Success?

Dare I say it? "Sleep Week" at the VanderPloeg's was a success! While I don't doubt that there will be nights of crying here and there and they certainly don't go down for naps without a peep, I feel the crying has given way to some semblance of a schedule. They generally are pooped by 8pm and sleep til at least 5:30 - 7am -- which is great -- and naps are at 9am and 1pm. The hardest thing by far is enduring the crying. During the day, I often step outside and weed or eat ice cream on the front stoop as it still breaks my heart to hear them cry. But after they give in, I'm always glad I held out. Plus, they are so cute when they are sleeping. Check out these pictures with their booties high in the air -- I just couldn't resist. And then when they woke up happy as clams, I threw Sam in with Tyler and caught them with their smiles. Golly, they are cute!

What's New ...

I never quite know what to say when people ask "What's new?" ... but here's what I've got:

The boys are healthy and growing. At their doctor visit last week, Tyler weighed in at 20lbs 12oz and 30in long, Sam at 17lbs 4oz and 29in long. That puts Ty in the 150% for height, 95%for weight; Sam in the 100% for height, 50% for weight.

They are both close to crawling (see last post) and while they are thankfully not yet, they do certainly roll all over the place and really can't be left alone for too long. We're still working on sitting up though.

The other thing we are working on this week is sleep. You may recall we tried letting them cry at around 4 months with some success. Well, they gradually reverted to waking up in the middle of the night again and the doc said it was high time to stop getting up (clearly they don't need to eat). They must have been listening (or more likley fighting off the shots) because they slept two nights in a row all on their own. Last night, however, it took a good hour of bloody murder for them to fall back asleep. That was fun. We're also working on naps ... also lots of fun.

Food has become more and more of an adventure. They love oatmeal, bananas, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, and pears. Squash and green beans aren't such a hit right now but we have more of that in the freezer so we'll try those again soon. Babies eat so healthy! I find myself wishing I had someone to limit my food choices to milk, oatmeal, fruits and vegetables!

Other than that, we've had some good play dates and are looking forward to days at the Lamer's pool. Jack and I had a great night out watching The Law last week -- way overdue. We're praying hard for a successful heart procedure for my mom this week Thursday. I had a few interviews last week but no jobs came of it (I think I'm more relieved than anything) and we're looking forward to a week of fun at a cottage with my family in July. That's pretty much what's new!

Just Another Day ...

Just another day at the Ploegs ...

6 Months & 7 Years

Our boys turned 6 months old yesterday! Already a half a year old! Can you believe it? Some days I can, some days I can't. It's crazy to think that they are almost three times their size when they were born! Before we know it, they will be crawling and then walking ... yikes!

Here are some pictures from a photo shoot at Nana's yesterday. They weren't exactly cooperative but they are still pretty cute.

And today is Jack and my 7 year anniversary. We've had good times and some not so easy times, we've gone on lots of fun vacations, and we finally have everything we ever wanted with our two boys.

Here's a blast from the past from our wedding day photo shoot. (Wow, we look young!)