April Wrap Up

April, where have you gone?? My goodness! This has been a fast month and I wanted to share some of my photos from April before it was over. I think the combination of beautiful weather and being busy at school that has made this month fly by. We are looking forward to a lot of exciting things in May (my sister's graduation! Lion King! Trace's birthday! a wedding weekend in Kansas city! school being out! a music conference! my last school concert! buying flowers!) that it feels like I am wishing April away a little bit. I hate doing that because of the whole make every day count thing but I also love the feeling of anticipation at exciting things to come. 

Anna & Brynn are just loving play time and have so much fun sitting up and scooting around. It is so cute to see them sitting up right next to each other...when I had visions of my two sweet little babies, it was this I saw in my head. Their cute little chubby faces, happy smiles and tiny toes are all a dream come true for me. It literally seems like they were born yesterday and as much as I tried for it not to happen it all seems like a blur. Hopefully I am doing something right! I can't wait until summer break when I can just snuggle and play with them all day long. 

Brynn's ponytail just gets me every time. So stinkin' cute!

Sharing? Brynn always seems to want whatever toy Anna has and Anna is content to play with whatever, not even caring if her toy is taken away. I know they are just babies and I shouldn't read into it at any level but it is just interesting to me. 

This pop up toy is the number one thing at our house right now. They love to push down the doors when they are popped up and will scoot fast across the room to make sure they are closed! The best part is that no batteries are required! 

Here comes the girls' favorite person...Michael!! 

The girls absolutely love Michael as you can tell by Anna's face. He is so entertaining to them and it just makes my heart melt. Of course little girls need to love their big brother! He is who they get the most excited for, always, even over mommy! 

It is so fun to watch him play with them...I always try and be sneaky about it because it just melts my heart. He is such a good big brother and I am so proud of his kind ways. I hope he always keeps his sweet spirit. 

Thanks for stopping by!

7 months!

Anna and Brynn are seven months old! 

Month seven has been another big one for the girls. They are learning so much every day. It seems like every time I come home from school, they have mastered some new trick or skill. As you can see, they are both now sitting up very nicely. Anna had been for a little while and Brynn just started joining her a few weeks ago. It is so cute to watch them sit and play! They also both LOVE scooting around on their tummies. Brynn is very fast and can get to whomever or whatever she wants! Anna is a little shower but does lots of baby planks and rocking back and forth on her knees so I know she will take off soon. 

I love the girls in pink but I just think blue might be their color! Anna is on the right, Brynn on the left. 

Anna is our little sweetheart, always ready with a smile and sparkly eyes. She seems to be more content and is always so happy. 

Brynn is more active and she is a little fiesty! She love love loves her brother and is always smiling and screaming at him when he is playing by her. She is a fast scooter and is good at finding trouble. 

Big brother is by far the most favorite person in the family. Michael loves to make them laugh and squeal. Their eyes are always on him to see what he is up to.

My crabapple tree was just starting to bloom last weekend so I hurried the babies outside while we had a break in the rain. I was glad we did because this week it looks beautiful but it has been cold and rainy every day. 

Two little babies, sitting in the grass. Brynn on left, Anna on right. I should probably just start setting up the same way every time, huh? 

In terms of twin parenting, month seven has been smooth sailing. We are finding our routine and keep chugging along. The girls are sleeping so well and often go down without a fuss at all. Even in the mornings they are just chatting in their cribs, waiting for me to come get them. We usually put them down around 6:30 and they are up between 4:30-5:30. They are still good eaters and have been doing lots of practicing with their pincer grasp so they can get better at feeding themselves. 

We can't wait to see what the next month and future holds! Thanks for stopping by! 

My 5K!

A few weeks ago at the beginning of April, I walked in our school's annual 5K that raises money for the PE department. I had wanted to do it for a while but I was busy the past two years. So this year the date rolled around and I had the day free and the weather seemed nice so I went ahead and signed up! 

I was a little nervous about it...I had never done an organized thing like this before. I had just started getting more physically active in just the last couple of months once the girls started sleeping through the night (before that...survival trumped exercising!) so even though I had started walking and being more active I was nervous about actually being able to walk three miles for the event. Would I get last? Would the girls be good? Would I make it?

All of my fears ended up being unfounded and it was a really nice morning. I had fun socializing before the race started with parents, students and colleagues who were all excited to see Anna and Brynn. I don't live in the community where I teach so sometimes I try to make an effort to bring my family with me places so people know that I have a life outside of the band room! 

It was a cool morning but I bundled the girls up in their fleece suits and they were nice and cozy. I thought this would be easier than a blanket and plus they looked so cute! Once the race started, the crowd quickly dispersed itself into the runners and walkers. I passed quite a few walkers at the beginning of the race and then I really was by myself for most of it, between the super fast walkers and the slow walkers. It was nice to wave and chat with the volunteers (mostly colleagues) at the street block offs and everyone was so happy to see the girls. 

During the walk I had a lot of time to think. I admit I felt a little bit silly signing up to walk a 5K but I was also proud of myself for doing it. Just 7 months ago I was pretty sure I would never be able to walk again...twin pregnancy is no joke! I thought of where I was a year ago  and where I hope to be in a year from now. Sometimes time seems so daunting but yet it moves so quickly. I have some big health goals for the future and hopefully they start to become a reality! Even though the race was difficult- I really had to hoof it to finish under an hour (my goal)- I hope it is a marking point at the beginning of my journey to improved health. 

The girls were SO good and didn't even make a peep! They slept for most of the race and just looked around for the other part. 

At the finish line! I did end up beating about 12 other people- not last!  Yay! :o) 

Anyway, I just wanted to share what I've been up to and hopefully I will have more to share in the future! Maybe I will even do another walk and see if I can beat my time?? Stay tuned!

InstaFriday

Happy Friday! 

It has been a busy, busy week for me this week. I am so happy it is finally Friday! I was dreading this week at the beginning of the week but I kept telling myself that by the time it is over, it will seem like a blink of the eye and sure enough...here we are on the other side of it. 

This week was our big swing choir/ jazz band tour day and concert. My colleague and I take our kids around town to the elementary schools on "tour" and it is a great time and good learning experience for the kids. The kids like missing a day of school, spending time with their friends and eating at Pizza Ranch. Little do they know they are also learning the importance of being responsible (loading/unloading equipment, showing up to and being on time), being a team player (everyone helps!), and the joy of sharing music with others. We teachers are sneaky like that. :o) 

The concert went so well last night and it was one of my favorites. My drummer was sick from school and while it left me in a panic and stressed out, I had a former student come and help us out and it ended up being really fun to play with him again. I was so neat to work an old student it really made me realize how much I miss them when they go off to high school. It ended up being a pretty cool concert and I am just on cloud nine about it! 

Now on to why you are really visiting...cute babies! 

The girls are so happy, even when waking up from their naps. Always smiling and happy to see mommy! 

The Easter bunny brought Michael a kite in his basket and we had fun flying it later that day. Scott was surprisingly good at being a kite pilot (what is he not good at? geeze!). Our first kite ended up breaking and fell into the pond but luckily I had a back up that flew really well. It is super windy at our house so we'll have to get it out again! 

My two kitty cats!

My silly girls!

Anna has been sitting up so well lately. Brynn is catching up quickly and can sit by herself for a little bit before toppling over. She is getting stronger every day! It is just so cute to see them sitting up and playing and looking all around. 

7 months old! 

(should probably do a real photoshoot and update post soon!)

My friend hosted a facebook Jamberry party and I really like the product! I had seen people wear it before but never had an opportunity to order so I was excited to try it. So far I am loving them and was surprised at how easy they were to apply. I've been wearing the same wraps for a week now and they still look good. I might change it up this weekend...I'll see how they hold up after the massive yard cleanup I have planned.

"What? Is there food on my face?"

Poor Anna was rubbing her eyes while eating and got food all over! It was so funny and Michael and I laughed and laughed. Usually they stay much cleaner but I am learning that sometimes I just have to give up and hose them down after dinner is over. 

Here are a few cute videos of the girls feeding themselves. They are learning so much and big so fast!

Have a great weekend! 

Easter

I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend! 

We had a really nice time. It was low key and easy, with time spent together as a family. We got everyone up and out the door early for our church's 7 a.m. sunrise service in hopes of beating crowds and making it easier for the girls since we have only taken them to church a handful of times. It was so nice to be walking into church on Easter Sunday with our whole family with the sun rising in the cool morning. 

The girls did great and so did Michael (usually he has sunday school during the service). The nursery lady even came over to us and asked us if we needed her to take the girls...it must have been a slow morning in the nursery since there were only about 30 people at the service. I think she secretly just wanted to snuggle our sweet babies...they did great and mostly snoozed in their carseats the whole time. 

I especially enjoyed the service at church this year. They showed a montage of video clips of super heros and such dying to save the world or whatever and they kept showing clips from Big Hero 6 of Baymax dying to save his friends and then coming back again as a new robot. It really made me tear up. Holidays will always be hard for our family, even though we realize that great joy often comes through God's grace. It is such a conflict of emotions to be so joyous with the arrival of girls, but yet that joy is always rooted in grief over losing our son. It really struck me as I was cutting into our ham at dinner (random, I know)...wow, remember when I made a big ham before Trace was born and then I used the leftovers to make a ton of freezer meals? In that instant, it felt like yesterday but then I snapped out of it and realized that it was four years ago that I was preparing for his arrival. 

Anyway...

After church, we headed to Village Inn for breakfast and it was also not busy at all but we were there at like 8:30. It was nice to be able to take the girls out with us and enjoy a meal without all the prep and cleanup- it's the little things in life, right? Everyone in the restaurant who walked by just fawned over the girls and even the hostess told every waiter, "hey! did you see these two babies over here??". They did look pretty cute so I guess I can understand. :o) 

The best I got for family photos...not sure how other people do it with all smiling, happy, looking at the camera children? 

After church, we did our egg hunt and Michael had lots of fun collecting eggs from all over the yard. He was way more excited for the eggs that had little toys in them than the ones with candy...Easter Bunny had better take note for next year!

I love baby tights!

My two favorite Easter bunnies! :o) :o) :o) 

(Anna on the left, Brynn on the right)

Anna is getting so good at sitting up all by herself! Brynn is not far behind but usually needs a little help. 

I'm also including my eye coloring pictures in this post...we had lots of fun doing it and now I have a ton of colorful hardboiled eggs to eat in my lunches all week!

Brynn

Anna

Brynn on left, Anna on right. Anna's hair is growing fast and I think it is starting to lighten up a bit. Michael's turned very blonde right around the time he was 9 months old so I'm curious if the girls will do the same!

I hope you all had a blessed Easter weekend as well.  

Thanks for stopping by!