Oink, Oink!

It's been a LONG week in the Euhus household. We began the fun last Sunday afternoon when Josh suddenly spiked a fever of 103.5. We took him to the doctor Monday morning and confirmed that he had the dreaded swine flu. Tuesday we were back at the doctor to confirm Evan was also sick. Friday Josh finally made it back to school - praise God! - and Andrew was diagnosed with the flu as well as an ear infection. To make things even more fun, he broke out with a rash over his entire body. The doctor feels it's an allergic reaction to Tamiflu, so he's starting on a new antiviral medicine this afternoon. Craziness!

Dan went to the doctor Wednesday afternoon and he found out he has a sinus infection. The doctor feels he probably had the swine flu first and then passed it on to the rest of the family. I'm not sure it's possible at this point, but I'm praying hard that I manage to avoid getting sick. Let's just say I'm washing my hands constantly. But it seems like everyone needs extra love and kisses right now. :)

In spite of their illnesses, the twins have made yet more developmental advances this week. Evan and then Andrew have both figured out now how to stand up in the middle of the room without grabbing onto furniture (or a person). It's pretty impressive, especially considering Josh didn't have the skill mastered until 15 months. But it seems the twins encourage each other to do more and better things. Andrew has taken to trying to climb onto things, and reach as right as he can to grab things off counters and tables. And they both are enjoying closing doors. Fortunately they can't reach the locks yet, but people are getting fingers and heads bumped when a brother closes the door without looking for obstructions!

Josh practiced writing his name for me yesterday. I felt like he needed to do something after missing 4 days of school! He did a great job, even getting his "s" correct which he likes to write backwards. He was excited to be back at school today, and Mommy is looking forward to a quiet afternoon when the twins nap. :)

I've attached a couple close-ups of the twins. Those of you on Facebook have already seen these, but the grandparents have missed out. Love to all of you!

Belated 1st Birthday

I so meant to get this done a week ago! The twins celebrated their 1st birthday on September 26th. We had Dan's parents in town as well as his brother Jeff over for the birthday party. I figure we'll be inviting friends to birthday parties as they get older, so we wanted a smaller party this year. It was a fun and special day, especially as I remembered back to delivering them in the hospital last year. Even though we've already gone through this with Josh, it amazes me to think how much the twins have changed in 12 short months. As all of you parents can relate, it goes by so quickly!

We had angel food cake with buttercream frosting. Josh helped blow out the candles (one for each of them!) and then it was on to cake consumption. Andrew absolutely loved it! He grabbed the whole piece and tried to put it in his mouth. I shouldn't have been surprised considering he is the more daring of the twins. Andrew also is the one who will try anything you put on his tray, which is why he'll be moving to table foods quickly. Evan, on the other hand, really didn't want anything to do with the cake. He tried a little bit and wrinkled up his nose as if to say "this is far too sweet for my refined palate". Or something along those lines. :)



After cake, we opened presents. We kept it simple with a few small toys, books and clothes from family. The most exciting gift in the eyes of the twins was Bucky the Bouncy Horse. Initially they weren't sure about bouncing on a horse above the ground, but they quickly began to enjoy it. One of the pictures is of both of them on the horse at the same time. Evan, as is becoming characteristic, has his tongue sticking out in the picture. He tends to do that when he is excited about something. All in all, I think they had a good day although I'm pretty sure they didn't understand what all the fuss was about!

A quick update on their progress... Andrew is of course walking everywhere. He pretty much doesn't like to crawl anymore, except to get to the closest item to pull up on. Evan is now walking more and can get across the room without falling. He's more cautious than his brother, but they love to play together. Unfortunately, they tend to find those things I'd rather they not play with! Andrew has finally figured out how to clap his hands together, a skill Evan mastered 2 months ago. They are "talking" more all the time and they love to laugh. The two pictures below are closeups I managed to get of their cute smiles. Evan is on the top and Andrew below. We are so blessed by our 3 sons!