everisms and more

here you'll see an assortment of pictures taken the last few weeks and you'll read several funny things ever has said or done lately.  most of the pictures have a story of their own so enjoy this hodge podge of ever goodness....

she often likes to rub the belly for comfort if she is tired or gets hurt.  if she gets in trouble for something she likes to immeadiately say hug baby sisters and hug my belly.  i think she knows we find that action adorable so she uses it to take the attention off her naughty moments.

last weekend will got up with ever to give me a chance to get a little extra sleep.  when i woke u i walked out to the living room and saw her watching tv like this.  i thought will set it up for her but he said she did the laundry basket chair all on her own.

ever has been really interested in these long weeds lately.  she pulls them and says they are her magic wands as she waves them around.  on this particular day she didn't want to collect her magic wands until her pajama outfit was complete with rain boots and a helmet.  

ever in her new favorite spot at the hospital.  she likes to go play in this area when i'm at my appointments.  she collects pine cones and hugs trees and hides and screams.  her favorite is when it is raining and she can splash around in the mud.

another thing she enjoys is spending time with my mom in her office.  she asks if it is a day i have to go to the doctor and when i tell her it is she thinks it is the best kind of day.  she makes messes with random items in my moms office and plays dress up and puts stickers on every surface.

a cute morning conversation over cheerios.

riding her horse around the house is not possible unless she has my boots on.

cuddling stuffed animals is fine but lately she is all about cudding mister kitty.  she's always been fond of him but it is to the point now that if we aren't home she tells me says things like "i meed to go see what mister is up to."

he deserves an award for putting up with her.  she bosses him around so much.

when i text this picture to my mom i said.....i've become that mom....ever is completely mismatched, messy hair, boots on the wrong feet etc.  

we are often in survival mode around here these days.  

if only i could look as cute as ever does when i'm disheveled.

now for some everisms...

*one night when i was getting her out of the bathtub she said "i'm a scientist, i'm a mermaid, i'm a giraffe, i'm a saurus (type of dinosaur), i'm a pirate."

*she saw ultrasound pictures on the kitchen counter.  i didn't know she knew they were called ultrasound pictures but our observant girl said "let me see the babies ultrasounds."

*will and i were playing a game of rummikub.  ever came running up and said "super disgusting paper in the toilet."  i knew she was up to something.  we went in the bathroom and discovered she put an entire roll of toilet paper in the toilet.

*ever took a bag of lentils from the pantry and she was cuddling them.  i tried to get them from her and she very sternly said "no mama, don't take my lentil baby!"

*walked up to me and randomly said..."you a maniac, i a scientist"

*will said how when he took ever to the grocery store the other night she was being very bossy.  he told her she was a demanding little woman.  now she refers to herself as little woman.  

what is funny is there is a story documented in my journal when i was around the same age and i told my parents "i not skye...i woman!"

*we were watching an episode of american pickers last night.  we paused it because it was getting late and we still needed to do ever's bedtime routine.  a while after we put her in bed we turned the episode back on.  instantly ever yells out "papa!"  will goes in her room and ever says "i want to watch pickers."  will says....you want to watch pickers?  ever...."i suppose"

will couldn't refuse her cuteness so she cuddled up on the couch with us even though it was way past her bedtime and she told me "i just love pickers!"  

*recently my mom had taken ever to run errands and they stopped at my grandmother's house.  in a discussion l. marie mentioned how the babies are parasites.  which if you think about it in a way they really are....sucking the life out of me...my body gives the best to them.  apparently ever paid attention during that conversation because several nights later when i asked ever what her baby sisters names are she said "parasites".

naming the twins (part 1)

*i meant to post this last week when i wrote it but i got sidetracked and then this weekend we all came down with some sort of cold that of course hit me the hardest.  i'm currently trying not to cough the babies out and hoping our household can get healthy and more prepared before the two newest members arrive.

when i was pregnant with ever before we knew her gender we already had her name and a boy name picked out.  i have always been obsessed with names and the meaning behind them, so all the years of my life i named my future children and i would doodle their names in various places.  of course over the years my mind changed a lot.  it wasn't until shortly before i met will in 2008 that i knew i really wanted to name a daughter ever.  luckily will was totally cool with my plan.  boy names were always harder for me to figure out but i remember the exact moment in 2010 that i decided on a name for a boy if we ended up having one some day, just like i remember the exact moment i decided on ever's name.  

i thought for sure since my recent pregnancy was so different from my first that this baby must be a boy but still i researched girl names the moment i knew i was pregnant....actually i probably researched names before since it is a bit of an obsession for me.  i have a list in my phone of lots of possible girl names.  there are several will and i discussed and liked. after getting the shock of my life and discovering we'd be having twins and two more girls i went crazy trying to figure out names for them. we thought we'd use a couple of those names from the list but they never seemed to really click.

  

i didn't want anything that was too matchy matchy yet i wanted them to have names that seemed to fit together and fit with ever's.  i'm not sure if i mentioned it before but after researching ever's name i discovered it was on a baby name list from the 1890's.  i loved that it was vintage yet unusual so i wanted these girls to have the same sort of name.  after researching lots of names from around that same time one kept standing out and will really wanted to use that name.  i had slight hesitation because it has become a little more popular in recent years but it did seem to fit so we had one baby named pretty quickly.  the other baby we decided would have a name from the same vintage list and although i liked it will wasn't as convinced.  then one day near the end of april as i searched on a baby name website i saw one that i had seen months before but never given much thought to until that moment.  i mentioned it to will and i thought he wouldn't like it but he loved it.  

i already knew the middle name of one baby at that point because it came to me as i was reading ever a book at bedtime early on in the pregnancy.  the other middle name i wasn't sure on but the same day i found the first name we liked i found another middle name.  i like the idea of middle names having significance in a familial way.  in case these are the last babies we have i wanted one to be named after my dad and one to be named after my mom.  i already knew how i'd name one after my mom based on the idea that came to me when reading to ever but it wasn't until that day at the end of april that i knew which name i'd use to honor my dad.  

we even thought we knew which twin would get which name and we've been calling them by their names, but in recent days after all the monitoring and ultrasounds of these two i think i might have their names mixed up.   i likely won't know for sure until i see them and get a glimpse of their personalities outside of the womb.  

it has been hard to not share the names with everyone.  i found out my mom spilled the beans to several people recently so i've considered sharing with everyone but i still like the idea of a little bit of a surprise once they are born.  they are going to be here soon enough so not much more waiting.  

expect part two of the story in about 2 or 3 weeks.

i'll share their names and the meaning behind them.

here is a picture from our final ultrasound (at 34 weeks) of their heads together.  it was basically impossible to get any clear pictures of them because they are so crammed in there. they are still both in a breech sort of position kicking away at my bladder.  they still have their heads together which i think is really cute.  we got one squished face shot of baby b.  i could see her face sort of clearly on the screen but it didn't come out well in the picture.  baby a is facing my back and she has been the past few ultrasounds so i've not really seen her face at all except when she was teeny tiny.  according to ultrasound measurements one baby is 5.2 pounds and the other is 5.4 pounds.

a few more days...

just a few more days left (through saturday august 23rd) to enjoy 20% off all items in my {etsy} shop with the coupon code twins20.  the shop will likely be closed up by the end of the month as we prepare for the arrival of our twins....not sure when i'll open it again so if you see something you love go ahead and grab it.  to those who have already purchased items....thank you so much! 

33 week twin belly and playing in the rain

these pictures were from my third nst which happened monday.  babies passed the test super quickly again and that made us happy.  i was a little more restless during this test.  i couldn't get comfortable but at least i had a few favorites in the room to entertain me.  sandi had a tougher time finding the heartbeats on the girls this appointment because they wouldn't sit still.  it amazes me that i was able to tell her exactly where she needed to attach the monitors to get accurate readings.  i guess i know these girls of mine.   

meet "mingo" (as ever calls it). a couple months ago ever found mingo near my moms office and had to have it.  luckily nobody cared too much when she took it home with her.  she puts mingo between her legs and pretends to ride it all over the hospital, our house, the neighborhood.  mingo has been taken to the shower with ever, sometimes he sleeps in her crib.  she loves that thing. eventually mingo #1 got a hole in it but ever still rode it all deflated.  my mom got her a replacement last week.  in the picture above will was getting ready to pull a prank on dr. taylor with mingo.

ever loves to come in the room for a few minutes with yaya to listen to her baby sisters and shower me with kisses.  she's always very affectionate when i'm hooked up to the machine.  she also likes to smell the straps around my belly and tell me they smell like oranges....but they really don't.  funny girl.

after the appointment we went and played in the rain.  each appointment i have had lately i have received  good news and then i feel a little more relaxed about how uncomfortable i currently am.  i'll happily endure the pain if it means these babies will come out healthier.  ever loves the rain so much.  she kept dancing and splashing then she went home soaked and muddy but very happy.

documenting 33 weeks worth of two babies in my belly.

playing in the rain is quite possibly one of the best ways to spend an afternoon...just ask ever.

another hummingbird moment with brulé

night before last i had a dream about brulé.  i don't dream about her often but when i do the dreams are always so realistic and sweet.  in this particular one we saw each other from a distance and ran to each other and i hugged and cuddled her much like in these pictures below.  she was thrilled to see me and i was thrilled to see her.  waking up from these types of dreams i feel happy like i actually spent time with her but then sad because she isn't here for me to spend time with her like i used to.  brulé was born with a beautiful wise soul unlike any animal i've known and that soul still touches my life from heaven.  

(all these pictures of us are from july 2011)

throughout the day it was like she was sending me little reminders of our connection.  after the passing of her and boz i wrote {this post} about how i was inspired to create that hummingbird painting.  since then a hummingbird sighting has taken on a new meaning for me.  since our backyard is a barren wasteland i never see hummingbirds out there but last night i just happened to open the door at the exact moment a pretty little hummingbird was buzzing around our yard.  

a little while later i was looking at baby and toddler clothes on gap and i came across this onesie with the hummingbird carrying a letter that says love u.  in case you are wondering i didn't hesitate to add this to the twins wardrobe.  

it is comforting to me that although we are apart brulé and i still share that special connection.  i don't know if she was sending me love because on this day 13 years ago my dad had his massive heart attack which began three months of him clinging to life until he finally graduated to heaven.  maybe she was just missing me like i miss her.  either way her timing was perfect and i'm not at all surprised.  she always knew and still does.  

skyelish coupon code

to celebrate the upcoming arrival of the twins i've created a coupon code for my etsy store.

from 8/5 through 8/23 enjoy 20% off any purchase when you enter the coupon code twins20 at checkout.

the first nst and memory lane

yesterday was the most i've been out of the house in a while.  it was nice to be out but also exhausting and somewhat painful because being on my feet for more that 10 or 15 minutes at a time is pretty uncomfortable these days.  i had my first of many scheduled non stress tests for the babies.  this is a bi-weekly thing from now until they are born.  i found it to be fun actually hearing both of their hearts beating.  the little buzzer i'm holding i would click when i felt movement from either one of them.  they were both super wiggly....i don't think they liked having the monitors strapped to them.  i always feel baby b having hiccups but rarely baby a because of the way she is positioned.  yesterday she had hiccups during almost the entire test so i not only felt them but heard them which was cute.  dr. taylor says he's never seen twins past the test as quickly as our girls did yesterday.  that had will and i laughing and a little nervous because it could very well be we have two more intense overachieving ever's in there which means life could be extra crazy in a few weeks....as long as they are more compliant with sleeping and eating we might survive.  i felt really relieved that the appointment went well.  i celebrate each day that passes because it means they are closer to being born without complications.  

when my appointment finished will still had an hour to be at work so rather than driving all the way home ever and i went downtown with my mom as she and some other people from the hospital set up for a training class.  ever thought she was at disneyland or something.  we were in the building that i remember being jcpenney when i was a kid but now i guess it is a place that can be rented for various occasions.  she had so much fun running around and then one of the guys there put despicable me on the big screen for her and she was amazed.

she didn't want to go with me to pick up will so i left her there while i got him at work.  when we got back to the place ever showed will around.

my dad worked out of an office right next to that building when i was younger so i felt like i grew up in that area.  it was where brandon and i had our first very successful lemonade stand.  we would often walk across the way to a pet store and i would buy goldfish.  we played on the library lawn when the library was in the amazing super old building next door.  i had favorite books that i would check out over and over.  we participated in activities at that library during their summer program.  it was like a walk down memory lane for my always nostalgic soul.  

i caught my reflection in the window of what used to be the downtown post office but is now an antique store.  there is 32 weeks of twin belly action in that reflection. 

it was right next to this alley that i confessed to my mom about getting in trouble at school for the first time in third grade....a very vivid memory of mine.  i thought about it and then looked up to see will and ever walking in front of me.  so many years since then and so much has changed.

halloween already...

i figured i might as well try to go out with a bang before the twins are born so i stocked up my {etsy} store with a few prints that have never been in there before.  one of the prints is from the popular halloween painting i made last year.  the original version hangs year round in our home since we love it so much.  ever is always talking about it and pointing everything out then proudly says "mama made that!"  any of the little shows she watches she gravitates toward the halloween episodes and some of her favorite books we read over and over are about halloween.....she is definitely mine.  not to go off on too many side stories but i noticed one day recently while looking at the halloween painting that i may have predicted my future when i started painting this last august.  the ghost with the eye patch seems like a papa ghost.  the smiling ghost under the tree seems like a mama ghost then the remaining three seem like baby ghosts so maybe some part of me knew that i'd be a mama to three quicker than i could have imagined.

i'm not completely sure when i'll close up shop but i'm thinking it'll be towards the end of this month.  i don't know how long i'll keep it closed either so i figured i'd give everyone a chance to get this halloween print before it is too late.  

since there are plenty of other prints i didn't want to leave out i added them as well.

this is a sneak peek but head on over to {etsy} and see what else is available....including a couple of original paintings.