New Year's Letter

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! I wanted to send out a Christmas letter this year but didn't get around to it on time. Oh well! This will have to suffice. What a year it has been! As I reflect back on everything that has happened this year, I am filled with gratitude and amazement.

Nathan left Wal-Mart and got a new job at America's Car-Mart home office this spring. This has been a huge change for our family, and a really great change! We do miss our 10% discount and gym membership; otherwise, the move has been really great for us. Being at a smaller company, Nate gets more exposure and opportunities to experience different types of technology. He is learning a ton and enjoying being challenged. I enjoy that he comes home less stressed and depressed!

The girls and I took a three week vacation to Utah this summer to visit our family. We loved spending time with everyone and had so many adventures while we were there. It was the longest Nate and I have ever been apart but somehow we survived.

Ah, the joys of summer!

Lydia holding cousin Carter

While in Utah, I found out some surprising news and was able to relay that to Nate through video chat; we're having another baby!!!! I say surprising not because I don't know where babies come from, but because we were so blessed not to have to go through fertility treatments this time around. We didn't know if we'd even be able to have another baby, so we're thrilled that we will be welcoming a baby girl into our family this February!

Wearing one of my own creations and showing off the belly at 34 weeks and 2 days. 

We'd been considering buying another house because my sewing business/the girls' toy room had taken over our living room. When we found out about the baby, that sent us over the edge. We found a beautiful home in Rogers (the next town over) for a great price that we just couldn't pass up. Fortunately, we were able to sell our old home within a week of being on the market. We have been extremely busy this fall doing some updates to our new home including new carpet, hardwood, granite and butcher block counter tops, backsplash, and appliances. Nate has done a lot of the work himself. It has been stressful, but he is pretty proud of his work! The house is still very much a work in progress but we love it! It's a great location close to Nathan's work, and we love having a bit more space.

Our beautiful, new home

We experienced two enjoyable trips to Seattle to see Nate's family this year. Once was for a camping trip on Moses Lake and the other for Christmas! On both trips we were privileged to see "the mountain" multiple days out of each week we were there.  It has become a running joke as Nate's whole family always points out to me when Mt. Rainier is visible since we always seem to have good weather when we visit.  On cloudy days, the mountain is not in sight.

Loving on their Anna and Elsa dolls from Grandma

My Etsy shop has kept me busy this year. It's been really fun to learn new skills and see my creations come to life. I plan to close the shop for a nice long maternity break. I hope to be able to open it again, but I'm sure it will take some time to adjust to caring for three small children. Did I mention we're going to have 3 kids under the age of 2 1/2?!?!?!?!

I absolutely LOVE my new sewing space!

The girls are growing up so fast that I can hardly keep up. They amaze me with the new things they learn every day. It's so fun to be able to actually have a conversation with them now. I'll admit, being a stay at home mom can be lonely and you end up talking to yourself a lot, so it's been nice to be able to talk to the girls now! They are sweet, funny, smart, crazy girls!

We have been blessed beyond measure! We are grateful for everyone who has been a part of our lives this year. We look forward with joy (and terror!) to Baby A joining our family in just a few short weeks.

The Twins are 2!

I hate that I can't seem to find the time to stay caught up on my blog! I love going back and reading my updates, especially on the girls because I've found I've forgotten so many things. It's nice to have things written down so those memories aren't lost! Anyway, I'm a couple months late on this update but I didn't want to miss it.

Eden and Lydia turned two on September 21st. Am I the only one that finds this crazy?????? I still find myself calling them babies on occasion, but they really aren't anymore. The "terrible" twos are definitely in full swing but also the terrific twos! Some days are so incredibly hard and I wonder what happened to my sweet girls that turned them into little terrors. But other days they are absolute angels that want to snuggle and kiss me and tell me they love me all day. Those days are the best!

EDEN: Eden has definitely taken on the role of older sister. She bosses Lydia around all day and luckily Lydia is super mellow and likes to follow along with what her sister says most of the time. For instance, for Halloween Eden was supposed to be Bo Peep and Lydia was going to be her sheep (very fitting for their personalities) but when it came time to put costumes on, Eden was insistent that she be the sheep and Sissy be "Peep." Lydia promptly handed the sheep costume to Eden and picked up the Bo Peep dress instead. At least they were both happy in the end. When we go for walks, Eden gets really upset if she is not leading the pack. She prefers to run ahead and call back, "Come on, guys!" Eden loves to draw pictures. I know I'll probably regret it one day, but the crayons are always sitting out at their play table so she can color multiple times throughout the day. Fortunately, she knows that coloring is only for paper and we've only had one incident of crayon on the fireplace. Both girls are pretty good with recognizing different colors so we're starting to talk about shapes now. I don't think they really get it at all but they love to say "circo" (circle) over and over as they draw their pictures and proudly show me their cirlces (aka scribbles). I also introduced finger paints recently and those were a huge hit!

LYDIA: Both girls talk really well, but Lydia definitely talks a bit more and a bit more clearly. She is such an imitator and copies whatever we say. When we read books or say prayers, she always repeats the words. She is quite the singer as well. She can carry a tune and she knows a lot of the words to the songs we sing. She also likes to make up her own songs. She usually sings herself to sleep at nap time. It's pretty cute. She made up a song about Eden and we think it's so funny when she sings it. The only problem is, Eden hates it! Whenever Lydia sings it, Eden screams, "No Lydi! No Song!" Lydia has always been more cautious than Eden but she's started to get over some of her inhibitions. She used to hate being pushed in the swing at the park but recently she's decided she loves its and will even tell me to give her a big push. Both girls still love the park and we've had great weather this fall so we go at least a few times a week.

SLEEP: Oh, sleep. I thought sleep issues were only things you deal with with babies. Hahahaha. How naive I was. They went through a really long stretch of good sleep but recently that has all changed. The girls went through several weeks of nap strikes where they just flat out refused to nap. In the beginning, it was fine because they would just talk to each other and read their books in bed but as the weeks wore on, they just started getting more and more overtired and nap time turned into scream time. It was devastating. Perhaps, you think I exaggerate and devastating is too strong a word, but if you've never dealt with two overtired, cranky two year olds day after day, you have no idea how horrible it is. I tried everything to get them to take their naps from crying it out (2 hours of screaming!) to sitting in their room with them to help them be calm to different naptime schedules to totally losing it and yelling at them to go to sleep. Nothing worked. It's so hard to accept that the are independent little people and if they don't want to take a nap, I can't force them to. I finally tried separating them and moved Eden to another room for naps but that did not go over well. Eden wasn't having any of that, but when she said Lydia should sleep in the other room, I decided to try it. Thankfully, we've seen some improvement. They still skip naps a couple times a week but at least they are taking some naps and we're able to avoid all three of us in tears every afternoon. Bedtime is also a challenge. They just don't want to go to sleep! I can't just ignore them, because Eden has started to strip down out of her clothes and diaper and I find her naked as a jaybird when I go check on her. One night, I didn't check, and about midnight she started whimpering and crying because she was cold and wet. We've found that the earlier we put them to bed, the better.  So recently we've been trying to get back to 7:00 PM bedtime. It just seems like it's so hard to have them ready for bed by 7:00. They are still in their cribs and Nate thinks we should just go ahead and move them to beds now while things are bad. He says it can't get worse. But it can!!!! So I'm sticking to my guns and we're keeping them in cribs for as long as possible! The good news is we finally got rid of their binkies. They obviously weren't helping them sleep anymore so we told them binkies were for babies and just stopped using them. The first few nights they would bring it up and say "binkies for babies" but they seem to have forgotten all about them now.  Let's be honest, the binkies were probably more for our sanity than to fulfill the needs of the girls.

OUR DAYS: Our typical day looks something like this
7:15 Girls wake up. Nate gets them out of bed and starts getting ready for work. I catch a few more minutes of sleep if I can
8:00 Breakfast
8:30 I clean up the kitchen while the girls color at their activity table
9:00 We head upstairs. I get the girls dressed for the day and then start my sewing for my Etsy business. The girls toy room is right outside my sewing room so they play with their toys while I sew. I break up the occasional scrabble but honestly, they play together really well. (Especially in the mornings when they are happy.)
10:30 We'll either have a playdate with friends, run our errands, or go to the park if we have nothing else planned.
12:00 Lunch time. Nate gets to come home often so we enjoy spending some time with Daddy during the day!
1:00-3:00 Nap time or "rest" time if they choose not to sleep. I use this time to work some more on my sewing
3:00 Girls wake up, have a snack, and watch a show. Their favorite thing to watch right now is a cute short film called "Room on the Broom." They ask to watch the witch nearly every day! Other favorites include Mickey Mouse, Dora, Curious George, Daniel Tiger, and Sofia the First.
4:00 We either play outside, go for a walk, go to the park if we didn't go in the morning, video chat with one of their Grandma's, or run any errands we didn't get to earlier.
5:00 Realize its almost dinner time and I haven't prepared anything. (Why does this happen every day?) Figure something out. The girls will either play upstairs or if they're cranky and I don't want to deal with it while I'm cooking I'll put another show on.
5:30 Nate comes home
6:00 Dinner. Playtime with Daddy while I clean up the kitchen.
7:00- Bathtime, stories, songs, prayer
7:30 Bedtime. Spend the next hour or so trying to get them to go to sleep! (Or more on a bad night. Less on a good night. Like I said, we're working on this!)
The rest of the night, Nate spends working on our renovation projects on our house and I spend working on my business.

GOALS: There are a few things I'm hoping to do better as a mother this year. I don't yell at them often but enough that I'd like to do better. It doesn't help and just makes me feel guilty. Potty training. The girls are definitely showing signs of readiness but I'm not ready. I'm pretty busy with holiday sales with my business and I just don't want to deal with it! My plan is to try in January. The baby is due in February so we'll see if we can knock it out before baby comes. I'd also like to do more at teaching them things. They are like sponges and I feel like I should be introducing them to more new things. Stupid Pinterest makes me feel like I'm a bad mother because I don't do any of those activities with my kids. I don't need to go crazy but I'd like to dedicate some time to my children's learning.

We love these girls so much and feel blessed to have them!

Baby Girl #3

For those of you who don't follow me on Facebook, you may not have heard the good news. I'll let the girls tell you.

We are so excited to be bringing another little girl into our family! Our house already feels like a circus so why not add another baby? Seriously though, I'm often overwhelmed taking care of our twins and I wonder if we are absolutely nuts for having another baby. I've determined that yes, we are nuts, but we are already so in love with this little girl and know that she is going to change our family for the better!

Speaking of circus, taking decent pictures of my girls is next to impossible and I'm sure my neighbors enjoyed the comedy of watching me try to do so. At one point both girls were pushing their pumpkins down the hill and chasing them into the street! Here are a few of the pictures that didn't make the cut for the announcement photo.

A Mini Vacation in Branson

Back in May, Nathan put in his two weeks notice at Wal-Mart and we are now one of the very few families in Bentonville who don't work for Wal-Mart or a vendor for Wal-Mart! Nate now works at America's Car-Mart home office which is also located in Bentonville. He is doing similar work as a Database Administrator, but he has more freedoms, responsibilities, and opportunities with his new job. During Nate's job search period and the transition out of Wal-Mart, life was pretty stressful for us. We didn't know if we'd be able to find a good position or if it would mean leaving Bentonville. After living here for five years, we've really come to consider it home and felt very blessed to be able to find a new job and be able to stay here.

To celebrate the new position and to relieve some stress we decided to take a mini vacation to Branson, Missouri! Branson is a pretty quirky town, but we love going and finding new things to do. This year we bought season passes to the amusement park Silver Dollar City. We started our vacation off with a bang by meeting our friends Cat and Shaun and their little girl Brizelle at Silver Dollar City. We've found it's definitely easier and more fun to go with friends. The kids can all play together and do things in the kiddie area, and we can also take turns trading off and going on the roller coasters! It was a gorgeous day so we all decided to go on the "wettest ride in the park." It was a raft ride where you can shoot water at other boats or spectators on the side. In return, the people watching the rafts go by can shoot water at you as well. We were literally soaked from head to toe when we got done and all had a great time on the ride including the kids! Cat and Shaun must have loved the day as well, because they ended up buying season passes that day as well so we can all go back together again!

Soaking wet and having a blast!

After a day at the park we were all starving and went to a delicious Italian restaurant. Nate and I have actually been there a couple other times while in town and are never disappointed with the food. We were however, disappointed with the service this time as they forgot to make our ticket and we had to wait a long time for our food! The nice thing was once they realized their mistake, they quickly got our food out to us and comped 50%  of our meal! Our friends headed back home that night and we headed to our hotel.

We bought a pretty sweet deal on Groupon and stayed at the Grand Country Inn. Included in our package was a two night stay, show tickets, large pizza, popcorn, drinks, and admission to their indoor/outdoor waterpark! The next day we didn't even leave our hotel because we had so many fun things to do right there. The girls absolutely loved the water park and we stayed there for hours! I was pretty impressed with it as well. It was great for little kids but Nate and I had a lot of fun playing in the water as well. By the time we all got back to the room we were exhausted and took a nice long nap. 

Lydia braving the slide

Eden blowing kisses

Having fun with Daddy

That night we went to one of the shows. It wasn't really our style of show. (Most people in the audience were at least 65 years old.) But it gave us something fun to do and the girls actually did really well. They each got their own bucket of popcorn, which they loved, and munched away for the first half. We did end up leaving at intermission and walking back to our room where we finished out the night watching one of the Harry Potter movies on T.V. If you know me at all, you know I'm a stickler for early bedtimes for my kids but with us all staying in one hotel room and it being a vacation, I made an exception. The girls were thrilled that they got to stay up with Mommy and Daddy until 10:30 and snuggle in bed while watching T.V. So often, we feel restricted in what we can do because we have such young children, so this trip was a good stretch for us and helped us be more confident in being more adventurous with our girls.

Yummy popcorn!

They devoured their buckets of popcorn! Notice the age of the rest of the audience :)

The next morning, we headed to Silver Dollar City again. This time to meet our Shepherd and Pendleton cousins! They bought season passes as well so we had all been trying to coordinate a trip together so it was fun that it worked out. Even though we had just been to the park two days before, we still found new fun things to do. We rode all our favorite roller coasters and I even convinced Alyssa to go on Outlaw Run with me. I may or may not have been completely honest about what all the ride entailed. (second fastest and second steepest wooden roller coaster in the world at 68 mph and 81 degree angle drop!) but I think she enjoyed it!

Exploring the rope tree house with Daddy

Playing in the sand with the cousins and Auntie Alyssa

Eden really liked riding the "doggies!" with Daddy. Lydia hates all rides so she just watched and waved. 

Staying hydrated on a hot day

Don't you just love a baby in overalls!?!?

We had such a fun weekend. It was a much needed break for us and definitely helped us rejuvenate!

20 Month Update: Where has the Time Gone?!?!

I've been meaning to do an update on the girls for months and just haven't gotten around to it. I didn't document when they started walking, their first words and sentences, I have no idea how many teeth they have or how tall they are. Sigh, I'm afraid life has gotten busy and the milestones are just flying by. Luckily, I'm somewhat of a laid back person, and I won't feel too guilty about "missing" the milestones, because trust me, I didn't miss them. I'm right in the thick of the action! I just may not get around to documenting everything. I'll just do my best to catch up on the big things in this post.

The girls are now 20 months old! It is crazy to think they are now closer to two than one. What has happened to my babies? How did they become rambunctious toddlers overnight? Like most kids their age, they love running, exploring new things, and playing silly games. They absolutely love going to the park and we are there at least three times a week. Eden will sit in the swing for hours (no joke) and frantically shake her head "no" if you try to take her out. Park time would be way too easy if Lydia liked the swings as well, but alas, she hates them! She prefers to wander around and follow the birds in the grass. So I divide my time between pushing Eden and chasing Lydia when her wandering takes her to the road. At home they like swimming in the sand, taking Ollie for walks, playing with playdough, watching Daniel Tiger, jumping on the bed, reading stories, rocking their babies, blowing bubbles, and drawing with sidewalk chalk.

Eden has taken the role of older sister to heart. She is very concerned about Lydia. If I hand Eden a treat, she immediately says, "Sissy!" and wants me to hand her another one to give to her sister. When we pull clothes out of the dresser she says, "Sissy!" and wants to grab Lydia's clothes a well. When I ask her which high chair she wants to sit in, instead of choosing one for herself, she points to one and says, "Sissy!" Eden has become very particular about which carseat, which side of the stroller, and which high chair she sits in. Luckily, Lydia doesn't care at all or we could have some serious fights on our hands! Eden also loves to run everywhere. She rarely walks anywhere these days, so it's always an adventure keeping up with her, especially because Lydia is more a stop and smell the roses kind of girl. When we go for walks outside Eden usually runs ahead and then realizes Lydia is lagging behind staring at a cat or something so she runs back yelling "Sissy" and grabs Lydia's hand to pull her along. Eden's favorite toys are her baby and her stuffed animals. Not sure on her stats now, but at her 18 month appointment she was 19 pounds.

Eden loves wearing Mommy's shoes and does surprisingly well walking in them

Lydia is still my smiley, affectionate girl. She loves to give hugs and kisses and tease her Momma by not giving hugs and kisses when she asks for them. She is pretty laid back most of the time. She hates wearing shoes and socks and always pulls them off the first chance she gets. She does have chubby feet so I imagine it's not very comfortable stuffing them inside her shoes. She does however, love toting her socks around with her. Ever since she was a baby, she's loved socks! Lydia is a great sleeper. She would probably sleep in every morning and take a nice long nap every afternoon if Eden would let her. Eden is ALWAYS the first one up. I used to try to get her out of the room before she could wake Lydia, but it didn't really matter because as soon as Eden realized she was playing alone she went and pounded on the door calling for her sister to come play! Life would be too easy if we had two Lydia sleepers! Lydia loves reading books. She has become quite a little parrot and will try to repeat all the words if you read them slow enough. Lydia's favorite toys are her baby and her princess Little People. At her 18 month appointment she was 23 pounds.

Both girls are relatively good eaters. Eden is definitely pickier though. I refuse to short order cook, so they get to eat whatever we're eating. I try not to panic when they refuse to eat something because I know they're not going to starve and eventually they will eat. If I'm really desperate, I'll put Daniel Tiger on and I can sneak all sorts of food into their mouths when they become engrossed in the show! Luckily, they eat most things we give them. I finally weaned them both a few months ago as my birthday gift to myself. When we first started breastfeeding, I never dreamed in a million years that we would make it 16 months! I'm going to go ahead and give myself a pat on the back for that accomplishment :) I was definitely ready to be done though (You know its time when they can say "Thank you, Mommy" when they finish nursing!) and the girls seemed to be ready as well, as they made the transition to whole milk in sippy cups really easily.

Unfortunately, they both like picking their noses!

It amazes me, how fast they are learning. They say new words everyday and have even started stringing them together. They love talking about animas and making their different noises. They love learning new songs especially the ones with fun actions. I feel like I should be better at introducing letters, numbers, and colors and things just because they are at the stage when they are soaking up everything like a sponge! However, I don't aspire to create child prodigies who can read by the time they are two so we'll get to those things eventually. Right now we're all just enjoying spending everyday together doing fun things and exploring the world around us!

They like learning about their body. Their favorite parts to say and point to are eyes, ears, mouth, nose, toes, and of course BELLY BUTTON!

Did I mention they love their babies?

Ice cream is their favorite treat

Family Hike in Devil's Den

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