3rd Birthday...where'd the time go???

So we have been swamped with birthday activities and celebrating our 10th anniversary. October is always a crazy time of year for us!

The kids turned 3 on October 19th and I just wonder where my little babies went. Everyone says time flies and when your in the midst of multiple night feedings you think they are crazy. Many times in those first few months you think the days drag out forever. But I can tell you, looking back, I am missing those days already. Not so much the breastfeeding two people at one time but the quite, calm, non-trashing-my-house-every-two-minutes moments. Two's have been a whole different ball game for us and we praise anyone who tries to get through them with triplets or more!

I will be updating their stats in another post as we are not going to get to go for our well checkup tomorrow because we aren't well. Fevers, coughs, runny noses...welcome fall!

So sit back and enjoy the birthday pics.

Miss Hannah (Elliot's school buddy)

E & Cameron (her idol!)

Going down the slides will mess up your pretty doggie ears!

Party at Jump Zone (highly recommend!)

We separated the kids in the party room so Elliot felt like she had her own party and Keaton felt like he got his boy party. E chose Hello Kitty for her theme and Bubby of course chose baseball!

Most of our friends at the party...

Grammy and Memaw sitting in the birthday thrones.

Love this one!

E's matching Hello Kitty bows!

My big kids...(sigh)

My precious family...I am so blessed!

The present opening chaos!

Nena & Memaw

We got the kids bikes for their birthday presents.

Elliot was so excited to finally have her princess bike!

All Keaton wanted was a motorcycle-bicycle.

Only problem was this bike seat does not adjust. Not quite sure what kid is smaller than mine and needing a bike???

Keaton trying to "fic" it.

So we made a run to Wal-Mart and he picked out a new Tonka bike...with adjustable seat!

Thanks for the awesome shirts Miss Amanda!

E first bike wreck. Yes she was fine...just a little drama queen.

K's first wreck...he was fine too!

Does this look like a tough kiddie gang or what? This pic cracks us up!

Birthday night dinner.

Nena and Papa

Finally, this is one of Elliot's bday presents (thanks Kaffie!). She had to put it on and wear it all evening. YES...she did her own hair!

*Just a quick note for all you NWA mommas...Jump Zone is a awesome place to have a birthday party. They literally take care of everything so all we had to do was enjoy the party. They also have open jump on Wednesday from 10-1pm for younger kids. Admission is only $5.

The Things to Never Forget...

As most of you know, I originally used this blog to journal the raising of my kids since I am a terrible at physically journaling and knew I would never get around to baby books. So occasionally I will be posting things the kids say or do that I just happened to over hear or see. Luckily for you all these are becoming all to numerous occurrences with Miss Elliot.

For example, this morning we were getting ready for school this morning and I was brushing Keaton's crazy hair. E tells me the following: "Momma, be careful brushing Teton's hair. He is grouchy and may try to fight you."

This afternoon I was upstairs picking up and the kids were down when I hear E tell K "Teton, you better put your underwear on before daddy gets home and spanks you with the hammer!"

Now, I will say we have never spanked our kids with an object more or less a hammer! Things that these kids say sometimes!

Welcome New Peekaboo Readers!

For those of you just checking our blog out for the first time, WELCOME! Thank you for taking the time to read the twin edition of Peekaboo magazine as well as jumping over to our blog. I hope you will continue to find stories about Keaton and Elliot that make you laugh...just hopefully no more poop stories!

I mentioned the Ultimate Crib Sheet in my story in Peekaboo. Here is a picture of what I am talking about. You can only get them at Babies-R-Us, in store or online. I promise this is the best investment any mother can make. It also makes a great gift! Check it out if you get a chance.

I can't wait to begin our journey into the 3s! Stay tuned...

IT'S HERE...

Well its finally here! Recognize these two?

For family & friends, I am getting copies so I will send you one as soon as I get it.

For my blog followers, I will be back in full swing! At the end of our story in their magazine, Peekaboo posted the address for this blog. So get ready to live life along side me and these crazy kiddos of mine. I've missed yall!

Big News!

Massive post of summers pics coming soon but 1st...

Guess who is going to be cover models for a local children's magazine???

Too bad we can't just use this pic. I snapped this quickly before we headed out to our 1st shoot. Our cover shoot will be Friday. I will be sure and post the final cover once it is ready. Yes family, I will get plenty of copies so you can have one!

Some funnies I don't want to forget...

The other day we were swimming and bubba started to sing his ABCs.  I got so excited because he has never spontaneously started singing them on his own, yet alone sing them all the way through.  When he was done and I was cheering with pride, Elliot grabs my arms, turns me towards her and proclaims "NO Momma, that's MY song!"

Just today....oh your gonna love this...I found the kids sitting on the toilet together with their feet in the water.  When I asked them what they were doing Elliot tells me that they are "playing hot tub"!

Yesterday Elliot had all her animals lined up and was playing zoo.  She decided to put a stage in front of them out of blankets so she could perform for them.  I hear her announce...."Ladies & Junglemen".  Not sure if this is confusion of vocabulary or if she is smarter then we know!

I've been meaning to write down all the things they are saying now because it is too funny sometimes but as you know I am a HORRIBLE journaler (and blogger lately).  So here are a few so I don't forget them...

Somescream=Sunscreen  (E)

Swimsoup=Swimsuit (E)

Tick, tick, tick, BOOM=??? (K)

Baeball-Baseball (K)

nocone=Snowcone (E&K)

Bunkie=Blankie (K)

Nemanade=Lemonade (K)

Wewie=Leslie (E&K)

Nina=Nana....looks like she is gonna be Nina instead! (E&K)

Kappy or Kafy=Kathy

Papertowl=toilet paper

Who talk?=Who are you talking to on the phone momma and not paying attention to us?

Of course I can't think of more when I actually sit down to write them out.  I will add more as I remember or hear them say it since we talk non-stop all the time now!

Here are some pics for you to catch up on...

Rockin' the new bangs...

Love this pic...

Loves her some sweets!

Love that they are mirroring each other here.

Nothing better than wet, grassy, summer feet

Playing in the sprinkler

She posed on her own for this!

Showing me her sad face.

I promise I did not stage these....all her!

1st slip-n-slide experience

Finally found something that matched!

I have this exact picture of me when I was little.

Best buds....usually

She loves the doggie ears.

Be back soon with pics from the 4th of July!

I'm Coming Back!

Wow....I didn't realize how badly I had neglected the 'ol blog.  I have so many stories to catch up on (moving to the hell that is toddler beds, easter with the cousins, school, swimming, potty training).  Maybe that is why I have felt like I have been losing my mind....because I haven't had my blog to vent to.  If you know me you know I always have good intentions of journaling for my kids but I slowly realized that I kept most of their memories on this blog.  Its also good to know that this blog holds me accountable to getting my camera out and using it!  

So for all of you that have wondered... I am still alive, the kids are great, Ryan is great and I promise I will be back on (hopefully) a more regular basis.  

For now, here are a few pictures to tide you over...

Prayers for my family

I ask for your prayers tonight for my family, especially my Aunt Barbara and cousins Kim, Kristi & Keri.  My uncle lost his battle with cancer and our hearts are breaking for their loss.  I can promise you this though, Heaven got a lot funnier tonight and I know that God is so excited to have him home!  

Thank you blog family!  

I know...I know...I know

Shocked to be hearing from me huh?  I promise I will update soon with lots of funny stories, the toddler bed saga that I have promised you, what all funny things the kids are saying these days and some self pity from the week of ice we are currently having.  

Ok...one quick Elliotism...

The other night we were watching the Golden Globes and she kept saying "Oh Momma...she 'necked'!".  We realized she was saying this anytime someone came on wearing a strapless dress.  Atleast at 2 she has some modesty in her!  (Let's just hope it stays that way when her and her daddy are fighting over what dress she wants to wear to prom!)

For a quick fix for my family, here are some pictures from the ice storm this week.  Enjoy and I'll be back soon!  

Daddy likes to bake when its cold out....E likes to help!

We LOVE to brush our teeth!

Getting ready to head out...just need shirts...

Not to sure what to do in gloves with no fingers...

Tasting the snow...

See the snow ball?  We gave him one and he immediately somehow knew to throw it at E!

View from our window...

We ended up with about 2 inches of ice topped of by 1/2 inch of snow.

Pool at the Nana & Papas....couldn't see the pool but the hot tub was nice!!!

Quick Hit/Merry Christmas!

know....I owe yall a story and trust me, I will update that soon. For now, just trying to get through the holidays in one piece and trying to figure out why when we just start to get well, someone breaks out a new fever. Have I mentioned....I HATE WINTER!!!

Wanted to post some cute pics of the kids from last night. We were invited out to Memaw's house for dinner and the kids got their gift from her and Carl. They got this adorable Crayola art easel and they just love it! I even found washable dry erase markers today but found Keaton eating the chalk like it was a candy cigarette. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

I promise to update soon and the hell that is transitioning to toddler beds and about my new camera! Yep, I upgraded and cannot wait to play more with my new toy. More on that, along with lots more pics to come!

Merry Christmas everyone! Take some time to remember and reflect on who we are celebrating this holiday season and the magic that was the birth of our Redeemer!

So 2007 but still funny!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thanksgiving Recap

The holidays kicked off with us heading to the Lighting of the Ozarks with the kids and the Buschlen's for some Tim's pizza and some holiday festivities.

Our attempt at a family photo...

This sums it up...E couldn't contain her excitement and KG kept waiting for them to "pop" (thinking they were fireworks)

The week of Thanksgiving we got to spend the first part visiting with Adam and B as they were in town for the holidays. That means gathering with the whole clan for the annual xmas card pic. KG was beyond a bear that day (should have known something was starting to be up then) and luckily stopped crying for the pic. We couldn't get him to look but sitting still and not screaming was a win in my book after the fits he had thrown all day.

We headed home to my parents for Thanksgiving and to have our Christmas with them. It was SOOOOO good to be home for Thanksgiving for the first time since Ryan and I have been married. Oh how I have missed that food and was it as ever good as I even remembered!

Her new "smile"...

Miss E helped her Grammy with the clean up of the mashed potatoes...

Girl LOVES her some mashed potatoes!

All the little cousins were there and thanks to the warmer weather, they all got to play outside and eat on the picnic table for their Thanksgiving feast! After dinner and a buffet of desserts, we enjoyed our family tradition of playing some games. It was so fun to finally initiate Ryan into the world of spoons! Unfortunately he missed the true experienced and long nails are out and I didn't see anyone bleed this year. E LOVED it and I think will be in for a round next year!

The Boys...

KG immediately spotted the slide.  Yes, the same one you've seen before that we grew up sliding down on with wax paper.  

Does this child need a trim or what???

We surprised my grandparents by putting up their tree and each family member bringing an ornament with their families names on them. I think we ended up with 55+ ornaments on the tree for them. I know, how could I not get a picture of that?

We also celebrated Christmas with my parents on Friday night...after the amazing Razorback victory over LSU! GO HOGS!!! We got my parents a webcam so that they could video chat with all their grandkids now. I think you can see my mom was excited about their gift this year!

Yes, football was on at all times!

Opening stockings and slightly tired (we let him go with no nap that day and he did not crash...stubborn like his daddy!)

I'm pretty sure somewhere we have this same picture of my dad explaining a toy to me!

KG got the cutest remote control choo choo train and literally sat there for 20 minutes waiting for it to be ready to play with...only to have it not work...down with Toys-R-Us!

He was so disappointed but Grammy bought him a remote control car and has mailed us two trains to make up for it!  He LOVES trains and sat and watched most of the Polar Express today.  

We had a wonderful time at home and are looking forward to spending Christmas in our own house, starting some of our own traditions. E has already started hers by indulging in "daddy's candy". Ryan makes KILLER peanut butter fudge if you've never tried it. We got new cookware from my parents and he used it last night to make a batch of fudge and it was the best by far! If you are in the area, stop by. We'll have fudge all through the holidays!

One last photo for your enjoyment....

E or Pedro. Nice Oreo stache sister!

(the girl loves cookies so much that when you ask her what her memory verse is for church she says "God Loves COOKIES!"....every single time.)  Guess it could be worse.  When I was in the 1st grade at church we had to tell what we wanted to be when we grew up and I said either a Solid Gold dancer or a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader!  Oh yes....guess I fell short of that goal!

So now we are back, dealing with no MDO until January and boy do I have a story for you...but you will have to wait until next post! Oh its good. Just you wait!

Fall Backlog

Once again, I fall behind on posting fall pictures. I figured I would atleast try to post fall/halloween pics before we leave town for Thanksgiving! Enjoy the following pics from the past month...

Oh those kids love to spot airplanes!



This is too cute! One day they'll figure it out (hopefully soon because my triceps are killing me!)


This gorgeous tree was in front of my friend Allison's house. I just loved looking at it everyday!

Sweet Eva...love the hat!!!
What's fall without playing in the leaves?
Ready....
Set....
Go!!!
He's in there somewhere...


Oh that sweet face!

This is a rare shot of some post nap snuggling!

The week of Halloween, several of us headed over to Kathy's house to make Halloween Tshirts for all the kids. It was a blast and I believe a new tradition has begun!

Oh yeah....wait for it.... ORANGE TIE DYE!!!
Emma helped me stir the tie die mix.
Look how cute...and they're not even finished yet!

Our amazing friend Mandy painted spiders for the bigger boys using their thumbs!

This girl loves to paint. Here she is telling Mandy "My turn, my turn!"

Just a sample of the crowd we had...
Here are the kids on the day before Halloween, wearing their new shirts to school.
KG loves all the cars and books at school.
EE modeling her new threads!
Then we got to get a sneak peak of the box maze. The kids were obsessed with this!
Well, obsessed with that or the flashlights one.



KG got a new Tball set for his Halloween surprise. (EE got the Tinkerbell movie). Do you see a potential accident waiting to happen?
OH....just missed her. Good aim buddy!
The boy LOVES and I mean LOVES baseball!
Miss Avery showing off her scary teeth.
Halloween day...heading to see daddy at the office.
I love this one!

Yes, KG actual stopped to pick a dandelion!
Trick or Treating at Daddy's office. They racked up!

Checkin' out the goods!
Off to see Nana & Papa

They're not proud huh??? Look at the excitement on those faces!


EE with her 5th & 6th suckers in hand. (She ended up eating 7, a bad of M&Ms, and a jumbo pixie stick with no dinner. Somehow she still fell asleep on time!)

Yep, there's the pixie stick...
The group about to head out.
Kyra's castle is always the hit of the neighborhood! This is where the handmade pixie sticks originate!
They actual first trick or treating experience.


Playing downtown at the square with the Matherly's

I TWO!

This is the now famous phrase you will most likely hear from my kids ever since turning two back in October. They love to tell anyone and everyone their age these days. The other morning, Keaton had ended up in bed with us sometime during the night and I awoke the next morning to him sitting up in bed, staring at me and he uttered the following..."Hi Momma! I two!"

So since they are so into being two, I figured their momma better update the blog (finally) with their two year old stats and favorite things list!

(The first difference you will notice from all the other Drs. office pics is that we have our clothes on! When you hit two, you now longer have to strip down to diapers and secondly, you actually get to stand on the big kids scale. I am still debating if this type scale is accurate for my tiny children because it said both kids weighed the exact same and I can tell you just by holding them, that ain't right.)

Miss E:

Weight: 23 lbs (5th percentile)

Height: 32 1/2 in. (10th percentile)

Teeth Count=15and cutting more like crazy!

Favorite Toy: Definitely Playdoh. She also loves anything art and still loves to play outside.

Favorite Color: Green

Most Common Phrases:

"I wanna play paydoh downstairs!", "Momma, Momma, MOOOOOMMMMM!", "Daddy, Daddy, RYYYYYAAANNNN!", "I need a poptar", "I wanna ride scooters outside.", "I go PeePee!!!"

Favorite Foods:

Poptarts, Pizza, ramen noodles, Green Beans (french style or momma's garlic green beans), Refried Beans, Pcorn (those ice cream Hershey kisses....no idea why she calls them Pcorn), corn on the cobb

Favorite Beverages:

Gatorade, Milk & "Cold Coke" (when she can steal a sip from someone)

Attachments: Still has a paci at bedtime and must have her blankie to sleep....and now must have her belt on for nap & bedtime!

Favorite TV Shows: Wubbzy, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Curious George

Favorite Movies: Tinkerbell, Toy Story, Peter Pan, Madagascar, Cars

She loves to pray (she even started and said the prayer tonight on her own for us!) and kiss everyone goodnight and always tells me "I wua you momma" before laying down.

*E is so loving and has so much spunk! We couldn't imagine how quite our house would be without her. She is talking up a storm and is following in her big cousins' footsteps with her vocabulary. (She told me she needed to go to the "restroom" the other day? What 2 year old calls the potty the restroom?) She is very protective of her bubba and always runs to his rescue if he is ever hurt or crying (Tonight she even volunteered to go to Time Out with him just to keep him company and when he wouldn't apologize she just kept saying, "I sorry momma. I sorry!"). She is still the boss but is starting to mind so much better and realizing that no matter how stubborn she is, she will never out stubborn her momma! (Sorry baby, just the way God made me!) She is doing very well with potty training and would probably be done is she were my only one to potty train. She is going 4-5 times a school on her own! Oh and she LOVES school! No more tears when we drop off or pick up....can I get a HALLELUJAH!

KG:

Weight: 23lbs (5th percentile)

Height: 33 3/4in. (15th percentile)

Teeth Count=16 and cutting more. He is actually drooling again even!

Favorite Toys: Cars, Airplanes, Choo Choos & Baseball. He too would rather play outside then anything and would swing til next week if you would let him.

Favorite Color: Purple (I am not sure if this really is his favorite but it is what he says every time if you ask him what color something is)

Most Common Phrases: "I want baseball" (He asks to watch baseball every night....bring on spring training games fast!), "Outside!", "I want fruitsnacks", "more juice", and he is constantly making car, train, plane and animal noises

Favorite Foods:

Pizza, Refried beans and salsa, fruit snacks, ramen noodles, any snack they have at Sam's, hotdogs

Favorite Beverages: Gatorade, Cranapple juice, Milk

Attachments: Has to have his "bunky" (blanket) when he goes to bed or gets sleepy.

Favorite TV Shows: Wubbzy, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Diego, Curious George

Favorite Movies: Cars, Peter Pan, Madagascar, Jungle Book

KG loves to cuddle with momma in the mornings and right after naps. Loves to watch sports with Daddy, especially baseball!

*KG is our sweet little boy but the twos are definitely bringing out the true boy in him! He is constantly climbing or self destructing something around here. He is so sweet to his sissy and loves to give her kisses before bedtime. He loves books and is currently OBSESSED with any and all toy catalogs! The other day he climbed up in the recliner and looked at a toy catalog for 45 solid minutes! He is starting to potty train but you still have to tell him to go. He will but you have to do all the leg work leading up to it. He would just sit in it and keep on playing for all he cared. He could still play alone for hours and doesn't like being interrupted while watching something he is really interested in. I could not imagine my day without getting to cuddle with my baby boy. He is such a sweetheart! He does however avoid eye contact at all cost when getting in trouble and will cover his ears if you are getting on to him in public! Oh that one makes people laugh every time!

K & E, you are such a blessing to daddy and I. Our family would not be complete without you! I am continually grateful that God blessed us with the wonderful gift of multiples. I wouldn't want it any other way! Sure we are tired a lot of the times and sure we can get frustrated some days, but two hugs at once, two "Amens" every night at the end of our prayers, two kisses before bed...I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love that our house is always loud and our laps are never empty! Oh how I love you babies and want you to know that I will thank my God everyday for giving me both of you...at the same time! Now, lets go do something funny for momma to blog about. I am sure the 2 year stage will be full of life lessons and much laughter at our expense! Until then, stay tuned for our Halloween update!

Update...

The kids got out of their duck taped diapers twice EACH last night before finally going to sleep (with Duck Tape double wrapped I might add)!  What's a tired, withered hands from bleach, sick of excrement mom to do?  

BTW...I have a shoot in the morning and then I am going to update the blog for two year check up and Halloween.  Man, how do I get so behind?  OH YEAH...because I am busy chasing around two naked 2 yr olds!