5th Birthday

Morgan turned the big 5 last week. We had a fun time celebrating and welcoming him into this new age. He is ALL boy. Dirty, jumping, karate kicking, flipping, bike riding, super hero pretending, bad guy chasing, and hard working. The night of his birthday I reminisced about his younger years, rereading blog posts that made me long for those snuggly and cozy days with him as a baby. Days when Kendle was just starting school and the Morgster and I would spend quiet mornings together. How as he grew, he became my little shadow and loved to help me and follow me everywhere. Now as he is officially a "big boy", I appreciate the hugs, kisses, and time spent with just the two of us even more. I love this crazy, energetic, happy boy. He is so much fun and his dad and I are so proud of him. We feel so blessed that we are lucky enough to have him as a part of our family.

Attitude and Underwear

Last Saturday Kendle's soccer team gained another victory. She scored three goals, made some stellar saves at keeper, and played tough defense. Their team is still undefeated and she has a total of 10 goals for the season. She played like a beast and dominated the second half. So why was it a little hard to celebrate after the game? Well, I hate to say it, but her attitude and sportsmanship could use a little bit of work. Her competitive edge came out in full force, maybe a little too much? Sometimes she gets a little frustrated when she doesn't feel like everyone else is trying as hard as she is, which I totally understand, but we tried to emphasize the importance of building your team mates up and leading by example instead of having a major attitude and trying to be the "mini" coach on the field. Her dad and I tried to explain that even when you play your best game, you don't walk off the field a winner if you acted like a loser. I think it is also hard for her to treat her dad like a coach and not dad when she doesn't agree with what he wants her to do. All that aside, if she can work on the attitude and keep playing like she has, I think the sky is the limit to what she can do. She has become a whole different player this season. And I suppose (uh hmmm, throat clearing....) that Riley and I need to work on being better examples of not being so critical and that winning isn't everything.

I took these pictures during the half because I was so entertained by how hard Riley was trying to instill come strategy and instruction to these girls, although half of it was probably over their heads. He tries so hard to make these girls better. I just had to laugh and capture "coach Riley" in action on camera:

Lately Morgan has been obsessed with underwear. The other day while watching The Grinch who stole Christmas, he was sincerely puzzled as to why the Grinch wasn't wearing underwear (or clothes half the time for that matter). Is there really any good explanation you can give a 4 year old about that? I think I mumbled something about the fact that the Grinch was a creature of some sort and creatures don't need to wear it. Then this morning while getting dressed he asked me if Darth Vader wears underwear. Yep, I replied. Then he asks me, "Even when he was getting melted in the hot lava that burned half his body off?" Ummm....yep, I replied. "What about after he became the bad Darth Vader and he was wearing the big suit and mask and he talked funny?" Yep, pretty sure he was still wearing it. I read somewhere the other day that the average 4 year old asks around 400 questions a day. It's crazy, but true. And half of Morgan's questions are about underwear. Ha! He is so funny.

Here are a few pictures I snapped of the boys this morning since they were actually getting along and playing together:

Morgan

I didn't know what to expect four years ago when Morgan came into the world and became part of our family. His older sister was outgoing, boisterous, and had a big personality that captured attention wherever we went.  But I immediately sensed something different about this sweet, sweet boy that had the most precious little face and big blue/green eyes. From the first moments after his birth and on into the next few days I became aware of what a calm and at ease baby he was; so laid back with a happy little aura about him that seemed to spread the happiness to everyone else around him. The nurses in the hospital oohed and ahhed over him and remarked on what a content little guy he seemed. He was the easiest baby to rock and snuggle and loved to be close to me. Sometimes I would just hold him and stare at his perfect little face and he'd stare right back at me as though we were having some sort of telepathic conversation with each other. I remember when Riley gave him his baby blessing in church that one of the things that stood out to me was that he would be kind and sensitive to others needs and have a desire for service.

Now as I've watched him grow into a handsome 4 year old little boy, I see a hard little worker that can't be matched and the sensitivity that is a big contrast to his rough and tumble exterior. He is still my snuggle bug when he needs it, and will often pay me sweet little compliments that make me smile. It is hard as he gets older to see a little of the sweet personality get replaced with a little more defiance and disagreements, tantrums and harsh words, but I know deep down it is still there and hopefully will resurface more often than not as he continues to grow older and become less of a little boy.

On his birthday today I want him to know that his family completely adores him. His dad and I can't wait to watch his personality and talents keep developing and that we are amazed by the wonderful way his little mind thinks and works. We also want him to know the joy, fun, and happiness that he adds to our family each and every day. We know that he has an awesome future ahead of him and we can't wait to be by his side being his biggest cheerleaders the whole way. He is such a special little boy.

Happy Birthday Morgan!

{Kendle with her bobble head trophy at her end of the season basketball pizza party. The trophy had a surprising likeness to her.}

*Funny tidbit -- Kendle's team name was "The Shooters". The girls thought it would be cool after they scored a basket to act like they were blowing off their guns (a.k.a. their fingertips) and kind of do a bang-bang motion with their hands. But, seeing as how we are in Pasco, we figured that probably wasn't the best idea. :)

Thanks to daylight savings time this weekend, I am officially off kilter. Everyone's sleeping schedules are completely off. I guess it would help a little if we actually had some daylight to go with daylight savings time. It has been so dark and overcast and quietly peaceful (because the kids have all been sleeping in) the last few mornings, that it has been torture to drag myself out of bed. Those are the best type of mornings for sleeping in, and my body fights me from throwing the covers off, putting my feet on the floor and getting up to start the day. My energy seems to have just been zapped right along with that extra hour we lost.

On the bright side however, while perusing through vacation rentals last night, I found the perfect spot for us to stay this summer. We've been wanting to go back to Long Beach because we loved the laid back vibe, huge beaches, easy beach access and the fact that you can drive on the beach as well which is perfect for going down for a night time bonfire. We had a great time the summer before last when we stayed there for a week and made lots of good memories. I don't know if we will be as lucky this time around, but when we were there before we had the most gorgeous weather I've ever experienced at the coast. Warm, sunny days that were perfect for hanging out on the beach. (I think it helped it was the hottest week of the summer). It will be so nice to not have to worry about Riley coaching soccer this summer and be able to kick back for a week without having to rush back. I am super excited to start planning for that and some of our other summer vacation plans as well.

After church on Sunday we drove to Irrigon to hang out with my parents for a while. While we were there my dad took Morgan out for a little drive to the farm. He sent him home with a bag of little potatoes ready to be planted. The last few weeks, Morgan has been working on the side of our house (where it is just dirt) and has single handedly cleaned it all up, raked up the leaves, picked up all the toys and buckets, got rid of any big rocks, and made it into his own little farm. He is amazing and such a hard worker for a three year old. It would blow your mind to see him. He goes out there all the time during the day and pretends to check on things. We have been talking about letting him plant some things over there and take care of them. So with the little potatoes my dad sent home, he and Riley planted them yesterday and today we got lots of rain. We will see if they can grow. Morgan has already checked on them about twenty times since last night.

Well, I am kind of cold and debating on turning the fireplace on. (In March!) I think it is going to be a soup night for dinner tonight. I need something warm!  

Morgan's Prayers

Morgan is such a cool little boy. He can go from being a little turkey to a sweetheart in two seconds flat. Tonight while we tucked the kids in and helped them say their prayers, I got kind of choked up to hear the words coming out of his little mouth that were so clear, humble, and sincere.

"Bless us that we won't be snarky to each other." (one of the words I use for being cranky, had to stifle a laugh on that one.)

"Help us that we can be good and kind to each other and do the right thing."

"Help me to be a good boy."

"I'm thankful for our home."

"I'm so thankful for my family."


I think I'd like him to stay a three year old for a long time. I love this age. Moments like this help me to forget how mad and "snarky" during sacrament meeting I was when he wouldn't sit still and kept talking really loudly. It makes me remember that he no longer has a lap to sit on during church or a free pair of hands to look at a picture book with him. It makes me feel so sad for all of the moments I lose my patience or don't take the opportunities to stop and play and pay attention to him.

I needed to hear that little prayer tonight to remind me of what is most important. 

From the mouth of Morgan

Some funny things Morgan has cracked me up with lately:

~The other day while running around the house with a blanket on and trying to act spooky, I asked what he was doing and he said - "I'm being the Holy Ghost!"

~Last night while eating some yummy bubble gum ice cream my friend Natallie brought over, complete with blue mouth and drips going down his chin Morgan declared - "This is the best ice cream I've ever seen!"

~When he opens the sliding glass door to go outside and I ask what he is doing he says -"I'm going to check on the topatoes and the bikini's." (tomatoes and zucchini's). I love it when he asks if he can have some "bikini bread". So stinkin cute.

~Yesterday we watched the original Karate Kid during lunch and then Kendle wanted to watch it again after dinner last night. This morning while getting ready for preschool Morgan tells me - "I don't want to watch that movie with Daniel's son anymore." Ha!

Oh that boy seriously keeps me laughing all the time. I love how he talks.

This and That

Miss Kendle is adjusting to having her expander put in yesterday. She is frustrated that it is harder to eat and she was really grumpy this morning as she tried to eat cereal for breakfast, she finally gave up on it and ate some banana instead. It will be interesting to see how her lunch goes. Relearning how to eat is going to be a top priority. I would have thought having the expander on the roof of her mouth would have been more uncomfortable but so far she has only complained about the brackets on her two front teeth. They only put two on and are waiting for her other teeth to come in and she has one tooth that she needs to wiggle and help fall out. I was helping her take some pain medicine for it last night and accidentally banged the spoon on her teeth. Ouch! She was not happy about that. But, she is excited to being on her way to beautiful teeth!

{Got to love the "I just got done beating up on my little brother hair"}

Have I mentioned what a little snacker Mister Morgan is lately? Every time I turn around he is eating something or asking for a snack. He is like a little bird that grazes all day long. He is so skinny though, I figure it's not hurting him. He is stretching out and getting taller and has the skinniest little legs. I'm always trying to get him to drink more milk and I don't mind when he wants a spoonful of peanut butter. He has so much energy and is always playing and running and doing something. He hardly sits still for long. Last night I found him sitting on the kitchen counter snacking on an apple. 

I've never seen a little kid that drinks as much as he does either. He is always running to the fridge to fill up his cup for a drink. I don't think we will ever have to worry about Morgan staying hydrated!

In other exciting news, I have cut my time on running the mile by 45 seconds in the last month since I started running more consistently. I am aiming to cut off another 15 seconds in the next few weeks. I am feeling good but my knees are hurting me a little. My legs tend to get kind of sore because I have one leg that is a bit longer than the other (just one of my many oddities) so I think one leg tends to get more pressure put on it and it puts me off kilter a bit. Since we moved our treadmill into our bedroom and I can't watch TV anymore while I run I have to rely on a good playlist of workout music on my ipod. It totally keeps me going and keeps me pumped up and helps me run harder and longer than I think I can. Here's a small sampling:

Airplanes - B.o.B (Featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore)

Undo It - Carrie Underwood

When You Were Young - The Killers

Spotlight (Twilight Mix) - Mutemath

Heart of a Champion - Nelly

Everlong - Foo Fighters

Let the Drummer Kick - Citizen Cope

Something Good Can Work - Two Door Cinema Club

How Do You Get High? - The Weepies

I make sure to mix it up and change up the playlist every now and then so I don't get bored. Oh yeah, and it's always interesting to see what Morgan has been doing during my run. For example when he's supposed to be watching a movie and he's really been climbing up on the counter and eating all the sprinkles in the baking cupboard. Never a dull moment I tell ya.

Dressing Up

We call this look "Army Chic"

Big Things Happening

It has been a busy couple of weeks around the Dodson house. We are back in full swing with soccer, school, piano, and coaching. It can definitely be challenging to keep up with everyone's different schedules and make sure we don't forget anything.

Sometimes Morgan gets pushed aside a bit and can be the child that's always along for the ride. He's a good sport most of the time. So I was excited this week for him to start his first year of preschool and have something that is just for him and to make new friends. He goes two mornings a week from 9-11:30. He has been really excited the last week or so to finally get to go. His teacher is fantastic and really tries hard to reach out to each of the kids and make them feel welcome.

Here he is getting ready to go yesterday morning for his first day:

{Can you tell he was excited?!}

{His super scary dinosaur backpack, don't think we'll be getting it confused with anyone else's. Ha.}

Morgan is a little more nervous sometimes about things like this than Kendle was. Kendle wanted me to always just drop her off and leave quickly. Morgan kept asking me if I was going to stay with him. I felt a twinge of momma worry for him until we got there, walked in the front door, and his teacher was there to greet him and he got whisked away to do something fun. After picking him up to go home he had lots to tell me about his day. They read the Rainbow Fish story and painted their own fish. They also had a yummy snack, got to do show and tell, and played outside. He can't wait to go back next week. I can't believe what a big boy he is getting to be!

Another new and exciting development around our house is this:

I know a lot of people can get their babies to hold their bottles a lot earlier, but I was trying to enjoy every last minute of cuddle time I could. To be honest though, it can be really difficult to handle the crying of one baby while you are trying to feed the other. So the day had to come. I let them both get really, really hungry, laid them on a blanket, and without any difficulty this is what happened. To most moms this is not that big of a deal, but let me tell you how much better and easier this makes my life. I can lay them down for a nap together now, they can eat at the same time, they are sleeping better than ever, and on so much of a better and more consistent schedule.

Life is getting better! Yesterday I took Morgan to preschool, came home and fed the twins breakfast and let them play for a bit, put them down for a nap, I got a really good run in on the treadmill without any interruptions, got showered and dressed for the day in a quiet house with no one crying at my feet, got the babies up and dressed to go pick Morgan up and everyone was happy! It was a great thing.

Nature's Bounty

This year I decided since I was so busy I would only plant a few little vegetable plants and call it good. I am a low maintenance type of gal and I don't really like to mess around with high maintenance plants. I planted two tomato plants, one zucchini, and one yellow zucchini squash. Four plants total. I didn't even plant a cucumber like I usually do so I can make this summer favorite. I literally put the plants in the ground and basically forgot about them. Someday I would love to have a huge garden I can tend when I have the time to devote to it.

This year we have had an overabundance from these four little plants. Huge plump tomatoes. Juicy little baby tomatoes. Crisp yellow squash. Ginormous zucchini on steroids. I think we have some good soil where we live since it used to be all farmland, maybe there are still some rich nutrients left in the soil. Whatever it is, I loved going out with the help of my little farmer boy Morgan and gathering up big bowl fulls of ripe veggies. My plants have produced more this year than ever before. I love summer tomatoes and I can eat them up almost as fast as I can pick them. They have literally been little miracle plants, it seems like the moment I pick one there is another ripe one in it's place.




Every summer I never ceased to be amazed at watching what can come forth from a tiny little plant.

It is a good reminder to me that from small beginnings can come great things.

History Repeating Itself

My little Morgan loves to help Riley mow the lawn and push any type of wheelbarrow or wagon around. In fact, it's one of his favorite things to do. Whenever he stays at my parents house in Irrigon, 9 times out of 10 you can find him pushing their wheelbarrow all over their property pretending he's mowing the lawn and fixing things. Up hill and down hill, through dirt, grass, gravel, and rocks he pushes away. Sometimes in bare feet no less. He will do this for hours on end - rain or shine. It's a trait that makes him the little boy that he is.


I've always remarked to Riley how much I think our children resemble him as a child and also his father when he was little. On Sunday I was looking through an old photo album that one of Riley's aunts made for him with pictures of his dad and his grandparents. It is a true treasure. She documented dates and names and it is a real gift. I had looked at this picture of his father before, but this time I literally got goosebumps. Take a look a this little gem:

This is Riley's father Dwight James Dodson probably around age 2 or so and wouldn't you know it he's pushing an old lawn trimmer. Coincidence? The family resemblance is pretty strong. Morgan asked, is that me?

I never had the chance to meet Dwight because he passed away about 6 months before Riley and I met. Riley and his father were not that close and had a strained relationship most of his life, but I am so thankful for these pictures so that we can look back on his father's childhood and younger years and show our children and teach them a little about who their grandfather was.

Birthday Boy/ Last Day of School Fun

Sunday was Morgan's third birthday. He is a character and always cracking me up. He had been asking for weeks when he got to go to his party - literally at least five times a day. Well, we didn't really have a "party" party, just cake and ice cream with grandma and grandpa. Good thing because he was in kind of a rotten mood. He had fun opening some gifts and eating his cake though. Grandma and Grandpa gave him a cool castle tent to play in and a funny monkey that rolls around laughing. We gave him some new tractors, a movie and a cool wagon to ride around in and pull around all his "stuff". He is really easy to please and has loved playing with his gifts.

Here are some little facts for Morgan at age 3:

-Loves Spongebob and Max and Ruby

-Loves marshmallows, gum and gold fish crackers.

-Wants to spend every day at the farm with grandpa

-Wishes he had his own tractor

-Loves riding his bike and can go really far

-Is very mischievous

-Likes to get wet in any sort of water any chance he gets

-Favorite Movies are "Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel" and "Pee-wee's Big Adventure."

Here are some pictures from his birthday:

{Going for a test ride}


We had also been promising Morgan for his birthday that he could ride the train and the airplane rides. So on the last day of school we picked Kendle up, went to Sonic for some yummy lunch, and then headed out to Country Mercantile which is one of our most favorite places in Pasco to visit. A few of the children's cousins met us out there and they all had the best time. Morgan would live there if he could. We rode rides, had their delicious ice cream, picked out treats to take home and played on the tractor. It was time well spent. The man running the rides for us let them stay on as long as they wanted and was super nice. Morgan was literally the happiest little boy alive I think. I'm glad it doesn't take much to please him at this age.

Here are some pictures:

{We could not get him off of this to go home}

{Don't the twins look thrilled to be there?}

It was such a fun day. We came home and the kids were exhausted. Kendle had a dentist appointment that afternoon and was cavity free again. Yeah! Great way to start off the summer.

Eating in Style

How Morgan eats a brownie.........

We take our brownies seriously around here.

Funny Morgan Moment

The week before last we decided to give Morgan a little buzz cut and get rid of the shaggy hair he had been sporting. Usually when we get it cut, we leave it a little longer on top and then fade in the sides and back really short. This time we just did it ourselves and did it really short all over. It looked great, but after taking one look in the mirror Morgan announced, "You put my hair on backwards!" He sounded kind of ticked off about it. So he took another look in the mirror and again yelled, "You put my hair on backwards!" Riley and I were just dying laughing as we guessed he just wasn't used to seeing it that short everywhere and was thinking we must have put the long part in the back. Oh man. It was too funny, but the expression on his face made it even more hilarious. He was dead serious. So that's the new family joke for getting really short hair I guess.

Spring Break / Easter 2010

As it turned out, our floors took a little longer than we bargained for and the kids and I ended up spending the whole spring break in Irrigon with my parents. We literally did not come home until last night, just in time to let the kids slide around on the new flooring for a bit and then send them to bed. We are so thankful for everyone who came and helped, but especially my dad for coming up almost every day and working late into the night with Riley. They just worked and worked and the floors look great! All that's left to do is just touch up a few spots and paint the baseboards and put them back on. Easier said than done though, it will probably take longer to finish those than the floor did! Ha.

I was feeling kind of lame that our kids weren't going to get to do anything for spring break, but they ended up getting pretty spoiled while we were there. A few of the fun things they did:

-Went to the "How to Train Your Dragon" movie with my mom

-Helped decorate Easter cupcakes

-My mom bought Alvin and the Chipmunks the Squeakquel which they've been DYING to watch and I think they watched it at least ten times.

-Went exploring with my dad to the river, the park, and the fish hatchery. They had so much fun collecting shells and being with grandpa.

-Had lots of yummy treats including root beer floats.

-Kendle got to hang out at the school with my mom for a while on Friday and go to their book fair where grandma treated her and Morgan to some cute books. (I think this was Kendle's favorite day of the whole week.)

-Morgan got to go the farm with grandpa a few times

-Morgan played outside every day, even when it was cold and rainy. He had a blast jumping on the trampoline, pushing the wheel barrow around, and occasionally chasing the neighbors chickens out of the yard. He is an outdoors type of boy for sure.

Every morning when I would start to hear the babies fussing, I would get up and go out to the family room and there would be my parents already feeding and changing the babies. They are nothing short of amazing people. I know they were pretty tired from helping with all of the kids this week and I think they deserve a vacation themselves. One thing is for sure, Cooper and Kale absolutely adore grandma and grandpa.

I enjoyed the parts of General Conference I was able to watch over the weekend and hope I can recap the parts I missed. I also loved this movie that played after Saturdays session.

Sunday morning Kendle and Morgan woke me up around 5:30 to see if they could go look at what the Easter Bunny had left them. I made them go back to bed for a while but finally by 6:45 or so I couldn't stand listening to them "pretending to go back to sleep" anymore so I let them get up. Here are a few pictures of them:

As you can see there aren't any baskets in these pictures. I decided to do something a little different this year. Morgan has really been wanting a back pack and since he has been kind of obsessed with the "How to Train Your Dragon" movie, I bought him a cool dragon back pack and made that his "basket" with his cool stuff inside. I found Kendle a cute Eiffel Tower bag from Forever 21 that I knew she would love as her "basket" and she could use it for piano books, going to the library, or short trips to grandmas house. I think they got pretty spoiled by the Easter bunny.

Now we're back to school, routine, cleaning house, and all that jazz.

Family Update

Riley got offered and accepted the position of varsity girls soccer coach for Southridge High School. That means that he will be coaching not 1, not 2, but 3 teams this year - high school boys, girls club, and now high school girls. Yes, we have gone totally insane and just love to keep adding chaos to more chaos. We are gluttons for punishment I guess. This is going to be a really busy year for us, but we are going to tough it out and hopefully it will be worth it to have the additional income. So between his FOUR jobs, you could say he is a hard working guy. I am trying to be thankful for these opportunities instead of resentful knowing that they are giving us the little extra cushion we needed this year with the twins and it is a blessing. I get to be at home with my kids with everything we need and I couldn't ask for more. He's going to be putting new flooring in our house during spring break and I can't wait.


Kendle is going to be playing softball this spring and I am excited for her. I think it will be a lot of fun, especially since one of her friends will be playing with her. She's also been practicing extra hard on the piano to get ready for her recital that is coming up in May. She is a reading machine and goes through books quickly, usually a book a night. Sometimes I have to tell her to turn the light off and go to bed. I always think the late night reading will hinder her getting up in the morning but it never does, she is an early bird at heart. She is a really talented writer and artist and is always entertaining us with her witty and amazing stories. I really think she has a knack for it. We get to take her out to lunch on Wednesday with her teacher for being student of the month and she is really excited about that. She is a good helper and an extra set of hands when I need them. She continues to be joyful, exuberant, and extremely loud but we love her anyways.


Morgan is a whirlwind of fun and play. He's been totally potty trained for the last few months and is such a good boy about it. I am so happy with him and that we've conquered that battle. It is a huge relief to me and I know I don't have to worry about him going. He is such a little chatterbox and talks and sings the live long day. I love his happy go lucky spirit. We are starting to see a bit of the terrible two's. There are moments of stubbornness and tantrums, but I know a lot of it is due to my being busy with the babies the majority of the time and not being able to help him with what he needs or wants. He is a little overzealous with the twins sometimes, but I think he is just super excited to have some buddies to play with. It will be so fun for all of them in the next few years. When we get a quiet moment in the evenings he likes to come sit with me and get some mom cuddle time. I try to enjoy it because I know those moments will get few and far between. I adore his little face and smile and he continues to be my buddy. Sometimes I wish I could freeze him at this age because he is so cute.


Cooper and Kale are now 16 weeks and getting to be some chubby, chubby, boys. They just seem huge to me, but maybe that is because I am packing them both around and my arms get a serious daily workout. I was hoping these last two would be on the calmer end of the spectrum, but I guess I'm just destined to have really active movers. They both are already walking around in walkers and have both rolled over in their cribs. And speaking of their cribs, they are all over the place. The last few nights I have slept them in separate cribs because they have been moving around so much and I will find them completely turned around with their arms sticking out of the crib. It made me wonder this morning if they are trying to find each other because usually when they sleep together, no matter how far apart we lay them down, they always end up smack dab side by side with their little heads together. Maybe they are missing that. In any case, Cooper is definitely the better sleeper of the two which isn't much of a surprise because he reminds me more of Morgan while Kale is much like big sister Kendle - not just in how he sleeps, but boy does he have a temper and he is very sensitive. Both boys give the biggest smiles though and are so happy most of the time. They just talk and chatter and laugh. They love getting attention and they love to be held and talked to. What good boys they are. I just look at them every day and think - wow! I love them so much.


I feel like my days are mostly a blur of diaper changes, feedings, cleaning, laundry, and meals. I really feel like I'm being blessed with more patience than I thought I'd ever be capable of and the ability to get most of the things done around the house I need to do. Thank goodness for this blog so I can write down things I know I would probably forget in the hustle and bustle. Most nights when everything is winding down and I am reflecting back on the day I am amazed at what I was able to do and that I made it through another tough day. Every day feels like an accomplishment and right now the little things feel like big things. It is a very satisfying feeling to know that I am succeeding at taking care of my family and trying my best to be a good mother and wife. No matter how discouraging those tough and long days can be, I choose not to let those feelings keep me from being happy. There are days when I can feel the wave of being overwhelmed about to drown me, but I just keep swimming although sometimes it feels like I'm just treading water rather than getting anywhere. I know everything I am experiencing right now is making me grow and pushing me to become a stronger and more capable person. My sister-in-law Molly that also has twins told me that after this I would feel like I can do anything and make it through anything and I think she is right. In my spare moments I've been trying to finish a book that has been taking me forever to read and work on a few craft projects. Sometimes I feel guilty taking the time to do those things when I could be using the time to do something more productive, but I always feel better when I do those little things for myself. This week I am getting rid of all my maternity clothes! Hurray for that, it is a sad but good feeling.

Who's the baby?

Morgan insisted on getting in the other baby walker and following Kale around this afternoon.

{Kale looks just like big sister Kendle in this picture}

We've had that old blue and green walker since Kendle was a baby. I started putting the twins in them the last few days and they have been scooting around the kitchen. It is crazy to see their little 3 1/2 month old selves move like little turtles around in those things. I put a little blanket behind them to keep them from wobbling around. Time to start protecting the back of my ankles!

Making Me Laugh Today

Last year for Valentine's Day I bought Morgan a cute dog that is like a puppet and every time you move the mouth it sings part of "Close To You" by the Carpenters. Morgan dug it out of the toy box and has been singing the song all morning. Nothing cuter than hearing his little voice from a corner of the house singing:

"Why do birds suddenly appear, every time you are near?"
"Just like me, they long to be, close to you."

It's the most adorable thing.

On another note (ha), I laughed out loud when I heard him yell after flushing the toilet -- "Bombs away!"

He seriously cracks me up!

Recipe For a Fun Afternoon

• Take one cute little boy
  

• Add a large bag of lego blocks
  
  
  

• Mix with some vibrant imagination

• Add a dash of adventure and a pinch of spunk

*Combine until the fun begins and repeat until completely worn out!*

Monday Morning Ramble

Why is it that the one year Riley and I both get flu shots, (the first since we were kids probably) we have been sicker than ever. Our whole family has been going through an endless cycle of the flu and it finally caught up to the two of us this last week. It has been taking a whole week for the next person to get sick which means it has quite the incubation period and must be some kind of strong bug. For the record, I will just say I HATE - HATE - HATE feeling like I'm going to throw up. I already had to spend the majority of last year being miserable and I just want everyone to be well and feel good, including myself. It brought back horrible memories of my early months of pregnancy and I can't believe that it was possible to feel that horrible day in and day out. Morgan and I got almost this exact same thing back in October, just a few weeks before the babies were born and I felt like I was dying. Riley was so miserable yesterday morning and threw up a ton. I felt so bad for him. Regardless, he managed to make it with me to Kendle's "It's Great to Be Eight" fireside at the church last night since it was so important to her. He looked horrible, but that is a good dad for you. Hopefully we are all done now and these yucky bugs can be banished from our home. I will spend today, once again, cleaning and disinfecting everything I can. I'm so thankful to my mom for coming up and helping me on Friday with the kids. She spent the night and allowed us to get an actual whole nights sleep. I got up around 8:00 in the morning on Saturday and had not even heard a baby cry. She is so good. That was the first real night's sleep I have had in over 9 months and I felt so much better that day because of it.

I have to tell some funny things about Kendle before I forget them. She has such a funny sense of humor and has since she was a little girl. Her primary teacher was telling me last night at the fireside about something that happened in their class. A few Sundays ago, they were talking in their lesson about their spirits and how they looked like their bodies. They were passing around a mirror for each of the children to look at themselves in and when it got to Kendle she said "Great - so I'm going to be stuck with these teeth?" Her teeth are kind of at what we call "the hill billy teeth stage". She's getting very self conscious about the way they look. Anyways, they thought that was funny and I could totally picture her saying it. She's also been writing these really great little stories lately. I don't know how she thinks up all of her ideas but they are really cute. She wrote one last week about a whale with polka dots that had us laughing. I'll have to post some more of them on here in the next few days if I can remember. I can't believe she will be 8 this year. After the fireside last night she is so excited to get baptized and go to Activity Days. I'm so thankful for what good primary leaders and teachers she has.

Morgan is still doing great with the potty training and having hardly any accidents. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but we just keep encouraging him and keeping him excited about it. He gets to go to pre-school in the fall, so I've been using that as an incentive by telling him that to go to school he has to go potty like a big boy. He is so excited to go to school, so I think that has really helped. Sometimes it can be quite the adventure when I am stuck feeding or putting a baby to sleep and can't get up to help him and I can hear him in the bathroom not knowing what he's doing, but so far we've only had a few mishaps. He has loved playing with his big Lego block set my mom and dad got him for Christmas. He will spend hours building towers and garages for his cars. The other day he went through them and told me all their colors. I was very impressed. He has such a good imagination and will talk to himself and play so well. He is very curious and always asking me how things work. If a toy needs a new battery, he knows where to find them and will also bring me the right kind of screw driver to fix it. I like that during the day, he will still come sit and rock with me when we have a quiet moment together. He is my little buddy.

The twins had their 2 month checkup last week and we were excited to see how much they have grown. They are the exact same length if you can believe it - 23 1/2 inches long. Also, Cooper weighed in at 12.9 and Kale at 12.5, so they are almost the EXACT same size. I think that is amazing. The doctor couldn't believe it either. So that's about 3 or so inches and 5 or so pounds in the last two months that they've grown. Wow! Guess all that food they chug down has been good for something after all. They also had to get their vaccinations - 3 shots and one orally. I hate seeing those needles sink into their soft chubby little legs. It never gets any better no matter how many kids you have. Cooper's little leg was bleeding so much it got on his little outfit he was wearing. I think he handles that stuff a little better than Kale though. Kale just wails and has this horrible high pitched kitten mewing sound. It is the saddest thing ever. I've never heard a baby cry that like before, he is Mr. Sensitive. I can't believe they are 10 weeks old today!