Devreee's 80's Stomp

My life...

This morning my alarm went off.

I couldn't believe it! 

I had slept through the night! 

Without getting up to go to the bathroom or tossing and turning trying to NOT look at the clock  - telling myself my 5:15 am alarm will be going off any second - only to finally look at the clock and realize it is only 3:30 am! (An every night occurrence!)

I laid there this morning thinking how great I should feel -not waking up and sleeping soundly through the night - but yet, not feeling very rested.

Hum....

I had my little angle/devil talk in my head that I do every morning about getting up to go to the gym.

Angel: Just get up, you know you will feel guilty later. 

Devil: But you could exercise LATER, you don't really have to get up.

Angel: But you know you probably WON'T exercise later, you have a crazy day. Just get up

Devil: Or just go back to sleep.

I decided to listen to Angel - no, she doesn't always win, lately Devil has been a lot more persuasive - I sat up to turn my alarm off - I'm such a light sleeper that I have my alarm on the radio setting at a very low volume. I doubt it even wakes up James on the other side of the bed.

I looked at the clock.

It was 12:01 am !
No wonder I didn't feel rested or wake up or need a bathroom break.

I had been asleep for an hour and 15 minutes!!

Good grief.

(Power glitch earlier in the week had made my clock blink and I reset but apparently forgot about my alarm.)

I set my alarm for the correct time and went back to bed!

College Catch Up!

(I stole all of these pictures off of Face Book.)

Kambree is having a blast at school. 

Here's the proof:

 (This guy is named Riley. We already have a Rylee. Guess what his middle name is? Austin. We have one of those too. I told her that this guy just won't work.)

 This was called a "foam" dance.

First Day Of School!

Not sure what the face paint is  about....

And not sure what the open mouth pose is about either....

First Day of Clinical Rotation

I think these are musicians (well, duh?) but someone that performed and she got her picture with.

New hair cut & color (she came home for this!)

At least I know she's taking care of her skin....

I know this girl is named Emily. (Not sure about the other girls names in the other pictures)

I LOVE these pictures.
Eighties Party!
(I know....she looks an awful lot like me at her age!)

With her retainer and MY actual high school glasses!

And yes, I use to wear my bangs this big too!

So funny!

 

 

 This is a new guy named Travis. We don't  have a Travis. He makes me a little nervous because she seems to like him quiet a bit and he's a "country" boy - the most dangerous type. (I should know, I married one!) Kambree's usually all about "the chase" and once she turns their head, she's done. I'm good with that. She's only 19. But this guy?? Hum....time will tell. He is cute though - and at least he has his OWN name!

Alex's Concert Critique

 I just had to document Alex's concert critique for his choir class. He wrote this ALL by himself (I would have helped him but he did it and handed it in without my assistance).

I saw the Murray High School Beginning concert.

It was in Murray High School.

 The performers are. Hand bell Choir, Bel canto, women’s choir, men’s choir and A Cappella choir.

They performed vocal and instruments.

The hand bell people whore black tuxedo’s.

The women’s choir whore  blue and silver. The girls wore blue and silver dresses  the boys whore Sunday shirts and black Sunday pants.

The kept the tempo  nice and soft. They did the best  thing in Rhythm, Dynamics , balance and texture.  I like Hie Away because the song was about cow boy’s that where on the Hie Away and sing about girls . They made me feel like I was meant to sing.

As I saw the concert it show us how good we will get when we go to High School, and we will go thought out of a lot experiences and we will show good examples  to other kid that want to sing.

We should be exited to do concerts because when you don’t have a job you can always  sing in karaoke and you can get a little bit of money.

Thought out live we should always try sing when we don’t feel like it.

It actually makes you feel better when you sing. 

By. Alex Richhart

 

Hugging Help Please!

So....I mentioned that Alex has been on a "I love you" kick a couple of posts back? It's sweet and all but after 5 or 6 hugs and one long "hand hold" during homework correction, then another, "Mom, I need another hug" interruption while working on the computer,  I had to nix it. I mean really?
It's great to be loved but 5 or 6 hugs in a two hour period? 

That's just too many! 

Isn't it?

And it's not a quick hug, it's a FOREVER HUG with kisses on the cheeks and proclamations "Mom, I am going to give you your best hug of the day!" or "Mom I love you so, so much!"
And it's been going on for a LONG TIME and getting to be MORE and MORE. (I keep thinking he'll get over it but when?)

So, I told him how much I love him but that we don't need to hug so much. It's just not normal. 

Oh dear.

I hope I have done the right thing.

He handled it well but watch him never hug me again?

Oh yikes.

But seriously.

If they made a Moby Wrap for 13 year old's - and I had the strength to carry him in it - I'm sure he wouldn't mind....as long as no one else was watching.

I know he missed out on a lot of hugs and kisses as a small boy but, I think I've pretty much made up for them in the past 2.5 years. Yep. Pretty sure I have hugged him more than some of my other children combined!  I like to hug but every 15 minutes?

Anyone else have this issue with their adopted children?

(My apologies to those that have anti-affectionate kiddo's - I know it sounds like a pregnant lady complaining about morning sickness to the lady that can't conceive and for that I am sorry.)  But for the others with love bugs like mine? What did you do? Did you have to draw lines or come out and talk about it? I just thought it would wear off. It is wearing,  just not off! 

Please comment!
~Wendy

PS (Whew, he came in to ask me a question and wrapped his arm around my shoulder and placed his cheek against mine - so I don't think I need to worry about the "Will he ever hug me again?" issue as stated above. However, that would technically be a hug - only in sideways fashion - wouldn't it? So,  I guess my "We should hug a little less." talk may not have done any good?)

This and That

Last night Alex got it in his head that he was going to re-learn his Ukrainian and asked me to set up the Rosetta Stone. (Rosetta Stone has a Russian program not Ukrainian but Alex claims it's close enough.)  I happily obliged and we went through the first exercise together. I then sent him to his bath and told him he could come back and do some afterwords. He was tickled that he learned four words. Cat, Dog, Girl, Boy after completing the first exercise. Before leaving for his bath, he matter of factually informed me that when he comes back, I better come in and talk to him every five minutes so he doesn't forget his "American."

(I tried really hard not to laugh out loud.)

I needed to run Devree to a party and run a few errands. When I came back Alex was waiting for me. He decided that I should learn Russian with him and had been waiting for me. "Come on mom, let's learn Russian together."

So we sat down together and started exercise number two. I'm not a huge fan of Rosetta Stone. They tend to show you four pictures, say a word and you guess what picture. To me it's more like a game of memory. Just click on the picture that hasn't been chosen yet. Rylee joined us and she was doing better than Alex or I - that didn't sit well with Alex, I finally told her to just help me guess. I did get to where I could make out certain words, like the word for horse sounds like Alex's Ukraine name and the word for three sounds like our three but today I can't remember or say anything! (However, truth be told, I did better than Alex.)

I always call Alex "my baby boy". Not in a name calling way - like it might sound - but in a sweet "Oh, my baby boy" way and after going through five or six exercises we figured out how to say "My baby boy" in Russian. "Mir-a My-chink Ribiona" (But I couldn't remember it today - I had to holler to Alex and ask him again how to say it just to spell it phonetically on this blog.) 

((Sigh.))

I really do think those that speak many languages - or even just two - have a gift. A gift that I apparently forgot to put on my registry? 

Today in church Devree was asking me if her eyelashes looked long? My girls are really into long lashes and use this stuff that's suppose to make them grow. I have some too but I don't have enough time and patience to apply it. Alex upon hearing Devree ask about her eyelashes asked me, "Is my mustache long?" I looked at him puzzled. I asked "What mustache?" Then he pointed to his eyelashes. "What are those Alex?" "Oh. Not mustache. Eyebrows." "Nope." I said. "Guess again."  "Oh, eyelashes." "Yes, your eyelashes are long." And they are, any girl would love to have them. He hates them and tells me he is going to trim them with scissors.

Austin is playing McDonald's Monopoly game. He's pretty serious about it. He heard that all the Boardwalk pieces are on one side of the country and "Parkplace" on the other. He only needs a Boardwalk for a million dollars so he called my mom to get him one while she's out flying. (My mom's a flight attendant.) He promises he'll split the million with her after taxes.He also promises to take us all out to sushi. Nice.

My Grandma Lee had a nasty fall on Saturday. 

She fell down some cement stairs and hit her back and head. 

She was rushed to the hospital and after many x-rays and CT's later released with a hairline crack in her back and a small head cut. (It didn't even need stitches.)

My mom was flying, my Dad and brothers were hunting and I knew my mom would be in a panic so I rearranged my Saturday to be up at the hospital with grandma. I left my mom a couple of very calm messages on her voice mail - she was in the air - but despite my calmest delivery , she was a basket case and flew home immediately. I picked her up Saturday afternoon.

Grandma Lee is okay and staying with my mom for the next few days.

My kids had an epiphany this afternoon. Devree asked "So if grandma is your mom and she's taking care of her mom, does that mean we have to take care of you?" "YES!" I exclaimed. "You all get to take care of me." Hum...no one said much after that. 

I am watching my brothers girlfriend's dog, Dexter for the weekend.  He's a tiny Yorkie. He and Ella get along okay after they warm up to each other. But I've taken to calling Dexter, "Timmy", and Ella, "Lassie". As "Lassie" is always looking out for "Timmy". At three this morning, apparently "Timmy" used the dogie door to go out but couldn't remember how to get back in. "Lassie" was asleep on my bed -like always- and she sat up suddenly, growled and took off running and barking down the stairs and then remained downstairs barking "rescue" barks -very loudly - until I came down and let "Timmy" in the back door.

Good grief. 

Funny thing is, my kids have no idea who Timmy and Lassie are.

James is at work. The garbage disposal must know this as it decided to stop working this afternoon. Funny how the mechanical things in our home respect him so much more than they do me. Sometimes all I have to do is get him on the phone and they suddenly start working. I am hoping that the disposal will magically start working as I've already done my broom handle trick and it's yet to respond.

Well, that's all for now. 

Das-va-dona!
Which I think is good-bye in Russian?

That or something Arnold Schwarzenegger says.....

 

Almost Three Years

Yesterday the weather was horrid. 

Horrid I say.

What was suppose to be rain turned into slushy snow and the whole day was just dreary.

I drove my junior high kids to school.

I realize I only have one junior high child (Alex) but he walks each day with two girls in our neighborhood and his cousin, Brach. 

My sister and I decided that the boys can walk while the weather is good and then a neighbor friend, Abbie asked if she could join them. I have Abbie's sister Beth each morning for about 30 minutes before school. She comes and practices the piano and reads until it's time for the elementary children to walk to school. She is Rylee's age. 

Abbie is a grade above Alex but technically his age. (As Alex is old for his grade.)

So, Abbie joined the Junior High walk to school this year. (They just moved in last year.) Katie who lives across the street joined in a couple of weeks later.

I have many children coming and going in the morning that I just leave the door open and I've instructed them to just walk in. (Our dog doesn't bark if they just walk in but if they ring the doorbell? Good grief.)

Both Abbie and Beth are adopted from China. Darling girls.

The first day I saw Alex and Abbie leave to met Brach at the bottom of the hill I thought about these two former orphans from opposite sides of the globe, now here in families, walking to school together. It gave me chills to think how their futures could have been so much different. 

Anyway, so yesterday I'm taking the kids to school and Abbie remarked how she's been here for ten months now. Katie remarked how long she'd lived in the area and Brach too. Alex pipped in with I've been here 2 years and 2 months. I did the math and pointed out that at the end of this month he will have been here 2 years and SIX months. And that on the 18th of this month, we will have known him for three years. (The day he arrived for the hosting program three years ago.)

Wow. Three years. 

I can't imagine my life without Alex. 

What would I do with my time? And more importantly, what would I blog about?? (JK)

He is such a sweet boy. 

It took us awhile and a lot of work to get to this point but it was so worth it. Yes, he's  trying at times - as anyone that follows this blog can attest - but mostly, he's just sweet and eager to please and so loves having a family and a place to call home.

He's really on a "I love you Mom" kick. I think I hear it about ten times a day.

And despite these two girls standing in the house, waiting for Alex (as I'm always reminding him to brush his teeth or wear a jacket or did he grab his lunch?) each morning,  he'll come right up to me and hug me or kiss my cheek goodbye before leaving for school. Love that. Love that he doesn't care about being cool as much as he cares about showing love. I hope that never changes.

Yesterday he came home and I had my hair in hot rollers. He was trying to hug me while sitting at my computer but my rollers were in the way, it was sort of like hugging a porcupine. He started asking me about what it was like to wear rollers? How did I get them in? (He is so very curious about all things.)  I asked him if he'd like to take them out for me? 

YES! 

I don't think I've ever had anyone be softer and more gentle with my hair. Ever. He was so sweet. When they were all out he told me it looked beautiful. "You look beautiful mom."

And with that he gave me a hug and went off to start his homework. 

This week so far.....

Saying goodbye to Kambree as she heads back to school after coming home for Conference.

Canned 12 pints today.....

1st Choir Concert of the year for Devree & Austin.

(I don't know why I try to take pictures when they're on stage, they always turn out bad but  Devree is 2nd one over on the 2nd from the top roll.)

This one you can sort of see Austin, 5th over, 2nd roll down, sort of looking to your left.

And with the girls.

Walking off....

Devree & Austin

Alex and Brach came to get a concert attendance for their music class but mostly played with their I-pods/cell phones through the whole thing. (See video below for evidence.)  Ry just tagged because she's lucky that way. (Or not - according to her!) 

Oh, and by the way, I was working so hard on Austin not looking like a gangster in the picture below - that I didn't catch Devree with her Billy Bob teeth look. Alex obviously did because he's laughing so hard his eyes have disappeared!

Dev with her friend Veronica!

Austin with Marissa and another girl on the end. (Not sure of her name, I'm going with Amy, I think Amy?) 

A blip of Dev's concert - with a sneak peak of how the sibling patrons spend their time:

I totally forget to video Austin's performance until the last like 9 seconds. 

Oops. 

Well, for what it's worth.....

On the way out to the car Alex asked,  "Can I ride IN the shotgun?" As opposed to "I call shotgun!" or "Shotgun no battle!" or just plain "Shotgun!" It made me laugh. Poor kid. First off the English language is hard enough, then add similes, metaphors, sayings/expressions and top it off with some teenage slang/crazy words  (As in: "This is so sick or dope" which translated means "This is so cool or awesome.") and it's a wonder he's able to communicate at all!

He's getting it!

Alex has been mowing lawns this summer and has managed to (begrudgingly) open a savings account with twenty five of those precious dollars and save another $125. 

He has been plotting and planning what to buy with this money all month - claiming it's "the most money I ever have!".

First he was obsessing with buying a cell phone -as mentioned in an earlier post.  Last week Rylee mentioned Christmas and drawing names and it dawned on him that he will need money for Christmas shopping and he laid his head on the table and groaned,  "Presents?". It was very apparent that the idea of saving his money to buy Christmas presents is the lowest thing on his list! It was almost comical. I took him aside later and asked him how he would feel if he told me his birthday was next month and I acted like he did, throwing my head in my hands and saying "I have to buy you a present? Grrr..." He admitted he would feel bad. 

But apparently not bad enough to make a difference in his plan to spend his money?

He decided to buy an I-pod touch. 

Not too sure I'm happy about that but he agreed to some basic rules and guidelines with regards to it's use. Of course he doesn't have near enough for a new one but I got him on KSL and he called on a few used ones and found one close by for $120. Just in his price range. He arranged to meet the lady Saturday morning and took James with him. It is practically new. It's an older generation and doesn't take pictures or video but he is thrilled with it. (He asked the lady if she would "take a discount" very nicely and she said no but then sold it to him for $110 anyway - probably because he asked so very nicely!)

He has even figured out how to text on it! So it's almost like a phone. Of course he needs Wi-fi to text but he is in 7th Heaven!

After the priesthood session last night, he went to his first girl/boy party. It was a birthday party.  He was so excited to go but very disappointed afterwords as they sat around and didn't do a whole lot, some kids left and some girls cried over hurt feelings or whatever 7th grade drama they had drummed up.

I was standing in the kitchen checking my emails before heading to bed when he came up after the party and told me how much he had missed me. Such a funny kid. Who misses there mom at their first girl/boy party? I gave him a hug but he decided that hugging wasn't enough, he wanted me to sit down and hold him. I said I would right after I checked my emails when what to my wondering eyes appeared in my in-box???

I had won an E-bay bid for a BROKEN I-pod touch that I had not bid on or knew anything about.

What the heck?

Alex immediately denied having anything to do with it. 

After logging on to see my winning bid - A $51 broken I-pod needing a screen, a battery & with water damage I discovered that whoever placed this bid, set the max bid at $111 + $5 for shipping.  It was just too apparent that this was the workings of one uneducated, button pushing, new to eBay, excited young boy, making bids willy-nilly named.....ALEX!

Yep.

Sure enough.

Oh my. After getting the truth he claimed to not even know what a bid was. Which seems to be the problem we have every time he gets on a computer. He doesn't know what he's doing but proceeds with all confidence that he does.  Usually it's just downloading a lot of crap or importing music into programs that bogs down my Mac. But this was a new one. He actually placed a bid on an I-pod he didn't even know was broken. James was livid. (I have to admit I was too but was calmer than James.  But that's usually how James and I tag-team. One of us has to be calmer and rational. 95% of the time I'm the crazy, yelling, threatening one and he's the voice of reason, but not this time!)

After hearing it from James he came in to my office and told me how sorry he was. Keep in mind, Alex rarely apologizes without me reminding/prompting/requiring him too. So this was big. 

I knew he felt bad. 

I know he didn't know what he was doing but this is just why we have not allowed him on the computer. I thought getting him on the KSL sight was pretty safe. 

Wrong-o.

I told him I accepted his apology but he'd have to pay for this item to make things right. He promptly gave me his last $15 dollars and we set up a chart to document each time he makes a payment. I explained how eBay works and then sent him off to his bath

After his bath he came down all bleary eyed asked if we could talk in private. He sat me down in my office and with eyes brimming with tears he suggested that we make a rule that he doesn't get on computer because he doesn't know what he's doing. 

I almost fell of my chair.
I told him that was probably a good idea and talked to him about how if he had only asked and communicated we could have helped him with this. That we have helped the other children place bids and pay for things. He just needs to communicate. 
I then asked if he would still like me to hold him? He threw himself in my arms and sobbed "But I hurt your feelings!"  Oh, be still my heart. Is this boy actually getting it? Luckily he couldn't see my beaming smile as I held him and told him that the fact that he feels so bad and said sorry and is trying to make things right, makes my feelings feel better already. Everything will be okay.

We both learned something last night. 

He learned what a bid was, how binding it is and hopefully to COMMUNICATE with his parents before ever doing something like this again.

I learned not to save my user name and password on my PC and that Alex - after years of talks and rants about being truthful, saying sorry, hurting feelings is getting it! 

By George.....he's getting it!

Full Circle Moments

 Kambree
Kam is home for conference weekend and my baby girl is growing up!
You hope and pray, as you raise your children, that they will learn everything they need to know. That they will make good choices. That when it comes to dating and selecting a spouse they'll use wise judgment and realize just what a HUGE and important decision they are making.
Kambree's young and she's usually about the chase and once she turns a boys head and he starts liking her, she's done. I like this approach because I don't worry too much about her getting married anytime soon. But last year, I picked up on her turning the heads of some boys that really didn't have her values and ideals. They were fun, party-type guys with a few bad habits.  I wasn't too worried because again, she's about the chase but you know what they say...."You always ended up marrying the guys you date." and there were a few guys I didn't want to be calling son in law anytime soon!
So it warmed my heart to lay next to her on her bed last night and hear about the latest boy. Travis. And to hear about his character and the long talks and great personality this boy has. (Truth be told it scared me a little. He's a country boy and they are dangerous. I should know. I married one!) It was nice to hear her admit that she'd been dating guys in the past not up to her standards and that she had made some personal goals and changes in her life.
Now don't get me wrong. I don't want to be planning any weddings anytime soon BUT I love that she's hanging out with guys that can take her to the temple and be a good husband and father because...."You always end up marrying the guys you date!"  

Austin
Last week was our primary program. During the last song "Armies of Heleman" the 16 & 17 year old boys had been invited to walk up and sing the last verse with the primary children. I had no idea what song or what the plan was until it happened. So there's Austin up there. Almost 6 foot tall, 185 pounds, suit and tie singing the last verse with the little primary kids:
. 

 We know his plan, and we will prepare,
Increase our knowledge through study and prayer.
Daily we’ll learn until we are called
To take the gospel to all the world.

Chorus
We are as the army of Helaman.
We have been taught in our youth.
And we will be the Lord’s missionaries
To bring the world his truth.

Oh my goodness. I lost it. I didn't just cry I sobbed. In my mind it seems like yesterday that he was primary aged, reciting a memorized part, standing up-sitting down, singing -or in Austin's case not really singing. Then to see him standing there practically full grown. Knowing that in less than 18 months time he could be on a mission. I just couldn't stop crying. Devree looked at me like I was crazy. James just patted my shoulder. Austin just rolled his eyes. He thinks I'm crazy too.

Alex
One of the biggest misconceived notions about adopting an orphan is that they'll be eternally grateful. That they'll realize the love and sacrifice spent on their behalf and spend their days thanking you & praising you for your efforts. I've had folks comment on how "happy and grateful" Alex must be about being adopted into our family.
Please.
He's a kid.
Upon arriving home he felt entitled to anything and everything his siblings had. (Think of the spoiled girl on Willy Wonka "I want it all. I want it right now....") After almost a year of him complaining and pointing out all the things that he was still lacking (I-pods, cell phones, etc.) we started his gratitude journal. Each day for over a year and a half he has had to come up with something he's grateful for. Often times he'll look around and write about the first thing he sees. He's mentioned being grateful for pencils, paper, fans, fridges, stoves just about every animate object within eye sight of wherever he is sitting and penning his journal.
That's fine. It's important to appreciate everything you have. (I, myself am very grateful for indoor plumbing, spell check and hair coloring.)
Over the course of the last 18 months of gratitude writing he has also written some sweet and appreciative stuff about having a family. Having a mom. Having a safe place to live.
I.EAT.IT.UP.
I do!
But I'm not a fool. I know a lot of it is written for my benefit. He's a smart kid. He knows what makes me happy and he wants to make me happy. And truthfully they DO make me happy and I'm not complaining as I'd take a penned expression of gratitude - be it just to appease me or in all sincerity - over no expression at all. Anyone would. It's a step in the right direction and honestly, I didn't adopt Alex to have him be eternally grateful, I adopted him because I felt so strongly that he was missing. That he was meant to be ours, that he was ours before this life and we just needed to find him.

Yesterday he was journal-ing a "Ukraine Memory" about the discipline tactics the orphanage used. (I love it when he chooses to write about his past. Not only for the remembrance value but for the healing that can happen. I believe and love the quote that says "Your past is just a story and once you realize that it has no power over you.") He wrote about being hit with a stick, sitting in a bucket of salt for not taking a bath all night and of course the naked walks of shame through his classroom for misbehavior.
I sat down with him to correct the sentence structure and spelling and swallowed my hurt heart about the content. As we were correcting Alex grasps my arm with both hands, lays his head against me and sighs with relief, "I am so grateful that you get me out of there mom.". It was the sweetest most sincere expression of gratitude I have ever had from Alex. It must have hit him full force that this could still be his life. I hugged him tight and told him how sorry I was that he had to experience any of this and that he is safe and home and will never go back there. I asked him if he believed me?  "Yes mom. I believed you would come get me from orphanage and I believe you now."

Rylee

Rylee has always been on board with our decision to adopt but I think secretly she's been a little disappointed that Alex:
a. wasn't a girl
and
b. was more like a brother.
They get along about 50% of the time. She sort of lost her position in the family. Although still physically the youngest she is certainly not the baby anymore. Alex has taken that position. Adopting -even at the age of ten - requires as much time, energy and patience as having a baby. Rylee has not so happily scoot over on her baby pedestal and Alex has had to share it - although somewhat begrudgingly about being on it at all !  We have had conversations and tears over "Alex always hugs you. You always tuck Alex in longer than me. You spend more time with Alex." which is all true. Alex does hug me all the time, it takes me longer to tuck Alex in as we are usually talking about some sort of behavior or issue we're working on and raising Alex and catching him up with all he's missed just takes a lot of time!
Friday night Alex and Rylee spent the evening with mutual friends. Two were friends of Alex's adopted from the same Ukraine orphanage the other, a sister for Rylee to play with that she adores. They had a lovely time but these boys are still pretty fresh from the orphanage and a bit wild and crazy.

After a fun filled night of games and rides at Hollywood Connection the friends went home and Rylee said in comparison to these two high spirited boys,  "I am so glad that Alex is my brother!"
 Alex grinned from ear to ear. It's always good to hear you are wanted. And this was a first from Rylee.
Alex then piped in "And I am so glad you didn't adopt another Ukraine kid!" Apparently these two boys - as much as Alex loves them - wore both my babies out!