Flashback Friday: Fun at Home
Karlie loves hanging out in the Johnny Jump Up and playing with the toys, however, she would prefer spinning over jumping.
Today’s Flashback Friday takes us back to September 2005 when the girls were 7 months old. We spent a lot of time at home when the girls were younger. It was a lot of work to take them out every day and since they were still small they were more likely to pick up germs we tried to keep our errands, doctors appointments, and activities to a minimum at least during the first few months.
We had a lot of fun hanging out at home. They loved to play, laugh, and explore. The weekends and evenings were their favorite times of the week because Daddy was home to play with them. They love their Daddy and always give him a winning smile. He was great pitching in whenever possible with the kids. They were used to having both of us feed, change, and play with them at various times throughout the week sometimes together and other times just one of us.
Brina thinks Mr. Octopus is so funny.
Karlie didn’t see me walk into the room and I startled her. Love the expression on her face.
Brina is thrilled to be riding!
Karlie’s turn to ride now!
Brina loves holding onto your hands and standing up. She can stand for longer periods of time now.
Such a happy Karlie baby
Brina stealing water from Mommy’s cup….looks like she had some help from Daddy
Brina loves going for a ride on Daddy’s shoulders.
Karlie’s hanging out with Daddy
Karlie relaxing, smiling, and playing
Brina is all tuckered out – fast asleep with her feet are on one side of the boppy and her head on the other side
Karlie is clean and ready for bed now
Our girls – Karlie and Brina
There’s a Brina in the toy bucket! She is so proud of herself for “scaring” Mommy. Giggly girl.
Brina ready to try out the swimming pool.
Karlie looking for the toys in the pool.
Karlie – “Wow, Dad these sit ups are hard!”
Mommy reading a book to the girls. Brina is more interested in Daddy who is taking the picture while Karlie is completely engrossed in the book.
It makes my neck hurt just looking at her sleeping in this position. Brina would literally jump until she crash. This does not look like the most comfy position to take a nap in though kiddo.
They think “Little Lamb” is hilarious!
Brina having a blast!
Karlie smiling and sucking her thumb at the same time. That takes talent!
Sleeping beauties – Brina and Karlie
Life is so fun for these two little ones – Karlie and Brina!
Karlie is smiling and talking with the baby in the mirror at the Doctors office, little does she know that she will be getting a shot soon.
Karlie sitting on Daddy’s desk and “helping” him.
Giggling kiddos – Brina and Karlie
Brina and Karlie love hanging out and being silly together.
Flashback Friday: Sleepy Kids
Brina crashed in the middle of chewing in the ring
Today’s Flashback Friday goes back 10 years when the girls were 6 months old. They were exploring more and falling to sleep in random places. Sometimes in the middle of playing with a toy. I tried to move them a few times, but every time I did they would wake up so I just decided to leave them and let them rest. Usually the random naps were small power naps and they were back to playing within a few minutes anyway.
They are beginning to be more mobile and it took more energy to keep up with them. It is so precious watching them sleep peacefully even if it is in their high chair at a weird angle. Oh to be that flexible again.
At this time they are still sleeping in the same crib. As they grow and move around more in their sleep the crib it starting to get a little more chummy, but they look so sweet sleeping together I wasn’t ready to move them into separate cribs quite yet. Occasionally we would come to check on them in the morning and we would see that during the night they scooted down in the crib until their feet were hanging out. Not sure how it was comfortable, but they didn’t wake up or seem to mind it.
When we checked on this morning their were two sets of titty bitty toes sticking out from their crib. It was all I could do not to squeeze those cute little toes, but they were sleeping so peacefully.
Brina fast asleep in her hair chair. Such a rough life. Love how she folds her hands together sometimes when she sleeps.
Brina and Karlie – sleepy babies.
Taking a snooze during their play time with Mr. Octopus – Brina and Karlie
Playing is such hard work for the little ones – Karlie and Brina
Brina fell asleep while playing in her exersaucer!
She woke up with some sleepy “toy lines” on her face. Poor baby!
Playing in the exersaucers is exhausting. Both have crashed during their play time.
How can that be comfortable Karlie!? Not sure how she was still sleeping so soundly with her legs sticking out like that? I think my feet with get cold and go numb. Guess that’s the fun of being a baby.
Flashback Friday: Sweet Babies
Silly sisters 5 months old
Today’s flashback Friday goes to July 2005 when the girls were 5 months old. We loved seeing their smiles and hearing their giggles at this age. They were on the move and starting to get into more stuff. Thankful for these two blessings.
Their pinchable cheeks are so cute. They could make each other laugh or cry. It was an adventure exploring new toys. They discovered that they could pull themselves up in the crib and look over the edge at us and the room around them.
This month the girls were strong enough and growing well we got to take them off the heart & apnea monitors. It was a blessing having them, but it was sure nice to get rid of all the wires and monitors. We always had extra stuff to carry anywhere we went whether at home, errands, or anywhere else. Thankful that they are growing and starting to really take off.
Brina is unsure about what to do regarding Karlie’s crying!
They loved watching their mobile above their crib – Brina and Karlie
Brina and Karlie giggles
Brina relaxing on the couch
Happy Karlie
Brina talking with Daddy!
Grandpa Russell swinging Brina as Karlie swings in her swing.
Karlie all smiles!
Happy Babies
Karlie sucking her thumb and napping in the bassinet with her feet up
Their first bumper cars
Sweet girls
All dressed up in their silky Sunday dresses!
Laughing – Brina and Karlie
Brina laughing and playing with Mr. Octopus
Karlie having fun!
Karlie is ready to eat!
We came back in to check on the girls a little while after putting them to bed. Brina is still wanting to play, but Karlie has crashed.
Having too much fun at bed time.
Brina hanging out on the couch
Karlie laughing, talking, and giggling when she is suppose to be sleeping
The heart apnea monitors are officially going back today! WooHoo!!! They are almost 6 months old and no longer need them. Thankful for the opportunity to have these medical devices home with us for so long as they were growing and getting stronger. Glad the girls are doing so much better..
Karlie’s excited and talking away!
Shhh….Karlie has a secret to tell Brina!
Sit up straight solider B!
Catching the Kids Reading
Brina relaxing and reading on the couch
I love walking into a room and seeing my kids reading a good book. There is one kid in particular in our family that is always reading any time she gets a chance while the other one I do a silent cheer every time I see her pull out a book to read on her own. It is great seeing them get swept away into the story and hearing their little giggles as they are reading fun part makes me smile.
Reading came really easy for one of our girls while the other one it has been a lot harder. Thankfully we were able to figure out what was holding her back (dyslexia) and have spent the last few years working with reading tutors to help her develop her reading skills. It has felt like a long (and sometimes painful) process for both me as a Mom and my sweet girl, but we have gone so far. Anytime I see her reading on her own it makes my heart so happy. I love my girls and always want to encourage them as they learn various skills throughout their lives even if it means putting forth a lot of extra time and effort on my part.
All smiles as she relaxes and reads
Soaking up a good story
Flashback Friday: 4 Months Old
Brina and Karlie at 4 months old
Today were are flashing back to when the girls were only 4 months old. They were starting to move a lot more and explore at this age. It was amazing how much they changed from month to month. Looking back it is neat to see that their individual personalities were starting to come through even at four months old! Although, they have changed a little since this stage!
Tooth Fairy Visits and Braces!
Karlie tooth fairy reward
There is a lot going on around our house lately regarding teeth. Recently, Brina got a spacer and braces for her teeth. Both girls have lost some of their baby teeth too. The tooth fairy has been staying busy at our house. We do a variety of different things for the tooth fairy. Typically we give a note, cash and a special gift. The special gift can be a book, necklace, toy, or a variety of different items that appeal to the specific child.
Brina showing off her new braces!
Another tooth fairy gift for Karlie
Tooth fairy is now visiting Brina’s room
Travel & Vacation: Dry Erase Board Notes
Karlie’s dry erase board note to Jake
In case you already haven’t noticed our family LOVES to travel. Occasionally when Jake travels for work the rest of us get to tag along with him. A lot of times his days are long and we don’t always get to see him throughout the day. On our last work trip I told the girls to bring their dry erase boards and markers so we could “leave Daddy a note” for the day. If he came back to the hotel room and we were not there he could see our notes, know what we were up to, and hopefully feel the love that we were sending his way. It is not always possible to know when he may have a moment to run back to the room and if we are across town we cannot make it back in time to say “hi” so this is a little way to let him know that we are thinking about him even though we couldn’t be there to give him a hug in person.
During this recent trip all of us were up with the sun at 6 am every morning and off in our separate ways shortly thereafter. Sometimes it would be midnight or later before we reconnected again. Several times Jake also left a note on the back of the dry erase boards for us which the girls loved. If he had a few minutes and knew that we would be getting back really late he would prep dinner for us so we could make it quickly while the girls were showering so they could eat, relax for a few minutes, and crash in bed.
We ate all but one breakfast and dinner in our hotel room. All our lunches we packed in our backpacks and would eat whenever we were exploring for that day. To help with the preparation and meal plan we brought a hot pot (yes, like the ones you use in college) to make our meals. We were able to make some good, quick, healthy, and inexpensive meals in our hotel room like sloppy joes, mac-n-cheese, chicken & rice, soup, and more! It was nice to relax together at the end of the day before hitting the bed.
Every time we left for the day each girl would get out their dry erase boards and leave a note for Jake. I would add an note to the bottom or side of each of their notes. They had a lot of fun doing this for him and looked forward to it every morning.
Brina’s note to Daddy
Karlie letting Daddy know we are going to check out the animals!
Brina’s note to Daddy with a variety of colors.
Karlie’s note that includes a “heart family” of all of us. Cute!
Brina’s note with hearts and letting him know to have “fun and do a good job”!
Brina’s note to Dad with my note to the love of my love.
Jake’s note letting us know he prepped the meal and all we had to do is add water and boil.
Sweet note from my Handsome man!
Note from Karlie with her and Daddy as heart people.
The girls love their Dad so very much. It is precious to see how they enjoy not only doing little things for him, but also how excited they get to spend some extra time with him. Thankful for a husband who works so hard to provide for our family. He takes good care of all of us and always makes each of us feel special. He is thoughtful, generous, and kind. Even though he works hard he always makes a point to spend time with us as a family. I am blessed in many ways.
If your spouse travels and you go along with them you can easily do this for your spouse as well. It was super simple, but made everyone feel more connected throughout the long days apart. I hope that it made Jake’s days a little bit brighter.
Flashback Friday: Exploring the World
Loving the flowers and petals! Brina in the purple and Karlie in the pink.
Today’s Flashback Friday takes us back to when the girls were just over a year old. They loved exploring new things. Now that they were constantly on the move they were getting into all kinds of things around the house. Thankful for these little blessings and for the opportunity to watch them grow up.
Their smiles always brighten my days!
Love their cute little pinchable and kissable cheeks!
My little sweet peas are growing up too fast!
Heart Reflections: Raising My Girls
Sweet Brina Bee!
I am so thankful for my girls! They are growing up too quickly. It doesn’t seem like it was that long ago when they were little ones crawling around the house. God chose to bless us with these girls. It has been a fun adventure raising twins! Not everyday has been perfect, but we have so many reasons to be grateful for these two blessings. They have made me grow more as a person. They bring more love and laughter into my life than I ever realized was possible.
My sweet Karlie Kool Kat is always game for a road trip!
Both girls are very different, yet perfect and gifted in their own special ways. I pray that God will give us as parents the wisdom to raise them into amazing young women. I know I will make mistakes as their Mom along the way, but hopefully they will overlook those mistakes and know that I love them despite those not-so-good-moments. It is my prayer that they will seek God’s wisdom and direction in their lives.
I want to go through life focusing more on the good memories and letting go of the little things that get my feathers ruffled. Life is too short to not have fun, smile, and enjoy the blessings God gives us everyday. For those of you who are new to my blog these two girls were the inspiration for my blog, Blessings Multiplied. They continue to amaze me with their creativity, learning, talents, and their love for life! I look forward to many more awesome memories with these two sweet girls and seeing how God uses them to make an impact in the lives around them.
