How many toys can you make out of diapers.com boxes???

This week we have been busy playing with boxes. I order diapers online from diapers.com. This is the greatest thing ever!!! Free shipping and they show up the next day at your house - this has been such an awesome thing for me. So anyway we have lots of diapers boxes and we've been putting them to good use!!Here Ryan roped the box with a kids rope he bought for Braden and is pulling them around. They LOVED it!!Here's a video (I think I need to help Ryan with matching some days - or maybe just do laundry more often :)

On Valentine's Day we made one box into a house with doors that open on both ends that they can crawl through and stand up and play with it. It has been pretty entertaining too and we were pretty impressed at our craftiness!


I made cupcakes too and the kids obviously enjoyed them, frosting and all. They should be ready for their birthday cake!

Addyson has now learned to feed herself Cheerios. Braden is clapping and is so impressed with himself! He has let go and stood by himself for a couple seconds. They are both cruising all around furniture and trying to walk behind things. They're making great progress all of the sudden! Braden also got tooth #5 and #6 (on the top). They are sleeping MUCH better at night which we are loving.

Here are some other pictures -

Braden thinks the box is good for eating his bottle too. And hanging out with their stuffed gorilla.

Addyson cracks me up - she is so little that she can get herself all kinds of places!

This explains where all those missing little socks are - we have a sock monster!!!

Here's a video of Braden walking behind the lion - when you crash you just push him from the nose. Also helpful when a certain sister gets in the way.

Lovin' our Valentines

Here's what's new with us!

Braden is feeling and looking MUCH better! Pretty well healed!

Addyson and Braden are both playing together and having a great time. Here is one of their many conversations.



We had some rough nights with very little sleep - they were tougher nights than the first months when they were home. But the last few nights have gone really well and we are all feeling much better and having a lot more fun together! Amazing what sleep -- or lack of it -- can do!

Ryan and I got a birthday present for the kids. And like always, we are terrible at waiting to give gifts. Whenever we get anything for each other, we can't keep secrets and almost always manage to give them early. We didn't make it to their birthday. This lion makes noise and has really fun music and they can walk behind it or ride on it. Braden is doing really well at walking behind it. Addyson is getting there but she's a little more cautious about it all. Braden loves the music and stands up and dances to it. I've tried to get video but haven't managed to get any yet - I'll try to get some to upload later. It is so fun to watch!!!

Addyson weights 13 pounds 2.6 ounces. Braden weights 22 pounds 8.6 ounces. They seem to be on track for their adjusted age as far as other development. Braden said mama very clearly the other day. It just melts my heart when they say mama and dada - what a great Valentines present!

They are both babbling like crazy and just playing all over the place. We are having so much fun playing with them. They still love the dishwasher - I turned my back to put something away and turned around to find this -

How can you be upset at these two cuties???
Here are some other recent pics:

11 months old . . . and 2 days

So I'm a couple of days behind but on Wednesday Addyson and Braden were 11 months old. One more month and they will be 1 year old - that is so hard to believe!!!

Braden is feeling some better. He plays but just isn't quite himself yet. He is constantly on meds to stop the pain so he looks a little out of it. He's been able to sleep well and is eating pretty much like normal. Addyson is doing pretty well - she gets a little jealous when I need to give Braden some extra love. But overall she did amazingly well through the whole thing. Addyson and Braden had never been apart as long as they were when we took Braden to the hospital. It was so cute to see them when we got home. They just touched each other and smiled and smiled. The only smiles Braden had until the evening on surgery day was when Ryan and I first saw him after recovery and when he saw his sister. They are just so glad to have each other.

Lately Addyson and Braden continue to get into everything. Braden is starting to figure out how to open the cabinet doors in the kitchen so that should be fun! Braden is starting to move around furniture and reach from one thing to the next. They are both babbling like crazy. They say mamamama and dadadadada. I think they are starting to realize what they are saying. Addyson says mama sometimes and she really seems like she knows what she means. They are starting to catch on to so much more and play games. They're just a lot of fun . . . and work . . . but mostly fun. They are sleeping a little bit better - Braden's pain meds have definitely been helping with that. That's pretty much what we've been up to - now for some pictures --

Braden's surgery

Braden's circumcision surgery went well. Here he is playing before surgery. He LOVES his spoon!!! He's not this happy now . . . but doing as expected.

Since Ryan and I both have problems with anesthesia they assumed that Braden would too and decided to give him IV's instead of a mask to put him to sleep for surgery. But our cute little boy has so much chub that the nurses had a tough time getting an IV going. Once they took him to the OR they got it on the first stick thankfully because he was starting to get annoyed. He was unhappy coming out of anesthesia and he couldn't burp after his bottle so he was pretty unhapy for a while but we managed to get him calmed down so they didn't have to give him morphine and keep him there longer. We got home around 12:30 this afternoon. He's on Tylenol and his favorite thing is to sleep in daddy's arms. He's doing well; just sore. Thanks for your prayers!