35 years and 2 months

Today is my birthday! I am 35 years old. Also, Evangeline turns 2 months old! I think her milestone may be a bit more exciting than mine, though. 

She has the brightest blue eyes, she smiles and "talks" to us. She recently discovered her hands and has been trying to suck her thumb. She even tries to bat around the toys that we hang from her car seat. During tummy time, she kicks her feet and swings her arm around which makes all her sisters giggle and scream that she is "already trying to crawl!"

I, at 35 years old, have established a life that I absolutely love. Ten years ago this month, my husband and I bought this house with baby Madelyn in tow. We grew as a family, adding 5 more baby girls to our home. I will never regret the decision we made as a couple to live on one income so that I could become a stay at home mother. It is tough at times, budget wise, but I thank my husband every day for giving me the life I dreamed of with our children. He makes great sacrifices working extra hours when necessary. He is probably the best darn husband and father to our girls I could have ever hoped for.

I suppose both our milestones today are something special, after all. 

Here is Evangeline's 2 month photo shoot. She was quite confused as to why I was propping her up in the rocking chair with a pillow, at first. Then, she got very excited and gave us a whole bunch of smiles! 

Blurry milky tongue smiles = Love!

A Week in Photos: 19

 

The 19th week of the year was Mother's Day week! Most of it was spent outdoors swinging, bike riding or hunting for caterpillars. The weather forecast calls for rain so I am glad we got a lot of sunshine time. 

My mom and sister visited one day to bring over some organic insecticide by EcoSmart for our growing ant problem. Worked like a charm, by the way! Sprayed along the baseboard and up the woodwork I had seen them crawling and they never returned after that day! 

She tweeted later in the day, "Evangeline asleep on the deck, the twins and Sophia playing on the swings, and the smell of brownies in the oven, our midday visit to Olivia's". I thought that pretty much summed up how our days were spent this week.

Here is week 19, photos of our everyday awesome:

Saturday, May 7th. We held a family graduation party for my sister, Tessa. She just finished her student teaching and is now certified to teach Art! Congratulations!

Sunday, May 8th. My pretty little poppy on Mother's Day! I crocheted this hat for her the night before. She looked as adorable as ever!

Monday, May 9th. Mike put our summer lights on the deck. The days are getting longer and Spring is such a lovely time of year. 

Tuesday, May 10th. The view from my computer desk.

Wednesday, May 11th. The herb seeds we planted are beginning to grow! The girls love running out every day to check on them and see how big they are getting.

 

Thursday, May 12th. My sweet babe peacefully sleeping. 

Friday, May 13th. Sophia, Isabella, Grace and I spent some time on the deck making bracelets for Craft Hope's Orphan Outreach project. There are two projects currently for Craft Hope. The newest one is a call for security blankets for the tornado survivors in southeastern U.S. I hope to participate in both! Go check them out and see if you can contribute as well.

If you would like to view the rest of my Photo 365 project, visit my Flickr.  

Happy Monday to you all!

Best of Friends

These two silly girls are rarely apart! We were told they were "fraternal" twins at the ultrasound due to their separate placentas and separate amniotic sacs but they are three years old now and I STILL have trouble telling them apart! They sure look identical but they are individuals in every other way!

For anyone keeping tabs on who is who in the photos: Gracie is on the left and Isabella in on the right.

Also, I have fallen mega behind in my Photo365 postings. If you would like to catch up on my photos, check out the total project on Flickr! I promise to get back to The Week in Photos postings next week!

Planting Herbs

The rain from yesterday left sunshine and a bit of a chill in the air. We decided to grab our soil, seeds and pots and throw down a blanket on the deck for a little herb planting session! 

They filled their pots with soil using the new shovels that Grandma had gifted the twins for their birthday! I do have a real grown-up garden shovel somewhere but it got lost sometime between Sophia digging up earthworms under the slide last week and her recently trying to plant every apple seed she got from her lunches in our backyard.   

The day was sunny but very windy. Sophia giggled that maybe our seeds would blow away while we were planting them! 

The twins helped each other with their pots, taking turns so they each got to fill one. Isabella said to Grace, "I hold it you, Gracie...okay?"

Then they carefully took their filled pots back to the blanket, choosing which herbs they wanted to plant. I was a bit disorganized with all three girls planting at the same time that we forgot which herb went in each pot! I guess we will just have to identify them once they start growing! 

With their seeds planted, they carried their pots to the planter on the deck railing. Then, with their tiny cans filled, they made sure the thirsty seeds got some water! We already have new chives growing from last year's pot that I never emptied! Yea!

Oh, and what did Sophia consider the perfect outfit for herb planting today?

A dress and her cowboy boots... of course! 

May Day Birthday

Our gorgeous little twin girls turned 3 yesterday! I love them so much, since the very day I found out I was pregnant. Such joy the day we discovered we would be having double the sweetness! I will never forget watching the two little bodies moving on the ultrasound screen; the shock when the technician said the test would take a bit longer than expected because we had a Baby A and Baby B! Unbelievable! Then, telling our parents that the test had gone well and when asked what the sex of the baby was (with 3 little sisters already) we said, "It isn't a girl... no... it's not a boy... it's... TWO girls!!" 

I am so proud to have them in our lives and of the choice we made to deliver them at home. They are wonderful and so loving! I love to watch them together, talking and playing. Sometimes they will simply sit next to each other and one will tell the other to lay her head on her shoulder. So sweet it breaks my heart! Their bond as twins amaze me everyday!

Happy Birthday Isabella and Gracie! We love you!