Wordless Wednesday: High Heels & Curls; Panties & a Potty Chart

Play Gym

"We're" potty training around here. I thought living on a 3 hour schedule (feeding the twins) was rough at times, but functioning on a 7-10 minute schedule is utterly exhausting! I get something started, the timer goes off, take Addie to the potty, get done with that, and then can't for the life of me remember what I was doing (or by then, someone is crying or needs to be fed)!

I am proud to report that over a 7 hour period that she only had ONE accident! She pottied at least 12 times and told us she needed to potty 3 times! Whoohoo!

But onto the subject at hand...

The little girls keep getting more and more fun each day. Audrey Kate has started smiling (I mean really smiling...not just gas!). Anne Perry has been amazing us for at least 2 weeks now batting and hitting at things. This weekend she even figured out that if she kicked her legs while in her bouncy seat that her dangling toys would move. She was mesmerized (and so were we)!

The first two pictures were taken a little over a week ago. Audrey Kate watched, but Anne Perry was the one interacting with the toys!

(love that face!)

The rest of these were taken a few days ago. I am always amazed at what a difference a week makes at this stage of life. They are SO much bigger now!

Look at them holding hands. Well, they were holding hands, but I couldn't get my flash to fire at the time! Argh! I still think this one's cute! (and then there's Addie to the right about to lay on both of them!)

But Oh My! Do you see that sweet big sister loving on her babies! It was all we could do to keep her off them! She thinks they are the greatest things ever! On our way to church yesterday, she informed me that she was going to tell EVERYONE about her baby sisters! ;)

Pure joy. Pure joy, I say!

Because I Can...

...and nothing lasts forever.

So I'll get multiples of this one shot...

...just because I can!

a Family Weekend

Grandpa, Gail, Uncle Jay, Aunt Millie, and Kira all came to visit last weekend! Of course I'm behind on posting, but I guess I have a pretty good excuse now!

This has to be one of my favorite pictures of Kira. Isn't she just adorable!?!?! 

Addie was SO sweet to Kira, and it made me so thankful! Not that we would tolerate anything less, but it's a lot easier than fighting over it! I love this picture that Millie (or Jay) took!

They had so much fun playing together. Both of them shared toys and interacted so sweetly! Addie woke up Sunday morning begging for Kira!!!

Of course, Addie loves playing with Aunt Millie and Uncle Jay! They are so much fun (and so sweet to her!).

She took a special liking to Uncle Jay. The only other daddy that she's like that with is her own and Josh (Allison's husband). It's so sweet to watch her hug on them!

Grandpa/Paul's dad is the perfect grandpa for girls. They love him to pieces, and I'm pretty sure he feels the same way about his little darlings, as he calls them!

But we all know how quickly a great picture...

...can become quite the silly/unhappy moment! It doesn't take long with a 1 and 2 year old! I admit, I was the bad-guy and nixed the idea of a picture with Grandpa holding all 4 girls. I couldn't seem to explain well enough how unpredictable the big girls can be (see above example) and how much care had to be taken when holding the little girls! We were going to try to have him hold the babies and then we would quickly plop Kira and Addie down on either side of him. It never materialized. So we'll save that one for the lake when everyone is a little more, let's say, stable!

Ms. Gail was awesome with the little girls! You can clearly see how relaxed Anne Perry is here! She (Gail, not Anne Perry) made a delicious dinner for us with some of the yummiest brownies I've ever eaten!

I couldn't believe Kira would wear the bunny ears this long! And there's that adorable tongue again! :)

I love this set of pictures with Grandpa. Kira climbed up in his lap and smashed her little face against his nose...a preliminary kiss! Then she took his face in her hands and it was SO sweet! I was having serious issues with my flash firing (or rather not firing), so I missed half of these; but I did think these were sweet!

And then there were the little girls who refused to sleep in their beds the entire time they were here (not because I didn't put them there)! Oh well...pretty sweet getting to watch them sleep!

I'm sure Addie will really like this picture when she's older. I didn't take it because she was stuffing her face with a snack. I took it because of those pig tails and that curl right in the middle of her forehead!

And I leave you with this face! Apparently this is Kira's new smile for the camera face! LOVE it!

Thanks for coming to visit...all 5 of you! We loved seeing you and can't wait to spend time together at the lake at the end of the summer!

Road Trip!

Last Friday, we loaded up the car and all 3 girls and I went to Birmingham to visit our friends: Allison, Josh, Abby, Jack, and Izzy. If you read this blog much, you know Allison and I have been friends since our college years, years which seem to be farther and farther behind us!

It was a gorgeous day, and the kids had a blast playing in their pool! I'm pretty sure Addie might have had the most fun though (although that's highly debatable)! She turned into a water baby the minute she set foot in the pool! We came home and pulled ours out too. If it wasn't for the mosquitoes in our backyard (which we are remedying today!), we would be out there all day! Oh...and the heat index of 101 seems to keep us indoors more too!

Addie and Izzy are about 10 weeks apart. They were so cute together!

And then there's big brother Jack. 150% boy to the core! Addie loves this whole precious family; but when we talk about them, she gets all googley eyed when we mention Jack!

I love this smile! Abby was entertaining everyone while Allison was getting lunch ready!

Abby and Jack.

How cute are they?

Then it was back to the pool!

I had the bright idea of trying to get a picture of all 6 kiddos. I think Addie is the most unpredictable (and uncooperative) when it comes to taking pictures, but Allison was standing next to me with her camera (so Addie was at least not yelling at me NOT to take her PIC-ture!). Allison was literally jumping up and down like a monkey and then quickly snapping a picture while everyone was smiling. How on the earth she did that, I'll never know! I just attempted to take advantage of her energy and talent, but I'm pretty sure she got better pictures than I could have every hoped to grab! I finally quit shooting just to watch her be silly and the kids reactions! :)

Now let me say this, I don't plop both babies down in many people's arms (even though everyone seems to want to hold them together). First of all, there's usually an extra set of hands around, so there's no need. Second of all, they are still so tiny and wobbly! But Abby was the most logical of the 4 big kids to hold both girls. And let me tell you, she is one amazing 5 year old! After we took pictures, she held one or the other of them until we left. She was so careful with their heads and kept telling me how beautiful they were. Melt.My.Heart.

But...
 

Jack (3.5), Izzy (2.5), Addie (2), Anne Perry (7wks), Abbey (5.5), Audrey Kate (7wks)

I think it all started down hill when Anne Perry got hungry. And Allison must have stopped jumping around! :)

Thank you for letting us come visit! As always, we loved our time with you!

Wordless Wednesday: Because 3 are better than 2!

The Dreaded 4 Letter "F" Word...

No, not that one! We don't say that word in our house (for real)!

So which four letter "f" word am I referring to?
 
f-l-e-a

In our case: fleaS!

We treat our animals each month, every month with heartworm/flea medicine!

But Fuzz, our outside cat, is apparently bringing them home after her
little jaunts in the neighborhood...in addition to the squirrels that
live (& die at the paw of said cat) in our yard.

{random squirrel}

They {the fleas} weren't going away. 

I kept trying to wish them away.

I kept thinking they would cycle through & quit reproducing because
that's what the medicine does to them...when they bite your animal.

I didn't want the chemicals in our house.

I didn't want to have to wash e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g all at once. 

Every sheet, blanket, bedspread, pillow case, pillow sham, mattress pad, &
towel in addition to all the dirty clothes.

I didn't want to have to hide swing & bouncy seat covers, toys,
baskets off the shelves, diaper bags, stuffed animals, and diapers all
in the closets and take off bumper pads, fold up the pack-n-play, &
put every utensil, knife, bottle and paper towel in a cabinet.

I didn't want to have to take all 3 animals to the vet for checkups &
flea treatments at.the.same.time!

I didn't want to admit we our animals had f.l.e.a.S.

Um...because who would?

but more than anything, I didn't want f.l.e.a.S.

And in the middle of all of this, I dropped a metal rod from the
pack-n-play bassinet ON MY TOE. I couldn't breathe it hurt so badly!

But we vacated and fogged the house yesterday.

Today we will have the backyard drenched in chemicals to kill the
fleas in addition to mosquitoes.

Have I mentioned I'm anti-chemicals?

We will vacuum everyday for the next 7 days.

We will PRAY that this round kills everything. 

Otherwise we get to do this all over again in 10 days.

Seriously...

Pig Tails!

take 1 

(tantrum starting. she's literally jumping up and down here)

take 2 

(can you hear it: no Mom-MEE DON'T take my PIC-TURE!)

take 3

(snuck up on her)

take 4 

(maybe if i refuse to look at her she will go away!)

take 5 

(look at her cutting those eyes at me! and her mouth! we are in trouble...now!)

I.give.up! (for now at least)

Daddy's Girls

When people find out we have 3 girl, I hear more often than not, Oh your poor husband.

When we confirmed on the ultrasound that both babies were girls, the techs response was, Oh I'm sorry Daddy.

 

And my response is always the same...

He wanted 3 girls!

I babysat for a sweet family with three girls. Paul kept them with me a few times when we were dating, and we stayed with them after we were married. They were sweet, sweet girls; and Paul always said to me how much he would love three girls. My response to him was always the same...well, I want 4 boys.


I cannot imagine life with little boys now (although, i know they are just as wonderful as little girls). Our life is full of pink and petals, dancing and drama, curls and cuteness. Some of it will remain the same for years to come. Other things will only be fading memories a few years from now.

I truly believe Paul is one of the best daddies I know. He is loving, kind, patient, fun, energetic, gentle, self-sacrificing, playful, and helpful. He might not like to change the babies' clothes, but he can change diapers faster than I can. To Addie, he's an amazing reader, dancer, jumper, builder, thrower, cook-er, and pretender. To the little girls, he's the best rocker, snuggl-er, bouncer, burp-er, and patter. To me...he's the best Daddy to our little girls!

 I think it takes a special man to father three girls, but I think it even takes a more special one to father 3 girls 2 and under. No, that won't be forever; but they will forever be two years apart, and the little girls will forever be twins. I know I would not be functioning without him, especially right now. He knows when I'm at my wits end and exhausted so he stays up with the girls when they can't sleep. He knows I'm never a morning person, so he gets up early with Addie each morning.

But I think what I love the most about Paul is how he treats me. Everyday, these girls get a first hand demonstration of how they should be treated by their future husband (many, many years from now)!  No, he's not perfect, and I'm sure not either. We don't always communicate or have everything together; but bottom line, he respects and loves me unconditionally...and they will know they deserve nothing less!

Happy 1st Father's Day as a Daddy of THREE precious little girls! We love you Daddy!

(unfortunately I don't have a picture of Paul with all 3 girls at the same time...that will come once Addie decides it's ok to have her picture taken again :)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
I Corinthians 13: 4-8a, 13

 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself...However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Ephesians 5: 25-28, 33

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise—"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. 

Ephesians 6: 1-4

RieRie Love

Oh how I love my mom.

There are a lot of people who have helped us over the past 9 months, and we are SO thankful; but there's no denying that there's just something about having your mama there for you. I am so thankful she is off for the summer and has been able to help me make this transition from one to three! She's patient, consistent, helpful and kind and loving with her words. She's got stuffing cloth diapers down, loves to give Addie her bath, and has folded more of our laundry than I have over the past 6 weeks. She knows when to make suggestions and knows when it's best to let me figure it out on my own. She's my mom.

And she can even juggle TWO babies!

This is how I burp the girls after I feed them, but then they need to be upright for at least 20 minutes...and sometimes I need to get up to care for Addie or do the dishes or take a shower! And I am so thankful that she can juggle the girls too! It takes some serious practice!

So I plopped the girls down on RieRie's shoulders, propped everyone up, and accomplished something. I just can't recall what it was!?!

As I was taking pictures, Addie yelled "Take my picture MOMMY!" alternated by "DON'T TAKE my PICTURE Mommy!" You can imagine what she was yelling here...

(sorry for the blur. I was across the room and she was JUMPING up and down! not ideal picture taking circumstances.) 

Sweet Audrey Kate

Sweet Anne Perry

Thank you Mom for being there for us and making such a huge sacrifice of your time to serve others! We love you RieRie!

She speaks with wisdom,

and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

She watches over the affairs of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness.

Her children arise and call her blessed;...

...Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all."

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:26-30