7 Months Old!

Because I was a month late getting the babies to their 4 month well-child check up, I was a month late taking them for their 6-month. Don't judge! At 7-months old Harrison was 18 lbs 2 oz (50%), 26.4 inches tall (50%) with a Head Circumference of 17.3 inches (also 50%). Madison was 16 lbs 5 oz (50%), 26.3 inches tall (70%), with a 16.6 inch Head Circumference (45%). Both are perfect in every way!

Harrison is a tough little guy. He has mastered the art of rolling from front to back and back to front and uses this new skill to get anywhere he needs to. He is working on learning to crawl and can often be found in the PIKE position or on his forearms pulling himself from point A to point B. He does not like baby food, table food, or anything besides momma's milk. He pulls the funniest face when we try to feed him...he flares his nostrils and gags or coughs and can't figure out why we keep trying. But I know one day he'll LOVE food and will most likely eat us out of house and home. Here are a few pics of the roll...





Madi is content to have everyone carry her around so she hasn't figured out rolling as well as her brother. Because she is the princess of the family, she has many "servants" who are willing to do anything for her. She is definitely ALL GIRL and has a little personality that I never knew was possible in something so tiny! She LOVES to eat and wants anything that anyone is eating. She just grunts and reaches and usually gets her way. She recently started sporting a ponytail or piggies (that sorta look like horns). Her best trick is drinking from a straw. Here are a few pics of that:



We can't imagine life without these two sweet babies. They are a joy to our family!

Blue & Gold Banquet

Cam's Cub Scout Pack had their annual Blue & Gold Banquet March 31st. This is a special night where the scouts get to show off a few things they've done throughout the year. They serve a fabulous meal and hand out a lot of awards. They chose a Fiesta theme for the evening and the boys wore sombreros, made a pinata that they destroyed at the end of the night, and performed a rap & a Mexican Hat Dance that were both made up by the scouts! It was a night full of lots of laughs. (I took a video of the rap & Mexican Hat dance but am having a super difficult time getting them to load.) Cam worked really hard and earned a bunch of belt loops and pins. We're sure proud of his dedication and SO thankful that he has great leaders!

Aunts & Uncles

My kids are so lucky to have such fabulous aunts & uncles. Emily's husband, Jeff, is currently in his first year of law school. This has required A LOT of studying time. He is one of the most dedicated students I know. But recently, Jeff has wanted to spend time with the boys. One day in March (when I was going crazy, I'm sure) I was telling Emily about everything I needed to get done and that I didn't know how it was going to happen with kids underfoot all day! We ended the phone call and about two minutes later she called back and said, "Jeff wants to take the boys on a hike." Seriously? So I ran them over and they were gone for a good 2 hours. Here's the evidence:



Jeff also helped Cameron with a book report. The report was to be done on a children's book. Cam chose "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig." (Kind of opposite of The 3 Little Pigs story.) He needed some artwork so he called Uncle Jeff! Look at the "sketches" he did and then the finished product. Doesn't it look like clip-art? Well, it's not. It's hand drawn! Amazing!



Then one Friday, Spence and I had planned to go on a date. We were going to eat at a restaurant just minutes from our house with some friends from our ward. We decided not to hire a babysitter but to leave Cam in charge...as we knew we were only going to be gone an hour or so and we'd be close enough to home that if there was an emergency, we'd be able to get there quickly. Then Callie called..."It's such a nice day outside that Mike & I want to take your kids to a park." Seriously? So they ended up with the Big 3 (we took the twins) for a couple of hours while we went on a more relaxed date. Here is the evidence:





One last story: Emily called one day to see what we were up to. I was on my way out the door with all 5 kids to run some errands. She said, "Would the boys like to go on a walk/bike ride instead?" So we loaded up the bikes and I dropped them off with her. She pushed Miley in her stroller while Cam & Gavin rode bikes and Owen pushed his scooter along. They went on a lovely and lengthy walk/ride for a couple of hours while I ran the errands with just the babies! They had such a good time and were super tired that night! Here is the evidence:





Don't you wish your kids' aunts and uncles were this great?

Stalwart Women

This post was supposed to be all about my mom's birthday since we recently celebrated it. But I can't write about my mom without writing about her mom. My Grandma Marie was such an instrumental part of my life that I cannot believe that I haven't written much about her on this blog. She was a Leap-Year baby so she only got to celebrate her birthday on the exact day she was born once every four years. She married her high school sweetheart in 1933. They raised 7 children...4 boys and 3 girls, my mom being the youngest. When my mom was born, Grandma was 42 years old! Mom was born on the first day of Spring and Grandma wanted to name her Spring Melody. She loved spring and loved to see the first johnny-jump-ups of the season. Grandma was often humming a tune, making cookies, or doing a crossword puzzle. I was lucky enough to live next door to my grandparents while growing up and their home had an open-door policy. She walked either through the field or up and down the street every night, regardless of the weather. Grandma had a strong testimony of the Gospel and showed it daily through the way she lived. Grandma was very close to her sisters, Dot & Naida, Dee, Ella, & Verna. Because of her example my mom and her sisters (and sisters-in-law) have great relationships and now my sisters and I work towards having the same bond. Grandma Marie was such a great example.

Anyway, my mom decided she wanted to come to Utah to celebrate her birthday. She mentioned it to one of her sisters and before you knew it, it had turned into a sister weekend. My mom drove Sue's car with Karen in the backseat! They got to our house on Friday afternoon, March 18th. Emily, Jeff, & Miley and Callie & Mike came over to visit with the aunts for a while. I had made Grandma Marie's Famous Chocolate Cake so we sang "Happy Birthday" and let mom blow out the candles. Then Aunts Sue & Karen went to spend the evening with Karen's son, Shane. We had dinner and the boys entertained Granny. The next morning mom & I went to pick up my Bountiful Basket. It was just a few minutes from Shane's house so we stopped there on our way home. We then met Callie, Emily, and Miley at Zupa's for lunch. Aunts Sue & Karen thought that sounded good too so they ate lunch with Shane's wife, Sara, and his daughter Lauren just one table over. We were glad they were there because they held babies & took a few pictures of us! Mom then treated herself & her daughters to a pedicure...always a treat! It's a little difficult going places with 3 babies but we made it work and the babies were all very good. Sue & Karen picked up our mother after her pedicure and they headed back to Idaho. It was a quick trip but fun-filled and we're glad we got to celebrate mom's birthday with her.












So the title of this post is "Stalwart Women" because I truly believe I am surrounded by women who are strong in every aspect of their lives...physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, etc. My Aunt Karen raised 5 kids. She is now in her 70s but continues to go to the gym every day. She has cooking classes with her granddaughters every week. She served a mission with her husband. And she was a nurse and present at my mom's birth! Someday I hope to be like her.

My Aunt Sue raised 8 kids. She has served in many callings for the Church, Relief Society President, Stake callings, and served a mission with her husband to Scotland. She is a short lady but very fiesty! (In a good way.) She has always been a good example. During this visit I asked her how she ever stayed caught up on the laundry with 8 kids (because I struggle with this.) She taught her kids to work and someday I hope to be like her.

My sister Callie lived with us for over 2 years. Recently she's been working on nutrition and weight loss and has succeeded! She is like a second mom to my kids and they look forward to Aunt Callie's visits now. She became one of my very best friends during the time she lived with us and we were able to tell each other everything. She is HILARIOUS and has an infectious personality. Someday I hope to be like her.

My sister Emily and I have just recently become close friends. Until her baby girl was born, Emily worked a lot and didn't have a lot of "down" time where she could just come hang out. Since Miley's birth, that has changed and now we try to see each other as often as we can. She has helped me a lot in different ways...from watching kids during doctor's appointments to folding my laundry and everything in between. When she comes to my house, she is always willing to help me with any project I have going on. She is one of the most organized and clean people I know. Someday I hope to be like her.

My sister-in-law No'el is fabulous. She has such a love for life and it is obvious in how she lives. She recently took a tour group to Europe and was the tour guide! She is very intelligent and enjoys learning. She works from her home as a school teacher for an online academy and is able to balance work, family, and activities like a pro. She waited for my brother while he served his mission and they bring out the best in each other. She is so easy-going and fun to be around. Someday I hope to be like her.

My mom and I are very good friends. We talk every day, at least once. She knows pretty much everything that I struggle with, everything I worry about, everything I'm proud of. She always has a listening ear and offers good advice (when asked for it.) She is fabulous on the piano and we share that love of music. She takes everything in stride and doesn't get too bent out of shape over much. She's has taught me a lot about being a wife and mother! She is patient, loveable, kind, and nice. Someday I hope to be like her!

Good grief, while I'm at it, why not mention my mother-in-law, Tisa? When I was single, I was a little nervous about my future relationship with my in-laws. I'd heard such horror stories and just figured that no one got along with their spouses family. This is not the case with my MIL & I. From the minute we met, I felt a genuine connection with her. She's easy to talk to and always willing to help out. She and my father-in-law lived in Hawaii for 6 years. The distance was difficult. We are glad they moved back to Utah and are able to watch their grandkids grow up. She & Dave were recently called to be service missionaries. They'll be great!

Spencer only has one sister, Kate. Although we haven't always been close, we're working on it. She loves our kids and is always interested in them. She lives in Seattle so we don't see her often. We enjoyed her most recent visit and hope to see her again soon.

I'm sure there are others I should write about...and I will eventually. But that's all for now.

The Truth...

I think I may put on a facade that having twins + 3 other rambunctious boys is easy. The truth is that IT IS HARD!!! It seems that most of my posts are about the good times, the easy times, the times I want to remember. But there are many, many things about our life that I haven't recorded that make it seem like it's been a breeze since the babies came.

Earlier this week I was talking to my cousin, Ashley (who is one of my favorite people because she is so down-to-earth and real). She said, "I don't think I've ever heard you say one negative thing about having two babies! You're just always so positive and sometimes I think, if Natalie can do this with TWO, I can do it with ONE." Here's where I could tell you all about the hard times and rattle on and on about the negatives of having twins...but I won't. Instead I'll tell you that I completely believe that it's all about ATTITUDE! I've sort of adopted the "fake-it-til-you-make-it" attitude and I often pretend that I don't need help, I have everything under control, and I'm ready to take on more. And sometimes I really don't need help, I really do have things under control, and I really do feel like I could take on more. But those times are few and far between. In reality, most of the time I have at least 3 loads of laundry that need to be washed, dried, and/or folded. Most of the time I have dishes that need to be washed, floors that need to be swept, and beds that need to be made. And most of the time I feel like I'm just barely holding it all together.

Growing up, my mom had a quote that hung on her wall that said,
"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait til tomorrow,
for babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep,
I'm rocking my babies, and babies don't keep."

So if you show up at my house (unannounced) and you aren't invited past the front door, it's not because I don't like you...it's because I've spent the entire day holding or rocking one baby after the other and my house looks like a bomb went off! And if you do get invited past the front door, it's because I know that you understand me and that you won't judge.

How's that for the truth?

***By the way, this post was not written to get sympathy from anyone. Just needed to get a few things off my chest. Thanks for listening.***

Charity

Spencer teaches Elder's Quorum once a month. The lesson he gets to teach this Sunday is titled "Charity". I have a favorite quote about Charity that my cousin, Rachel, gave me a few years back. I pulled it up for Spencer to possibly use in his lesson and wanted to post it on my blog too. It's that good! (And don't be surprised if I share it in Relief Society too.)

"Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don’t judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone’s differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn’t handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another’s weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other."
~Marvin J. Ashton

A Visit from Friends

We love when our friends visit but, too often, I get so involved in catching up, I forget to take pictures. (And since I blog off the pictures I've taken, I often forget to mention when we've had visitors.) Luckily, when Adrienne and her boys, Caden & Cohen, visited February 10-16th, she brought along her camera and was kind enough to share the pics. Adrienne and I became good friends when we both lived in Idaho Falls. A couple of months after we moved to Utah, she got married and moved to Arizona! We visited them last year during Spring Break and get to see their family every few months, since her in-laws live in Utah. She and a friend decided to load all of their kids and drive to Utah to visit friends and family. We were on the list!!!

Caden turned 5 while they were here and we were invited to the birthday party...however, Harrison & Madi were both under-the-weather and we didn't get to go. :( We did get to go for ice cream the next day though. There was a little ice cream shop in Idaho Falls called Leatherby's that became our favorite. It went out of business in Idaho but they have a location in Utah, so that's where we went. Seriously, if you haven't tried Leatherby's, you should. Here's their website. And here are the pics from the night:





We had a great time! Let's do it again SOON!!!