Early Spring Videos

Life is crazy around here! In mid-March we went on a family vacation to Florida for my cousin's wedding. (Florida vacation pics to be posted soon!) Since arriving home, the weather has been unseasonably warm! We have been spending 5+ hours per day in our backyard. It's awesome.

Zeke's favorite activity is digging and trucking. Often he tows things too. He loads his trucks with sand, mud, and mulch. I'll have to take a picture of some of his setups tomorrow and share those.

Zadie and Ezra have been having SO much fun with our little red cozy coupe car. I would say that at least 80% of the time we are outside, the car is occupied by at least one toddler. (I wrote "baby" at first, but at 17 months, they're hardly babies anymore!) My general philosophy has been that even though they're twins, we don't need two of everything. They can share- right? Well not always.

Yesterday, I'd had enough of the fighting to sit in the car, so I picked up a second car at a consignment shop. This one is a different color and the horn plays a tune. I should've known to get one that was exactly the same. Now the old red car sits empty and all three off them clamor over the new blue car.

Ezra and Zadie have both mastered the little plastic playset in the backyard. They can both climb up and slide down. We've separated the playset into 2 pieces. Zeke likes to "sell ice cream and cookies" out of the part with the door.

Tom's good friend Matt came down from Omaha for a weekend visit in March and brought Zeke a couple of sweet kites. We've been waiting for the perfect day to try it out. Today the winds were right and we walked down to the park for Zeke's first kite-flying experience. Awesome times. Thanks Matt!

February Update and Photo Shoot

Lots going on around here. Nothing too exciting, but we're generally happy and busy! I did a little photo shoot with the kiddos today, so I'll put their pics with their updates. Fun!

Ezra talks now. His favorite words are "GET DOWN" said with emphasis. Sometimes he tells me this because he wants to get down from something he's strapped into (high chair, stroller, car seat) and sometimes he'll climb up on top of a chair, table, or bed and stand teetering while shouting "Get Down!"

He's constantly helping to put things in the right place, delivering diapers and shoes, and climbing all over things. He is SO FAST. We were at Zeke's gym class this week and Ezra takes off dribbling a soccer ball better than most of the 3-4 year olds in the class.

Zadie. This little lady made me very happy this week. .

After 15 months of sleeping in bed next to me and nursing ALL NIGHT LONG, she has successfully moved into her own room and now SLEEPS 12 HOURS each night. Without nursing. Without crying. It was no small feat, but over the course of the past month, we've worked hard to establish some solid bedtime routines, get her attached to some little stuffed animals, and finally move her crib to her own bedroom.

Next step is getting her to drink from a cup, bottle, or something besides me. She spent a lot of time gnawing on an empty 2 liter bottle of cherry 7-up this week. Maybe that will be her favorite "cup". The pediatrician warned us that she might choose something strange when she was finally ready. We'll see.

Zeke is in his prime these days. He's pretty much done with afternoon naps, so bedtime happens pretty easily. About a month ago, he moved into Ezra's room and he LOVES sharing a bedroom with his little brother. He's super excited for the day that they can get "bump beds" like his cousins have. I keep reminding him that Ezra needs to sleep in a crib for now, so it will probably be a few more months (years) until the bump beds, but he's still enthusiastic.

We toured a preschool this week. Starting in September, Zeke will go to an awesome little preschool 2-3 mornings per week. He's so excited about it. This kid never lacks in enthusiasm.

Tom and I are great. We got a little love seat at an antique store last weekend (used in photo shoot today). We had so much room in our bedroom once the crib was gone (!) that we've been able to turn it into a great little seating area. It's currently the same celery green as our walls, but the wall color will be changing to a lilac/grey color this weekend. Fascinating, huh?

Also, Tom took me on a wonderful surprise Valentine's date this year. I thought that my mom had actually texted last minute to offer her babysitting services so Tom and I could run out for a quick meal (I was thinking Qdoba, Chik Fil A, or something equally gourmet, given it was V-day at 6pm and we didn't have reservations anywhere) It wasn't until we were inside the theater that I realized Tom had planned a special dinner theater date at the Rogers Little Theater. Full dinner, dessert, chocolates, a rose, and Hairspray. Great job, Tom! (And thanks Mom and Dad for babysitting and being in on the secret!)

FINALLY- Here are the outtakes of my attempt at a photo of all 3 of my cherubs. The best shot I got all afternoon is first. The next two show how it really went after that. 3 kids, 3 and under. Oh well- I'm sure they'll sit still someday!

Zadie's First Year Photo Book

After waiting too long to do it, I finally put together Zadie's First Year- a Photo Book. Shutterfly is always sending out email offers for free albums, but you almost have to have one ready made in your account. Enjoy if you'd like to see it!

(Ezra will get one too- when the next free book offer comes around!)

Click here to view this photo book larger

Visit Shutterfly.com to create your own personalized photo book.

Things Zadie Won't Do

Our extremely sweet, incredibly happy little girl has a couple tiny little issues with a few things.

At one year and one month...

1. Zadie doesn't do bottles.

Nope. She used to, and then decided she didn't like them. She throws a giant fit if you try to give her one, closing her lips, shaking her head, and bucking like a wild bull. We just stopped trying. We figured she'd just go straight to the sippy cup. Except...

2. Zadie doesn't do cups.

Plastic and glass do not touch those lips. The little girl still prefers breastmilk from the source at this point.

3. Zadie doesn't do pacifiers.

See above- nothing but the real thing for this girl.

4. Zadie doesn't do utensils.

She eats it with her fingers or she doesn't eat it at all. A true lady.

5. Zadie doesn't do cribs.

We've got the princess and the pea on our hands. She'll nap in a crib during the daytime (after you rock her to sleep and set her down oh so daintily.) But at night, she'll wake up every half hour and cry until we bring her into our bed to sleep. Luckily we've got a big bed and we don't mind. It won't last forever, and she's just too sweet to deny her!

Zadie is such a happy, smiley, and social little girl that we just don't care if she has a few hangups. We're happy to indulge her!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

This year we had Bob the Builder (a construction worker).

And.... Puppies!!!

We started the weekend with the Northwest Arkansas Moms of Multiples Club annual Halloween party. It was so fun to see all the cute costumes on some area twins. Of course, the singleton siblings were also adorable. Fun families, yummy food, a cupcake walk, little balls and lots of crawling space. We had a blast!

Today, we carved some pumpkins and went trick or treating in our neighborhood. It turns out that we live in a "destination neighborhood" for trick or treating. Who knew! It was so fun to see a couple hundred kids and parents out in their costumes. Next year, we'll know to buy more candy- we ran out in 40 minutes!

Sorting his loot...

Kiddos: Fall Black and Whites 2011

Zadie Creek

We'll post more pictures from our Fall Tour later this week. Here is one of the highlights of our trip. This creek is in Missouri. Must be named after somebody's great-great grandmother.

August Accomplishments and Activities

Hey August- we had fun with you, but you just up and left so suddenly. What's up with that?

I didn't get a chance to do any great recaps. Here's what happened in August for us (youngest to oldest)...

Zadie started crawling! Our happy little girl is on the move now. She tries so hard to keep up with her speedy brothers and delights in being able to get herself from room to room. She's slimmed down a bit this month and doesn't have quite so many rolls. I think she and Ezra are starting to look a lot more alike. Here's a 36 second video of Zadie crawling.

Ezra loves clapping. Seriously. If anyone uses a positive-sounding tone in what they are saying, Ezra picks up on the cue and starts clapping. His sister is usually quick to join in behind him, but he's a real cheerleader. Ezra is also a champ in the highchair. He loves to eat any kind of finger food, and does so with great enthusiasm. Since mealtimes are often hectic around here, the babies have been feeding themselves pretty often. They love peas, carrots, butternut and pasta, chicken, and cheerios.

Zeke successfully beat the paci habit. Giving up his "bepe" was a bit brutal (on all of us) for about a week. It was really tough for us to watch our little guy who had always looked forward to bedtime and hardly ever fussed about it have complete emotional breakdowns. Luckily, the Bepe Fairy doesn't do tradebacks, so we all toughed it out. Zeke has been able to fall asleep pretty peacefully without his paci now for a week, and we congratulate him for it. (Ezra is always game for applauding him) Besides playing all the time with his new big-boy trucks, Zeke happily spends hours playing with his "hooker". (a 12 inch bungee cord with hooks on the ends). Hookers make great cranes, tow trucks, and are just generally great to have a conversation with. (Quote from the living room 5 seconds ago: "Do you have a lot of cranes at your house, hooker?" ) So fun!

I thought that taking care of 3 kids age 2 and under was too easy. I began taking care of a little two year old girl at the beginning of August. The first week was definitely tough, but since then, things have almost been easier than before. Zeke LOVES having a little playmate in the house (and the backyard, and the park, and the library...) and I enjoy having a little side income too. C comes here Monday-Friday during the day, and we're still able to do all of the fun activities we have come to enjoy. She's a really sweet little girl, and I think the arrangement will work out well for everyone!

Tom went back to grad school! Tom is now a full time student and a full time employee, meaning he works and works to squeeze as much into his week as possible. His classes have begun for his Masters in Social Work degree. Tom will be super busy for the next 2 years, but will graduate in Spring 2013. He likes his classes and has made some friends too! I suggested that he find a group of type-A ladies to join for group projects and presentations. So far, he's been keeping up with his homework and even learned a few things about social work.

Well, that's all for us. Happy Labor Day weekend!

Breakfast with Dad

Sleeping Beauty

Karine said we were a little Ezra heavy on the blog. Since our posts have been few and far between, [via blogging in the bathroom] that means we've done a pretty poor job sharing the wonders of Zadie with our readers.

For starters, she's either smiling or doing this.

Raffle Update

Here's the news. It's exciting. At least to us. We've sold enough raffle tickets to keep our blog alive. Thank you for your support. We've done a bit of a technology upgrade all around. No more blogging in the bathroom.

So, (we think), more pictures. More blogs. More fun.

Raffle tickets can be purchased here until August 31st.

Sometimes it's a lot of work. At the end of the day we are all tired. But it is so worth it.

July Playtime

Summer really is more about playing than blogging, right? :) We've been keeping cool in the a/c on these hot July days.
Each morning we pick out some toys and dump them on the living room floor and play with them. One of our favorite activities is cars and trucks. We fill them up, drive them around- to the farm, to the library to see "Mister Baca" (the children's librarian, Miss Rebecca), to the "conskwucktion site", to the grocery store, and to the lake to see Uncle Doug.

Ezra started crawling over the 4th of July weekend, so we are now on to the next level of babyproofing! For the past two weeks, Zadie has watched her brothers chase each other around the house, hiding around corners, and giggling upon discovery. For the first two weeks, I would say she showed absolutely no interest in crawling, being content to sit in one place and watch. Over the past few days, she has started reaching forward, propping herself up on her arms, and doing some rocking while seated. I'm guessing she'll be on the move within the next two weeks!

More July fun to come on a different day. Happy Weekend!

6 Months Old

My sweet babies are already half a year old. I can't believe it. In just 6 months, these babies have become such a special part of our lives. It is hard to remember what life was like before them. We find it easy to compare the two (and their older brother) when they are so close in age, but there are also things that are very different about them at six months.

ZADIE

At six months, our darling baby girl Zadie Anne:
-weighs about half a ton and is really long (actually, probably closer to 20 lbs, but I'll get back to you on that after our doctor visit next week)
-loves to laugh. She giggles at her brothers, at toys, and strangers with her contagious smile.
-eats rice cereal aggressively. She usually ends up with half of it on her face, but thouroughly enjoys the process.
-can't stand being left out of the action. She'll go from happiest girl in the world to devastated if she feels left behind.
-falls asleep every night by rubbing her face with her hands and her special blanket.
-loves to sleep late in the morning- an hour later than the rest of the family!
-hates the pacifier.
-will roll to her side when highly motivated, but prefers to lay around on the floor and let the action come to her.
-always steals the "crunchy" books from Ezra
-does stomach crunches and lifts her head up to see what's going on while on her back. Abs of steel (covered by a fluffy layer of chub)
-loves to suck her big toe!

EZRA

At six months, our adorable Ezra Allan:
-is incredibly cheerful and smiley by 6:30am every day!
-likes to "talk" and make gurgully baby sounds like "nnn naa" and "gaa" and "daa"
-rolls and scoots all over the floor to find toys.
-appears to be entirely sinewy muscle and brut strength
-adores Zeke and prefers playing with big brother's cars and trains to other baby toys.
-uses his muscular legs to stand up in the exersaucer, jumperoo, johnny jump-up, and with daddy's help.
-digs the rice cereal, and is excited to move on to more exciting foods soon
-puts everything he finds directly into his mouth
-loves family walks- especially being strapped to Daddy's chest in the Ergo carrier.
-weighs less than his sister, but is still getting pretty heavy! (again will update later)
-has a nice head of darkish hair beginning to make a comeback after disappearing for a few months.


And in case you're wondering... BOTH babies:
- are still breastfeeding- and thriving! We supplement with about 4 oz of formula each per day, and are beginning to introduce some solid foods.
- started wearing cloth diapers last week. So far so good!
-love sleeping close to mom and dad. We keep a crib next to the bed and throughout the night, there is often one baby in the crib and one nursing/sleeping with us in bed. This arrangement works really well for our family, allowing mom and dad to get 8 full hours of sleep each night.

Having twins has been surprisingly easier than we anticipated. While there are definitely moments of insanity around the house, for for the most part, the babies are incredibly happy, easy-going, and patient. We are so blessed.

Two Babies! -- Laughing

Baptism Weekend

Way back on Saturday, March 26, Zadie and Ezra were baptized. We had such a special baptism weekend thanks to our friends and family.

Our great friends, Tommy and Casey, drove down from Minneapolis with their family to be Godparents to Zadie and celebrate baptisms, friendship, and spring break. We are so happy they came. The kids all had a blast playing with each other. Grandma Jean also came to town, and Nana and Papa were already in town, so we had a great representation of family. We missed Kirsten and Doug who are Ezra's Godparents, but we felt their presence in spirit.


After mass on Saturday evening, we had the baptismal ceremony at St. Stephen's Catholic Church here in Bentonville, AR. All 6 kids were well behaved during church- not bad considering five of them were 2 and under!

We came back to the house to celebrate with posed family photos and ice cream cake. We ate all of the DQ cake, so all we have left for you all to enjoy are the posed family photos.



On Monday, we took 2 minivans and hit the road! We drove two hours to the beautiful little mountainside village of Eureka Springs. Some call this town "Little Switzerland". The streets are lined with eclectic little shops, artists workshops and galleries, candy stores, and restaurants. Just outside of town is Christ of the Ozarks. It's a BIG statue!

After a long day in the Eureka Springs (with a dead camera battery for most of the day), we headed back to the Country Inn and Suites for some swimming with the P's. The dads helped the kiddos in the water.


We moms even had a couple of kid-free minutes in the hot tub! All in all, it was such a fantastic weekend! We are so lucky to have such great friends and family!