When Mom's away the kids will play

I went out with a group of resident wives for the monthly Food n' Friends gathering and this is what the kids were up to. Can you tell we are all ready for warm weather? I must say it was a nice night, but not that nice! Not to mention the water was freezing, but of course kids could care less. They had a ball getting all wet. (And yes, the pacifier in Brooke's mouth makes me cringe.) Jacob spent the other afternoon pouting because he couldn't go swimming at the local outdoor pool after we played at the park. C'mon summer!

Unlce Scott came to town

My youngest brother Scott was in St. Louis on business, and took some time to come over and see us. We were all very glad he came. The kids are always so thrilled with anytime to see their aunts and uncles and cousins. Brooke especially took to him. She spent the whole night climbing and jumping all over him. In fact, since Aunt Shanna came to help out when the babies were born, Anna asked, "How come your sister Kelli hasn't come?" Living far away from family has made us very appreciative of any time with them, even a very short 2 hours. Thanks Uncle Scott for coming to see us!

Going Bonkers for State Capitals

We made a deal with the kids that if they would learn the state capitals by March 1st we would take them out to Bonkers. They were very diligent and we worked on them every night at dinner. The day finally came and they all passed the final exam. We were very proud of them for sticking to it, and they were very proud of themselves. I can't say that I really enjoy the whole Bonkers experience, although the slides are really fast! Brooke is terrified to walk across the holes in the woven floors. So I crawled all around with her. Once again, it is so nice to have my body to myself again!

The real nightmare of going to bonkers is the prize stand. The kids must spend half their time deciding which little toy they want to buy with their tickets. I have decided those arcade games are pretty much the same as gambling. It is all about the chance of winning a lot of tickets.

And as always, this little chinese finger cuff broke the first time she pulled on it. Classic!

2 Months old

The girls are now over 2 months old. They are healthy, happy little girls. At their check up they both weighed ove 9 pounds and are 21 inches. They seem to be getting into more of a routine and sleeping better at night. We are really enjoying them and are still in disbelief that we have been blessed with both of them.

Aleia

Lillian

Worth a thousand words!

Brooke still adores her sisters. Lillian loves her too, she's just a little nervous thats all.

Brooke or Cindy?

I put Brooke's hair in rags last night and after she spent the day twirling her pigtails, I couldn't help but think of cute little Cindy Brady.

Getting Big

Lillian

The poor Girls rarely get dressed, but since I attempted to go out to do some visiting teaching one morning I thought I should take them out of their pjs. Unfortunately my ambitions were squashed when Brooke had an accident. Oh well, maybe next month... I thought I should at least get a picture:)

Aleia

My Big Helpers

I am not sure how I would survive without these two helping out. They are so good to hold the girls when they are fussing and I have to get something done.

Fenberg Family Fine Dining

We love this tradition. If we hadn't established this last year Valentines Day would have passed with little acknowledgement this year. The girls reminded us several days in advance how much they loved their night to be served by their parents. Moss' performance as a waitor is something to behold. I of course spend the evening behind the scenes whipping out all the food. Our menu began with a delicious assortment of fresh fruits, followed by a very sweet waffle and juice. The kids were so full they opted to save dessert until the next day. We love traditions!

Valentine's Day Festivities

We started off the day with the heart theme hairdo. The girls loved having the hearts in their hair. I was barely quick enough to keep Brooke from running away from me. You gotta love other people's blogs- so many ideas!

Can I just say the novelty of classroom parties has totally worn off?! How is it that I am such a sucker? How many times will I run around with two little bedraggled kids, a stroller basket full of who-knows-what, and be incharge of the games before I will finally say no??? First we hit Mary's class party. Brooke was perfectly at home at the party. Where there are sweets, there is Brooke.

After a quick visit to Mary's class we headed down to see Anna and to join in her festivities. Brooke went around scavaging everyone's candy valentines much to Anna's horror. Fortunately they had names on them so they could be returned.

As you can see, Brooke did not come off empty-handed! This girl is definitely an addict. Is it me, or does it seem like candy never goes away? I swear we have been loaded up with candy since Halloween!

The Poor Tired Daddy

This is how I found Moss last night after feeding one of the girls. I had a good chuckle. The poor guy really is sleep deprived these days. I knew it was bad when I found his clothes piling up on the floor beside the bed (definitely not typical). I thought Angela would like to see how well here wonderful gift works. (We might need another one, but in blue:)

We love it!

We are so grateful for each warm day that comes. It is so wonderful to have the kids running and playing outside. They seem to play better and are so much more cheerful (maybe that's me) when they can be outside. Hopefully they keep on coming!

Hooray for Big Sisters

Anna loves little babies and small children. They also really like her. Our little neighbor girl who is 2 screams whenever Anna leaves her house. You will often find Anna off entertaining the little ones while all the other kids are running around. We are very grateful for her helpfulness! (Even if it does spoil the babies.)

Wild and Wacky

Whenever a class earns 100 braggin dragon cards at our elementary school the class picks a way to celebrate. This time Mrs. Finck's class chose to have a "wild and wacky" day. Here is Mary all dressed up and ready to go. The hair was of course the most exciting part. (a special thanks to our wonderful neighbor who picked up the hairspray for us!)

Miracles have not ceased!

I witnessed what some may call a small miracle, but I say it was comparable to moving a mountain. This morning as we all got ready for church, a 2 hour process on most ocassions, for everyone to be dressed, fed, brushed, and buckled with a church bag in tow. This morning due to feeding the babes we only had an hour and much to my happy surprise the kids were awesome. Each of the kids dressed themselves, Anna dressed Brooke, and Mary helped with the babies and I had actually packed all the essentials the night before. Needless to say I was very grateful since it was my first time getting everyone there alone. They were so amazing that I had to take a picture (for those future not so pleasant mornings:).