Monroe Started Kindergarten

Our big girl started kindergarten!

She planned her whole outfit around her new shoes

Two years difference

Monroe is coming to my school!  I am so excited to have her there!

Kindergarten friends

More close friends with our kids

Walking in the hallway

First activity

Zach didn't have students the first day, so he was able to go to her class with her for a little while.

Mrs. McNelis

We love her already!

After school, I took Monroe to go get ice cream.  She picked Big Red Treats

On day 2 we got more friends together for a picture.

None of these kids live in the Newell area, but all of us moms have chosen to bring them to Newell.  I think that says a lot about our school.

We're just missing Danielle behind Landon

It has been fun seeing Monroe in the hallways and around the school.  She and I will have a lot more time together than we ever did when she was in daycare.  

Have a great kindergarten year, Monroe!  Daddy and I are proud of you already!

Block Party

We have lived on Arizona Ave for two years now, and we know very few of our neighbors.  I got the idea a couple months ago that I should plan a block party to get everyone together and meet more people.  I contacted three girls on our street (Whitney Flower, Jamie Jones, and Jenn Isabel) and asked if they wanted to plan it with me.  All three loved the idea. 

Whitney made these awesome invitations that she and I delivered door-to-door. 

We decided to have it in our driveway because we are right in the middle and we have a lot of shade.

We had an excellent turn out!  10 families came. We had young families and older couples.

Ezra loved our boys

Whitney's bounce house was a huge hit!

The pool got pooped in, so we had to dump and refill it.  Ezra didn't mind the ice cold water one bit!

I'm so glad that I decided to try this out.  Everyone thanked us for planning it and said they wanted to do it again.  I hope we can!

I am blessed

I am blessed...

I am blessed to have a job I love.  I go back to work tomorrow.  I leave my babies tomorrow.  Thankfully, I get to spend my days with energetic 8 and 9 year olds who make every day fun and new.  I love what I do and who I get to work with, which makes what I am leaving a little easier.

I am blessed that Monroe will be at school with me everyday.  I will see her two hours more a day than I did when she was at daycare.  We will have some extra girl time that we won't necessarily get at home.  She will be loved and nurtured by teachers I know and trust as she starts her schooling journey.

I am blessed to have had 14 weeks at home with my baby boys.  I get to be a stay-at-home mom for three months every year, and I love it.  Having the boys in May gave me an extended maternity leave that I am so thankful for.

I am blessed to have a nanny that will be caring for our boys in our home this year.  I am grateful we found Alicia and that we can afford to have her watch our boys in our home.  I have to leave my babies, but I am leaving them in good hands.

I am blessed to have family and friends who brought us meals, clothes, diapers, gifts, and snuggles over the last three months.  We did not make supper for ourselves once in the first month.  We also have not had to buy the boys any clothes or diapers (yet).  Thank you all for taking care of us.  Our family is loved!

I am blessed to have two perfect baby boys.  Graham and Pierce have completed our family in a way I didn't know was possible.  They have brought us so much joy.  I am thankful that I was able to carry them to term and that they were born healthy.  I am thankful that they have calm, content temperaments and that they love to eat and sleep.  I am thankful they are here.

I am blessed that my babies look at me in a way that they look at no one else.  I know it's because I've got the goods, but I am thankful for this time when I am who they want and need more than anyone.  This time is precious and all too short.

I am blessed to have a milk supply to sustain my hungry boys.  I have been able to solely nurse them and also put milk away for the future.  They were born at the 5th and 7th percentiles and now they are in the 57th and 63rd.  Breast milk for the win!

I am blessed to live at a time when an inability to conceive did not leave me barren.  We have three beautiful children thanks to scientific advancements and amazing doctors.  In Vitro Fertilization cost us a lot, financially, mentally, and emotionally, but we wouldn't trade our infertility journey for anything.  It has made us so thankful for our three miracles.

I am blessed to have a little girl who thinks having twin brothers is the greatest thing in the world.  Monroe has been a wonderful big sister.  She has been helpful, patient, forgiving, and loving as we figured out how to be a family of five.  Graham and Pierce are lucky to have a big sister who adores them so much.

I am blessed to have Zachary.  This man amazes me.  From giving me a head-to-toe shower in the hospital when I was weak from blood loss to planning a surprise night out with my girlfriends, he has put me and our family first over and over again.  So many people have said that I make having twins look easy.  It is because of him.  He does everything!  And, he does it all so well.  Thank you, Zachary, for being an amazing father and husband.  You are our rock and we love you!

I am blessed!

Three Months

 When my friend Leslie was in town, her husband Dustin took some beautiful pictures of the boys.

I was out with friends and the boys were ready to eat.  This is the only way Zach could get them calm until I got home.

He's such a great daddy!

 Great Grandpa Jerry had Pierce laughing so hard

Graham thinks Grandpa Jerry is funny too.

Their typical nap spots 

 Monroe loves when she is able to put them to sleep

I love Graham's face here :)

The boys have really gotten talkative.  Monroe loves it!

 Photographing twins is not easy :)

I was home with the boys by myself and they both wanted to eat at the same time.  I tried tandem nursing them like I used to, and this is how it went :)

Graham is now the bigger twin.  He weighed 14 lbs 10.5 oz on his 3 month birthday.  Pierce is a little smaller at 14 lbs. 6 oz.  We have started putting them down awake, and we have transitioned them to their own cribs in their rooms.  They still wake up twice a night to feed.  I am dreading that when school starts.

The boys talk and coo all the time, and they love to smile.  They do well with tummy time, and love to stand.  For the most part, there aren't a lot of differences between them.  Here are a few things we've noticed:  

Graham seems to eat just a little bit more than Pierce.

Pierce goes to sleep more willingly when put down awake.  

Graham hates the car a lot of the time.

Pierce is more talkative.

Going back to work this Monday is going to be very hard on this mama.  I am so glad we have hired a nanny, but it will be hard to leave them.