Halloween Party at Melissa's

Today Melissa had a Halloween party for the kids at day-care.  She had lots of special treats for them and the played around the house in their costumes.  The boys had a ball!  They got to play with some other kids that aren't usually there on Wednesday's.  (She invited all the kids to come today for the party.)  She sent them all home with a halloween pumpkin filled with treats...as well as a sugar rush!  Oh boy.  Haha!  We fed them a light dinner and put them down a little earlier than normal.  They definitely didn't fight us at bed-time tonight.  Being that trick or treating is post-poned this year, due to Hurricane Sandy, I was very happy that they got to celebrate Halloween anyway. 
Evan is the monster and in an orange shirt.  Gavin is the monkey and in a white shirt with orange sleeves.

Front yard

Another thing we've been brave with this weekend is allowing the boys to walk from the house to the car when we are going out.  We have always carried them to the car, one-by-one.  Now we just walk out the garage door and have them walk with us.  They are so proud of themselves.  We've also played on the front lawn a couple times this weekend.  It feels so awesome to let them experience a little bit of independence.

Steps

This weekend Brian and I have been more brave with the boys.  We've been allowing them to try new things.  Here is a clip of them climbing the steps.  We tried it for the first time on Friday night and now we do it every time we all go upstairs.  They are acting like pros already!

Shopping with Gavin

Is this Evan or Brian?

Looking out for his bro

Lately Gavin has been so aware of his brother's needs.  I watch him and my heart literally skips a beat as I observe.  Gavin will go pick up his sippy cup and automatically grab Evan's too and walk it over to him.  Evan just looks at him, grabs it and takes a sip.  He will also do this when he picks up his blanky or his binky - he'll grab Evan's too.  It's as if Gavin thinks if he's thirsty or in need of some comfort items his brother is too.  The funny part is that it seems as if Evan just accepts the items and thinks "oh, ok, yea, I was looking for that."  Their bond is so deep, a bond that even Brian and I will never experience ourselves.  Our 2 sons have an amazing connection and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life savoring every moment.

Snuggles with Gavin

Havin fun at Jackie & Bill's wedding

Our lil men

The boys came with us to Jackie and Bill's wedding ceremony.  They did very well, they didn't cry, so we were happy.  They loved watching MeMe do her reading - Gavin actually pointed to her and called out to her.  I was nervous he would throw her off her game but he didn't and she did very well.  Congrats to Jackie & Bill.

Gavin with Mommy and Evan with Daddy

Pumpkin picking

 

Evan in orange and Gavin in gray.

On my birthday we did our traditional pumpkin picking at Johnson's Farm.  It was awesome because the boys are exploring a lot more now so it was great to watch them look at everything in amazement.  We watched the tractors pull the hay rides, picked our pumpkins, walked through the petting zoo area, bought cider doughnuts, and walked through the store.  It was sooo much fun!  The boys took a very good nap that afternoon.

15 month Dr. appt

Surprise, surprise....the boys are identical in development yet again!  The Dr. said she is very impressed with how they are growing and actually said that you would never know they were born 7 weeks early.  She said they are developing on target and growing very nicely.  They have a lot of teeth and are eating/drinking very well.  For the first time ever Gavin is slightly bigger - Gavin is 21 lbs 6 oz, 32 inches and Evan is 21 lbs 5 oz, 31 1/2 inches.  However their head measurements are exactly the same.  Evan cried, and screamed at some points, throughout the entire appointment.  Gavin was so concerned about him and watched him the whole time...it was precious.  After the Dr. left the room and we were waiting for the nurses to come back in with the dreaded needles, Gavin starting signing "all done" because he had enough.  Brian and I just had to laugh because we are teaching them "all done" to show us when they are done eating but Gavin used it appropriately to tell us he wanted to go home.  The 3 needles weren't fun, as you'd expect, so we treated the boys to pizza for dinner and they were super happy.  We couldn't be more proud of our lil guys!

Mommy's birthday morning

Brian and I took off work today to have family time with our family for my birthday.  Here is a pic of snuggle time before their morning nap.  (Gavin on left and Evan on right.....Jadie in the back-ground.)

NICU reunion

Last weekend we went to the Virtua Hospital NICU reunion.  It was amazing!  There were soooo many kids there and it was awesome to realize how they are all here today due to the advancements in medicine...and of course due to the amazing Doctors and Nurses that cared for them.  Our boys spent the first 19 days of their lives in that hospital - in that NICU.  Those 19 days will forever be in our memory.  They were the most happy/sad/scary/exciting/beautiful time of our lives.  Our 4lb 10oz and 4lb 4oz miracles were born in that hospital and we spent many, many hours there.  It was like a homecoming.  It was so exciting for us!  The boys had a ball soaking it all in and watching all the kids in the bouncy houses and playing all the carnival games.  Maybe next year they will participate in the games.  Brian and I had fun re-connecting with the Nurses that helped us get through the most challenging time of our lives. 

Sneakers

Our new view

Two weekends ago we decided to turn the boys car seats around to face front.  They love it!  They love to look out the window.  The car rides are much quieter than they were before as they look around and soak it all in.  I love to turn around and look at them.....they smirk when they see me...it's so adorable!