Bart and Becca Blog

Other November Activities

2012-01-16T19:15:00.000-08:00

We did a lot of other things this November as well.

We watched Bart play soccer.

Okay, so really, "watched" might be stretching it a bit.

I was mostly watching this little one and her sister to make sure they didn't eat any of the little balls in the turf.

Not gonna lie, going to Bart's soccer games was a lot easier before we had kids.

We also raked leaves. Actually Bart used his leaf blower, so maybe raked isn't the right word. We blowed leaves?

Whatever it was, we got leaves out of our back yard and into the garbage, along with some other rubbish that was lying around.

We played in the yard.

We went on rainy autumn drives.

Addison decided Angry Birds is pretty much the best game ever.

Addison went to go to a dance workshop at Bart's school...

and learned to dance to the beat of her own drum. :)

Overall, we had a great month. Now on to December. :)

Christmas Tree Hunting

2012-01-16T18:59:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving every year, Bart's family heads off into Lisbon Valley to cut down a Christmas tree. So on Friday, we packed everyone into the cars and hit the road. When we found a spot we thought looked promising, we all got out of the cars and went hiking in search of the perfect tree.

The kids loved the hike, even Maya and Lilly enjoyed being out in the fresh air.

And Addison and her cousin were pretty much inseparable.

I must confess, I wasn't looking very hard for a tree...I was rather confident in the others' tree finding abilities. I did find some other cool things though. :)

In the end, and after much debate, we did find an awesome tree.

Next time I'll try to remember to take a picture of it in the shop. :)

Thanksgiving

2012-01-16T18:49:00.000-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving with Bart's family this year. It was pretty much the opposite of our "just our little family" Thanksgiving last year. We had something like 29 people total for Thanksgiving dinner. I kid you not. That's what you get when your family has 8 kids in it: Rapidly expanding numbers at holiday get togethers. :) Bart's Grandma, and Aunt and Uncle's family were there as well. It was awesome.

Again, I had visions of grandeur with respect to documenting the feast, but this is all I got. And really, considering the twins had had their worst night sleep EVER the night before, I'm happy with what I got. :)

Not even a single picture of people. Oh well, c'est la vie.

I made 6 Pies for the feats...yep, 6. Two pecan, two pumpkin, an apple, and a coconut cream. Unfortunately, I could only take a couple snapshots of them. I'm not a fan of the pictures, but I couldn't let 6 pies go undocumented!

It was a GREAT thanksgiving. The food was amazing, and the company was even better! I LOVE our family!

Maya & Lilly Turn 1!

2012-01-15T21:11:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in the last post, the one redeeming quality about the Holidays in 2010 was that two new babies were added to our family. And on November 19th, those babies turned one!

We celebrated by giving the twins their presents (I know, VERY original and unique. Feel free to take notes on all our celebratory ingenuity).

Maya caught on very quickly to the whole "opening presents" thing, and was very...shall we say...excited...about the whole process.

But no matter how fast a one year old opens presents, it's not quite fast enough. So the older sisters decided to join in and give her a hand. It was a sacrifice they were willing to make.

Lilly, on the other hand...well...let's just say it took her a little longer to catch on.

"Uhhh...what do you want me to do with this mom?"

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go see what Maya's doing."

(We picked her up and put her back in front of the present.)
"Okay, um...I think you want me to do something with this baggie thing."

(We clapped and said, "Yay Lilly! Open your presents.")
"You guys are so weird."

Then Maya came over to show her how it was done.

I can't believe my babies are already one! Happy (late) birthday my little ladies. I love you!

Thankful Jar

2012-01-15T19:29:00.000-08:00

So last holiday season was...well...HORRIBLE. Bart says it's really sad that I think that because we got two babies from last holiday season. But seriously, that was the one redeeming quality of the end of last year. True, it's a pretty big redeeming quality, but still!

My two older girls were in California. We spent countless hours in the NICU riding an emotional roller coaster. And I was recovering from an emergency c-section and some serious blood loss. Really, not fun. Someday I will blog about it....someday.

Anyway...this year I was determined to make up for last year's...lack of jolly-ness...and we started with the Thankful Jar.

For each day in November up to Thanksgiving, we picked a paper out of our Thankful Jar that listed something we were thankful for, and then did an activity that related to it. I photographed that activity, and we wound up with an entire scrapbook full of perfect images depicting what we were thankful for and what we did every single day up to Thanksgiving that we will cherish forever.

Well...that's what was supposed to happen. Then life happened. We did pick a paper out of the jar every day. But I have to admit, more than once we wound up not doing the activity. Some required going to the store, or library, or somewhere, when it was closed, or Sunday, or just really inconvenient. So, admittedly, some activities didn't get done.

There were also a lot of activities that we did do that I didn't photograph. But eh, we had fun. The kids loved it, and it was awesome starting off the day highlighting something to be grateful for.

I've heard of keeping gratitude journals where at the end of the day you write what you were thankful for that day. But after this, I think I like the idea of doing it the other way. Pick something you're grateful for and then really work on appreciating it for the whole day. :)

Anyway, here were some of the activities we did do that I actually photographed:

I am Thankful for my Teeth!

Give Mom & Dad some Halloween Candy & Brush & Floss.

(Bart & I liked this one...I may or may not have purposely put it at the top of the jar.)

I am Thankful for Grandparents!
Call and tell them "I love you. I am grateful for you."
I really enjoyed listening to Hannah try and say, "I'm Grateful for you" Grateful is apparently a rather complex word for a two year old.

I am Thankful for my Hands!

Art Project: Finger Painting, or Drawing.

I am Thankful for Turkeys!

Art Project: Make Paper Turkeys

And this one's kind of a combination of two:

I am Thankful for our Kitchen

Bake something fun together in the kitchen!

and

I am Thankful for my Dad!

Do something nice for Dad.

(Bart had been asking me to make a pumpkin roll for ever. So when we picked "I'm thankful for dad" the day after we didn't do the kitchen activity, it worked out perfectly. :)

And...that's all I got. I know, kind of pathetic. I only photographed 5 (6 if you stretch it) of our 24 days of thankfulness. But, eh. Like I said, we all enjoyed it and benefited, even if we don't have a scrapbook full of perfect pictures depicting our "Thankful" November. :)

Oh, and, if you want to make a Thankful Jar for your family, but don't really have time to come up with a bunch of ideas for activities, Somewhat Simple has a whole list you can just print and cut out here. At the very least, it's a great start and then you can supplement with things that are applicable to your family. :)

P.S. I DO know that thankful is spelled with one l. When I tried to fit "thankful" on the side of the jar, it was too small, and Thank-ful just looked well, unbalanced. So I like to think of it as, "We are full of thanks...we are thank-full." :)

Very Behind

2012-01-05T09:43:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm unbelievably behind on holiday posting, but hopefully the next few weeks will remedy that...prepare yourselves for a ton of posts.

In the meantime I wanted to leave you with this lovely picture of my Lilly.

I literally burst out laughing when I saw this picture on the back of my camera. My poor little snaggletooth had a run in with her cousin that left her with a cut lip the day before I took this picture. Lest you think I'm a heartless mother, it looks a lot worse than it was. About two seconds after she got it, she was up crawling around and playing. One day we'll look back at this picture and laugh together. Te he he.

I've decided to enter this picture in the I Heart Faces silly holiday photos contest. To see funny holiday pictures others have submitted click on the button below and search for the contest.

Eating Habits

2011-11-15T12:56:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I tried feeding the twins some beans. After a severe gagging incident/choking scare, I swore never to give them beans EVER again. As the days passed on, memories of the racing heart rate and adrenaline rush faded (not to mention they've been doing really well at eating small foods lately) so I thought I'd have another go at the beans today. I cut up some kidney beans, placed them on their high chair trays, and proceeded to watch them like a hawk as they ate to make sure we didn't have a "bean day" repeat.

They did great, but as I watched them, I noticed that they have very different eating techniques. Lilly is very precise. She will pick up one bean, put it in her mouth, chew, swallow, and then pick up another.

It's almost dainty at times...almost.

Maya, on the other hand, prefers the grab-as-many-beans-in-one-hand-at-a-time-and-try-to-shovel-them-all-in-your-mouth approach.

And for every bean she actually gets in her mouth, there are probably three or four that wind up in the seat of her high chair. No wonder you're so skinny kid!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

Can I just tell you, I LOVE Halloween. Last year Halloween was on a Sunday, so we didn't go trick-or-treating, the year before that I had the Swine flu, so I didn't get to enjoy Halloween AT ALL, so this year I had two years worth of celebrating to make up for, and I think I accomplished it! We had TONS of fun celebrating this weekend. We started by carving our pumpkin.

He may not look like much, but he meant a lot to me. His design was a family effort. I wanted lots of eyes, Bart designed the shape of the eyes, and did the carving, and Addison designed the mouth. We were very pleased with the results.

I also turned these into a yummy snack.

We had all of our siblings that live in the area over for a chili cook off/costume party. It was AWESOME! Charles and Heather came a little early, so our kids played in the leaves before everyone else got here.

Bart and I didn't make any chili this year, but we did make apple cider from apples my grandparents gave us from their apple trees, and pumpkin pie from actual pumpkins (not the canned kind). SOOOOOOOO yummy. I felt like we were really celebrating the harvest. Te he he.

Unfortunately, after the sun went down, my camera got put away (I have GOT to get a flash). But my sister in law, Heather, got some pictures of some of the kids' costumes on her blog if you want to see them. It was a really fun party.

Yesterday was the big day. The twins were little cows...although they went to bed before the trick or treating started.

Addison was a beautiful queen (or princess...depending on when you asked her).

Hannah was a candy corn witch.

Addison and Hannah LOVED trick or treating.

And people in the neighborhood did a great job decorating.

Before we were done with even half of the neighborhood, Addison decided she had enough, and was ready to go home (she does NOT take after her mama). Although, if we had let her, I think Hannah would have gone to every single house and then some (she DOES take after her mama).

When we got home, Addison took of her scratchy dress (possibly part of the reason she was ready to go home) and didn't even bother to put on a shirt before digging into her conquest. Hannah didn't even bother to take of the scratchy dress. :)

Last week I saw the cutest picture of a baby and a pumpkin, and thought, "Hey, I want a picture of my babies with a pumpkin!" They didn't turn out quite like I had envisioned, but they're my babies, so I think they're cute.

Overall, it was a GREAT way to kick off the holiday season!

My Photography Class

2011-10-20T19:58:00.001-07:00

So, as I mentioned in the previous post, I've been taking an online photography class. I am SERIOUSLY loving it! It is ending this Sunday and I am so sad. :(

Since I doubt I'll have time to post about the pictures individually, I thought I'd share some of the pictures I've taken for the class in one big post. Most of them are straight out of the camera (no editing) and the rest have a few minor tweaks.

Week 1 - Window light

Week 2 - Open Shade
(You Already Saw Magnum)

Week 3 - Backlighting (This was the hardest for me I think)

The instructor suggested I turn it into a black and white, so I did. :)

And this week's assignment is silhouettes...I still don't have one to turn in for the actual assignment, but here's one I like:

And I played around with the color and wound up with some new iTunes ads. ;)

Now I have to figure out how to raise enough money to take another class. I may be addicted. Te he he. ;)

Magnum

2011-10-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

I got some picture of the twins outside today for an online photography class I'm taking. When I saw this one of Lilly, I couldn't help but think of Zoolander!

Can I Get Some Water?

2011-10-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

So today Hannah comes into the living room where I'm playing with the twins, and asks me if she can get some water. She had a cup, and we have water in the door of our fridge that she can (finally) reach so I told her sure.

A few minutes later I notice that she's walking back and forth between the fridge and the sink. So I go into the kitchen to see what she's doing.

She went to the fridge, filled her cup, then went over to the sink where she got up on a stool she had moved to the sink so she could reach. She took a sip of her water and then did this...

It didn't even give her pause that I was standing right next to her watching! She just went back to the fridge, got more water, came back to her stool, took a sip, spit it into the sink, emptied the rest of the water, and walked back to the fridge for more.

I couldn't help but laugh. It was just so typically Hannah. I love two-year-olds.

I think our next family home evening lesson may have to be on not wasting things...like water.

The Beach

2011-09-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so seriously, if I'm EVER going to catch up on my blog I'm going to have to get moving. So I apologize for the few words and thrown together collages. But here goes.

Once upon a time we went to the beach and stayed on Fashion Island. The mall is awesome, go there.

The actual beach we went to was Corona Del Mar. There were lots of people there that day.

Bart left early to take the twins and Hannah back to the hotel, so it was mostly me and Addison all day. We didn't mind. :)

We went and got Bart and headed towards the Fun zone...but stopped on the way at this restaurant to eat.

The Fun Zone was...well...fun. :) Hannah got to ride a merry-go-round for the first time.

And then we went to the candy store where we bought a million pounds of saltwater taffy. (I think my kids were trembling with excitement when they walked into the store).

Then we had to go home. It was sad.

The end.

Kisses

2011-09-17T19:28:00.000-07:00

Maya has started giving kisses. This is how my Maya kisses.

I think I'm in love.

Swimming Lessons

2011-09-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

Addison and Hannah took swimming lessons this summer. The place they took it at guarantees kids over the age of three who take the classes will be water safe at the end of it. In other words, it's a no nonsense class.

And it was really funny seeing my kids' personalities shine through during the lessons. On the first day, as we waited for the kids before us to end their class, Addison watched somewhat nervously. Hannah just kind of sat there calmly taking in the scene. I think both weren't quite sure how to feel. They both love the water, but I think they could sense that this wouldn't be an average playing in the pool sort of thing.

They both had wonderful teachers. Addison's teacher was actually the little sister of a guy I dated in college. I didn't even recognize her until she told me hi and asked how I was doing! Apparently people change a lot in nine years or so, especially when nine years ago you were in elementary school. :) Both teachers did a great job, and the girls loved them!

If I could use one word to describe Addison at swim lessons, I'd have a hard time choosing between staller and negotiator.

This girl seriously had both down to an art. She'd sit or stand at the side of the pool while her teacher would try and get her into the water. She'd ask how many more of...whatever it was that they were doing...they were going to do. If she didn't like the answer, she'd try and negotiate. "How about only two more submarines instead of three, and then we play walking along the pool?"

By the way, "Walking along the Pool." Is a game where she and her teacher get out of the pool and walk hand in hand while the teacher sings, "Walking along, walking along, walking along the pool...oh no, you slip on a wet noodle and fall in." (or some other scenario where she could fall, unaided, into the pool and would need to get to the side without help). Then she'd throw Addison into the pool and Addison would turn and swim back to the wall and climb out.

Honestly, I thought she would HATE doing it, but she LOVED it. She was always trying to talk her teacher into playing it instead of working some other undesirable swimming skill. My Addison the little negotiator/staller.

As for Hannah, I know exactly the word I would use to describe her at swimming lessons...and swimming in general. FEARLESS. Which is great...except she really CANNOT swim. The guarantee was only for ages three and up, and she was a very young two. Did that keep her from jumping in and giving it her all? Nope.

These next pictures are TERRIBLE, but they illustrate my point.

Yep, that's her teacher holding her hand on the side of the pool, and her jumping in with NOBODY in the pool to catch her. The idea was that she'd learn to turn toward the side where she came from and grab onto the wall. She never quite perfected this. Her teacher always had to kind of grab her head and guide her to the side, but let me tell you, next year when she takes lessons again, I'm willing to bet she'll be swimming in no time.

But for now, holy cow is she scary around the water! I'll be in the pool with both her and Addison and she'll jump in to me and kick her heart out (whether I'm looking or not). I'll always count to five before grabbing her and pulling her up for air (yes, it doesn't bother her that she's kicking under water without anyone holding on to her) and when I do, she turns around and tries to push off of me to swim back to the step/side. I think she sees her sister do it and doesn't believe/understand that she can't do it yet. My silly, little, fearless Hannah.

As for Addison...Yep, she's water safe. And let me tell you, that is a load off of my mind, especially when we're at grandma's house with that wonderful pool in the back yard.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

2011-09-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up my dad got Dodger tickets through his work. I believe the general idea was that they would have them in case they needed to entertain clients. Most of the time, he just took us...although I do have a very distinct memory of my dad taking me, my one-year-old sister, AND a client. (He was a brave man).

That memory also has a lot of my one-year-old sister saying words like dude, totally, rad, and awesome. The client was impressed. That's what happens when there's 11 years between your oldest and youngest. I shouldn't have this problem as there is only four years between my oldest and youngest. :)

Anyway, back to the point of this post. My dad still gets the tickets, and we happened to be there for one of the games, so he took us. Yeah, he's great. And, his seats now are much closer to the field than they were when I was young...dude, it was like, totally rad awesomeness. ;)

As you can see in the bottom two pictures of this next group, everyone was very into the game.

Especially Addison

She wasn't at all more into ice cream, or dancing around or the monkey grandpa got her.

Nope, she was 100% into the game. As it should be.

Thanks for the totally rad, awesome game dad! :)

Hannah Turns Two...a little late

2011-09-07T06:04:00.000-07:00

So last night I went up to bed thoroughly satisfied with myself. I had actually blogged about Addison's birthday ON her birthday and gotten it all over with. I was so proud of myself for being on top of things (ignoring of course the myriad of summer posts I still plan on doing). Then, I realized that I never blogged about Hannah's birthday. So much for being on top of things.

Well, here are the pictures from Hannah's Birthday...a little late.

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this, but I didn't make a cake for Hannah. The evening of her birthday we headed to Moab and they had made a cake for her there. I was still planning on making a cake for her, but man, things were hard. The babies still weren't really on a sleeping schedule and definitely not sleeping through the night. I was completely exhausted all of the time. A few days slipped by without making the cake, then a week, and all of the sudden a summer. Sigh. Things are better now. I'm only completely exhausted most of the time and the twins actually have a nap schedule. :)

Poor Hannah's been pretty gyped when it comes to birthday cakes. Last year I was pregnant with the twins and SOOOOOOOOOOO utterly and completely tired it was all I could do to stay awake while the girls were awake. And maybe make dinner...if they were lucky. Te he he. So I just slathered some store bought frosting on some cupcakes from a box and let her play with it. Then this year I just let someone else deal with it. Hannah, next year I'm going to make you an awesome cake! I promise!

Although I didn't get around to making my poor second daughter a cake this year, I did manage to take some two year old portraits of her.

So there you go. My sweet little Hannah at age two. I didn't do a questionnaire with her, and I'm not sure she'd understand half of the questions...although that probably would have made for some entertaining answers. I'll start that next year for her. :)

Hannah, even though I didn't make you a cake, I still love you more than you can comprehend!

Addison is how old?!?!

2011-09-06T20:45:00.001-07:00

FIVE!!! That's right ladies and gents, the age of my oldest is ALL of the fingers on ONE WHOLE HAND!!! I can't believe it. And much her chagrin (and mine), she missed the Utah kindergarten cutoff date this year by six days. SIX DAYS! And let me tell you, they don't make ANY exceptions. Believe me, I called just about every one humanly imaginable...school district, state school board, elected officials, etc. Such a bummer. Oh well, that just means my baby will get to be home with me for another year. YAY! :)

I made cupcakes for Addison's preschool class. The birthday girl wanted lady buys, so lady bugs she got.

She told me later she thought the eyes were creepy. Well I'm sorry, the twins only sleep for so long, and I couldn't figure out how to make little dots with the frosting without making those little curly things. Yeah, they are a little creepy, but they still taste good. :)

She also enjoyed opening presents.

This year dad won the prize for messiest we're-going-to-throw-these-away-as-soon-as-we-get-the-chance present with his washable colored bubbles...it turns out they're not so washable. But the girls loved them.

I just wish I had gotten pictures of Hannah's feet. Unbelievable. Fortunately it didn't come off on the carpet when she came inside.

So, I've seen other people do little birthday questionnaires on their blogs for their kids and I thought it would be fun to start doing one for each of the kids too, so here goes:

Addison's Favorites:

Color: Blue
TV Show: Jake and the Never Land Pirates
Animal: Girl Panda (one of her presents was PJs with panda bears on them...her 2nd favorite animal is a giraffe)
Holiday: Christmas
Song: Teach Me To Walk in the Light
Restaurant: The one with the drum by Nyla’s house
Food: Spaghetti
Dessert: Chocolate Stuff
Candy: Chocolate Things
Temple: Provo
Thing to do: Crafts
Movie: Bolt
Place to Go: The Playground
Book: All Books
Scripture Story: The ones that Jesus wrote
Thing Mom Does With You: Cook
Thing Dad Does with you: Draw with Me
Place I want to Visit: Disney World
When I grow up I want to be: An Astronaut

Happy Birthday Addison! You are loved more than you know!

Twins Blessing

2011-08-29T20:55:00.000-07:00

Another thing we were able to do at Aspen grove was bless the twins. Usually, in our church, babies are blessed much younger, but because the twins were preemies, the doctor didn't want them to even go to church until May, when RSV season was over. We knew that a lot of my family would be in town for our family reunion that wouldn't normally be able to come for the blessing, so we decided to wait a few months more so they could be there too. It was wonderful having so much family there.

Aspen Grove doesn't do baby blessings in their sacrament meetings, but they said we could reserve a little room and do it after sacrament meeting, so we did. It was such a sweet experience having all of our family, and some dear friends there for the blessing.

Aspen Grove

2011-08-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

So....you know how when you don't blog forever and then you try to catch up and your writing really...well...sucks. Yeah, that's probably going to be my writing for the next few posts (not to mention the last few) about our summer. I have a lot of catching up to do. I'll try to be brief, but sometimes I have a hard time doing that, so feel free to ignore my writing and look through the bagillion pictures I'm going to post with this one. :)

We went to Aspen Grove again this year, and it was, as always, AWESOME. I do have to admit, it's not quite as liberating as normal when you're a nursing mom. You're still kind of tied down...if not to your babies than to a pump. Yes, they watched the twins, but I still had to pump, which didn't leave me as much time as I'd like...especially for taking pictures. I took a ton at Aspen Follies, which is probably my favorite part of aspen grove, and a few of the family playing badminton, and just goofing around in general. But that was pretty much it. So here are the bagillion pictures:

Aspen Follies:

Ha ha, Okay, I have to interject some commentary here. That kid with his head sticking out of the parachute is my cousin. He's awesome. And let me tell you, Hannah LOVES him. Every time she played with him she would just laugh and laugh and laugh. It was awesome. And I have to say, I think that was one of the best things about this year...some of my extended family was there with us. My Aunt, Uncle, and their family came, and my grandparents came. We had SUCH a blast hanging out and playing games with them. I wish more could have come. It was seriously just awesome. Alright, back to the pictures.

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And this picture on the right below is Addison and my cousin...when I was younger, if you had told me that I'd have a kid only a few years after my aunt had a kid, I think I would have thought you were crazy, but I'm SOOOOOOOOO glad I did! Addison had soooooo much fun with my cousin, it was great! She cried when we had to leave. The only way I got her to stop was by promising her that she'd see her in a few weeks at my brother's wedding. And...back to the pictures. :)

Okay, seriously, after seeing the pictures don't you just wan to drop what you're doing right now and go to Aspen Follies? It's Seriously SOOOOO much fun! Ah, I wish I were there instead of in my messy kitchen choosing to blog in an attempt to avoid cleaning.

We did do other things...like Bubbles:

And Badminton:

And watching Badminton:

And Lots more really, but that's all I got pictures of. :) I bet you're relieved...that was a lot of pictures. te he he.

For the Ladies in the Office

2011-08-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

So today Bart came home and told me that some of the ladies at his school have been complaining because I'm not posting pictures of the twins. (Truth be told I thought about that as I was doing my last post).

Well ladies, this one's for you!

This is my Maya:

Let me tell you, this one is easy to please. I swear she just sits there staring at you thinking, "Look at me, look at me, look at me." And when you do, not only does her face light up, but her arms and legs flail. As my dad puts it, she smiles with her whole body.

And because I don't really feel like choosing which one is my favorite, here are a bunch more:

But, lest you think she is all smiles, all the time, she's not. This face frequents our house too.

Just Kidding. To be honest with you, when I saw that picture, it was like I was seeing the face for the first time. I was like, "What? A picture of Maya looking unhappy?!? I don't believe it!" So I had to post it. Well, that, and it's a good picture of her bulldog cheeks. I love those darn cheeks, I just want to eat them! Num num num.

Now, as smiley as Maya is, that's about how smiley Lilly isn't. Not that she's unhappy. She just quietly observes and critically assesses every situation. Bart and I were acting like total idiots jumping around and making crazy noises and funny faces trying to get her to smile for these pictures:

And by the way, this is what Maya was doing in the background as we made fools of our selves trying to get Lilly to smile/laugh.

Apparently she thought we were funny.

Maybe if we change her onsie she'll smile.

Come on Lilly! Just a little one...

Oh, I think I see something trying to break out of that stoic little face.

Yay! There it is!

And now for some of them together:

And now some outside.

And since it's my blog and I can do pretty much whatever I want with it, here's some more.

Well there you go ladies. I hope you enjoyed!

Amy's Home

2011-08-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

So my sister Amy came home from her mission in June. She came home right as my family was taking my sister, Stacy up to college at BYU. So instead of flying into LA, she flew into Salt Lake, so we got to be there at the airport when she flew in!

Isn't she the cutest little sister missionary EVER!!!

It's kind of crazy to think about it, but when she left, Hannah was about the same age as the twins are now. Man, a lot can change in 18 months!

It's good to have you home Amy. We love you!

Dallin Blessing

2011-08-02T22:07:00.001-07:00

The day after the temple and the Zoo, Charles and Heather blessed this little cutie. The newest member of their household, Dallin.

In Honor of Zeke Part 2

2011-07-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned before, the second thing we decided to do as a family that day was go to the Zoo.

Now some of you might be thinking, "Wow, Rebecca's brave to head to the zoo with two nursing babies." And if you're thinking that, you're right...brave and a little foolish. Two nursing babies is VERY different than one. But I was sure I could do it. The kids wouldn't last too long at the zoo, and I'd bring my pump, pump right before we got there, feed the babies the pumped milk, and then be good for a few hours.

We hopped in the car and all was going well until I pulled out my pump...I had forgotten the breast shields to my pump. So much for my carefully planned day. I ended up just finding a corner to nurse. I fed one baby, then tracked everyone down and swapped babies so I could feed the other. Fortunately I had remembered my nursing cover.

Although at the beginning I did more nursing than animal watching (I gave the camera to Bart so we'd still have pictures while I was nursing), once I was done I was able to join in the action. And man, with so many kids, action was the right word. Almost everybody had somebody in their arms or being pushed in a stroller at one point or another...or at every point.

Addison cracked me up with this map. She was determined to plan our route to all the animals she wanted to see. Fortunately some of the adults helped or we may never have made it.

Bart's favorite was the reptile house. And really, the girls loved it too.

After the Zoo we headed over to Texas Road House and met up with Charles, Heather, and Dallin for a BBQ dinner that would have made Zeke Proud. And when dinner was done, in true Francis fashion, we chatted outside while the kids played.

Overall it was a wonderful day. I can't wait until next year!

In Honor of Zeke's Memory

2011-07-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

As a family, we decided we would get together and do something each year in June in honor of Bart's Dad's memory. This year, we did a session in the Provo temple, and then went to the Zoo.

On the way to the temple, Leonard realized that he had forgotten his temple recommend in the car they had left at our house the day before. Sam & Holly had to be back in Salt Lake at noon, so we went through the session without him, and he caught the session right after us. As a result we got to hang out on the beautiful temple grounds until he came out.

Charles was running in the Ragnar Relay, so he & Heather couldn't make it, but they thought Andy would love the Zoo so she dropped him off at the temple so we could take him with us. He loved the grounds too...especially the fountains.

Next up, the zoo!

Reading With Grandpa

2011-07-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

I cannot even begin to explain how unbelivably behind I am with blogging. That being said, I absolutely had to post these pictures I took tonight of my dad reading to the girls.

First he read Fox in Sox to them. And if you've ever read Fox in Sox, you know that's no easy task! then he made up his own story. It was a "Friendly Giant" story. We always loved dad's Friendly Giant stories. I have so many fond memories of my dad taking time out of his busy day reading and telling stories to my siblings and I. It just warms my heart to see my kids enjoying stories with him too.

I also love how, for the most part, Addison is listening intently, and Hannah is just kind of doing her own thing. Hannah, you crack me up.

Don't worry Amy...

2011-07-01T15:36:00.001-07:00

The girls are making good use of the stickers you gave them.

Potty Training...Again...Sort Of

2011-06-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

So, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Hannah pretty much has been trying to potty train herself. As I also mentioned before, I just couldn't handle it...it took too much time, clean up, and focus...I was doing my best to discourage her. (I won't be getting the parent of the year award this year...or any time soon for that matter). My friend Janae told me how she just potty trained her kid on the big toilet. That way, not only was there less clean up, but they also wouldn't stick with it unless they were very determined.

Well, I hid the little potty, and told her she was more than welcome to go on the big toilet like the rest of us. She tried it once, and decided it wasn't for her....until last week.

She came to me and said, "Stinky!" which is how she tells me it's time to change her diaper...only when I opened her diaper, it was clean.

I asked her, "Hannah, do you need to go popo?"

She nodded.

"Would you like to go on the big toilet?"

Another nod.

So we rushed off to the bathroom.

Sure enough, within seconds of sitting on the toilet, she had gone. She did it again the next day. Then we went to California and we didn't even bother trying, but we're back now, and she did it again today. She comes to us and lets us know whenever she needs to go popo.

I hear that normally training for popo is harder than pee, but for Addison it was the opposite, and I have a feeling for Hannah it's going to be the same.

And, also like her sister, she insists that you leave the bathroom when she's going. She wants you be just outside the door so she can call for you when she's done, but while she's going, she wants to be alone, so I leave her alone. Now if only I can convince her to do the same for me.

The Children's Art Festival

2011-06-14T19:52:00.001-07:00

Last Friday, Bart & I took the girls to the Springville Children's Art Festival. Bart has known about it since he was in college, but for some reason we've never taken the kids.

We decided to remedy that this year, and told Addison when she went to bed the night before that the next day we would be going to a Children's Art Festival. Words cannot describe how excited this child was. I think she had a harder time sleeping than on Christmas Eve. The next morning we woke up to hear her singing a song she had made up about how excited she was to go.

And let me tell you, the festival didn't disappoint. Not only did the kids have a blast, but I got some new ideas for art projects I could do with them...this being my favorite:

The kids took one of those foam squares you can find at any art supply/craft store, and drew very hard into it. Then they covered it in paint, and made a print of their drawing on a piece of paper. It was sooooooooo cool!

This was my favorite part of the day though. This was the part of the day that the art teacher in my husband came out and attempted to teach my four year old, and my two year old about impressionism. When he said, "Hey girls, look at this, this is called impressionism." I had to stifle a laugh. Addison got that look on her face that I've seen so often when she has no idea what I'm talking about, but doesn't want to be rude and interrupt. It's this big fake smile, and slightly unfocused eyes, accompanied by an occasional nod. Physically she appears to be reacting to you, but you can just see her mind somewhere else. For all that, I think she did a pretty good job on her picture. As for Hannah, well, I think she thought the crayons were lip gloss.

Everyone had a great time, but I think I especially liked it because Bart got to bond with the girls. I think Addison is an art teacher's dream child. She absolutely loves any kind of art. But for how much she loves art, she and Bart don't do it together all that often, so they really liked spending time with each other just doing art.

We'll definitely be going again next year.

Weapon X Anyone?

2011-06-07T00:29:00.000-07:00

Anyone else see a resemblance?

First Haircut

2011-06-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago, Hannah came home from preschool with an interesting hairdo.

Did you see that? Here, let's get a bit closer.

I think her teachers were trying to tell us something.

We were perfectly aware that she had grown a baby mullet, but the rat tail was the last straw. On Saturday, my baby finally got her first haircut.

Here's a Before:

During:

"Hannah, can you smile for mommy?"

Never mind, stop smiling.

And After:

YAY! The baby mullet is gone!

Hannah's attitude toward her first haircut was remarkably like Addison's. She just sat quietly watching what was going on. In an attempt to get some sort of reaction out of her, I asked her to smile. At first she did nothing, but then she thought about it, and gave me the beautiful smiling face in that picture above. Seriously, is that not the saddest/most pained smile you've ever seen?

Anyway...this is how Addison's hair was done on the same day Hannah's was in the rat tail.

I'll give you one guess as to what is new with her hair.

Memorial Day

2011-06-01T12:31:00.000-07:00

I love memorial day. I am embarrassed to admit that I had no idea why we celebrated memorial day until I was in college. I like to think that if I ever took the time to stop and think about it, I would have figured it out, but to me, memorial day meant a day off from school (yes, in California we were always still in school) and a wonderful picnic breakfast up in the mountains with families from our church.

It was a fun (and memorable) way to celebrate, but now that I know what it's for, I feel a reverence for the day that I never felt before. And since we were in Moab, we got to go and visit Bart's dad's grave for the first time since they got the headstone.

The headstone is beautiful. It's made of red stone, and has the temple Zeke and Maralee were married in on the front of it. It's just perfect for Zeke. The family history buff in me also likes how it has the names of all of his kids on back.

Bart took the girls up on the family's property before we went to the cemetery to collect flowers to put on the grave.

It was slightly warm with a gentle, cool breeze, almost as if the weather itself wanted to show the proper reverence for those who had gone before us, and left this world for the next.

It just felt right being there with family.

We also got to visit the graves of a few other family members buried in the Cemetery.

The cemetery had a beautiful memorial for all the veterans.

We were able to find Zeke's cross and flag.

Overall, it was a beautiful Memorial Day.

Moab Arts Festival

2011-06-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

So we've been planning on going to Moab for Memorial Day weekend for quite a while now. We haven't been since about a month before the twins were born, which is way too long to be away from family. We went on the right weekend. They were having their annual art's festival.

There were lots of cool things to see.

And Eat

I didn't get pictures of everything because my battery died. Sigh. But Bart was determined to try all the fair food...especially the stuff he had never tried before. That included cotton candy, ribbon fries, deep fried pickles, deep fried cookie dough, home made popsicles, and ice cream. (fortunately we had lots of people to help us eat all that incredibly healthy food).

It was fun trying it, but honestly, I don't know if I'd get any of it again. Except maybe the ice cream. We came back in the evening for ice cream. Addison was a fan.

I don't know if I've mentioned this about Hannah. But she absolutely LOVES ice. I think she inherited an ice addiction from my mom. We got her a shaved ice. She was in heaven.

And we let her have the ice cream we couldn't finish too.

We sat under some pine trees at lunch and the girls had a blast gathering pine cones into a pile. Hannah's starting to really speak in sentences now. Whenever Addison found one, she'd run to show me and say, "Look mom, I found one" before putting it into the pile. In the spirit of trying to be like her big sister in every way, Hannah too would run up to me with her pine cones and say, "I found one!" before putting it in their pile.

It was a great day.

There are so many reasons I love this picture

2011-05-27T09:29:00.001-07:00

Even though it's not really anything special, there are so many reasons I LOVE this picture.

I love it because it's a picture of Utah clouds. I swear, Utah has the best clouds in the world. I've been to a lot of different places, but none of their clouds compare to Utah. Utah clouds are the best. Even in Africa, there were some pretty cool clouds, but Utah clouds put them to shame. And really, in my opinion, these are cool clouds, but they're not Utah's best. Utah has some AWESOME clouds.

I love it because it was taken on the morning of Hannah's second birthday. I love you Hannah! Happy Birthday Baby.

I love it because the reason I got it is Bart called me on his way to work to tell me there were some cool clouds in the sky. He knows I love beautiful clouds and thought I might want to take a picture of them. I love you babe!

I love it because he noticed them because Addison pointed them out to him. (He was dropping her off at preschool before he headed off to work). Addison is so good at seeing the beauty in the world. I can just picture her gasping, pointing, and saying, "Daddy, look at those beautiful clouds!" I love you Addison!

And I love it because when Bart called, the babies were playing contentedly and were patient with me as I opened the door and slipped into the front yard to snap the picture. Thanks for being good my little ladies. I love you guys!

Practicing on my Brother - Engagements Eric & Courtney

2011-05-23T20:12:00.000-07:00

So my brother and his new fiancee, Courtney were sweet enough to pose for me so I could practice taking pictures on someone other than my kids! And man, it's tough! I have SOOOOOOO much to learn. But I still had a lot of fun, and wound up with a few images I liked. So here they are.

Thanks guys, for letting me practice on you, and Courtney, thank you for agreeing to marry my quirky, awesome brother. We're excited to have you in the family!

A Little Mommy

2011-05-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Today after I nursed the babies, I set them down in their crib to sleep, and when I turned around, Hannah had her baby and was putting on my nursing pillow.

I ran downstairs for the camera, went back up and sat back to see what she would do.

I have to admit, I half expected her to pull up her shirt and try to feed her baby the way mommy feeds her babies.

But she was perfectly content just lovingly cradling the baby.

I love the way my girls play with babies. They are just so sweet and tender. True, our being in the room for more time caused the real babies to wake up, and it took me longer to get them to bed. But in my opinion, getting pictures of my baby caring for her baby...totally worth it. :)

Drawing Summer

2011-05-18T19:10:00.001-07:00

So the other day while Hannah and the babies were taking a nap, Addison was out in the back yard drawing with sidewalk chalk (judging by the number of sidewalk chalk pictures I've posted lately, you can probably deduce that this is a VERY typical activity at our house...especially when the weather is nice).

So she comes in the door and says, "Look mom! I drew summer!" I went out the back door very curious as to what summer looks like and saw this:

So here is what summer is to my daughter:

Hearts

Our cherry tree

Daddy and Addison riding a roller coaster (when she's all grown up of course).

The sun, sky and clouds....especially heart clouds

Addison and Hannah playing on the grass with a butterfly (do you remember this post?)
Update: I just read this post to Addison and she informed me it wasn't her and Hannah. It was her and her cousin Mckenna...sorry for the mistake.

Our house with a pink door. (We didn't have any red sidewalk chalk. if you look closely, you can even see hinges!)

She worked hard on it

And was very satisfied with her work:

I love summer. :)

Just Playing

2011-05-12T09:14:00.000-07:00

We've been having some fun around here.

Hannah loves putting this wire "trash can" on her head.

I use quotes because we never really use it as a trash can, and when we do it's just for paper. So it's not really that gross that she puts it on her head.

Addison got it in her head that if she put it on her head and clapped these two easter eggs together she'd look like the scarry monkey on Toy Story 3. With those eyes, she kind of did.

One of the kids (and my) favorite afternoon snacks is apples and peanut butter...heavy on the peanut butter.

And for Hannah, well, sometimes she just skips the apples.

Maya was having fun playing with daddy the other day.

Wait, that looks familiar, where have I seen something like that before...Oh yeah:
(that's Addison by the way).
By the way, Addison was almost the same age in that photo as Maya is in the one above.

Maya sure loves her daddy...almost as much as daddy loves his Maya.

I also noticed some really pretty light while I was changing Maya's diaper. So I grabbed a camera and snapped a few pictures...this one was my favorite.

I wish I had a macro lens to really get a good picture of Maya's eyelashes. They're so long and beautiful!

I'm also learning to take pictures in different types of light. I took this one yesterday and rather like it. :)

And now I'm feeling guilty because there are no pictures of Lilly in this entire post! I have to go and get one....Ah, here we go. Lilly in her Bumbo.

She's pretty good at sitting in the Bumbo...when she wants to. :)

A Letter to My Kids

2011-05-10T12:41:00.001-07:00

I don't really consider myself a very sentimental person. In fact, I am generally not a fan of when people get all honeyed and mushy...especially in public. But I am going to break from my traditional demeanor in this post.

I have been feeling extremely grateful for my kids lately. They are really challenging a lot of the time, but they're also incredibly sweet and I don't know what I'd do without them. For Mother's day all I wanted (other than a nap) was some pictures with each of my kids, and Bart was happy to oblige. So, here they are, along with some thoughts about why I love each of my children.

And as a warning, this one's gonna be sappy. Read on at your own risk.

Addison:

Oh, my Addison. How I love you. In church on Mother's day, someone commented that often Motherhood is a thankless job. Well for me it isn't. Not with you around. Every single day I can count on you for at least one (if not many) spontaneous hugs accompanied by an, "I love you mom." Just the other day you told me, "Mom, all I want to do is get some hot chocolate, turn on a movie, and snuggle with you." Thankless? Never. I love you Addison.

Hannah:

Dear sweet Hannah. Just thinking about you makes my heart swell! I remember the first time I heard your, "I yuv you." I nearly melted. And I can always count on you to make me laugh with your quirky little antics. Lately, I love how you'll call out, "I yuv you mommy," and then pause, think about it, and follow up with, "I yuv you Addison." Or Daddy, or Maya, or Lilly...but I especially love the Addison right now. It always comes when Addison is away at preschool. It makes me happy to know that you love her so much, even when she's not around helping you. I love you sweet Hannah.

Maya:

Maya, I cannot explain the elation I felt when you first smiled at me. It was such a spontaneous, sweet smile. And it lasted for so long! I spent so many hours worrying about you when you were in the hospital. According to the ultrasound, gestationally, you were a few days younger than your sister, and when you're born at 32 weeks every day makes a big difference. Yours was the placenta that abrupted, and you had a hard time at first. But now it's like you're making up for all that worry you put me through. You are my angel baby. You are so easy going and relaxed. Don't get me wrong, if you have had enough for the day, you will let everyone know. But those days are few and far between. You are the perfect complement to your drama queen sister. I love you my Maya.

Lilly:

Oh my little Lilly. I'm not going to lie, you have been my most challenging baby. Your dad says you're a drama queen. You're either extremely happy, or EXTREMELY unhappy. The SECOND something does not go your way (be it having to wait while I change your sister's diaper or being set down when you want to be held), you will cry out to let EVERYONE know! On the other hand, when you're happy, you'll smile and coo at me for what seems like hours.
When you were in the hospital you were my rock. Every time the nurses would give me bad news about Maya ("She has to go back on the CPAP machine," or "She's not tolerating her feedings well") they'd give me good news about you (she's ready to move on to the next step). I remember looking into your little blue eyes and just feeling you tell me, "It's okay mama, don't cry. She'll be fine. See, I'm moving forward, she'll be there soon too." I knew she'd be fine, but I can't tell you how much comfort your progress brought me.
Then, as we were about to leave the hospital, your oxygen levels started dropping at your feedings. I told the nurses that I didn't understand. You were the one who was always doing better and now you were having a hard time. The nurses told me, "Sometimes it's like these little babies are just giving it their all, and they finally just poop out and say, 'I'm sorry, I just can't do it any more.'" I felt like that's what you had done for me. You worked so hard to keep me going when Maya was struggling that you finally wore yourself out. Thank you sweet Lilly. You were there when I needed you most, and in the grand scheme of things, a few weeks with extra oxygen and a monitor were a small sacrifice to have you home and well. I love you my little Lil.

Planning Dinner

2011-05-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

As I was typing that last post, Bart was in the other room searching through our recipe books, looking for a few meals for this week. Here's a conversation we had:

Bart: Is Fennel Good.
Rebecca: Yeah.
Bart: What does it taste like?
Rebecca: Um....kind of like Anise.
Bart: ANUS?!?!?

LOL!!!!

::::an explanatory conversation and few minutes of quiet later::::

Bart: What's Ja-cam-uh (Ja as in the beginning of July, Cam as in the beginning of camera, and uh as in the beginning of um.)
Rebecca: You mean Jicama (As in Hick-uh-ma)

Never a dull moment at our house.

Addison

2011-05-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

So today I wanted to take some pictures for a photography assignment I did. However it required someone who would sit still for an extended period of time. I realized that the babies were probably my best option, considering they can't really run off, but they were asleep and I worried they'd get fussy if they were forced to look into my camera lens for too long. I knew Hannah was out of the question, so I decided to bribe Addison with some brownies if she'd sit still and let me take some pictures of her. I asked her to sit in one position and not move. How did that work out for me? Well, you be the judge:

Addison: Mom, I'm going to get some brownies for doing this right?
Mom: Yes Addison, just sit still.

Addison: Can I get the brownies now? I'm really hungry.
Mom: Not yet, don't move, you're supposed to be in the same position. I'll give you some when I'm done.

Addison: I sure wish I were eating brownies right now.

Sigh. Oh well, they were close enough.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there, and especially to my Mother, Mother in law, and Grandmothers (that includes you Clara!).

I cannot explain how grateful I am for all the wonderful mother figures in my life. I really don't think I could have gotten any luckier in that department!

I also am so grateful for my kids (even if they do ware me out). In honor of Mother's day, I compiled a group of pictures I took on a "Hannah & Mommy day."

Hopefully I'll be able to make one of these for each of my kids soon.

Enjoying the Weather

2011-05-07T19:28:00.000-07:00

The weather has FINALLY warmed up. Can I get a hallelujah! We've been taking advantage.

Ironically, a few days ago Addison decided she wanted to play with her umbrella for the first time on the first not-a-cloud-in-the-sky day we've had in a long time.

As you can see, we weren't too meticulous about cleaning faces after lunch.

She also enjoyed moping

Hannah discovered that sidewalk chalk can also be used to color various body parts.

She also enjoyed watering the plants.

And both girls loved playing with the rolly pollys.

Today was a bubble day.

And this picture is from tonight. I feel like it accurately portrays the way I feel life is right now...moving so quickly, everything is a blur.

Sunshine and Butterflies

2011-05-03T12:13:00.000-07:00

FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY the weather has gotten nice. Seriously, I think we had the coldest April in history here! It was MISERABLE! But yesterday it was a beautiful day (even if the breeze did have a bit of a bite to it), and that meant playing outside! YAY! I couldn't tell who was happier, the kids or me. When they're playing outside, they're not making a mess inside.

By the way, our outside play almost always consists of sidewalk chalk.

There was also a butterfly (okay, maybe it was a moth) that kept flying incredibly close to us. Then all of the sudden it landed on Hannah's head! Then it landed on Addison's Head! This happened last year too! I couldn't believe it. I didn't get a picture of it on the girls' heads, but I did get these.

It was a lovely spring day.

Every New Stage is my New Favorite Stage

2011-05-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

In reference to her baby's growth, one of my friends once told me, "Every new stage is my new favorite stage."

I TOTALLY felt like this whenever Addison learned something new. But when Addison was a baby I remember wondering if the feeling would be the same for your second or third child. I didn't think so. With your first,not only is it new for the baby, but it's new for you too. You've never had a baby roll, or say mama, or learn to walk before. Surely the second time around it wouldn't be as exciting.

WRONG! With Hannah I feel like every new stage is my new favorite stage all over again! And now I'm excited because every stage I'm loving of Hannah's I think, "Hey! I get to do it again in 18 months!" Te he he.

Right now Hannah's in the "learning to use phrases" stage. Some of her favorite are:

Where's Daddy?
Where's Addison?
Whatcha Doing?
All right. (This one's one of my favorites. It frequents our home in a sing song tone after I've asked her to do something and is usually accompanied by a swaggering walk to go and do whatever it is that I've asked her to do).
You're Naked! (I like this one too, although it gets a little old when she's in the stall with you at a public restroom).

She's also going through a binkie stage. She refused to take a binkie when she was a baby, but around last September, she re-discovered them and loves them. I'm not worried about weaning her from them. She doesn't normally walk around with a binkie in her mouth, and she has no problem going to sleep without them. They just come in handy if she's being exceptionally fussy and either a) I'm nursing the babies, so I can't comfort her at the moment or b) she really wants a bottle (something I would like to wean her off of).

Yeah, the bottle. Sigh. I know you're supposed to get them off the bottle around the age of one, but man, when she is inconsolable and I have two other babies that are inconsolable, that bottle really comes in handy. Yes, she is perfectly capable of drinking from a straw, sippy, and regular cup. But she loves that darn bottle. Bart and I would really like to get her off of it by the time she's two (holy cow is that really less than a month away?) so we've been giving them to her less and less lately. But she's caught on, and when we do break down and give her one, good luck getting it away from her. She carries it around with her non stop. And if she is doing something that requires two hands, that doesn't stop her:

This is also her, "I like putting hoods on my head that make my ears stick out" stage.

My silly little comedian.

My Picture is on a website!

2011-04-23T20:55:00.000-07:00

Remember that photography forum I told you I joined? Well, a little while ago they asked people to submit photos for their new home age. Hundreds of people submitted photos. I decided that even though I'm relatively new to this whole photography thing I'd submit some, but as I looked through all the submissions I thought there was no way any of mine would get chosen. There were just so many good ones. A lot of them from professional photographers.

Well, I was wrong!!! This one got in!

I am SOOOOOOOOO excited!!! The website is http://www.clickinmoms.com/. If you click the right or left arrows on the scrolling picture bar it will take you to the next set of pictures.

It's probably not a big deal for a lot of people, but I was pretty darn excited. :)

I think Lilly Discovered Maya Today

2011-04-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

I know it sounds weird, but Lilly and Maya NEVER look at each other. I've put them on their sides facing each other so that their noses were almost touching and their eyes would dart everywhere else but at each other. It was like they were intentionally avoiding eye contact.

Well, today I was nursing them and Lilly un-latched and her eyes wandered over to Maya. She looked a little startled, then got this big smile and started babbling away, talking to her sister. It was awesome!

As for Maya, well she just kept on eating.

I Don't Like Restrictions

2011-04-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

Particularly on where I can or cannot travel. And especially when those restrictions are imposed by my own government. I was reading this article today, and suddenly really wanted to go to Cuba!

Would it have the same appeal if US citizens weren't supposed to go there? I'm not sure. It seems like a very interesting place to visit. I had an Econ Teacher in High School who always used to tell us stories from when he sneaked into Cuba. And I always like learning about and seeing different cultures. But in all reality, my interest has been magnified simply by the fact that I'm not supposed to go.

I've never before wanted to be a citizen of another country, but right now I'd kill for dual citizenship in Canada...or better yet England! Oh, that reminds me of another place I'd like to visit...off to look for articles on Stone Henge.

Grandparents!

2011-04-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

So, Thursday afternoon my Grandma and Grandpa Collyer called and told me they were coming to Utah for their mission reunion so they wanted to visit me the next day. SWEET!

Then, about an hour later, Bart's aunt called to say they were coming and were thinking about bringing Grandma (Francis) so she could visit and meet the twins if that was alright with us. HECK YEAH!

So the next day I got to visit with not one, but THREE of my grandparents! It was the best April Fools day ever!

And of course we got lot of pictures. :) I was thinking about just posting one or two, but pictures of my grandparents just make me so happy! Every time I look at them my heart just swells! I love my grandparents so much. So I decided to just share them all with you. :)

Grandma and Grandpa Collyer and the Twins:

Lilly

Maya

Grandma Francis with the Twins

Okay, I just have to say. I LOVE this next picture of Grandma Francis and Maya. Not only do I think she looks just beautiful in it, but to me, it perfectly reflects a part of her personality. When we had Addison (her first Great Grandchild) I remember Grandma telling us all she wanted was rock that baby on the rocking chair.

And she did! When Addison first met her Great Grandma Francis, she refused to go to sleep while anyone was sitting down with her. Well, Grandma changed that! She got in that rocking Chair with Addison and had her to sleep within minutes! It was incredible!

And the legacy continues. Maya isn't a fan of people sitting while holding her either, but she fell right asleep on Grandma's shoulder in the rocker. I love you Grandma!

And, while all the grandparents were here, we realized that we had an unusual opportunity. I had, in the same room, the girls only two living biological great grandmothers. (My Grandpa Timms is remarried and if Teresa had been here, I would have thrown her in the pictures too!) :) So I got a picture of the twins with their two living Great Grandmothers.

Ahh, I swear these pictures just make me so happy! GrandmaS and Grandpa, I LOVED visiting with you guys. Please, come again ANYTIME!

Dada Dance

2011-03-31T21:10:00.000-07:00

Today Hannah turned on some music all by herself, started dancing and said, "Dance! Dance!" Bart and I thought it was pretty darn cute, but then she turned to Bart and said, "Dada," grabbed his hand, pulled him over to me so that we were face to face and said, "Dance!"

We looked at eachother not quite sure we were interpreting her properly, but then she made a motion with her hands as if to say, "come on guys, get together and dance," and said, "DANCE!"

We laughed and started to dance together. She gave herself a satisfied nod and continued to dance herself. It was pretty much the cutest thing EVER!!!

It was fun being a mom again!

2011-03-28T10:10:00.000-07:00

So last week, there was a morning when I actually felt like it was fun being a mom again! I know that sounds sad, but I don't really feel like it's sad. It's just life. Being a mom is work. It's AWESOME work, but a lot of times it's HARD work. And, like any other type of work, or job, there are easy times, and there are hard times.

Having a new baby is so so so so awesome. But I don't think there is a mom out there who wouldn't tell you it's also really tough. Babies demand so much time and attention, it really is hard. (Even without the challenges of being sleep deprived!) And, let me tell you, having two is MORE than twice as hard as having one!

I can get TONS done when I have just one baby. I can clear out the dishwasher, work on dinner, pick up toys, read stories, comfort another child, change laundry from the washer to the dryer, update blogs, make beds, and so much more WHILE NURSING one baby. (Seriously, I've done it).

But two is a whole new story. With one baby, you have one free hand to do things. When you have two babies, there are no extra hands. When I am nursing or holding the twins, I can get NOTHING else done. Well, since I have a huge nursing pillow, I can pretty much nurse tandem without using my hands, so I can read blogs or update facebook from my ipod, but that's about it. And when I'm just holding the twins, I can't even do that.

I nurse the twins A LOT! They're usually eating every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. And that's from the beginning of one feeding to the beginning of another feeding. When you take into account that they will eat anywhere from 20 to 45 min, that leaves me more like 1 to 1/2 hours in between feedings. And a lot of time, during that time, they're fussy, so I have to hold them. (Especially Lilly. Man, that baby is fussy! And if I'm holding Lilly, after a while Maya will begin to wonder why she's not being held to and start whining).

In short, lately, this mom job of mine has been in a hard phase. A VERY VERY hard phase.

But the Monday before last, the twins decided to be perfectly content in their little bouncer and car seat while I bathed myself, Hannah, and Addsion. Got all of us dressed, and fed all of us breakfast. And you know what, not having crying babies, and getting to interact with my kids without screaming in the background was actually fun! I thought, "Maybe we can go on a walk."

So I buckled the twins into their carseats, wrapped them in blankets, put on their little beanies, and clicked them into the stroller. Of course that's when they decided to start to cry. I could feel my stress levels rising, but I was DETERMINED to get out of the house for a little while and go on a walk, however short. So I put on Addison and Hannah's coats and PRAYED that the twins would settle down. Well they did and we got to walk for a little while. It was so nice. In fact, it was fun!

I can finally see a distant light at the end of this difficult tunnel. The twins are starting to take regular naps. (I can only get them to sleep at the same time about half the time during the day, but like I said before, I can do a lot with only one baby). And I think it won't be too long before they start really getting into a schedule and sleeping at the same time regularly (I hope). That will free up some much needed time for attention to my other two little girls. YAY!

2011-03-26T11:56:00.001-07:00

Bart says Lilly looks kind of like Uncle Fester from the Addam's Family when she wears this collar.

Bald Head, Big Cheeks, Double Chin.

Hmmmm....I still think she's cuter.

Hannah's doing it too

2011-03-25T21:17:00.000-07:00

I told you guys how Addison likes to copy Hannah here. Well, Today Lilly was sitting in her little bouncer. I took her out, set her on the bed, and turned around to this:

Guess Addison's not the only one.

Supermoon a Haiku

2011-03-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

My dear Supermoon
Would that I could see you, but
Cloudy skies forbid

A Great Evening

2011-03-18T00:20:00.001-07:00

I just spent the evening at the Pantages seeing Beauty and the Beast, with this little girl:

I can't think of a better way to have spent my evening.

Thanks for a great time Addison!

A few things...

2011-03-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

This is how I get a shower every day:

This type of thing is the reason we call Hannah our silent little comedian:

There was no giggling. Just a rag girl slowly walking silently toward me. Then, when she had heard me laugh, the rag girl walked silently away.

And this is the type of thing Addison does when she sees Hannah's made us laugh:

I wouldn't call her jealous per se, but when Hannah gets a reaction out of us, Addison does her best to do the same. I love this sweet little girl.

So excited!

2011-03-07T20:54:00.000-08:00

Soooo, at the beginning of the year I won a year membership to a Photography forum. I was pretty stoked considering the one new year's resolution I made was to improve my photography skills.

On the forum they suggested a 50mm 1.4 or 50mm 1.8 if you're just starting out. I can't afford the 1.4 at the moment (even though I would desperately love to have it), so I found a used 1.8 one of the other forum members was selling and purchased it. It arrived today!!! I am in love with this lens! Here are some pictures I took with it today:

The light in my kitchen was not very good. Normally I have to bump the ISO WAY up....like to maximum. Although I still needed to bump it up a little bit higher than I would ideally like, it was nowhere NEAR maximum, and I think they turned out beautifully. (In low lighting!) When I looked in the viewfinder to see the pics, it took my breath away!

And look how narrow you can get the depth of field (look closely at Hannah's right eye vs her left eye). And the background is so beautifully blurry! I'm seriously in love.

I especially like the blur because you can't see the mess that is my house. :o)

And it makes for a pretty nice portrait.

Ah my silly girl.

And here's one, just for fun

I seriously can't wait to learn to use this lens better and see what it can do!

Some Pictures of the Girls

2011-03-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been a while since I posted any pictures of the girls, so here they are:

Addison...posing. She wanted me to get a picture of her sleeping, so I oblidged.

She is seriously such an angel child. I can't believe how helpful she is...and how happy and proud she is to be so helpful. It's so sweet. Today she told me, "Mom, I have two super powers. Helping you, and turning on the TV." LOL! I'll give you one guess what I tell them to do 99% of the time that they need me while I'm nursing the twins. Sigh. It's hard to be a good parent when you have four little ones.

Hannah REFUSES to look at me when I'm taking pictures lately. Instead she looks down and tries to get around me. It makes me sad because I can't get good pictures of her beautiful eyes, but this one was pretty cute.

Hannah is going through the naked stage. She is stripping down completely whenever we put her down to sleep. At night we have to pin up her zipper with a diaper pin so she won't take all her clothes off and wet the bed. Silly girl.

And now for the twins. They're starting to smile. I haven't caught a cute one of Lilly's full smile yet, but I like these pictures of her. Whenever Lilly smiles, the left side of her mouth kind of twitches up into a little half grin just before she flashes you her huge toothless smile. I love it. Hopefully I'll be able to capture that sometime.

This is a cute one of Maya, although it's not as sharp as I'd like.

And here's one I caught of her laughing. Not the best compositionally, but I love how it looks like she's just letting out a big belly laugh. And look at those two dimples!!! SOOOO CUTE!

The twins are starting to babble too. Not a ton, but they've made a few sounds. The other day one of them...I can't remember which (that happens when there's two of them)...made a sound in reaction to something we were doing that almost sounded like a laugh. It's only a matter of time. We're excited!

Les Miserables

2011-03-05T19:28:00.000-08:00

So Bart and I are sitting around, watching PBS's 25th anniversary concert of Les Miserables. OH MY GOSH!!! It is absolutely AMAZING! I forgot how increadible this music is. I am getting goosebumps!

And the story! Oh my gosh. If you haven't read the book, you need to. I really think I don't have the writing skills to adequately describe how increadible this story is. If you do not read it, your are missing one of the greatest accomplishments in literary history. Seriously. Your life will be incomplete without it. And you don't even know it! It is absolutely AMAZING. The characters are some of the most amazing, complex, increadible characters. Amazing! And the music. Oh man! And the story. Did I mention the music...or the story?

And in this particular performance , Javert is absolutely increadible. I mean everyone is amazing, but he is just so perfectly cast. He's increadible! It's breathtaking!

Anyway, I have to go and re-read the story now...and perhaps donate to PBS so that I can have the dvd. And then see how many times I can say amazing and increadible.

Goodnight everyone!

Potty Training

2011-02-22T20:42:00.000-08:00

Well, Hannah's pretty much potty training herself. She's been sitting on her potty for a while now, and at the end of January (the 27th to be precise) we were even able to put her on it before she was finished pooping.

But, frankly, it was a pain. I had a potty full of poop to clean, and Hannah insists on wiping herself...a NIGHTMARE when you have a shallow kid potty full of poop & she's reaching on there to wipe (I tried to get her to stand up and wipe...right after I tried to convince her to let me wipe her...this one's stubborn).

Fortunately she likes washing her hands. Unfortunately she likes washing her hands a lot...over & over. And she screams and cries when I make her stop. All in all it was too much...especially with babies needing me the whole time. I vowed not to potty train her until the twins were at least 6 months old.

Well Hannah apparently doesn't care what I think. Yesterday she came to me and, pointing to her diaper said, "poopoo" then pointing to the bathroom said "potty!"

"Uh oh," I thought & checked her diaper. Sure enough, empty. I said, "Hannah, just go in your diaper." (in my defense, the babies were crying.) She looked very crossly at me pointed to her diaper & said, "poopoo" then at the bathroom & said "potty!"

"ah fine" I groaned & opened the bathroom door for her.

She was successful, & I spent the next half hour dealing with potty stuff, hoping it was a fluke. But alas, today she once again came to me with the infamous, "poopoo" "potty!". And this time she peed too! It took forever for Addison to pee in the potty. Sigh. If I didn't have two very demanding little ones I'd be thrilled. But things being the way they are, I've decided to get a little seat cover for the toilet. If she insists on potty training herself despite my best efforts, she's going to go in a place where all I have to do to clean up is flush.

Birdhouse

2011-01-15T15:48:00.001-08:00

Birdhouse
Originally uploaded by Bart's Rebecca

Today Addison asked me if she could do "an activity" which basically is any art project other than coloring. This is what we came up with. She got the birdhouse and paints in her Christmas Stocking, and we finally decided to use them. When she was done, she asked me if we had any other wooden things she could paint. Oh boy, what have I started?

I used to want to fly

2011-01-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

When I used to dream of having a super power, my wish was always the same...to fly. I think the sensation would be awesome! Wind blowing through your hair, seeing everything from that ariel view. Avoiding traffic. It'd be great.

But, as I sit here alone on the floor tandem nursing the twins, staring up at the water bottle I accidentally left on the dresser, I'd give anything for the power to move things with my mind.

Not Gonna Lie

2011-01-07T20:05:00.001-08:00

I'm getting a little tired of pink.

Everything I Need to know I Learned in the NICU

2011-01-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

So for those of you who don't know, the girls are FINALLY home. They came home on January 2nd after a VERY LONG holiday weekend. But it's great to have them home. Addison's look in this picture pretty much says it all.

Bart and I were talking and we realized that we learned all sorts of stuff while the kids were in the NICU. I feel bad for Addison and Hannah because apparently there's a bunch of stuff that we could have done to develop their coordination...among other things.

I specifically mention coordination because of this:

Do you see that rather faint yellow bruise on the upper right side of her forehead? This is a reoccurring bruise. Hannah is constantly bumping into things with that big old head of hers. In fact, she does it so much that it doesn't even faze her any more. Today she ran around a table corner and WHACK! Right in the same spot. It was hard enough to make me gasp, but she didn't even blink. She just kept running around. It made me think that maybe if we had done that little rubbing the feet on the legs thing they showed us in the NICU maybe she wouldn't be running into tables...or maybe she still would.

This is the other cool thing we learned in the NICU.

It's called a swaddle bath. You basically bathe the baby in a blanket and uncover parts of the body as you wash them, then recover them. It helps the baby retain body heat. AWESOME! The girls love it...but then all my kids loved baths once they could be immersed in the water.

Here's Maya's little swaddle Bath.

I'm pretty sure we weren't washing her feet at the time, so they weren't supposed to be out of the blanket. But I'm happy to say that she survived anyway.

Colds are the pits

2010-12-16T09:35:00.000-08:00

Especially when having one means you can't see your babies! So, since I can't see my babies, I thought I'd post a few pictures of them:

Maya

Lilly

I swear one day I will get a picture of Lilly with her eyes open!

They're both doing really well. Still nursing two times a day. They were both getting up to close to 75% of their feedings, then yesterday we had a bad day and they were back down to like 30%. And now I have a cold, so I can't go in to see them. Sad day!

But that's the way it is. Two steps forward, one step back...and colds don't help!!! I sure love my little girls, and hope I get better in record time so I can go and visit them again.

She used to be my youngest...

2010-12-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

So this little girl just has her 18 month doctor's appointment.

At 18 months Addison knew about a million words...okay, maybe not a million but I remember the doctor asking me if she knew at least 8 words and laughing because she knew so many more.

At the time of the doctor's appointment Hannah new about 8 words, but not a lot more than that. I wasn't worried about it but Bart wanted me to ask the doctor about it so I did. She too wasn't worried, but I think Hannah knew what we were talking about and thought, "Oh yeah mom, you're worried that I don't talk much, well how about this..." And now she is learning like five words a day!!! Okay, that may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but she is learning a ton! Way to go little girl!

Life in General

2010-12-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

So lately I feel like my life consists of going to the hospital and pumping. Seriously. I have to pump every 2 to 3 hours (start to start, and I pump for about half an hour, so it's more like 1.5 to 2.5 hours). Between hospital, pumping, and not being able to lift anything over 15 lbs, I SWEAR I can't do anything!

Today Bart had to stay after school for a little while, so I let the girls do something I wouldn't normally let them do...well, really I let them do something I wouldn't normally let Hannah do. But I had to keep them occupied so that I wouldn't need to pick up Hannah.

It worked out fairly well, although our chairs are really not playdough friendly. Sigh, oh well, I'm so tired I don't really care. And at least they had a little fun. :)

My other girls are doing really well.

We've introduced breastfeeding 2 times a day. They're doing well with it, but they have to get up to 75% of their feeding from me instead of the feeding tube before we can increase frequency which is what we want to do to get them to come home. The doctor says this nursing 2 times a day is the longest part. I'm not going to lie, I will be very happy when this hospital phase of our lives is over. They also both have their PICC lines (basically IVs) out now, and are up to full feedings.

Hannah is so cute. She knows there are pictures of the babies on the computer and our phones, so whenever she sees us on the computer or phone, she points to whatever it is we're using and says, "Babies." So we'll pull up a picture of the babies to show her. And when she sees it, she invariably tilts her head to the right and says, "Awwww." It's SOOOOOOOOOOOO cute! As soon as my brother returns our video camera, I'm getting it on film.

Well...I have an innie again

2010-11-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

So to make a VERY long story short, Friday I had a partial placental abruption and was hemorrhaging quite badly. We rushed to the hospital and our twins were born via emergency C-section at 32 weeks (8 weeks early).

Maya was born at 9:37 and weighed 3 lbs 14 oz and is 17 inches long

Lilly was born at 9:39 and weighed 4 lbs 5 oz and is 16 inches long

They're both doing really well. Lilly is completely off any type of breathing assistance. She's just breathing air.

Maya was off breathing assistance, but was breathing kind of quickly and labored, so they decided to put her back on the CPAP machine for a while (The CPAP Machine is the machine in the top pictures). Which is basically just a tube below her nose that blows air into it. That extra air pressure helps them breathe a little. It looks a lot scarier than it is...just ask Addison. We tried to prep her by explaining about the tubes and how they help the babies. But it backfired. Now she's terrified of tubes. She doesn't want to see babies with any tubes at all.

We had a window of opportunity yesterday Where they had taken Lilly off the CPAP machine and hadn't put her feeding tube back in yet, so we rushed Addison in to see her. Maya was just in the station next to her, but she still had the CPAP on, so Addison was terrified to even look over there. So she's met Lilly (which, by the way she decided the name on long ago...I'll share that story later) but hasn't met Maya yet.

Both of their Bilirubin levels were up, so they're under the Jaundice lights today. But they both really are doing well.

When we got to the Hospital Friday night and heard their heartbeats, it was a HUGE relief. It's good to know that everything's going well and they're being well taken care of by the NICU staff.

I'm also doing well. I lost a lot of blood, but was able to avoid a transfusion. The way the anestesiologist put it, "You won't be running a marathon tomorrow." Yeah, to say the least. I was soooo tired ALL day Saturday. I literally felt like I couldn't keep my eyes open. My blood pressure was very low, so whenever I sat up I got dizzy and nauseous and would throw up...not fun with a c-section. But I'm doing much better. Vaginal deliveries have a WAY better recovery, but I'm doing well.

Confession

2010-11-18T13:33:00.001-08:00

So I have secretly wanted an outie belly button for as long as I can remember. I can't remember when it started,or how, but I have always wanted one. I have had this image in my mind of a cute little belly button poking out, and wanted it.

With my first two pregnancies, I quietly hoped my belly button would eventually pop out as my stomach grew. Both times I got excited as my belly button got flat, but it never actually popped out.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, I now have an outie...AND I HATE IT! It looks weird, it feels weird, I don't like it. I miss my innie.

Oh boy

2010-11-13T11:36:00.001-08:00

So this is a picture of me today.

A few days ago I got a pregnancy update email that said, "Your babies are heading into a growth spurt."

Heaven help me.

More to come

2010-10-29T05:12:00.000-07:00

Okay, there's still more, but it's getting to be the time when I should start getting ready, so I'll have to post it later. Hopefully I'll be able to get everything done before I have a new onslaught of holiday posts.

Viewer Discretion is Advised

2010-10-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you've been morning sick/throwing up for so long that your minds starts to not function properly and someone gives you scotch tape.

Alright, alright, alright, I've done this before when I wasn't pregnant. But man, doing it with kids is so much more fun. In case you didn't get a good look...

Hannah didn't really get it...

Addison Totally did...

:o) Good times!

Bart Turns 30

2010-10-29T04:57:00.000-07:00

Haha! 30! It's great to have a husband who is older than you. Especially when you're the one who makes the cakes. He's never going to get me a cake like this when I finally turn 30....like 6 or 7 years from now.

Yep, that's a lot of candles isn't it.

It's a good thing Addison was helping or I don't know if he could have blown all those candles out in one try. Man, he's old! Te he he, I love you babe.

Bart's family was actually able to come down to celebrate, so I arranged to have a surprise party for him. He knew his mom would be in town, so we told him she woudl watch the kids while we went on a date. When we came home, the house was decorated and all his siblings were there to surprise him for his big 3-0. He was totally shocked. It was AWESOME!!!

Maui

2010-10-29T04:42:00.000-07:00

This year we also got to go to Maui with my family. Soooo much fun!

Mostly we just hung around the pool and beach. Hannah fell asleep in a beach chair and took a super long nap. It was AWESOME!

My parents, Stacy, and Eric got to go parasailing. They said this was a no no for pregnant ladies, so Lisa and I had to stay home, and our husbands graciously bowed out to be with us. Sweet boys.

We visited the legondary banyan tree.

And we went jet skiing....in retrospect, something that may not have been the best idea while pregnant. But it was still fun, despite someone, who shall remain nameless, running into us. ;o)

It was a great trip.

Aspen Grove

2010-10-29T04:06:00.000-07:00

We got to go to Aspen Grove with my parents this year. It was AWESOME! Time for a plug. To all you parents out there. Aspen Grove is the BEST VACATION EVER!!! They have camp councilors for literally every age group (literally, 6 weeks old and up), and you send your kids off, meet them for meals (which someone else cooks), and then send them off again until the evening. You TRULY get a vacation. No cooking, tending kids, cleaning...okay, there isn't a maid service, you do need to keep your room a little tidy, but that's way easy since your kids are gone all day! When I told Bart about Aspen Grove, he was a skeptic. By the end of the week, he was calling his family telling them that we should save up and do it! It is seriously awesome. I absolutely loved it as a kid, and now I'm not sure what's better. Going there as a kid, or going there as a parent. If you're thinking that might be nice, JUST DO IT! IT'S WORTH IT!

To me, this is what Aspen Grove is all about....Aspen Follies!

It's basically a ton of different obstacle course type things that you get to do with your family/group. SOOOOOOO much fun. That lame explanation really doesn't do it justice. Hopefully the pictures will give you a little bit of a better idea of it's awesomeness.

One of the first things we did while we were there was paint ball! I have been wanting to go paintballing FOREVER, but whenever I got the opportunity, something always came up and I couldn't. But I finally got to go! It was way fun, even with the ghetto coarse.

As soon as I told Bart Aspen Grove had a pond that kids could go fishing in, the only thing he wanted to do was take Addison fishing. I didn't know how it would pan out. Fishing generally takes a lot of patience...something 3 year olds aren't really known for. But they checked out their pole and bate, and headed down to the pond.

I figured I had better take some pictures quickly, while Addison was still in a good mood. I sure am glad I did because I swear, within 2 minutes, they had caught a fish! I couldn't believe it! (Neither could the people on the other side of the pond who looked like they had been there a while). As you can see, Addison was a little nervous around the fish once it was out of the water. It was a great daddy-daughter bonding experience though. Addison even tried the fish when they cooked it for her the next day. She wasn't a big fan, but I was proud of her for trying.

On Wednesdays the counselors actually take the kids for the whole day (lunch and all) to give people the opportunity to hike Mt. Timpanogos. Unfortunately, when we went this year, the Timp trail hadn't opened yet. So Bart, My dad, My sister and I hiked to Stewart Falls instead. It was a beautiful hike, and I hear it's even prettier in the fall when all the colors are changing.

Addison was a Stomper this year. I nearly cried when she got up on the first night and joined with her little co-campers to sing, "Super stompers, super stompers, stomp stomp stomp!" Hey! I was pregnant and emotional and my kid was experiencing something I remember my little brother and sisters experiencing. I found it touching.

By far, her favorite thing to do was swim.

The best part for me this year was that I didn't have to deal with food. I was so morning sick, it was so nice to just walk into a dining hall, grab whatever I thought I could keep down, eat, and then leave. No gross fridge smells. No cleanup or dishes in the sink smelling. No cooking smells. Nothing. Just come, eat, leave. I was able to keep almost everything down that week. It was WONDERFUL!

The saddest part of the whole vacation was the last day. Addison had been telling me all week how she and her friends were being cows and singing for the final night of skits. She was sooooo excited. After we came home from dinner, Addison felt sick. Sure enough, within an hour she was throwing up, so we tucked our sick little girl into bed and opened our window to listen to the skits (our room was right by the amphitheater). Suddenly her group's part came on. She heard the music and weakly sat up and said, "Mom! They're doing the cow part! I feel better! I have to go be a cow!" She was so obviously sick and wanted so badly to go and be part of all the fun, it was HEARTBREAKING!!! We had to deal with some tears, and promised her that we'd come again next year so that she could be with her group to do the skit. Poor little thing.

But even despite some sickness (fortunately it passed quickly) it was an AWESOME vacation. And I SERIOUSLY can't wait to go again next year!

Hannah Turns 1

2010-10-29T04:02:00.000-07:00

So Hannah Turned One! YAY! I'd say she's growing so fast, but this was pretty much 5 months ago, so she's even bigger now, so it feels weird saying that. Although she is growing so fast. There I said it. Did I mention it's early in the morning? What I say in the next few posts I feel I shouldn't be held accountable for. ;o)

Some Serious Catch-up

2010-10-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

So I'm going to attempt to blog about this summer, hopefully all within the next hour (since I'm having trouble sleeping). Wish me luck...and for all of you with google reader. I'm sorry for the bombardment of posts.

27 weeks or 39 weeks, that is the question.

2010-10-19T11:38:00.001-07:00

Well, here is a belly picture. I'm pretty sure it's the first one I've posted this year...since I haven't posted much since...well...I found out I was pregnant. ;o) I've grown a little since then. This is me at 27 weeks.And since Bart said that first one wasn't really a belly picture, here's Bart's version of a belly picture. :o) He's probably right. The subject of the first picture is me. The subject of this second one is definitely my belly.

I went to the doctor today. She says my uterus is measuring 39 weeks. That feels about right. In fact, let's compare: For a moment, let's please ignore the white pasty-ness of the previous picture. I need to talk to Bart about checking the settings on our camera before taking a picture. That or invest in a membership to a tanning salon.

There are several things I would like to say about these pictures (other than the fact that the belly size is remarkably similar). First of all, I love the slightly distressed smiles in the first two pictures. It's almost as if the subject is saying, "Yes, I am in labor, can we get this picture over with and get into the hospital so I can get this baby out of me?" Almost...

The last picture smile says, "I'm tired but people keep telling me I need to take belly pictures. Why bother? It's only going to get bigger. In the end, nobody will care what I looked like at 27 weeks. They're only going to want to see what I looked like at the end. It's like climbing half way up the mountain and taking pictures of the scenery. Okay, that's a pretty picture, but I wanted to see the view from the peak."

Finally, in case those pictures don't confirm the fact, being pregnant with twins is considerably different than being pregnant with only one baby. Sigh, at least I only have 11 weeks to go...at worst.

P.S. Since one of my friends reminded me that I haven't posted about the genders yet, we are having two more girls! Woo hoo! I don't have to go out and buy baby clothes...well...I'll have to buy some since apparently the shear quantity we'll be going through will boggle the mind, but at least we have a good start.

My Daughter is the BEST

2010-10-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

So today Addison goes, "Mom, your tummy's little." At the time I was slouching on our couch for a much needed rest. I looked down at the full-term sized lump on my middle and laughed. I said, "Really Addison? My tummy's little?" To which she responded: "Well, it's big and little. Little on the sides and big in the front."

Oh child, you just made my day.

The Grotto

2010-09-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

So I was trying to co-ordinate a hike with some friends this weekend and was super excited about it until I realized that Bart has class every Saturday morning.

Normally I'd just take Addison and Hannah by my self, but carrying Hannah in a backpack on a hike right now may not be the best idea...especially since the doctor doesn't want me carrying her much anyway...and I doubt Bart would have been too thrilled with an idea (he's becoming very protective of me with respect to picking things up). So I resigned myself to the fact that I probably wouldn't be going on any more hikes until after the twins are born. Sigh.

Then, come Saturday morning, Bart ended up NOT having class!!! I was so bummed! It was too late to catch up with our friends, but I was DETERMINED to go on a hike! So I forced a reluctant, thinking-about-the-loads-of-homework-and-yard-work-to-be-done Bart into the car with the kids and we headed off to The Grotto.

Now, can I just tell you, The Grotto has got to be the best hike EVER for kids. It's super short, super easy, and super beautiful! It literally only took us two hours from the time we drove out of our driveway to the time we drove back in. (Perfect for a guy who has a billion things to do). And...by the way...isn't he the most handsome man you've EVER seen! I know. I'm lucky.
Addison, Hannah, and I did the hike last year with the Young Women. The trickiest part for kids is the log bridges that cross the river. The first time I saw them, Addison was up front with one of the young women and I was a little way behind. I thought, "Oh no, is Addison going to be scared of these" (one is more than her height above the water), but she hopped on and walked right across without hesitation...AWESOME.

Fall has got to be the perfect time to take the hike too because the leaves are all changing and it is just gorgeous! Addison has always been a leaf collector, so she was in heaven.

Overall, Bart agreed, it was the perfect beginning to a perfect day. :o) The yard work got done, significant progress was made on the homework, and we had some fun family bonding time. Life is good!

Ever get tired of making a gazillion milk bottles?

2010-09-01T20:34:00.000-07:00

This is my solution

I do realize that I haven't posted....like at all...this summer. And I would like to remedy that and catch everyone up on our summer. Hopefully that will happen sometime soon. But I'm pregnant with twins, so I make no promises.

In the mean time, here are some really cute pictures of my children from today:

2010-07-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

Does anyone remember this post? How about this one? Well, I think my daughter is some sort of seer. Not only were we (soon after the conversations) surprised with a pregnancy, but when we went in for an ultrasound to figure out exactly when I was due (did I mention it was a BIG surprise) this is what we found:

REALLY FREAKING BIG SURPRISE. And THAT is the understatement of the year. I used to look at people who had their kids close together and think, "I could NEVER EVER EVER do that. They may be the type of person who can do it, but I couldn't." This is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO not a funny joke.

I just keep repeating 1 Corinthians 10:13 to myself. I will not be tempted above that I am able. Okay, that may sound weird. It's not like having two babies is a temptation, but man, having 3 kids ages 19 months and under, two of which are infants is seriously TERRIFYING to me. TERRIFYING! I keep telling myself that scripture also means I'm not going to be given challenges I can't rise to meet.

I wish I could say that it's bringing me a lot of comfort, but I have to admit, I'm still feeling pretty freaking overwhelmed. I guess that's why it takes 9 months for babies to be born. To give the moms time to adjust to the idea of having a new little one...or two little ones. Man, just talking about it is overwhelming me. Okay, I'm going to go to sleep now. If I thought I was tired and sick with one, two is worse!

PRAY FOR ME!

P.S. We won't know the genders for a few months still, but given our track history I would guess two girls. Addison, however, says we're going to have three sisters and a brother. So I'm not doubting the little foreseer again. If it is a boy and girl, though, that will be REALLY crazy. My parents had two girls, then twins that are a girl and boy, then another girl. Even if it is a boy and girl, we won't be copying my family. I am DONE after this. I am making myself feel a little less overwhelmed by telling myself over and over, "I will never be morning sick again."

Toyota

2010-06-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

So the other day we were hearing some news story about Toyotas and the following conversation took place:

Addison: Mom, I want a Toyota.

Me: (Thinking, "Oh great, it's starting young.") We have a Toyota.

Addison: We do?

Me: Yeah, our white car is a Toyota.

Addison: ::::Confused Pause:::: Can I have it at my birthday party?

Me: (Thinking, "Great, I may have to throw her another birthday party this year...I'll have to figure out how to get around this, I can't give every kid a birthday party every year.") Um...Maybe.

Addison: Good and candy?

Me: Okay...

Addison: And we'll hit it and all the candy will fall down.

Me: ::::Confused Pause::::

Me: ::::Sudden Realization::::

Me: You mean a Pinata.

Addison: No, a Toyota.

Me: A Pinata is the thing you hit with a stick and then when it breaks open, Candy comes out of it. A Toyota is a car.

Addison: Oh....So Can I have a Toyota at my party?

Me: The thing that you hit with a stick and then candy comes down when it breaks open?

Addison: Yeah

Me: A Pinata

Addison: Okay, thanks mom.

I'm not sure what happened, But I'm glad the confusion is cleared up.

Who's the Fairest of Them All?

2010-06-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

So over the past few days, TONS of people have commented to me about how fair Hannah is. I don't THINK she's any whiter than Addison was, but I don't remember people ever commenting on Addison's pale skin. The comments always include her fair skin and beautiful blue eyes. Her eyes are also the exact same color as Addison's. Maybe they're a little wider, but other than that, I don't think there is much of a difference.

Maybe it's because of the season. As the weather warms up people are wanting to bask in the sun's warmth, so maybe such a pale baby stands out among all the sun kissed people. We too enjoy basking in the sun's warmth, but it's never without our SPF 30+ baby sunscreen. I'll take pale skin over skin cancer any day. Especially with my kids. When they grow up if they choose to scorch themselves at least they won't be able to blame any skin cancer woes on me. I'm sure according to them I will be the source of many other wows, but with respect to the sun, I made sure they were protected when I was in charge.

Modesty

2010-05-28T19:48:00.001-07:00

So a few months ago we had a family home evening on modesty. It didn't go so well. I was pretty sure everything just flew over her head and figured we'd try again in a year or two. Well apparently it did stick because lately Addison's been pointing out that she needs to wear sweaters with some of her clothes because they're not modest. Cool. She got it.

Well, today we were waiting for Hannah's 1 year dr appt. She had a runny nose so we were waiting in the Hall at the hospital so we didn't get the babies inside sick. A lady walked by with a spaghetti strap dress. Addison pointed and said right to her, "That's not modest." I just about died! Fortunately the lady just laughed. I apologized. This weeks FHE may be on keeping some thoughts to yourself.

Misc.

2010-05-20T15:15:00.001-07:00

So Bart's been complaining that I'm not posting lately. (Who knew my biggest blogging fan was my husband...I didn't even know he read regularly.) Honestly. I've been trying to get our Garden in, deal with sick kids, clean the house for an appraisal (refinancing), get ready for family and friends coming to visit, babysitting friends kids, leaving town for a graduation, a cold, etc.

And now he's left me again for a weekend painting in the grand canyon! How on earth do I have time to post!?!?

But, to relieve some of the stress I'm feeling, I thought I would post a few things Addison says that make me laugh:

Addison: On the Board
Translation: All aboard

Addison: Holly e you a
Translation: hallelujah

So the "all aboard" one is from her watching Dinosaur Train. I must confess, I actually enjoy this show. It's about a Teranodon family who has adopted an orphaned T-rex, and their adventures learning about dinosaurs while riding the dinosaur train. It's a cute, clean, upbeat show.

But perhaps part of the reason I like it may be because I picture episodes far in the future. Episodes where Buddy accidentally eats Tiny, or marries Annie only to discover she's his biological sister. I'm slightly twisted, I know. But seriously. He's a T-rex. Some day in the future that family harmony is going to be shattered by primal instinct. AND Annie looks EXACTLY like buddy. I wonder if Mr. & Mrs. really found that egg abandoned somewhere, or if there were shadier antics involved. And why Mr. & Mrs. Tyrannosaurus haven't brought up the issue.

Sigh. Some people have soap operas. I have Dinosaur Train and my own imagination.

A Reminder for the Winter Months

2010-05-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

I've been driving around our neighborhood for a few days now falling IN LOVE with the snow capped mountains and warm weather and I just HAD to take a picture of the scenes from around town. I have just felt so grateful lately for the beauty that is around me. I thought if I took some pictures of the scenes that make me feel so good, maybe if I look at them in the freezing winter months it'll remind me of why I am still living in Utah (and loving it...at least in the spring, summer, and fall). :)

And I thought Addison was a good eater...

2010-05-07T19:26:00.001-07:00

Hannah will seriously eat anything we put in front of her. So far we've tried peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli, avocado, lettuce, ground beef, chicken, zesty curry and lime chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, spaghetti, green beans, squash, cheerios...and seriously, the list could go on and on.

It's a challenge now. Everything we eat, we cut into tiny chunks and put on her high chair tray to see if there is anything she won't eat. So far we haven't found anything. We even had some spicy chips the other day that somehow she got a hold of, and the spice didn't seem to phase her! I can't believe it!

When Addison was her age, I had a hard time getting her to eat a lot of things...especially meat. Can this child be an easier baby?!?! I am seriously terrified of what the teenage years are going to bring. If they're good babies, that means I have to have a hard experience at some point doesn't it?

Tulip Festival

2010-04-30T09:28:00.000-07:00

While Bart was gone I also met up with two of my best friends since High School and headed off to the Tulip Festival.

Warning: this is a post about the Tulip Festival, so you're not interested in seeing lots of pictures of flowers just stop reading now. ;o)

Feeding Koi Fish
Fish Kiss

The best part of the whole trip was that there was nobody waiting at home for us, so we could just stay as long as we wanted without worrying about being late. And we did. We got there around 10:30 and stayed until like 6:00 visiting! It was awesome! I love the Tulip Festival.

Suckers

2010-04-30T09:20:00.001-07:00

My friend gave us sucker molds and an awesome easy sucker recipe to go along with them. When I saw the molds, though, I set my heart on making some chocolate suckers. So the week that Bart was out of town at an NAEA conference, Addison & I gathered supplies, and made some beautiful butterfly suckers.

The supplies:

The Helper:

Ready....Set...

Go!

Beautiful, Fun, and Tasty.

Braids

2010-04-30T09:17:00.001-07:00

One morning Addison woke up and the first thing she said to me was, "Mom, I want braids today." Are you kidding me? Have you seen your own hair child!?! Impossible! Nevertheless, I gave her braids that day. I know, I know, very impressive. The things we do for our kids.

Sydney

2010-04-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

On the way home from California we got to meet our new niece.

By the way Rebecca, EVERY PRAYER Addison reminds us to pray for McKenna, Sydney, Rebecca & Chris. I love that little girl.

Dear Bart...

2010-04-30T08:17:00.000-07:00

1 House

2 Kids

3 College Degrees

4 Cars

5 Wards

& 6 Years later

I love you more than ever!

Happy Anniversary Babe!

The Spring Salon

2010-04-20T19:20:00.000-07:00

Bart got a work accepted to the Spring Salon!!! Every year he submits a piece, but this year is the first year he's actually gotten in! It's incredibly hard to get into. This year 1064 works were submitted, but only 215 were selected for exhibition!!! I'm so proud of him. Awesome job babe!

A Conversation Part II

2010-04-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

So all weekend Addison has been bringing up this topic again. Then today, the following conversation took place:

Addison: Mom, I want a baby brother.
Mom: I thought you didn't want a baby brother, I thought you wanted a baby sister.
Addison: No, I want a baby brother. I like girls.
Mom: Baby brothers are boys. Baby sisters are girls. Which do you want, a baby brother or a baby sister?
Addison: ::::thoughtful pause:::: I want two babies.

Do you ever feel like God is playing a joke on you? For those of you who don't know, twins run in my family. Fortunately, I believe they skip a generation, and since my brother and sister are twins, I think I'm safe. Still. I feel like someone up in Heaven was getting quite the kick out of our conversation today.

California Vacation

2010-04-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm way behind in posting, so I'm just doing a big post of our California Vacation. So here goes:

Disneyland

The Beach

Grandma and Grandpa's Pool

Just Having a Good Time

Easter

2010-04-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

We headed down to California this year with some friends for spring break. Spring Break just happened to be at the same time as Easter. Yay! Two Easters in a row in California. We had an Easter Egg Hunt the day before and it was wonderful watching conference all weekend. It was a great Easter. Here are some pictures.

A Conversation

2010-04-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

So this morning Addison says to me, "Mom, I want another baby sister."

Mom: Oh really? How come?

Addison: (looking at Hannah) I just really like them.

Mom: Well what about a baby brother? Don't you want a baby brother?

Addison: No, I want a baby sister.

Mom: Why don't you want a baby brother?

Addison: I just don't like them. Except for daddies.

I'm still not sure what to think about this conversation.

And just to keep any rumors from flying around, I am not even thinking about getting pregnant at the moment. I really have no idea where this topic came from.

10 Months

2010-04-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

Heavens, my baby is 10 months...well, almost 11 now. How does time go by so fast?!? I think I've said something like that before. ;o)

Here are some pictures of my cute little girl:
The big milestone this month: crawling. Crawling crawling crawling. My peace is SOOOOOOO over! It was actually really cool. I was on the phone with my sister Amy who was calling from the airport on her way to Taiwan for her mission and Hannah started crawling!!! While I was talking to her!!! It was like she was there to share the moment. :o) As was the rest of my family (we were on a conference call.) So that was pretty cool.

It's really funny, she'll climb up on our treadmill and look at me like, "Are you going to come and get me mom?" And when I start coming toward her she crawls as fast as she can up the treadmill toward the front. She tries desperately to get to the front and crawl up off the edge. Silly little girl. I know she'll fall down and hurt herself, but she just keeps trying. Sigh, such is the life of a crawler.

She also got her two upper teeth...well, at least one of them...I can't remember if the other came before or after she turned 10 months, but it was somewhere around there.

She also started doing a lot of this:

This has actually caused me more headaches than the crawling lately...especially today. She can pick herself up on just about anything, but she's not very good at getting down. That means lots of falling and bumps on head and crying. It's a pain.

Wow, that sounds kind of cold and heartless doesn't it. I wasn't cold and heartless at the beginning of the day. But man! After a day of constant climbing and falling and crying...especially on things that she's climbed, falled, and cried on before...one's empathy is stretched a bit. Don't worry, I always still picked her up and comforted her and made sure she was okay, but man, I was happy when bedtime finally came around.

Even with all the trying days, I love my little girl.

Day 8 - Easter Sunday

2010-04-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

Christ the Lord is risen today. Richele has posted about it here.

Addison is Praying by Herself!!!

2010-04-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

So it's been a very long & exhausting day that has only been exacerbated by Bart still not being home because he has class tonight. As a result (much to my chagrin) I forgot to say prayers with Addison before she went to bed.

The reason I even remembered that I forgot to say prayers with her is because I just heard her over the monitor saying prayers. She thanked Heavenly Father for her day and her family, and asked him to help her not have any bad dreams.

My baby has learned that she can pray all by herself! YAY!!! To bad it was on a day that I didn't pray with her before bed that I came to this realization. Or maybe that's a good thing. Even if mommy forgets, she will still remember. Now I just need to work on mommy not forgetting anymore. :o)