Twinned

Freshman year of college, Jesse was attending a Bible study in his dorm led by a wise upperclassman named Dave Yescott when he first met Steve Miller. Little did Jesse and Steve know how much their their paths (and sense of humor) would overlap over the next four years. They became fast friends. Since college days, even their family lives have mirrored one another's. When Steve and Marcia moved from the Boston area to the Philly area several years ago, we had no idea that we were shortly going to be leaving Boston for Lancaster ourselves. Zachary was born barely three months after we had Josiah in 2006, and in the most recent installment of our twinned lives, William and Eli were born all of one week apart last fall! They're now down in Maryland, and we made the three hour drive last weekend. If our boys' friendships can be anything as good as what their parents are fortunate enough to enjoy today, they'll be lucky little men indeed. 

Will and Eli's first meeting was a hit!

We tried to visit a playground and had fun in spite of the fact that the snow hadn't been cleared.

The boys (all of them) enjoyed lots of crashing and football. Even Teddies got in on the game!

Walkin' and stompin' up the street. 

We even found we have matching Bumbos for our babies. We wish we lived closer, Steve and Marcia!!

Cocooning

When one's husband is again out of the country (to gorgeously warm places, I might add), and the weather back home looks like this:

it makes sense to simply stay inside and do this:

as a woefully too small treat for the hands-down amazing neighbors who help and do this:

since I can't exactly go outdoors and shovel for hours leaving this or this:

We've received another foot and a half of snow (on top of the ~20 inches we got over the weekend) with sustained winds anywhere between 25 and 40 mph, which apparently meets the criteria for a blizzard. It's utterly ridiculous out there. The top photo was taken before it even got bad! For the first time in 5 years I was forced to call off my classes today due to weather, since this single mom couldn't quite pull it all off. I don't feel too guilty; the entire region is in a state of lock-down and emergency! Jesse, I desperately hope you can fly home on Friday. I fear the airports are going to be reeling for a looong time...and I might be too! 

Miscellaneous stats

Number of inches of snow we got today: 18

How many hours Jesse went without seeing a bed on his long journey home this week: 49

How much William weighs now at four months: 16 lbs 6 oz

Number of times Josiah asked to go out sledding this morning before it was time: I lost count somewhere north of 15

How far I can open my mouth with the growing size and pain of this cold sore: less than 1 inch

How many calories Jesse must have burned today in 3+ hours of shoveling and 2 hours of snow play with Josiah: hundreds and hundreds

Percentage of the day William had to be held and cuddled because he seems to be feeling a bit under the weather (due to vaccinations yesterday, perhaps?): 90

How happy we are on a scale of 1 to 10 that Daddy's safely home: 348

Here's what's making me happy today:

How much Josiah loves his little brother.

And how much William looks up to Josiah already.

A photo and a video as evidence....

Josiah reading to William 2/4/10 from Krista Casler on Vimeo.

On the subject of kissing

When you return, Jesse, there's this chubby loveliness ready for nuzzling and kissing:

Or these super cute cheeks, peeking out from under your hat:

But I'm afraid my lips are off limits, as I'm wearing stress and sleep-deprivatioon* on my face in the form of a nasty, rapidly developing cold sore. Very sad:

*To be honest, I'm okay with the cold sore. Happy, even. I have a bad track record with the immune system nosedive triggered by excessive stress+sleep deprivation. Got shingles a few years back after an all-nighter finishing my dissertation (same base virus as the cold sore, so this is much preferred!). Got bronchitis and pneumonia while pregnant with Josiah in a similar set of circumstances. Yep, this is definitely much preferred! 

This little piggy

Josiah and Nannan made piggy cookies yesterday. Aren't they great? Actually, I was informed that although Josiah helped with the sugar cookie dough, Tim and Mom formed and baked the little oinkers since Josiah was preoccupied at that point with another activity. He happily came 'round again when it was time to eat. :)
(By the way...it's been so wonderful to have Mom and Dad here these last few crazy days. They're the only reason I'm still clinging to sanity!)

Dear Jesse,

Hello, my darling. I'm sorry for the lack of blog posting or updates. Being prepared for work this week and snatching a few (oh, too few, too few) hours of sleep are keeping me and Blogger apart. But rest assured that your little family is still here, and we are still well, and we of course still miss you like the dickens! 

How are you? Have your meetings been productive? Is it a nice change of pace to be in 90+ degree heat? Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning, so 6 more weeks of winter for us. Enjoy the Congolese sun while you have it.

Keep checking back, as I'll do my best to provide some photos of the boys soon. In the meantime, you can take my word that they're still as cute as ever. 

Love,

K