THIS could happen to you....

The perfect caption for this pictures is THIS could happen to you! TWINS! Our good friends from our Muncie, Indiana days, the Torries, stopped by this past week for a quick visit. The Torries paved the way into the wonderful world of multiple births and had boy/girl twins just a few weeks after we moved away. Their twins, Brooklyn and Colby, are standing at the very back of this pack of children and are just days younger than Caleb...2 years old now. We hadn't seen their kiddos for quite a while so it was especially fun now that we have a set of boy/girl twins of our own to let the kids run around wild while we caught up and exchanged experiences on the rigors of raising lots of little people simultaneously. Between the two couples we had 9 children under the age of 7 scampering around our basement (one of the Torrie's boys was asleep upstairs on our couch and didn't make the photo). Good times! Thanks for coming to see us Torries!

On another note: You know when you have a conversation with someone that you know they probably don't remember at all, but for some reason what was said really sticks with you? Well, I had one of those conversations almost exactly 6 months ago with my brother-in-law John. The babies were tiny tiny and John was in town for their blessing day, seeing them for the first time. The baby of John's own family had relatively recently turned one and talking about that darling little boy I said to John something along the lines of: "I bet seeing these tiny babies makes you SO glad that you have all of this behind you. Don't you love knowing you never have to go back through some of these stages again?" I guess I was expecting him to say yes and go on and on about how great it was to have certain baby stages and challenges behind you "forever" but his answer has stuck with me for a long time. Instead of what I expected he commented that: No, it was actually kind for sad to him to think that he wouldn't experience those things again. He acknowledged that it was fun to watch their kids grow but that he loved every little stage and accomplishment.

Fortunately, or unfortunately (not sure which) my personality is such that I tend to relish checking things off, getting things done and going going going as fast and as hard as I can (even when I shouldn't...Spencer reminds me of this frequently). I worry that sometimes I may not enjoy NOW for what it is, instead of working and looking forward excessively. That conversation with John stuck with me and thanks to his advice, I have tried to enjoy "every little stage" of the twins lives to date and can't believe how fast they have grown and changed. It makes me teary just thinking about it. These pictures show how they've grown up in just 6 1/2 short months--it is unbelievable. Thanks John, for lots of things, but particularly for helping me appreciate every day.

FROM THIS:


TO THIS:

Addendum

Word must've somehow gotten back to Emmy about what I wrote about her in my last post because the very next day she started rolling like crazy. Amazing what a little peer pressure can do, eh?!? She also wanted me to tell you that she is doing really well sitting up all of a sudden too. A little slouchy, but sitting up nonetheless. WE LOVE YOU EMMY! :)

Six Month Update

I feel like life is coming at us at about a million miles an hour these days and there has been no time to post! So...as a meager attempt to keep you all up to speed on our lives, I'll include a little 6 month update I wrote for the twins' baby book. Then at least you'll know what Jake & Emmy have been up to! :) You can safely assume that the rest of us are just chugging along! This afternoon we have Cort's first SEP conference (parent-teacher conference) and both Spencer and I are planning on going. I'm sure that's a bit of overkill to have both parents attend, but hey, Cort's our first child...we don't want to miss a thing! I'm sure my the time the twins are in school we'll be drawing straws to see who HAS to go! :) Here's the update:

This month Jake has really been rolling around like a maniac. He will go and go until he hits a solid surface and then wails to be rescued. Emmy, on the other hand, has decided that rolling is altogether WAY overrated, and we can’t get her to budge off of her back or stomach, depending on how she’s set down on the floor! I’m sure it will come in time when she is duly motivated by watching her brother crawling around the room! Neither baby is sitting up unassisted yet but both are getting close. It will be nice to have them be able to sit up and see us without the assistance of so much gear. And the thought of them crawling? Dreamy! Maybe by Christmas…

Both babies love toys to play with and like to taste everything they touch. Jake can be particularly aggressive in this regard and has, on countless occasions, attempted to prove once again that neither Emmy nor her clothing are edible. When I set them down on the floor in close proximity to each other I often hear, “Mom! Jake’s attacking Emmy!” which is a fairly accurate description of Jake’s attempts to either roll up over the top of his sister or pull some part of her face or body off for a taste test! It is pretty darn cute (if you’re not Emmy, I guess!).

Speaking of food, the babies are well into solid foods now and loving their cereal or fruit and vegetable meals following nursing. Emmy finally got the hang of the spoon and Jake’s been a champ from the get-go. I feed them simultaneously (bite for one, bite for the other), and Jake often grunts with displeasure when he has to wait his turn while I’m giving Emmy a spoonful. What can I say, the boy loves to eat!

The exact DAY that the babies turned six-months old, the woman next to me in church commented about Emmy’s darling teeth. TEETH??? I had no idea. A closer inspection ruled that yes, Emmy indeed is cutting her two bottom teeth simultaneously and Jake has two poking through on the bottom as well. Man! The things you miss when you’re distracted by three other needy kiddos! Thanks to the aforementioned teeth, I slept for 3 hours last night and spent most of my time pacing the upstairs with a poor, suffering Emmy. Ugh. But, I’m sure they will be cute once they break through all the way!

Halloween Highlights

I don't know what the Halloween equivalent of the Christmas "Bah-Humbug!" is, but it probably applies to me. I don't know why I don't really dig Halloween but I guess I'm coming to grips with the fact that I don't. For some reason I don't really get into the "spooky" decorations, although I love "autumn" decor, and getting everyone into and out of their costumes for the family party, the ward party, the school party, and then finally for the actual trick-or-treating wears me out! SIGH. So, that said. We had a really FUN Halloween. Seriously. We did. Sure, I grumbled a bit while I carved a pumpkin franctically all by myself at 5pm on Halloween night and was a little frazzled trying to get everyone to inhale some pizza just moments before throwing costumes on for the umpteenth time and heading out the door. But, once we were on our way, the kids had a BLAST! :) We took the whole crew out with us for a good 2 hours of trick-or-treating fun. Cort, Macy and Caleb were HILARIOUS and had such a great time. Jake and Emmy were so content strapped to Spencer and me in the Baby Bjorns and all bundled up for the walk through our neighborhood. It was a beautiful night to be outside and we had so much fun. I may not be the biggest fan of Halloween in general, but I do have to admit that kids in costume are pretty darn cute. Here's proof:







There isn't a picture of Caleb because he has an issue with being photographed (remember the Lake Mead post?!?!). Anyway, he was a puppy dog and a super cute one, at that!

(Some of) The Richards in Disneyland!

This week has been a memorable one for us! Wednesday through Saturday, Spencer, Cort and Macy were in Anaheim, California for the kids' very first trip to Disneyland! Although the timing for Disneyland wasn't the best for our family this year (again, remember that three of our kids are under 2 years old...yikes) Spencer's family had planned a reunion, of sorts, and how could we miss the chance for our oldest two kids to have that kind of an experience with cousins?! So...early Wednesday morning, Spencer, Cort and Macy sped away in the always sleek, speedy and reliable red Honda Civic (Spencer would add: "chick magnet" to this list of descriptors, presumably becauses he drives this pathetic piece of metal and is trying to feel better about it)to make the drive while Caleb and twins and I "took one for the team" and stayed here at home to tend to the home and hearth.

As a side note, I definitely drew the short straw on this one folks, and I plan to hold this over Spencer's head for years and years to come. He owes me BIG TIME! haha Of course I'm kidding. But anyway, as much fun as it was to care for three babies for four days with no help or back up during the day or night (sarcasm, sarcasm), I don't think it held a candle to the magic of watching your kids experience Disneyland for the very first time. I was just plain super bummed not to be able to be there. Maybe next time...

Special thanks to Spencer's parents for planning and making possible such an incredible memory for our kids and their cousins! They will be talking about this for YEARS to come. We love you Grandpa and Grandma Richards!



A direct quote from Cort captures his sentiments about the trip--after reading the Disneyland slogan "Where Dreams Come True" he turned to Spencer and said, "Dad, my dreams really DID come true! I never knew it could be this great!" So, so cute. Here are a few pictures of their trip...Cort's all time favorite thing was getting chosen at the Jedi Training Academy to fight the "real" Darth Vader. You can see from his face how seriously he took this! Apparently, no smiling is allowed when you are fighting Darth.

He keeps telling me, "Mom, a Jedi uses the force for knowledge and defense, never for attack." which is a direct quote from the bottom of the Jedi certificate they gave him at the end of his training. Hilarious.

Macy of course loved the princesses but has talked most about Splash Mountain. "Mom, we got SOAKED!"

And, yes, Caleb the twins and I survived our four days alone together and Spencer treated me to a delicious hour and half nap this afternoon so all is well and forgiven. :) Now...we are looking forward to Halloween!

All I want for Christmas is...

Since this post is about mothers, I had to include a somewhat recent photo of my own Mom. Honestly, isn't she one hot mama?? Okay, on with the blog...

This week I enjoyed a way-too-rare girls night out with my mom, sister Jocee, cousin Katie and aunt Peg. We met at the Dodo (where else, for a GNO??) in Gateway and laughed and laughed and laughed over smoked turkey sandwiches and warm barbeque dipping sauce. It was pure heaven. The conversation was so entertaining and it felt so good to smile after a really rough day at home with the crew. It was extremely therapeutic and I'm already scheming as to how I can get this group together again next month for another night on the town.

Among several of the things we talked and laughed about was how each of us so desparately needs and wants a "Mom!" Now, of course we have one but the ones we have are no longer willing or able to do what we want and/or really need! Now, as full grown adults and mothers ourselves, we desparately need and want and, dare I say ACHE for, the mother of our infancy and childhood. You know the mother of whom I speak. She's the one who races around preparing meals to our liking and worrying that we've had enough to be completely happy and satisfied. The one who pulls the blinds, fluffs the pillow, and searches out the softest, warmest blanket before tucking us in and then being on guard for the duration of our nap to ensure that no one makes a peep to disturb our rest. The one mother who cleans up after us when we're done with whatever it was that was entertaining us, does our hair over and over until it's perfect, racks her brain thinking of what she could do for us that would be fun for a particular holiday or upcoming event. In short, the mother who is consumed with US, with OUR needs. Come on, this would be the LIFE! Each one of us at dinner that night is a mom, albeit in different stages of the adventure. But with all of our varying life experiences and challenges we could all agree...what we each want for Christmas is definitely a MOTHER! :)

Google amazes me again!

My great friend Amy just introduced me to something called Google Reader, which monitors the websites or blogs you "subscribe" to and lets you know when there have been updates to those sites. Maybe I'm the last person on the planet to hear about this feature, but I love being able to see at a glance if anyone has posted to their blog. If you haven't seen it before, check it out at http://www.reader.google.com/.

My brother-in-law John works for Google and probably knows about a lot more cool things Google Reader can do. Any tips to share John?? :)

Here's a quick parting shot of Jake and Emmy enjoying the swing in our backyard. Hilarious.