cutting down a tree...

is a very interesting thing to watch :)

 especially when Uncle Phil and Daddy are the one's doing the cutting!

 two of the pine trees in our yard died and Korey has been meaning to take them down for a while, so when my little brother (who is going to school to be a lineman) came up for a few hours, Korey capitalized on having the help and went to town on one of them. Philly got to practice his climbing and his chainsaw skills and we all got a little glimpse of what daddy does at work! The girls thought it was pretty neat! 

isn't Jack's face great??! We have no idea what he's mad at or who he's scowling at, but it makes me laugh!

 I think every parent wonders/worries that their child might not be like them and one thing that Korey and I really "worried" about was that our kids wouldn't like to be outside and wouldn't like to work. We both enjoy being side by side doing stuff- whether it's regular yard work or bigger projects. And, that was important for us--that our kids would enjoy being outside and surprisingly they all do seem to enjoy being outside and both of the older two tend to just pitch in- even without us having to ask them to! (as much "pitching in" as a 3 and 2 year old can do)

poor babies were so tired out...I kept waiting for them to fall asleep, but apparently it was just too interesting!! 

"princess Hailey" got tired out from all the work and took a break in Daddy's truck...isn't she a great little Diva??  she even convinced Jack to go and get her a snack and a drink, because "her legs were tired out"

my favorite men. for as long as I live I know that I will never tire of seeing Jackson copy his Daddy. It brings tears to my eyes every time I see it. Even if it makes me realize, again, how he's so quickly growing up and someday I will not be as cool or as special as Daddy!!

the M&M's are 10 months

the many faces of Maysen Ann (we call her Macy a lot these days- just seems to fit)

once again, when big sister got into their #'s, the #10 didn't fare so well, so we only have one

 Maelle Kay's turn. I just love the profile of her face- so pretty and sweet

we weighed the girls this morning- 16lbs 8oz for both of them!! I was way off, huh?! :) (we even did it 2x's, 'cause I didn't believe it) 

10 months

Macy and Maelle are 10 months old!! woohoo!! We're only 2 months away from 1 and we're all alive and kicking :)

Here's a typical day in the life of the M&M's 

Happy 10 month birthday, crazy little monster babies!

Here's what you're up to this month:

*you're crawling- anywhere and everywhere- including up the stairs at any given moment!!

*you chase your brother and sister all over the house. You just wanna be by them all the time!

*You find trouble everywhere you go. You love to open the drawer of cups and bowls and pull them all out and chew on them and strew them all over the kitchen.

*you're favorite thing to do is follow Jackson and Hailey in to the bathroom when they take a bath and play with them- you giggle and laugh so hard when they splash and get you wet- which they love to do. It's so messy that most of the time mommy just gives in and lets you have what you want- a bath with the older two :)

*One of my favorite things about you is that Maelle- you always steal Maysen's nuk at naptime and she just cries and cries, but then she pays you back and whenever you're both having sippy cups on the floor she steals yours and makes you cry! You little girls are bullies in the making!

what a little bully :)

*your personalities are really starting to show and I love that. 

Macy you are definitely the more mellow of the 2. You don't giggle as easily, unless it's Hailey or mommy- then you all out belly laugh, but you smile at people more readily than Maelle. You let Jack hug you and kiss you more than Maelle does. But, when you get cranky or are feeling sick you definitely let your feelings be known. You're the one that's more likely to be found playing by herself or playing in another room, when everyone else is in another room. 

Maelle you are such a tiny little peanut. I think you're almost 2lbs less than Maysen, now, and everyone says that you are such a tiny little thing! You are more smiley and more "cranky"- both at the same time, sometimes :) You don't always smile when you don't know the person, but once you warm up- you're such a smiley little one! You are the one that's more likely to come crawling when I sit on the floor or to follow me wherever I go. You are definitely more of a go-getter. You're always busy and always finding some new adventure to drag your sister in to! 

a big day

Today is a big day for me...and my kiddos...it might not be a big deal to anyone else, though...today marks my little m&m's 10 month birthday, the longest I have breastfed any of my baby's and also the longest I have gone without being pregnant since I had Hailey :) Sounds kinda pathetic to celebrate this, doesn't it?! Ok, we're not necessarily celebrating it- it's just a big day for me :) I am very happy and very content with my life, as it is, but I'd have to say that I am a little excited to pass this mark and to see what it's like to nurse "older" babies (guessing not a lot different than it is nursing them, now, but I'll soon find out) and to watch my babies' grow up knowing that they get to stay babies for as long as need be!! No mommy guilt about adding another baby to the family too soon for this mommy, this year!! woohoo! It'll be nice to have one less thing I need to feel guilty about ;) hehehe

Hailey wanted to take some pictures of me and the m&m's, yesterday. Didn't she do a great job?!

it's fun to get a chance to just snuggle and wrestle and play with my little twinnies

waffles and pockets

Jack and I made waffles this morning and he insisted on wearing an apron- just like Hailey and mommy do, but when he put it on he was way more interested in the pocket than anything else and basically lost interest in making waffles :) 

 I love this little boy! He's so precious and so much fun to hang out with. 

I think it's hard to be the only boy in a group of girls! (daddy barely counts, 'cause he's not home all day long) He's probably more of a tender-hearted child than he would be if he were in a family of boys. He probably cries more than he would if he were surrounded by brothers, instead of sisters. He definitely shreaks and screams more than he would if there were more "man" influences in the family. But...he's so sweet and so soft and talks so well and hugs and kisses and loves on the m&m's and Hailey's baby Fina that I can't help but love the fact that I have a little boy that is heavily influenced by the girls in his life! :)  

footy pj's

aren't kids the cutest when they're wearing footy pj's?? :) 

I definitely think so- that and when they're actually sleeping...which seemed to not have been happening much around here, lately. I guess I would say the m&m's probably hadn't slept "well" since we moved them up from the basement and they were getting up earlier and earlier- waking up their sister and brother, most days!! I've found that one of my "triggers" for a bad day is when my kids don't get the sleep they need. I can put up with it for a day or two or even a week, but it was getting to be a long time with them all not getting the sleep they needed. This was leading to cranky and irritable kiddos, kiddos who got every bug that went around and basically just a dreary house! So, in typical Jenni fashion- it took me a while, but I finally figured out a solution to my sleeping dilemma. I moved the twins back to the basement in their pack 'n play. Moved Hailey (and Fina) to the twins room and put Jackson in a room all of his own. It's been 4 days, now, and so far, it's been a dream! Today, for probably the first time since the twins were born Korey and I laid around in bed until almost 7 am!!!! Can you believe it?! I, honestly, can't. (of course we still woke up at the crack of dawn, because now our bodies are used to it...but at least we didn't have to take anyone potty, get anyone a sippy of milk and we could watch the morning news from the coziness of our own bed, without any little arms or legs poking us from every direction) :)

As for Jackson, well, in typical fashion for him- he had a hard time going to bed without Hailey and the first night he woke up more times than I care to count, because he missed her being in the room with him; but once he got over that he's been a dream- sleeping until 7:30 or 8 each morning and waking up dry and happy!! 

   

Hailey LOVES having a room of her own, for just her and Fina to share. She's been going to bed really nicely and staying in bed quiet until @ least she hears the twins- if not sleeping until after 7! Awesome, right?! 

the m&m's- well, they're just happy to be back in their underground dwelling. I don't think they care at all that they're sleeping in the back storage room, surrounded by boxes and such. They're just happy as larks to be together, in their pack 'n play, listening to the washer and dryer and dehumidifier all night long :) 

I really truly would never believed that sleep would mean so much to me as a parent, before I had kids. I guess I can add one more thing to the list of "I never's" that I've done :) 

monster babies?!

the m&m's are at it again- acting all cute and precious:) 

yes, I believe that Maelle does have 1 nuk attached to her and the other one in her mouth...little bully :)

I told Hailey a story before bed last night (since, I was feeding the babies and really couldn't hold a book, also) and she chose to have it about "monster babies". She loved it so much and Korey laughed so hard and it so perfectly depicts our babies that I thought I'd share it with you, so here it goes:

there were 2 monster babies who decided that they needed a home, a family- someone to love them, a place  to belong. So, the 2 monster babies set off- roaming the world looking for a family! First, they stopped at a little hut and looked in the window- it looked so nice and cozy. So friendly and warm with the little fire going in the hearth. They decided to go in and the man and his wife immediately decided they were so cute they could stay, but as hours turned into days the man and his wife got weary. The monster babies were too loud, too messy and ate way too much food. Finally the man and his wife had to ask them to leave. The monster babies were so sad, but they were determined to find a home, a family- a place to belong, someone who would love them. Next, they went to a big city and came upon a beautiful castle. They looked in the windows and thought, this is a place we could live. It had a giant playroom with lots and lots of toys. A giant kitchen with lots and lots of food and a giant bed where they could both sleep together. They went inside and immediately the man and his wife fell in love with their big blue eyes and decided they could stay. But, once again, as the hours turned into days and the days turned into weeks the man and his wife got weary. The monster babies were too loud, too messy, and ate too much food. Finally, they asked them to leave the beautiful castle. The monster babies were so sad, but they were determined to find a home, a family, a place to belong, someone who would love them. Next, they went to a little town and saw a house. It wasn't a big house or a house with lots of cool toys. In fact, it was a house that already had 2 babies in it. But the monster babies couldn't help it- they were drawn to this little house. They looked in the window and what they saw made them smile. They saw a mommy, a daddy, a little Hailey and a little Jackson all playing on the floor, tickling each other and wrestling. They didn't have a fireplace, they didn't have a room full of toys, they didn't even have a room for the babies to sleep, but those monster babies decided to go in, anyways. They went inside and the mommy and the daddy and the Hailey and the Jackson immediately fell in love. Those monster babies were loud, and messy and ate a lot of food, but that was ok with them because they fit right in with the family that was equally as loud, equally as messy and ate equally as much food. Those monster babies finally came home. They found their family, their place to belong and more than one someone to love them. The monster babies were finally happy. They smiled, they looked at one another and they decided that from now on they were gonna be less loud, less messy and eat less food- that is, until they were as big as their brother and sister!! :)

got crabby kids??

I have the perfect solution- a park with swings :) 

(because, apparently, the swings in our backyard are not good enough) 

you'll have to forgive all the pictures of essentially the same thing- it was the happiest my kids had been in days and I wanted to keep that moment forever in my memory :)

3 swings+4 kids= no problem for us- we just put 2 in one swing :)

Hailey once heard someone ask for an "under-duck" and she thought you could use any animal, so now they ask for under puppies, under kitties, under horsies, under firetrucks and each time I have to make the sound as I run under them...crazy kids, but I guess it accomplishes the same thing, plus it makes me laugh everytime I do it :) (not to mention everyone else @ the park and our neighbor's who probably think I'm loosing it) 

I see you, Macy girl!

nothing better than 2 babies in 1 swing

gotta love this little boy! even when he's wearing camo- dinosaur bibs and fireman boots he still manages to look cute and precious :)

my precious girl can barely go anywhere without her beloved baby Fina :)

what a happy little face

Sometimes it's just best to take a step back, leave all the laundry, the dirty dishes, the unswept floors, the bathroom that desperately needs cleaning and the mess behind and head for the park! 

hunting?!

when I was growing up hunting was not a part of our life. We had one my uncle that deer hunted in our backwoods- so we had to stay inside for a week each fall, but that was pretty much the extent of my knowledge about the sport. I didn't realize that there were different seasons and opening days and different animals and different guns to use for each one. To be honest it just wasn't even on my radar. All of this ignorance changed the day I married my husband. This man loves to hunt. He says that he loves me more than hunting, and I'll pretend that I believe him, but I think the verdict is still out on that one. :) It's kind of fun that my kids are having a different childhood than mine. It's kinda fun to see them check out the animals that Korey shoots and it never ceases to amaze how they aren't even shocked by the sight of a dead animal. 

This morning Korey went goose hunting and came home with 2 "fat ducks" (as Hailey called them). The kids had a great time checking them out and helping Daddy clean them! If you can call dead geese anything close to precious- it definitely was precious! Maybe more so to watch my kids interact with their Daddy and be so in awe of him, than the dead geese! :) 

"look, Jack, Daddy got 2 fat ducks. he's really good"

can I touch it, Daddy?

I cut it, too, Daddy?

"peek"- she just couldn't resist the camera 

Jack did not want to get in on the picture...

this little girl loves her daddy and looks for any excuse to take a picture with him 

watching, watching, watching...

just had to throw this one in of Hailey watching Korey clean out the duck- you can try and try to get a little girl excited about hunting, but you just can't make her think cleaning it is that cool, right honey?? :)