Sunday, November 14, 2010

{My Life in Pictures}

Decorating pumpkins for Connor's party.

Ironman eating his favorite birthday dinner (PBJ) and reading his new Tag books.

What fun things did our Bubba get??


Wheee Grandpa

The Great Pumpkin Patch
Arthur, IL
October 2010



What a wonderful Saturday!!

Cassie

Carlie

Kids N Fitness Halloween Parade 2010.


KNF Halloween Parade 2010. Connor and Reese were paired to walk together, Cowgirl and Indian, what a match.

My three little Indians.

I'm not so sure Emmy likes this Halloween stuff, but apparently her carseat tastes good.



The best trick-or-treating partners around.

Sorting the loot!!

Circus Fun

Today Connor and I went to the Shriner's Circus. We were invited by Erin, Chad and Addi and we joined up with Chad's sister Heather and her twins, Jackson and Riley. We had so much fun. Connor's favorite part was the tigers. I think Connor really enjoyed eating, he wanted me to buy everything: pretzels, pop, popcorn, candy, cotton candy. I'm really thankful for Heather bring "glow sticks" for all the kids, it saved me $15 and a whole lot of whining  :)  Thanks Uncle Mark for the tickets and thank you to all who shared the day with us!!




Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Crazy October

We have had such a crazy busy October. I'm not sure what has happened to the month, but it's almost over!!
Here just a quick list of a few things we have done. I will try to post a few pics tomorrow night:)

*Connor's 4th Birthday (and all that involves)
*Living room and Kitchen are finally painted (only took 2 1/2 years to commit to a color!!)
*Pumpkin Patch
*Welcoming Emmy Jane
*Carlie started crawling
*Cassie started standing
*The girls started eating real solid food
*Two Halloween costumes made
*Family Pictures (which means lots of shopping for the right outfits)

And so many more everyday life chores and smiles.

{September 2010}

We spent a beautiful early fall day visiting the Springfield Zoo and having a picnic lunch with Mom and Bob. WE had so much fun.





The very last weekend of September Dale, Connor and I spent the weekend with Dad, Robyn, Chad, AJ and Erica in Chicago. We celebrated Connor's birhtday on Friday night with a cake from Aunt Erica and frozen pizza's. We had to improvise a bit with the candle:)

After having a yummy breakfast on Saturday morning, Connor got to go to his first MLB game. We really enjoyed Wrigley Field even though our beloved Cardinal's didn't play so well.  We decided to leave after the 7th inning stretch and head to Willis Tower, aka Sears Tower. We had to wait in line a bit, but it was well worth it. I couldn't believe that Connor had no fears about being "so high on the mountain". He walked out on the sky deck with no problems, I'm not so sure he really understood that we were really seeing the ground so far below. It was very awesome to be able to see all around you, that high up. Dale and I left on Saturday after the Sears Tower to head home to relieve Mom and Bob from the girls. Dale watched the girls all day on Sunday so I could study for my MRI boards, which I thankfully passed!! Connor got to round out his fun filled weekend with a trip to the Curtis Apple Orchard. It sure took us a few days to recover from this weekend, but it was well worth it! 







Saturday, July 17, 2010

6 months old~ Really?!?

Dale and I took the girls for their 6 month well baby visits on Friday.  Has six months already gone by? Where has the time gone? Where are my sweet newborns? Where is my proud NEW big brother? Cassie and Carlie are changing every day and it makes me have so many emotions.  The girls interact more and more each day, they play with toys in new ways everyday. Connor has continued to be such a wonderful big brother, today he so kindly wiped the spit up off of Cassie's face.  Not only did he clean her face but he made sure to wipe it off her shirt as well. I thought it was amazingly sweet and strong of a three year old to do! Lately, I have to remind him that he isn't quite big enough and the girls are still to small for him to carry them.  He is always wanting to get them to smile and laugh at him.  I'm still impressed at how well he has adjusted to having siblings.

Cassie weighs 13lbs, 4 oz and Carlie's weight is 14lbs, 11 oz. The girls are both doing good in height and head circumfrance.  Dr. Patel did mention that Cassie is only in the 8 percentile for her weight and we need to make sure she doesn't keep moving down that chart.  Eat up, little girl!! They are trying to sit up on their own and have tried several foods.  Carrots, green beans, squash, bananas,and applesauce are all on the menu. Apples, green beans, and squash seem to be the favorites of both girls.  A tooth or two shouldn't be to far off, Cassie and Carlie are chewing on everything possible. Cassie would love to crawl, it so funny to see how far she will get just with scooting and rolling.  She's been found off the blanket a number of times.  On friday night she made it from the middle of the living room nearly all the way to the kitchen while Dale and I were fixing tacos:)  We're in trouble when they start crawling!!

As happy as I am that the girls are doing so well and growing up, it makes my heart break just as much.  I wish I could stop time. To constantly live with a baby resting her head on my shoulder, the joys of seeing someone's first bite of bananas, ten seconds of sitting on their own, and the teeny tiny clothes. I will miss all these things and more. I know that as my children get older, new things will make my heart soar and make me want to help them become who they will be.  I know that these are the last, first moments for my children.  Dale is going to that "special" appointment on friday.  Poor guy!  I am happy that our family is complete and healthy, but incredibly sad that we are moving from having kids to raising kids.  I think I will always have room in my heart for "one" more, but we have to stop before we turn into the Dugger family:) 

Well, it's after ten on Saturday night and my bed is calling. Connor believes that waking up at 5:30 on the weekned is an appropriate time to get up.  I couldn't disagree with him more, but it's a little hard to ignore a three year old whose trapped in his room. Good night!

   

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Giggle :)

We heard Carlie giggle for the first time tonight! She has been so close for the past few days, we've been on high alert trying to get her to let it out. We tried to video tape her doing it, but as usual with kids, as soon as the camera came out, she was quiet!  In all honesty, I'm surprised at how happy the girls have been lately.  Dale had to call in to work to take them to the doctor on Tuesday.  Both girls have fluid behind their right ears, they are starting to teeth, their not eating, nasty diapers and snotty noses.  It is amazing that they are smiling and I still have hair!

We have been busy little bees around here, especially Dale.  He has worked so hard making our yard kid and summer friendly.  He removed rock from around the deck to add to our limited grass space, replaced the mulch around the front of the house with rock and with Chad's help sanded and stained the deck. We received a swing set frame with two swings on it from someone Mom knows.  The yard looks great. We love it outside.  Connor really enjoys eating dinner outside and we have had to convince him that it is to cold to sit outside lately.


It sure was bright on Easter Sunday!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Shopping on the Block

I went shopping at the neighbors tonight.  She has triplet daughters and is getting ready so sell her stuff in the semi-annual twin sale.  She gave me first dibs and I think I bought just about everything.  There is a great bonus in other people loving to shop, you get to buy their "might as well be brand new" clothes for dirt cheap.  Needless to say, my girls will be in matching outfits, at half the cost!!  I need to remember to not buy clothes for them, unless their ridiculously cute! :)

So I'm a little frustrated because I can't get the text to match up to the pictures for some reason, so here's a few pics from the last month. I've been trying to fix this for the past few days and figure by the time I get it correct and posted the girls might be in highschool so here they are. Have a great day.
Connor's first snow angel! He loved playing in the snow, it was a shame to make him come inside, but his face was so red from the cold.
Connor, Cassie and Carlie hanging out a few weeks ago.  I love the skirts that Aunt Kelly found for the girls.  The grandpa shirts match perfectly. I so love dressing the girls super girly!!

The girls in the beloved Swaddle me Blankets. They sleep so well in them.  We are very blessed to have 10 week old twins who sleep 6 to 8 hours at a time during the night.  Trust me, I know how fortunate I am.  We thank God all the time for our good babies.
Cassie and Carlie meeting Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Steffen and Connor trying his first black jelly bean.




Connor loved going to the St. Patrick's Day parade with Addi and Erin and meeting the rest of his cousins there. I love that we all live in the same area and have opportunities to see each other at least a couple of times every year. Meeting Spiderman was the best part of the St. Patrick's Day parade. I wish you could see how much he froze up when Spiderman "hugged" him. He was so funny. Connor has continued to ask me why Spiderman was at the parade.  I guess he thinks he should be out doing something else.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Hello Again!!

Hello everyone! I know I've been away for quite sometime, but I finally have a good reason for not posting anything new!! The girls are doing great. They are sleeping alot and eating every three hours, except at night, when they will go 4-5 hours. We had to start formula before leaving the hospital so I think that is why they are sleeping more than what Connor did. I was hoping to nurse them longer than I was able, but my body just couldn't keep up. Connor is such a good big brother, he loves them so much. He has only gotten frustrated with them a couple of times, on e being when Carlie wouldn't keep the pacifier in her mouth that he was helping her with. He got a little upset when she spit it out after he had put it in her mouth for the third time. In other exciting news, Dale is now on day shift. It is a true miracle from God that I can not express the gratitude, relief and joy I have for him being home in the middle of the night. We have been together for over 13 years and never worked the same shift! We purchased a king-sized bed today since we are going to be sharing a bed again. Our bed was a little to soft and worn out for Dale's back and we are both use to sleeping by ourselves, therefore a new huge bed will be wonderful. I hope to be better at posting pictures, but no guarantees!! Take care all!!!!

The pictures are in reverse order, sorry.



Connor trying to give Cassie her paci back. He was suppose to be eating dinner, but his crying sissy was the perfect excuse to get down from the table. How could I scold him!













My attempt to get a sweet picture for the birth announcements. I still haven't accomplished that task!!






Connor loving on his sissy while watching afternoon cartoons. He is head over heels for them both and loves to cuddle. He is such a great big brother, I love it!!



Dale finally holding his girls!!!





Connor meeting and holding his sisters for the first time.







I feel so much better!!! Look at my beautiful little girls, totally worth the wait!!









Our first "Family of Five" picture. So many people were taking pictures, we didn't know who to look at all at the same time.