memory lane

`I love pictures. Love to look back on them and remember what I was thinking or feeling during that time & place in my life. I do this often and find that it is one of my favorite things to do. The funny thing is, when I look back on pictures of myself when I was pregnant with the twinnies it's hard for me to REALLY remember what it was like to be that big & uncomfortable. Sure I remember it as a memory but I don't actually remember how it felt. Sounds strange I know. To be honest though, I think most women would agree with me about this because otherwise I don't think people would willingly sign up for round number 2, 3 or 4. It sure is amazing what our bodies are capable of. (this picture was taken right before I delivered the twins

A few of my long time girlfriends are pregnant right now and both of them have said to me numerous times, "I just don't know how you did it with two". Looking back on it, it does seem crazy and daunting because one thing was for sure we had no idea what we were getting into! But you just do it because you have to. Plus now that we are on the other side of the baby stage we can easily look back and say...wowzer, look what we made it through. And that is just it...we made it through and we will make it to the other side of our current challenges of the toddler stage. I for one, need to remind myself of that more often and not get caught up when I do feel defeated by the job I feel like I am doing as a Momma.
The twins have their 1st major flu/cold of the season if you can believe that. They have done so well so far this winter in fighting off sicknesses. A huge difference form last year. We have been holed up watching movies today. They are loving, Happy Feet, it is so cute.

p.s. Chloe just looked at the picture I posted on this post, and she asked me "is that Momma??"

Christmas 2010 Highlights

We celebrated Christmas with my Grandma's traditional prime rib dinner with my Mom's side of the family, The Kelly's, the weekend before Christmas.

Round #1 with presents, they got the hang of it very fast! My Grandma made Chloe a doll bed and a ton of baby clothes to go with a new baby. She loves it. The baby bed has to go everywhere with us. This little girl LOVES baby dolls.

We had a little gingerbread man decorating party and it just turned into a frosting/sprinkle fest. So fun!

My Grandparents got Carter his first remote control train. This thing is so awesome and is perfect for this age. It's by GeoTrax and we would highly recommend it. They both loved it so much we had to go and buy Chloe her own car & remote so they would stop fighting over the train! Now they both can play together with it :)

These two little friends showed up on our doorstep as a gift for Jerame. It was a live lobster dinner for two shipped to us from Main. Very cool idea but Omg they were alive and squirming around in there little ice box. They sure were yummy but what an experience to cook them...I couldn't watch Jerame throw them in the boiling water.

We went to my Mom & Jerry's house for xmas eve dinner & presents. It was a blast...4 kids under 3 will make anything exciting especially Christmas!

We started a new tradition the Christmas Eve cousin jammie picture

Christmas morning at our house, I think Chloe is saying "wow" in this picture. They were so happy, overwhelmed and in awe of all the gifts they received this Christmas. We have moved 1/2 of their old toys into bins & out to the garage to make room for new.
The plan is to switch them out every so often, otherwise they have so many toys they have no idea what to play with.

Christmas morning

We hosted Jerame's family & my Dad/Shelly on Christmas day

We got together at Jer's Mom's house after Christmas for some more time with his Grandma (who is celebrating her 90th bday next month) who lives in Chicago.

such a lucky shot that we are all smiling & looking at the camera...it's not an easy feat with all these kids!

4 generations : Thurik, Schramm & Bennett ladies

And this is how we ALL have felt in the days after the holidays. It was so much fun but oh so exhausting!!! Such is life with little ones though

Vegas

We snuck away for a few days the weekend before Christmas to celebrate our friends 30th bday in Vegas. My Mom & Jerry were awesome enough to take on the twinnies for a few days. We had a blast! We stayed at the Cosmopolitan, a brand new hotel on the strip. It was so amazing & beautiful. The grand opening was actually the day before we had arrived.

Dinner at Prime @ the Bellagio

Just the two of us :)
We love Vegas. Always have a blast together there. The problem is that we came home more exhausted than when we left...not necessarily the best vaccation to take when you have two, 2 year olds to come home to.

Because you are twins

Because you are twinnies, you get double the amount of toys on every single holiday that are age appropriate for you both. This is one of the many perks of having a twin sibling. Up until this point most of the toys you have been given have been for the most part gender neutral, with the exception of a few cars & babies. BUT we are getting to the point in your lives where some things start to be very 'boy' & 'girl' in the toy world. I imagine this must be just a little bit confusing for you at this point.

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours we hope you have a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying time with loved ones. I am feeling so very grateful and blessed this year. So excited for Christmas.

This month has been crazy busy...I have lots to catch up on & lots of pictures to post from over the course of the month. So stay tuned :)

Merry Christmas

what we have been up to!

Time is just flying right by, hard to believe Christmas is right around the corner. We have tons of things planned for the rest of the month (including a trip to VEGAS!!!) and are trying to savor every minute of this special time with the twins. They are in awe of everything including lights & the Christmas tree. I think this will be the first year they will really understand presents.

Jerame took the week off, of Thanksgiving and it turned out great because we got snowed in the first few days and were unable to do anything but hang out, play, cook & have family time. It was so cozy. We had tons of grand plans for the week to get chores done around the house but ended up not doing any of it and just enjoying our time together. It was wonderful.

Twins making their 1st snowman

Jer & I snuck away for an afternoon sans kiddos to cheer on the Seahawks. They were terrible but we had fun.

I really didn't get many pictures of Thanksgiving, I was busy chasing after the twins at my Grandparents house, trying to make sure they didn't break anything. We had the pleasure this year of being guests at my Grandparents house with my Mom's side of the family. It was a delicious meal with lots to be thankful for.

Bella had to have one of her toe-nails removed last week. Its a long story but it was an ongoing problem that we had to deal with. The Vet compared the surgery to one that a person would have when a finger or toe is amputated. So it's been a slow recovery & lots of nursing care for her. So in addition to the twinnies, I have been busy with my 3rd baby the past week.

Carter is super into building his Lego farm house right now. He will do this for hours. He loves to have Jer help him, they are cute building it together.

Chloe & I had a cookie decorating party. She took it very seriously and ate them as we went.

GO COUGS!!!

Lastly we had a little last minute get together with a few of our friends for Apple Cup. There were 5 little girls & Carter.

Three little monkeys

3 little monkeys watching a bugs life in Carter's bed...yes I know great parenting :)