Three

Wow... Three is crazy H O L Y C O W!! Listen, I know I have been through the three's twice before and either I don't remember them or they were just much easier one at a time. Of course I've heard all of the funny statements about three year olds most notably the "threenager" and yes Charlotte and Olivia are exactly that. And let's be honest one of my girls is nearly a real teenager and the twins seem to be closer to the teenage attitude than she does.
Here are few fun examples for you...

... Olivia crying... she hurt her foot ... I look at her foot ... pick up her foot ask her where it hurts... she screams "Don't touch it".... ummmm ok sorry I thought you wanted me to look at it.. guess not

.... Charlotte looking through her Halloween Candy ... she found want she wanted but proceed to tell her dad ... " I know I had three of these ... who at them?" One, way to go on the counting Charlotte, two, where the heck did that come from?? Crazy girl!

.... I really wanted to take some family photos this past weekend, because let's just say the last 2 years haven't gone very well with Holiday photos. I spend the night prior making sure all outfits coordinated ... every try to coordinate 5 girls outfits?? Not easy! All the girl were very excited to take these photos... until it was actually time ... Olivia was having nothing to do with it ... she wouldn't change her outfit .... she was definitely throwing the attitude around and let's just say I didn't get those photos... again


I love these girls like mad and while these things sometimes leave me shaking me head I really wouldn't have it any other way. These girls are fiercely independent and I love that about them, it gives me a small glimpse into the future.  There is never a boring day and we can't wait to see what the next day will bring with them. I am just hopeful that when Parker hits three there is no longer such thing as a "threenager" .... Good luck with that right???

It's Fall Yall

I mean I know its been fall since mid-August but we literally just had our first few cool days in Florida this past weekend and it was great! And it came at the perfect time as we headed to the pumpkin patch with the kids. As I've said in the past it can be hard to get into the "fall" Holiday season when the temperatures pretty much stay in the mid to high 80's, there is very little to no fall color changing leaves and we are still sporting shorts, tank tops, and flip flops. After being in Florida for over five years we have certainly learned to make the Holidays our own and just enjoy what is in front of us.

That being said it was nice to wear some jeans and a sweater (for a few minutes) as we headed to pick some pumpkins out for the kids. Only the second time for the twins and Parker's first! There is nothing like the excitement on your child's face when they see all of those pumpkins for the first time.  Of course we made them pause for some photos along the way but they had so much fun picking out their pumpkins and yes even trying to eat them.... Parker. The house is all a buzz with who will carve their pumpkin and who will paint, what will be carved, and the best question... how long until they rot? That's a legitimate questions when you live in Florida... the last time we carved pumpkins two years ago they lasted less than a week. No mater how long they last I know the kids will have a blast and there are sure to be many memories made... let the fun begin.

Sorry Maddy I had to share... hubby may have yelled at me for taking the photo and not helping her :) 

"fall" fun 2014

Parker ~ 7 Months

Well it's official Parker is now closer to ONE than to being a newborn!! I was crazy to think that time would slow down for this 5th baby of ours but it in fact seems to be going faster. Parker is just so full of life and is really a great baby for us. She's been a little sick this past month and is right in the middle of getting those first few teeth so sleep has been a little lacking and restless. Aside from those two things going on this month Parker is just so happy. Every day she is giggling and smiling and her excitement continues to show in her whole body. Any bad day is quickly erased when you see her smile at you.

She has perfected her monster noises and is really great at using them to show you how excited she is about something. I think she is most excited about eating and her sisters... but I could go out on a limb and say her favorite is E A T I N G . Don't even think about putting her in the highchair without following with some food. Show her a spoon or bowl and this little one knows exactly what is coming her way. Even if it's a food she can't have she will still try to take it from you or try to win you over with her smile and entire body shaking so that you will give it to her. She will eat anything and we haven't found any food she doesn't like. New to her this month are puffs and apples, we put apple slices in her mesh teether and she goes to town... I may or may not have given her an actual apple piece just tonight to gum on. Her second favorite is her sisters, remember back when Parker was just 2 and 3 months?? Her sisters wanted to play with her all the time and it just wasn't all that fun when Parker couldn't play back. Now that little miss can sit up on her own and play with toys the twins are absolutely loving it. They play with her all the time and even sing to her when she is upset. The are the best big sisters (of course so are Kendal and Madison). I really  couldn't ask for anything better from these 4 girls.

Next week Parker gets to go on her first flight to visit her cousin Paisley for her big First Birthday.. I have a feeling we are going to hear lots of Monster Noises on this flight! It's hard to believe how lucky we have been with FIVE super easy babies... Parker is certainly one of THE easiest of the five, she just goes with the flow of everything. If she has to wait to eat, or wait to get out of the car, or even wait an extra few minutes in her crib after she wakes up she just does it. We love this little one so very much and she brings so much joy and happiness to our entire family.

Happy 7 Months Parker Elaine!!

 Making Monster Noises

Parker 6 months

Mom Talk : 10/10

Mom can you?? Why do kids decide to ask you to do something for them when you absolutely cannot??? Why??? And why can't they ask the other adult in the room... in my case THEIR DAD?? Let me set this up for you... I'm laying on the floor during my workout with a resistance band wrapped around my waist right in the middle of the exercise and here comes Charlotte with play dough in her hand.. "Mommy make this a ball for me?" ugh.... go ask your dad!! Or that 5 seconds of peace you think you will get when you have to go to the bathroom and all of a sudden you see little fingers under the door... Moooooommmmmmyyyyyyy!!!! At least they need me right???

You're my Twin. I over hear the girls playing all the time and the stuff that comes from them is pretty funny. I absolutely love having twins especially when I take them somewhere and we turn into a circus side show and all the questions start flying. The most famous is.... Are they twins?? or wait it's actually Awwww, are they twins??? I have been trying to teach the twins to answer "yes, we are twins" they haven't gotten there yet. However, I did hear them they other day playing and Olivia said (during and argument I might add) "you can't do that because you are my twin" first my heart melted they actually know they are twins!! Second, I thought to myself is this how they are going to be as teenagers?? I pray they always look out for each other even if it means reminding the other they are twins.

You have your hands full... Oh do I really??? Please tell me why you think that is the case?? I mean I know I have 5 kids and sometimes I even have to carry two of them at a time. And today I had one in the baby wrap and I carried one on my back... but technically my hands were empty so I guess that doesn't really apply. Oh wait I had three of my five girls in the store with me at the same time.. does that qualify as "hands full"?? Ok, Ok, I know I'm being a little sarcastic here but these are real life things that happen to me when I am with my kids. I like to think people mean well and most of them do, but you know when you get the comment with the side eye at the same time it is really hard to give people the benefit of the doubt. I love my girls with some sort of love I never knew existed so I am happy to accept any comment thrown my way. But when you make those sorts of comments with a nasty look on your face and my kids are present you better believe I'm not going to just nod and smile. My girls are being raised to know the love of a big family!

Man cold... first let me say I love my husband very much, we've been married for 14 years and we are coming up on 20 years together as a couple. I know this man, maybe even more than he knows himself. That being said this loving husband of mine turns into my 6th child when he is sick. There's this video going around Facebook of a husband and wife.. the husband is sick and in bed all day while the wife is also sick yet she continues to do the housework and take care of the kids. This is possibly a slight exaggeration, or is it????? I think it has been determined that there is such a sickness known as the man cold... I am sure I don't really need to describe it because it's very possible we have all experienced it at some point. My husband has quite possibly perfected this "sickness" I am thinking it is high time I take a page out of his book and begin implementing the "mom flu" ... I'll let you know how it goes.

Mom Talk 9.26

Life is absolutely crazy sometimes... like crazy that your toddler breaks her collarbone and your 6 month old is teething which includes a poop filled diaper every hour. Oh and let's not forget teething usually equals no sleep for baby or mama, good thing because I wasn't seeping anyway with Olivia's broken bone.



No Nap or Nap? I am legit torn between what I want the twins to do. I love my quiet time and yes even a nap when I can get one. And yes sometimes the twins are crabby and really really need a nap. But on the other hand somedays I just want to let them stay up and play, because I know it means an early and most importantly EASY bedtime. It is a daily dilemma, and it really doesn't matter what I choose,  I already know I am going to deal with some sort of crabbiness.

Can I sleep with daddy? yes, that is a question and no it's not from mommy. It's no secret the twins almost always come into our bed at some point during the night. If we are lucky it won't be until 3 or 4 in the morning... we usually aren't that lucky. But now we have a new request and it goes a little something like this... "mommy ok if we sleep in daddy bed toNIGHT, pleeease?" First, how am I supposed to say no to that cuteness? Second, daddy always says yes, and third do you know how easy bedtime is when they just go in and lay down with daddy? Makes my life so super easy and bonus daddy "helps" with bedtime. And I always take them to their room when I go to bed... I mean I need some personal space! So maybe I have said yes a lot more this past month than I did the past, but hey this is what memories are made of right? Until.... .they pee in the bed that is.

Normal... can we all please agree that normal is what we make it?? Seriously, I am so tired of mom's feeling like they are failing their kids and even at life because they aren't living up to others expectations or what their definition of "normal" is. Life is already too damn hard to make others feel bad because their baby isn't walking at 10 months. Or to compare ourselves to a millisecond snap of a photo we see on social media. One of my favorite instagram pages mamasaidtees is truer than true when it comes to "defining" normal do yourself a favor and watch their video. As moms all we really need to do is support each other and show each other that we are not alone.

I love Pinterest... Like really love it, there is just so much cool stuff you can find to do, to make, and if you ever have a few hours to waste...well pinterest is your winning choice. However, there is a dark side to pinterest most of the time we don't want to talk about it because it's just too difficult. It's called the "pinterest fail" yes I said it... pinterest fail. I love to cook and I love to try new recipes but sometimes just sometimes what I make leaves me shaking my head and wondering just where I went wrong. It's just so difficult to process, you think you are going to make the perfect meal or perfect craft... because it was on Pinterest how hard could it be?? Turns out.... hard!! Some of that stuff is hard!! I give the creators so much credit for getting it perfect... but for me... it's on to the next... hopefully it won't be a fail!

Mom talk ... last week

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Happy 3rd Birthday Charlie & Livy

I don't even know where to begin to describe what this last year has been like with these two crazy wonderful twins. Everyday it felt like there was something new for us to love about them from their silly antics to their love of their family. I took a quick glimpse of their two year birthday post and I couldn't believe they were once so little.

It's funny how each year on the day before their birthday I think about how I was feeling that night, feeling them wiggle and move not knowing that it was going to be one of the last times. Going into the hospital thinking that I may be sent home again only to hear my doctor say it was time to meet our girls. Now here we are three years later and I can't help but feel so much love for these girls. Finding out we were having twins was such a surprise and each day we thank God we were picked to be their parents.


Charlotte - Our baby B our Charlotte Ann Faith... just ask Olivia and she will tell you. Charlotte is still very much entertainment for us, she is always finding something to make us laugh from her silly faces to her crazy dance moves. She surprises us daily with what she has picked up and learned just from our normal conversations. One day she just rambled off her A, B, C's mixed in with twinkle twinkle little star. She loves to count and trick mama with skipping 4 and going straight to 5; she loves to say eleven and twelve mixed in with her other numbers and laughs about it every time. She had surgery to remove a possible left over pice of a tic she had on her shoulder, everything turned out fine and she did great handling the surgery. She got her first hair cut complete with bangs and looked so darn adorable. She loves to tumble and practice gymnastics moves that Madison has taught her and has even tried out some moves she has seen during the olympics. She is adventurous and very willing to try new things so much so that we have found her climbing in chairs and on the shelf in the pantry. At times she can be seen as the "leader" of the twins giving instructions on what to do and how to do it and other times she follows after Olivia. She loves to draw and I smile when I can see her creative mind at work. She is great at using her imagination while playing with her sisters and we often hear her pretending she is mom to Livy. This girl is so full of life and love we just can't imagine our lives without her.

We love you so much Charlotte Happy 3rd Birthday!

Olivia - Baby Girl A - Olivia Marie Grace our smallest baby girl. She continues to be our little one

but you would never guess she was born 5 week early and weighed only 4 pounds. She is full of energy and runs around the house with her "livy bounce" and her blond curls bouncing right along. She loves to pretend she is batman while Charlotte is superman and they are both here to rescue us all. She is the quiet one, usually because she is observing what is going on around her before she decides if she wants to join in. She has a sensitive side that can lead to some tears when she doesn't get to make the decisions. She is a mama's girl when it comes to mama going shopping or leaving the house and a daddys' girl when it comes to bed time and the opportunity to cuddle. Miss Olivia is still very outspoken and will let you know when she is not happy, she loves to do things for herself so you better ask her before you do something for her. She is not much of a morning girl and loves to cuddle when she wakes up. She loves her dolphin pillow and her minnie blanket. Livy also loves to draw and color, she asks pretty much every single day if she can color. She has also come to love books and would have us read all night long if she could. She has a powerful imagination right along side Charlotte which leads to some very creative play between the two of them. Olivia brings so much joy and laughter to our lives, we are so blessed to have her as part of our family. 

Happiest of Birthday's Olivia we love you!

 

Together these two girls experienced many firsts during their 3rd year of life, they had their first hair cuts and their first dentist appointment and even swam for the first time. They gave up their pacifiers and became completely potty trained. The started sleeping in big girl beds and became big sisters. 

One the best things about twins is seeing them interact with each other. Knowing that these girls will always have a best friend to grow with makes our hearts so unbelievably happy. They are great sisters to each other and their other three sisters our lives have surely been blessed by having them in it. We love you so much baby girls!