Midwinter break

Emma enjoying a kiss from Justin

Jeremy is the mastermind baby wrapper. They enjoy sleeping on the couch, probably because our bedroom seems about 15 degrees colder than the living room.

Snuggle time

Justin smiled a few times this week and this is as close as I could get it on camera

Love those cheeks

There are sleeping babies all over our house in different places at any given time. Maybe someday they'll sleep in the same place for each nap.

Story time

Jeremy had 9 days off from school and today was the 9th day. We attacked & finished a long to-do list and had fun playing with our kids. Starting tomorrow I will officially be on "my own," at least during the day, with all 4 maniacs :) I think (hope) it will go well. I have 36 days to be on my own with them before Jeremy's done with school and has a 2 to 2 1/2 month break before his job begins (more on that exciting job news later).

Below video is 1 minute long and after a few seconds you get the drift. They were saying 'Nephi of old' over & over again & thought it was hilarious for some reason. We had sung the Primary song 'Army of Helaman' & that's where Hunter picked it up.

Nana Banana!

The last 2 weeks have flown by (the twins will be 6 wks on Mon!) with my mother-in-law here to help & play. We are so grateful she could come especially since she has a lot going on right now. It was so nice to have her to talk with throughout the day, the boys loved an extra playmate, she finished two beautiful baby quilts while here, & she is definitely a professional baby rocker :) We will miss you Nana!

My extra big babies

Sleepover time (not really)

They are both such beautiful babies!

Action shots, hi-ya!

Me & my 2 babes

So the nursing thing...not so much unfortunately. I gave up on nursing & am pumping and then giving them my milk that way. They get 50-75% from me and the rest from formula & I'm not sure how long I'll keep this up, at least until about 2 months and then we'll re-evaluate (that's about when my help will be gone). I had a really hard time with this at first but now I feel like this is what's right for some reason. I was worried that people would judge me for not breastfeeding my babies & not trying harder etc. etc. I think I would have tried longer if these were my first babies but I feel like I have so many other things (and little people) to take care of that this is just what's going to work. It's funny, I think everything I've ever said about having and raising kids so far I've had to take back. For example, I said my kids would NEVER eat mac n' cheese or chicken nuggets or other "unhealthy" foods like that-yeah RIGHT! It makes me laugh remembering I said things like that. And no we don't eat those things all the time, but we definitely eat them. Well, I always said I was going to nurse each of my kids until they were 12 months, so it shouldn't be a surprise it's not working out that way :)

One good thing? Drinking milk can be a family affair-Hyrum is the biggest helper!

P.S. I LOVE having these babies in our home!

Happy Valentine's

to all you Lovebirds out there

Darlin'

My sweet Mum came and stayed with us for 4 whole weeks! This was the biggest, most selfless favor ever and we are so grateful! Her time here flew by for me and I couldn't believe it when it was over. She kept the boys entertained, the babies cuddled, the house clean and myself sane! Thank you!!!

Pa flew in for four days and both my brothers and their families were able to drive up for the weekend. We just sat around and talked the whole time and it was so fun. We have a new cousin in Zac's family-Jackson-isn't he cute? These 3 are going to be great buds someday.
The whole crew!

Hunter enjoyed a bout of scarlet fever & Hyrum strep throat. We haven't been to the Pediatrician since July but we visited the office about 6 or 7 times in 2 weeks!

Jeremy & I enjoyed a date to see 'Avatar' in 3-D-what a sweet movie! The special effects & computer animation was amazing. Here is Hyrum sporting my 3-D glasses.

3 cute matching boys

+ Emma (sorry there were no pink dinosaurs!)

A Turner girl tradition. It was nice to have Emma join us this year :)

Enjoying milkshakes

Sleepy Justin

Emma Lou

There is a lot of cuddling, kisses & hugs around here-both Hyrum & Hunter love their babies

(P.S. I'm sorry to all those whose blogs I usually check & comment on & people I need to email or send thank you notes to-- I've been rather M.I.A. but just give me a couple more months and hopefully I'll be more on the ball!!!)

Turning 4

On January 26th Hyrum turned 4 years old! How exciting! I took him on a Mommy-Hyrum date to Coldstone and to Toys R' Us to pick a new toy with the $$ from his Great-Grandma's. He chose a race track which has turned out to be a big hit with the little & big boys in our family :)

We also enjoyed our traditional burgers & sundaes complimentary of Red Robin
(isn't that a somewhat sneaky look Hunter is giving him?)

Awww...the best Daddy-bear

And the jet cake Daddy made. We had my entire family in town for the event & it was nice to have so much help to polish off that blue cake! The Shakespear's will always have lots of birthday cake in January if you're craving some.

WE LOVE YOU BUD!!!

Smiley

Instead of being in church this morning I'm taking pictures of my smiley girl! It's the next best thing.

Justin isn't quite into the smiling thing yet, but he is so cute with his seriousness... he has chuckled twice in his sleep & that was pretty cute. I can't wait until they're both laughing and smiling all the time!