Lauren Turns Six!

My niece, Lauren, celebrated her sixth birthday yesterday! We went yo their house for dinner and desserts and of course, presents! Lauren had requested that I make Fruit Loops Treats as her dessert, so I (obviously) obliged.

Lauren drew a picture and then Lisa took it to the bakers at Wegmans to duplicate. Isn't that sweet?

Lauren and her daddy

She already lost a tooth!

Lauren and Grandma Sauer

The Sauer women (well, a few of us)

Lisa with her two youngest, Lauren and Tommy

Ben saw a little dolly and wasn't quite sure what to make of it

He played with her eyes and then pushed her away. I think it freaked him out that she wasn't moving like a real baby!

My family - Ben (L) and Jack (R)

Sunshine and Celery Sticks

Yesterday, the boys and I joined Andy in Clarence Center for the day! While he worked, the boys hung out with me, my mom and my sister (their Aunt Sissa.) It was such a beautiful day - a perfect day for a visit to the country!

Jack experiments with the grass from the safety of mommy's lap

Benjamin got pretty comfortable with the grass...

... until he realized he was sitting in it all alone! :)

"Here Aunt Marissa," Ben says, "smell this grass."

Ben with his Nana

My nephew Matthew, 14 months old

Benjamin enjoys the celery stalk Chief gave him (to keep them from eating the grass!)

Ben is such a ham

Matthew

The only thing better than one celery stalk? THREE of them, of course! According to Ben at least.

Jonathan with his celery

Jonathan Andrew

Jonathan, my serious thinker

Ben was so excited about that celery!

Ben and Jack look at Aunt Marissa

Jack and Ben with Aunt Sissa

Mommy and Jack

Ben the Food Inspector

I'm not sure how Benjamin felt about the grilled cheese I made for him the other night, but judging by this video, he wasn't too impressed.

And by the way, this is BY FAR my newest favorite video. I just love these boys!

One Calendar Year

The boys are turning a year old in less than three weeks! Wow. It's true what they say... the days go by slow, but the weeks go by fast.

Me and the boys in utero exactly one year ago today. God was the only one that knew they'd be coming out in less than three weeks at 38 weeks gestation on Tuesday, May 5th. Then the REAL adventure began!

In the beginning, you struggle to get through each day. You question everything you're doing and doing feel like you're not getting a thing right. Showers are a luxury and going to the bathroom just doesn't seem all that private anymore. Your conversations turn into musings about diapers and milk consumption. Cooking a homecooked meal is the furthest thing from your mind and 75% of your cell phone contacts are now for take-out. You count down the hours until bedtime, which really only meant that it was dark outside. Highlights of the day were Facebook and your new love of midnight blog readings. You feel like your life merely consists of feeding, pumping and changing diapers. It's exhausting work. Draining. And you wonder if it will ever get easier.

Then the boys started sleeping a little longer through the night. Thank God! Giggling, then laughing. Hooray! Then they started rolling over. We couldn't believe it. We moved their cribs down and put their swings away. They started sitting up. Eating solids. My God, our boys are amazing. They began crawling. And now, walking. Then you're looking back thinking, "It really wasn't all that hard, was it?" My, how soon we forget! :)

Jonathan wrestles on top of Benjamin, who welcomes the brotherly game

And now a year has passed. Well, almost a year. I still remember those days that were not that long ago, but it doesn't seem possible that these are the same little boys. Those babies were such little helpless creatures. They couldn't even hold up their head. And now, they're walking across my dining room. Unbelievable. All in one calendar year.

And what a wonderful year it's been!!!!

A Few Videos

It is amazing to realize just how fast these boys are developing! They just started rolling over last week, didn't they? Now they're walking! Or at least attempting to. Here are some videos that post their progress to date; they were all taken today.

Boys Dancing
The boys dance to a new CD from my friend, Katy. Jack's on the left and Ben's on the right.


Jack Takes Some Steps
Jack takes a few steps tonight. He's really getting confident now!


Jack Gives Ben a Ride
Jack pushes Ben on the walker. Too funny! Again, sorry it's so dark. We took one of Ben pushing Jack too, but the quality was even worse. They're growing up so fast!

Easter 2010

11 Months Old

Jonathan Andrew

Benjamin David

Jonathan and Benjamin