before it gets too late...

As of Jan 27, 2012 Thaddeus & Shepherd are 11 months old.
I figured I better post a little something about them before they turn 1....especially since it's so soon!
I'm excited to celebrate their birthdays and have a little party for them.
They've come such a long way......
But I'm getting ahead of myself.... 
((I'm sure I'll write a teary-eyed, "remember-when" post in just a few short weeks. ;))

I DO have every little milestone recorded on my phone notepad (have found that this is the absolute best place...I always have it with me, it cannot be tossed away, and I can record it asap).
I'll do another "events to date" post with complete specifics on who (including the big guys) did what and when, but for now, I'll just write the fun new things that have occured in the past few weeks:

Shepherd started crawling somewhere between the 10-11 month mark.  He was always so content to just sit, and we sorta thought it'd just be awhile for him, since he didn't seem to care that he wasn't on the move.  But one day, he just up and crawled!  He cracks us up because he's so silent when he moves around.  All the sudden, he's at your feet....as opposed to Thad who makes a gigantic entrance wherever he goes. 
Thaddeus is especially speedy.  If you dare to open the bathroom door, the refrigerator, or the dishwasher, T will be RIGHT THERE before you can blink.  Believe it.  And shut it...quick! :)
Thaddeus reminds us of Templeton from the book 'Charolettes Web'.  You know...the rat that likes to eat garbage?  My baby likes it too....stuff that humans throw away.  On vacation I had to swab a tiny dead frog out of his mouth.  Just the other day I saw him in the kitchen sucking on a banana peel surrounded by a dirty diaper and a bunch of wet napkins. He is regularly found sitting in a pile of unrolled toilet paper, half wet from playing in the potty.
Some of T's newest tricks?  Standing unaided for what seems like forever...even in the bathtub where it's slippery!   ...And speaking of the potty, he's figured out how to flush the toilet (though I wish he'd use this skill BEFORE he plays in the potty....)  YUCK!
How 'bout Shepherd?  He's constantly surprising us at the adorable little things he picks up. For instance: He recently started make kissing noises. I suppose me smooching him 10000x a day has helped. Now, though, I walk into a room...and he'll spot me then immediately starts singing "Maaama" and making kissing noises.  He is a momma's boy...for certain.  Shep will also try to do jumping jacks.  ;)
I've been getting on Cale to try and exercise more (I know...I'm one to talk), so we will all count out jumping jacks while he does them.  The other day we stopped to watch Shepper put his hands in the air and wave them while saying something that sounded like "two" - ...he really is good with the words. 
I still swear he answers me "yah" when I ask him stuff. 

11 months old.  Crazy.
 I suppose it's time now, to go ahead and make this statement:
I actually do love having twins.
Yep, I put it out there.  ;)  I have always loved my babies individually, seperately and fiercely...as I do all my boys.  But until very recently I couldn't make the blanket statement "I love having twins."
Because............It's a lot of work, folks.
But - I suppose it's worth it.  :)

Besides...Tim and I came to the conclusion that we couldn't decide which of these two we'd want to have first and which we'd want to wait for. ;)