First Mother's Day!

I absolutely hated when people wished me a Happy Mother's Day when I didn't have kids. I know they meant it kindly, but it felt more like a slap in the face. This is the first Mother's Day in years where I haven't been sad or haven't minded going to church. This, to me, was my FIRST Mother's Day...and I loved it!

These three kiddos are hard work, and (on most days) I wouldn't trade them for the world!! Watching them grow and learn the simplest things makes me feel like I'm doing something great with my life. 

I gave Eric one requirement for Mother's Day--I don't want to do ANY cooking. With a bowl of cereal before early church, I actually DIDN'T cook at all that Sunday. After church Eric made waffles, sausage, and orange julius. Yum.

For dinner he grilled and cooked up everything on this plate. 

 He surprised me with flowers earlier in the week. I'm normally not a flower person, but for some reason I really love these ones. 

 And I even got a present! In addition to candy and a game I bought myself, Eric printed our family picture on canvas. It's something I've been wanting to do and would probably get around to it in a year, so thank goodness for husbands!

Kinsey made me a Mother's Day card in nursery. It made me giggle so I had to share it. The front makes me believe hand prints should be inside...and here are Kinsey's hands. I think she got a little excited, right?

 It was a pretty perfect day that ended with Kinsey and Daddy making a fort! Don't mind the butt shot. At least it's cute :)

The Twins at 3 Months

I can't believe the difference a month makes! These girlies are still the size of newborns (under 9 pounds) but are definitely learning every day.  

This picture makes me giggle. Kinsey loves them but was upset I took her cup for the picture.

My absolute favorite development this month is when Scarlett and Shayla stare right at me. They recognize me, Eric, and Kinsey. It is adorable! 

To add to the cuteness, they smile now (and it's not an accident)! Shayla has this huge open-mouthed smile...

Happy Shay Shay!

while Scarlett's smile is more of a grin. She saves her big smiles for her mommy and daddy, usually right after we change her diaper and she's looking up at us. 

Scarlett was able to nap better by sleeping on Kinsey's princess chair. Hallelujah! Unfortunately, the good luck didn't stick. Both girls still love cuddling and sleep better with us. 

See? 

For the most part they can sleep through the night as long as we cuddle with them halfway through.

Scarlett loves sleeping with her head back like this.

Sometimes during naps they reach for each other and hold hands. Otherwise, Scarlett could care less about Shayla and Shayla is just now starting to pay attention to her sisters.

I've always said Scarlett is the more demanding one, but the day they turned 2 months old they switched roles on me. Shayla has required much more holding this past month while Scarlett has been more content.

Scarlett and Shayla

To make up for her neediness, Shayla giggles in her sleep. It is the sweetest sound a mother could hear! I'm still waiting to hear giggles from Scarlett.

They still love looking around at the world. And although they both hold their heads up well, Shayla is definitely the champ!

Shayla also babbles quite a bit more than Scarlett. 

No, I did not approve of Shayla playing on the computer.

Scarlett's hair has lightened since birth and maybe thinned a little, but Shayla started balding! She has a nice mullet going on and random hair patches over her head.

Scarlett rolled on her back twice when she was 2 1/2 months old but hasn't done it since. She's a bit more serious than Shayla and can focus really well.

Scarlett could be a baby model!

Scarlett is a total mama's girl, but if you ask Eric he'll just tell you she hates him. I kind of love that she loves me more. Haha. She doesn't take a pacifier as well as Shayla (which makes it difficult for Eric) and is constantly sucking on her hand, or my arm, or Shayla's hand, or ANY skin she can find. 

Scarlett sitting with big sis!

Scarlett and Shayla now have tears when they cry, which is heartbreaking! 

When one baby stops crying the other one tends to start. It's pretty laughable to me. When all THREE babies are crying I just stand there and laugh. Clearly I don't have six arms so there's not much else I can do except find the humor in the situation! 

They are so sweet I wish I was two people so I could spoil each one with all my love. I could seriously kiss them all day long!

Deanna Rose Farmstead

The clinic at Eric's school is closed a few days over break so we hauled our family to the local farmstead. I assumed we would see a few animals and go home but it was a lot bigger than I expected with shops, multiple playgrounds, and walking paths. Eric said, "Why haven't we been coming here for years?" Oh yeah, because this is the first spring we actually have a child to go to these places with. It feels like Kinsey has been a part of our family for years.

First stop: Checking out the bench swings!

Then we took advantage of some photo ops. 

 Next we visited calves, goats, and a giant cow...all of which Kinsey was afraid of. When she saw the goats she said "Baa baa!" Goats or sheep? Same thing in her book! 

 There were some teepees that looked totally legit. Kinsey ran around them with her BFF, Hailey.

 Eric walked down and showed her the geese. 

And then this sugar obsessed mama saw an ice cream shop and the rest was history. Kinsey had her very first ice cream cone!

 She ate every last bite. 

 We took a little detour to the playgrounds where Kinsey went on the slides, one of her favorite activities. 

And on to see more animals and take more pictures. It was a good day out with our family and some friends!

5 Years and Counting...

Five years ago this guy decided he wanted to marry me in the Mount Timpanogos Temple.

 I haven't regretted the decision I made to be sealed to him for time and all eternity. I'm not the type to brag about how great my husband is, but because we've made it to our first semi-big milestone as a married couple, I think it's time. 

Eric has always put me and our family first. When he realized I was a keeper, he worked extremely hard to finish his undergrad in 3 1/2 years so we could graduate BYU together.

Eric chose a career path that would allow him to take care of his family (with some hard work) so we picked up everything after graduation and moved halfway across the country to Kansas. He has been in school year round our entire marriage. 

 Through our countless doctor visits and my endless tears, Eric always stood by my side. He was my rock even if it meant he couldn't break down. 

We've traveled to a few countries during our marriage. 

And our nation's capital! Eric is the best traveling companion. We like to relax and go at our own pace. I always miss him when I have to travel alone.

We found our little Kinsey here in Kansas, and Eric proved to be just as good a dad as he is a husband. In fact, he was the first to be able to get Kinsey to sleep. 

 He is a wonderful Priesthood holder, and we were able to get sealed to Kinsey last fall. 

 Then we welcomed our two little miracles into the family. Eric cuddles a baby every night so I only have to handle one at a time. 

 I can't even begin to tell you all the work Eric has put in to the last five years while still managing to make me laugh daily. He has passed all his board exams with three little kiddos as a distraction, me in the hospital for almost a month, while holding a church calling. He's only months away from becoming a doctor and starting his own practice. I'm so proud of him!

 I love my eternal family so much!! The last five years have been good to us and I can't wait to see what the next five has in store. I couldn't have asked for a better husband to share my life with!

Kinsey at 20 Months

Kinsey is an extremely strong-willed little girl whose emotions can change in the blink of an eye. I never know what I'm going to get when she wakes up in the morning. It's funny how much toddlers resemble teenagers! I can't wait to see what the next 16 years have in store for me with this one. And if you think she wears pajamas all day long then you'd probably be correct. It's pretty common for us to get dressed when she wakes from her nap (which happens to be after 4 pm). 

We tell Kinsey "no" A LOT so I guess it was only a matter of time this became her favorite word. She doesn't listen when we say it and we don't listen when she says it. It can be a vicious cycle. Over the past 2 months we have started putting Kinsey in time-out on the stairway because she doesn't listen to us. This usually results with her smiling at us so we have to put on our angry face to really show her she is in trouble. On the plus side, she now brings us our phones (even when we don't ask) instead of running away in the other direction with them!

Kinsey has been chewing on her crib since she started teething. There are about 20 teeth marks and a big chunk taken out. This was the first time she took a bite out of me, however. 

Her jealousy of the babies started the day she turned 19 months old. It was rough for a little while with the combination of teething, but I started having Kinsey help me out with things around the house. Her jobs include giving the babies a pacifier when they cry, soothing the babies, and helping me unload the bottom of the dishwasher. I think doing these "chores" have helped her feel more a part of everything going on around her.

But she still loves doing what her sisters do. 

Kinsey has had a few toys for a long time that she had zero interest in. All of a sudden, she loves her blocks and ring tower. 

She used to HATE wearing headbands. If you look back at our Halloween pictures, she refused to wear her Snow White headband until the very end. FINALLY she loves headbands. When they fall off Kinsey actually ASKS me to put them back on.  

And although there's some confusion on what clothes belong to Kinsey, don't be fooled. She is officially out of all her 12 month clothes and doesn't wear sisters' and daddy's clothes on a regular basis...

Cutie!!

You can find Kinsey's books anywhere in our house. Yes, even the bathroom. She currently enjoys taking every single book off the bookshelf. Cleaning up the books, in addition to all her food, off the floor is a little tedious. 

Reading with Papa. 

When Kinsey is upset the first thing she does is look for a blanket to be wrapped up in. She also started playing with her hair to comfort her. 

Now that the weather has been nice, we've had lots of fun playing outside!

Kinsey loves collecting rocks and sticks on our walks.

And lastly, Kinsey is OBSESSED with the movie Frozen. It's the only show she will sit down and watch without playing with her toys. She'll even ignore Daddy when he comes home if the movie is on. She even says the name "Anna" like in the movie. It's super cute.