Pictures

 Just cleaning off the final pics from the old camera and thought I'd post a few...

Sister is soooo in love with her little white lamb, which she affectionately calls "Whitey". Whitey had a rattle inside her, so for a long time Abbey wasn't allowed to sleep with her, but recently Daddy preformed a little surgery on Whitey, a rattle-removal. And now everywhere that Abbey goes, Whitey goes...

 

We had a little sensory fun with some shaving cream from The Dollar Tree and some food coloring. Messy, and our house smelled like Old Spice for awhile, but so fun!!

 We had a Valentine's Day party with some friends from our Mom's of Multiples group...this is an attempt at a picture with my babies. I shall title it "Momma please quit making me stand here and smile, I want to go play with my friends!"

Our big kids before Church one morning...

 Our little snugglebug...

Nailed it.

 

Luke doing some dishes. We start 'em young around here...

 

And lastly, the twins are SUPER into "helping Momma bake" these days. It's their favorite thing. They will drop pretty much ANY activity to come help!

Be prepared for some better quality pics in the future!

Ketchup

Um, yeah. So it’s been over a month since I’ve blogged. Life has just been a tad bit nutty around here lately, and the rare times when things seem slow, I find myself just wanting to enjoy the slow and not race to the computer. Recently, we had some friends over and ventured down the street to the park, and were surprised to find none of the four adults had any clue what time it was, as NONE of us had brought our phones with us (nor wore watches). It was kind of fun to note…all of us were just enjoying watching our kids play together, and enjoying chatting with each other, and not at all distracted by electronics. There has been a lot of that over the last month.


But I mean, really, if Stephanie can find time to blog during a cross country move with four small children, you’d think I could scrape up 15 minutes to document our life and clear my head.

Those last three words carry the most weight as to my delay in blogging. It’s certainly not been for lack of thoughts or things to say…it’s just lack of energy to delve into what I have to say. It’s been a challenging month in some ways, as I have injured and reinjured my back with simple daily activities, which is physically and emotionally draining. Down right depressing. Also, our babies turned 3 this month. THREE. I can hardly believe it. I’m thrilled and sad about it. I'm enjoying them so much and love the things three year olds can do and say...but I kinda miss my babies. I had a birthday in there too, and that was all kinds of fun =).

We had plans for a fun-filled family Spring Break and decided to trade off taking turns getting the flu instead. Ugh.

Lots to catch up on. Lots and lots and LOTS of pictures to upload and post. I got a new camera for my birthday (thanks family!!) and can’t wait to see better quality pictures on here!

This weekend is full of fun Easter activities. And supposedly great weather – for the Pacific Northwest that is =). 70 tomorrow and Sunday. Yea. Between the good weather and all the yard work Dave has done recently, I see a lot of time outdoors in the near future. Luke will be so happy – I’m quite sure the boy would live outside if we would let him. I love that about him. After all, adventures are easier to be had in the outdoors.

May your weekend hold many adventures as well.

Be back soon…

A little of this, a little of that

We've had so many fun days this month already! Of course those have been intermixed with colds and flus (anyone else SO ready for summer!?). But for every one's sake I'm not going to document our illnesses here, just our fun times. You're welcome.

 

 

 

Abbeygirl and Dory. I believe our Dory has officially claimed this Dora couch as her own...it's just her size and we always find her napping on it =). Dory has been such a lovely addition to our family! She is just the best dog, and our kids still adore her as much as they did when we first adopted her.

 

And this guy? He is always in motion. So busy, and so fun.



 

Several of our little friends have had birthday parties recently, and we've had a blast celebrating with them. Some triplet friends of ours hosted their party at an indoor play park. Abbey and Luke had SO much fun!

Luke is very into tools these days. Here he is hammering the play structure =).

 



 

 

It was a "Cars" themed party...

 



Luke was seriously so enamoured by this cake. Cake AND Cars?! I thought he might explode from the excitement! Every 10 minutes or so, he'd take a break from playing and come over just to stare at the cake =).

 



 

I think there might be a dollhouse in our family's future...

 



Some other sweet friends of ours hosted a party at The Children's Museum. Luke and Abbey loved decorating these treasure boxes!

 



After the party was over, we hung around the museum for a bit exploring. Our kids LOVE it there. I would have taken more pictures, but I was busy chasing two two-year-olds in different directions while carrying treasure boxes covered in not-yet-dry glue and glitter.

 

=)

 

 

Hooray for a fun month so far =)

Growing up...

These days I'm continually stunned by how much Luke and Abbey have grown. They are SUPER into "helpin' Momma bake" lately, which is equal parts endearing and annoying. I love that they have helpful spirits and want to be involved in what I'm doing...but things tend to take 752 times as long when two 2-year-olds are involved.

 

We've also entered the "I wanna do it MYSELF" stage of childhood, which I'm not loving. Especially when we are in a hurry. But, such is parenting, eh?

 

As much as they're growing up, they have little-to-zero interest in potty training. And honestly, I'm ok with that. We've purchased pull-ups and encourage trying to use the potty, but they aren't excited about it. Really, I haven't stressed about it, because it's not like they are going to go to college in diapers. I'd prefer to wait until they are reallllllly ready, and then *hopefully* it won't be a battle.

 

They've been doing really well in toddler beds, and although naps are hit and miss for me (they always nap for Daddy!), they at least good about staying in their room during nap time.

 

I seriously can not believe I am starting to plan their 3rd birthday party!

Their language grows every day, and I just love hearing all they have to say to us. They bust out the funniest things and have Dave and I cracking up. Just last week they had their first dental visit, and when we were discussing it, Luke gets a suspicious look on his face and says "I'm not so sure about this Momma..." haha.

 

 

Helpin' Momma bake...

 

Isn't licking the beaters the best part of baking??

 

Another thing that's gotten significantly easier as they've grown is taking them places by myself. I had a doctors appointment a few weeks ago for my back, and Dave wasn't able to make it home before I needed to leave. I had to take Abbey and Luke with me, and they were SO GOOD as I talked with the doctor and got my back adjusted. They sat in their chairs and read their books and ate their snacks.

 

I was so proud of them!



 

Our babies are all growds up =)

Ordinary

As I type this, my husband just got back from walking our dog. Our babies are sleeping in their beds. The house is quiet, save for the dishwasher running.

 

 

It's just an ordinary Friday night.

 

And I'm so grateful.

 

 

Last week I learned that a childhood friend and his pregnant wife had lost one of their twins and the other one is struggling in utero.

Today I learned a friend miscarried both her twins.

 

So much heartache.

 

 

It's been the kind of week that makes you grateful for normal.

Tonight, I take comfort in the routine and the ordinary.

Best of friends...

 

Yep. Those are our kids. On an Expedition. Luke wearing a strainer for a hat, and Abbey pushing her kitty, Frosty, in the stroller (and in her ubiquitous Elmo jams, don't even think about taking those off her but to bathe her or when they need to be washed, lest you be ready to offer up a bribe reward.)

 

 

Now more than ever, Luke and Abbey are such buddies. They play together (most the time) so well. Sure, they get frustrated with each other when one doesn't play the imaginary game correctly, and yes, they still struggle taking turns from time to time. But for the most part, they are thick as thieves, adventuring through their days side by side.

 

Their imaginations are running wild lately, and it brings Dave and I such joy to watch (or listen) to them playing together, in their own little world.

 

Having twins has not always been easy. Two newborns at once was...challenging...but have two almost-three-year-olds is so fun. Those early years months with twins are sure paying off now as we watch these two buddies grow together. 

Then & Now

January 2012

January 2013

Growing up SO FAST over here.