Unedited Life of the Sweeney 4

I was inspired by my friend, Kandy, to try and put a video of our life on the blog. We discovered in trying to tape the kids that they are much more entertained by the camera than by playing for the camera. You will experience some extreme close-ups of the kids, especially Wyatt. The reason for the title should become extremely apparent to you as you watch the video; it is made up of both the good and bad moments of two one year olds. I hope that you enjoy a brief glimpse into our everyday experiences.

The Joy of Twins

I get asked all the time if it is hard having twins. My usual response is no, besides I don't know any different. Most of the time Lily and Wyatt are very good kids. They are starting to get into more trouble and are having more difficulty sharing toys, but overall they are GREAT!!! God has blessed Ryan and I beyond measure with our children. There are not many days where the frustration of two toddlers is greater than the pleasure. Wyatt and Lily really are the best of friends. They play together, laugh together, and get into trouble together. Sometimes Lily is the leader and other times Wyatt leads.

They have recently started giving kisses. Wyatt gives big, slobbery, open-mouth kisses and Lily gives dainty, little peck kisses (or she turns her face so you can kiss her cheek). In the pictures above, they are trying to give each other kisses. They were never able to because each time they got close enough they started laughing. It was so precious!

Home, Sweet, Mushroom Free Home

I just wanted to let everyone know that we moved back home last night. The landlord did all the work here on Monday and then had the carpets cleaned. We had to wait for the carpet to dry, but we were able to sleep in our own house last night -- yeah! Thank you everyone for your prayers, they were really appreciated.

Life Goes On

Well, life is continuing in a state of "normal". We are trying to keep our routine as normal as possible for the kids at my parents, but they are a little "off". They have found fun and interesting places to play. Under the desk in the dining room is a favorite. There is a lot more room here for them to explore and get into things they aren't supposed to.

Saturday we went up north to Brower Park Campground. My sister, April, and her family were camping there, along with two of my aunts and one cousin. Wyatt LOVES playing in sand (and eating it). He sat in the sand pit for about 2 hours! We may have to invest in a sandbox in the future. Lily liked the sand but not nearly as much as Wyatt -- she doesn't like to be dirty! :) It was a fun day and it took our mind off the house for awhile.

I met with both the property manager (Joe) and the owner (Jack) of our townhouse this morning. They pulled back the carpet while I was there and things did not look as bad as I originally thought they were going to be. Joe will be working over the next few days to get rid of the bad stuff and make the house livable again. He has to rip out the tack strips and put new padding down. He will be cleaning both the sub floor and the carpet before we move back in. They are also planning on putting in a drain in the back yard so this does not happen again. They have been really nice and have agreed to do/fix everything that Ryan and I have asked. Thank you, Jesus!

Curve Balls in the game of LIFE

Sometimes life throws a curve ball or two. It was only 6 months ago that we moved out of my parents house and into our own "house". We knew that our townhouse wasn't the greatest, but we have done our best to make it a home for our family; a place where Lily and Wyatt would be safe and have fun playing. We have had our ups and downs there. Yesterday was a MAJOR down. I was at the computer, Ryan was in the shower, and the kids were playing on the living room floor (as they do almost all the time they are awake). I noticed something weird looking by the slider door right by the kids toys. It was a MUSHROOM!!!! I do not mean outside the door, I mean inside! Yes, that is right -- there are mushrooms growing up through our carpet inside our house! I put the kids up in their room and went to check it out more closely. The biggest mushroom was 1 1/2 inches tall and there were two others starting to peek out. I went up and told Ryan, called the landlord (who is out of town for the weekend) and then called my mom. My parents told us to pack some stuff, they were coming to get us -- we were not staying there any longer until this gets figured out. Staying was not really an option considering Ryan's health -- mold, fungus, etc. don't really fit well with CF. We packed some essentils and moved back into my parents house. My mom and I went back last night and the big mushroom had grown to almost 4 inches (in only 8 + hours). It seems weird to ask you to pray about a mushroom, but this is not a condition suitable to live in. I am waiting to hear back from the landlord, but right now we are just thankful to God that my parents are willing to have us back. :)

More Silly Kids

This picture of Lily isn't the best, but I wanted to
share a funny habit that Lily has. After EVERY meal when I get Lily out of her booster seat she walks over to this corner and just stands there. I am not sure why she does this, but I find it very endearing. She only stands there for about 30 seconds and then takes off to explore. Maybe she is waiting for Wyatt to get out of his seat, because he sits right across from there and she usually gets out first.



Wyatt LOVES cheerios. He is inspecting this green one to make sure that it is edible. :) Kids, you just gotta love them.

The kids also love reading. They love to look at the pictures and point things out to us. Some days sharing books is okay, so days it is not. They especially love books with people or animals. Wyatt's favorite book is THE BEGINNER'S BIBLE...he doesn't listen too well to the stories yet, but he is fascinated by the pictures!

Silly Kids

Here are some of the latest pictures of the kids. They do so many funny things right now. Lily comes to find me every night while I am heating up the milk cups. I told her one night that she needed to sit down, so she sat down in the rug and that is where she stayed to drink her milk. She didn't care that she was the only one in the kitchen, she was just happy to be drinking her milk.

The pictures with the blanket are from the days when we had cooler temperatures. I had a blanket out and the kids thought it was great. They wanted to be all wrapped up in them! They love it when I hide under the blankets and they have to come find me. They usually end up "hiding" themselves with me.

Please Pray

Please be in prayer for my friend, Valerie, and her family. I received a phone call last night letting me know that her dad passed away yesterday in a helicopter accident. I have not talked with Val herself yet, so that is all I know for now. Val comes from a close-knit family who love the Lord. Please pray for God's comfort to surround them today and in the days to come.

Valerie, I love you so much!

It's Official

Even though Wyatt took his first steps on Tuesday night, he began walking across the room by himself tonight. He can only go about half-way across by himself, but he is doing really well.

I Don't Feel So Good

Lily hasn't been feeling to well over the past few days. She has been running a fever, sometimes low and other times high. I thought that she was on an upswing yesterday, but the fever is back today. Please be praying that she feels better and that the fever is completely gone tonight or tomorrow morning. She is not very crabby, just a little more dramatic than usual. She is also really cuddly, which is not all bad.

YEAH!!!

Tonight was the big night. Wyatt took his first steps. He was very proud of himself as he walked between Ryan and me several times! Wyatt just kept laughing and smiling the whole time. Yeah! We are so proud of him. Lily was really funny about the whole thing...she kept watching like "what is the big deal? I have been doing this for weeks."

And So It Begins...

FOOTBALL. The beloved sport of my husband, Ryan, is almost upon us. This is the time of year that so many men (and women) look forward to all year. I actually think that Ryan anticipates this almost as much as he does Christmas. This upcoming weekend, Ryan will make the trek to Illinois to participate in his Annual Fantasy Football Draft with friends. While the football season doesn't officially begin until September, Ryan and many other members of his league begin planning their draft strategies in July.




I am sure there is a great reason to enjoy watching people try and crush each other while running a little ball down the field, but I have yet to discover it. I do not know the important plays, players or positions. I do however know that it is important to choose a team who will cause you great emotional distress when they do not make those all important plays or while those all important players get tackled by members of someone else's favorite team. It still baffles me the amount of emotion that can be shown during a 3 hour time period! Needless to say, Ryan's favorite team is the Chicago Bears. Thanks to cousin Emily, Lily will be donning the Bears colors this fall in an attempt to support her Daddy. I am sure that both Lily and Wyatt will have a greater understand of football than I ever will. GO, BEARS, GO!

Note: These pictures show Lily displaying some of the emotions that all Bears Fans will probably display at some point this season from cheering them on during a Punt Return to great despair during a fumble and interception by the opposing team.

Prayer Request

We are asking that you would join us in prayer today and in the days ahead. Aunt Linda (Ryan's side) was diagnosed with Breast Cancer a few weeks ago. She is supposed to begin treatments tomorrow, but before she did that the doctors wanted to do some more tests to make sure that the cancer had not spread. We found out yesterday that there are some suspicious spots in two other locations. This was obviously devastating to hear. They are doing biopsies on all those area soon to see if they are cancerous. Please be praying for Aunt Linda today and in the days ahead. Pray for strength, wisdom, and God's peace. Please pray also for her family: her husband (Rick), her kids (Cody, 9th Grade; Cassidy, 7th Grade) and her two step-kids (Emily and Sam). Please also be praying for her "extended" family. Ryan's family is very close and this is difficult for everyone. Thanks.

Finish the Fight, Aunt Linda. We love you!

Just A Normal Day

It has been really hot here (and every where else), so we have been hanging out at home a lot. The kids enjoy being out and about, but they have done really well playing at home. We got out our animal train and they have been investigating the different animals (it has been awhile since we have played with it). We have also been working with our First Word flashcards -- Wyatt's favorite is the "Jelly" card. It is sticky and he thinks that is great!

Lily is currently getting a ton of teeth (I think about 5). She isn't too crabby, just extra cuddly and drooling a lot. Wyatt is gaining confidence everyday with his walking. He cruises everywhere and is quite proud of himself. He also stayed in nursery for the entire service on Sunday -- YEAH!

Ryan is staying very busy at work. So far the hot temperatures have not bothered him too much. He is looking forward to Fantasy Football beginning -- the draft is next weekend. I am staying busy with the kids. I am also very excited to be getting more involved at church! We really love our new church and we are constantly meeting more people and finding more ways to get involved.

15 Month Doctor's Appointment (at almost 16 months)

We went for the kids 15 month doctor visit today. I have a love-hate relationship with the doctor's appointments. I love to go and find out how big the kids are getting and how they are developing; I hate going because of the shots! It is so hard to watch/listen to the kids in pain. I know that the shots are preventing them from getting sick, but it is still hard to hold down their little arms while the nurses are sticking sharp needles into their tiny legs. :(

The good news is that the kids are both healthy. He was impressed with Lily's walking and he said that Wyatt was doing fine even though he isn't walking. He would like them to be talking, but since they were preemies, he said that we have some time yet.

Lily Grace was 17 lb. 12 oz (up 2 lbs) and 30" tall. She is below the 0 percentile for weight, but she has jumped up to 25th percentile for height!

Wyatt was 22lb. 11 oz and 32 1/4 " tall. He is in about the 25th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for weight!

I thank God that my children are healthy! They seem to love life and they are developing well. Thank you, Jesus!

When I grow up...

I want to be just like Daddy. The kids love to play with Ryan's clothes when he comes home from work. Whether it is his tie that they play tug of war with and chase each other to get it or his shirt that he takes off when he gets in, the kids think playing with Daddy's clothes is great. I will often time bring clothes downstairs for him so that he doesn't have to go upstairs just to come back down -- Lily and Wyatt thought wearing Daddy's shorts together was great! They are too much fun.

Fun with Lily and Wyatt

Here are some pictures from our weekend. Lily thought that she was hot stuff sitting in the blanket basket! Wyatt wanted to join in so we tried getting in at the same time :) We were also having fun wearing hats yesterday -- Wyatt kept looking up to try and figure out what was on top of his head.

Each day with Lily and Wyatt is such a blessing for Ryan and I. We LOVE being parents. Life is an adventure with two one year olds, but it is a fun filled adventure. God is so GOOD!

Family + Frogs = Fun

What a fun time! Last night we went out to my aunt's house and had a family picnic with most of my mom's family. It was great to be able to see all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins who I only get to see once or twice a year. We were able to see my cousin Tammy and her family, home from Ecuador for the summer and my cousin Mike and his wife, Kristin, visiting from California.


Lily and Wyatt had a great time with all of the other kids. My aunt has a pond in her back yard and that was the hot spot of the night. All of the little kids (and some of the BIG "kids") had a great time catching frogs. I was pleasantly surprised at Wyatt's fascination with the frogs -- he was even willing to go to other people if they would take him down to the pond.

Joy in Frustration

During a day full of frustration with my dead cell phone and getting the run around from Sprint and Sanyo, there is still great joy. Whether it is looking into the backseat and seeing Wyatt's sweet smile or hearing Lily and Wyatt "talk" together, I am still able to find a smile. There has been one really fun thing today: Lily's new hair-do. I bought her some little rubberbands and she is currently walking around with a little ponytail sticking up on top of her head. Her cousin Jack described it as looking like a stick, but I still think that it is cute.

I also bought Lily and Wyatt at "time-out" chair today. It is currently sitting on the floor in the dining room and they both think that it is great fun to go and sit in it. I wonder how they will feel about it in the next few weeks as it because a chair of no fun.

Crazy in Chicago

We went to Chicago this past weekend to celebrate Ryan's Grandma's 75th Birthday. Life of course never goes as smoothly when we are not at home. Naps were non-existent and nighttime sleep was difficult to achieve, but the time with family and friends was refreshing. Wyatt and Lily did well considering their empty sleep accounts.

During the day on Friday we were able to spend time with friends who we haven't seen in quite awhile. We were also able to make a quick trip up to see Grammy at work (this in lieu of naps -- the kids choice, not Mommy's). At night we went out to Grandpa Sweeney's. He treated the kids to some new toys and Ryan and I to Chinese from my favorite restaurant.

Saturday was jam packed with visits to family and friends and more driving around in the car to achieve some level of napping. The kids went in a "real" pool for the first time -- Lily LOVED it and Wyatt did pretty well all things considered. Saturday evening was the celebration for Grandma.

Sunday morning found us once again at Grammy Sweeney's with family for breakfast. We then loaded up and headed out for our trip home. It was a quiet car ride with two sleeping babies. What a beautiful sound! :)

Side note: People need to learn to read on the toll roads. We had to actually back up several time on the highway because people kept getting in I-Pass only lanes.