January has definitely brought runny noses to the Payne household. Ethan just recently recovered from another ear infection and the twins finally had their first sickness this week. I didn't think both of them would get sick at the same time but I should have known since they are right next to eachother almost all the time. We are seeing some improvement today so I took the opportunity to take a few quick shots of them while they were smiling.

The boys are 8 months as of yesterday and it's hard to believe they were once so tiny. Carson weighs in at 17.5 pounds and Mason at 16.5! I love the fact that they are getting chubby wrists and legs! Here they are in the exersaucer and jumparoo having a blast.

I had to post this because it definitely shows Mason is not feeling so hot. If you've ever been around him, you know that it takes a lot for him to be upset. This just looked like such a sad face. Yucky runny noses!

Carson is only a couple of weeks away from full on crawling! There's no turning back now I guess but I have to say that I'm in complete denial and we're so not ready for them to be off and exploring. The next project will be babyproofing!

This is just before naptime and they are looking ready for it! Let's hope for healthier kiddos next week!

Baby food galore!! I always thought Ethan was a big eater at this stage. I was clearly wrong. The twins were slow to start with the baby food but they're definitely making up for lost time! Eric and I, and all of the other families with multiples are keeping Gerber in business!

Above is a picture of just some of the weekly damage of buying food for the twins.

Thank goodness for lots of cabinet space! I don't think we could have found a place for all of this in our old house. Sadly, this amount of food will only last us a week and a half! I wish I was one of those people who could whip up batches of fresh baby food... but I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'll probably never do this. I admire my good friend Julie for this very thing. She is always throwing things in the cuisinart (pizza, avacado, pasta, etc.) for her son, and she is always trying to talk me into doing this for the twins. God bless her for trying, but I can hardly find time to cook my own food, let alone prepare the massive amounts of food I would need to feed these boys! Thank God for Gerber!

Right before mealtime. Once they see the jars of food, it's all over. They scream in fits of fury until they get the food. Then it's a race to see how quickly I can shovel it their mouths. If one sees the other being fed, he will scream in envy until he gets a scoop. I think it's safe to say that mealtime is not my favorite most relaxing thing right now.

Happy and content boys!

Ethan's current favorite book is titled 'Big Little'. We have to read this book before every bedtime and naptime. When I first introduced the book to him, I would talk in a high voice to emphasize things that are little. He picked up on that and ever since then, we have to make a big deal out of the word "little". Click on the video above if you want to see a cutie!

Last night, January 2nd, Ethan spiked a fever of 103.8! I frantically called my sister and then our pediatrician's office for some advice. We put him in the bathtub which brought it down a little, and took his tempurature every hour and a half to see if it was going down. He is fine this morning but I still decided to keep him home from playgroup.

Since I knew he would probably get restless from just sitting around all morning, I planned to get the fingerpaints out and do some art with him. As you can see, he had no interest in this whatsoever. He watched Toy Story as I sat and painted.

I just had to show off my artwork! I never knew how much I liked to fingerpaint. Needless to say, the morning flew by for me. Ethan seemed to feel better and better. I'm so glad he's back to normal! High fevers are scary!

This was taken a couple of days before Ethan got sick. As you can see, I'm not looking my best at all! I forgot to mention that I was sick before Ethan. The trip to Texas must have really worn me out. My New Year's Eve consisted of me going to bed at 8:00. On the upside, I did get some time to just hang out and relax with the boys.

Christmas 2007 came and went in the blink of an eye. Perhaps everything seemed like such a blur because we decided to drive to Texas this year. It took us a full 26 hours each way (that includes 90 minute stops every 4.5 hours) and let's just say that will be the first and last time we ever do that again! The kids did great but we're still recovering from the journey! After spending a few days in Dallas/Ft. Worth with Eric's side of the family, it was off to Round Rock to see my side of the family. We had a blast as usual and the kids received toys, toys, and more toys! Enjoy the pictures below!

I got the chance to spend some time with my good friend Lindsay. She was my college roomie and we're still great friends to this day!

Hmm....I wonder what Ethan is getting for his 3rd birthday??? He loved being driven around by Ryan.

Ryan was nice enough to pass his mouse ears down to Ethan. Needless to say, this is now one of his most prized posessions! He just had to wear them on our drive back to Nevada. He got lots of attention in McDonald's, which he loved!

The twins really loved all the toys they received for Christmas. They insisted on both playing with the piano at the same time.

Here are just some more photos from our Christmas trip in Texas. I couldn't resist putting these on the blog.

Papa and Eric in their college t-shirts. The OSU shirt was part of Papa's gift this year. Now he can proudly wear it while walking the dogs.

Ethan and Ryan always jump on the upstairs couch in the playroom. This went on for almost an hour! They are wild when they get together! It's really a lot of fun for Ethan since his brothers are too small to play with him.

One of the highlights of the trip was getting together with my sorority sister from college. Meredith and her husband Mark always go out of their way to visit us during our trip to Texas for Christmas. We always have such a blast with them...the time together always goes too fast!

Papa was a big help when it came time to feed the twins. Here is Mason covered in sweet potatoes!

The twins finally got to meet their baby cousin Kaitlyn. They enjoyed interacting with her and it was such a blast to see all of them together. I also enjoyed getting to hold her and feed her. It's amazing how fast the twins have grown. I can't remember them being as small as Kaitlyn!

Ethan enjoyed his one on one time with his Nana and Papa. We were so glad to have a couple of nights with everyone. With 3 babies and two kiddos in the house, Nana and Papa got a glimpse into the craziness of our everyday lives. It was fun!

Ryan just turned 4 years old on December 23rd. I cannot believe what a little boy he is now! His favorite thing is dressing up in superhero costumes. Here he is playing "Santa" disguised as Spiderman.

Our favorite gift we got Nana and Papa was the photo quilt. We had a bunch of family pictures (old and new) put on a quilt for them to hang in their house. I think it was a hit!