Happy Father's Day and fun at home

We celebrated Russell's first Father's Day this year by going out to lunch together after church, since Russ had to work the rest of the day. We had a good time together and we know that many more fun father's days will come... The boys are continuing to explore EVERYTHING now that they are more mobile. They are very curious and will open any drawer, cabinet, etc... that they come across. Caleb can now walk about half way across the room (or about 10-15 steps) without falling down and he finds it very exciting! Joshua has chosen to expand his horizons by trying to climb on top of or into various things. We definitely have our hands full! Both boys have been teething, so they have been a bit on the fussy side as of late. Hopefully those teeth will come in soon! The dogs continue to be very good with the boys and Joshua just can't get enough of them. Enjoy the pictures of their recent adventures!

They're ONE!!!

Wow! It is so hard to believe that these two little boys are already one year old! Time has gone by so quickly and we are having such a good time! Grandma and Grandpa Witbrodt came to visit this past weekend and helped us celebrate the boys' birthday a little early. We had a great time opening and playing with gifts, although Caleb didn't care for the sound of the paper ripping. Cake was fun to squish around in their hands, but neither of the boys was interested in having any of it in their mouth. Caleb is now taking 4-5 steps on his own in a row and Joshua could really care less about walking as crawling is really much faster. Here are a bunch of pictures of our birthday weekend... more will follow over the next few weeks as we celebrate with other family!

11 months old

It is hard to believe that the boys are just one month away from being 1 year old! As you can see from the pictures and the previous videos, the boys are on the move! They are now quite proficient at crawling and can get just about anywhere they want to go. Both of the boys can also pull themselves up to standing and Caleb is cruising everywhere! You can even tell that they are doing their best to see if they can climb up on top of things. So far they have been unsuccesful at this endeavor, but I'm sure at some point they will succeed. All of this has opened a whole new world of exploration for them and they are loving every minute of it.

The washer and dryer are always entertaining for at least a good 10 minutes when they are running and even 2-3 minutes when there is nothing inside! We have a tunnel that they like to explore. They will both go inside and then sit and giggle with each other. Another favorite activity is to empty every drawer or shelf that they can get their hands on. They also like to climb on top of and tackle anyone brave enough to get down on the floor with them. Needless to say, we are loving every minute of the time that we have with them! Joshua has developed curls... we're not exactly sure where they came from, but they sure are cute. Both boys are working on tooth number two, so they are starting to get toothy little grins and are looking less like babies and more like little boys every day. I had a great first Mother's day and I'm looking forward to many more!

Many of you are planning trips our direction this summer and we can't wait to see you! Enjoy the pictures of all of Caleb and Joshua's explorations and antics!

10 Months and Moving 2!!!

10 Months and Moving!!!

A visit from Russ's family

We had the pleasure of having some company for a few days this past week. Russ's sister Becky and her son Ayden, Russ's mom Nancy, and Russ's brother Joe and his daughter Morgan spent some time with us and we had a lot of fun! It was great for us to finally meet Ayden in person and to just play with the babies. We went to the park a couple of times, saw some pretty flowers, baked cookies, and caught up on stories. Here are some pictures from our fun time!

9 months old

How is it possible that our boys are almost 9 1/2 months old? Time continues to fly by and the boys continue to not only grow, but thrive. They are sitting up by themselves now and like to get up on their hands and knees and rock back and forth. We are sure that mobility will not be long in coming and that our lives will be changing in ways we can only imagine! Caleb talks up a storm and Joshua is currently our quite one, but can certainly let you know if he needs something. They are very interested in each other and often sit and giggle at one another. The other day they were taking toys from each other back and forth and just laughing about it the whole time like it was the funniest thing ever! Let's hope THAT lasts a while... We recently purchased a mini van and really like the room it provides. The boys seem to like riding in it better as well since they can now see out the windows and view what's going on. We have been blessed with some beautiful weather and have enjoyed many walks in the double stroller. Alison's parents visited and she and the boys also went on a trip to St. Louis and got to see Aunt Nora, Aunt Erin, Uncle Brian, and cousin Micaiah as well as great aunts, uncles, and great grandma. What fun we had swinging in the park, feeding the ducks, and playing with fisher price toys left from when Alison and her sisters were young. We went to the doctor today, so here are the official stats:

Caleb: 28 1/2 inches long, 16 lbs 5 1/2 ounces
Joshua: 29 inches long, 18 lbs 8 ounces

As you can see, they continue to be long and lean and Joshua continues to be a bigger eater... We are thrilled to have these two boys as part of our family and hope you enjoy the pictures!