A Trip to the Zoo!

We decided to splurge this year and get a Zoo Membership! We've already saved money with it - we LOVE the Zoo. Chelsea has now mastered the following animal sounds: Monkey, Tiger (Lion, Dinosaur, or anything with scary teeth), Horse, Cow, Elephant, Dog (her favorite), kitty cat, bird, and I'm trying to teach her Gorilla. We have a lot of fun together as a family! We especially love it when Daddy gets to come along on our adventures:

Thanks, Daddy!

It was so cool - the leopard kept pacing back and forth. Right before we took this picture Chelsea's nose was practically against the glass - you can tell she is a little bit unsure about how close this Big Cat was.

We toted our cute babies around in a wagon! (now we have a minivan and can bring our TRIPLE stroller to the Zoo - which we did once already)

Of course, we must end the day with some Ice Cream! (I hope it was better tasting than the sand she sampled earlier)

Happy 1 Month Birthday!

My girls are 1-month-olds already!! They are growing up so fast. They can focus better, follow voices, and both Lily & Lucie have smiled at me while they were wide awake! They are still pretty hard to tell apart, but Lily so far has a little bit more chubs than Lucie and a little less hair in the front, but even then I haven't taken off their name bracelets - I would hate to get them confused permanently.

The best news is that they are becoming better sleepers! Lily slept a whole 7 hours straigtht last night!!! Lucie didn't sleep quite as long, but she is still making a lot of progress - 4 hours straight - which I think is amazing for a baby that is only 4 weeks old (Chelsea didn't sleep even that long until 6 months)! We've been pretty determined to helpthem get their nights and days straightened out. I make sure to get them up around 9 am (varies, obviously), feed them, then at least change their clothes, so they know it's morning and time to play. We have them on a Eat, Play, Sleep schedule and I usually feed them at the same time. I like this kind of schedule because I never feel confused about what they need. I can be sure I fed them, and then when they start to get fussy while we're playing (which is tummy/talking time) then it's time to go take a nap.

I couldn't do it without all the help I've received in the first month - thanks to everyone!! who've helped me clean my house, watch my Chelsea Rose, or make us dinners (plus I know there's been tons more you've done). Recovery from my C-section has been slow but steady. I definitely am learning a lot through this experience! And I can't end this post without acknowledging how helpful Michael has been through this whole experience - he is the sweetest. He helps me cook and clean - on Sunday I didn't do a single chore or make a single dish because he stepped in a did it all so I could have a "day of rest." He and Chelsea also are becoming quite the duo - he helps with her so much, because I'm not supposed to lift her yet (2 more weeks!).

These little girls are angels; we are so blessed to have them in our family!

Happy Birthday, Lily & Lucie!

February 21, 2011

8:11 am
52 seconds apart

Lucie Nicole

6 lbs 13 oz
19 inches

Lily Michele
7 lbs 0 oz
19 inches

We named them after our mothers, Lucie (Michael's Mom) & Michele (My Mom) as well as both Michael and I have sisters with Nicole their middle name, Laura & Brook. We feel so blessed that they came so safely. My biggest prayer was that they would be able to come home from the hospital with me and they did! We have the best family and are loving getting to know our beautiful girls!

Lily & Lucie were born on Michael's brother, Grant's, birthday. He entered the MTC two days later, I say, that was a close call, we're so happy he got to meet them before he left.

** Happy Valentine's Day **

Michael and I had SOOO much fun last night! We sure love each other SOOO much and love celebrating how much we love each other - we splurged and even got a baby sitter! He came home with these beautiful flowers - I LOVE FLOWERS!!! It was filled with roses, star gazer lilies, and beautiful greens! ** He also wrote me the sweetest love letter -

This is where we had our wedding luncheon - we can never get enough of Joy Luck! We shared Tangerine Chicken and Almond Shrimp. Delicious!!

Shoes, shoes, shoes! Thank you, Michael - we went to the Gateway after dinner, window shopped and got a few things for the both of us. We love getting each other presents and surprises!! (maybe a little too much . . . )

This is the Valentine's Card Chelsea and I made for Daddy!! Isn't she cute??

Here's us waiting at Joy Luck! We LOVE love and hope that you know how much we LOVE you!!

Cross Your Fingers . . . x2.

I'm really hoping to get everyone an update of our family - this will be the 3rd time I've tried. My Internet has been super fast today so I'm hoping that I can get pics and movies to upload. Here goes . . .

Chelsea's 1st Birthday:

We had a huge party for Chelsea Rose! She is growing up to be such a sweet gal and is in love with dogs! There are 3 dogs that live behind us so she always wakes up from her naps barking, it is so cute. Because of her love her dogs we threw here a Dalmatian Party! She had no problem digging into her Dalmatian Cake! It was so fun to have both sides of our family there to celebrate our sweet little angel. Thank you for all the gifts and love!

Christmas Time:

We had the best Christmas ever! We spent Christmas Eve/Morning with my family in Orem and then went home to have a little Christmas opening at our house - then headed over to the Gibbons Family's to celebrate the rest of Christmas day with them. Michael spoiled me SOOO much this Christmas! We feel so blessed to be able to celebrate the birth of the Savior every year. We hope to keep him at the center of our lives and hearts throughout the entire year! We talked about next year making Christmas more about the Savior - if you have any suggestions how you keep Christ in your Christmas we would love to hear them.

Yes, we all look a little tired, don't we? My family is up at 6 am (at the latest) to open presents! I love it - and with how many people there are it usually takes about 3 1/2 hours for everyone to get through their presents - well, mostly because we all get spoiled! :)

New Year's Celebrations:

We celebrated New Year's in style! On New Year's Eve, Michael's band had the opportunity to perform at the Tabernacle for First Night, they did such an amazing job! During the day, we went to Build-A-Bear with my family and then Discovery Gateway with Michael's family! And on New Year's day we met up with all of my extended family on my Mom's side at The Chinese Gourmet for our annual New Year's dinner (this is highlighted in the picture of my sister, Laura, and her new husband, Josh!! - congratulations! They got married on December 21st and spent their honeymoon in California over Christmas Break, fun huh?).


A quick trip to the doctor:

It was the first time that Chelsea has ever been really sick - she had an ear infection and a little cold in her eye, but she got better quickly with antibiotics and has been healthy ever since! She was such a sweetie, we waited for 2 hours to see the doctor (Michael is in the background trying to find something for her to watch on his iPhone).


And the waiting begins . . .

Can you believe we've made it this far into our pregnancy?? We are 36 whole weeks along and the babies are as healthy as ever! In fact, they are both about 6 1/2 lbs. each already. This isn't the best picture of me, but it shows how HUGE I'm getting! I told Michael that the next time we have a baby that if I ever complain that he needs to remind me about this pregnancy . . . It is just a little bit hard to get around these days . . . but, we can't wait to meet our Sweet Girls!

A Twin Update! @ 27 Weeks

BABY B - WEEK 27 (BABY A's HAND IS OVER HER FACE)!!

BABY A - WEEK 27 (3D - so cute!!)

BABY B - WEEK 16

BABY A - WEEK 16

BABY B - WEEK 12

BABY A - WEEK 12

BABY A & B - WEEK 6
(we found out we were pregnant and having twins on the same day)

Halloween, Bellies, and Flowers.

We went to our ward's trunk-or-treat for Halloween. It was so fun - they had a chili cook-off and everything, delicious! Michael was Sherlock Holmes (pretty sure he had the best costume) and Chelsea Rose was a Porcelain Doll.

I was "Hawaiian" for Halloween. Michael kept saying that I was the Last of the Mohicans!

Carrie: 37 weeks . . . Jenny: 22 weeks, say what??

Michael surprised me with flowers (I LOVE FLOWERS) just to show me how much he loved me! I love you, Michael! Now, what can I surprise you with . . .
a new Albert Lee HH, maybe?