Halloween 2016

Despite Halloween falling on a Monday we had the BEST time trick or treating with friends and family.  Although we took Reese trick or treating last year, this year she dove into it 100% and it was such fun to watch her and her neighborhood buddies dominate door to door.  Another fun addition this year was Henry and William!  Last year they were just four months old and after a long and fussy day, we kept them home with my parents while we took the big kid around the block.  The poor buddies didn't even get to wear their costumes.  But fear not, they made up for it this year by being stuffed into last year's unworn costumes (astonishingly they still fit) and carted around in their wagon, buckets in hand.  This Halloween was a bit bittersweet as it is very likely our last Halloween in this house.  We have come to love so many of our neighbors and consider them some of our closest friends.  Now, on the good stuff.  A few months ago Reese declared herself a firefighter and from that moment on she would entertain no other costume ideas.  Done and done.  W & H squeezed into last year's tiger costumes making them the two cutest tigers in all the land.

Summer 2016 Recap!

Now that it's November and we're a week away from Thanksgiving...what better time to do a little summer recap?  In my defense it's 75 degrees here today and a most perfect breeze is coming through the windows.  We had an excellent summer; weather was mainly mild, we stayed busy both at home and with planned outings, and even made it to the pool a couple of times!  All a win in my book.  For my record keeping purposes I'll break it down month by month.

May:  May is always a crazy busy month in our family.  We celebrate numerous family birthdays, our wedding anniversary and Mother's Day.  So we figured 'what's one more thing?' and had the twins baptized on Mother's Day.   Other highlights of the month include Tom running in his fifth consecutive (!) Flying Pig Half Marathon and Reese's first Red's game.  May flew by in the blink of an eye but we were lucky to spend a lot of QT with friends and family.

  

 

 June:  This June was a big month in our family as the twins turned ONE!  It is a little bittersweet celebrating the last first birthday but honestly I was just so proud that we made it.  The adjustment to from one child to three, under the age of 2, was huge and every month we had to grow and adapt to the rapidly changing needs of our family.  This year was hands down the most challenging, but wonderful, year of my life so we celebrated this birthday BIG TIME!  We celebrated Father's Day and spent endless hours playing outside.  I spent a lot of time this month transitioning the twins from bottles to cups and finally, finally, said goodbye to breast pump FOREVER (all the praise hands).

 

 

 July:  July is equally as special as our big kid and very first baby turned three.  We celebrated her little face off and had so much fun!  It got fairly hot this month so we spent a lot of time playing on the porch with our water table and baby pool and even braved the pool with all three kiddos for the first time (talk about an anxiety attack).We enjoyed 4th of July at home and visits from out of town friends.

August:  For some reason I just don't love the month of August but we had a great time just spending some quality time with friends and family.  And the big excitement of August was me taking my first trip away from the children...to MEXICO!  I was treated to a long weekend with my mom and sister while Tom held down the fort for three days with the kids.  It was such a nice getaway but of course I missed the babies a ton.  I'm very grateful for a husband who can handle all of my daily responsibilities with the kids and supported me taking a break.  After I got back from my trip the rest of the month filled up with play dates, church festivals, trips to the zoo and preparing the big kid for preschool.

I'm already looking forward to next summer!

Fall Weekend

We had an awesome weekend enjoying great weather, outside time and good food!  We finally got a chance to hit up the farmer's market and the kids had a blast.  This fall has just flown by and it's been so fun...and crazy...with three toddlers in tow.

William & Henry Turn ONE!

On June 16th our perfect little boys turned one.  Many people comment to me about how hard twins must be and if I can survive the first year, I can survive anything.  I certainly see the truth in that and honestly feel like the last year was mostly a blur.  A blur that left me happier, and more exhausted, than I ever could have imagined.  I had a lot of anxiety during my pregnancy with the twins, worrying about everything from the difficulties of a multiples pregnancy to the challenge of managing three children born within less than two years.  How will I grocery shop? Will I ever get sleep?  How do I take care of all three at the same time?  The questions are never ending and always evolving.  BUT.  While it has been crazy, it has been more lovely than I ever could have hoped.  The pride I feel when I look at my family is the most rewarding thing in my life and I express gratitude every day that these are my children and I have the gift of being their mother.

Back to their actual birthday.  We jam packed their birthday with all their favorites, starting with their first donut for breakfast, and then a few presents. 

 

After the twins woke up from the morning nap my mom came over and we took the children to Washington Park to play and have lunch.  Reese and William had a blast and Henry eventually warmed up to the water.  It is so fun seeing the beginnings of the relationships with one another emerge and watching them become true friends. 

 

 

One thing I have learned in my nearly three years as a mom is to quit while you're ahead, which is exactly what we did. We made it home in time for afternoon naps and Tom surprised the kids by leaving work early.  We treated the children to Alagamesis Ice Cream and a stroll through the toy store.  Alagamesis is a special place for us; we used to take Gouda there and also took Reese for her first ice cream when she turned one.  It was only fitting Henry and William got to try it as well!

Turns out, they weren't too impressed with chocolate ice cream 😀

Happy Birthday to the dynamic duo!  You keep me on my toes in the most wonderful way and you are so, so loved.  I hope you had the best day. 

Weekend Update

We had another great weekend for the books!  We kicked off Friday with a trip to the Red Balloon Play Cafe.  Now that the boys are getting older and more mobile they can join in on the fun instead of watch big sister from the stroller.  This is where things get a little easier for me!

Reese was too busy playing/eating/making friends for pictures but she had a great time!

After the boys woke up from their morning nap on Saturday we packed up and headed to the zoo.  I usually take the kiddos there by myself during the week so it's super nice to have an extra set of hands when Tom can come. Plus who doesn't love when dad is there??

I think we saw 3, maybe 4 animals, before our own little zoo started to lose it and it was time to head home.  My current parenting motto is "quit while I'm ahead" so I always try to wrap it up right before the first sign of meltdowns.  The rest of the day consisted of kid naps, a trip to the grocery store that wrapped up with an epic public tantrum, and everyone in bed early!

Sunday was spent hanging out on the porch and an afternoon date for me and Tom while his parents (who also made us dinner I might add!) stayed with the kids.  We have really come to love day dates because a) it gives the kids quality grandparent time b) it eliminates the stress of having someone else handle dinner/bath/bedtime c) we're honestly too tired to hang late night like we used to so we can really enjoy being together during the day. Ah, the life of parents with young kids! 

 

Catchup: Christmas 2015!

For no reason other than my own record keeping I wanted to document our first Christmas with Henry and William...even though I'm six months late!  We had a truly wonderful Christmas with our little ones and spent Christmas Day opening gifts, juggling babies, eating delicious food, and hosting our families.  I am so grateful for holidays spent with all the people we love.  The twins loved the holiday and like all six month olds, were completely enamored with the wrapping paper!  We didn't get a "real" tree this year, just a three foot artificial tree that we already had. While those goes against every feeling I have about Christmas, we were honestly just too tired and too busy to make the effort.  Next year we will do it up for sure!