No More Doors...

So this morning, we were awakened by a loud noise that sounded like the boys were sliding their changing table across the floor... upon inspection they had actually ripped their bedroom door off its hinges and were dragging that along the floor... so now they have no bedroom door... I THINK that we have now removed everything that they could possibly destroy, of course everytime I think this, they manage to find something else... AMAZING!!!!

Weekend.... Crash...

We had a great weekend with Nana and Gramps! The kids got some early Easter baskets...

... and they rediscovered their love for fish crackers...

We had an interesting Monday morning... I woke up to a huge crash (so loud I thought I had to have been dreaming!) The boys were quiet so I got up and walked into their room... I was met with the sight of their closet door laying on the floor, hangers strewn about the room, their garbage can empty and all the garbage thrown on the floor, and they had destroyed yet another set of perfectly good blinds... they both just stood there and looked at me!!! No such greeting this morning, thank goodness!

Giggle

I forgot that I had taken this picture last week... I came across it today as I was going through the camera... Nick wanted to see if he would fit in the boys' tunnel! He fit... but it was quite a sight to watch him get out...! Made me giggle today...

Back to normal?

We are trying to get back to normal around here today... the boys are doing well although they are really missing their daddy! (I am too!) I think a part of them really likes being back into our routine though... they are happy and naughty... pretty normal...

Yes... Conner is still refusing to wear pants...


Ben thought that he would fix some things around the house... he loves being back with his own toys!


Have a happy Tuesday!

Just another day at the ER...

Well... another overnight in the hospital definitely wasn't in our "vacation" plans but it was what we had to do... Ben was having trouble breathing on Saturday morning so we took him to the ER and they admitted him right away. We think he is having some asthmatic issues and since he was born so premature, his lungs are just not able to keep up. Hopefully we can find a way to manage this so that he isn't getting so sick so frequently... this could be leading to the seizures he has been having... we just need a little more time and information before we are able to connect all the dots! The good news is that we are home and Ben is feeling much better! He has had all kinds of tests run on him in the last month and although there have been some minor abnormalities, doctors are all very optimistic that Ben will be able to outgrow a lot of this or at least we can manage his condition should it keep continuing... We will get this all figured out... someday!!! Until then we will just keep on doing what we do...

We want to thank everyone who has helped us so much in the past 6 weeks... so many of you have given us immeasurable help and support!!! It has been a scary time, but I guess we signed up for this when we decided to become parents!!! (We just didn't know it then!)

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you...

Presents!

We had a great Adoption Day! It was a Friday, so we enjoyed our pizza and a movie together and then opened some presents on Saturday!


The boys loved the presents that we got ... Ben is playing with the BBQ set...


Conner and Ben both love the new laptop that they got... it has created lots of fights already! We are still working on taking turns...

We experimented with some hair gel today so that is why Ben's hair looks all slicked back... not the look I was going for but it was kinda cute!

Conner of course (with no pants on!) decided he needed to see if he could fit in the BBQ cabinet... we all decided that he did not!

Then Ben had to try it...

Then Conner had to take Ben's pants off... he is still not over the whole not wearing pants thing...

We went to the outlet mall Monday morning... the boys are not shoppers! So when we got home and it was so nice, we figured we would just hang outside while Dad washed the van. They had lots of fun playing in their cars!

I think we will do more relaxing today... that's what you're supposed to do on vacation!

One Year Ago...

One year ago today... I cannot believe that much time has gone by... We spent our morning at the courthouse one year ago today... we walked in there with two little boys that we had known and loved since they were born, two little boys who are miracles in every sense of the word, two little boys that we knew God had intended to be our sons... we walked out of there with the same two little boys who now shared our last name! Our adoptions were finalized one year ago today...

Benjamin and Conner are our miracles... 2 lb. babies born 3 months early, introduced to us when they got out of the hospital at two months of age and still only 5 lbs a piece, we rearranged our lives in a hurry to make sure that we could bring them home to us as soon as we could - only for the unthinkable to happen... to be told that after caring for them for two months that we wouldn't be able to keep them, hurting more than I ever thought was possible in this life... a phone call 6 months later telling us that there was a way we could still bring our boys home, and finally being able to bring them home before their first birthday.... this doesn't happen by chance... they are ours, they have always been ours, and they will always be our sons... today is our day...

Happy Adoption Day Conner and Ben... you are the most loved little boys in the world... we fought for you before and we will continue fighting for you forever! You remind us of how strong our family can be and how miracles can happen everyday... We love you so much!!!

No Pants!

Well.. the boys must sense the change in weather this week because for the last 3 days, Conner has been refusing to wear any pants!!! Last night he decided that Ben really shouldn't be wearing any pants either so Conner took Ben's pants off too! Conner did enjoy wearing Dad's socks around!

Today has been the same story... I cannot keep Conner's pants on him! They have been in dancing moods today and I was able to catch some of it on video.

It is amazing what a good night's sleep will do for all of us!!! Finally last night we didn't have to get up once with either child so that was sooo nice... I'm keeping my fingers crossed for tonight... Only 5 more hours and Nick will officially be on vacation and home with us!

Sleep???

Another interrupted night of sleep followed by another early morning... I wonder how long this is going to last. I don't know how much more this mommy can take! I could barely keep Ben awake to eat his lunch today. Then by the time we were done, he was completely awake, of course... They are sleeping now. I remember just a few short weeks ago how I would wish for them to take a 2 hour nap so I could get some things done... now I just hope that they can give me a half hour to at least clean up the kitchen and play around on the computer!!! I'm trying not to wish away this "2 year old stage" because I know that someday, I might miss it... maybe...hmmm...

The good news is that Ben and Conner are still healthy and they are learning more stuff everyday!!! Conner can now climb up onto the endtables and turn off the lamps... not something I like him to do, but something that he has learned how to do himself! Ben also started doing this today, so now I have to figure out a way to get them to stop! I've been telling them how lamps can be hot so we shouldn't touch them but so far that just makes them blow on the lamp... (to cool it off, ya know!) They are both saying new words every day and I can't wait until I can understand everything they have to say! (Maybe then they will be able to listen to Mommy better!) They're keeping me on my toes... and that's okay! (I guess...!) Time to tend to my monsters...

Love to you all...

C'mon Vacation!!!

So this morning Ben was up at 5 and Conner soon followed... I don't get it... They are probably getting over two hours less sleep every day than they used to, so when is it going to catch up to them?! I can't wait for next week... Nick is on vacation... that means I am too!!! The boys will love having Daddy around all the time!

New stuff!!!

It's been a busy couple of days here... we got new potties on Thurs. The boys aren't sure about them but they did want to sit on them once that night and try to go potty! (No success... but at least they're interested, right?!)

Then on Friday, our new beanbags got delivered! They will go in their bedroom so Conner and Ben have a comfy place to sit... I will try anything to get them to stay in their room!!! They had lots of fun jumping on them and learning that if you stand up on the beanbag, you really have to have good balance - or else you fall...!

Of course the boxes that all our new stuff came in have provided the most entertainment so far!

Have a great weekend... Nana and Gramps will be here tonight and then we get to go see the whole Hasty clan for our "Christmas" celebration tomorrow!

Catching Up..

Finally... I can sit down and hear myself think... we have had a very busy morning and somehow the boys still weren't tired enough to nap right after lunch! (even though Ben was up for over an hour again during the night) True to form, they refused to lay down in their beds and take a nap so I hauled them back to their high chairs where they fell asleep after about 10 minutes! The tricky thing is the transfer... doesn't always go well but I am determined to have them nap in their beds so I took the chance... luckily today, it worked and Conner and Ben are now sleeping peacefully in their room! The high chairs have become a very important tool in getting them to fall asleep since this is the last place that they can't escape from (yet)!!! I know it will keep getting better as they get more used to the new beds. I used to think I was one of the most patient people but lately, I am realizing that I may not be!!! I'm not going to complain though because at least they are active and healthy little guys today and I am so thankful for that...

We are all doing well here, despite a lack of sleep. Ben is having a hard time sleeping through the night all of a sudden and we are wondering if he is having some fears related to the hospital stays so we are doing our best to make him feel safe and be patient with him. He really wants to know where Nick and I are at all times! He made it until 3am last night so hopefully it will keep getting better! I was reminded this week of what a wonderful husband I have... he has helped out soooo much with everything lately - especially Ben at night... I am a very lucky woman!

Here are a few pictures that we've taken in the last couple days!

I think Conner's Bud Light hat is what really makes this a great picture...!

On Wednesday, Ben napped on the living room floor again...

We made a Target run on Wed. and of course got tons of stuff that were not on our list. We saw this tunnel and decided to get it for the kids. They had a really good time with it yesterday!

Today we had a good time putting up Toy Story and Cars stcickers in the boys' room! Some of them are glow in the dark so we'll see how that works out tonight...

Have a great day!!!

Good News...Bad News...

Ben had a couple more seizures last week which earned us another overnight in the hospital... He is doing very well now and he and Conner are hopefully (finally) getting over this latest cold. The good news is that the neurologist thinks that Ben is having atypical febrile seizures because he has always been sick with some kind of infection when he has had his seizures. That's good because he still has a great chance of growing out of this! The bad news is that the medication he's been taking obviously isn't working so he will probably have to be weaned off of that soon. Meds don't work for the seizures he is having, so the likelihood that he will have more seizures is pretty high. The thing about seizures is that they look really scary, but luckily they very rarely harm the brain unless they last for a really long time. Ben truly scared the crap out of us (again)... he had his seizures at the doctor's office and then later at the ER so at least we were in good hands the whole time... This latest seizure was the hardest because Ben didn't respond very good once his seizures were over and it took a while for him to start moving enough oxygen again... He is almost completely back to normal (just a little tired and grumpy) and the rest of us are trying to redefine our new version of "normal" for our family! We are going to be living with this fear of more seizures for a while... hopefully, over time, we can handle it a bit more calmly... but we'll see...

Today I am afraid that my fear and exhaustion is getting the best of me and I cannot wait for Nick to get home and take some of the pressure off... I can't help but look at my two boys and cringe every time they cough knowing that the infection in their bodies could lead to a seizure... this makes for some long days and nights! The good thing about today is that they are feeling pretty good because they have been running around here like little maniacs, the bad thing is that I have no energy left to deal with this... I finally just got them to nap but I know that it won't last long... On days like these I wonder where I will find the motivation to even get out of bed tomorrow... but at the same time I know that I will because I have 2 little boys who are counting on me for everything! I love them so much...

And there is my BenBen now... hard to be mad about not napping when he smiles at me like that...!!!