Sweet Baby Girl

Waiting For Spring

Because it's snowing again, and it's brown and not at all green yet...

This flower was growing next door to us at our old house. We lived in an older neighbourhood with lots of established trees and flowers. The woman living next door was the original owner of her house and her nephew and his wife lived downstairs. Raina (the wife of the nephew) and I used to take the bus to work downtown together.
Raina's first baby was born in that house shortly before they moved out and then a few months later the older woman died in the house.

The house we rented wasn't anything elaborate, but it was the first place that CH and I rented together, and the house where our twins first came home to.
A part of our history.

The Little Differences

If you don't know them you might think they're alike but my boys are so completely different. I've known that since the minute they were born.
It was so obvious this morning, it made me laugh...

We were all downstairs and the two of them were playing with their big legos. They like to build towers and then knock them over and laugh. Or scream. Depends on whether they agree on when it should be knocked down.

The Bug was happily busy building away.

The Bee would go over and add something or rearrange and then come over and tell me all about it. And then he'd tell me about what color the blocks were. And then he talked about building a robot. And then about the tower... back and forth and back and forth until they were done playing.
The Bug just kept building.

And that, in a nutshell, is them.

Triple Threat

So it's no secret that I've been trying to get a half decent photo of my kids together since The Babe was born. It's also no secret that it's almost impossible. As anyone with more than one kids knows. Then out of the blue the other day, we had a spontaneous photo shoot.





No one was dressed for it, or had their hair done or even their faces washed, but I was just thrilled to get all three of them in the same shot.






I wasn't using a flash either so they're not terribly sharp, but I am choosing to overlook that.











As usual, we end up with mostly bloopers, but I think this last one is kind of nice!

Little Bunny

I couldn't resist the bunny ears....
Part 2.

Eggstravaganza

Since Easter is often in April, I'm pretending it's not a real stretch to put up Easter photos now. Besides, what does April have left? Showers? Flowers?
I give you Easter. Part 1.








This was the first time we've done eggs and it was a huge success. The boys and I had fun. They even thought it was fun to eat them. Although The Bug peels off the white and eats it and then hands the yolk over to his brother. Who may or may not appreciate the gesture.













These faces were peering out at me every time I opened the fridge for a couple of days...







Mummy Bunny tried to keep the sugar to a minimum, but clearly Daddy Bunny had other thoughts.














The Bee gathered up all the 'peeps' and carried them around as well as ALL the plastic eggs in his basket.












We had a little egg hunt.













The little Bunny.

Baby Girl 10 Months

Double digits! We're getting mighty close to being one here. I know I'm always saying how fast she's growing, but she's my last baby so I get to pine over her waning babyhood. Plus toddlers are a whole other experience...
The Babe has been very busy the past few weeks pulling herself up on things to stand up. She suddenly seems so tall! She also likes to sit up on her knees. (I'll have to try to get a picture). It seems so grown up. She's very proud of herself. Onward and upward!



She has also discovered cupboards and drawers. It's very exciting.
She's still such a happy fun little girl. She loves her daddy and her big brothers who are actually very sweet to her...sometimes. It's very heartwarming when they are. They will give her a hug or pat her head (we have to watch that one) and they are constantly inquiring about her whereabouts. Where's Baby? Where's Baby? Even if she's two feet away from them. But I like to think it shows love. It's so fun to watch them all interact together.





The Babe is a good little eater and likes most things she's tried. Right now she especially likes grapes and chicken but she has happily eaten homemade pizza, wonton soup, toast and peanut butter, and quinoa salad.






Lucky for me The Babe still lets me snuggle her neck and kiss her yummy cheeks as much as I want. She's not super cuddly but likes to be carried so she can look at everything going on around. She usually has one little finger pointing out.





She has the best giggle in the entire world.

37 Months

When I get behind like this it starts to feel quite daunting to catch up. But I figure if I just do it, when I look back it won't matter so much what day it was or how much time has really passed, just that I kept doing it.
And I was going to combine it with Easter, but I have saved some good ones for a separate post.


So 37 months...all/some of us have been sick in one way or another for so long, it seems like that's all that's been going on. However, the pictures say otherwise. Which is so much a part of why I take them. They fill in the gaps in my brain.







The boys are seeming more and more grown up all the time, however they still maintain that miserable no-can-do attitude, and uncooperative air to remind me that they are still toddlers. And they already know to go-to whichever parent might feel sorry for them if they are getting into trouble with the other one. 'I want Mommy...I want Daddy...'
They are getting more independent slowly, but surely. Mostly slowly. It still takes forever to get us all in the car to go anywhere, but sometimes they actually put their shoes on!





They also both like to carry their 'stuff' around with them all the time. Sometimes in a little pail, or a box, or a slowly deteriorating puzzle box full of both the puzzle and all the cars that will fit. Or Easter eggs and fluffy chicks. Or the cardboard their toys came in.
This way they don't drop quite so much carrying them from room to room and to dinner and the bathtub and to bed...

Still one of the most fun things to watch is the way they interact with each other. They still totally fight over toys and whatnot, and they will intentionally taunt each other just to get a reaction. But they are also best friends.



Their bedrooms are on different levels of the house. One up and one down, but they are actually directly aligned, with a floor in between. So they have devised communication.
The Bug was looking for a car the other day, one that they had been trading(fighting over) all day. He was in his room and when I told him I didn't know where was he immediately ran over to the air vent in the floor and yelled into it, BEE...BLUE CAR?!
The often give me updates on the status of the other...sad, crying, awake, etc.

I hope they stay close all of their lives but I can't help thinking that together they are totally going to get the best of us!

What's With The Mittens?

So a few people have expressed curiosity around the name 'twomittens'. Here's the best explanation I could come up with...

First of all, it's not a direct reference to my kids. Two boys, two mittens, easy interpretation. Except now there are three mittens. If that were the case. Not so. Who has 3 mittens??

And I don't knit. I'm terrible at it.

My original tag line read 'twomittens - held together by idiot strings' which is really more telling.
(Idiot strings are those strings that go through your coat and attach to your mittens so you don't lose them. At least that's what my dad says. And he knows everything)
Twomittens is really more of a vague reference to the cozy/warm/happy/idyllic notion of domestic bliss. Which does not exist. At least in my world. And it's more about my attempt to keep holding things together.
With the love and the insanity and the diapers and the mini van and the no sleep for 3 years and the adorable cuteness and the noise and all the rest of it.... TWOMITTENS!!!

Anniversary

Happy 5th Anniversary Honey Buns!

Our wedding day was not your average wedding day. If there is an average. My memory is still so clear as we went for breakfast that morning wondering if indeed we would be married that day. And we were... 

We didn't really plan to elope, but decided to get married rather spontaneously while we were on vacation in Arizona. Tucson is the new Vegas.

It was kind of a crazy thing to do but it was exciting and fun and crazy and wonderful. 

For sure the most important day of my life. It's like opening the door to your future and taking the first real step. 

Thanks Sweetheart for such an amazing day, and our life together. 

Shmeaster

I've become one of those people who starts to feel kind of jazzed about holidays (it doesn't take much although St. Patricks day stirred nothing in me).
I think it's because as a SAHM so many days run together and it gets tough sometimes to define one from another.
So spring! Easter! Yay!

But then we were hit with the black plague and my visions of fluffy bunnies and baby chicks have been taken up by the crankiness and the sleeplessness and the stuffiness and so on.
So I have not yet taken any cute baby Easter pictures. Which pains me. But I have not given up. Pictures will be taken. Cuteness will ensue.
In the meantime, the photos in the header are some of my favorite of my wee bunnies when they were 14 months old. Yummy little Bunnies!

Don't Come Over To Our House

Soooo, we're all sick here. Just like everyone else is right now. Runny noses, coughing (terrible hacking) a few fevers and general yuckiness.
But because we are not to be outdone by the 'common' cold and its common symptoms the ever charming Mr.Twomittens also has pneumonia. He was miserably sick all week and when he FINALLY went to the dr, it was pneumonia. How's that for good times??
I managed to avoid any sniffles for most of the week, but now my sinuses are in an uproar. ROAR. UP. OUCH.
Anyway, I know it's just boring and not any different than anyone else, but that is us right now.
Don't come over unless you want to share the love (germs).

More Textures

Just playing around with a few more textures... found a couple of free resources...

NinianLif
Nesster

Happy Day

Ok, it was yesterday, but I was all out doing stuff and things yesterday so it's late...

Happy Woman's Day.
And Happy Birthday to the Princess E Sweet Pea.
A fitting day to celebrate for sure.
I got so many great photos of the Princess when they were here, I have to keep posting them.
I think that makes her a real Princess.







We hope your day was extra special.
love and hugs from us all
xo

Baby Girl 9 Months

Nine months. I can hardly believe it. Too fast!

The Babe has been fairly sick the past week with a fever. I was getting quite worried, as mom's tend to do in the middle of the night with a hot sick little babe, but she seems to be pretty much back to her normal self. Looks like a case of the baby measles. Not too serious, but not too fun either.
Crank-y.
















This month Little Miss Sunshine has been all about the freedom of crawling around. She gets tired of being held or sitting in her chair and she just wants to move!







She is also into throwing things on the floor (everything she gets her hands on), spitting raspberries (again), sprouting another tooth (number 8 is almost all through), pointing her wee finger at everything, chasing her brothers (they squeal like a wild monkey is going to attack them when she looks in their direction) and wrapping her daddy around her finger. Oh yes. She's got that one all wrapped up!

Coulda Shoulda Woulda

It seems there is never enough time to do all the things or create or photograph as much as I'd like. I spend a lot more time thinking about things than actually doing them.

Every day there are things I have to do, a million things I could/should do, and then a whole list of things I'd like to do. Although some days it's a short list...sleep.
And rarely do they overlap.
Like I'd like spend the afternoon taking photos, but I have to get groceries and I should do laundry and wash something that's inevitably sticky or crumby.

How do you decide what you are going to do each day? What gets done?

36 Months

Whew, February is OVER!
What a whirlwind. We had a TON of fun. And some not so fun (2 funerals). But man were we busy. Busy can be great, but also exhausting.

Lately we seem to be in a vortex of nap hell. There have been days when the boys are happy to play all afternoon and so I let them. Which goes well until about dinner time when it turns into a nightmare. BAD. We all fall apart.
But then if they nap too long or too late, they don't want to go to bed. The Bug routinely stays up until 9 or 10pm in his room. He will just keep himself too busy to fall asleep.

The Bee especially has made leaps and bounds with his verbal skills. I can often ask him a question and he will answer. Or even use a sentence! It's quite fun.
The Bug on the other hand is a man of fewer words. Even when he really should tell me something he will just give me this look like I'm a crazy woman. Like when we went for a walk to get the mail. We were all happy to be outside but The Bug was walking kind of funny and falling behind. I asked him (repeatedly) if he was having a problem with his boots. Not a word. When we got home he had a little raw spot on each foot from rubbing on his ankle. I guess he'll decide when he feels like saying something.

The boys are getting more and more interactive with their baby sister. Sometimes that is good, but often it's not so good. The poor babe has a tough road ahead with those two. Although, at times they can both be loving.
I've also noticed The Bee will engage his sister and make her laugh and play with her while The Bug is playing on his own. I suspect this will continue and they will enjoy each others company. When the boys are not too busy telling her what to do or taking thing away from her.










Still she loves them so much!

My Sweet Bee

He's such a child of extremes...he can be the biggest stinker, and then turn around and be the kindest heart (and visa versa). He gives the best hugs. He loves to sing. He has an eagle eye that can spot a box of cookies on the top of the cupboard from across the room. He's a master manipulator, a drama queen and an entertainer. And he is never boring!