Happy Easter!

We've had a great day........tiring, but great. The kiddos have been in bed since around 6pm....minus  a trip or two downstairs for Sofia (who, before we put her to bed, was sound asleep on the couch!).

We started off the day with a visit from the Easter Bunny.............

 and then we got ready to go to church with Nana. The girls sat in church with us and they did pretty well. We made it 3/4 of the way through and then I had to step out with Bella. She was happy.......she was just talking a little to loud....."Hi Papa!"  and "Bubbles!" - haha. Oh....and there was a little game of peek-a-boo with the person sitting behind us, too. So I took her out of the sanctuary and we walked back and forth and back and forth in the foyer. D and Olivia stepped out for a few minutes but went back inside once Olivia decided she wanted to sit with Grandma. Sofia stayed all the way through.....and apparently she was really in to the singing. Mom said Sofia was improvising on the versus, but when the song came to the "Hallelujahs", Sofia was belting them out. 


After church, everyone came to our house for a great Easter dinner and more egg hunting. We have enough candy to last us until Halloween! 


A great day for sure!

Happy Retirement, Grandma!

It was a big day around here.......
That's right.......Grandma retired!!! As Sofia and Olivia said today "Grandma doesn't have to work anymore? Grandma gets to play all the time?" Yes.....yes she does, girls. She's certainly earned it!

Happy birthday, Daddy!

There's not much better than hearing sweet little voices singing happy birthday to Daddy! We celebrated Daddy's birthday with a dinner date (for Mommy and Daddy)...and then home for presents and cake. When we got home, the girls were waiting for Daddy with Grandma and Papa to say "Surprise!" and to sing happy birthday. Oh. And to blow out candles.....over and over! Trick candles make every party just a little more fun!

Happy birthday, baby!

Happy Thanksgiving!

From our family to yours.......
It's been a great day! Lots of great food and family. Bella....what do you think?

I think she agrees.....although I don't know if she was more excited about the turkey.....or the turkey dress...

We have so much for which we are thankful. Happy Thanksgiving!

And then there were five.......

Miss Reese decided she was ready to join us today!! And when I told Bella that her new baby cousin was on her way, here's what she said.........

Oh yes. We were all that excited since we weren't expecting her for another 2 weeks. So...without further delay.....I introduce:

Caroline Reese
6lb 14oz & 19" long

She's so adorable and so tiny! And her arrival was quite some drama for such a little girl! R had been shopping this morning when labor pains started.......and C and Carter had gone fishing. Apparently they write down the time when they "check" you in to the hospital....and R was checked in at 11:16am.....and Miss Reese was here at 12:02pm. Uh huh...you read that right....less than an hour. R had not even been formally admitted before she was here -- they had just checked her in to triage. And *poof* it was over. Well. My sister will probably strangle me with her bare hands after reading the *poof* part since they had no time for the epidural to take effect. She said afterwards "People who choose to do that willingly are crazy!" I think one of the nurses is walking around the hospital still trying to regain feeling in her hand!!

But! Reese is here and we're all so excited. Carter was so funny today -- any time a nurse was with Reese when Reese would start to cry, he would look at the nurse with this matter of fact look on his face and say "She doesn't like you." hahaha!

So! The full moon worked......and to top all that off, she was born on her Daddy's birthday. How cool is that?!

Grandma and Papa sure do have their hands full now with FIVE grand babies!! I think it's fun to say they have 5 grand babies under the age of five. But then I say it again and it makes me really tired to think about - hahahahaha!

Happy birthday Grandma!

It's Grandma's birthday today and we celebrated at our house with dinner, presents and, of course, cake. I practiced all day with the girls to sing "Happy Birthday".....and they did a great rendition of it when they were in the bathtub this afternoon. But when it came time to show off what we had worked on, all they could do was stare at the cake and remind us how much they love birthday cake - haha! Most of the pictures from the birthday celebration are on my sister's camera so I'll have to post those later. However -- you can see how things went once we sliced the cake.........
They both finished off 2 (very small) pieces and still wanted more. Sofia pushed her plate across the counter towards the cake and Olivia (in the green bow) told me "Mommy, I need more cake please." Wow. She broke out the please unprompted............but I'm sorry to say it still didn't get her a third piece!!

So it's a big night for Miss Bella who will be spending her first night in her bed. I've been going back and forth on this one....about when she's old enough to be in her bed and away from me. I know she's fine...I'm the one who may or may not be ready. But today I noticed that she just doesn't nap very well in her pack-n-play downstairs because the girls always bother her......so I decided we needed to let her nap in her room. Then I started thinking if she's napping in her room, she should sleep there, too, to minimize the confusion. I think I'm ready........we shall see!

It's also a big anniversary day of sorts........it was on my mom's birthday last year that Sofia started walking! And the day after when Olivia started walking. On the one hand, I can't believe it's only been a year since they started walking (even though that's half their life - ha!)......on the other hand, watching them run around the house this evening, it seems like it's been way more than a year that they've been walking. They've changed so much in a year - I can't believe it.

So! Happy birthday, Mom (Grandma!) We love you!

"I love birthday cake!"

We celebrated a birthday for the girls' oldest cousin last night.....I was worried how the girls would do since they're coming down with yet another cold.......as I type right now, the girls are supposed to be napping.....and they're trying....except for all that coughing.

**Side note.....I've realized that I can no longer say "the girls"....because that would seem to imply all three girls. (Holy cow.....we have THREE girls!!!) Well....from context and pictures I'm sure you can guess who I mean when I say "the girls"......but I'll have to figure something out. I refuse to call them "the twins"........ hmmm - calling them by their names...there's a novel idea, eh?

But I digress.

So we went to the birthday party and had a great time. There was good food......

(Have I told you how much Olivia and Sofia love bread? No? They LOVE bread. It could be a whole meal if we would let it.)

And then there was big fun......the kind of fun that Mommy's not so sure would be going on at her house - haha!! Bring on the painting!!

The girls loved it and I do believe we have some art for our walls now! And I also believe Daddy will be hitting up the local hobby store to bring this activity to our house.

Honey.....please make sure the paint is washable.

Grandma's heart............

.............is full
But not too full.......there's definitely room for two more!!!

Oh baby.....again! (And a funny story!)

Babies babies everywhere! I finally have permission to share the exciting news that my sister is expecting a baby!!! Carter's going to be a big brother! And she's due on my birthday....even better. I've been waiting to be able to share her great news because our family is so excited but I have to be honest. I've really been waiting so I could share this funny story.

So my sister and her husband told Carter that mommy had a baby in her belly just like me. After a few rounds of "no you don't" and then "when are you going to pop that baby out of your belly?", he was finally on board with this whole brother / sister thing. (I'm waiting for the questions. You remember. That'll make a great story, too!!)

So a day or so later after learning he's going to be a big brother, my sister and parents were in the car with Carter, not talking about the baby at all and the following conversation happened.....

Carter: "Mommy......can I pick out the name if I have a brother or sister?"

Sis: "Um. Okay. What would you pick?"

Carter: "If it's a boy, I want to name him Sam."

Sis (to herself): That's actually a cute name for a boy!

Sis: "That's cute, Carter. And what if it's a girl?"

Carter: "If it's a girl, I want to name her Oreo!!"

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

I did have to tell my sister that someone in our neighborhood had stolen her baby name, though. I got an email that one of the neighbors had lost their new kitten, Oreo.

Oh well. I guess it's back to the name book, right??!!!!

So yes. Another grandbaby for our parents. That will be 5 grandkids under the age of 5. Oh wow!!

Beach trip 2010

We just returned home from our family beach trip. 6 full, glorious days at the beach with D and the girls, my parents and Aunt Ra-Ra, Uncle C and Carter. We had cooler than expected, and absolutely perfect, weather......we had little internet access.......only one day that was rained out (but cleared up by the afternoon). It was awesome. The only bummer was on Friday, the day before we left, I had a doctor's appointment with the maternal-fetal specialist where I learned I'm starting to show signs similar to when I was pregnant with the girls which ultimately put me on bedrest. Quite the bummer. So I'm back to weekly visits (where I had moved to once every two weeks) and was sent on vacation with strict instructions to not lift anything and to not walk excessively. Read no long walks on the beach. I know, I know......perfect time to kick back and relax.....and I did.....but there was always just a hint of guilt at having to plant myself in a chair and watch while other people chased the girls all over the beach.

Despite that setback, we had a fantastic time and I have a gazillion pictures to prove it!! Here are just a few.....I'll have more soon when Aunt Ra-Ra and I trade pics we took with each of our cameras.

So. What did we do all week?? Well...............

We had popsicles for breakfast.
We built sand castles.
We went running down the beach. Well. We as in usually Olivia and an adult other than me.

We checked out the ocean. Here's Olivia and Daddy. She wasn't a huge fan -- during her many trips down the beach, she would always weave towards the beach to get away from the tide coming at her feet. Sofia, on the other hand, LOVED the ocean. L.O.V.E.D. it.

We checked out the amusement park. Don't be fooled, though.....shortly after this picture was taken, and before the ride started, Sofia decided maybe this wasn't for her and insisted she get off the ride. So Olivia rode solo and loved it.

We took a break and checked in on Dora.

We chilled out in the shade.

And more running.............

We buried Carter in the sand.

We dug.....and dug.....and dug. When Olivia wasn't running, and Sofia wasn't jumping at the water's edge, they were stuck in the sand.

Whew. All that running sometimes made for one tired little girl. (See the beach towel.....I'm telling you - there were days when it was actually a little cool sitting on the beach in the shade of the umbrella. It was truly awesome to not have to deal with the swealtering heat we were expecting.)

We threw sand.

We threw fits. (That could only be remedied by Grandma).

And we usually ended each day on the beach with a nice long nap.

It was truly a great vacation. Time with family was great and the girls were so good. We were disappointed when the week was over but at the same time, it was nice to get home this afternoon. The girls hit the house running and I think they have played with every single one of their toys since we've been home.

I must admit.......after this week with Grandma and Papa, I was sure we were going to have to ask them to move in. It was all about them this week and not much for Mommy and Daddy. At one point, D looked at me and said "Have you realized that we're pretty much non-existent to the girls this week??!!!". But. I can happily report that the girls still remember their Mommy and Daddy - haha!

That's all for now.....it's time to wrangle babies to bed and get some rest. I'll have more pictures soon! Oh. And pictures with the girls in a different bathing suit - haha.

Grandma and Olivia

Love love love this picture!

Christmas Eve.....Part I

We spent the afternoon of Christmas Eve with my parents, sister and her family. The kids were great as always - Carter is so good with the girls. They played and the girls toddled and we all ooh-ed and ahhh-ed over their newest milestone (can you tell I'm still smiling!).

And may I say..........bring on the girlie toys!! To date, most of our toys have been pretty gender neutral......but we've moved into the girly things now!

Grandma's most favorite gift...........

And what would a baby carriage be without a baby to go in it?? Grandma found the perfect babies -- nothing too complicated about them (i.e. they don't walk, talk, cry, eat or pee.......they're just....there. Do you know how hard it was to find a plain old baby doll? Well - it wasn't impossible, but we looked through lots of shelves to find these quiet, perfect babies - haha!) Their most complicated feature - their eyes open when they're upright and close when they're laying down. When I was little, Santa brought me a baby doll similar to this one....and apparently.....when I picked her up and her eyes opened, I screamed. We were all interested to see how the girls reacted.........

Sofia picked the doll up first.....and immediately poked her finger in the doll's eye and said "Eyes!". Quite cute...and right she was.

Just look at the concentration my sweet Sofia has on her face as she's poking this poor doll's eye out!!!

Ahh but a kiss makes up for it all........

And then Olivia picks up the doll and does the same thing!! "Eyes!" and to one-up her sister, she then points out the nose as well - ha!

Annnnnd another kiss to make it all better.......

The ball popper, however, was definitely the toy of the evening....for all 3 kids. We finally had to put it to the side to re-focus on the rest of the gifts.

Carter was hilarious.....he's definitely at an age where he enjoys Christmas and Santa, but he's still very excited about the act of unwrapping. He was excited about everything. At one point, he started opening a gift and loudly proclaims....................."Whoa! A red box!!!!!" Wow! If that's all it takes, right?!?!?

Yep - that's one excited kid!

Happy Thanksgiving!

So much for which I am thankful........

I can't believe another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Lots of family...lots of food and good times. Some fussy babies were thrown in there as well but that happens when nap time is missed. We hit both grandparent's houses today and we're winding down this evening with one kiddo asleep already and one sitting in my lap as I type.

The holiday season has started and the year is coming to a close. The girls will be 18 mos old tomorrow and I can't believe it. Time sure does fly, doesn't it.

Says Carter......

Me: "Carter - what would you like for Christmas?"

C: "A compooter with a mouse on it and buttons."

-------------------------------------------------

Upon arrival at church for practice for the Christmas program:

R: "Carter - it's time to go in the room and learn the song so you can sing and be an angel"

C: "I wanna be a punk and stay with you!!"

(I always tell Carter he's a punk and he always says "Nu-uhhh - I'm an angel!")

Great day for a trip to the park

It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.....and what better way to spend it than hitting the slides at the park?! The girls and I met my sister and Carter and my mom and spent an hour and a half in the sunshine. The girls had their first real slide experience.......well - they weren't unattended, but we introduced them to the slides and they enjoyed a trip down on the lap of an adult -- and they loved it! (See clapping below - and just know that when Olivia claps, it's usually accompanied by "Yay!!"). Mr. Carter had a blast as well.

D and I are afraid that Sofia still has an ear infection. She started running a fever today and then after her bath, as I was drying her hair and ears, she cringed and started crying when I rubbed one of her ears. Poor kid - I know it's not great being sick....and we just finished her antibiotics last week for the diagnosed ear infection in the same ear. D's calling the doctor tomorrow......this is going on 3 weeks of sickness in the house. Olivia is still on her antibiotic from Halloween, although I must admit -- she's back to her smiley and happy self.......we're all thankful for that!!

Hopefully we can knock the rest of this sickness out!

Here are a few pictures from the park today.....Sofia's in the purple hoodie and Olivia is in the pink hoodie.

All those laughs and smiles and claps led to yawns and naps! What a great day.