The twins at 3 & 4 months

Twins at 4 months: Lady is on the left and Bell is on the right.

Lady at 3 months
Bell at 3 months

Less than a week old

Who is this skinny, wrinkly, baby?

4 months old

I can't believe my girl is four months old. She is such a sweet, sweet baby. I love her gurgles, her laugh, her big smile. I love how she sometimes talks while she's nursing. And how she giggles when I kiss her neck several times at once. I still find myself amazed that this sweet babe is really ours. The girls are so good to her. They love holding her and are so gentle with her. We are so lucky to have this little cherub in our family. Happy Birthday sweet girl.

My sis

My oldest and dearest friend is my sister, Dawn. We have been best friends for as long as I can remember. She was my favorite playmate as a child, and aside from my husband, she still is. For Memorial Day weekend she bought a plane ticket to fly out for four days and help me get my house in order. On a last minute whim she decided to make it a family trip, so she cancelled the flight and drove 16 hours out here with her husband and five children. Our kids played outside almost every minute, while she and her husband helped me organize our food storage, and go through lots and lots of stuff to either toss, donate or box up for our possible move. It was mostly work, but we managed to get in some fun too: playing games, talking, going to the public gardens and taking a drive-by tour of the city. Thank you Dawn and thank you Batch fam for making all the sacrifices you made to come and help us. We love you.

There Is No Friend Like A Sister
*
There is no friend like a sister -
There's no one more loyal and true...
...and even when sisters are different...
...their likenesses come shining through!
*
Perhaps it's a family resemblance
That strengthens the bond that they share...
...or maybe it's just the way sisters
live life with a similar flair!
*
A sister remembers your childhood -
She knows more than you will admit
Of times you were Little Miss Perfect...
...and times you gave others a fit!
*
She's seen you in some situations
Where silence just wouldn't suffice...
...and managed somehow to get by with
those sisterly words of advice!
*
And when some encouragements needed...
...a sister will always be there...
to listen,
to laugh,
or to lean on,
to comfort,
or simply to care.
*
There's no one who's more in your corner...
...and no one you're more grateful to.
There's no better friend than a sister...
...and no better sister than you.

-Jan Miller Girando

Playtime!

Maile the pied piper and line leader of all the cousins.
All of the kids had fun playing in the sand. Fun to play in, not so much fun to get out of long hair.
Ky-Ky and Ana enjoyed swinging high into the sky
You're in Red Sox Land, now. Swing, batter, batter... SWING!
...and it's out of the ballpark!

Public Garden

Ah... a relaxing ride on the Swan Boat. The inspiration behind the boat
I call this one "living on the edge."

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

Since we finally live in a place with a yard, I decided to plant flowers. Both girls were excited to help, especially Bell, who wanted to plant the flowers herself. Unfortunately, we had a huge downpour that "drowned" my little garden. There's nothing quite like those summer thunderstorms to get a real flood going.

Old McDonald had a...ham!

Last night while Daddy was playing guitar and the girls were dancing to Old McDonald I self-appointed myself to pick the animals. Just for fun, I decided to pick "unusual" farm animals. I started off with a lion, then a fruit bat, then a turkey. Right as we finished "every where a gobble, gobble," we began the next verse:

Everyone: Old McDonald had a farm...E-I-E-I-O. And on that farm he had a...
Bell: Ham!
Me: Ham?
Bell: Yes, we had turkey and now we're having ham.

Hilarious!

Things I want to remember

Baby slept in again today from 7 to 5:30am... am I in heaven?

The girls speak so clearly and so well, but there are a few funny things they say that I want to remember:

Candles---> Sandles
Baf-------> Bath
Lellow----> Yellow
Mato------> Tomato

I also started them on the word "crazy," as in "that's just crazy." They've started saying that and also this "I'm not on the crazy train," because I started saying... "that sounds like a ride on the crazy train." It's hilarious!

And then I want to remember how they sometimes refer to their friends' parents by "Mommy" or "Daddy." Naomi's mom is just "Mommy," but Maureen and Thomas' mom and dad are "Mommy Gibby" and "Daddy Gibby." Too funny.

I have a few pictures I'll post later... but for now, I want to treasure these cute things that I will forget as time passes and they move on to a different stage. I may even forget the constant mischief-- well, probably not, but I'll probably miss it. I think I'm just realizing how fast it all goes, even though some days feel like they'll never end.

May 17th-- a milestone for Baby

I've posted a lot of pics today from the last week or so, but wanted to be sure I recorded that today, my little angel slept from 9pm to 7am. I woke up at 5:30am because it was light and I was expecting her to wake. I lied in bed for a while and then decided to work on my blog until she woke. She doesn't appear to be extra hungry, but she is extra cute and smiley.

Also wanted to share a funny conversation Daddy had with Lady two days ago:

Daddy: (singing) Mommy is so cute... I love her so much... she is such a good Mommy.
Lady: Daddy... that's not a real song.
Daddy: What do you mean? I'm singing a song to Mommy.
Lady: It's not a REAL song. (Giggling)You're so cute.
Daddy: You're right Lady. I just made that song up. (to me) Our daughter is so smart; she can already recognize quality music.

Can't you just see him planning out in his mind his daughter's great musical career? I thought it was amazing that she could tell a made-up song from a real one, and also that she had the maturity to think her father was "so cute" for making up a song.

Where a kid can be a kid

We've been having a lot of rain lately and several days cooped up inside could make anyone go insane. I took the girls and met up with some friends at Chuck E. Cheese. The girls had never been, and I hadn't been since highschool. Their first ride was on a monster truck... too wild. Bell cried and immediately tried to climb out while the truck was in motion. We tried the carousel next. It was probably the slowest carousel I've ever seen and they would have ridden it all day if I hadn't insisted we move on.
A step up, but still pretty tame... Lady and the Teletubbies.
This is my money shot of the day... Lady dancing in the front as Chuck E. and his band rock on. If you click on the picure, you can get a better look.
Love this girl!
At the end, we had 48 tickets, plus a couple from our friends. We exchanged them for a pink jelly bracelet (Lady), a pink heart gem hair clip (Bell) and two suckers. Ah... a ticket doesn't go as far as it used to in the good old days. Back in my day, that many tickets could have purchased a ferrari... for Barbie.

Family Night with God's Creatures Great and Small

For family night we talked about the beautiful things God created, with a focus on small creatures (butterflies, lady bugs, dragon flies, and bees). These also happen to be the creatures featured on a cake pan I own (...coincidence?). Lady and her pink butterfly and Bell with her purple lady bug.
Baby studied the creatures of the sea.
Isn't she adorable?

Tummy Time

I don't know who likes the playmat more... Baby or Big Sisters???
Lady and Baby
This tummytime contraption actually spins the baby around... the girls like spinning Baby... a litttle too much for my comfort.
Bell gets a little tummy time in, too!

Sent from Heaven

I'm grateful for my kids-- they help me to want to be a better person and remind me of what's important. For example, when we're praying and I say "help us to be obedient and listen..." I begin by saying that so that they will be obedient and listen, but I'm instantly reminded that I need to do the same.

Earlier this week I hurt myself while lifting weights (in case you were wondering you cannot make up a year's worth of exercise in one work out). Even though I couldn't move, I knew I wasn't paralyzed because I could feel excruciating pain. I had Dan give me a blessing and then he carefully got me into the car and took me to the chiropractor. At my second visit to the chiropractor he was impressed with how much progress I had made considering how much pain I was in two days earlier. I was thinking the heat compresses and the neck stretching exercises must have really helped. Later that day, Lady was asking me about my neck and I told her it was feeling much better. She said "Yeah, Mommy... your neck is feeling better. Daddy put oil on your head and now your neck feels better." How humbling... I had completely forgotten about the blessing I had received from Dan... and yes, I know THAT is what greatly sped up the healing process. Thank you little Lady, for reminding me of where the credit should really go, and thank you Heavenly Father for healing me so quickly and sending me these beautiful children.

Funny snippets from this week...

Finding 12 Q-tips jammed into my hard-drive.

The girls wearing their pink heart skirts EVERY day and sometimes that included to bed (yes, they even found them in the laundry room and took them out of the hamper).

Conversation between Lady & Bell
Bell: Get away from me. I want to be alone.
Lady: Bell, why are you so angry?
Bell: Go away!
Lady: But Bell, I don't want to go away. I love you. (Mommy's heart melts...)

Conversation between Lady & Me
Lady: I want to wear a pink shirt (trying to take her shirt off)
Me: You are not going to change your outfit several times. Keep your shirt on.
Lady: I'm not a child! I want to wear a pink shirt. I'm not a child!
Her response made me laugh so hard, I almost gave in and let her change her shirt. But I didn't.

More fun at the park

These are the moments I want to cherish.
"Higher, higher... faster, faster."
"I'm wicked high," our little Bostonian declared.

Let's go fly a kite...

I love watching my husband play with his daughters. They absolutely adore him and it's easy to see why; he is a fun dad. Yesterday, the weather was spectacular, and so Daddy decided it was the perfect time to introduce the girls to a childhood rite: kite flying. He came with a $4.00 plastic Woody & Buzz Lightyear kite and suggested we go fly it for family home evening. There was the perfect amount of wind blowing, the sky was clear and the temperature was around 70. I sat in the car and fed baby while Daddy sent that kite soaring in the sky. The girls danced and squealed with delight. About 5 minutes into the kite's maiden voyage, the girls begged for a turn to hold it. Daddy gave the string handle to Lady and said "Hold on tight, don't let go." You, of course, know where this story is going... she got so excited while she was holding it, she forgot about NOT letting go. The kite soared up high until its handle got caught in a tree. The girls sat and admired it for a while and then we headed to the park to play on the swings. Next time we'll tie the kite to their wrists.
As Buzz would say "To infinity and beyond.."
Baby G and I watching the girls and Daddy play in the park. Love that sling!

Wild Monkey

I am always amazed at how kids can turn it on and turn it off. The "it" I'm referring to is the infamous temper tantrum. I was bathing the girls tonight and they were playing Mermaid in the bathtub; all seemed to go well. They both got out, I wrapped them in towels and took them to the living room to put pjs on. Out of the blue, Bell throws her towel down, then throws herself down in a heap and starts screaming like a banshee (she does have some Irish blood in her, afterall). She was acting like a crazy person. I have no idea what set her off. I grabbed the towel and put it back on her and had the following conversation:

Me: Stop acting like a wild animal. You need to get control of yourself.

Bell: AAAHHHHHHH (ranting and raving, kick and screaming)

Me: (trying to break the moment with some humor) What kind of animal are you? Are you a wild squirel?

Bell: No! I'm a MONKEY!

Me: (Maybe we should stay away from the Gorilla house at the zoo for a while) Well, you need to get control of yourself, monkey.

Bell: (COMPLETELY normal and docile) I'm not angry anymore... I'm being fun.

Me: (fun??? Is that what we're having?)

And she was. Just as quickly as that scary wild monkey switch turned on, it turned off, and she was using her quiet, soft princess voice staring at me with those blue doll eyes. I still don't know what set her off, but Lady had fun sitting on my lap telling me her sister was acting like a "aminal." Good thing I always keep a few bananas around, just in case...

Jane Austen Heroines