27.

Today I turned 27.

I can't believe I am 27. Married for almost 8 years. 4 kids. I have a SECOND grader!

I remember when 27 seemed so old. It seemed like I would NEVER be 27. I dreaded becoming "old" like that.

But...now that I AM "old" like that, I realize it's not so bad! And I also realize it is really NOT old! :) I've got my whole life ahead of me, and each year continues to get better and better!

Our family has obviously grown as the years have gone by.
My marriage has grown and gotten stronger each year.
I've discovered more of what I really want in my life as I have gotten older.
I've made some wonderful new friends throughout the years.

Life at 27 really is not what I thought it was going to be when I was young. It's so much better!

All I could ask for on my birthday is to spend it with friends and family, and that is what I did.

This morning Kinzie brought me breakfast in bed, which was all her idea, at 6:30 am. She whispers to Daddy and they both head downstairs. In a few minutes, she comes back up with a bowl of Life cereal and a big Happy Birthday kiss for me. I love that girl.

Me, Kinzie, the twins, and Kristie and Chasey went to Mocha Monkey for lunch. One of my favorite places in town to get food, coffee, or just hang out.

Then I came home to these beautiful flowers on my front porch. Thanks Mom!!! :)



Tonight we all went to dinner at one of my favorite places, Noodles and Company. I got my usual. Whole grain tuscan linquine, sub the red pepper for tomato, mushroom for broccoli, and no onions. MMMMMM....



Aaron bought a cake and brought that along to Noodles, and after dinner they all sang Happy Birthday to me (well...mostly just Aaron)and I blew out my pretend candles. :) Kinzie and Malichi toasted with their Root Beer and Izze peach soda.



Then we went camcorder shopping. Ours died last weekend. :( So we found some we like and hopefully we can get one soon. I'd say it could be my birthday/xmas/anniversary present....but the new Canon 50D takes that spot...so...... maybe it could count as Aaron's xmas/anniversary present!?? :) It's what you always wanted, right Hunny?

And now I am going to finish off my birthday night, with curling up on the couch to watch some TV. (and NOT doing any type of project or paperwork while I watch). Not too exciting...I know. But hey...I AM 27. Boring and old right?

10 months

Another late monthly update.... :(

Well here they are at 10 months. 2 not so little babies anymore with 2 totally different little personalities forming.



Scout has started giving kisses! She is pretty particular of who she will give them to. Most of the time she will only give them to Finley. I'll say "give Finner a kiss", and she'll gladly slober on him with a big smile on her face and her mouth wide open!

Finley has started waving "Bye Bye".

She has started to nod her head "Yes". I'll say "do you want more", she'll nod yes. When Finley wants more, he'll sign "more"...although it could be that he's just clapping. I am not sure!

He claps all the time. Anytime you say "yay", he'll start clapping. He does "so big", and always claps for himself afterwards!

Finley still does his little inchworm crawl for the most part. Once in a while he will get up on all fours and go a few "steps" before he plops down on his tummy and off he goes! He is super fast!

Baby races are fun with these two. Finley almost always wins...and Scout doesn't seem to care too much.

Scout has taken a few steps. She'll go from the couch to the coffee table taking 2 or 3 steps! And she loves to stand all by herself. She can balance herself for a few minutes at a time now, and she just shows this proud smile while she does it!

Finley now has an easy time pulling himself up onto everything, and he has started walking along furniture now too. He is going to be a little monkey. He has learned how to squirm out of the super tight buckles in the highchair and STAND UP in it. Not sure what I am going to do about this, but it is quite scary. He also can get himself out of the excersaucer which we learned the hard way, so I guess it's time that we get rid of that!

Finley got 2 more teeth. His top outer ones; making a total of 4 teeth for him. Scout has 6 teeth now.

Finley has started saying "mama". Scout will make the noise but usually goes "mamamama" a whole bunch in a row. But Finley will just say "Mama". They both say "DaDaDaDa" as well. Scout is loud as always, and loves to just yell when we are in public places. I think she loves to hear her own voice.

They love to entertain each other from across the room in their cribs! They'll just giggle at each other! I have no idea what they are doing that is so funny, but if I try to sneak in to watch them, they always see me, and then they just jump up and down wanting to get out. I wish I had a video monitor!

Finley and Scout both know the word "no", but they don't always listen to it. Usually they will stop, look at me, smile, and continue what they were getting into.

Scout is our little explorer. She loves to inspect everything she gets her hands on. She'll move it from one hand to the other, turn it around, shake it, and then eventually she might put it in her mouth. Finley on the other hand, anything and everything he finds goes straight into the mouth.

Scout has started to love her nuk. She hoards them. I have a feeling she is going to be just like her sister. She'll put one in her mouth, crawl around the floor and gather up as many as she can, and then try to carry them around and crawl at the same time. Finley couldn't care less about his nuk. We give it to him and he sticks his tongue out pushing the nuk out. The only time he'll take it is when we are trying to get him to sleep, and even then he'll spit it out a few times before he takes it. He does, however, love to take Scout's nuk out of her mouth and play with it.

We have started quite a few new foods with the babies this month. They are getting a lot more table food now. Finley loves it, but Scout is still unsure about a lot of it. I just think she really doesn't like stuff with texture. They still get baby food, but if what we are eating is something they can eat, then they get that. They love bananas, spaghetti, yogurt, and stuffing. They still love their puffs and yogurt bites too.

As for the schedule, Finley and Scout are taking 2 naps a day, sometimes 3 still! But that is usually only if their afternoon nap was early or too short. Finley has decided it's cool to get up around 5 or 5:30, and Scout is up usually when I get Malichi up for school at 6:30. So by 9 or 9:30 am they are ready for their first nap. Monday, Wednesday and Fridays I have to wake them up at 10:30 to go get Kinzie from preschool. Then by about 12:30 or 1 after lunch, they are ready for a second nap. Most days I have to wake them up at 2:20 to go get Malichi from school. And then once in a while they will sleep again around 4 until about 5 pm. I hate having to wake them up from their naps everyday! I wonder how long of an afternoon nap they would take if I didn't have to wake them.

And nights....well..they are still getting up. They go to bed around 7:30 or 8. They'll sleep until about 12 and wake up to eat. Then they will wake up again around 4 to eat. I am still nursing them, so I think part of it is comfort, and part of it is that I am not producing quite enough to get them really full to last them all night long. We've started giving them some formula at bedtime after I nurse them, hoping that will help them sleep through the night a little better. I could really really use a full night of sleep. REALLY...

A couple more pictures...

Nephews.

I've had some requests to post pictures of little Thor on my blog so people could see him.. so here you go!

Isn't he adorable!?






I've also got another new nephew, Micah! Congrats Christa and Carlo! We can't wait to meet him!



I am so excited that our kids finally have some first cousins!!!! :)

the funny things they say....

I've got all these little notes that I have saved of funny things the kids have said or just things that I want to remember. I've always meant to get them into their scrapbooks, but it hasn't happened yet. I've come across some of them in the process of doing some re-organization projects, so I thought I would document some of them here.

Random thoughts from my kids:

When Kinzie was about 2 years old she would say funny things like
"You can't eat your email?" in a questioning tone, or "You can't eat your panties!"
Another funny thing she'd always say was "Bummer, Mom, Bummer!" when something went wrong!
A new one as of recently that she'll say is "oh, my bad" if she does something wrong and you ask her not to do it.


7/7/07
At the Litchfield Watercade Parade
Kinzie says to her Great Grandma Hildigard: "Where's your husband?"
Hildigard: "He's in Heaven"
Kinzie: "Do you want another one? I can get you another one!"

2007
Mama: "Kinzie, say dessert"
Kinzie: "I can't...I'm busy...I mean, my mouth doesn't work anymore".

7/07
"Holy Crap. That's a big ginormous poop!"

When talking about her friends she says "I like them. They live in my life".

(5/09)
As I am changing Finley's diaper Kinzie says "I see London, I see France, I see Finley's penis!"

(5/09)
Kinzie: "MOM!! Finley is crying. He's hungry. He needs a boob!"

(5/09)
Tiffany: "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Malichi: "A parent"
Tiff: "Do you want to have a job too?"
Malichi: "No I want to stay and home like my Mommy does and take care of all the kids!"

11/3/07
Malichi: "Mom, let's pray".
Mom: "Okay, Malichi, You say the prayer".
Malichi: (folds hands and proceeds to pray) "Dear God. Please bring us lots and lots of presents so that we might like them. Bless you. Amen."

1/09
Malichi: "Mom, you still look a little pregnant. But I know you are not. You just look like it, that's all".

12/08
Malichi: (talking about the twins) They don't know much about life yet. They are just new learners.

baby races.

Finley does this little slither across the floor, while Scout does the traditional "crawl". Finley is much quicker as you can see!!!

all I want for christmas....

Kinzie woke me up to tell me her Christmas list this morning. Here is what it consisted of:

"Music Earrings.
Robot.
DSI.
and a wishing rock.

..oh yeah.. and some more stuff.

..and that's it.

oh. and some chalk."

Music earrings, by the way, are ear phones and an ipod or some type of radio so she can listen to music... in case you didn't know!

oh and by robot, she means a rubik's cube!!!

untitled.

Tiffany and Kinzie were laying down in her bed before bedtime tonight. Eric was texting Tiffany from Iraq, and Kinzie says, "Tell him you will call him back, cause we're gonna take a little snooze and he can work on fighting".

9 months

9 months.

Finley
Height: 27 inches (10%)
Weight: 17 lb. 4 oz. (%10)

Scout
Height: 26 1/2 inches (20%)
Weight: 20 lbs. 4 oz. (75%)

I can't believe she is 3 lbs. bigger!!! You wouldn't know it by the way they eat. Finley chows down. Scout is a little more hesitant to food that's not my milk. She doesn't like things with a texture much either.

Both babies are getting all over the place. Scout crawls around in the "normal" style now. Finley does this little leapfrog thing where he gets up on his toes and pushes himself and he kind of bounces along the floor.

Finley got both of his bottom teeth this past month. Scout now has 5 teeth! 3 on the top and 2 on the bottom. One of the middle top is about to come through soon too! She has started biting some with her new teeth! And she makes all these funny faces because she tries to rub her tongue and lip over her teeth all the time!

Scout has started clapping, and Finley, we think, is doing "more" in sign language. He looks like he's trying to clap, but he only does it at mealtime, and when I say "more"?

Both of the babies are getting very vocal. Scout is just loud, and likes to be heard. Finley is a lot quieter. They both say "DaDaDaDa". Finley sounds like he is trying to say "hi".

Now that both babies are mobile and getting into everything, I decided it was time to invest in a play yard. Actually, I decided last minute one day, when I just couldn't handle it anymore! I loaded up the kids and we headed out to find a baby jail! Finley does NOT love it in there, but Scout doesn't mind it. She'll play for a while. But if has helped me a ton. I can actually go to the bathroom alone now!

Scout pulls herself up on everything, and even walks on the furniture! She'll go from the couch to the chair holding on and shuffling across the floor. The other day I watched her standing up holding onto a chair and she leg go, stood for a few seconds and then lowered herself to the floor to sit down!!!

Finley is just starting to pull himself up on stuff. He gets so excited when he gets himself up in his crib and can stand up on the side.

Usually after the babies naps, Scout will play for a little bit on her own, but Finley will cry right away and wants to get picked up. The other day though, I heard on them wake up on the monitor, and they weren't crying so I left them be. Pretty soon I heard them just giggling. I peeked in the door to see what was so funny, and I found them both standing up in their cribs bouncing up and down and laughing at eachother! It was hilarious!

They are at such a fun age right now, and everyday is new adventure with them!

8 months

The twins are 8 months now. I know... another way late post. I had it all done like 2 weeks ago, just never got the pictures added and published!

I think my days of getting monthly pictures of the 2 of them together are over...it's impossible.



Here is what has happened in the last month!

Scouts bottom 2 teeth came in.

Fin has one on the bottom.

Scout gets all over the place, she is almost crawling. She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. She pulls herself with her arms and does an army crawl. She can get herself all over the room.

Scout has started growling and she does it all the time! Such a cute little monster!

Oh and she bites with her new teeth too! Finn still bites some, so I am hoping he quits before his teeth come all the way in!

Scout loves to stand, and pull herself up on things. She loves to bounce and jump in her exersaucer.

Both babies are having some seperation anxiety. Finley gets scared of new people a lot. Scout doesn't really like when men hold her except her Daddy and a select few others! And sometimes if someone new holds her or talks to her she'll cry, even if it is a woman. She has become SUCH a mama's girl. I try to hand her off to someone and she'll cry and put her arms out back to me. Even when I hand her to Papa sometimes.

Finley is such a sensitive little boy. If people are laughing, or talking loudly or clapping, he cries. He doesn't like loud noises.

They have both decided they love the sippy cup! That usually entertains them for a while, even if they don't really drink out of it much.

Both of them put their arms up when they want to be picked up. I have such guilt when they both have their arms reaching up to me and I can only pick up one. :(

They love to reach up touch our faces when we are close enough. They both know their names, and look when we say their names. They've been doing that for a while.

Finley is still so ticklish. EVERYWHERE. I'll be getting him dress and buttoning the shoulder buttons of his shirt and he'll just giggle because I touched his neck! It doesn't take much to make this little boy squeal with laughter! I love it!

Scout has started to giggle more too, finally! She is always happy and smiling, but now she too squeals with laughter. She has gotten very loud too, she loves to talk, babble, growl, squeal. I think she just loves to hear herself make noise! She says "da da da da da" all the time!

Both of the babies are now sleeping on their tummies. I love it when they sleep like that with their little butt up in the air!

Scout loves to explore. She is so curious. If we move a toy, and put it under a blanket, she'll move around looking for it.

Finley gets around by turning himself in circles on his tummy! But usually he's pretty content to just play with whatever is within his reach.

They still nurse quite often, and they still get up about 2 times each during the night to eat.

They are both great eaters! We haven't found a food yet that they don't like. We have started giving them puffs too, which they LOVE. Just in the past few days their eye hand coordination has gotten really good. They have figured out how to pick them up themselves and get them to their mouths, instead of me having some in my hand and them sticking their tongue out and putting their mouth down to my hand to get them.

angels.

Today I got to meet with the two men who saved my life 10 years ago... to the day.

10 years ago, I was driving home on an unfamiliar road, after having been lost coming home from my boyfriend's house. I apparently lost control of the car or over corrected on a curve and went into the ditch. My car flipped end over end 4 or 5 times, and I was thrown from the car and landed in a river.

Rob, who lived just near where I had the accident, had just gotten home, and was still sitting in his car in the driveway. He heard the tires squeal, and looked down the road to see my headlights flipping. He went in to get his dad Rodney, and they came looking.

A lot of little things had to fall into place for things to work out just as they did.

They got to the edge of the road and the ditch was so steep and the grass was so tall that you couldn't even see my car. They went down to look for it and the dome light flickered and they were able to tell where my car was. Once they reached the car the dome light went out. They could see that no one was in the car, and they looked around the car and couldn't find me. As they were looking, I let out a scream from the river, and they were able to tell which direction I was.

When they approached the river, I was trying to keep my head above water. The river was 6 ft. deep. Rodney pulled me out of the water, and Rob ran home to call 911.
They had another neighbor bring a blanket and they talked to me and held on to me until the ambulance got there.

I was transported to Owatonna first, and then after assessing my injuries I was sent to Hennepin County Medical Center to the trauma unit. I had broken a both of my femur bones,and a broken vertebrae in my neck. I spent the next day in surgery to get rods and pins put in both of my femurs.

I then spent the next 10 days in the hospital, 3 months in a wheelchair, and 6 weeks on crutches after that.

The fatality rate for this type of injury is 20% as the femurs are the biggest bones in the body and breaking them at the same time is such a trauma to the body that some don't survive it.

I had a long, painful recovery, but I was alive.

And from that day on, my life was changed. I was headed down a path that was unhealthy and destructive. And this accident is what had to happen for me to change my life and my path.

It was truly a blessing in disguise.

And I have Rodney and Rob to thank for rescuing me and giving me another chance at life.



Today we all got back together and had a picnic at Mineral Springs Park. Rodney, his wife Lois, their son Rob, his daughter Lexi and his girlfriend Jessica were all there. And it was the 6 of us, plus my Mom and Dad and Nate and Joan. We brought a cake that said "You are a lifesaver" that was decorated with lifesaver candies. We spent the afternoon talking about what has happened in the past 10 years in all our lives, and we talked about the night of the accident.

It was a very significant day for me.

There is no doubt in my mind that if they had not found me that night, I would not be here today. I will be forever grateful for them.

7 months

Now that the babies are 7 1/2 months..I am finally doing their 7 month post! We've been busy with vacation, Steph and Adam's wedding, and summer activities!!!!

The babies are getting harder and harder to photograph now that they are getting a little more mobile! Plus sometimes when I put them next to eachother, Scout likes to torment Finley. This is the best I got this month...





Is it just me, or do they look annoyed?



The twins are growing into 2 very different little people. It is fun watching them develop their own little quirks and traits.

Scout plays with her ear when she's nursing and/or falling asleep. Finley likes to reach up and touch my face when he is nursing, and he usually holds on tight to your hand when he is going to sleep, otherwise he flails his arms all over the place! When they are both nursing together, they usually each put their far arms up over my breast and hold hands in the middle of my chest. It's so sweet.

Scout has started doing "So Big", while Finley just shakes his head "no" when you ask him "are you so big?". Funny thing is, he only does it when you ask him that.

Both are sitting up completely on their own now. Scout can get herself from sitting up, onto to her tummy. She'll lunge forward, usually bonking her nose, but she doesn't cry, and then she'll push herself up with her hands. She is scooting all over the place. She'll soon be crawling I think!

I left her for a quick moment to do something in the kitchen and when I came back, she had scooted herself under the couch on her tummy! She just had her little head poking out looking around! Guess I can't do that anymore!

Finley is pretty content to just hang out wherever we put him, and play with whatever is within his reach!

No teeth yet for either of them. Scout has a tooth that is almost ready to come through though. She's got a big bump and you can see the tooth near the surface!

They enjoyed their first vacation up to the cabin. They loved the pool, especially Scout. She even fell asleep in her floatie in the water a few times! Finley enjoys the water too, he's just more sensitive, and got cold in the water sooner.

Finley acquired a new nickname while on vacation: Finner Finner Chicken Dinnner.

This past month we've started taking to the chiropractor for constipation. It has helped them a ton! My poor babies have never been very regular in that department. But it looks like we are getting things on track.

The twins are definitely aware of each other. Scout likes to bother Finley, and he gets worked up so quickly, and I think she thinks it is funny. One time they were sitting face to face, and she was grabbing at him, and he started screaming in anger, and the little stinkerbell, she started giggling!!!!

Scout likes to spit out her nuk, and then take Finn's nuk out of his mouth and put it in her mouth. She loves to grab his ears and his hair too. Oh and shes started chomping on his arms and legs too! It's strange though because Finley is the one that can be so rough when he gets upset, like when he is nursing sometimes he'll pinch my boob or scratch my face. But when he is next to Scout he is so gentle, and he'll just put his hand on her head softly. He's always smiling at her, and looking at her so adoringly! My gentle little lion...(when he's not tired and angry anyway!)

They both love to play. On their play mats, in their exersaucers, in their bumbos with toys. It's baby central in our living room!





















These 2 babies are so lucky. They have the most wonderful big brother and sister too. Both Malichi and Kinzie absolutely adore Finley and Scout.

Kinzie came in while I was trying to get them both down for their nap the other day, and asked if she could help. She sang to scout and rubbed her arm in her crib, while I rocked Finley to sleep. Scout calmed right down, and just stared up at Kinzie while she sang. I think the hardest part for me right now, is that is is incredibly hard to get 2 babies down for a nap alone when they are both tired at the same time. Especially when they scream when they get tired!

Malichi is always wanting to hold the babies, and feed them, and he LOVES to make them laugh. Loves it. He thinks it is just great when he can act ridiculous and get them to giggle!

This pretty much sums it up.....

Life with 4 kids. It's crazy...but I love it.

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July from the 6 of us!!!



We went to the Delano parade with some old friends from Mom's club... it was so good to get together with that crowd again! Then we had a lazy afternoon at home (a little too lazy I think) .... and of course watched the Waconia fireworks as we do every year! It was a good day....and now it's time for bed!

Night!

so big...or not?

This made my day....

6 months

We are half-way to ONE! Can you believe it?!







Fin and Scout had their 6 mo. appt. last week.

Finley weighed in at 15 lb. putting him at 10%. Our little peanut.





Scout weighed 16 lb. 10 oz. putting her at 70%.






They are both little shorties just like their mama! Fin was 24 1/4" and Scout was 24". Under 10% for both! Sorry babies, you got my short genes!

This past month the babies have seemed to grow up so much!

They both have the rolling over thing down well. Finley started first, and then a couple of weeks later Scout started. Scout will roll over in her crib at night all the time, and then she gets mad because she is on her tummy. But instead of rolling back over (which she does all the time during the day) she face plants into the mattress and cries. Sometimes she'll just stay sleeping, but instead of turning her head she'll just have her face flat into the mattress and sleep that way. It makes me so nervous! Finley rolls onto his side to sleep.

When we have her on the floor playing, Scout has started to scoot a little too. She'll put her butt up in the air, pushing herself up with her toes, and then she'll straighten her legs and push herself forward a little.

They are both sitting up now for the most part. Scout is able to balance herself pretty well for quite a while. Finley will get tired after a bit and put his head down on his feet!

Scout has started to grab her feet all the time! She always has her legs way up in the air and is grabbing at her little tooties! :)

They are now eating dinner with us every night. On their menu is some type of rice cereal along with a fruit or veggie. So far they have had peaches, pears, bananas, apples, carrots, sweet potatos, and peas. They don't seem to dislike any really. Finley does great, he just opens his mouth right up and waits for the food. And he'll get mad if we aren't quick enough too! Scout on the other hand, tries to suck the food off the spoon. She is a little more difficult to feed! I thought it would be the other way around. I thought she'd jump right in to eating solids!

The great thing too with them being on solids now, is that we don't really have to give them formula anymore at night! I think they get filled up at dinner and then are satisfied with just nursing at bedtime.

We have gotten into a bit more of a schedule this past month too, which for me is GREAT! They are taking 3 naps a day usually, and bedtime has gotten MUCH earlier! We are able to feed them dinner, play a little, do baths and get ready for bed, then I nurse them, and by about 8:00 they are ready for bed. We are able to put them down awake and they fall asleep on their own most nights now! They have made HUGE strides in the sleeping department this past month! Some nights I only have to feed them each once in the middle of the night. We do still have the nights where it is every 2 hours or so, but they aren't every night anymore!

The babies are really loving their toys. They've both got great eye hand coordination. They love their excersaucers, and have started turning themselves around in them to play with all the toys.They love their blankies and love having the silky part up by their face to go to sleep.

One of the things I LOVE to watch with the babies, is how they look at each other and reach for each other when we have them close. They are almost always holding hands when they are next to each other. Usually it is Finley reaching out and looking for Scouts hand. It is so sweet.

Fin has started biting when he is nursing! OUCH! I've been told to pull them off and stearnly say "no", so they understand right away that they can't do that. Well I tried that, and he looked up at me and grinned!!! And he's continued to do it.

Both of the babies are starting to get back some of the hair they lost, and their little bald spots on the back of their heads are finally filling in.

Grammy came last week and we worked on a few little projects.

We made this little reversible sundress for Scout:



And we did these little bloomers:


My funny little gentle boy.





My sweet...and loud...sassy girl.



Thing One and Thing Two:



I wish I would have started the monthly stuffed animal pictures when they were newborn, but I didn't think of it until they were 2 months old. Here is how much they've grown in the past 4 months!