{sigh} A long long-awaited Catch-Up Post.

Watching General Conference.

I'm just going to jump in....

Otter looked just like a doll baby sitting there!

Back in March, around the time that I last wrote, Otter started to crawl.  Two weeks later Owl started (so both in their 8th month).  Now they are pros, of course, and are cruising and getting pretty sturdy.  No attempts at walking unassisted yet, but they like to do it if they have hands to hold onto.
 

... ransacking the house....

Babies make it difficult to work in the kitchen. 

I was trying to get a picture of the babies' mirror-image hair swirls.  Monkey photobombed : )

At the start of April Otter got her first two teeth, but Owl didn't get hers until a whole month later (so 9 months and 10 months respectively).  They really like to eat, but you can't tell...they are still super small.  We've really put a lot of effort into getting them to bulk up-- breastfeeding plus formula bottles,  and we add calories and fat to all of their food. We add ground flax to their applesauce, and coconut oil to their oatmeal. They also love avocado and whole milk yogurt.   It was very gratifying to see a good gain the last time we took them in.  They were 10 months and both were between 12.5 pounds and 13 pounds.  Of course, that's not on the charts yet, but it was a good gain.
 



When Monkey gives them cheese...  Constipation, anyone?

They really look alike when they cry.

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At the start of April we had spring break.  Unfortunately I was a little under the weather AND had layout...so the only fun thing for the kids was that Chick and Monkey both got to go visit Grandma and Grandpa N for a couple of days.  Easter was just before that, but that also was a pretty calm affair.  We went to a couple of fun parties the day before.

 

Moose was really excited to show his friends his bucket.

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The highlight of April was going down to visit Fox's family in Arizona.  We went so that Mr. Fox could help his sister and family remodel a house that they'd bought...so he was working most of the time, but I think it was more fun than his usual work at home anyhow.

That's the new house in the background.
And Chick and Owl in the foreground.

The kids and I got to just relax and hang out at Grandma & Grandpa J's house.  It was a little hotter than I like, but not too horrible.  We were still able to do things.  We went to the Phoenix Children's museum, played with cousins, went to parks, went to Krispy Kreme, went to see the Gilbert Temple (under construction), swam, went on walks, and went to go visit Daddy working at Polly and Ken's new house.  Their favorite thing was jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath.  They also picked tangerines with Grandma (and then made juice with them), and baked cookies in the solar oven (again with Grandma). 

I also got to go do some shopping by myself while Grandma watched the kids...and I also got to take a few naps and didn't have to cook every meal! It was quite relaxing.

 

 

They added all of the awning since our last visit.  It was a nice park before, but now it's the BEST EVER.
We were able to stay and play for a good long time and not even worry about sunscreen.
I think Owl and Otter were in that swing like that for at least an hour!

 

I love this picture. Cute people!

Storytime with grandpa : )

Milk time with Grandma : )

You can't really see them in the picture, but each of the kids got a big chunk of the material used on the outside of the temple.  They're sparkly and cool : )

We stayed two nights in a condo in Phx, and it was nice.  The cousins came and went swimming there with us, and we had a pizza party.  I always love the decor of the units, and the kids love having a TV in their room.
 

 

See that pile behind Polly? 
My one physical labor effort on the house was shovelling that pile out the nearby window
 

My SIL works for an airline, so our flights were free.  I was nervous about the flights with five small kids, but it really went pretty well...better than I expected.  The flight down was smooth and easy.  The babies were good as gold!  I was in a row with Monkey and Moose.  The cutest part of the flight was that as we were approaching Phoenix the plane was tilted down on our side.  Moose was looking out the window at the time.  An alarmed Monkey said, "Moose!  Get away from the window, you're tipping the plane!"

My awesome husband on the plane

The flight back went well until the end...when Moose didn't want to be buckled during the landing and threw a massive tantrum.  Then he wandered away from me in the airport and made the security personnel nervous to see a lone child.  And worst of all, while Moose was getting away from me in the airport, Fox had Chick and Monkey with him down at the baggage carousels...they wanted to ride the escalator and he said yes, but then they were both trying to get on first and Monkey fell and cut her lip, gums, and killed a tooth.  Everything has healed up pretty well, but the tooth is discolored.  She might have to have it pulled, but we're waiting to see.

Another funny thing about the flight: when we showing our boarding passes and waiting to get onto the plane Moose decided that he didn't want to wait.  He walked past us and got on the plane by himself.  He went in (wearing his Nemo backpack with a stuffed doggy peeking out), found a window seat, sat down, and got his seatbelt on.  A nice elderly couple sat down next to him.  He's an independent guy for sure.

 

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On the Saturday after we returned home Mr. Fox worked and I took the kids to the local YMCA for Healthy Kids Day.  The funny thing is that two years ago we took our kids there, but I never would have done it without Fox.  Somehow things that I wouldn't have done with three kids is suddenly ok with five.  It went fine (there was one sticky moment when the older two girls were hammering sailboats from Home Depot, and the baby girls both got fussy and wanted held, and the indepent Moose decided that he was ready to go to the next attraction and started walking off on his own. Those few moments are when I find the juggling to be difficult...but the rest of the time was super fun and everyone was well behaved and had a great time.  And the best part is that we got memberships and can go to the gym now : )

 

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I found out recently that my job will most likely be ending.  Technically I own my own business, and work freelance, but I contract out to design a monthly magazine for another company.  It looks like that will be ending, and they might send me work to do still, but it will most likely be less than it currently is, and probably not as regular.  That has pros and cons:  I really do enjoy my work, and I like the change of pace, and of course I like the extra money.  But I have trouble keeping up with my life, and sometimes I think that I will be able to establish some better habits if I don't drop everything for a week or two each month.

 

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A couple of days ago I went with Chick's kindergarten class for a field trip. (Thank you to my parents for babysitting the other kids so that I could go!) We went to Mukilteo Beach and saw all sorts of sea life.  I definitely want to take my kids back there...as soon as I figure out how to navigate a rocky beach with two non-walkers.

These were the kids in my group.  It felt like herding cats at times.

 

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I had a great mother's day.  No lavish gifts (not the pressure washer that I asked for), but I didn't have to cook at all, and I got breakfast in bed (Fox and Chick did it perfectly: grapenuts with banana slices and milk, orange juice, and toast with avocado).  I also got a picture that Chick colored for me, and some shells that she'd decorated for me at school.  Monkey made me a sweet card.   And I got goodies from church.  It really was a nice, simple day that highlighted the fact that I love being a mother.

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(They were playing store.  Monkey was buying the otter from storekeeper Moose)

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Lastly, I have two birthday parties this month.  That means that I am starting to freak out about getting things done on the house and yard.  We have barely done anything since the twins were born (not surprising...I'm just happy that we've survived), but we've done some good work in the yard in the month or so, and it's exciting to see some things improving. 

Hmm, guess that's it.   Stay tuned...I'm doing a separate post with pictures from the Phx children's museum.

There's my heart.

Birthdays and Misc.

We had two birthdays at the end of November.



The first was my Foxy husband, who turned 40!  His birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year, so we celebrated at my sister's house.  It was pretty relaxed, as far as birthdays go (and as far as 40th! birthdays go).  He didn't even get a cake-- he requested apple crisp instead.  Plus he'd cut his finger at work the day before (8 stitches...but he was back to work on Monday as if nothing happened...crazy guy) and was nursing that a bit.  But it was a lovely day anyhow.  Happy birthday, Love.

Next up was Monkey, who turned 4!! 

She requested a vanilla cake with strawberry frosting, in the shape of the number 4, pink, with butterflies on top : )  I loved her choice, because she wasn't afraid to ask for what she wanted and to be her own person.  Monkey is a little on the shy side, and I worry sometimes about her being overshadowed by some of her siblings (sometimes I worry about her being overshadowed by ALL of her siblings, for that matter)...so I love when she lets her personality shine.



For the cake I used this recipe, which was a little pickier to make than I usually do, but fantastic!  And this recipe for the frosting, which melted in your mouth and was very strawberry and very pink, despite being a small amount of strawberries (I used frozen strawberries rather than preserves).  Melted starburst candies for the butterflies.  Monkey loved it, and it was really delicious.

She got really awesome presents-- an Olivia doll and books from Fox and me, a doll house from Aunt Diana, a mermaid for the bathtub from Arizona, a matchbox car (red with stars; she's named it "Starry"...from Moose). And an umbrella and book from my parents who came to dinner (pizza, Monkey's choice).



(By the way, I did haircuts this weekend, and I'm happy to say that Monkey's hair is now LONGER than Moose's!)

She's been going through a phase...I guess since she was easy as a two-year-old it was her right to start being a little more "difficult" as a three-year-old...but anyhow, even with all that, she's still one of the sweetest little souls that I know.  She has a sweet little pixie face and aura.  (But I do hope that the phase will mellow out now that she's a four-year-old.)

She's always been the most naturally artistic of the kids, and now that she's learning her letters she LOVES to write them.  She does quite good, too.  She also loves screen time...starfall.com,  watching shows, playing games on the ipod, looking at people's pictures on their phones.... 
And she has a great sense of location.  I think because she's visual.  The other day we were driving somewhere and she told me five different things that we would get to if we turned on the streets that we were passing.  Some were places that we haven't been to for quite a while.

Anyhow, I'm so grateful for that spunky, sweet little girl!! 

Other news:
Owl and Otter got their ears pierced (a separate blog post to come).  Monkey was going to do it too, but chickened out (fine by me).

This was taken a week or two before the piercing.  Owl, Otter.

The baby girls are also are batting at toys and rolling over like pros.  Otter was first (within days of their five-month birthday), and Owl was about a week after that.  Monkey started crawling at five months (she was my earliest...the others were within a month after that), so it's kinda weird to have these girls be so different from their older siblings.  But adjusted for being early, they are 3.5 months, which is right on track for rolling over.  They are still very small, so people think that they are just super strong newborns : )  It's nice for me, since carrying two babies is a challenge enough...I don't want them to be too heavy!

Moose is coming into his own lately.  He's talking in more complex sentences, and is able to express his ideas now.  And of course, this is the age when the kids start to really crack me up.  He's hilarious.

A little while ago I was in the kitchen and he was in the living room with Mr. Fox.  He was standing on a stepstool and fell down.  I heard him start to cry-- the kind of cry that says, "I have suffered an injustice or indignity, and I want it acknowledged, but I'm not actually hurt."  So he comes in to me, and says in a cry sort of voice,
"Mama, I fell down... (throws himself to the ground dramatically)...like that!"

Another time the babies were crying and he came to me to say,
"The babies are crying.  Waaaaa (in a falsetto).  Like that."

He's switched from clinging to my leg as I drag him to nursery class at church, to bounding in on his own without a backward glance.  And at the ward Christmas party this past weekend he was Mr. Social going around to say hi and give hugs to all of the people he knows.

Chick is improving by LEAPS AND BOUNDS on her reading.  She has matured a lot since the babies were born, and she likes to help with them.  She still pretty headstrong...but that probably will never change.  She's been like that since birth.

Me.  Hmm.  I've finished my Christmas shopping, but still have things to sew and make. 

I got all of the Christmas decorations up, except for lights in the yard and a few more strands in the house. 

I spend a lot of my time sitting on the couch.  It's just easiest, since I have to feed babies fairly frequently, and if one or both of them are crying then I can't get anything else done anyhow.  But I need to find some new solutions because I've gained a couple of pounds lately. 

Anyhow, during feedings I've been watching Dr. Who.  I started with season 2, and am almost done with season 5.  I'm still mourning the regeneration...I really really liked David Tennant as the Doctor.  But it's still fun to watch, and the kids love it too.

Eight Years already?!

Ok, I'm getting so behind on telling you about all of the fun stuff that we've done this summer!  So here's  a catch-up post.

For our 8th anniversary HH and I had an overnight date in Seattle.  Grandma N came and stayed with the kids.  Everyone survived (I was worried for Grandma).

It was a short date-- HH isn't one to take time off work, and we wanted to do it ON our anniversary, so we headed down after he got home.  After we checked in at The Camlin, we walked around.  Seriously fun.  We people watched, and window shopped, and I flirted, and we got samples in the food court at Westlake Center. 

I tried sushi for the first time.  A picture just after this one would have been better--when I was struggling to not throw everything back up!

HH got a crepe (from an Asian man....) with blueberries, strawberries, chocolate sauce (I think) and ice cream.  He shared with me : )

People asked us where were from.  When we told them, I'm sure they were thinking, "wow, you guys don't get out much, do you?!"  no, indeed.

We walked down to Pikes Place Market.  It was already closed, but was still interesting.  We saw a man get tackled by the police, and we were asked where a restaurant was when we were standing RIGHT UNDER the sign (but didn't know it, so we said we didn't know where it was).

Then I got hungry, but HH wasn't, so I had to decide on where to eat.  I wanted "something light" like a salad.  We went to Von's, based on good reviews.  The salad that I ended up getting was about as heavy as it comes, but still good.  Unfortunately I'd mentioned wanting the small one, and he brought me the large one, and I didn't realize it, and then we paid more for it than I wanted.  I was kinda miffed about that.  We ate out on the street, which provided more good people-watching, and it also provided a good reflective window for me to take a photo!

Walking home we admired the local art.  Incredible graffiti and a decorated car. 

Here are a lot of pictures of the car, because it was A-MAZ-ING.  Honestly.  There were a couple of other people admiring it when we were there, and I think they put money in the "gas money" bag (there was already some money in it, too).

Then HH made fun of me for taking all of the pictures, and started pointing to mundane things and saying, "oh, look, take a picture of that electrical box."  And then he pointed to a sprinkler and said, take a picture of that sprinkler...it has a leak." 

And that, friends, is something that I love about the man.  He knows so many things--I don't know how he knew that the sprinkler was leaky (maybe some of you can tell too?), but he's full of interesting things and you never know it until one day it just comes out.  Makes me wonder what else is in his head.  He's also good about noticing things like a bad crown molding job, or uneven posts.  Which is funny, because he's not aesthetic AT ALL, but he is a carpenter, so I guess that's that.

Anyhow, the Camlin was neat.  It's been renovated, but a lot of old details were kept.  Here are a couple of pictures, but my battery died at that point.

HH left early the next morning, and I went down to the gym, got cleaned up, and walked back down to Pike's Place to get goodies for the kids and flowers for my Mom.  I should have taken a picture of the bouquet, it was so so so gorgeous.  All white, with peonies and some other bell-shaped flowers that looked like paper.  And if you don't already know, there is nothing that can make you feel better than walking around with a bouquet.  Even if you are carrying around a duffle bag and are riding a public bus because your husband took the jeep to work.  People will stop to tell you how gorgeous it is, and it's really just a lift to the spirits.  I felt very elegant.  The bus ride was fun too.  Uneventful.

It was possibly our most fun anniversary, and I loved getting to spend one-on-one time with my man.  So glad I married him! (and a special thank you to Grandma N, for making it all possible!  Wouldn't have been the same with three kids in tow!).