bye, bye binkie

yesterday i had to throw max's binkie in the trash. he had actually worn a tear in it! i don't know why, but it made me sad to throw it out. one of the first tricks that max and keegan learned in the nicu, besides breathing that is, was to suck on a binkie. they became soo attached to these nicu binkies, that i have been unable to get them to take any other binkie. and of course i can't find these hospital issued binkies in any store to replace them. so since their birth, they have each had the same binkie. in a way, i suppose, it was like a tie to those nicu days. i remember a few days where my only goal in the nicu was to teach max how to use the binkie, in hopes that he would catch on to breastfeeding as well. the "binkie olympics" one of the nurses had called it. i constantly find myself in this strange place where i am saddened to leave a nicu moment like this behind, but at the same time can't wait to somehow be relieved of all the sadness that the nicu brought into my life. it is a very strange place to exist. its hard to explain and i know that some other nicu moms would probably understand exactly what i mean. so bye, bye binkie it is. and here is hoping that max was really done with it, or will except a substitute non-nicu replacement. wish us luck!

7 mos. and counting

ok, so i missed their 7 mo. b-day for posting purposes anyway. hopefully this adorable picture will make up for it. both boys are sitting up now and rolling from back to front! they started physical therapy yesterday through the county program - and we love the therapist. she is very kind and clearly loves kids. she has showed us a few tricks already! thank you t.!
















fin has started summer camp this week. you know, i love this little boy to death, but we were really getting on each others nerves. next year i will consider more summer camp! i was told that 4 was going to be better than 3 - but not really sure that is the case in this house anyway. the backtalking is really the worst. i have been promised that 5 is a great age. here's hoping!

when my sister and i were growing up, my mom took our picture next to a birthday candle just like this one each year. now there are two collages that hang in my parents dining room. one for n. and one for me. its a great way to see the progression over the years. jon found me a candle on ebay just like what i had growing up for fin. you really can find everything on ebay. growing up, sometimes the pictures were taken a little late, as a mom of 3, now i totally appreciate that. we just took fin's picture yesterday for his 4th birthday. he is getting so big. one day, when i make that collage of 20 pictures , i will forget all about how nasty 4 can be!

fit of giggles

i meant to post about this weeks ago. on a recent night, fin and i were invited to join some good friends for ice cream. not known to turn down ice cream, we gladly accepted. so our friends picked us up, and off we went. it amuses me listening to 4 year olds converse - the longtime pals were in the back chatting away. excitement was in the air. when we got there, fin was soo excited (we all were -after all it was coldstone creamery) that he ran up to get the door and hold it for all of us. in his utter state of excitement he got ahead of himself. he actually bounced off of the front door and landed flat on his arse. it was one of those moments where you couldnt help but laugh out loud. the customers and workers inside the store were laughing as well. last night as i was falling asleep, something triggered this memory and again i burst into a fit of giggles. motherhood is often amusing!

note: no children were harmed in the effort to enjoy this sweet treat!