We made it 2 years! Hooray!! Can I go and take a nap now? 

For real, these have been 2 very long years. A lot of people say "I can't believe they are already 2!" and I kind of think in my head "are they ONLY 2?" This isn't saying we haven't enjoyed the last two years, they have just been very, very exhausting. These little crazies keep us on our toes pretty much every minute of every day. To any twin mom out there who may be reading this (well let's be honest, if ANYONE reads this blog anymore), I would like to say it gets better.... so so so much better. I enjoy Max and Clara more and more each day. I love seeing their personalities flourish and their little minds learn new things. I love watching them discover the world around them. Most of all, I love being their mom! 

Max is such a sweet and loving boy. He is so gentle and such a kind soul. Sometimes we try to encourage him to fight back with Clara... "Max! Take back what is yours!" We have been working with a speech therapist and his talking is getting a lot better - most of all he tries. His sleeping has improved a lot from last year when he and I would have some epic battles around nap and bedtime. I would say overall he is still my "harder" of the two. He just needs a lot more attention, especially in public places. He really, really likes to be around me all day and still doesn't go off and play on his own, even when we are at home. I know this is a phase and that eventually I will be desperately wanting him to stop running away so fast. I try to remember this in those frustrating moments when all he wants is for me to hold him. He loves cars, trains, his teddy bear, pizza, slides, riding his tricycle on the back patio, rocks and holding my hand as we walk on the trail. He also loves his daddy and usually prefers for Russ to put him to bed. Despite this recent preference, he will always be my little boy, and I love him so much. 

Clara has been so, so so much fun lately. Her communication has really picked up and it's so fun hearing the new words she will learn each day. She sings little songs all day long and loves to have fun dance parties (favorite song is Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars). She obviously loves Minions and the movie Cars. She is a little bully, and continues to boss her little brother around (as mentioned above). She seems to think she has the upper hand in their relationship, which has been since their creation while she was dancing on his head the full 9 months in my belly. I wonder if it will always be this way. Clara is still the best sleeper around, and I am so grateful for that! She loves helping around the house by "folding laundry," being in the garden, raking leaves, etc. It's so cute to see her mimic us in our daily tasks. She still loves her bottle and binkie... which we will need to work on soon. She loves her stuffed animals, puzzles, and her new play kitchen. She's kind of on a mommy kick right now, which I really don't mind. I love that she loves me! We are completely in love with our sweet, sassy, curly-headed girl!

And now on to a new phase of having two 2-year-olds! Prayers on our behalf will be greatly appreciated. :)

Our Minions are Turning 2!

Tomorrow is Max and Clara's 2nd birthday. 

Whaaaaa?!?!?

So many emotions are going through my head right now! But that is for another post on another day. We had their birthday party last weekend, and it was so fun! They are obsessed with minions, so of course we had to go the minion route. Why try some cute little theme when minions are what bring the biggest smile to their faces right now!?

I found the coolest minion party accessory ever. Have you ever heard of airwalker balloons? They are about 43" tall and have weighted feet so they kind of just waddle around. This picture below is when they first saw the balloon. Clara was THRILLED, Max was super wary. 

I mean, look at this thing! haha!

I pushed my baking skills to the limit and made a minion cake using this tutorial. It's one of those things where you don't want to look too close, but I think it turned out really well!

Clara would NOT let go of their new minions... they went on the swing, the slide, everywhere! 

Max was kind of fussy. Sigh. I guess you can't get everything to go smoothly. He did perk up once the presents showed up :) This is his Dr. Evil pose. 

Side note: Russ dressed as a "minion" by wearing a yellow shirt and blue pants. No one noticed. Ha ha ha!

 Clara was so cute the whole night, especially with presents. She was so excited with every new item! One of her favorites was this new "potty" and all of her new friends that can go to the bathroom on it!

It was such a fun time celebrating our two little miracles. I'm so grateful to be their mother!

A Happy (birth) Day!

This guy doesn't get near enough face time around here, but of all days to do it, it's today! He's turning 31, so be sure to tell him how old he is (wink wink) and a happy happy birthday. Without boring everyone with a confessional about how much I love him (which is a lot) and how amazing of a father he is (which is very true) and how I don't feel like I deserve him (which I don't), I will leave it at that. 

Russ got a new snowboard for his birthday, because we both agreed his board from high school has seen it's day. Now we just need to find a free day sans babies to get out there. Ha! 

Happy birthday, Russ! We all love you dearly!!

One Year Older... and Wiser?

Yesterday was my birthday! It was a great day. Thank you to all of my family and friends who helped me feel so very loved. I truly, truly appreciate all of the thoughtful gifts, phone calls, texts, visits, and yes, even the Facebook posts. There's nothing like Facebook to make you feel like a million bucks on your birthday, right? :)

Anyway, we did most of our celebrating last weekend with my family and a few friends at one of our favorite Thai restaurants. My actual birthday included a yummy lunch with my dear friend, dusting off the ol' golf clubs at the driving range, and dinner with Russ at the Cheesecake Factory. It was just what I wanted. Low-key and surrounded by those I love.

So yes, I'm one year older and have now entered my "late twenties" (eek!). But the wiser part? That is still up for negotiation. :) Here are some glimpses from the day. Thanks again everyone!

 From left to right:

A surprise (and amazing) gift on my porch from my dear friend Megan

Birthday balloons from my in-laws

A new purse from my sister. She has awesome taste.

Tom Flats!

A Nathan Hydration Belt to save me during my long runs

A heavenly candle and stationary, two things a girl can never have too much of :)

Birthday + Easters = Fun

I'm on my way home from Utah to Texas and loving the free wi-fi in the Vegas airport. It's those little bonuses in life that really stand out. I just spend the last week reunited with Russ. It was a week filled with no particular set plans, but was still busy, busy, busy! First order of business was to celebrate my birthday. I turned the big 2-5 last Sunday, which was spent, for the most part, hanging out at my house alone. It was slightly depressing, but I just knew we would make up for it in the week ahead! (Although I must publicly thank my awesome friend Sada and her sister Emily for taking care of me and feeding me amazing Salmon on my birthday. It's friends like these I will miss when I leave Texas).

Anywho, I finished tax season in Texas and wasted no time to fly to Utah. I landed, got my hair cut (which was way over-due), and then ate cake. An amazing chocolate cake made by my father-in-law. I know, impressive.

Thanks to all of my amazing family and friends that made me feel so special and loved on my birthday. I'm feeling optimistic about the mid-twenties. We have some exciting changes in the horizon...

Near the end of the week we had a perfectly low-key, yet delicious, Easter feast at Brittney's. I loved celebrating two holidays with my family. I got in much needed sister and mom time. Earlier in the week Brittney and I both bought our husbands the same shirt from the outlets. Little did we know they would both wear it for our Easter feast. Great minds think alike.

Now it's back to Texas to finish up some last minute business and get ready to move. Whew... I really hope this crazy life of ours will slow down sometime soon! I need a vacation. Oh wait, I'm just coming home from one. A vacation from a vacation? Ok thanks.

Russell Had a Party!

Russ turned another year older and wiser this past weekend. The main thing he wanted for his birthday was a big party. A big party with all his friends where we could grill and chill. So that's what we did. We had a big barbecue and had a blast. Mother Nature decided to cooperate and gave us a sunny 60 degree day in January. It was fabulous.

Burgers were eaten.
Balloons were popped.
New friendships were made.

We were so grateful to everyone who came. It was another good reminder of how blessed we are to have made such wonderful friends in Texas. You really can live anywhere as long as you have friends to rely on... and to party with of course.

Thanks again to everyone who came! We really had a fun time, and most importantly, Russ felt like "the man" as he got to hang out with his friends on his birthday.

In closing, I'd just like to say "Happy Birthday to Russ!"
I am grateful for Russell.
I'm glad he was born 27 years ago.
I hope his 27th year turns out to be the best yet. I think it just might be.

(PS. Isn't little McKinley Elise the cutest? I may be biased, as we share the same middle name. But no one can argue that her eyes suck you in, and she happily lets you hold her all day long.)

Ok, the end.