3 year old Boy!

Luke turned 3 today. And he had no idea. We had his party on Saturday, so he thinks he is already 3 even though he still only holds up 2 fingers. I can't believe that he is already 3. It really does seem like yesterday I was hugely prego with him and moving across the country. Lovey was starting medical school, we were moving to a new city and I was so nervous about having a baby while he was in school. Funny thing now since we have had 3 kids during med school!

Back to Luke Bear - that child cracks me up. He is adorable, determined, charming, athletic and loves Thomas the Train. His name means "light" and my prayer for him is that others are drawn to the light that shines bright inside him. That they are attracted to him not just because he is cute (and man is he cute) or because he has a great sense of humor, but because he has a love for our Lord that draws others to him. I pray that his love for his Savior & his relationship with his God is strong and deep. That he is able to articulate that love and share it passionately with others. I want him to be clothed with compassion, kindness, gentleness and strength. And I pray that he always has a strong connection with his family and always loves his big brother as much as he does now.

Those are some big prayers for such a little boy. Good thing they are reaching the ears of a mighty God! And I pray that our mighty God will guide this momma and continue changing her so that she would be an example of all the qualities I pray for in my babies. Change me Lord, change me.

Nana & Geepa

Nana and Geepa came in town for a quick visit. They came with presents and the boys knew they would. Here they are with The Girlfriends. Totally smitten!

My sister left for college this year and they are officially "Empty Nester's"! I can't even imagine what that would be like!?!

Here is Lily (i think?) "talking" to Nana.

Ella was talking up a storm to her Geepa

I read somewhere that they should be starting to try and mimic facial expressions about now...my girls are right on track.

You look so familiar?

Lily practicing her right hook!
Lily Kate asking her sister to, "please be quiet. It's my turn to coo."

I love how they have their limbs on top of each other.
This is the day that Lily found her hand. She still hasn't figured out how to control it yet!
They tend to make these big eyes...I can't imagine why living in this household!

Will you please smile at the same time?!?

We almost had a simultaneous smile!

Ella looks so much bigger than Lily here, but it's the angle of the camera. Don't get me wrong...she is the bigger twin.

"Sisters Rule!"

Snug Bugs

Here are our little girls looking super sweet and sleeping peacefully. They still sleep in the same crib and even though I often put them on opposite sides of the crib, when I go to get them in the morning, they have usually scooted close to each other in the night.
They still sleep swaddled and these blankets were made for us by a good friends mom. They are huge and wonderful!
The Girlfriends are sleeping great at night. We usually put them down sometime between 7:30-8 pm, "dream feed" them at 10 pm and they usually stay asleep until sometime between 7-8 am. They take 3 2hr. naps during the day and 1 cat nap during the dinner hour.

Finally...

We are finally getting to a point where it is easier to tell The Girlfriends apart. For me anyway. Joseph is still using the "make-the-one-that-I-think-is-Lily-close-her-eye-so-I-can-see-if-it-has-a-red-mark" trick. Most of the time I think that they look very different. There still are times when I can't tell them apart and unfortunately it is usually when we are out in public and someone asks.

Can you tell who is who???

(answer below)

Lily Kate on top and Ella is the bottom picture.
Did you get it right?

California Girl's...

Okay, so maybe they're not your typical California, blond, blue-eyed, babes. Their more Hawaiian girls! In any case, we recently got these outfits as baby gifts and they are adorable!! Don't' the girls look super cute?!?!

Ella on the left and Lily Kate on the right. They are getting much easier to tell apart these days. For me anyway. Joseph is still often confused by which is which!

Lily Kate smiling

and here she is cooing!!!

Caleb and his sisters

Caleb really is turning out to be one awesome big brother to his baby sisters! I really rely on his help - getting diapers/wipes, checking to see if they are crying, holding the pacifier in their mouths when they are fussy, holding one while I am taking care of the other one, and helping me with Luke. When the boys wake up in the morning one of the first things they do is find the girls to kiss them and say good morning. It is quite a sweet moment. That moment is usually interrupted by them arguing over which one is their baby.

Daddy Duty

The girls got their first formula feeding a couple of weeks ago and I am just now posting the pictures. They ate like champs and I think everyone had fun taking turns feeding them. It is nice now to feel like I can have a break occasionally and we can supplement with formula if we want a date night or if I want to leave the girls for more than a couple of hours.


I love how the girls make eye contact while they are feeding. And I'm glad that Joseph gets to experience it occasionally.

Caleb wanted to get in on the feeding action as well. He thought it was so cool to feed the girls and even commented, "Now you don't have to feed the girls anymore." Actually Buddy, I do. I asked a fellow mother-of-twins today how much they spend in formula for the twins monthly...yeah, it was more than we can spend! So for now we will continue nursing!!

Here is Mr. Big Shot feeding both girls at the same time...and who says men can't multi-task! (I do!!)

"'Need' is an interesting word"

One of Luke's favorite words is "need". Here is a sample of some of the phrases he uses it in:

• "I need that car, Caleb." The one specific one that Caleb happens to be holding and Luke wants.
• "I need some M&M's."
• "I need some soda. Not water, I need soda."
• "I need Mc Donalds."

My reply is either "Need is an interesting word Luke" or "That is an interesting way to use the word 'need' Luke". So today I hear Luke say, "Caleb I need the shot gun" to which I hear Caleb say, "Need is an interesting word Luke". I guess they do listen to me sometimes!

This is going by WAY too fast!

Three months old! The girlfriends are 3 months old today and every time I think about it I want to cry! I'm not ready for this to go by so fast. I never really considered myself a "baby person" but there is something so special about these two that they make me want another one. (Which is quite unfortunate since I just gave away all my maternity clothes today!) These two may be the last babies that I ever have and I want to hold on to and remember every moment. Actually, I'm not too fond of remembering the days when they were up most of the night, but even those don't seem so bad to me now. While I was reading to Caleb today (I was reading about wolverines and female wolverines are actually quite disgusting) I was remembering when he was so little and it has flown by. Even little Bear will be 3 at the end of the month. *sigh* Just when I start to fall in love with the ages/stages that the kids are - they are over... and then they start new ones. I feel like the "Circle fo Life" from the Lion King should start playing in the backgroud. LOL! Okay, gotta go, these girls that I'm gushing about should probably be fed...

Proud Papa

The Girlfriend's Church Pictures

Lily Kate on the left and Ella Grace on the right.

Looking at Daddy who is trying desperately to make them smile!

Lily Kate is starting to wiggle around...

and she's done with this photo shoot.