One SMALL step....

Yep. You read that right! One small STEP. Alone. Nothing to hold onto. Standing on two feet. He did it. Barely. But he did it. And I couldn't be prouder! This evening, Nicholas was playing with his push toy(which I have come to the conclusion that I should have bought two of...but that's a different story!). The toy was a bit in front of him, just out of his reach. He was standing right by me, the toy in front of him, holding onto NOTHING. And he moved. Forward. On two feet. Those two tiny little feet that spent MONTHS kicking me(and yes I enjoyed every minute of it). Those two tiny feet that moved involuntarily for the first few months. Those tiny feet that couldn't keep socks on. Those tiny feet that are just the most precious. They moved. He moved them. All by himself. 

Now-if you blinked-you missed it. It was more like a shuffle. He still isn't so sure of himself. I swear-ANY DAY now-he's going to be gone. Gone from wanting to be smothered with kisses because he can move on his own free will. Gone to go explore a world unbeknownst to him until now. Gone from needing me at every waking moment. Gone from being a baby. On his way to being an independent toddler. I'm not ready. He's still a baby. My baby. And forever he shall be....

DADA! WALKING(kinda...)

Alright alright. It's time for me to start taking out the kleenex. My boys are getting too big. They need to stop growing. Now. Seriously. I am not kidding in the least bit. Here's an update...

While in Italy, Nonni worked on "Where's the light?"-in Italian of course-with the boys. So-now they know "light" in English and Italian. I have been working on "ball" and "Sadie/doggie" with them. They know those. Well tonight, I finished giving Anthony his bottle and sat him on my lap. I said to him, "Where's dada?" He turned to dh, and smiled! HE KNOWS!!! Talk about melting your heart! I did it a few times to make sure it wasn't a fluke-and he would smile-and he even pointed once or twice! How freaking adorable is that?? I LOVE IT!

Nicholas...Nicholas..Last Thursday, September 4, he took his little push toy, stood up, and tried to walk! I was right there-and I had to hold the toy close to him so he didn't fall flat on his face! So that was the first day he tried ON HIS OWN-and he succeeded! Then on Friday, dh said he went up and down the hallway! Can you believe that?? He's sooo ready to start walking! Any day now any day! 

Tony(dh) and I were eating dinner and I was saying how it was funny because I missed the boys(they were in bed for the night). He said he felt the same way. On the weekends, he says it's great he gets to see more of them and all, but the crying gets old quick. He said though when he gets to work, he just sees their picture and wants to be with them all the time. How sweet is that? And it's so true. If we are away from them-we just want to BE with them. You never know what you are going to miss! They just grow so quickly!

Today the boys were playing at the train table in their play room. This is where they pull themselves up to stand, take apart the train track that I have put together 1,346 times, and slam it to the ground! Well Nicholas took a train and sat down at the end of the table, where there was the handle-so you could pick up the table. He would sit down and put the train on the train table, through this handle. Then he would stand up and get it off the table, and do it again. And while doing this, he was talking to himself. Can you believe that? Oh-and we also have a toy that you put the balls in on top and they spin to the bottom. Well Nicholas takes a train, again, and puts it in the space where the ball would go. It falls down. Then he takes his hand, and puts his HAND through the space where the ball goes, and reaches and grabs the train-and pulls it back up-THROUGH the HOLE! I think he's going to be a GREAT thinker! He already is! I don't know. I just find that amazing. It's like his little mind is already doing cause and effect, or something of the like! 

Well-here are a few photos I promised. If I posted all of them-well-I owuld never be able to write! There are just soo many photos of the boys! How can you not love them all????

                                          Their 9 month photo shoot-in Italy

                                             I just LOVE this photo of him!

Gotta love 'em! Tony and I found these shirts at a store in Italy. "Future Italian Captain"

How perfect is that?????

                         I LOVE this photo of Nicholas! The two of them could be models! 

BACK!

I know I know... It's been quite some time since I've written here. I'm getting close to two months! Yikes! Life sure has been busy on our end-it always is somehow. I'll do the quick rundown...

ITALY: Boys were AWESOME. Trip was NOT. We got no rest, no "us" time. Nothing. We got 3 hours away from the boys-and that was our anniversary. That was it. We were back in time to put the boys to bed. We had the boys ALL DAY LONG, 7am-11pm! I kid you not! Sure, my mil might feed one, or change one, etc.. But that's what, 15 minutes of freedom? Not much in my book! I had more free time at home then I did surrounded by family in a foreign country! It was very very tiring. The plane there and back-horrible. Not the boys-just the experience with the plane company(think 9 hours stuck in Rome!). In the end on the way there it was a 26 hour trip. Nicholas got sick on the way to the airport, and on the way back-it was horrible. Something I never want to relive again! So-it will be a good 5 years before we return, if even then. We hope to have another child, and we will not be bringing 2 toddlers and an infant! NO WAY! Eventhough Tony's grandfather has said he would pay for all of our tickets to get there... 

COUSINS: Tony's cousins were here for 3 weeks after we came back from Italy. So they kept us busy too. They got married in December, and this was like their honeymoon. 

WEDDING: Tony and I were both in a wedding Aug 16. I was the Maid of Honor, Tony was a groomsman. It was a GREAT time. We stayed the entire time, and our mothers watched the boys for us. It was probably one of the best times we had at a wedding-ever. 

TAG SALE: We had a tag sale last weekend-and made $200! Now we can afford decorations for the boys' birthday party! HA! 

THE BOYS: They are almost 11 months old! STOP TIME NOW! OMG. They are just amazing babies. Absolutely amazing. I love them to pieces! Anthony got FOUR teeth while we were in Italy, bringing the total to 6! Now-he has another one coming through-so he's up to 7! He started crawling the Monday before we came home from Italy... July 28-my brother's birthday. He has since perfected that! And-he also now pulls to standing like a pro! He still refuses to roll from back to belly-and he gets PT once a week to work on that. He's stubborn! He is such a happy little guy-and he can be the troublemaker! Especially at home! He's got that look! Nicholas just got his FIRST TWO TEETH! At 10 months! They have just come through. He crawled before we left for Italy-on my sil's birthday-July 9. He crawls, stands, and even cruises! And he will let go and just stand there! He holds his balance REALLY WELL! I swear, any day now and he will be walking! So sad! They both are "dadadada" fools! Anthony has said "mamama", but neither one knows what it is. They know where the light is-the both look up-and point. They know it in Italian and English. I'm working on ball and dog. We are getting there. We have a new swingset-and they LOVE IT! In fact, I think Nichoals had a little tantrum yesterday when I went to bring the dog in-and we didn't go on the swing! Oops! Overall-they are just the best babies! I LOVE THEM! And I can't believe pretty soon they will not be considered babies... How sad is that???

So-that's about it. Now-we are going to start getting busy planning their First Birthday Party! YIKES! 126 people or so are on the list. IT'S CRAZY! I don't know what I will do if they ALL come! PRAY for nice weather! PLEASE!

OK. That's about it. I will HOPEFULLY start to keep up a bit more. I am online so much, ya think I would. And at night, I'm just so tired, I don't feel like doing much. We'll see!!

Off to ITALY!

Well-it's time to say Ciao! We are leaving at 12:30pm EST to head to the airport for our trip to Italy. WISH US LUCK! The boys are realllllllllllly good babies-I just hope they continue to be!

Nicholas is a crawling fool now-he is always on the move! So this should be interesting. They are both sitting up in their cribs too when they are put down at bedtime/naptime.

I am keeping this short as I am exhausted and I feel like I am getting the bug or something. My whole body aches. PRAY I do not get sick!!

I will be back August 1-with TONS of pictures!!!! Stay tuned!!!!

ARRIVEDERCI!

It's CRAWLING TIME!

My my my. Someone stop time. PLEASE! I will do anything if someone could! My boys are moving. And growing. All too quickly. Yesterday, July 9, 2008 Nicholas crawled. He did. About three leg movements forward-he crawled. All by himself. I didn't "show" him how to do it. I didn't hold one leg, move the arm, move the leg. None of that. He did it on his own-on his own time. And he was as beautiful as ever. My little boy growing up. I watched him earlier in the day. I said to myself, "Did he just crawl?" I almost didn't want to believe it. Then my sister came over-and lo and behold-he crawled! Now-he is not the easiest child to watch crawl. He likes to tease-probably because he has an audience! He gets into the position, up on all fours, and then goes and sits back down. Such a tease I tell you! 

This morning-Tony was able to see him crawl-and I have to say he was pretty excited! Tonight-he crawled even more, even farther. By the weekend-I'll be putting a harness on him to keep him in my sight. There's no stopping him now! It's so amazing to watch!

And Anthony. My sweet little Anthony. He's so funny. He too...is trying oh so hard to crawl. He has only just started to get on all fours and rock(this past Saturday). On Tuesday, he went from a laying position to a sitting position. This week-he has also started to pull up. And this evening-it is safe to say that he is trying to crawl as well. He actually was able to move one leg forward, with the other one still stuck underneath him! But-he tried! From the looks of it-he wants to be just like his big brother! :) 

Gosh. They are just so fun to be around. I love it. Every waking minute of it. I LOVE it. Today I brought them to my old job. They are also going through something else-stranger anxiety/mommy separation. Which I have to say-I like it! There is nothing better than your child crying out for you. Granted-I might not think this at the age of 3, 4, 5, or whenever-but it is so darn cute. My boss took Anthony-and he was a bit cautious, but doing fine. Then all of a sudden-the tears came pouring down. Once in my arms-he was smiling. So CUTE! So-she took Nicholas. Again-pretty cautious(as he usually is until he surveys the scene). He turned around and looked at me/saw me. I saw the eyes get a bit red. He turned back around and stared to cry his "scared" cry. Melts your heart. My boss then took Anthony. She brought him over to the carpet to see him sit. Well-he sat for a good minute or two, maybe more. And then I hear her tell me to get over there. He put his head down and started to cry. Once I arrived-he was fine. I just love my boys! 

The boys enjoyed the kids(preschool aged). They were smiling and playing with their toys. And the kids were eager to share, and touch.... But for the most part-they were all really good. I fed them and then we came home. It was bit tricky now that we have the new car seats(as of Wednesday, July 2). They fell asleep. I wanted to keep them sleeping. Well-Nicholas woke up when we got home(he wasn't really sleeping). So I ran him up the stairs and left Anthony in the car(door open) and came back and got Anthony. I need a better way to do this. But it was naptime(a bit early though) and I didn't want to wake them up-play-and then have to go and put them down. I could have done that-seeing how Nicholas refused to sleep. No lie. He wanted nothing to do with it. Instead, I took him into my bedroom and we laid on the bed and he played and I tickled him and made him laugh. So sweet. He really is such a sweet boy.

People always say he is so sad looking, never smiles, etc. It really bothers me because he is such a HAPPY, BEAUTIFUL baby! I mean seriously-that kid smiles ALL the time at home. I make a noise-he starts to giggle. So sweet. And Anthony-well of course he smiles! I once said he would smile at a stick if it walked past him. And he would. They are just the two happiest babies one could ever hope for. And I am the lucky one because I get to be their mom. 

Photos:

Anthony dancing with Mommy!

Look at those proud big cousins! And yes-they are red heads! Or "auburn" as my brother used to say when he was younger. My sil says they are single handedly repopulating the red head population!

Anthony all smiles at Pizzeria Uno's for Grandma's birthday

Nicholas' famous pose for the camera. Again-Uno's for Grandma's birthday!

As soon as he sees the flash-that's what he does. Hysterical.

Sad news

I hate to write this, but I unfortunately will. Yesterday was a sad day for my family. We found out that my sister-in-law lost one of the twins. She had an u/s at 20 weeks 3 days and they couldn't get a good look at the hearts. So-they scheduled another u/s for this past Monday. She was 21 weeks. And that's when they found out. I'm not sure of all of the details, but from what my brother told me, the baby was very very sick from what they have been told. He said the Dr's were phenomenal, etc. So-now we pray that the other baby makes it and thrives. When I last talked to my brother-he said the baby was very healthy and doing great. So-prayers please. This hit me exceptionally hard, and I have a hard time comprehending why. I think I know why-for many reasons-I have twins, they may be a constant reminder to SIL, we were JUST talking about me going up there for the weekend when they were born, etc, the list is endless. We just saw them on Saturday-and I took a 20 week belly picture. It's just so heartbreaking. I wish I was there for them, for her. 

It made me realize-not that I didn't know already-that having a baby is truly a miracle. We should savour every single moment that we have with them. You just never know what can happen. So today-I have banished the computer during the awake hours of the boys(they are now sleeping). I am not on it CONSTANTLY when they are up. I play with them and once they are good, I will check email, etc...Then I will go back and play with them, etc. I'm done. No computer. No TV. Just me and my boys. The way it should be. I need to savour every waking moment with them. Not that I haven't-because I have. Our time is short-and I don't want to miss a thing! 

Baby Twin Lang,

 I never got to officially meet you. But I want you to know how much you were-and ARE loved by every one in the family. Not a day will go by that we won't think of you. I now hope that you are above us, resting peacefully, watching over your twin sibling and telling him/her to keep on fighting. We are all waiting to meet him/her. And Baby Twin Lang-we will all meet you again. Don't you worry. And when your twin is born, I'm sure we will all see a piece of you in your sibling. You will always be in our hearts. We love you and will miss you terribly. 

Until we meet again....

New milestones!

I have to post before I forget. One of these days I will be filling out their baby books(that I look at everyday and go, "Maybe I will fill that in today!"), and not remember what date things happened on. So...Today...

Nicholas has been trying to pull up lately. He will grab onto a toy, pull up to his knees, get one foot out and ready...and then go back down. He wasn't able to pull up on his own. Until today. We were at my brother's house and my mom was on the floor with him. He pulled up onto her knees...and then eventually...he was standing. I was flabergasted! That kid wants to MOVE! He has been getting on his knees and rocking for over a month now! After watching him, I could tell he just wants to walk! I'm not sure if I mentioned it in a previous post-but he is also a master at going from sitting to standing. I love just sitting and watching him move. It's crazy!

Not to be outdone by his big brother..but Anthony is on the prowl as well. He does attempt to crawl. He goes from sitting, moves his arms down, looks like he's about to crawl, and then lays on his belly. But he gets what he wants! ;) Anyways...Today...He got up on all fours and started rocking!!! Yay Anthony! He wants to move too! It's so funny to watch the two of them! I think it's just about time to start baby proofing the house. The other day, I was washing bottles, and I heard this crashing sound. I hear Nicholas start to whimper. I go into the living room and there he is...with the fireplace tools across his lap. He pulled them down! Stinker! Luckily he was not hurt!

Now-both boys have been doing this weird thing where they get up onto their 4's-almost like a weird pushup. No clue what that is-but they both do it! Funny. 

I am EXHAUSTED. It's been a very busy few days. We leave for Italy in just over a week. It's going to be another busy week...I can feel it! Tomorrow is my mom's birthday, so I will be taking the boys over there at some point in the day. Daddy will have some alone time at home-either to work on the basement or mow the lawn, or something. I'm just wondering when I will get that alone time! HA!

OK. Have to cut this one short. I am going to bed. Tomorrow I will update with photos from the last few days!