His Birthday, My Birthday, and 2 More to Boot...

That's right...November is the month of birthdays for our family. Doug's came first...the old man is now 31 years old. The girls wanted to buy some birthday balloons and then we had a celebratory birthday breakfast at the Pancake House, a place Doug has been wanting to try out for a while. The food was pretty tasty, but it was pretty crowded and service was slow...maybe we'll try it again on a weekday so we can avoid the weekend crunch? We decided to do a birthday breakfast since we had a ward Fall Party that evening. The ward party was pretty fun...good food, great company, fun games. Afterward, we came home and sang "Happy Birthday"so that Doug could eat his cupcake of choice - yellow with chocolate frosting.

  

Then came my birthday...the BIG 3-0. I don't think I'm in denial of entering a new decade, but I really just didn't feel like doing much of anything for "my" day. I'm not sad, I don't feel old...I just figured I would have my act together by the time I turned 30...at least, a little better than I feel like I do. I will admit - I'm still learning this whole mom thing. Yes - even after having 3 kids, I am figuring things out as I go along...taking things one day at a time. But now I'm rambling...this is supposed to be about birthday celebrations. The girls were very excited when they realized my birthday had come, and while making breakfast for them before school, they stopped everything and insisted on singing to me...over, and over, and over again. Have I mentioned how much I love my twin girls? And, despite my best efforts to quietly forget this birthday, my sweet friend Nicole took sympathy on me and brought me a beautiful bouquet of roses, a delicious strawberry shortcake, some candles, and a sweet card. She absolutely made my day...even though I honestly wanted nothing made of it.

Next up came Aiden and Reilly's birthday. This year it happened to fall after Turkey Day, so they didn't have to share their special day with any other holiday...just each other. We started the day off with their breakfast of choice (pancakes of course), let them open their first present of the day - pink Razor scooters with light up wheels. They were in heaven...and couldn't WAIT to get moving on their flashy new scooters. We asked the girls what they wanted to do, and they surprised us by saying they wanted to go to the mall. So, we went...and they got to ride the carosel, pick out some flashy new headbands, and ended up with some fancy new kicks compliments of Doug (I should never have let them enter the Vans store). Reilly chose a pair of sparkly pink vans and Aiden went with sparkly purple ones...both were VERY excited for their "first" pair of tying shoes, and they immediately went to work perfecting the art of tying their shoes. We finished off their special day with a family dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory (of course!)...complete with balloon animals and celebratory ice cream dishes. The girls thought it was pretty cool that the waiters and other restaurant guests sang to them, although they tried to play shy at first. Before bedtime, the girls got to open their final presents - Hello Kitty pajama pants, T-shirts, and slippers (from our sweet neighbors). All-in-all, I think Reilly and Aiden had a wonderful birthday...I, however, am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that my sweet, little baby twin girls have turned 6. They aren't quite so little anymore, and I need to accept that and embrace the fact that they are growing up.

  

  

And that, folks, is how we spent our 4 birthdays this month!

**I should mention that our camera has been on the fritz lately, so these photos are all courtesy of Doug's phone...please forgive the less-than stellar quality on some of them...it's hard to get a non-blurry shot of our active little girls**

Happy Thanksgiving...

Just a few photos of our little turkeys hanging out at Uncle Dan's while waiting for the bird to fry. We hope your Thanksgiving day was filled with family, fun, and super tasty food!!

  

One Little, Two Little Indian Girls...

Little did I know that when I went to pick up my girls from school today, I would be greeted by two friendly indian squaws instead. They were so cute, Mac and I decided they could come home with us.

  

  

  

 

They weren't too keen on having photos taken, but they made up for it by bringing home handmade gifts.

From Aiden

  

From Reilly 

 

I just have to say that I love my new Thanksgiving decorations, and I love these two little Indian girls!!

Fun With Chalk...

What can I say? My girls love to play, draw, and create. Sidewalk chalk has become a staple in our household...and you can see why from the photos below!

  

 

 

 

 

At first I didn't understand why the girls were drawing a massive blob of chalk...but then I realized that they decided it would be just as much fun to wear the chalk as it is to draw with it. Oh well, at least they're happy! 

6 Months New...

Weight: 16 lbs. 0.4 oz (50th percentile)

Height: 25 1/2 inches (25-50th percentile)

Head: 17 inches (50-75th percentile)

I love tummy time. I love to roll around and try to keep up with my sisters. I already have my 2 bottom teeth in and I think my top 2 are coming in soon. I am not yet crawling but that's okay...everyone else seems content to help me get to where I need to go!! My favorite foods are oatmeal and sweet potatoes...but eaten separately, not together. I don't care too much for carrots or peas, but guess I'll eat them if I have to.

Coo-coo for Cocoa...

When the weather starts to get chilly (or when you're constantly freezing as it seems to ALWAYS be in our little old home), there is nothing better than making a cup of hot cocoa to warm yourself up. We all like it a little different, but here's a glimpse into how we do cocoa...

 

  

 

Vanilla (Aiden), chocolate (Reilly), or loaded with marshmallows (Me), what's your flavor of choice?

Shark Pride...

Today, Aiden and Reilly were the lucky recipients of some Shark Pride awards at school. I knew beforehand, thanks to their considerate teacher who wanted to make sure I would be there and ready with a camera, but it was a total surprise for the girls. Seeing the shock on their faces when their names got called was priceless...and seeing my (normally) very outgoing girls exhibit some shyness was a little bit of a surprise for me.

 

 

 

Reilly's award recognized her "Enthusiasm For and Active Engagement in Learning" and Aiden's award was recognized for "Loyalty and Friendship to Her Classmates"

Little Mac was so proud of her big sisters

 

After the assembly was over, the girls just wanted to get to class and be with their friends...BUT, me being me, made them step aside so I could snap a couple of photos. They weren't exactly cooperative, but at least I got a little photo to commemorate their FIRST school award.  

 

Playing Hookie...

Okay, not really. In all actuality the girls did not have school today. Parent/Teacher conferences are this week and today was a day off so the teachers could schedule the bulk of their conferences together. What better way to start the day off than with McDonald's breakfast and a walk along the boardwalk and pier? The sun was shining, the waves were good (which meant lots of surfers were out), and the girls had an absolute blast.