One Hard Hike

We set off for Free Park Entrance Day at Mt. Rainier and lucked out with another amazing day of sun! We threw the kids on our backs and headed to the trail. About a half mile in we both looked at each other and realized how hard it is to carry an additional 30lbs on your back! I was thinking it was just me who was having a hard time, but thankfully I was not alone. But, we pushed through and make it to the river! What a gorgeous view!
By the time we got back to the truck both of us were exhausted. We treated ourselves to Sonic on the way home which made it definitely worth it!!

On the walk back, Hailey fell asleep to mommy and daddy singing the ABC's! Hunter was wide awake and alert the entire time ! He really loved the fresh air and all the trees!

On the drive home they entertained us with their cuteness!

Pony Tail

YAY !! Hailey's hair is FINALLY long enough to pull into one pony tail! She loves to get her hair done and will look in the mirror once I'm finished. So glad I can now do something different now that it's long enough!

Sleepy Hunter

We had been planning for a while to have a slumber party in the living room with the kids and it seemed like a great idea after Hunter's big fall and me being overly cautious and wanting to be right next to him. Well, he decided to fall asleep during our afternoon walk at 4:30! I put him right into his cot and he stretched out like a little prince!

Meanwhile, Hailey was loving the fact that she was the only one up and loved laying on her cot!

Hunter ended up getting woken up and wouldn't fall back to sleep. So, we decided it was best to get him into bed for the best sleep he could get and to do our slumber party another weekend. Of course mommy was in and out of his room checking on him every 20 minutes which made for one restless night!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

After our exciting morning at Little Gym, we had a birthday celebration for Grandpa's Birthday! Lexie, Kenzie and Natalie were staying with them while Alicia and Chris were off on a much deserved vacation so they headed over with the gang! We were still shaken up from the morning, but were able to relax a little more with family around. Michael BBQ'd hot dogs and the kids ran around and played (and even shared) together.

No birthday is complete without a PINK cake. It was pretty delicious though!

 

Little Gym and an Ambulance

Boys will be boys? I suppose I should've prepared myself for this day, but there's no way you can prepare for the scariest thing you've ever gone through. It was a normal Saturday morning at little gym and the kids were exploring- jumping off padded blocks and balancing on the beams. Hunter was showing off how he can swing on the bar and it happened, he reached, missing and landed his head right onto the metal pole (the one thing in the entire gym that is not padded!). Michael quickly grabbed him while I ran over. I took one look at him and his forehead was bulging out!! I ran out of the gym and to the front desk and told them to call 911... what I saw happening I've never seen before. It looked like the bump was going to pop and he was so afraid. As soon as the aid car got there they checked him out and THANK GOD he was OK! He didn't have signs of a concussion and he was acting completely normal. We rushed him to the walk in to be safe and make sure we understood what to look for in changes.

That was by far the worst experience that I've ever been through (and I am sure I can speak for Michael and say it was his too). You feel so helpless and scared of the unknown. The twins are our world and something like that makes you squeeze them a little tighter at night.

The photo from a few hours after doesn't do it justice... the knot on his head was HUGE and just so thankful the swelling went down quickly. Now he has a nasty bruise on his forehead as a reminder that it only takes one quick second for them to hurt themselves and you have to be alert every second. It seems so basic but it is so true.

Very glad we had the support of the moms at Little Gym to help hold and comfort Hailey (and mommy who was freaking out) while we were tending to Hunter.

 

You know he's hurt when you say cheese and he covers his face! He didn't want any pictures of his owie!

Piggy Banks

The twins are well on their way to a good savings! Almost every night they get money to put in their piggy banks. They practice taking turns and patience and for the most part they do a decent job. Hunter is definitely much more patient than Hailey, but she isn't too bad! We count the money as they add it in and talk about the different sizes and shapes of the coins and how you have to fold the dollar bills to fit them in. 

The Bob

We did it.. we gave in and got a Bob! We had 5, yes 5 strollers and we weren't in love with any! They were either too bulky, didn't turn or take bumps well or they had too short of a stride for Michael (he'd kick the bottoms of them). The only one we really liked was our Options stroller, but even that was hard to take into large crowds which is when you need a stroller the most. So it was decided, we'd use a part of our Vegas winnings for this upgrade and WOW is it night and day!! This thing is the BEST stroller I've ever used.. it takes bumps and goes through grass/gravel like it's nothing! We were able to sell our Options stroller on 'Let it Go' and gave it to a couple who had 2 young kids for a good price so we did get a little money back for that one which was nice. Awesome upgrade!!

First Dentist Appointment

The dentist office is literally the last place you want to take 2 screaming toddlers, but we had to get them in for their first checkup before Hunter gets his adult teeth! Honestly at this point it wouldn't surprise me if he got his wisdom teeth.. ok, I'm obviously exaggerating, but Hailey is still getting her canines and he's had his for 7 months already!

Needless to say, the waiting room wasn't the best place to test out our kids patience. They were both reaching for and shaking the blinds, climbing up and down the chairs and yelling for no reason. To make things better, daycare gave them blue jello for a snack that afternoon. ugh

I was glad when I heard it was a 'happy visit'.. (I use that term loosely). The dental assistant showed the kids how everything worked and gave us tips on how to floss their teeth. The kids were interested with the water sucked and some of the other tools.. especially the chair that went up and down. Hunter was much more interested in the cool tricks than Hailey. She was such a daddy's girl and was acting timid. What happened to the girl in the waiting room?!

It ended up being a pretty good appointment overall, but neither let the dentist into their mouths (which I guess is normal on the 1st and 2nd visit). Glad we got that done.. mommy and daddy's turn next week!

Baby Emma

I went to go visit my good friend Alina and her daughter Emma before she heads back to work from maternity leave! I wasn't able to hold Emma when I had first met her because I was afraid I was sick, so I was in baby heaven getting to snuggle with this little cutie! It is amazing how little they start out and how quickly it all goes. 

It'll be fun to watch her running around with our two crazies once she gets bigger!

Climb, Climb, Climb!

The only way to keep these two occupied is to be on the GO! Literally they yell GO at us when they get bored at home now. So, we packed them up and headed to Elevated Sportz for a day of indoor fun! They were climbing everywhere and so fearless on the slides! Not only do they have a ton of energy, but they both do things that are not always safe so if you aren't right there, the worst can happen (see ahead to later posts on Hunter's slip up.. case in point). So, needless to say mommy and daddy got a good workout trying to keep up with them!