A YEAR and a HALF!!!!!!

I did quite an update for their 17 month post so I'll keep this one short and sweet :)

K&K are still talking non stop, learning new words everyday. They have started learning colors and counting in the past month or so. They are sleeping great. I think they may be growing bc they have been eating a lot more than usual lately! Kaleiah has gotten her first bottom molar! They love brushing their teeth! Kaden's hair has really started to come in more and more and it's so flippin cute. I love the color.
I went on my first trip away from them last week and it was sooooooooo hard be away from them but we all did great including Daddy. He kept their schedule to a tee (the babies love and thrive off of their schedule and always have which is so great)! He sent me TONS of pictures so I could see the little things they were doing throughout the day. He even did fine with bed time and through the night being on his own! I was so proud of him but I never had any doubt. They babies did great too but he said he could tell they missed me and wondered where I was. I could NOT WAIT to get home!! When I landed back home I came down the escalator and ran to them, scooped them both up in my arms and started crying!
I hope I don't have to leave them again ANY time soon!

I can't believe that in about 3-4 months I will have to start planning for their 2nd birthday!!!

Cowboy and Cowgirl

Today was my niece's 2nd birthday party and the theme was adorable!!! It was Western so we got K&K some boots and when we got there they were given bandannas to tie around their necks. My sister in law always has the cutest themes and is amazing at party planning. Here are a few pics from the party!

Friday: beach trail play date

On Friday my friend and her little girl drove down so we could walk my favorite trail along the beach. Then we played with the babies in the sand and on the swings. I love watching them all interact. Rae is the sweetest girl! Kaden actually has a crush on her and her mommy! He gets the a little flirty grin that is priceless. I love Court and her baby and can't wait for more beach trail walks with them!!!

The park and Aunt Molly

Today we went to a park that we love and met up w/ my twin :) She works across the street from there so it just makes sense! :) The weather was beautiful today and we had a great time.


Here they are looking for the bunny that just ran away. Kaleiah has her hands up and asked "go?" :)

Memories Monday

Ok, so I have not been good about my "Memories Monday" postings but here is one!



Kaden and Kaleiah were about 4 months old in this picture. I used to just carry them both around when they were little. Oh how I miss them being so little! They really look like little dolls here. So precious.

Play date

This morning the twins and I went to a friends house for a play date which is always so much fun.
Unfortunately we forgot to take the picture before Sue left w/ her kiddo's so it's just Raegan and the twins. Sooooooo cute!!!

Painted toenails

Yesterday I painted my little girl's toenails and I almost died at the sheer cuteness!!!!!!!!!! I seriously get giddy every time I see them. It's something I have always looked forward to, just doing cute girly things with her. She loves them! Oh.my.goodness. does she love them! She says "pretty!" and holds her foot up and kisses her toes. She is fascinated by them.
Obviously we had to get her some sandals to show off her pretty toes :) Well, also bc it is getting hot out now AND she needed some for our trip to the Caribbean in 3 months!

So cute, I can't handle it!

Update time :)

To my horror, I realized I have not posted and update on the babies since the 15 month one! So here we go...

Kaleiah Hope:
Where do I even begin with you, my love? :) You are just the smartest little one I truly have ever met. I realize I may be quite biased since I birthed you but everyone is always saying how advanced you seem. You have been talking for so months and you vocabulary is HUGE. You understand almost everything I say. I mean, things I wouldn't expect you to even understand yet! I'll ask you if you missed me and you nod your head yes, as if you comprehend what "missed me" even means! You can repeat a word after just hearing it once! You may not say it perfectly but it's always so close and it just shows how quickly you learn! Like today, I was saying we needed to get you some sandals o show off you adorable hot pink toenails and you tried to say sandals. Or I was telling you you couldn't play with something bc it's dangerous and in your best imitation you said dangerous! It's amazing!

Here is the list of words you know:

These one you have been saying since you were about 13-14 mo)

Daddy
Kitty, meow
Doggie, woof
Choo choo (train)
Cookie
Cracker
Milk
More
baby
ball
cheese
snack
shoe
bear (her comfort item)
paci
owl
banana
down
eye
hair
ear
mouth
teeth
tongue (and you know where all of those are on you and on others)
car
book
read
flower
nice
ice
spoon
Buddy
Cup
Kaden (in your own words)
Mou Mou (Mickey mouse)
Please
Thank you
No No
Cheese (whenever you see a camera or cell phone)!

These are new ones:

Coming (you say this when you hear a choo choo bc I always exclaim "A choo choo is coming!") You usually stand at the back door and say it.
Sky (and you point to it)
Copter(Helicopter)
Airplane (you don't pronounce it perfectly but close enough that I know exactly what you're saying)! You also say bye bye and wave to them.
Love you (you say it more like (weyou you)
Hi baby! (That is so darn cute when you say that. You always hear me say that to you)!
Stuck (you fully understand the concept and will use the word when something is indeed stuck).
Blueberries (this one you pronounce very well and since I made a song about them you usually say the word in a sing-song way which is ADORABLE)!
Crib (sounds more like cb, and you say it when you want in it)
Home
Arm
tum tum
Hat
Shirt
Jammies
Frog

I'm sure I'm forgetting some!

You also know what sounds the following animals make:
Monkey
Kitty
Doggie
Birdie
Lion
Turtle (we made this one up) :)
Cow
Piggie
Owl

You call all horses "rock rock" bc of your rocking horse!
You also say "Mommy?" when you see a picture of me, then point to me and say "you."

You really blow me away every single day with what you learn and understand. You have the most incredible memory and how you associate things is just crazy bc of you young you are!
Aunt Molly who is a teacher and has a degree in child development agrees that you are advanced for your age :) An example of your association skills is that when you see a pig you say "tickle tickle" because you think your toes are called piggies (bc of "this little piggie went to market") and you know that we tickle your feet! How you linked all of that together is amazing.

You are so active and love being independent. Oh my, you are so independence. You love to feed yourself using your fork and you will NOT let me help you usually. But I love letting you do things and learn on your own!
Your intelligence is so fascinating to me and you keep me in awe daily. I love your little spunky personality. You are a very good listener, even though once in a while you can throw quite the tantrum :)
One of your favorite things to do is have us read to you. I love your hunger for knowledge and I can just see your brain working as we point of the different things on the page, which you usually remember them the next time we read.
You also LOVE to sing, you start singing along in your tiny little voice as soon as I start singing anything.
Over the past few months you and Kaden have really started to "play" together. I love watching you two when you don't know that I am. It's so cute to see you making each other laugh!!
The biggest change since I last blogged about you is that you have become such a big girl...you go to sleep for both naps and bed time all by yourself! About a month ago you went to bed one night all by yourself after I layed your down awake. The rest of the week you didn't so I thought it was a fluke. But I just kept trying and actually you did it a lot easier with naps. One day you did it with both naps, then again, and again and then with bed time and now it's been almost 3 weeks and I have not had to rock you to sleep once! I am so proud of you :) You have also been sleeping straight through the night (11-12 hrs) without waking where as a few months ago you would still wake up 1-3 times a night for your paci. Mommy has been getting so much more sleep these days!!!!!!! :)
My sweet little peanut, thank you for all the joy you bring to me every single day. You are amazing, beautiful, smart and sooooooooo lovable! It has been truly amazing watching you grow. I love you more than I could ever express!!!!!!!
Love, Mommy





Kaden, my buddy!!!
You are my little buddy, my little Mamma's boy. You wake me everyday by running to the bed w/ a huge grin and saying "Mamma!"
You have quite the vocabulary as well!
Here is the list of words you know :

These are ones you have been saying since you were about 13-14 mo:

Milk
Juice
Car
Snack
Mamma
Dadda
Kitty (meow)
Doggie (woof woof)
Bath
Ball
Bye Bye
Eyes
Mouth
Teeth
Banana
Baby
Down
Cheese
Cracker
Poo Poo :)
More
Choo Choo (Train)
Book
Pappa (Grandpa)
Owl
Car
Mou Mou (Mickey Mouse)
Thank you
No No
Moon
Cheese (whenever you see a camera or cell phone)

These are new:
Copter (Helicopter)
Airplane
Blueberries
socks
shoes
stuck
rock rock (rocking horse)
spoon


You also know what sounds the following animals make:
Monkey
Kitty
Doggie
Birdie
Lion
Turtle (we made this one up) :)
Cow
Piggie
Owl

You LOVE playing in dirt and sand and try to see how messy you can get when doing so :)
You sometimes pick on your sister and it just makes me cringe thinking about the years to come! :) I know you do not understand what you are doing when you pull her down by her shirt or grab something from her and make her cry, so there's tons of grace in that area for you :) It's so funny to see you get that ornery streak bc in general you are so sweet and calm.
You are still very much a go-with-the-flow kind of baby, always have been. You still love driving little, toy cars and making sound effects while doing so :) You also love to read and know so many things on the pages!

Thank you my love bug, for making me so happy all day, everyday. Your hugs and smiles melt my heart. I love the special bond we have always had, we are so close. I secretly love when Daddy is rocking you at night and you'll sit up, turn around, reach for me and say "Mamma!" Such a Mamma's boy!
I love you so much my honey bug!!!!!!
Love, Mamma



You both LOVE the park, especially the swings and slides!
I also never use a stroller anymore to get you to and from the house to the car. You simply follow me all the way there and it's adorable, not to mention has made things easier now that you are mobile and somewhat independent in that way. I love it.
Whenever Daddy or I say "I love you" you both reply with "no!" through smiles. For some reason you think its a funny game, but really, it is super cute :)

I am so blessed to be your mother and spend all my days raising and loving you, watching every little new thing you do and learn. It's the best gift ever!

Our family verse

I have been thinking for quite sometimes now about what our family verse should be. This will be a verse that we will speak to our children throughout their life. It will be the verse they turn to for encouragement. It will hopefully be a verse that gets them through tough times and gives them hope.
The verse we chose was one we constantly read when we were in the hospital. It spoke volumes to me at the time and got me through that scary time. It was also, for me, the deciding factor that Kaleiah's middle name would be Hope.

Romans 5:1-5
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.


I can't wait to teach Kaden and Kaleiah this verse and one day see how they truly understand it's meaning. Our prayer is that they tuck it away in their hearts and carry it with them their whole life, leaning on it whenever they need to be lifted up.

A beautiful Sunday

Yesterday we went to walk around the gorgeous Montage resort. It was such a beautiful day and we absolutely had to spend some time outside! The babies walked around and explored making for some super cute photos.

We headed home and they both fell asleep in the car so we decided to just take a drive. We ended up going to Little Italy in downtown San Diego for a slice of pizza. It was totally unplanned and spontaneous and we loved that! We thought those days were gone forever (or at least a while) once we had kids. No more just picking up and going somewhere at the drop of a hat. But we did and it was so.much.fun. It was special as well bc we were reminded of our first family get-a-way back in July when we stayed in San Diego for a few days and ate there.
We walked around for a little and were still home in time for baths and bed time. It was a fantastic day!

Memories Monday

March 1, 2009
This picture was taken exactly a year ago today and is still to this day one of my absolute favorites. I got them dressed and propped them up, I said something silly and got these amazing smiles :)

I love the difference in their smiles and I especially love how Kaleiah is holding onto her brother!
I can't believe this was already a year ago!!!