The things we do

I had a moment on Friday when I am pretty sure anyone driving near me would have thought I was crazy, and I am pretty sure I was. I was singing at the top of my lungs ... well I am sure to Charlotte and Olivia it was singing. There wasn't a particular song I was singing but it went something like this "stay awake, stay awake, don't you fall asleep OLIVIA... CHARLOTTE OH CHARLOTTE keep those eyes, keep those eyes open!" and so on. Just a lot of random words about not falling asleep until we got home! I mean how the heck was I going to get two sleeping babies into the house without waking them up! It kind of worked we "almost" made it home before they dozed off.

Yesterday, Kendal didn't feel well- sneezing, coughing, red eyes, fever, and on and on. She laid around all day barely moving. She got worse though out the day and into the night. Today was worse, the poor girl looks like she's dying. Red nose, red eyes, puffiness, coughing, and sneezing. She was waited on hand and foot today, anything she wanted she got. Thankfully, Madison and the twins have not gotten sick at this point. All fingers and toes are crossed!! Once last year Madison was sick.. I mean sick, throwing up ever 30 minutes for almost 36 hours! We had to make a trip to the ER to get her some medicine to help her stop! During this time we laid together, watched netflix, and I rubbed her back every time she got sick.

Clearly these are all things that we do as parents and of course moms! And we do them freely because the pain of seeing our children sick is worse than us being the ones that are sick. We would do anything for them, anything to help them feel better... or keep two toddlers from falling asleep minutes from home. When I was driving "singing" to Charlotte and Olivia, I realized in that moment, I would do anything for my girls no matter how crazy I look or tired I am (and sometimes being tired makes me look crazy!). I always knew being a mom would mean sacrifice, but what I didn't know was that the sacrifices made would result in an amazing deeper love than I could have ever thought possible.


The following are photos of how spent the rest of our weekend (when we weren't wiping sister's nose)

Poor Kendal.... She even tried to smile

And Madison... She's not sick... yet

These 4 girls make every sacrifice worthwhile and even in the most sleepless nights I feel incredibly blessed.  

15 Months

15 months has come and gone so quickly it makes me realize just how quickly things change and how if we blink at the wrong time we could miss something so special. I'm sure I have blinked a few times or been on my phone and missed something these two have done. They blow me away every single day with the love the show each other and the love they show all of us. 

Olivia- 

This girl seems to have been on hyper drive in the growth area this month she started the month with 4 teeth and after not having any new ones she gained (grew?) 4 new teeth!! 3 on the top and one more on the bottom... and I am pleased to say we didn't have a clue until I was tickling her and saw the two top molars! She now weighs just shy of 20 pounds and is 30 inches in hight so still our little peanut! 

Her excitement for dolls continues and she has now developed a love for books and stuffies (stuffed animals) her favorite being her sister's puppy from IKEA. She loves to "read" and if she goes "missing" she can usually be found in her room getting a book. Her love for outside grew to new heights this month as the weather finally cooled off enough that we could let them play on the patio more often. Her and her sister go in and out all day long playing in the water table (we emptied it) taking toys in and out. Olivia has become a bit picky with her eating the last few weeks. Foods she once loved she pushes away or spits out. But then the next day she will gobble it down! I am attributing this to teething and don't push her too much. Her motor skills and hand eye coordination have developed nicely this month as she loves to play with her stacking toy from IKEA (we like IKEA). She gives kisses with her tongue and the best hugs. She runs with her hands straight behind her back and head back its pretty much the cutest thing ever. Halloween was a super fun time with walking and costumes and first tastes of candy. She loved picking out her first pumpkin on her own and she carried that thing everywhere. She loves the dogs and our cat, giggling every time she pets them. She is trying to mimic our words and has not waited for her sister to go first in this regard. She is still quite the observer and often times she can been seen just watching what everyone else is doing... sometimes she joins in, other times she just goes and does her own thing. This girl is also becoming an expert at dancing with a little bounce in her knees and bobb of her head she is so much fun to watch. 

Olivia can make us smile in so many ways and when I am away from her (from all of my girls for that matter) I can't wait to see her light up when I walk through the door. There is nothing like the love and smile from your children!! We love you Olivia Marie

Charlotte ~

This one also jumped on the growth train over the last month! She has gained 2 new teeth giving her 6! She also did very well with teething and like her sister we didn't even know her new teeth had come in! Charlotte weights just over 21 pounds and is 31 inches so still on the bigger side of her sister and she is following the growth curve nicely. 

Charlotte loves "driving" anything she can get her hands on she will hold like a steering wheel and turn it over and over again. I think she picked this up one day when we were waiting for her sisters to get off the bus she sat with me and played with the steering wheel. It is so cute watch because most times she gets her little butt wiggling at the same time. She also loves to dance and will bounce her knees, wiggle her butt, and throw her hands in the air while dancing. She will stop and dance to any kind of music she hears and watching her (and her sister) follow the beat is nothing short of adorable. 

She is still a big time lover of all things- mostly her sisters (especially Olivia), mommy, daddy, our cat and dogs. She now says "awe" when she lays her head down on whatever it is she happens to be cuddling. If we tell her to give someone a hug she is all about it (especially Olivia) she tilts her little head every single time. She loves babies and has opened up a diaper and laid the baby on it to be changed! She has even tried to wipe her sister's butt while I change her! I adore this about her this side of her can make even the hardest day turn perfect. She loves to eat and still eats anything we put in front of her, she loves veggies and will gobble them down before her other food at times (thank goodness we got one right!!). Eating candy was a big highlight for this one - she loves (I mean loves) dum dum lollie pops! This girl knew the exact dish we kept the halloween candy in and every single day she would point to that dish making her "I am asking you for something" grunt to get a lollie pop! While Charlotte still likes to take her sister's paci and toys she is becoming better at sharing and giving things back. If she sees me lay Olivia down to change her she will bring me a diaper, or of Livy is crying she will bring her the paci. She loves to smack her sister all.the.time I haven't figured it out if she's being mean or just thinks its fun to smack something. But when I tell her its not nice she always gives Livy a hug... right after she smacks her again!

The changes happen so fast and she seems to have changed over night. We love to watch her entertain and I know the upcoming Holidays are going to be a blast! We love you Charlotte Ann!

Its amazing how you think your life is complete because you already have two amazing daughters. Then along comes not one but two more amazing daughters and watching them every day makes me realize just how much of life (all of it) is in Gods hands. And we cannot wait to see what is next for our "little" family. We love you Charlotte and Olivia.