Tribute to the Twins!

Happy Birthday Jake and Hannah! You are 8 years old today! EIGHT YEARS! I could not be prouder of the two of you!

Here is the first image I ever saw of you...

Two big, round heads flashed immediately on the ultrasound screen and I started to cry and daddy's knees gave out from under him! I was shocked and thrilled and overwhelmed. I was nearly five months pregnant before I found out about the two of you and I went almost full term.

You were almost 14 pounds of scrumptiousness! (Jake weighing in at 7lbs, 7 oz. and Hannah at 6 lbs.) You had the softest cheeks and sweetest faces. I was in love!

We brought you home from the hospital and realized we were in for an adventure!...

It has been an amazing adventure! I love you both so much! You are straight-up delightful!

Hannah--you have always been my best girlfriend ever. We've had inside jokes since the moment you could smile and giggle. You have a wonderful sense of humor and a great attitude. From the moment you were born you had your eyes wide open and wanted to embrace it all. You have an amazingly sweet disposition, a quick wit, a love of life and adventure, a beautiful wisdom and grace. You are an angel and I love you!

Jake--You are the sweetest little man ever. You are kind and compassionate and obedient and so good--you are good to the core! You are cautious and studious. You are a thinker and a lover. You get completely immersed in the things you love whether it's animals or drawing or Mario or Pokemon and you share your enthusiasm with everyone around you. You take care of others and choose the right and you make me so proud.

Promise me you'll continue to look out for each other and cherish the bond you share from being twins! You are special siblings and fabulous friends and wonderful kids and we love you!

Happy 8th Birthday!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve...

The Cast:
Joseph--Alex
Mary--Natalie
Baby Jesus--baby doll (Owen was a little too mobile)
Shepherd--Jake
Wise men--Mason and Katelyn
Angels--Hannah, Katie, and Sydney







After Christmas-Eve-ing with family and a wonderful dinner by Lisa, a moving (seriously they didn't stop moving) rendition of the nativity by nine little cousins, Norwegian rice cream by Grandpa Lamoreaux, and gift giving and caroling by all, we returned home to tuck in our little ones.

They opened up their one gift on Christmas Eve which is always pajamas. In fact this year Jake finally picked up the pattern.
Jake: (in a whisper) "Mom, don't tell anyone but I know what our present is."
Me: (also whispering) "You do?"
Jake: "It's p.j.'s!"
Me: (gasp!)
Jake: (shakes his head) "You get 'em for us every year, Mom!"
Me: "You're too smart for me, buddy!"
Jake: "I know."

They were so cute and cozy! Alex insisted on his Incredibles shirt to go with his.

It was wonderful to have Grandma and Grandpa Lamoreaux here to spend Christmas with us. They left on Christmas day to fly to Denver to be with Jon and Farrah and Georgia. We miss them. We took them to the train and then headed over to the Blatters for a huge, wonderful dinner and had a great day. I'm sufficiently stuffed and warm and happy from all the festivities.

(Owen's pj's were the coziest. In fact I want a full-body fleece pair for myself!)
Merry Christmas!

Conversations..."Cat Fight"

Scene Set-up: We're on our way home from family dinner. It's late and I remember that we have to feed our friend's cats because they're out of town. It's raining and we pull up in front of the house.

Me: "Okay, the food is in a tupperware in the backyard on the patio table and..."
John: "Wait, I'm not going."
Me: "What? It's raining! I'm not going!"
John: "It's not raining, it's sprinkling. And you're the one who agreed to this. You can feed the cats."
Me: "Honey! It's cold and I don't have a coat and I don't want to get wet! It's RAINING!"
John: "It's SPRINKLING and I don't know where the stuff is."
Me: "It's RAINING and I'll tell you where everything is."
John: "In the amount of time it takes you to tell me where it is, you could have already fed the stinking cats!"
Me: (before he's even finished talking)..."the food is in a tupperware on the patio table and the bowls are next to the sliding door in the backyard. It's two scoops per bowl. See that was quick."
John: "I'm not going."
Me: "Well, I'm not going. I curled my hair today!"
John: "We're going home to BED!"
Me: "So? I don't want to get wet!"
John: (unbuckles MY seatbelt.) "I'm not going. You have to do it."
Me: "Honey! It's raining. I'm not going!"
John: "I'm not going."
Me: "Don't make me go!"
Long stubborn pause...
John huffs dramatically, gets out of the car, slams the door and stomps away.

Jake: "Man, I've never seen dad so mad."
Me: "I know! Sorry about that."
Jake: (long pause) "Well, you were being kind of silly mom."
Me: "Ha! Me? Listen up Jake. Let this be a lesson for you in how you treat a woman! NEVER make your lady go out in the rain!!"
Jake: "Uhh, okay mom!"

I'm right, right??

Family Pictures

What's that saying?...
"All because they fell in love" or "All because they said I do"

Whatever the saying, I am quite proud of these amazing spirits that came about all because John and I fell in love and decided to spend eternity together. It brings immense joy!
He brings me immense joy! (Even though you can tell from his face that pictures are the last thing he wants to be doing. He loves me!)


We had about 10 minutes of good light on Sunday and so we decided on a whim to get some family pictures by my uber talented friend Britt! 10 minutes is not a lot of time to get 6 people to cooperate--especially an almost 2 year old--but Britt rolled with it and was fantastic!
Did I mention it was freeeeezing?!







(Notice Owens new boo-boo--I didn't photoshop this one out.) He put a blanket over his head at pick up at school the other day and thought he was so funny giggling and scaring everyone and then ran full force into the iron gate with his forehead (about a millimeter from his old scar.) That's my Owen! Where was I, you ask? Talking to the ladies while thinking to myself, I should probably go take that blanket off of Owen's head before he runs into something. Too late. Story of my life!

I love this little (big) family of mine!

"All because two people fell in love"...that's it.

The Nutcracker

Hannah and I went on a Mommy/Daughter outing to the Nutcracker in Walnut Creek this past weekend (not to be confused with the San Francisco Ballet of the Nutcracker which is phenomenal and we will attend when she's older and can really appreciate it!--I think she's ready)

John took this picture before we left and I'm so glad that I looked to confirm he got a good shot. Don't worry, I changed my shirt when I saw that it was a little sheer! (But I had to include so you could see my cute red shoes! Umm, well, part of one of my red shoes.)

Hannah got to see the Mouse King on his way into the theater. It pays to be right on time! She was thrilled!

She insisted on her tu-tu

All the girls!

Mommy and her girl!
We have a picture of the whole group on another camera so when I get it, I'll post it.

And then...the girls were off twirling...there was no stopping them!


Future Sugar Plum Fairy!!