My 2 Year Olds!!

Hearing the words “they grow up so fast” always sounded so cliché to me…before I became a mom.  I am amazed at how fast they truly do grow up. 
Nate and Cam turned 2 years old on July 23, 2012.   
It was almost three years ago that we started on the road of doing IVF to get our cute little bundles of joy that we had waited years and years for.  As we went through the process of IVF it was amazing to see the process of how life is created.  There were a lot of injections, medications, ultrasounds, prodding, and probing but it was incredible to follow the process and understand what is needed in order to bring life into the world.  It was a long wait for these two little boys to finally get here, but oh so worth it.  And because we did it the nontraditional way, they had their first ever picture taken when they were only 5 day old embryos.  I’m thinking Nate is on the left and Cameron is on the right :)

And then two years ago, on July 23rd, they were born:

Never in a million years did I imagine that I would be a mother of twins.  It has been one of the most rewarding, fun, and entertaining things I have ever done and yet so hard! I was lucky to get two boys that are so incredibly different from one another.   
Nathan Reese:
Nathan, I am amazed at your patience that you have when I watch you and your brother play together.  You are the peacemaker. You realize that with most things, it just isn’t worth the fight.  I love your calm spirit that you have.  You push the limits with such a sweetness, that it’s almost hard to get after you for doing something wrong. You still love to be carried around, and I’m trying to remember to take advantage of that while I can. 
Over this last year you have grown and learned a lot! 
By the end of September 2011, you had learned to walk all by yourself!
In November 2011, you were able to say good-bye to that cute, but cumbersome, helmet that you had been wearing for about 8 months. 

Towards the end of October 2011, you committed your first crime!  From your stroller, you swiped a candy bar off of the bottom shelf at the grocery store while I was unloading the groceries at the checkout.  You proceeded to much on the candy bar until you were caught in the act once we got out to the car.
You continued to learn more and more words. 
By March 2012, you were saying two syllable words like “apple.” And by your 2nd birthday, you were easily saying two words together (“bye car”) and starting to say three words together (“love you, Grandpa”).  You’re pretty good at counting to ten (skipping 5, 6, and 7) and can recognize most of the letters in the alphabet.
The best word that describes you is jovial.  You love to jump in your crib when I come to get you in the morning and are the chattiest when you just wake up.  You always leave me wanting more hugs and kisses from you.  You get a twinkle in your eye when you’re having a good time being chased by daddy, or running around the room screaming with your brother.  You love playing with cars and your favorite car is a Lightning McQueen (not because you know who he is, but because it’s just the right size and shape to fit in your hand).  You love to compare things as either “little” (said in a high soft squeaky voice) or “big” (said in a deep voice).  You love to sing “Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam” and your favorite book to read is “Goodnight Gorilla.”

Cameron Vin:
Cameron, you are my cuddle boy.  You stop what your playing just to come over to me and surprise me with hugs and kisses.  You are opinionated with what you want in life. You always make sure that if you have something, Nathan also has one.  You are starting to want to do things all by yourself. 
You have learned and grown a lot this past year:
In September 2011, you began walking all by yourself!
In November 2011, you discovered that your favorite thing to do is climb.  Once you discovered your ability to climb to high places, you’ve never looked back.


In January 2012, you and Nate played in the snow for the first time.
You and Nate have been such great little movers as we have moved from Oregon, to Washington, to Utah, to Arizona, and then back to Utah all within a years time.
By the time you turned two, you were saying “thank you” and counting to ten.  You know almost every letter of the alphabet and you can repeat any word or short phrase we say to you. 
Cam, the best word that describes you is persistent.  You love to watch tv and play with balls.  Your favorite toy is the golf club at Grandma Farr’s house.  You love to play “nigh-night” and hide and seek.  You ask to jump on the tramp constantly until we finally go out and jump.  You and Nate both like to play in the car.  You love to carry small things (like marbles, cars, small toys) in your left hand and I think you hold it there for so long that you sometimes forget it is even there.  Your favorite song is “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and your favorite book is “Goodnight Gorilla.”

We celebrated Nate and Cam’s 2nd birthday the day before at my parent’s house with all of my family.  My mom made Elmo cupcakes:


Nate and Cam received some bikes from their Grandma and Grandpa Brady.

On their birthday, I took them to the McDonalds play place, where they had the entire place to themselves!
 

We had dinner and cake and opened presents that night at Grandma and Grandpa Farr’s house. They got some art boards from Grandma and Grandpa. 




You boys are so fun to play with every day and keep me entertained and busy every second.  While it is exciting to see you learn and try new things every day, I wish you’d slow down a bit.  You’re growing too fast!