Halloween 2010

In keeping with the spirit of Trains... Eli's Halloween costume was a train conductor... oddly he did not want to be Thomas (and thankfully). This is the first year he enjoyed Halloween, anticipated its arrival and participated in all our goofy family activities. After a week of practicing saying "Trick or Treat" he prompty went to the first house and annnounced... "Can I have Candy?"... Then the second house he went to he asked the owner where she had gotten her ceramic pumpkin.. Her response "I can't remember, I think Target". His response.. " I love Target!" (where he gets most of his trains, of course). And the last house had a small decorative spider to which he responded by singing (loudly) "Itsy Bitsy Spider". On any account, was a blast and cannot wait until next year!!!


Lil Conductor


At the "Punkin Patch"


Too Cute


Pumpkin


Helping out




Me and him...

Day Out With Thomas

I am pretty sure if you asked anyone who they could spend one day with they will give you very different answers... some celebrities, scholars, politicians, etc. Well, Eli would heartily tell you... THOMAS!!! So, Thomas came to a little town called Rusk, TX and... well, Eli got to meet him and go for a ride. We went with our friends Drew and Jessica and their boys Mason and Ian... a good time was had by all (although it was still ridiculously hot).

Mater from the movie "Cars" at a small autobody shop in a very very small Texas town..


The Wagners


Sir Topham Hat (the conductor of Sodor)


Train Ride... he was so happy, the only time he is quiet...





The boys at the track!

Train Show

Back in October I found out that there was going to be a model train show at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston. SO, of course, our little train conductor was in attendance. He could not believe the enormity of the room and that it was entirely filled up with trains... of every size, type and group. There were several tracks set up with trains and we just literally followed this child for 3 hours as he ran from booth to booth begging for a new train. This is also where he had his first ever Dum Dums lollipop and, I think, found his own piece of Heaven this day. Obviously, we didn't make it home before he fell asleep and he talks about it still. Unfortunately everything "model train" is very expensive, so the cheapest thing we could get him (that he would agree too) was a 20 dollar, very old (and small)black steam train... he loves it still..

First Lollipop!!!

The pic that prved he need a "trim".


Just silly...



Loving this!!!

Their Names in the Sand...

There is a FABULOUS woman in Australia who chooses to preserve the memory and legacy of her own son by writing the names of children who have passed for their bereaved parents on the beach at sunset. She does this out of the kindness of her own heart and only asks a simple donation if you wish to have a copy to print. Here is the magic and beauty she creates. I cannot thank her enough for what she does.

The website is: http://namesinthesand.blogspot.com

2 1/2 year Photos

So.... we never really have taken Eli to have professional pictures as I thought we would never be able to get him to cooperate with the process. Well, I ate my words last week. He was such a cheese ball for the camera that it ended up going MUCH better than I expected. So well that the photographer took about 100 more pics than she normally does. What that means for me is that I had 130 PICTURES TO CHOOSE FROM!!! Needless to say, we spent way more money than we intended. Well worth it though. Considering we haven't taken him since he was 3 months old. Of course we took his Thomas the Tank Engine prop... because we couldn't love trains anymore right now if we tried.

Styled by Yogurt

With 2 fists full of yogurt, Eli took it upon himself to "restyle" his hair at dinner last night.

Butterflies...

Butterflies are a gift. They flit around us, just briefly, and then they are off, just as quickly, to the next stop. They don't stay long, they don't need to... But we are moved to smile when we see one. Butterflies are often compared to losing a loved one.
For this reason, we chose butterflies to symbolize the very brief joy and life of our twin sons, Ryder Jansan and Levi Dominic.

My Dearest Ryder & Levi
You each came and went far too soon on 2/28/10 but we are certain that from the moment we knew you were there until you were gone, you brought us incomparable joy.
We are grateful still for the honor we were given to be the parents of twin boys, if only for an instant. We imagine all that you could've been... would've been. We dream of the relationship you would have had with your brother, Eli. Although he is still very young, it was apparent that something changed for him also that day. We often think about what color your eyes were, how we would've been able to tell you apart (I am certain you would've tried to trick us) and how we would have loved to watch the growth and lives of identical twins to see how close and similar you were, and your differences. The thought of being the mother of 3 little boys while a little scary, was a challenge I couldn't wait to take on. The love between a mother and her son is like no other, and to have had that 3 times over made me feel like I was going to be the most loved mom of all.
We have never known a greater sadness... emptiness... since you had to go. Instead of watching over you both in your crib, I now dust off the urn that holds what's left of your perfect tiny bodies. There are unanswered questions and many, many tears yet to fall for you. But, always know, our beloved sons, that your mom and dad love you each and every day. You are in our hearts and thoughts and prayers. We yearn for the chance to hold you each and maybe we will be given that honor in different way, someday. Until then, we, and your big brother, will keep you close in all the ways we can. You DID exist, you WERE here, although briefly, and are always a part of our family.

All our Love,
Mommy, Daddy and Eli

"They" also say that you learn who your true friends are when a tragedy occurs and while I think that is true in most cases, I never had a single doubt how true my friends are. I simply got to learn the depth of love and friendship beyond my dreams. I thank them all deeply, from my very core. For all the love our family and friends showed us makes us richer on this earth. There is no thanks big enough, but to all our family and friends... you all know who you are THANK YOU!!!

Unfortunately the day we wanted to release our butterflies was the only rainy one in a sea of sunny days, so we released balloons and honored our boys with loving words, prayer and a few mimosas ;)
The following day brought just enough warmth and sunshine that we got to release our butterflies... Eli enjoyed this so much, especially since the last butterfly hung out on his hand for quite awhile. Here are some pics of he and the butterflies...

Galveston 3/27/2010

Went to Galveston for a day trip... had NO idea it was a pretty nice beach. Eli loved it, and the carrots snacks on the way there.

Last Week:

Me: "I put you in time-out because you cannot throw toys. You need to say sorry."

Eli: "Sorry, mama"

Me: "For?"

Eli: "Five"...


This Week:

Me: " I put you in time-out because I told you that you can't lick the slide outside, you need to say sorry"

Eli " Sorry, mama"

Me: "For?"

Eli: "Ever."

Ba da dum...