and loves to have his tummy tickled. They both love their jumperoo's and bounce in them during the day.

They LOVE to pull mommy's hair, which accounts for the massive amount of hairballs around our house, and for the bald spots in my head (haha). They pull it and DO NOT let go. I have to disentangle myself from their vice grip. The boys both love it when Dad tickles their tummy and when he sings "ABC" to them.

All in all, things are great here, and we are looking forward to visits from family soon.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Here are the pics of the babies first Christmas!!! They had so much fun looking at all of their presents and are changing so much every day.

We have been having a great time with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Jack. Aunt Joanna and Mark got to celebrate Christmas with us before they left for Philadelphia- we had dinner on December 13th with them and dressed the boys up in their Santa suits.

I am going to post pics and not say too much, since there are SO many pics to post it will take up the whole page!!!