Family

 

I was so blessed to be able to make it out for one day this weekend to Utah to be at the memorial service for my sister's sweet twin baby boys that were born 4 months too early. The details are her's to share or not, but we are all grieving with them and it was so nice to be together even though it wasn't for very long.

 

Her baby boys were buried next to their four uncles, which is truly both bitter and sweet. The four uncles are my mom's babies that also had short lives and we all think that they must have been there to greet my sister's babies in heaven.

 

Everyone takes their family for granted at times, but it's difficult times like these especially that reminds me what an incredible family I have - immediate, extended, and those "adopted" friends who aren't technically family but may as well be. It was so nice to be surrounded by my family this weekend and to be able to hug and cry with my sister.

2 Years of Twins

Here are the top 10 things I have learned from twins and most recently, toddlers

1. There will never be a time when Mama is not tired. Just when they start sleeping like normal people (kind of), their energy expands exponentially and you just have to accept you will never catch up.

2. Boys and girls are different. Just in case anyone else hadn't realized that.

3. That "mommy brian" thing? Where your mind stops functioning and you feel a lot dumber than you used to? That's REAL! I defnitely have days where I am surprised I can still speak English and shocked that I continue to be gainfully employable.

4. Extended family is the Best. Thing. Ever.

5. Just when you have reached the end of your capacity to cope with chaos, twins will do something incredibly sweet and touching that makes you want to cry and hold them in your arms forever.

6. As soon as you get your "routine" down, twins will wake up one morning and turn it upside down. As soon as I just accepted this as reality, life got a lot more fun.

7. There will never be a time when the laundry is done.

8. Double the hugs. Double the slobbery, snotty, open-mouth kisses. Double the smiles. Double the giggles. Double the fun. Double the love. Double the blessings.

9. Toddlers are suicidal beings. Jumping from high places, fascinated with knives, no sense that a moving vehicle will win. Dangerous and off limits? First thing they go to!

10. A mama of twins is the only person that can understand another mama of twins. Love my mothers of multiples kindred spirits! I have gotten invaluable advice, support, and even just listening ears from my south OC twins moms. :-)

almost 2

The kids are almost two and doing so many cute things....I have two ways of capturing their amusing activities. An Iphone that has been dropped an the camera lense is a little scratched, or a nice Canon digital SLR camera. Guess which one I always have during the moments I want to remember? Yep, the crappy Iphone camera....oh well....

 

JD loves jobs. He helps with the dishes, feeding the dog, feeding our turtles, picking up his toys, bringing me anything I need, taking the laundry out of the dryer, sweeping. He just needs a task and he is happy 

Miss Maia has discovered dresses. "DRESS! DRESS! DRESS!" is what picking out clothes sounds like....she even wants to sleep in her dresses. She has also discovered how fun it is to wear underwear on her head....had I let her, she would have gone to church exactly like this last Sunday.

Bubbles....enough said. Thanks Aunt Jen for this awesome present. We love it!

Pianos. Notice Maia is playing the piano, and JD is driving his car on the piano. This is a pretty good indication of their personalities.

Maia screams "AUUU-DEEEE!" when she sees her lovely cousin Audrey. Little sister Hazel is "Baby" in Maia's vocabulary. JD doesn't care about the girls but loves his big cousin, Max.

In addition to dresses, Maia also loves boots, jackets, hats, and hair clips. I paid zero attention to clothes until....maybe age 15? I don't know how this little girl was born with an interest in clothes before age 2. It's very cute though.

Picking flowers, which they then shared with their Mama. Melt my Mama-heart. :-)

Some Recent Randoms

Pictures via our wonderful au pair Debbi....what we've been up to lately....beaches, hair-dos, hats.....