walking in high heels and 5 years ago

ever is really interested in clothing and shoes that aren't her own lately.  she puts on shirts of mine or will's all the time making a disaster of our closet in the process.  she puts on our shoes and awkwardly shuffles around the house.  usually she has two different types of my shoes on.  i find this behavior of hers really cute minus mess she makes while doing it.  sunday when my mom was here she put on her high heels and clomped around the house.  we were pretty impressed with her ability to walk in them.  of course the moment she saw the camera she stopped wanting to perform for us.  

i'm so bummed her face is blurry in this one because i love how it turned out besides that.  she has the determined look going on with her tongue sticking out and her baby sisters are sneaking in the picture.  

ever spent a lot of time with my mom over the weekend and as nice as it was for us to get things done like newborn laundry and organizing without interruptions i really missed her.  her funny little personality is addicting.

also worth mentioning....it was 5 years ago today that will asked me to marry him.  in honor of that here is a picture of us from 5 years ago.  will mostly looks the same to me minus the big beard he's rocking now and maybe a couple new wrinkles.  i look so different.....i blame it on being an incubator to 3 babies in the last five years and all the sleepless nights ever gave us.  did i mention she finally started sleeping through the night a couple months ago.  only took her well over two years.  lets hope the twins like sleep more than her.  i want my skin to look like that again....and my hair....and.....everything.  hopefully someday soon.  so glad will made the wise decision he did five years ago and that i went along with it.  it was a smart move for both of us.  he is the very best person for me.

the 2 year old teenager

lets talk about some of the things this 2 year old teenager of mine has said lately.  

some people might not believe the conversations we have with her unless they have spent any amount of time around her and then they just know that this is ever.

the other night ever was convinced yaya was coming over.  when i explained to her that she wasn't coming over she wanted to know where she was.  i told her she was at bagpipe lessons and this was how the rest of our conversation went.

e: "take me to see her."

me: "i can't because papa has the car and he's at the store."

e: with a very annoyed look on her face "papa is at the store again......seriously?!"

i started laughing so hard and told her how funny she is.  she held her finger up to my mouth and said "shhhh quiet."

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yesterday after waking up from her nap...

   e: "i need to text yaya."

me: "you need to text yaya?"

e: "i suppose."

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doesn't she sound so grown up?

below are a few cute things she does these days.

last night she grabbed both mine and will's heads and squeezed them then said "i love you guys so much!"

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often times when i ask her a question like if she wants a certain thing to eat she will respond with "of course!" followed by an enthusiastic smile or giggle.

another common answer of hers is "uh huh, that's right!" 

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when she is running around  the house playing she will ask "what's going on mama?" as she passes by.

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i can't get over how much she makes me laugh or how brilliant she is.

30 weeks pregnant with twins....family photo shoot

i make a habit to keep the camera with me as we spend our evenings outdoors because ever is always doing something that warrants photos or videos to be taken.  

it just so happens we ended taking pictures of all 5 of us instead of just ever.

this is my 30 week twin belly.

i had just finished up with an informative doctors appointment.  in two weeks i'll be having bi-weekly appointments that involve being hooked up to a monitor that measures contractions and babies heart rates from what i understand.  i'm assuming it is like the machine they hook you up to in the hospital before the baby is born.  these appointments will continue until the babies are born.  so basically i'll be living at the office but whatever it takes to be sure all is going well.  although i haven't felt as great with this pregnancy, according to the doctor everything is going perfectly and that is a relief.  carrying twins is hard work but i'm glad my body is strong and healthy.  my c section was scheduled for when i'm 38 weeks but i'm not even counting on that date because doctor said he really doesn't think they'll stay in that long.  i'll just be happy to make it to the safe zone of 36 weeks, that is my first goal.  i might be so uncomfortable at that point that i won't want the pregnancy to last any longer but my second  goal is to make it to 37 weeks.  when i look at these pictures it is really hard to imagine several more weeks of growth.   

ever was obviously discussing something funny like usual.

here ever was attempting to hug the baby sisters real quick as she ran by.  we keep trying to get sweet pictures of her with the belly but she is too busy and wiggly to let that happen.

shake my hand

yesterday before church ever decided she needed to play with a bunch of bandaids and when she was dropped off to my mom she had at least 3 of them on various fingers.....which according to my mom she promptly transferred to papa kit.  i had the same fascination with them as a child although i don't think anyone let me play with them like i let her.  she'll only be this age once so why not let her indulge in the things she loves.  

we had a photo shoot before she left the house because that is what we do.  while ever was away will ran errands and i relaxed in a quiet house.  i've thought a lot lately about how much things will change once the babies arrive.  part of me is ready for it and part of me isn't.  ever and i have quite the strong bond and a pretty solid routine so there are moments i'm fearful of the changes that will inevitably take place.  i have always had a hard time with change even when it is for the better.  i was telling will last night how upset i am at the thought of being away from ever when the babies are born.  i also shared with him that at the same time i want to be able to feel like i can absorb every moment of the twins being born in a way that i couldn't with ever.  it is all hard to explain but i'm sure those of you who went from having your first to your second child (or in my case...second and third child) get what i'm saying.....right?  

i also happened upon a tragic story when i was home alone of a little 3 year old girl who died when her dresser tipped over on her.  this particular story happened several years ago but the mom is on a mission to educate people about securing furniture so things like this don't happen to others.  reading tragic stories are good for me in the sense that they bring me back to reality and give me a stronger sense of appreciation for the good things in my life plus they are often educational.  i've never been more happy to see my wild mess maker than i was after crying my eyes out while reading that story.  she may be difficult a lot of the time but i'm so happy to have her around.

ever said and did lots of funny things yesterday evening.  i'll share one of the many stories.  i would tell them all but i don't want her to someday be embarrassed by my over sharing.  

as we were relaxing after dinner last night ever walked up to will and said "shake my hand papa" and she stretched out her hand to him.  she's never done this before and of course we thought it was incredibly cute. will shook her hand and as they shook hands ever asked "how are you papa?"  she then turned to me and did/said the same thing but of course changed it from papa to mama.  we laughed so hard!  i figured she picked this up from observing people at church because the handshake and how are you are common there.  even when we think ever isn't noticing things she is always observing as is evident by what she says and does.  i love my observant girl so much! 

cloudy scooter time

 as i type this the twins are being really rowdy in my belly.  i can feel what i'm pretty sure is four feet kicking like crazy.  today marks 30 weeks of pregnancy and i'm very happy about that.  i have a countdown going of when i'll be in the safe zone for delivery here in town.  according to my calculations 42 days puts me in that safe zone so those babies have to stay put at least that much longer.  i should be kind of freaked out about the fact that i'm not at all prepared for their arrival like i was for ever's arrival at this point but instead my priority is keeping them safe and happy right where they are.

i took these pictures yesterday morning when we woke up to a lovely cloudy day and sprinkling of rain.  that is the kind of weather that makes our family want to be outside so we went out in our comfy clothes and let ever enjoy some scooter time before it got too hot.  she insisted on wearing her rain boots for the occasion and i kept laughing at her clomping around in them.  as you'll see in the following pictures she was all about showing off many of her expressive faces.  

i love watching her ride her scooter.  she has gotten really good at steering and stopping when necessary.  she zooms around on that thing and for some reason i always laugh.

and just for fun here is a little clip of her clomping around in her rain boots.

  

my gnome

one of the guys will works with mentioned that he looks like a garden gnome with his beard.  then that guy worked his photoshop magic to make this.  i can't stop looking at this picture and laughing since will sent it to me yesterday.  i am most likely going to print it and frame it because i love it that much.

observing ever

i do not like to just sit around especially when there are plenty of things i could be doing but that is what my body is requesting right now so i'm listening even if it sometimes feels like torture.  the plus side to me taking it easy is that i notice a lot more of the things ever says and does.  many times during the days i'm silently observing her and it is very entertaining.  here are some of the recent things she has said or done that i find highly enjoyable.  

  

-she has taken a real interest in stacking and organizing various things lately.  there are toys she does this with and most recently the jenga blocks.  i found her putting them in rows like in the picture below and other times she would stack them 5 or more high end to end like little towers.  i told her i'd help her build a house with them and i stacked them up in a sort of house then she said "like up.....with the clouds....and the balloons" referring to the movie up.  after she meticulously makes things with the blocks she knocks them down violently and starts over again.  will and i both find these moments of hers incredibly entertaining.

she has been extra sweet and motherly with pellegrino and our other cats (although pellegrino or mister as we most often call him is usually the only one who adores her sweetness).  if they are meowing she asks them why they are crying and hugs them and says sweet things.  we figured out pellegrino wanted a treat the other day so she fed him a spoonful of cream cheese all the while saying lovey things to him.  she also fed him a couple cheetos the other day which he happily accepted.  

she kept looking at herself closely in the reflective overflow drain of the bathtub the past couple nights and it was then that i noticed she was making herself bubble beards then admiring her new look.  she was too busy to let me get a good picture of her beard but i'll catch her one of these days.  

on several occasions recently i'll sit in her room with her while she makes a complete tornado disaster of everything but i don't have the heart to stop her because she is playing imaginatively with books, toys, stickers and so on.  just listening to the conversations she has with her plush toys or her own version of books she reads is so cute.  if only i could figure out how to get her to clean up the messes afterwards.  oh well....messes are a part of our reality these days.  

ever and i both came down with a cough/cold type of thing recently.  i definitely got the worst of it.  i have a really annoying cough that is still bothering me and sometimes i have ridiculous coughing fits.  anytime i have one of those fits ever says "easy mama!" or she asks if i'm okay.

the other day will and i were talking while ever played next to us and will said "unacceptable" about something then ever repeated it but in her own cute way.  we laughed so hard and asked her to say unacceptable about 10 more times.  luckily she granted our wishes.  there was another big word i heard her say that same day but i can't remember what it was now.  

yesterday when she woke up she hugged me told said "i love you so much!" then she hugged my belly and said "i love baby sisters so much!"

anyway that is just a small glimpse of what i've observed from ever lately.  i wish i could remember every little thing because undoubtedly there were many other notable things.  

our little storm chaser

well last night was adventurous.  here's how it went down.  in the evening we went out front to let ever play like usual.  she's splashing around in water and playing with toys.  i notice ominous clouds building around us but they seemed so far away and the sun was shining.  within minutes thunder gets louder and before you know it there is a full on downpour.  ever kept fighting us because she was determined to stay out in the wild weather.  we decided to open the front door and let her watch from there.  i could see our girl being a storm chaser in the future.  i told will how when i was her age i would've been clinging to my dad full of fear during a storm like that because that is what i always did.  the three of us stood there and watched our road become a river that was washing up into our front yard.  as most summer storms are this one came on fast and furious but it was lasting longer than most of them do.  the thunder and lightning got more intense.  all the while we had to keep pulling ever back in the house because she wanted to run out in it.  then the electricity went out.  no big deal because that happens sometimes with these crazy storms.  will turned the couch around to face the front door.  ever and i cuddled up under a blanket watching all the craziness while will was calling work because he's on call and everything was going crazy there with the power outage.  usually he can fix most things from home connecting to work on the computer but of course that wasn't going to happen with the power out and driving conditions weren't so great.  he tried to fix a few things over the phone but even his phone was acting up.  i realized i only had 5% battery left on my phone so i wasn't able to call or text anyone back because i was saving that 5% for an emergency.  i figured our electricity would be back on soon since it rarely stays out long but an hour passed and still nothing.  it was getting dark out at this point.  we did what several of our neighbors were doing and went out front to wait for the electricity to come back on.  ever happily splashed around in her rain boots.  i supervised her.  will kept trying to fix work problems.  when it got really dark we went back in and lit all the candles we could find.  that is when i realized we really aren't prepared for any kind of emergencies.  we didn't have many candles.  we could only find one working flashlight.  ever was hungry and there wasn't much for me to offer her.  i got a couple snacks for her and we camped out on the couch.  it was then that i remembered an incident several years prior which was similar to this but out at my moms house.  during that power outage that lasted around 4 hours i cuddled up with the dogs on the couch and took a nap with my sweet brulé.  it was then that i realized that as inconvenient as these moments are they can make for good memories.  will was in and out of the house trying to get decent cell phone reception to deal with work issues so it was mainly ever and i braving the dark silent evening on our own.  i was totally impressed with how she handled it.  she didn't get upset at all.  she sat there singing songs and we laughed together and i realized this was one of those memory making moments that i'll talk about years from now in a remember when sort of way.  as it got close to 10pm and there was no sign of power returning we realized will had yet to eat dinner.  the house was feeling too stuffy for my liking and we weren't sure how to proceed with bedtime rituals so we left to get will dinner and enjoy the air conditioned vehicle.  as we drove through town we noticed some of the damage the storm did.  it was convenient we left when we did anyway because will ended up having to stop by work.  it was past 10:30 when we made it back towards home and noticed ever was passed out in her car seat and power was still out on our side of town.  i did my best to get her and i ready for bed by candlelight and flashlight...taking care of just the basics.  i set her in bed next to me while will continued to deal with work related things.  ever was super restless and not calming down at all.  it was past 11pm at this point....past both of our bedtimes.  i was lying there thinking how i felt like i was suffocating because the house was so hot.  in my mind i was making elaborate plans to go sleep in the running car with the air conditioning on.  no air conditioning in my super pregnant state during the middle of summer seemed against the law.  just then around 11:20pm the power came back on and i felt so thankful for electricity.  we did ever's usual bedtime routine and she fell asleep easily then will and i finally tucked ourselves in around midnight.  it was an adventure for sure.   

it's funder!

one thing i really love about summer is the monsoon season.  i have always been a big fan of cloudy rainy days.  will loves that kind of weather too and it seems ever gets the exact same happy energy we do about it the minute clouds fill the sky.  maybe we aren't living in the right place since rainy days are rare here.  last year during monsoon season she seemed very intrigued and played outside in the water once the lightning had passed.  this year her excitement over it has doubled.  when she hears a loud noise she'll ask "what's that noise?" in an enthusiastic way then she answers her question with "it's funder!" even if it isn't thunder.  she begs to play outside the moment a storm starts but we tell her she has to watch it from the window until it is safer to go outside.  last week during one of the biggest storms yet this season ever insisted on wearing her rain boots, although as you can see pants were optional, and she excitedly splashed around in the water.  she kept saying....it's freezing cold! and it actually was chilly but that didn't stop her from having fun.  we finally took her inside kicking and screaming.....she would have played out there all night. 

weather like this makes the heat of summer bearable.  i hope there are many more stormy rainy days ahead....enough to finish out this pregnancy would be nice.  in fact i told will that i hope the day the twins are born there is weather like this....it just seems like it would be extra magical.

the models

will's beard has brought him all sorts of attention.  the shirt he is wearing is one that was sent to him by a beard balm company in the uk because they wanted him to represent their brand.  so he got a shirt and some of their product in exchange for them getting to use a picture of him and ever on their site to advertise merchandise.  while getting a photo for that purpose i decided to go ahead and take a bunch more because that is what i do.

do you see that look of adoration?

ever has developed a recent obsession with one of the lilo and stitch videos on netflix.  one day while watching it she started to mimic the hula dancing.  so if you ask her to dance like lilo and stitch she will hula the best she knows how as you can see in the next few pictures.

if you pay attention to any of the pictures of ever on her strider bike you'll see that she usually has a small stuffed animal tucked under the handle bars.  she is always carrying around some sort of plush or doll....she treats them like they are real live creatures with feelings.

all of the ominous clouds lately make us happy.

i captured more lovey dovey moments between these two.

ever specializes in cracking us up and cracking herself up.

we've watched this video about a million times lately.  ever walked up to me and kept saying oh my gosh when her dress would be blown up by the wind.  she is always so entertaining.