The Snuggle-Bug

Man, do I love this guy!

Jace has always been more laid back. He takes things slow and easy. He isn't necessarily a pushover, he just prefers to give in...not make a scene...make sure others are happy. Well, that is until lately. The last couple of months, this little fella has had more of an opinion that he's ever had. He totally lets you know how he's feeling. He sticks up for his Bobo Brother and his Sissy. He whines and cries. He giggles and is goofy. He's a huge cuddle bug, loves kisses, and loves his Mama. Lately, he loves race cars and Rocket. He gets excited when he sees an airplane and even more excited when he sees the moon. He is mimicking lots of words, but still loves to make up his own. He gives strangers the dirtiest looks and will give you even dirtier ones if you reprimand him. Right now, his favorite word is "NO!". It doesn't matter what you ask him, he'll usually respond with "no". He loves to read books and lay on the floor on his tummy while playing, reading, or watching t.v. He knows lots of animal sounds too. He now smiles when you ask him to say cheese or make a happy face. He loves taking a bath. He loves when Mommy holds him. He still loves to suck his thumb and cuddle with his blanky. He loves bunnies...not the animal....but peoples bunnies (AKA: butts). If he sees you changing, going potty, or getting out of the shower, he races over with a huge smile on his face and pinches your bunnies while saying "ticky ticky ticky". He's one funny snuggle bug. Man, I love him!!!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree....

Last night we decorated our Christmas tree. The kids were so excited and Matt and I were too! This was the boys first year decorating the tree. They were too little and tired last year. But this year....they LOVED it! Mackenzi was a pro and managed to do her best to put LOTS of balls and ornaments on the low branches! The boys had as much fun taking the balls off and putting them back into the boxes as they did putting them on! The finished product! Our beautiful tree...Decorating the tree is so much fun...especially when you have cute helpers.

Jace--Making his 'cheese' face.Quinn

Mackenzi

DESTRUCTO-MODE

The boys get excited sometimes (okay, all the time) and get into what we call "destructo-mode". They throw things, act crazy...you know, act like boys!! Quinn gets into this mode a lot! We had only had our Christmas decorations up for 30 hours. We were only home (and awake) for about 10 of those hours. So...in 10 hours (or less) Destructo-Quinn did some damage....We'll see how much damage these boys do from now until Christmas...they aren't being naughty. They're just busy boys. Especially this little elf...

Remember Quinn, Santa's watching!!!!

Thanksgiving...We are Thankful!!

We went out to Matt's Grandparents house in Palm Springs yesterday to celebrate Thanksgiving. It's so nice and relaxing there (except for chasing 3 kids around). The weather is always beautiful and spending quality time with family is fabulous! The guys went golfing in the morning. They had a 9:30 tee-time. When they were on the 4th hole, the boys went out to golf with them. The 4th hole is Grandpa Joe & Grandma Eleanor's backyard. The boys had a blast riding in the cart, getting the balls, and swinging the clubs. I was very, very thankful when nap time came around. I was able to help Eleanor a bit in the kitchen during this time. We chatted and had a good time. Mackenzi was kind of MIA all day. She was running around with Grandma back and forth to Matt's other grandparents house (which is literally down the street a few houses). She had fun picking flowers, chatting, and eating chocolate. Dinner was delicious, and dessert was even better. Jace ate a bunch straight from the pie tin. Silly boy, he really enjoyed the pumpkin cheesecake that Uncle TyTy and Cassie made. We were home by 7:30 and the kids were beat tired! We had a great day. We are thankful for so much that we have been blessed with.

Enjoy the pictures... (Cousin) Justin & Cody (and Cody's dirty socks)Tyler and CassieUncle Jeff showed the boys how they can make Rocket swim....it kept them busy for hoursMe and my boysGrandpa and Jace eating pumpkin cheesecake

Wordless Wednesday

Another Award for Me!!!

There are many proud moments I have as a mother. Yep, LOTS!! Like when my kids learn new things, share with friends, are kind, etc. There are also moments that I'm not so proud of. Moments that really deserve an award for *The World's best Mom* (*said with sarcasm*) There are many "world's best mom" moments that I've had. Some I've been proud enough to share...and others well, we've kept to ourselves! (SIGH)!! Remember the first experience I shared about being the "WORLD'S BEST MOM". Yep, that was a nice one!!

I had another moment today that I thought, "ah...chalk that one up for the world's best mom". We got to Mackenzi's school and I took out the stroller. I took Jace out of the car first and put him in the stroller. The stroller was obviously too close to the tail pipe, because he reached over to grab it (LITTLE STINKER) and burned his hand. It's not too bad, but he was so upset. For over an hour he cried off and on.

Luckily I had some Neosporin Pain in the diaper bag, so I poured some cool water on it and lubed it up with the Neosporin. I know I've learned my lesson not to put the darn stroller that close to the back of the car...but has he learned not to touch the car?? I highly doubt it!! Poor baby boy!! I felt horrible!!

My Little Pilgrim Girl

Mackenzi had a big Thanksgiving feast today at her preschool. She was very excited when I picked her up from school. She said she got to eat turkey, rolls with jelly, and COOKIES for snack!! I know there was more than that to eat, but I'm thinking those were her favorites! Her class was also dressed as Native Americans and Pilgrims when we picked them up too. So darn cute!! Here is her Thanksgiving craft she made today (one of the many others she's made in November). The girls were pilgrims and the boys were Native Americans. I was also SUPER excited that her school pictures came in today. I've been waiting forever...okay, so it was only a month. But it felt like forever!! They turned out so cute...I love this little girl!!

The First Feast

Yesterday Matt's family (his Mom's branch) came over to our house to celebrate Thanksgiving. We had an awesome day. Kelli (Matt's mom) made the turkey, stuffing, & pumpkin pie, Kara brought the green bean casserole and I made the rest. Can you say DELICIOUS? Thanksgiving dinner is one of my all time favorite meals!! YUM!! We had a fun day, we watched football...

ate snacks...Matt carved the bird... I was able to use my grandmother's china (that was passed down to me) for the first timeWe also played games and watched a Christmas movie. Thank you Kelli, Daniel, Jeff, & Kara. We had a wonderful time!! We have tons of leftovers...now I need to be creative about using them since we are having another 'feast' on Thursday!! Bring on the food!!!

One More Thing...

This is Barb. Barb is Mackenzi's life sized Barbie that Boppa and Nana got her last year for Christmas. She is one of Kenzi's BFFs. Kenzi REALLY loves Barb. She loves to play with her, dress her up, dance with her and apparently do her hair. Beautiful Barb! On Friday I was lucky enough to add one more thing to my to do list. Wash the gunk out of Barb's hair. Obviously Mackenzi likes to use LOTS of expensive hair product on Barb's hair. WOW!! Thanks Mackenzi!!

Flashback Friday

Thanksgiving 2001 (I think)Matt with two of his brothers, Jeff & Cody

Sometimes, Matt's family goes out to Lake Havasu to celebrate Thanksgiving. His Aunt & Uncle have a house next door to his family's house. They ride dirt bikes, play cards, and hang out. This was the Thanksgiving the year before Matt and I met. Man, they all look so young!!

Maybe, Just Maybe....

We spent this morning shopping at Macy's. They were having a big sale today. Matt needed some work clothes and I had to return a shirt of Kenzi's that we bought last week and had a hole in it. So, off we went...we, meaning the kids and I. After lots of lots of lines and one lost blankie, I decided to get them a pretzel. As we were walking to the pretzel shop, we saw the most popular man on the planet (this time of year). You got it...SANTA!! I've been putting on Christmas music as well as putting on Christmas cartoons to teach the boys about Santa. Their favorite right now is Mickey Saves Santa. When you ask them what Santa says, they both reply, "ho, ho, ho". Back to the story...Mackenzi saw him first and got super excited (and shy at the same time). I showed him to the boys (from afar) and they got really excited too. They were smiling and waving and saying 'ho ho ho'. They've now been saying it all morning. I'm thinking that if we really play up Santa this year...maybe, just maybe we may get a good Christmas shot with Santa.

OR....they may look like Mackenzi did on her 2nd Christmas......

only time will tell!

Slumber Party!!

This weekend Matt went with his good friends Dusty, Jeremy, and Eric out to the Salton Sea. They were loaded with lots of sand toys (for big boys) to drive around. They had a blast. They rode, laughed, and sat by the campfire! They also brought guns...but I'm not a fan of those. So that's all I'm going to say about that!! Click here to see pictures of their weekend!

Since the boys were gone, Emily invited all the girls and kids over to her house for a slumber party. The kids had a blast. They really enjoy playing with each other. Evan and Kenzi had fun flirting, playing chase, hugging, dancing, and talking marriage! OH MY! The other boys loved playing with each other. Macy enjoyed flirting with the baby boys and girl-bonding with Mackenzi!! After we put the kids to bed, the plan was to give ourselves pedicures, watch girl movies, drink wine, and have brownies. We only got as far as the wine and brownies. We were having too much fun for the rest! We stayed up way too late and got up way too early with the kids. That's how it always goes when we're together...but it's well worth it!! Emily made us a delicious dinner and breakfast the next morning! You're awesome Em!!! We can't wait to do it again!!!

Here are the two girls of the group! They are two of the cutest girls around, I tell ya!

Flashback Friday

Thanksgiving 2007

Ryan, Me (Jace & Quinn in my big ol' belly), Mom, Dad, Dana

Round 3...TOP 20!

Because of all of your votes, Tweedle Quinn & Tweedle Jace made it to Round 3 in the Multiples and More Halloween Photo Contest!! I think they just barely made it to the next round though. Now it's time to vote ONE MORE TIME!! I know, I know...It's almost over!! Please help us out again!

Click here to visit the Multiples and More Blog.On the right sidebar, there is a new poll with the top 20. This round the boy's picture is #20. Please vote for them. Tell your friends, families, and neighbors to vote for them too!! There are some pictures that get CRAZY amounts of votes...we really need to work hard on getting those votes!! :) Remember, you can only vote once per computer...if you have more than one computer, please vote with them! :) Thank you so much!! The tweedles and I really, really appreciate it!!

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

Today is a very special day!

Thank you to all Veterans for serving and fighting for our country!

and

Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom!! We love you!!and

Today is the day that this special lady was born!! I love you Gram!!

Beds or Blinders?!?!

When Mackenzi turned two years old, we bought her a big girl bed. No hassle, no fuss, no headaches. We transitioned her, kept the same routine and she was angelic every night as we read her books, put her music on, and shut the door. Every night, she would quickly fall asleep. Do you remember when I wrote about her transition??
This is a picture of our little stinkers in their bed in August of 2008. They were so chubby, so cute, so well behaved. Here are our stinkers now. They are still ever so cute, but not so chubby anymore, and while they are still well behaved, they are STINKERS at bedtime!! As the boys quickly approach two years old, we are thinking there is NO WAY we are buying them big boy beds. Nap time and bedtime for them is all fun and games...but for us...it's a headache. It usually consists of us following the same routine. They boys pretend that they are ready for bed. We brush their teeth, read a few books, turn on their white noise and shut their door. As soon as we shut their door, they start partying! They jump. They laugh. They throw their pillows, blankets, and beloved stuffed animals (Blue and Rocket) out on the floor. Jace plays with the blinds. Quinn plays with the canvas painting. They 'get' each other through the slats. They play peek-a-boo with each other. We then go in every couple of minutes and tell them it's bedtime, lay them down, and walk out. OVER AND OVER AGAIN!You get the picture! They play for at least an hour...sometimes over two!! There is no way we are separating them. I am afraid it might lessen their bond with each other if we put them in different rooms. Right now, Jace is the leader of the chaos. Quinn will be trying to relax and Jace is egging him on. I say right now because the 'leader' was Quinn for the longest time, but that torch has been passed! There is NO WAY they are ready for big boy beds when they turn two. At this rate, they are going to get blinders put between their beds so that they cannot see each other. You know, kind of like a privacy limo window. Maybe then the little stinkers will go to sleep when they're supposed to!!

Top 40!!!

Thank you to EVERYONE who voted for Jace and Quinn in round 1 of the photo contest!! Your votes worked!! They made the top 40!! YAY!!! Now, your job isn't over yet! We still need you to vote for us.

To cast your vote for round two, simply click on the "VOTE FOR ME!" button above. It will link you to the Multiples and More site. Once there you can look through the top 40 pictures and cast your vote(one per computer) to help decide the top 20! Votes will be accepted by the poll in the right sidebar ONLY from this point on. Please do not email any further votes. This round of voting will run until Thursday, Nov. 12th, at 6 pm. The Top 20 will be announced on Friday the 13th!

Jace & Quinn are #13!!

Thank you SO much for helping us out in this contest!! You guys are the best!

Flashback Friday

Thanksgiving 2008

Mackenzi: 2 1/2

Jace & Quinn: 9 months

*photos courtesy of G and M Images *

Happiness

Happiness: n: a state of well-being and contentment: a pleasurable satisfaction

What makes someone happy? The key to happiness?? Who knows! That can vary from person to person. Let me tell you, in this house certain things make us happy!

Like these new, red rain boots.

And the boys' favorite blue blankies, not to mention their thumbs.Mackenzi's purse filled with makeup and hairstyling equipment sure makes her happy.Rocket makes BOTH boys happy. Just as it did Mackenzi when she was this age and their cousin Braeden when he was this age. The fact that Braeden gave Mackenzi this particular Rocket toy when she was 1 1/2 because he knew she loved it and he had grown out of it....well, that makes us happy too. Make-up, jewels,Sunglasses, and beauty sessions...well, that makes Hurley happy. Okay, maybe not...but it makes Mackenzi happy.And you know what? These things make Mama happy too!!