Springfield Missouri

So, Jeremy & I just got back from a 3-day trip to our new digs in Springfield MO! I was going to go by myself to look for houses to rent but I really wanted us both to choose one so we drove the 11ish hours down there after church on Sunday, looked at houses Monday & drove back on Tuesday-whew!

Long story short, we stayed to look at one more house Tuesday morning & that turned out to be the perfect fit for us! It's only 3 years old, 15 minutes from Jeremy's FIRST JOB at the Jordan Valley Community Health Center, & close to pretty much anything we need or want! My favorite features (in order) are:

1. Big FENCED in backyard! See previous post for why this is so great!

2. A flat/smooth top stove!

3. Every room has overhead lighting so no more free standing lamps

4. A 3 car garage, not that we even have 2 cars but because it doesn't have a basement like here we can let the boys throw balls & ride trikes in the garage, I can jog on the treadmill in there & we'll have lots of storage space

5. No squeaky floors

6. Big walk-in closet in our bedroom so no dresser & it can also double as a place for a baby to nap or a bedroom for baby #5 someday? :)

7. A wood burning fireplace so we can have family hotdog & smore roasts

Thanks to my friend Kay for watching Hyrum & Hunter for us for 3 days! What a huge blessing that was & they had so much fun :)

I lived in St. Louis for a year after high school as a nanny for a great family & I love that area & I'm super excited to head back to Missouri! We're excited for more WARMTH & SUNSHINE! It was so cool to come around the curve in the road & see the arch sitting there by the river.

3rd week of May can't come soon enough!

I didn't take any pictures of our trip but if you want to hear what Emma & Justin (mostly Em) have to say about staying in their car seats for 3 days straight you can watch this video. (and if you watch the whole thing you'll see Justin gets a word in somewhat)

(WARNING: this video is 2 1/2 minutes long)

Front Yard Play

Fact 1: I am a super paranoid Mommy

Fact 2: We have a backyard but it's not fenced & I don't trust my kids to actually stay there

Fact 3: I can't always go outside with the big boys due to taking care of babies or it's too cold for the babes to be outside

4: We're starting to have really nice weather & I'm having a guilt complex

When I was younger I used to wonder why my Mom wouldn't let us ride bikes around the whole town with my friends when I was like 7 years old. Now I understand! There's a lot of great people out there but there are just enough crazies to make me paranoid. So I never let the boys outside without me but last week we had some really nice days & I was feeling really guilty about keeping them cooped up. So the first day I let them go outside for 20 minutes before I could get out there with the babes and they loved it of course. Then the next day I let them outside again in the front yard & I checked on them like every 3 minutes & they did a great job staying in our driveway & yard & they stayed out for 2 hours on their own without fighting or whining once!!! And I had no guilt. It gave me a beautiful sneak peek at what life will be like when we have a fenced in backyard & nicer weather in general! I cannot wait!

And the sweetest thing-I gave them their lunch on the porch & I noticed from inside that they were both folding their arms while Hyrum said a prayer over their food, all on their own!

And now, it's officially Bumbo chair time!

Done Done Done!!!

As of today at 2pm this handsome man is DONE with school. As Hyrum would say, 'Awesome!'

I don't think it's fully sunk in yet. Graduation in 2 weeks.

We now get DaddyBear all to ourselves for 2+ months before his job starts!

More Firsts

I, surprisingly, realized that today was the first day that all 4 of my kids were crying at the same time. And by crying I mean wailing; definitely a different tone. Maybe what was more surprising was that it didn't really phase me.

The babes were hungry; starving in fact. The boys were fighting over one of their many toys that magically convert into a gun.

(Question: How do little boys latch on to such violent things at such young & innocent ages?)

Yet, I could calmly go about warming up my milk in the sink & letting the boys "figure it out." Well, I count myself as lucky to be experiencing this as a first 3.3 months into being a 4-kid Mom. Just hope it doesn't happen again for another 3 or more months!

First Smile

So we had a first around here today- the first of hopefully many, many more. I was sitting on the floor holding Emma on my lap and Justin was laying on a pillow by my leg and Emma started smiling right at Justin. He had been staring at her as well and then it happened...he grinned back at her! And then a few seconds later she smiled at him again & he grinned again. Here's the start to being best buds & most likely partners in crime as well :)

PS In other fantastic twin news, the last week or so the babies have been getting up once a night around 3-4am! I'm liking this new schedule.

The Whole Crew

I love this picture. It perfectly illustrates what a loving big brother these two babes have-what would I do without Hyrum?!

Then there's the Bug. He showers these two with kisses from morning until night. He is the first on the scene when a babe is sad to bestow a kiss, replug 'em with the binkie, & declare "Happy now!"

I seriously can't get enough of this baby boy, he is just the most beautiful baby & is the most kissable, cuddly thing!

Sweet is the best word to describe our Emma Em! She is the happiest girl & I can't imagine our home without her!

These two keep me smiling all day long

The whole crew.

I am lovin' life (& I mean that, I'm not just trying to "stay positive"), really lovin' it!!! I feel so much more complete & happy with my four babes surrounding me all day. Not that I wasn't happy when it was just Jeremy & I or when we just had Hyrum or when we added Hunterbug, because I was. But I just feel so much more complete as a Mom & as a family & I'm lovin' that feeling. I feel more centered & focused on the things that are important to me. There are days I don't get a chance to brush my hair, brush my teeth (don't tell my dentist, oh wait he knows) or go pee as often as I need to, but I really am enjoying it. It's not going to last forever, or even a fraction of forever that my kids are small & home with me all day, so I better soak it in while I can. I'll have lots of years to brush my hair, brush my teeth, & go pee as often as I want, so right now I'll enjoy being a mess :)

Happy Easter

From the Shakespear Kids

(This really was the best picture I could get of them!)

First Sunday at church all together-success! The babies & I woke up at 8am and we were at church (18ish minute drive from home) by 9:01-not bad

My babes are 3 months old as of yesterday, sniff

Easter Surprise

These are pictures taken with my camera of pictures taken on my phone so they're pretty bad (I don't have internet on my phone)!

So our Easter surprise was not fun in any way but it does have a happy ending! We spent all day Friday at the ER in two different hospitals because our babies had RSV. Justin was worse and had bronchiolitis, Emma had asthma. Emma was able to go home that night but Justin was admitted so I spent the night and the whole next day with him in the hospital. He did great & was discharged Saturday evening.

I must say it was pretty weird & scary to have medical personnel hovering over my babies and to see them hooked up to machines & monitors. And we rode in an ambulance too.

It was so sweet, they were both so happy & smiley the whole time despite the many pokes & prods. Justin really liked one of his ER nurses. Anytime he was close to Justin's face he would start cooing & smiling at him like crazy. I think they enjoyed the extra attention :)

So we will be celebrating Easter this coming weekend instead! And I've been enjoying watching the General Conference I missed sans children in the evenings via my computer-nice!

And here's the happy ending. Home all together again, happy & almost all the way better!

On an entirely different note, Hyrum wrote his name for the first time & also created his first self portrait. Looks just like him eh?

Me & Em

This is myself at 2 1/2 months & Em at 2 1/2 months. I thought she was starting to look a bit like my baby pictures at first but I don't think she really does except for the hair & the chub :)

Thanks for saving the dress Mum!