Whoa...Where has the time gone??

So...two years since the last post...I kinda stink at this whole blogging thing! Let me sum up the past two years, and then going forward, I'll try to keep up (and fill in more details of the last two years...sigh...). So, here goes:

The twins are so big, and what a ride it has been!! They are two and a half, growing so fast and learning new things every day!  Hank loves his "Gankie", trains, trucks, and anything he can push, pull or take apart!!  He loves to figure out how things work and is a very curious little boy!  Hattie loves books, cars, trains, and talking.  She is our little chatterbox!!  She uses new words every day, and we love to hear what she'll say next!! Both kids can count to 10, know their colors, and love story time before naps and bedtime!!

Nate is halfway finished with his third and final year of law school.  He has worked so hard and has really enjoyed his education.  He has done really well in his classes and has kept busy with every extracurricular activity he can sign up for.  His hard work will pay off in May when he graduates with his JD!!  I am so proud of him!!

I have really enjoyed staying home with the twins, and absolutely love being a mama!!  My family keeps me on my toes, that's for absolutelly sure!! I recently went to work part-time in the evenings for a Marriott hotel in west Omaha, and have enjoyed the work.  Nate gets to hang out with the bambinos at night, and I think that they have all enjoyed their daddio-kiddo time!!

Nate and I had a fit of madness in August and brought home a chocolate lab puppy...that we named Huckle Berry (Huck for short).  Pretty sure we should have gone with any name that didn't begin with "H", because we are forever calling the dog "Hank" and our son "Huck"...hopefully that doesn't give Hank some kind of complex later on in his life!!

After living in the Drake Court Apartments for almost a year, we moved into a community of townhomes called Village Green (just down the street from the Johnsons...until they moved to Arizona last May).  We love it here.  We have such a wonderful community and are so lucky to be surrounded by amazing neighbors!!  Our ward is wonderful, and we have felt so at home there.  I am currently serving as a Relief Society teacher, and Nate is the Elders Quorum president.

Hopefully, I can get more caught up with posting and make up for the two year radio silence!!  Our love to all!!

First Holidays!!

Thanksgiving this year was full of firsts! The babies, of course, had their first turkey day, I made my first Thanksgiving turkey (thanks to Alton Brown and his "Good Eats" recipe...I'm a brining believer!), and it was the first Thanksgiving that we didn't travel. Nate had a short break from school, but his finals were the following week, so we didn't think it'd be wise to travel until after his finals were over. So, here are our little turkeys in their Thanksgiving turkey onesies (which I made with help from my friend LanaMarie). This was also the pic that I put on the card we sent to our parents and siblings.

The two coolest things about this picture? It was the first one I took, and I didn't have to position their hands...they did that themselves. They are very aware of each other now and love to interact, smile, and laugh with each other. I LOVE IT!!!

Here is Hank, wearing the hat that came from Nina and Papa George. I. Am. Absolutely. IN. LOVE. With. This. Hat!! It makes me happy every time I get to put it on him! How can you not be in love with our little man when you see this pic? He is such a happy boy, and I can see his sense of humor already! He loves to entertain his sister, and thinks his Daddy is an absolute riot! No one can make him laugh as hard as his Daddy can!! This Mama can't possibly kiss him enough, he is just that yummy!!

Here is sweet Hattie, wearing the Christmas tutu I made for her. Isn't she such an angel? She is a chatterbox, and has the sweetest little voice (when she's happy, that is!) And those fingers might look tiny, but they sure have a pretty big guy wrapped completely around them! You know, I've never been accused of being a morning person, but when I go to get her out of bed, it makes me so happy to see her sweet, smiling face! She loves to smile at and talk to her brother, and I am so excited for their friendship to keep growing!

This was at our ward Christmas party. The babies were really good with Santa (no freaking out), and Hank thought the beard was completely fascinating! He didn't pull, but he definitely had his hands in it (which cracked me up!). Our ward is absolutely wonderful! Nate wasn't able to make it to the party, but I had plenty of willing hands to hold a baby (which is why I was also able to go to a cookie exchange for Relief Society). We have been blessed here in Omaha, it truly is a wonderful place with lots of great people!

Nate had his finals from the 5th to the 14th, and was completely worn out by the end! We are so grateful for the month-long break to recover!! We will head to Texas for Christmas, and to Utah for about a week after the first of the year. We are excited to see our families!

And now, please enjoy this little post-nap conversation between the twins to bring some Holiday cheer!!!

If the video doesn't work, you can find it here: http://youtu.be/6POTrtWHOBk

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

The Football and The Flower...and then some!

The babies' first Halloween was fun...at least for their parents! Hank was a football and Hattie was a flower (her costume was originally a pea pod, but I decided to change it!). The law school had a trick-or-treat, so we took the babies and showed them off. And, really, who wouldn't want to show these two off?!

Here's our sweet little flower:

And here's our handsome little football:

And the two of them together (sorry for the poor quality...I took these on my phone camera):

Aren't they just delicious?! Naturally, they were a big hit wherever we went! Although, I did have to explain Hattie's costume a couple of times. The idea was there, the execution of said idea wasn't so great! Nate said that it looked like George Washington's wig, only pink and purple!

I got culinarily crafty (so to speak), and made these cookies that I saw on OurBestBites.com. BTW, I am totally in love with royal icing...I need to play with it a little more!

After Halloween (and by "after", I mean November 1st!) we had an absolutely beautiful day, so the babies and I took a walk to to the law school to trade car keys with Nate. It was a really nice walk (sorry, no pics!)...and I'm so glad we took it when we did, because Wednesday, the weather did an about face and it snowed. So, I pulled out these adorable warm bear outfits so the babies and I could go run our errands. And I can't get enough of my babies!!

So, with the cooler weather comes super cute warm clothes for the babies (aside from the bear suits!). Hank is in a rugby shirt and jeans that, frankly, scare me because they make him look so big! But he's still a handsome little devil (looks just like his daddy!!)


And Hattie, in her cute stripey sweater and jeans (the first pair of jeans that she's ever worn!). She looks so cute, I could eat her up, but like her brother, looks like such a big kid!

The hair on top of her head is getting longer, so I found these tiny little clippies, and think she looks so cute (and again, so big!)! I figure that if I start using clippies now, she'll be used to them later! Isn't this clippie so sweet?

I hope that this dose of the babies has been enjoyable! We are still loving Omaha, and Nate is enjoying law school! We are so grateful for the support that we receive from our loved ones, and are always praying for them!

4-Month Checkup...slightly delayed!

We just had the 4-month checkups/2nd round of immunizations for the babies this week. We had to do it a wee bit late as we didn't have insurance until a couple of weeks ago. That being said, the babies are growing like crazy and are healthy as little horses! At their 2-month checkup, they were measuring small (like 5th percentile small) so I was thinking that they would still be small. I have never been happier to be wrong! And now, with no further delay, here are the twins' 5-month stats:

Hank-
Height: 26.5" (73rd Percentile)
Weight: 16 lb 14.5 oz (58th Percentile)
Head Circumference: 44 cm (72nd Percentile)

Hattie-
Height:25" (43rd Percentile)
Weight: 14 lb 14 oz (45th Percentile)
Head Circumference: 42 cm (53rd Percentile)

And here are a few pics of the bambinos! They are so much fun, and have the funniest/sweetest personalities. We are so glad that we get to be their parents!


This pic was taken the evening after their checkup. The shiny things on Hattie's legs are the bandaids from the immunizations.

This is them, being big kids sitting on the couch. I had to snap the pic really fast before Hank tipped over. They're getting it! Hank can roll from his front to his back, and is so close to rolling from back to front! Hattie is soooo close to rolling from front to back! They both like to hold toys in the air and pass them from hand to hand. They're discovering new things every day! Recently, they decided that they like putting their hands in my mouth when they're eating...and I love nibbling on their sweet little fingers!
These are the onesies that I made for them at a recent craft night at a friend's house. I thought it was a fun idea, and I think that they look so cute in them!! I liked this picture because it looks like Hank is being so tender to his sissy. They are getting so funny with each other, and it's fun to watch their relationship develop each day. So...that is where we are at the moment. We have their 6-month checkup on November 18th, so I have some work to do getting them fattened up!

This is a bit long...

So feel free to skip as much as you want! It's just a small (or not so small) clip of when the babies had their first taste of rice cereal (AKA first solid food experience!). You may note that our children are spitter-uppers...always have been, but hopefully, they won't always be! Feast your eyes, friends!!

Bumbo Babies

Here are the babies in their Bumbos for the first time! Hank is a bit wobbly, but he'll get it...and Hattie looks like she's saying a prayer! But they seem to like sitting up to see the world!

Sweet little clip...

Here's a sweet little clip with our Hattie giggling. Usually, when the camera comes out, she stops giggling and gets distracted by the camera. But tonight she delivered! I tried to get one of Hank, but he wasn't in the giggling mood when the camera was in reach. But when we were getting ready for his bath, he started up. He must've known that I couldn't get to the camera! So, it's my next goal to get him talking or laughing ON CAMERA! Anywho, here's our sweet Hattie!! Enjoy it. She's pretty delicious!!