Thanksgiving Day 2011

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year in California with the The Hansens.
Thanksgiving Day was relaxing, well, as relaxing as it can be with 3 babies and 2 young kids but it was pretty darn peaceful given that.
The food was yummy, the fire rumbled all day and it was
great spending time with one another.

Our 5 year old nephew Anthony made the adorable place settings.

Clara and Bree with their new cousin Taylor who is 6 weeks old.

Eating their Thanksgiving dinner....graham crackers. Yum Yum.



Instead of the old going around the dinner table saying what we were thankful for, we said the best and worst parts of our day. It was entertaining. A few: Rick's worst part of the day was wrestling with Ethan while he had a dirty diaper(yuck..haha), Cari's best part of her day was simply sitting on the couch and talking with her husband while holding her baby, Michael's worst part of the day was slipping in the shower, and my personal favorite...little Anthony predicted his best part of the day would be when we would play Scattergories later that night with the whole family. Tricky way to get everyone to participate! Fun memories.

I think this year more than any we have felt overwhelming gratitude and thankfulness.
We are so happy to have become parents this year and grateful to our Heavenly Father for bringing us this blessing.

Family Pictures

A few weeks ago we went and got family pictures taken from our friend Dana.
She also took these pictures back when I was pregnant and we were excited she could take some of our whole family this time.
We are so happy with them.
People keep asking how in the world we got both girls to smile at the same time.
Our secret weapon? Kids.
We asked my 8 year old niece Abby and 10 year old nephew Kaden to come along and stand behind the photographer and get the girls to giggle.
The girls LOVE Kaden and Abby so I knew it would work!
Here are a few of our favorites.

Please take a minute and admire this double chin and chubby cheeks....yes, we are proud! Pretty impressive.

Seven Months

These babies are still growing and they aren't stopping. I love that they are growing and thriving, but I wish I could push the pause button sometimes.

Because the girls were premature, each month we have nurse that stops by our house
to check in on them and make sure they are developing and growing as they should.
She has been coming every month since they were born and will likely continue until they are one.
It is always hard for me because I look at other 7 month olds and see them doing things that Clara and Bree aren't doing yet. It is so great that this nurse comes in to remind me that they were 6 weeks premature and have a little catching up to do. She is pleased with how they are doing and they are right where they need to be!

The girls continue to experiment with food. They have now tried bananas, peaches, sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, carrots, and squash. Because they are eating more solids, I feel like I'm changing a million diapers a day. Crazy!
A big change this month is that the girls can finally bathe together. Now that they are both really steady as they sit, I have been able to sit them up in the tub and they splish splash with each other while I clean them. They love it and I love that it saves me so much time bathing them together!
The toy fighting has definitely already begun with these two. It seems that any toy Bree has Clara wants and any toy Clara has Bree wants. They both do a really good job at sticking up for themselves and will cry if their toy is taken away but right away goes to steal it back. I have some fun times in store for me with these two girls fighting over things, I can tell already!


I totally screwed up this month and didn't get pictures with their little monthly stickers on. These will have to do. These pics were taken on their 7 month bday after they went to the doctor and got some booster shots. I was trying so hard to get both girls to smile. This basically shows how impossible it is sometimes. I love that Bree finally got sick of looking at me and started eating Clara's arm. Silly girls.


-Sleeps like a log. Nothing wakes her up.
-Got first tooth! Bottom right came in on her 7 month bday and the bottom left came in about two weeks later.
-Still hates her tummy. I'm worried this girl will never crawl.
-Really good eater. Will take her orange veggies and green veggies, although the green ones don't seem to be her favorite.
-Still not a huge talker, but when she comes our of her shell and babbles we take it all in because it is so tender.
- Focuses so hard on little details. For example, when I put her on the ground for tummy time, she zones in on each grain of carpet touching it in between her fingers. She examines it forever and won't take her eyes off.
-Makes this strange elephant sound a lot. I don't know how else to explain it other than it sounds like an elephant. It's all through her nose and it is so hilarious.







-Has started to only sleep on her stomach. Whenever I go in to check on her, she has rolled from back to front. She has definitely found her comfy position.
-First one to get a tooth, the day before her 7 month bday. Bottom right came in first and about a week letter her bottom left came in.
-So ticklish. Dad tickles her under her chin and arm pit and she belly laughs as hard as she can.
-LOVES the bath. Splashes and squeals, then cries when she has to get out.
-Has started to lift her little knee up when on her tummy to experiment with first stages of crawling.
-Will NOT eat green veggies. Gags any time that I have tried to get her to eat them. No peas or green beans for this little lady.
-Still loves to talk and squeal. She is always the life of the party.

Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011 has come and gone and it was the best one yet.

Of course this has something to do with our little ladies and we embraced every second.
It goes without question that we touched every base as far as Halloween clothing attire goes.
I had way too much fun dressing these girls up basically the whole week leading up to the the big day.


They had Halloween tutus...


Halloween hats...

Halloween bibs...


Halloween pjs...


and finally, their Halloween costumes...
A little much? Nah!!
You only get your first baby once, and not everyone gets their first and second baby at the same time.
So much fun and we soaked all the adorableness up!






As far as the festivities go, we started out on Saturday night with a pumpkin carving/scary movie marathon party at my parents house.






The whole collection of finished pumpkins. I think it is safe to say, we don't take our pumpkin carving too serious(as reflected by the creativity) but we have a ton of fun.



Our little family of pumpkins.
Betcha can't tell which one is Clara's? Good job Rick!
I carved Bree's pumpkin. I was trying to carve the pretty shape of Bree's eyes, and that is
when things went terribly wrong. It ended up looking more like an alien. Oh well.

From left: Clara, Rick, Bree, Melissa


We got to experience Clara's first little Halloween scare when Ashley and I put her in front of this skeleton that made noises. Just look at her face. A few seconds after this picture we heard a terrified scream and the tears started to flow. It was so sad and we made sure to stay far away from this decoration for the rest of the night.










On Halloween day, the girls and I woke up and went to Kaden and Abby's costume parade at their school. Abby was a Zombie and Kaden was a Jabberwocky from America's Best Dance Crew. They looked so great!


Later, we went and picked Rick up from work and went to visit both sets of Rick's Grandparents.
We are so lucky they live close so we can spend time with them and the girls
get to know their Great Grandparents.


Great Grandma and Grandpa Thorn

Great Grandma and Grandpa Hansen
(Grandma Hansen isn't too fond of pictures, so I snuck and got this one in of everyone while no one was paying attention. Hopefully she doesn't mind!)



We then headed over to party number 2 at my parents on Halloween night for a costume contest and food.
I have always loved Halloween.
It is the first of the end-of-year holidays and I think
people in general are ready for some fun. Myself included.
Of course children steal the show, but what I love almost as much is seeing adults get dressed up and goofy.
One day a year to be a kid again, I say embrace it!











Matthew was missing from the crowd this time. He is now a teenager and much more interested in hanging out with girls on Halloween:) We missed him and it wasn't the same without him there.


This gorgeous hippie won the $50 grand prize in the costume contest!


And of course the yummy food my mom always so graciously prepares for all of us. Traditionally we had soup, breadsticks, pigs in a blanket, donuts and apple cider . Delicious!



Towards the end of the night, the girls were exhausted and getting a little ornery so we decided to take off their costumes.
As soon as we took them off, they were as happy as can be again.
I guess they had had enough of being ducks!



We finished off the night with Abby entertaining Bree and Clara with a pot of apple cider and dry ice.
The girls were so intrigued by Abby and the mysterious steaming pot.
It was priceless to see their faces and reactions.
If you are thinking this looks as if we are asking for trouble, we were.
Clara ended up tipping the pot over and it spilled everywhere.
It was worth it for the fun they had!





It was a great Halloween.
We look forward to the many years ahead!