So long September!

Hallelujah the pink eye has passed! AND, no one else in my family had to suffer its ill effects...just me. I am back to wearing my contacts and make-up, and my running schedule is back on track. It is good to be well.

September brought many great things and we have much to celebrate and be thankful for: Baby Maddox and Baby Noah , Addie's growing relationship with a wonderful man, and Mason and Smith are nearly 17 months old.

Now that they both have an arsenal of teeth, M and S are able to enjoy more 'adult' foods. Consequently, we are working toward sitting down to eat dinner as a family. In the past, I would prepare a separate, toddler-appropriate meal and feed it to the boys around 5:30. Then we would play with them a bit and them put them to bed by 7pm. Once they were in bed, Matt and I would sit down to eat, enjoying the peace and quiet and one another's (mostly) undivided attention. This worked marvelously for us this past year or so. However, change is good, and enjoying a meal together as a family is great. It requires a little more planning, a bit more patience, and a whole lot of time management (this describes parenting twins as a whole :). We have three family dinners under our belt, thank you very much. They are much more chaotic but also much more lively and fun.

I managed to stage a photo of our family dinner (aided by the gorillapod Mom and Dad got us for Christmas...thanks Myers'!). Matt's mouth is full - hence the serious, close-mouthed face.

Smith inspecting a carrot we harvested from Grammie Myers' garden.

M, not a fan of walking barefoot in the grass. I am picking green beans.

Much more confident in their walking skills, M and S have grown to love toddling around the park/playground. The tunnel at Bogert Park is definitely one of our hot spots. (Smith)

Mase.
Smigget contemplating a slide attempt.

***FYI - Matt will celebrate his 27th birthday on Saturday, Sept 27th.