Four children do live here....

Up until today you'd walk in my house and assume I only had two children since I've failed to add pictures of the girls to my walls (their bedroom is decorated with their pictures but I've failed to add any anywhere else in the house).  The only clue would be baby toys and some of them are in double so the person would maybe be clued in their were two babies!

 This is our memory picture frame.  I of course added 1 of each of them so sadly their presense is still minimal:)  I realized I should have printed one of the two of them together.

But as I look at these FOUR children it scares me.  Four children is a lot of responsibility and I hope I do a good job!  In a way I think it simplified my life a little having two the same age since their activities and stages will be the same.  I feel like I'm juggling so much with the boys schedules and I can't imagine how much more complicated it could be as they got older if the girls weren't the same age...I'm thinking positive TWIN thoughts:):):)

Oh Yummy!

Both girls have started putting their blankies in their mouths...they like to suck on them. 

Today I noticed that Eli's head band was missing and then noticed she'd pulled it to her mouth and was sucking on it.

And this is cute Alisha....she's usually checking out all the trouble her sister gets into.  She likes to observe:)

From Gracies Len's

Gracie got ahold of my phone and this is what I got....most were self portraits:):):)

Now that's something to smile about:)

A little bit of a pickle

Before I was able to snap pictures Eli rolled over onto Alisha and the only thing she could do was lay her head on Alisha.

So once I got my camera Eli figured out how to push herself away from Alisha.

 Then Alisha had had it....."Eli, get away from me, I don't want to be your pillow"

 As she's now pushing her away.......

 Eli now decided she better get away and Alisha has changed her mind...."come back Eli".

These little girls are so strong.  About a month ago I came back to the gym daycare after a workout and was shocked to see Eli in one of these...I totally thought she was too young.  So we came home and tried it again and she loves it.  Alisha isn't totally strong enough on her own and I usually squish a blanket in with her if it's for more then 5 minutes. 

All Smiles

I love these girls smiles. They are most happy in the morning but they are almost always pretty happy little girls...I just want to squeeze them:)

Fun at the Fair

Chris and I love the fair...we love the one in Washington much better but we use the blackfoot fair to fill that void:)

Last Friday night Chris and I went together but felt bad about leaving the boys out so I took them (Chris took the girls to watch the game) to the fair. We had a BLAST!

It was so good to be with just the boys. We first went to the animals and bought some food to feed them. I couldn't believe how much the boys loved it. Landon really worked hard on his animal names.

Afterwards we went to rides and games and I worried about Landon but he did really well with them.

I then let them choose a treat...they chose the biggest sno cone I've ever seen. It was funny to watch them eat it.

Then Jaden did "walking on water". Landon was so upset he didn't get to do it...he was VERY tired by this point. It was so fun to watch Jaden in the ball. Chris and I had noticed it the day before and decided Jaden had to do it.

Bus Ride

I was such a nervous mom to send Landon on the bus for preschool. I thought for sure he'd hate it and that I'd need to take him to preschool, so for his first day we decided that daddy would ride with him.

He now LOVES the bus and is so upset when I pick him up on Tuesday and Thursdays for speech because he wants to ride the bus home.

This kid is surprising me....in a good way:):):)

Where is my mind...

No, that's not a dish towel...it's a baby blanket. I plead sleep deprivation:)

WE Remember

That because of that day and other events in our history our country has fought and continues to fight for freedom.

The freedom that allowed my children to have an ordinary Sunday where they didn't have to worry!

10 yrs ago today I was a newly wed on my 3rd day of a new job driving to it....a few reports were coming over the radio but nothing was clear so I wasn't worried nor did I realize what the rest of the day would entail.

I can truely say I exercised poor work ethic that day as I craved information and had to keep checking the internet. As the day progressed so did my shock.

That evening we spent with our friends glued to the TV. I remember the thing that I struggled with the most is that there were probably many survivors they'd never get to because it'd be too late. I couldn't imagine the worry they must be experiencing.

May we never forget and may we always remember to share with our children that day so they can appreciate the freedom we have.

Four months

I adore these little girls. They are truely so much fun and wonderful babies! They are such attention getters and every where we go were are stopped. I was shopping in the mall a week ago with the two of them and I literally couldn't walk more then 5 steps without getting stopped. I can always hear little girls saying "mommy..look" and running over. They often respond to the attention by cooing and smiling.

They both roll to their tummies now. They both, on the same day, decided they didn't like their binkies anymore and decided they prefer their fingers and thumbs...super cute but a habit that I know will be hard to break.

I've worried that having two of them that I'm not able to give them the attention they need but I'm also finding that they give each other so much. I love to lay them on the floor and watch them explore and gravitate to one another. The push off with their feet and move around the room and its funny to see where they end up.

I often see one of them reaching to the other one when she's sad. Their bond has been so fascinating for me to witness and I will be very interested to see if they have the connection of almost feeling each other feelings I often hear about with identical twins. Today at church I was holding Eli and someone else was holding Alisha and they both just stared at each other and cooed. It really seemed like they were holding a conversation.

A couple Sundays ago Alisha was crying at church (I need to mention that I have such amazing help at church and I think I need at least quadruplets to meet the demand of all my helpers) and the person holding her took her into the bathroom and held her up to the mirror and she immediately calmed down. I love it when others share these stories with me because it helps me realize I'm not imagining this bond they have.

They are VERY healthy and at their 4 month appointment a couple of days ago I was worried the doctor would tell me I was over feeding them because they are growing to fast and are maybe a little chunky:) To my surprise he was so pleased with where they are and kept smiling at everything they did.
Alisha is such a sweetie. She loves to be cuddled and her smile is so sweet...she's so precious. She's not as strong and Eli and seems more content to just chill and look around. She does have a scowl though and sometimes looks really grumpy.

Eli is a hoot. I always assume I get all the attention because they twins but last Sunday I was holding her at church and a guy visiting kept staring and when we got within talking range he kept talking to her and couldn't get over how cute she was....he didn't know there was two of them:) Shortly after that in Sunday School she was cooing so loud that everyone kept watching her and not listening to the lesson. She's a much louder cooer then Alisha. She's usually moving her legs, tummy, arms. and is strong from all that movement.

I'm excited for all that is to come but terrified too. I'm realizing that the more active they become the more difficult it is BUT the older they get the more fun I'm having with them.

I LOVE YOU TWO SO MUCH!!!! How did I get so blessed!

Back to School

These two boys have had a really busy week...so has mom!
In preparation for Jaden entering first grade and eating lunch at school we did a "mock school cafeteria". Yes Britt...I totally stole your idea and I love stealing ideas so all your ideas will be mine soon:)

They had to use lunch tickets to purchase their lunch. On the menu was tomato soup, cheese zombies, grapes, carrots, rice crispy treats and chocolate milk.

I was really nervous for Jaden to start first grade. He has very few kids in his class that he knew and I always imagine the worst. His teacher is new to the school this year but I think she's going to be a gem. I love the picture below of her bending down to Jaden's level and talking to him while he waited in line his first day of school. She seems to sincerely love what she does and she came highly recommended from the school she came from.

Jaden has loved having 3 recesses and lunch and on fridays they get a "Friday Fling" if they are good through out the week....he thought it was so much fun.

And talking about nervous, I was very nervous for this shy guy to enter preschool. I even talked about his Speech Therapist and whether he was socially ready...his therapist has been bringing in another little boy during part of his sessions to help with his social interactions and she told me that it's made such a difference and told me he needed to go...I just needed reinforement:)

Landon has started making friends in our neighborhood and plays daily with different neighbor boys so I was getting less and less worried.

Thursday was his first day and he was not happy about it. He wouldn't look at anyone and was upset when I left. When I went to pick him up he was a changed boy and his teacher told me that as soon as I left he was fine.

On Friday he was still a little nervous but picked his letter and found the match on the rug and sat down by himself.

On Tuesday he'll start riding a bus..Chris is going to go with him for his first time.

So here's crossing my fingers for a year full of learning and new experiences.

Running is F-U-N

Last Saturday the boys did a fun run. Last year Jaden got distracted at the water table and he decided this year he needed a plan....he needed someone to run along side him with water so he wouldn't have to stop. Thankfully for us there was no water table this year; thus no distractions. Although he didn't win he was gracious to all those in front of him and proud of himself for not walking. Landon....walked most of it:):):)

Beforehand the boys got to enjoy bouncy houses.

Meet Landina

Having little girls in the home has brought out Landon's feminine side....I'm hoping this is only temporary.

He loves to try on all their headbands and tells me they are his.

When we went to the store to buy him new shoes since every pair I buy and bring home are too narrow he only wanted pink sparkly ones or Dora ones...a lady overhearing us found the whole thing rather comical. We settled on a pair of shoes still too narrow since I was losing the argument but at least they fit and bought us a little bit of time in hopes that he outgrows this girly faze.