Playground & 2010 Apple PIcking

Jonah absolutely loves the playground and gets braver every visit.


Elias loved roaming around freely, which he was allowed to do because (unlike Bebe) he does not eat the mulch.


Bebe was not really sure about the slide, but Dada insisted.


Prince Elias


This is by far the babies FAVORITE thing to do at the park. It's almost like someone actually designed something for twins!

Okay, now on to our apple picking. The twins went home to stay with Kelly so Jonah could have some special time with just Mama and Dada. He loved it! He did ask a couple of times about what the babies were doing, but for the most part he did not miss them :) He is growing up so quickly and it is amazing to spend some time with just him. He talks like he is about 9 and makes the most wonderful observations. My own personal observation is that if we had only one child my life would be DRASTICALLY different. I already knew this, but had not really felt it before. The ease of the whole afternoon was mind blowing and I actually felt like I was on a relaxing vacation. (Sorry mom, I agree with Jan - one child just doesn't count!) However, that being said, I wouldn't change anything for the world. I will just continue to enjoy my quite one on one times with the children and relish the other crazy, loud and hilarious moments when we are all together, knowing that they will be gone before I know it.


The view is obviously gorgeous and only added to our already perfect day :)


Jonah doing his "apple picking dance"


Dada actually climbed the tree to pick these apples. I do not think you are supposed to, but he doesn't always take rules to be that serious :)


Enjoying some fresh apple donuts.


The fam (or as Mary said, 50% of it!) It was a special Jonah trip, so the twins stayed with Kelly.


I don't know what to say besides, Perfection!


Headed home, belly's full and very very happy.

Fun and the Farm

Jonah in Sissy's ridding boots :)


Mr. Wonderful


The babies, doing their baby thing


Jonah out for his horse back ride with Dada and Sissy


Thumbo (brown) and Zippy (Grulia)


The gang





Dada took Thumbo for his first ever swim (we think - no one could remember Thumbo ever swimming before). He was quite reluctant, but Dada took him by the reins and won!!! Go Dada! Then Maddie rode him some in the water as well, that is the second video.

There were a few pretty eventful moments this weekend: Maddie ran into a nest of bees on Zippy out in the woods and got stung and thrown from her horse. Dada then had to chase Zippy down in the woods, who managed to break a rein before it was all over. Also, Thumbo took Dada for a ride through a gate (a very small person gate, not horse gate), unexpectedly, going full canter and managed to scrape his leg up pretty good. Guess that's just what you get when you're being a cowboy.

Horse show

Last weekend we all went to Sissy's horse show. The twins had not really experienced a whole horse show before and they seemed to get right in there. They shed their clothes pretty early on, but we did keep socks on them to protect their feet (not sure why because they practically rolled around in the grass). We shared a bag of chips with Skye (Maddie's horse) and rounded out the whole event with everyone screaming "I'm not tired" as we left (if the babies could have formed words that is what they were saying). They were asleep before we left the driveway :)

Pregnancy update

Hello to all. It has been, already, a roller coaster ride with this pregnancy over the past two weeks. However, I think we are now on solid ground. I had my second ultrasound today, at only 6 1/2 weeks, and we saw a very healthy little baby with a nice strong heart beat (144/min)! To answer any questions, There is just one! We checked, very well and it looks like indeed we have just one healthy bean in there.

Jonah is thrilled, although slightly disappointed because he was positive that there were three babies this time. I told him today that the doctor checked and there was only one. He sighed and said, "Well, we will call her Rose," and then bounded off to play with his legos. So, I guess that is that and Rose is now on her way. She is due April 26, 2011.

The twins are doing excellent and growing so fast. They play great together and demand so much less of my time than Jonah ever did. Very self-sufficient, even at one years old! If they want something, they can work together to move objects and push each other up to reach things in high places that they could not do alone. The best part is how unbelievably proud they are when they accomplish these feats. It is so worth seeing the looks on their tiny faces that I let them destroy a perfectly good unread newspaper just so I can watch.

So, that is the update. I will leave you with one last Jonah quote,

Maw: "Would you like some hummus?"
Jonah: "Hummus is my favorite thing in the world, 'cuz it's made of Greece and I love Greece."

Twins waking from nap

Just thought I'd post a little video of the twins getting up from their nap. They are usually so happy and like to just talk and play until Mama gets up there to get them. This day Elias was working on his jumping skills (which he does most days). Enjoy! Twins are now just over a year.

Say Mama

Hiking and Picking

This picture and the next picture kinda sum up the whole thing. In one Jonah is going the opposite direction of everyone and in the other he is about 50 feet ahead of the group. There really is no in between with him :)



But let me back up...Maw and Papa and Big Sissy came to visit!!! It was Maw's birthday friday and we celebrated by letting her watch the kids and Nathan and I went out :) I think Maw had fun anyway, I did make her a chocolate cake. We also gave her a photo album with some pretty neat pictures of the kids.

The next day we got up to Papa changing diapers and feeding Jonah breakfast...it was wonderful! Actually Nathan got up and I slept just a little bit longer :) I deserved it though, because as Nathan was snoring away last night as I got up three times, once with Elias and twice with Jonah because Jonah couldn't find his pillow. (Elias just wanted to eat - because as I am sure you will be able to tell from the photo's he is just wasting away to nothing).

We decided to hike Humpback Rock this morning, which is about 30 mins away on Afton Mountain. The babies took their morning nap while we packed some granola bars and water. When they got up we loaded up and headed out. The hike was great and the babies really liked bouncing up and a down for about 3 hours; they even fell asleep on the way down. Even more amazing is the fact that Jonah hiked the entire way!!! It was not an easy hike either, there was some serious climbing involved and I'm pretty sure a few of us slipped a fell a bit (I won't say who).

The view was great at the top. It was pretty foggy on the way up, but then cleared for us to see the valley (of course I didn't think to take a picture of that because I was busy trying to nurse the twins).

Then, once we made it down we decided to go strawberry picking, because that seemed like a great thing to do with three hot tired children. And it was. We had a blast. The strawberries were fun to pick, but the cherries were even better. I had never picked cherries before and Maddie found a ladder so we were able to make out with some serious cherries! Not sure what we are going to do with them all, but it doesn't matter.

We got some great pics and I think today will be one of those days that we remember clearly for years and years to come, at least it will be for me.


Our date night.


We thought Bebe's feet sticking out looked pretty funny.


Getting ready to go.


A really neat old farm house that was actually used until the 1890's. The family that lived here raised 7 children in this house. There was a little fire place that they used when it got cold and apparently kept the cabin at 45 degrees in the winter. Can you imagine what your kids would say today if you tried to pull that off?


Maw checking out the kids area upstairs. Jonah was scared to go up there.


Just liked this pic.


Bebe was totally into exploring the old farm.


The boys.


The fam.


The trail.


Another picture of the trail. Pretty impressive for a 3 year old!


Sissy giving a lesson on lichen.


Just tak'n a little break.


Elias sleeping.


Bebe sleeping, the hike was just too much for these two.


Check out the scenery, why would you NOT want to live in VA?


Sissy explaining strawberry picking to Jonah.


Jonah picking strawberries.


Beautiful, huh?


Dada should be a farmer. I think the butt in the background is Papa.


Bebe was a bit b*&%(^ and probably the least excited about strawberry picking out of all of us, but she changed her tune when we bought ice cream. (see pic below).


Elias is happy as long as he gets to stand up!


The cherry picking crew.


Cherry picking! Much more productive after the discovery of a ladder :) Well, at least for Maddie; Jonah just ate them.


The twins first ice cream cone....they LOVED it!


Jonah and Dada taking a break.


Ten years might separate these two, but they are best buds through and through!


The End!