future rock climber

this girl is a SERIOUS climber...

i know i have been neglecting this blog, but i am still here wanting to update, but these lovelies…

are keepin’ me busy!!

 

and these little fatty’s…

are already four months old!!  i know… where did the time go??  i still haven’t even written down their birth story.  i plan to do it, still, and hope to do it before they are walking!! ;o)

 

we did have their 4 month appointment this week so here are the stats:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

makaio (our reserved, mellow observer)

2 months: 10 pounds 3 ounces (10%), 22 inches (10%) head 15.25 in (20%)

4 months: 14 pounds (30%), 24 1/4 inches (25%) head 16 1/2 (30%)

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

maui (our sometimes blue eyed, social charmer)

2 months: 10 pounds 9 ounces (20%), 21 3/4 inches (10%), head 15 in. (10%)

4 months: 15 pounds (50%), 24 1/2 inches (30%), head 16 1/4 in. (25%)

 

as you can tell, they are growing nicely!! they are both starting to smile and coo and laugh, which we all love!!

 

here are some more pictures to enjoy until next time… whenever that is:

mae mae lovin’ on her brothers!  maui looks a bit nervous!

 

kawena 4 1/2

 

mae mae 2

snow day

 

we are on our second snow day, today!  in the past, or more specifically before the twins were born, i did not like snow days when school was cancelled.  however, things have changed!  now, i look forward to the days that the three oldest are home, for the simple fact that i have extra hands and helpers!

 

you see, having the twins, who are so dependent on others, and our high spirited 2 year old at home with just me brings it’s challenges!  i struggle on the days when the two oldest are at school all day and kawena is at preschool in the morning.  i cannot leave the boys where mae mae can reach them without me right there.  if i put them in their swings she likes to hang on the swing and put her face right in their faces.  if i put them on the ground or on the couch or even in their bouncy chairs, mae mae is on top of them giving them “love”.  she loves to poke their eyes or squeeze their heads or other “fun” things.

on those days, i have to get creative in figuring out how to keep the boys safe from their loving youngest sister.  much of the time, i have to lock them in my bedroom, hopefully asleep, so she doesn’t have access to them.

 

so, you can see why i LOVE snow days… all of my little helpers, so willing to be of service!  before we went from a family of 6 to a family of 8, snow days were an annoyance because it meant i had to change my plans.  i don’t have many plans these days, aside from staying at home and keeping the twins safe, so that isn’t a problem! :o)

 

so, we say… bring on the snow!!

it has been very cold outside!  in fact, it has become very obvious that this house is very old and needs new windows in a bad way! 

when there is frost on the inside of the window, you know you need new windows.  i can almost see the $$ seeping out and blowing away in the arctic wind.  at least the girls are making the best of it:

window art!  and one lucky person will get to clean the windows once it all melts away leaving cute, little, dirty hand prints! who will it be?  i have my suspicions, but i will keep it to myself! :o)

 

the cold didn’t, however, keep the girls from going out for a little snow fun in the backyard.  i believe it was somewhere around 8 degrees when they were outside.  i could only be out there for a few short minutes to capture these pictures and then i was back inside where it was toasty!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the girls L.O.V.E. all of the icicles and we’ve got tons of them all around our house. 

 

all together… ready… one… two… three…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                   

yes, we are ALL enjoying our snow day!

she’s 2

 

mae mae, what can i say!  you are a joy!  you have an energy for life that i never knew existed in a two year old!  you’re a monkey and so full of energy!

 

 

many people have said about you that you are the happiest little girl.  i would have to agree!  you are quick to laugh and to find joy in the simplest things!

 

some of the things i love about you right now are:

• you sleep in kawena’s radio flyer wagon
• you don’t run, you gallop… like a horse
• you are trying to speak, but much of what you say is very hard to decipher.  it is both cute and frustrating all at the same time
• you laugh A LOT
• your sisters absolutely adore you
• you love your brothers

• you get SUPER excited when your sisters get home from school and your daddy gets home from work and you scream with joy
• you comfort your sisters when they are sad and crying with a hug
• you are very sensitive to others emotions
• you cried when we were watching the lamb of God movie when they killed Jesus
• you are good at entertaining yourself when you have no sisters to play with
• you are a very smart girl
• when you scream because you are so happy and excited
• you play so well with your sisters
• you go to other people without a problem

some of the things that i could do without:

• your amazing ability to climb… on EVERYTHING
• finding you on the counters in the kitchen playing with the knives or getting into the candy
• your love for playing in the bathroom
• your laying on the boys or poking them in their eyes or shoving the pacifier in their mouth, etc….

• you don’t nap (but i do make you have quiet time which you don’t like
• your fun screaming fits
• your inability to communicate what you need and want to us
• you wake up way to early (one morning it was before 6 am, but usually it’s around 7)
• your ability to make a mess of your food when you are done eating and start playing with your food

 

mae mae, you have added so much life and fun to our family!  we are so happy that you came to us and love every inch of you!  i can’t believe you are 2!!

 

happy birthday baby girl!  we love you so much!!

quotable quote #1

kawena and makaio

 

kawena has been having lots of potty accidents in the past few weeks. super frustrating!  mitch even put a diaper on her last night as a joke.  she didn’t think it was so funny!!  she took it off very quickly!

 

as she was going off to bed last night she said, very seriously, “i am following satan because i keep having accidents!”  hopefully, thinking that will help her STOP having accidents because i know she doesn’t want to follow satan! ;o)

 

another cute thing she was saying last night when her sister was getting in trouble was, “her heart feels sad!”  then she also said, “i need to go potty.  my heart feels happy because i am going potty in the toilet!”

i {heart} kawena!

a forgotten post

i just realized, in all of the craziness that has been our life these past months, that i never wished you a happy, merry christmas.

 

so, here is a belated christmas card for you, my friends:

 

 

i hope it was very merry, indeed!

 

p.s. i have decided that having a baby, or two for that matter, right before christmas is not ideal!  it kind of throws the whole “simplify for the holidays”  out the window! 

 

just in case you were wondering! ;o)

while you were nursing…

having twins comes with its challenges…

need i say more??

introducing…

 

if i was on top of my life right now this would have been posted sooner and not, say, when the boys are already 6 1/2 weeks old!

 

we are loving our boys!  they are two of the sweetest little guys! the girls love that there are two of them... nani AND kale'a can each hold one at the same time!  and i love when they do!  they are such big helpers that this is the first time in my life when i DIDN’T want them to go back to school!

 

this is just a quick post to announce that we did indeed welcome these boys into our family on thanksgiving day (yup, that is the day after i was released from my 5 week hospital stay) and that i am still alive!  i do plan on posting the birth story because i love birth stories and this one was pretty crazy, but wonderful!  plus, i need to write it down!  however, that will be saved for a later date when things are a little more… haha, i was going to say normal, but that won’t be for awhile, i’m sure!  so i will just say that the birth story will have to wait!

 

until then, here are a few more pictures of our dear boys:

makaio on the left and maui on the right.

 

baby toes, love them!!

 

makaio (baby a)

 

and maui (baby b)  i love the wrinkles!

i’m off to love up my boys!!  it is AMAZING having 2 babies to love!!  twins are the best!

while you were in the hospital...

note: this post was supposed to be up back before my release from the hospital, BEFORE the babies were born, but i was having some video upload problems. i finally figured it out, so enjoy our little monkey! my favorite video is the last one!

one thing that has been hard about being in the hospital is all of the things i have been missing of the girls! especially mae mae! she is at the age where she is learning so much! for example, when i was admitted to the hospital she maybe said 10 words.

mae mae is a super monkey now. since i was admitted to the hospital she strted climbing out of the crib. that caused some problems for nap time with many of the wonderful people who were watching our girls!

the lack of napping led to this many nights at the dinner table:

mae mae is an extremely strong girl! she obviously has a lot of upper body strength! last night mitch made the observation that she will probably be great friends with her brother's, a bit of a tomboy. i think that would be great! she is the closest in age to them so it would make sense! here she is showing off her mean strength, maybe she's just super eager to help with the dishes! awesome!

on the eve of my hospital release

wow!  so, we actually made it this far. the doctors didn’t think i would make it to 35 weeks, but after almost 5 weeks of laying in a hospital bed i am one day away from being sent home.  this is the eve of my hospital release!

 

in honor of such a big day, i decided to post some pictures of my stay here and to share some of my observations and thoughts on hospital bed rest when pregnant with twins…

this is me in my hospital bed 4 days ago (34 weeks + 2 days) 

• my first observation is that i am HUGE!  look at that belly!!
• my second observation is that the nurses have been lying to me!! I SEE STRETCH MARKS!!!  a sad realization, to be sure, but probably not wholly unexpected!!
• i am so grateful for cell phones and texting!  while in the hospital for an extended length of time, having a connection to the outside world is crucial to ones sanity!  (i think i was talking to my dad in the above picture)

• visits from our girls always brightened my day.  i looked forward every week to sunday when mitch and the girls come to visit me.

• when mitch calls and asks if i want him to bring mae mae or if he should leave her at barbmom’s for their sunday visit, always tell him to bring her because when he shows up without her you will regret it and be sad!
• even though mae mae is into everything and wants to climb all over me it is still better when she is visiting!  it causes a lot more stress, but it is so worth seeing her excitement at seeing me!!
• the hospital has great juice and cool straws (the little red coffee stir straws) because the girls ALWAYS have to get some while they are here.
• the nurses love our girls!

    

• showering every three days makes for very greasy hair on the last day!
• i have not fixed my hair or worn make-up for 5 weeks straight!
• laying around in bed all day makes you always look tired with puffy eyes!
• my legs have gotten really hairy with only one electric shaving the whole 5 weeks i’ve been here, thanks to nurse kim for the grooming!
• it’s easy to become friends with your nurses when you get the same nurses several times a week!!
• apparently, not all patients are happy and nice.  i have been called “the nice patient who doesn’t ever need anything” and “the happy, positive patient”!
• nurses really like nice, friendly patients!!

• i love the art work on my whiteboard.  nani and kale’a drew these for me when they came for a visit.  i love the babies that nani drew. they are so cute and tiny!  the nurses love the babies, too!  i love the cheery bright colors that kale’a put up for me to look at everyday!
• when you’re in the hospital, unable to see your family daily, it is VERY important to have a picture of them close by so you can look at them!

• i stare at this picture on my wall A LOT everyday!!!  and, without fail, it always makes me smile!
• i REALLY miss my husband!
• the longer i lay in a hospital bed the more my body starts to ache ALL OVER!  the last few nights have been especially difficult! no matter what side i sleep on my shoulder or my elbows, or my hip or my knee, or my back screams out at me in protest!
• nighttime is especially lonely!
• when i’m alone, in the dark, trying to sleep is when my mind runs wild.  nighttime is when i worry the most about every little contraction, or twinge in my cervix.

• the hospital dietary needs a bigger variety for long-term patients!  i mean, REALLY!!
• getting dressed in your clothes everyday makes me feel much better. i think i wore a hospital gown for the first 2 maybe 2 1/2 weeks before my doctor told me i didn’t have to wear the hospital gown, but could wear my own clothes!!
• free wi-fi totally ROCKS!!
• when you lay in bed all day except to get up to go potty, your muscles get REALLY weak!  it doesn’t help that i am lugging around two 6 pound babies, either!
• my belly is heavy to carry around!
• mechanical beds are a lifesaver!  it’s much easier to get out of bed!
• even though my bed is a tempurpedic, my body still gets sore, just not as quickly as it would if it wasn’t a tempurpedic!
• i would have died without the fan they gave me from labor and delivery.  the nurses like my room because it is “so fresh” and cool. 
• it’s a strange thing to look out my window everyday and see sunshine, especially now that everyone is talking about how cold it is.  i look out and it looks exactly the same as the day i came in, so i just assume it is still warm.

• one of the greatest things i love to hear from the nurses or doctors is, “the boys are looking great!!”  music to my ears!
• the other thing i love to hear is, “they are both head down!”
• twin boys move A LOT!!  i look at my belly and it is crazy to see it move so much!!
• even with good veins i.v.’s are never fun to get started.  my veins seem to roll out of the way when the nurses are trying to get a new iv line in.  twice i have been stuck in 4 different places before they actually got it in.  the frustrating thing is that they haven’t used the i.v. since i was admitted 4 weeks ago!!
• i.v.’s in the hand suck!!
• a good i.v. is worth it’s weight in gold!  i have had this one stay good since the 9th of november!
• getting woken up in the middle of the night from a dead sleep to take your medicine is not fun!  they wake me at midnight and 6 am every day!

 

the most important observations that i have made are these:

• miracles happen!
• prayers are answered!
• a good ward family is an amazing thing!
• marrying mitch was the BEST decision i EVER made, hands down!
• our girls are extraordinary!
• i don’t know how we could have gotten through this without the gospel or our knowledge and faith in our Savior Jesus Christ and our loving Father in Heaven!  SERIOUSLY!
• i know our Heavenly Father is mindful of us and He loves our family because he gave us this trial so we could be made stronger.  and i believe that we have been made stronger individually and as a family!
• faith can bring about marvelous things!
• these boys are going to be a huge blessing to our family!