Monday, June 15, 2015

Before we move onto summer…

There are just not enough hours in the day. Blogging is often the last thing on my mind, especially with the chaos that is the end if the school year/beginning of the summer. But in an effort to get SOMEthing posted, here’s a quick, mostly-pictures account of the past month or so.

My sister Lili was visiting Utah from Maryland and happened to find a great flight deal to Denver, so she came to see us for a few days! We laughed to tears and shopped together like old Maryland times. She was awesome to make time to see us and meet Hazel cause who knows when we’ll see her again! We missed the rest of the family, but I sure loved getting my Lili fix. 194519161908193520102093

This is what our Mother’s Day looked like. Festive, eh? It actually wasn’t so bad, since church was cancelled and we got to stay home and get all cuddly. I think it might have been my favorite Mother’s Day yet. I’m not sure if it’s because Hazel made it more special for me, or that everyone just got along, or we cleaned the house the night before, but it was just a really good day. I love this job, hard as it is. And I love my mom for loving her job as well. I hope to be a half the mom she was to me.086090146That’s my 30 year old mom with my sister and me. My age!117The kids love an excuse to decorate. 164Sometimes I still can’t believe I get to be their mom.166244This is the gift I picked out for myself. I love all my little birdies so much.658

The next Sunday, with the weather actually cooperating, was a Mother’s Day make-up at Church, so we took some traditional pics for fun.886888

That little face gives me butterflies on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. 890These little questionnaires are always a highlight.937

You might have noticed in the picture above that we cut Mr. Bennett’s hair! This was quite an event for our family, not only because it’s been his look since he was a tot, but also because we had no idea how much he and Alex looked alike until they had the same haircut. I had been toying with the idea for a while, but never had the guts to do it myself. So when my friend’s hairstylist sister was in town and offered up her services, I just went for it. I was a little sad and nervous, knowing my little boy would grow up the second his hair was chopped, but I knew it was the time. His mop was getting too hard to maintain!

Before:421426428

Yes, there were tears. I’d never used clippers on him before and it was a bit frightening, Savannah was awesome at calming him down and getting the job done despite the little freak-outs along the way.437438440

Can’t forget Alex’s had a cut too. Not tears for him. He’s an old pro with the clippers. 451

After:

So handsome and grown up! He was hilarious, saying things like, “ my hair doesn’t flap anymore!” and thinking it was Alex when he looked in the mirror. He definitely has his own look about him, but wow, they haven’t been this hard to tell apart since they were bald, chubby babies. I guess I didn't  realize how much we relied on their hair to help us out. 477472475

It didn’t help that they coincidentally wore the same shirt that day.541

The sillies posed themselves. 543547562567

It’s definitely clear to me who is who in these pics, it’s just in the daily stuff around the house that I often have to look twice. At first Ruby said she’d just wait until they were in their beds to tell them apart. We surprised KC when he came home from work and he just talked to Bennett as if it was Alex before he actually saw Alex and then was totally wigged out. I felt bad doing this to their teacher for the last few weeks for school, but the boys got a kick out of it. For a solid week, we’d just laugh when we saw them together. Being an identical twin must be the weirdest! 610693701

The baby has been smiling for a while now, and we still can’t get enough! Here are some of the first documented. The kids love that she is more interactive and that they can make her smile on command. The kissing has gotten even more out of control! I can’t get enough of her cute smiley face either. Especially now that she’s sleeping mostly through the night (!!!) or at least has given us plenty of 7-8 hour stretches, and wakes up the sweetest, happiest, cooiest darling. Seeing her big, open mouth smiles are the best way to wake up, ever. Life with this baby just keeps getting better. 2249

I’m happier every time I see those naked rolls. 15851344

Ruby has turned into the cutest little mommy. She doesn’t always take on the role, but when she does, she’s committed, following my every move for days at a time. She uses Fuzzy Bear as her baby and dresses her, feeds her, eats dinner one-handed while holding her, has her sleep in the bassinet next to her bed, changes her clothes often, and even changes her diaper (always just putting the same one back on). Let’s not forget nursing. She even asked to hold the iPod while feeding her so it looked like she was holding a phone. Ha! Wonder where she got that from ;). Love her.

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My dentist appointment with baby girl. Never had to bring a kid to the dentist before because bringing three was never an option. She was a sweetie the whole time just sleeping on my chest.373

I can’t remember if they were at a movie, or on an airplane or what, but I do know that Red Bird and Blue Bird got makeovers.302305339340

The kids were begging to go to IKEA after our pregnancy/new baby hiatus, so we gave it a try. They played while I had a quiet hour with the baby. A good time was had by all.351

It’s not uncommon to see every blanket, towel and pillow they own out like this. Sometimes in the dining room, sometimes in the front yard. Forts are one of the best parts of childhood.

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There is always more to post, but that’s what I have for now. Summer has been good to us already! I might actually get around to writing about it one of these days.