The Good Life

I'm livin' it. The good life. My house? Filled with the good life. We finally hit that corner and are back on track. I might not be getting any more sleep (in fact I think I'm getting less), but everyone in the household is in a good groove. Favorite moments?

Katie and Molly are now cruising along furniture. They find themselves hilarious and are so proud of their accomplishments. They chase the boys around nonstop and it delights me to see them all playing together. Katie has created this fake laugh that makes me giggle. Molly scrunches her face and looks at me so happy and it melts my heart. We read books, sing songs, eat snacks, play cars. Life is good.

The boys are just loving preschool. They've made some great friends and love their teacher. We spend our days playing computer games, playing cars (making ramps), riding bikes, swinging, playing ball, and doing crafts. Thomas is full of energy and a growing vocabulary. He loves mama snuggles, but loves to rough house with daddy more. Joshua is a busy little kid with tons of energy and amazing dance moves. He loves jokes and changes them to fit a situation (sometimes making them not as funny but creative). The boys just finished swim lessons and are moving up to the next level. Go boys!

Gosh life is great. I just can't complain. I'm trying to remember every moment. Rock the babies a little more. Smell the baby smell. Listen to their baby voices and see those moments of pure love and adoration. See the true joy in learning. Watch the excitement in the boys' eyes and see them love the next adventure of the day.

This, my friends, is the good life.

9 Months Old?!

What happened? Where are my babies? Now I have these crawling, cruising, talking little girls. Sure I still get cuddles. Sure they are still mama's girls. But they're getting so big!!! Here's a peek at their 9 month pictures.

Beautiful Weather

This has been the best winter for our family. After these horribly snow-filled winters where we are stranded at home for days on end, we are finally having a winter where we can play outside and still be among the living! It couldn't be better timing, with two small babies, coordinating outside playtime in snow is ridiculous.

Last week it was sunny and wonderful. We played outside for hours and hours. The girls played in a swing and their exersaucers. The boys also went swinging and we played a little baseball. Yay!

More big news is that the boys started swim lessons. This is the first session of swim lessons where they are without a parent. Makes me nervous, but they seem to love it!

Yesterday is snowed. The flakes were HUGE! The boys were so excited to get on their snow pants for the first time this season and proceeded to make snow angels in our muddy backyard. :) They played outside forever and the girls watched from the door. Everyone was happy! It'll be great when the girls are walking and can be out playing as well.

We Left...And We Survived!

Our first vacation as a family of 6 and we survived! We left Friday night after Dan got off work. A wise move on our part. We stopped only once for a feeding session, stretching, and potty break. We stayed with Dan's cousin and wife and had just a fantastic time!

We spent Saturday at the Seattle Aquarium. What a real treat! The boys (well really, all of us) enjoyed petting starfish and other sea creatures. If you ask the boys, they will tell you that their favorite part was making whale sounds and recording them. What a great day!

Sunday we walked down to the Ballard Locks. We met Dan's cousin, Carlene, who also has a set of twins. We got to see several boats go up and down in the locks and then explored the fish ladder. I will admit that before having kids, I loved dams and things of that nature. Now? It just plain makes me nervous!We DID have a great time though!

Monday we spent the entire day with my brother, Eric, and his wife and kiddos. The boys were in hog heaven. A beautiful day in Seattle meant that the kids could play outside. They couldn't have been happier and were just sad to leave when the time came.

We left Tuesday morning and made a major stop at North Bend and then trudged on home. One stop in Moses Lake and we pulled in around dinner time. Aside from Katie's 102 degree temperatures, it was a very successful trip. The boys are already asking to go back!

Swimming and More

Last night we took the kids and went swimming at the YMCA. Not sure what incited this crazy idea, but it was more of an adventure than anticipated. The sheer logistics are overwhelming. Shoving all six of us into a family restroom and trying to get all six of us in swimsuits (usually we go IN our swimsuits so no changing is necessary but this time Dan and I worked out first) was kind of a nightmare. Not being able to put the girls down on the yucky floor makes it just that much harder. It ended up that the boys and I changed first and then we all changed the girls and then we went to the pool while Dan changed. Not too bad.

Swimming itself was fantastic. Not enough hands for a camera, so no pictures, sorry! Katie is a little water bug and loves it. As soon as I stood her in the water she started kicking and wanted to be sitting or crawling in it at all times. Molly was more timid until we got to the warm (92 degrees) therapy pool and then that girl was all over it. They both got the obligatory dunk to get use to the water. Molly was not even phased, Katie was ticked that we dare put her under with her consent. Both then swam and kicked the rest of the time. The boys always enjoy the water and with life vests are very independent. We recently discovered that Joshua CAN swim without one, but is not yet trustworthy. Especially with all four kids in the water.

Getting out was again nearly disastrous. How to stay dry?!! Eventually I changed and took the girls out and changed them in the viewing area while the boys and Dan changed. Seriously, who thought we could do this?! And why do we think we'll do it again...SOON! :)

In other news, Katie is easily crawling everywhere. Standing and holding onto everything and talking up a storm. That girl likes to sing and will even bob to the music when it's on. She continues to be a mama's girl, but is getting better for short periods of time.

Molly is CRAWLING! As of yesterday. She, too, is trying to pull herself up on everything. She's still an easy baby, but gets very angry if her needs aren't met immediately. She got her first bloody nose yesterday as she toppled over and bonked her face on the floor. With her extremely snotty nose and blood, it was quite a mess. (Doesn't help that at the exact same time I was trying to change my clothes, Katie spit up on the floor and was playing in it, and Joshua had used the bathroom and needed immediate assistance). Oh the joy of multiple multiples.

Here's to another day and more adventures!

Oh yeah, the girls are 8 months now! Here's a picture!

Sayonara 2009

Good-bye 2009, hello 2010. I admit, I'm a little sad to see 2009 go. It's been a good year for us. We bought a house, had two babies, got a new (to us van) and saw our oldest kids turn 4. What a year! Can 2010 top that? Only time will tell. Here are a few favorite moments from 2009...

More Christmas

Here we are, at the end of all of our Christmas celebrations. This week my brother Eric came into town from Seattle. The boys absolutely love when all the cousins are together and they get to play. And we like to have adult time while that happens! :)

Every year I get all the cousins matching/coordinating pajamas and we take a cousin picture. It's so much fun! The first year the new baby was cousin Sawyer. Last year it was cousin Natalie. This year it was the girls. Who will be new next year? (DON'T LOOK AT US FOR THAT ONE!)