Dear ol' dad

This is a post I've been having a hard time writing.  My dad passed away suddenly on October 11.  As I've stated in earlier posts, it's been a tough fall.  As hard as it's been, I've told my mom that death brings out the best in people.  I've always known I have an amazing extended family and friends.  But, really, I have the best.  My dad was a proud dad and grandpa and I'm so grateful he was able to meet all of my kids.  

 Grandpa Dale and Henry on the day he was born, October 19, 2009

 Grandpa Dale, Grandma Debbie and Charlie on the day he was born, August 15, 2011

 Grandpa Dale with Beatrice and Louise on the day they were born, August 1, 2013

Speaking of twins . . .

 So "they" say identical twins have nothing to do with genetics.  Then tell me why my sister is pregnant with her own IDENTICAL TWIN GIRLS?!?!  Crazy, right?!  Here is my mom watching the priceless video of my nieces learning that they will have their own twins!  Adorable!  Jennie is due early April (but will have them mid-March, most likely).  I'm soooo excited for them, but also have been very frank with how it is having twins . . . not sure if she wants to know the good, the bad, and the ugly but I can't keep my trap shut so I'm not sure if I'm helpful or freaking them out!! :)

Twins

 I'm not gonna lie- having twins is NOT EASY!!!  It's like having a newborn baby times two (ha!).  BUT, as they continue to grow, it has gotten to be so much fun!  Their smiles, coos, and mini milestones are so worth the crazy life we're living right now.  

The girls still have their own look, but are beginning to look more similar.  I think if Lou added a few more ounces and had a bit more hair, it would definitely take a few moments to figure out who was who!

Henry and his sisters . . .

 Henry, as I expected, is the biggest sweetheart to his sisters.  As you can see from above, he loves to "love 'em up."  He's constantly planting kisses all over them, talking to them when they start to fuss, and truly enjoys playing with them.  Bea and Lou are two very lucky ladies to have Henry as their big brother!

 The girls slept in their pack-n-play in our living room during their naps for the first few months.

 Louise

Beatrice

Apple Orchard!

 We managed to make it out for some apple picking this fall!  The boys had a blast and some much-needed out of the house time! :)

 The tractors were a BIG hit with both boys.

 My rough and tumble guy loved running up and down the stacks of hay bales.

 Boys LOVED picking apples :)

 Or finding them on the ground, as C-man liked to do!

The girls took a nice snooze in their carseats during all the fun :)

It's a good thing he's cute . . .

 That has been my motto for Charlie this past fall!  And, man, is he ever cute!  He is so much fun when he's well-rested and such a stinker when he's not!

Charlie is mama's little helper during Henry's nap time.  He really loves the attention when Henry is asleep and enjoys playing independently without big brother running the show!

Finally . . . an update!

Long time!  Life has changed dramatically . . . I'll do my best to remember what has happened these past couple of months :)

So, as of early October, the last time I blogged, the girls continued to give us a run for our money.  As sweet as they are, they were sleeping very little at night . . . up every hour and a half to two hours (and on opposite schedules).  I'm pretty sure at this point we were still getting just a couple of hours of sleep, total, throughout the night.  I remember just wanting to sleep in a horizontal position instead of sitting up in a chair holding babies!!  There were many nights when I never even made it to my bed.  The days were also demanding- constant attention was needed to feed, diaper, hold, comfort, snuggle, etc. I believe this is about the time when my Aunt Lisa from Kansas was up to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday and tacked on a few days to spend with us.  Through her wisdom and baby expertise (she raised four kids as well!), she convinced me to let them sleep on their tummies (gasp!).  In my desperation, I did . . . at nap time only (so I could keep an eye on them) and, by golly, they slept!!!  It was like finding a water hole in the desert! :)  Because I was afraid to put them on their tummies at night, they continued to "sleep" in their carseats (yes, their carseats) or in my arms.  Ufta.  Tough nights.

Not only were the girls a bit of a challenge, the boys were too!!  Definitely not enough mommy to go around for everyone- boys learned to take advantage and learned very quickly that being naughty got mama's attention (things have gotten better . . . thank goodness).  Charlie was still not napping and was (and still is!) quite the bear because of his lack of sleep and perhaps the fact that he is two has something to do with his challenging personality!  Henry, on the other hand, continues to nap for about two hours a day.  He's such a good sleeper- I hope the girls take after him! :)

Luckily, we continued to have some help during this time.  The boys loved the extra attention another body brought to our house and I loved being able to focus on the girls without feeling like I'm neglecting my other kids! :)