Helpers

Back in May Jeff & I left the babies with my parents overnight to go away for our anniversary.
When we got back my mom said, "I don't know how you ever get anything done! I'm going to come over once a week and help you clean your house or whatever you need."
I love my mommy! :)
Since the kids have been out of school she usually brings Matthew and Maggie with her.
It's so nice to have some help, but it's also nice to have real people to talk to during the day! ;)

Here's Wrigley helping my mom fold some laundry one of the times they came over. :)

And Morley fell asleep on the couch with Matthew. :)

Bath time in the Bumbos

My friend, Steph, gave me the idea to bathe the girls in the bumbos.
GENIUS!!
I don't know why I never thought of this before.
Bath time is SO MUCH easier now!
And much more enjoyable for all of us :)

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Chicago 2011: Everything Else

The twins met lots of new friends/family members while we were in Chicago.

Little Tyler was so cute with them.

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Grandma Runner was visiting from Oregon while we were there and was able to see the girls for the first time.

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Our friends Ben and Lindsy were able to bring their kids out and spend a day at the lake with us.

They have twin little girls that are a year and a half. So we of course had to take a picture of their twins with our twins! :)

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Chelsea and Lauren LOVED the babies!

Chelsea wanted to feed them all day every day :)

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Lauren liked to try and guess which baby was which every time they came over. I think she got it right every time :)

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A few more cute pictures from our trip.
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Ruby

Last night I read Ruby's story. (find it here)
My heart aches for her family.
Don't read it if you don't want to cry your eyes out.
Little Ruby was 7 months old. She passed away last week from liver failure. She had a disease called Caroli's Disease/Syndrome. She was on the transplant list for months. They didn't find a match in time and her little body just couldn't fight anymore.
Last night I cried and cried for Ruby's mom....I don't even know her but I can't imagine having to watch your baby suffer like that.
Last night I went into my babies' room and stared at them while they slept.

Today I wanted to hold them all day long.
Today I kissed them a few more times.
Today I told them how much I loved them a few more times.
Today I played with them on the floor.
Today I got to see their sweet smiles.
Today I held them close and didn't want to ever let go.
Today I gave them a bath.
Today I heard them laugh.
Today I took them for walk.
Today I had little conversations with them, and wondered what they were trying to say back.
Today I fed them and changed their diapers.
Today I watched them sleep.
Today I rocked them and sang to them.

I get to do these things everyday.

Today I didn't take them for granted.
Today I didn't get one thing done.
But today, I don't care.

Today my heart still hurts for little Ruby's family.
But today I am grateful for the reminder of what is important in life.
Starting today I hope I can be better about not taking these little moments for granted. Life is short and you never know when it might be the last time you get to tell someone how much they mean to you.
Starting today I want to enjoy the little moments more. I want to stop stressing about the laundry or the dishes not getting done.
Starting today I want to enjoy this time of my life instead of always looking forward to what comes next. Time passes so quickly and my girls are growing up so fast. I don't want to look back and have regrets. Or feel that I missed out on this time of their lives because I was busy worrying about other things. They are only little once and I want to soak up every second of them while I still can.
Who cares if my house isn't perfectly clean all the time? What does it matter if the dishes sit in the sink a little longer?

Those things aren't really important. My #1 priority is my family. I am so blessed to have them. Being a mom is the best job I've ever had.

Even when we have rough days, I hope I can remember how lucky and truly blessed I am.

Chicago 2011: Fourth of July

The 4th of July has always been my very favorite holiday!

I was so excited to celebrate the twins' first 4th of July.

Jeff's extended family all get together at the lake house for the 4th.

We spend the day playing in the water, out on the boat and there's always tons of food!

The girls were pretty good all day, which was a little surprising since the only naps they got that day were short ones outside here and there.

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Jeff's cousin, Heather (who actually lives in Sandy) and her family were in Chicago over the 4th also. We took a picture of her little girl, Abby, with the twins. She is about 2 months older than them.

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We tried and tried to get the twins to smile but no luck. Sweet little Abby smiled for every picture. :)

We get SO many compliments on these gorgeous big blue eyes!

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Later that night when everyone had gone home except Scott & Lisa and Jeff's parents, we built a fire, roasted marshmallows and had s'mores. Then it was time for the firework show! There is a guy across the lake who puts on an awesome show every year! We usually go out on the boat and watch them from the middle of the lake, which is really cool because they are right above us. This year the babies were asleep so Jeff & I stayed at the house and watched the fireworks from the back deck. It's a little bit different show not being out on the boat, but still awesome! There were a few that literally shook the house. I was afraid they were going to wake the babies up, but they slept right through.

It was a very fun and relaxing day!

Chicago 2011: The Lake House

We had so much fun at the lake house this year.
Mike and Jeff & I and the girls were the only ones staying there this year, which was kind of weird. But kind of cool.
Like I said before, this wasn't as relaxing of a vacation as years past. No sleeping in for poor daddy ;) I don't think he loved being up so early with the girls.

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It was fun to have the twins there with us though.
The weather was perfect the whole 2 weeks! I guess it had been pretty cold and rainy before we got there, but it was super hot while we were there.
The lake water was cold when we first got there but it warmed up real fast with how hot it was. The girls weren't big fans of the water at first because it was cold but liked it more as it got warmer.

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We found an exersaucer in the basement and let the girls play in it. They thought it was pretty much the coolest thing ever!

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Bruce and Tiffany's kids love to play baseball on the lawn. One day Jeff & Matt got in on a game with Carter & Lauren.

Jeff & I weren't able to spend as much time on the boat this year as we usually do, but Scott & Jill volunteered to watch the girls so we were able to go out and ski a few times.

This swing was a.m.a.z.i.n.g. The babies had a hard time napping while we were there. I think there was just too much going on all the time and with them not being at home, they just didn't sleep well during the day. The two best naps they had were at Johnny K's. Jeff and I went there for lunch and they fell asleep in the car and slept through lunch and stayed asleep for a couple more hours in their car seats when we got back to the house.

When they were grumpy and wouldn't go to sleep, we took them to the swing. Worked every time.

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They slept awesome at night though, which is all that really matters right?? ;)

I think they were just so worn out from being outside all day every day!

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We're so glad we were able to spend the time we did at the lake house this year. We found out a few weeks ago it was our last summer there. The lake house was sold and we are so bummed about it. Jeff has spent summers at the lake since he was a little boy. I obviously haven't been around that long but I have been able to spend a few weeks there each summer for the last 4 years and I feel lucky to have been able to spend that time there with Jeff's family. It was always a blast and I have many great memories there!

Cute Videos

I'm so behind on blogging!
I'm going to try to put up a post every night after the babies go to bed until I'm all caught up.
We got home from California at 5:00 this morning so tonight I'm exhausted and going to bed!
But here are a few cute videos of the girls to enjoy until I get a new post up.

Wrigs bouncing on the trampoline with Grandma.

Morley girl copying Melinda.