Enjoying the outdoors

These girls love being outside. Yay for warmer weather! :)

Notes from the crib- 6 months!

Maya (L) and Makenna (R)

We're half a year old!! Mom says that's quite a milestone. 6 months on this earth, and we're all still alive and enjoying every moment! :)

Mom also says she can tell that we are getting more and more active, which makes taking these pictures quite a task. Here's a small taste of what Mom had to go through in order to get these pictures of us this month...

We LOVE our feet. We're always trying to eat them.

We'd rather just play with our dolls than look at Mom and smile for a picture.

Maybe we can roll over each other. I think Makenna might hurt Maya if she did that. Mom stopped that right away.

Maya retaliates. She steals Makenna's doll, puts it in her mouth, and begins kicking Makenna. Can you feel the love?!?

We can do a lot in just a few minutes, can't you tell? :)

So, here I am.... Maya Grace

Just look at that smile. I'm still the smiley girl that I've been. I love to laugh and giggle, especially at people I know. At 6 months I'm 24.75 inches tall (18%), I weigh 13 lb 13 oz (12%), and my head circumference is 42cm (38%). I'm just a little peanut! I'm wearing 6-month sized clothing and size 2 diapers (although size 1 still fit me). I love to grab toys and put them in my mouth. Sometimes my feet come in handy as toys if I don't have any toys around. When I'm on my tummy I like to roll right over to my back again. I prefer baby food as it is and not mixed with rice cereal like my mom tries to do. Right now I eat baby food at dinnertime with the rest of the family. In the next couple of weeks I'll eat twice a day and try a sippy cup with water in it. Mom says that would be great because then she might be able to sneak some breast milk in there for me! :) Tricky, tricky. I'm still not super excited about eating and I don't eat much, but I'm getting there. I eat from Mom every 3-4 hours during the day. I'm doing pretty well sleeping at night. I go to bed at 7:30pm, and usually wake up one time to eat before I'm up for good around 7-8am.

And... Makenna Anne

Here I am, with my tongue out again. My sister and I love to stick out our tongues. Actually, most of the time one of us always has our tongue sticking out of our mouths. At 6 months I'm 26 inches tall (62%), I weigh 15 lb 15 oz (51%), and my head circumference is 42.5cm (53%). I still fit in a few 6 month outfits, but I'm mostly in 6-9 month clothes and 9 month clothes. Size 2 diapers are perfect for me, too! My thighs have lots of rolls on them, and Mom says she could kiss my chubby cheeks all day long! I, too, love to play with my feet, pull my socks off, and chew on my toes. I like to play on my tummy and have started reaching for toys to play with. Oftentimes when I'm in my crib I roll over to my tummy and fall asleep like that. When Mom finds me like that, she rolls me back over, and I don't like that! I'm doing pretty well sleeping. I go to bed by 7:30pm, but then usually like to wake up once before Mom and Dad go to bed. Mom and Dad have just started letting me fuss and cry a bit instead of getting me out of bed. So far, I've cooperated. I'll also wake up 1-2 more times during the night, but will only get fed one time. I tend to be a bit more of a stinker when it comes to sleeping. Even when my sister and I take naps, I usually sleep for 45 minutes at a time, and my sister will often sleep for 1-2 hours at a time. This makes my Mom a bit crazy, because she either has crabby babies or babies on different schedules. I'm doing okay with foods. I'm not the biggest fan of rice cereal, and often gag when I'm eating, but Mom isn't giving up on me yet. In fact, tonight I gobbled down half a jar of green beans. They were awesome! :) I also eat every 3-4 hours from mom, just like my sister.

Hey- it's Maya and Makenna's mom here. I just wanted to add my two cents here :). It's hard to believe our baby girls are already 6 months old. I barely remember what our lives were like before they were here! When the twins were born and we had long days and long nights, I remember asking several moms with twins this question: When will things get better?!? Almost all of them replied: 6 months. Now that we're at that point, I'll admit that they were right. Things are getting {a little} easier. Don't get the wrong impression- my life is still pretty crazy and I rarely get a moment of peace. I feel like I'm still just as busy as when the girls were newborns, it's just a different kind of busy. Most days it seems like the girls are on different schedules more than than they are on the same schedule. But, they're getting to sleep at a normal bedtime- FINALLY. I feel like life is getting a little more back to normal with time for myself and time to just relax with my hubby. We're starting to get on a schedule with nap times and things are more routine around here. I know that tomorrow things could change again, so I try not to sit back and think I have it all together. I know I don't always have it all together. However, I know that I love these little babes with all my heart, and am thankful I get to spend every day at home hugging and squeezing them.

I think one of the biggest things that has helped us over the past 6 months is the realization that our life would be full of lots of sacrifices- especially in the first year of their lives. We can't go out as long as we want to because the girls will not take bottles, we can't just go anywhere whenever we want to, I can't do as many things as I'd like to do during the day, playdates have to happen at our house so our girls can get good naps, we don't go anywhere as a family after dinner so we can keep the girls on a schedule, I don't make any commitments to be anywhere at night until after 7:30pm so that I can get the girls in bed first, etc. We've sacrificed some once-close friendships because some people just don't understand or seem to care. We've gained new friendships and support from amazing people. I could go on and on listing sacrifices AND blessings that have come from these girls... However, those sacrifices we've made don't even bother me. In the scheme of things, they're petty. In fact, I know that part of being a parent is sacrificing a lot of those same things for the rest of your life. Hands down, raising my 3 kiddos to know and love Christ makes it worth every.single.sacrifice.

He's got moves.

Someone knows how to dance.

He didn't learn those moves from me.

I know the music in the background is kind of hard to hear, but this video was just too hilarious not to share.

Loving looks

I could watch these two babes look at each other ALL. DAY. LONG.

It is seriously the cutest thing ever when they just stare and smile at each other.

I pray they love each other just as much later in life as they do now.

Someone likes to make his sisters laugh

Kaden loves to make his sisters laugh. It seems like he does the wackiest things, and they crack right up at him. I've managed to catch a few of these laugh sessions lately on my phone and thought I'd share them with you. The video quality isn't the best since it's from my phone, but you get the idea :) They're privately linked on YouTube for your enjoyment. This one is of Kaden and Makenna. This one is of Kaden and Maya. So cute. I love that the girls think Kaden is hilarious! :)

UA

So, we {might} be big fans of Under Armour around here.

Daddy started it.

Kaden followed.

The girls look adorable in it.

Mommy isn't far behind.

Nothing says cute like 2 girls wearing UA in their bumbo seats! :)

Siblings just hanging out in their UA gear

The only thing this crazy boy wants to wear now is UA stuff.

We're working on convincing him that UA isn't the only brand that makes cool stuff.

Too many chefs in the kitchen?

Nothing says fun like a Friday night spent cooking with your friends.

Believe it or not, we're all still on speaking terms, and no one got food poisoning.

The part that was the most fun was watching how couples interacted with each other while cooking. Hilarious.

I'm thankful for such a fun group of friends!

Just look at all of that delicious food!

(Sadly I couldn't enjoy most of it since our girls weren't cooperating and I had to leave. Sigh.)

Love is...

that feeling you get deep in your heart when.....

while lying in bed with your 3 1/2 yr. old son at night,

he puts his arm around you,

and kisses your forehead ever so gently.

Completely unprompted, yet completely heartwarming.

The tantrum he had prior to that quickly fades from memory,

and my heart overflows with love.

Grocery shopping

I took all 3 kids to Meijer with me for the first time last week. In the past it seems like I always had an opportunity to go grocery shopping without kids, or I'd take 1 or 2 kiddos with me. It didn't happen that way last week, so I decided to venture out with all 3. I wasn't anxious about having 3 kids with me, I just didn't know how I'd fit groceries if I had to put 2 carseats in the shopping cart. So, I decided to push the girls in their double stroller and elicit Kaden's help in pushing the grocery cart behind me. Of course I ended up pulling the grocery cart and pushing the stroller all at the same time, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Kaden was such a great help! He helped put things in the grocery cart and stayed by me the whole time. The girls even cooperated and smiled for all of the old ladies oohing and aahing over them. I'm sure we looked like a circus parade, but we made it. It also helped that I had my grocery list and coupons organized ahead of time- by aisle, starting with the front of the store towards the back. I don't think I'll make a habit of grocery shopping with all 3 at the same time, but it's good to know I can do it! I find with the twins that I might be anxious about doing something I haven't tried once, but then once I do it, it really doesn't seem that bad! :)

Summer in March

The weather this past week has been a huge treat! We've been able to get outside almost every single day and soak up some sun! Every day the sun shines in through the blinds, the windows let in beautiful spring breezes, we've grilled hot dogs, and everyone has been in a good mood around here. The girls have enjoyed being outside, and of course Kaden is in heaven. It takes a little creativity to try and get everyone outside at the same time, but so far we've managed. We've enjoyed walks while Kaden rides his bike, time playing in the backyard, sidewalk chalk, and of course playing sports outside. It looks like we'll have a few more warm days this week, and then the weather will get back to the 40's, which is a bit more normal for this time of year. I can hardly believe we've seen 70-80 degrees for about 5 days now. I'm really glad we decided not to go to Florida this year for spring break- we would have missed all of this great weather. Who needs FL when you have summer in March in Michigan for free?!?!?

The girls ready to take their first walk outside. The weather got cold once they were born, and it was finally warm enough this week to get them outside for a walk! We even had to take their fleece carseat covers off this week because it was so hot! This is the girls happy before their walk.

And this is after...... sound asleep! :)

Makenna happy to be outside in her seat

Maya happy hanging out by Daddy

Makenna again- kicking her feet and squealing with delight! :)

Hi, Mom! Do you want some food from my rester-not? (Yes, that's how he says it)

Playing in his playhouse

Mommy and Maya

Dressing up

I'm not sure how or when Kaden started this, but EVERY.SINGLE.DAY he dresses up as something. His imagination is always going and bringing him to imaginary places. Every morning when he wakes up he comes into my room with some type of "costume" on, claiming he's a baseball player, or a surfer, etc. Then he spends the next several hours acting out that personality. Sometimes he's even more than one character in a day, or chooses to spend his naptime changing from outfit to outfit in his bedroom. It's always a game to see what he'll come out of his room wearing after naptime! :) While the extra piles of clothes and outfits get annoying, I don't want to forget his imagination and love for pretending. It really makes him who he is at this stage. I could probably have posted about 50 pictures in this blog, but I'll leave you with some highlights from the past few weeks.

I now present to you......

A Cubs baseball player

A surfer

A soccer goalie

A superhero

Um....

Another baseball player

A fireman....

...with very foggy goggles.

First, but not the last

Well, the girls have their first official sickness. We know it won't be the last, and that it's inevitable- they're going to get sick every once in awhile. We can blame this little bug on their older brother. Even though we constantly reminded him to wash his hands and turn away when he was coughing and sneezing from his cold a couple of weeks ago, we know he didn't always listen. So.... a few days after he got over his cold, the girls started coughing.... surprise, surprise. Mother's instinct had me make a dr's appt to get them checked out, and it turns out that they both had an ear infection in their right ear. The doctor just laughed and said, "I know that ear infections aren't contagious, but they both have one in the same ear." My response? "Crazy twin thing." I'm sure we'll have many of those crazy twin moments. Honestly, it makes my life easier that they're both sick at the same time. I'd rather have a week of crabby kids than have weeks of prolonged coughing. The bad news is that their bronchiolitis can last anywhere from 2-3 weeks, so my poor babes have to struggle with their wheezing cough and stuffiness for awhile. We did a nebulizer treatment at the dr's office, and will probably do a few more at home to help clear their lungs a bit. We have a humidifier on in their room, lots of burp cloths around for coughing fits that lead to vomiting, tissues for wiping runny noses, and lots of arms for cuddling. Surprisingly, they're doing great. Their mood is better, they're starting to eat better, and we're thankful for medicine that is helping them turn around quickly. Moments like this make me even more thankful that I'm able to be home with my babes when they don't feel 100%.

Makenna gets a nebulizer treatment. She laughed and smiled the whole time. Go figure.

Big brother tries to help

I didn't get a picture of Maya getting her treatment. The nurse was doing her treatment at the time, so I wasn't able to get hers on camera. Let's just say she wasn't as content with the treatment. Our feisty girl stayed in true character and fought it until she fell asleep 3/4 of the way through. Oh, Maya.... how we love you!

Calvin Basketball fans

Yup, we're Calvin fans. Would you expect anything else? We're both Calvin grads, my siblings went/go there, and I teach there. It's no surprise that Kaden LOVES to go there and talks about when he'll go to college there. I'd be ok with that!! GO KNIGHTS!

Calvin fans at 3 months old

Supporting the Calvin Alumni Basketball Game in October. We all wore Calvin gear!

The whole family at the Calvin/Hope bball game in February. The girls did great at their first game and even slept through the cheers of the crazy Hope student section by us!

Kaden in his Calvin basketball jersey and hat

Cute faces

I'm pretty sure they don't get much cuter than this!!

Maya (L) and Makenna (R)

Makenna with her fingers in her mouth- a usual sight around here

Maya happy in the portable swing. She fits much better in here than her sister does.

Bath time for Makenna!

Clean and Cute Maya

Makenna just chillin' on the boppy