California

This blog is totally neglected. Ah well, what do you do?

Sooo California....it's pretty much as amazing as you would think. I love that we live in a smaller town that has a farm-like feel to it. There's something so refreshing to live in a place that isn't too big or crowded with strangers and crime. We really enjoy our neighborhood and ward. We quickly found out last summer during our internship in AZ that we are NOT hot weather people. Especially in the summer when kids are home all day. Living in the bay area is perfect for us since it does get chilly. I guess we are true Coloradans in that way.

We're a little over an hour from San Fran and 45 mins from Monterey/Carmel. We were able to visit Monterey/Carmel last weekend and I'm already excited to go back....preferably not on a Saturday! The sand was so soft and the water was gorgeous. Grant has turned in to a little beach bum and constantly asks to go. It's tricky to take 3 kids to the beach by myself. The girls are easy but I just don't have enough hands to carry all our gear. Oh well, we try to make it there as much as we can though.

Big Brother

Grant has been such a fun little buddy/helper to me and a wonderful big brother. These girls sure do love him. He can make them smile and laugh almost instantly, which is great but then he manages to take it about 100 steps too far and drive me bonkers! I know he just wants to help, but lifting the babies off the floor or "helping" them roll over isn't quite as helpful as he thinks.

He turned 4 in April and insisted on a Thomas the train party at the bounce house. We somehow managed to get the exact same cake as last year, oh well, as long as it's chocolate I don't really care what the heck is on it!

This kid LOVES numbers, LOOOVES them. We can't even leave the driveway without him pointing out all the numbers on the houses or cars. Anytime he gets the mail or looks through papers he points out all the numbers. He memorizes birthdays or addresses and other random number facts. Cracks me up.

While on our walk one day got off his bike and went over to pick me a flower because "girls like pink, and this flower is pink."

He has a great imagination and humorous personality. I never know who he is going to be, often he is Charlie Bucket (Willy Wonka), other days he is Charlie Brown or Thomas the train. In order to get his attention I have to call him by the new name. He is extremely observant and detail oriented. He has an amazing memory that often gets David and I in trouble..."but you said we could buy this when dad got paid." or my new favorite is that he likes to tell everyone about us/ our conversations "my mom's belly button...." I'm excited for him to start preschool in the fall. Since moving here he's been the most social little boy in the neighborhood. He's always eager to meet new friends and say "hi" to strangers on our walks/bike rides.

We started a page of "Grantisms" and here are some of my favorites.

-"it's better when you do some counting number exercises."

-"yeah, well, it looks like a rocket ship, but it's not. it's a temple." (Provo Temple)

-"Grant, we're in California now!", "Yeah, but it's so so far away from 1401." (our old address)

-"I wish I could grow bigger and get lots of work and look at numbers." (referring to David's job.)

-"We could be a family and go to the beach and carry stuff." 

He put all my hair rollers on his arms and asked if I remembered that time when he broke his arms. Yep, that's Grant...crazy, sweet, random. 

Tatum

Tater tot...she's like the wise older sister. She is pretty mellow and likes to study everything. People say she looks more like a Luke and Kate looks more like an Ence. I just think they're both equally cute and fun! Tatum has wild hairs in the back that remind me of Jack Nicholson or something. I love it! These girls are getting harder to tell apart. A little while back we noticed that Kate has little dimples on her right ear, it's a perfect spot to have a difference.

Kate

Oh sweet little Katerade. She's a spitfire and sweetheart all in one. She likes to be held and definitely takes the "baby in the family" role pretty serious. She has such a strong neck and reminds me of Grant in the way her little body moves around to see what's going on and in how alert she is.

I love this little Kate Emma:) 

a name and a blessing....

Am I the only one who feels like blogs are in a slump? I feel like everyone is on facebook or instagram and blogs are now taking the backseat. I hate it. I don't want to fall in that trap...or keep staying in that trap I should say. 

We're moving on THURSDAY...Thursday people! I should be packing but with each box I'm reminded that change is coming. I'm excited about this new experience but I will miss our friends and neighbors dearly. I will miss watching Grant play with his cute little buddies and to be honest we've become so comfortable here and I hate to go and change a good thing. With that being said I DO think Cali will be a thrill and I'm very grateful that we have this opportunity.

Soooo....these little girls are growing up WAY TOO FAST. I hate it. HATE it! For most of my pregnancy I was so worried about them and how they would interact with each other growing up and how I would handle everything. I felt very overwhelmed by the thought of having twins but I can honestly say that I LOVE it. They are the sweetest little girls and I could just cuddle them all day...good thing I like it because that's what I usually do! Packing up a house with two newborns has proven to be tricky but we're managing. They are just too cute to get mad at:)

We blessed them on Mother's Day, very appropriate. David did a wonderful job and it was so nice to be surrounded by loved ones. My mother in-law made the dresses and they were gorgeous. My mom and dad were so helpful cleaning the house and running errands to make sure everyone had a great weekend. What a lucky family we are. 

6 weeks?!?

How did these little girls get so big? Stop it, stop it right now! They have been so much fun, and I feel so blessed and relieved to have them here.

How is life with three? It's been a adjustment for sure, but things are going really well. At any given moment someone is poopy, or lost a binky or wants to be held. I feel like I never get a breather. I do have the girls eat at the same time so that cuts down on time which is nice. Thankfully the weather has been beautiful and I can kick Grant out the door to play with friends. Entertaining him has been my hardest challenge so this helps a LOT. He, like most older siblings, LOVES to love his sisters. Of course it's cute and sweet but man alive it gets old saying "don't poke her eye. wait don't poke HER eye." We've started a "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." method of touching and it seems to help...for about 5 mins.

                                                (this was taken a few weeks ago)
How do we tell them apart? The main differences are, Kate is a little pinker and Tatum has more hair. Other than that they are starting to look more similar each day.

Do they have different personalities? Well, they ARE two separate people and although they haven't told me what they do/don't like we can already tell Kate is more of a spitfire and Tatum is a little more easy going. Like every other kid, they have their moments, so I hate to classify and compare them right now. I have noticed that they'll often start to squirm at the same time and then go back to sleep, start to squirm again, sleep again, it's pretty cute. Oh and they also love to eat each other, fingers, noses, heads whatever is close by. It's so funny to watch them get frustrated at each other and the fact they can't get any food.

How do they sleep? Hum...they are still in the newborn sleepy/frequent eating stage so we get 3-4 hour stretches at night. Sometimes they sleep in the bassinet together or one will be in the swing and the other in the boppy. We're still trying to figure out the best way for us all to get a little beauty rest.

Anyway we sure do love these little girls....a bunch:) oh and their brother too!

Easter

Today was our first Sunday back to church, it felt so nice to be together as a family of FIVE in church again. My sister bought the girls their dresses and my good friend made their headbands,

they were a hit!

                                                                   (Kate)

                                                                  (Tatum)

Grant has had a fun few days hunting for eggs and spending time with friends. Last night I started panicking that the Easter Bunny didn't bring very exciting things. Don't get me wrong most 4 year olds would love a pair of socks and old Halloween candy right? I was stressing out about it during one of the girls mid-night feedings. Anyway lucky for me Grant is sweet as candy and LOVED his simple basket. "A book!", "Look, socks just like dad!" A true Easter miracle:)

Don't mind my tired, pale expression....pictures don't lie, I spend most of my days inside comforting cute little girls.