Slippers

These two have been buddies the last few days while James is at school. It is so fun to see them playing together nicely. We had these little plastic pouches that are filled with air. They popped them and then made the left over plastic into slippers. They used them all afternoon and inside and outside. Don't you love when the simple things provide hours of entertainment?

Lynnlee had dance class in the afternoon after she and Kaden had been playing for hours. The dance teacher asked Lynnlee what fun thing she got to do this week. In an excited voice Lynnlee said, I got to play with my brother! I'm so glad she has found a new friend at home!

Aquarium on Family Fun Day

It feels like we haven't gotten out as a family since before Christmas. So it was nice to go to the aquarium with my in laws last weekend. First we started out with lunch at Chuck-O-Rama. That place caters to kids and is perfect for my kids picking eating habits.

Sienna and Tag got to sit in high chairs which is a first for them outside our house. They loved them and loved gnawing on the rolls.

After lunch they were ready for a nap while we walked around the aquarium.

It was really really crowded there but we managed to have fun and not lose anyone in the process. Kaden definitely doesn't make it easy to keep track of him. We took turns being on Kaden duty and making sure he run too far away. James and Lynnlee were buddies.

Each kid tried the rope bridge.

We definitely had a good time! The kids were entertained looking at each exhibit and I was entertained watching all my kids.

Every Saturday James is excited for family fun day, that is what we call Saturday at our house. This was definitely a family fun day! Thanks to my in laws and Beckie and Anthony for a fun time!

Couch Sunday

It's amazing how the minis progress. Each day they are getting better at sitting up. Not even a week ago they kept toppling over when sitting up. By today they were sitting up on their own. I put pillows around them in case they tipped over but they did really well.

I love taking pictures of this beautiful girl! She has big blue eyes and a wide smile.

Tag has big round blue eyes too along with the cutest dimples. I hope the minis eye color doesn't change.

They are getting quite the appetite for baby food, crackers and bread. James and Lynnlee love feeding them baby food. The minis roll all over the crib and get stuck in the corners. Sienna started growling a few weeks ago and now Tag does it too. At night Lynnlee tells Sienna stories as they are both going to sleep. It makes me so happy. Ali and I shared a room growing up and I always loved tell her stories at night.

Got Foot?

Why suck on your own foot when you have a twin sister close by?

Tag definitely had us all laughing during scriptures tonight!

Our Morning

This morning James and Lynnlee went to school and the minis, Kaden and me were hanging out. Some mornings are busy and they all entertain themselves while I do laundry or whatever needs done. This morning was nice and relaxed with nothing that HAD to be done.

The minis are getting better at sitting up. Taggart is pretty stable but needs standby support. Sienna still needs a lot of support otherwise she is tipping over constantly. It's hard to help them both sit at the same time until I figured out how to let them each sit in the crook of my leg.

Sienna is blurry in the picture because she kept falling over every time I tried to take a picture. I loved her smile though.

I love the entertainment provided by my minis. This stage is certainly double the fun, double to love, kiss and cuddle. I just love them so much!

Kaden is so tricky to keep entertained. His attention span is about 2 minutes max.  We have a variety of activities from puzzles, flash cards, games to toys and books. Each activity last a few minutes and then he is ready for the next thing. It's impossible to keep him busy all day. I found some activities ideas online. They are simple but entertaining. One of the activities was putting pipe cleaner through a colander. It is a great activity! So easy and creative but after literally 2 minutes he was done.

Then we piled up the pillows from the first floor and he had fun jumping on them for a few more minutes.

Couch Sunday Minis 1 - Rose 0

I love cute, happy smiling faces on the couch. The minis have been great in the past to give at least one cheesy grin. Sunday was not the case though. All of my old tricks to get them to smile did not work and they didn't want to sit there and kept arching their backs and wiggling. So I decided to post the ones that I got to show realistically the stage they are in.

I took this one of Tag before all of the craziness.

Oh how I love my minis! I really do love this stage. They moved to four feedings a day which are during meals times and then started baby food too. They eat rice cereal for breakfast, a pureed fruit for lunch and a pureed vegetable for dinner. It's amazing how much better it is to feed them four times each day instead of five or six.

Sunny Days

Things that make me happy and I'm thankful for today:

1. The sun coming out and warming up my house. Yesterday was cold and gloomy but today it feels so warm with the sun shining through.
2. Marshall cleaning the house Saturday while I was sleeping after a long night at work.
3. Kaden telling me "thanks mom" all the time.
4. Knowing what to make for dinner and having all of the ingredients.
5. Remembering and making time to say my prayers before I start my day. (it makes the difference between a good and bad day)
6. Falling asleep last night thinking about how all my kids were tucked in safe and sound.
7. James after being sick with a fever for 2 days offered without being asked, to get stuff for the minis.
8. Lynnlee cuddling with me on the couch and reading me story.
9. Hanging out with my mom a lot this week.
10. Rolos, you can't go wrong with chocolate and caramel. Mmmm....


You can't have a post without some pictures.

This was taken Monday morning before school. These three got out of bed and headed to the couch to read books.

Monday night we were out in the rain and James's hair was wet. So I styled it for him. Side note: James is wearing his favorite jacket. I guess we don't say "Nike" very much because he calls it "Nik." It's so funny when he asks where is Nik jacket is. I have since corrected him but he still likes the old name.

All it took was dressing the minis in their pjs and the rest of my kids immediately were motivated and wanted their matching jammies on.

My heart is so full of love for these 5 cuties.

6 Months Minis

The minis are 6 months old! Wow! What a ride it has been. This is my favorite stage so far. They are happy playing in the saucer, bumbo chairs, rolling on the floor, or sitting in the high chair.

They just started taking rice cereal last week. They really like the taste of their bibs more though. It's hard to get a bite in because they are way too busy eating their bibs.

This is the happiest they have been since birth and so it has been so nice to have a break from all of the crying.

I'm talking really happy, like 99% of the time. It is soooo nice!

Baby faces never get old. I could think of a caption for all of their faces....
"What do you mean I'm not the only baby in the family?"

"I guess that's ok since he's my twin."

Lynnlee wanted to get in on the couch picture action. We were in a hurry though so this was the best we got with her.

I feel like this looks like one of those 80s pictures where you stare off somewhere.

Sienna looks way bigger in this picture but in fact she is still about one pound smaller. She's 15 lbs. 14 oz (48%). He is 16 lbs. 10 oz. (33%).

Snuggles during scriptures.

We loved the weather last week. It felt way warmer after having a week of highs in the 20s. Sienna was asleep but Tag got to swing for a bit.

It's been good so far but also so much work that I feel like they should at least be a year old. Thanks to everyone for the diaper showers and presents. We have not had to buy any diapers for the last 6 months. We are finishing up our last box and it's been so nice so thank you thank you!

New Years '15

Through the holidays we tried our best to keep everyone healthy and well rested. By New Year's Eve Tag was sick and the rest of us were sleep deprived. We decided to stay home, play a few games and ring in the New Year at an earlier time. Thanks to Netflix we celebrated at 9:30 with King Julien. They don't point out the time in the show but instead say, "It's New Year's somewhere!" My kids haven't celebrated this holiday enough to know that it really happens at midnight.

After playing a few games everyone started acting tired. So we flipped to the show, had a little dance party, and then counted down. It was perfect.

After that we had Martinelli's sparkling apple cider and each gave a toast.

We went to my parent's house New Year's night. It was fun hanging out with family and so good to see Charlie's family one more time before they left to Texas.

We took Kasey's kids home that night and we had one full load. I love all these kids!