6 Months

It doesn't seem possible that 6 months, 1/2 a year, has already passed since Ireland and Elias entered our lives. Little did I know how much things would change and how much work two babies would be. I still don't feel like my life has reached a new "normal" yet...we're getting closer but aren't there yet. Some days are really good and some days are really hard. They're still not sleeping through the night (well, to be fair, Ireland isn't sleeping through the night so she wakes Elias up with her crying. Awesome.) so that kinda puts a damper on things. I'm (We're) tired and ready for a full night's sleep. But, I wouldn't trade the exhaustion for the joy these two little lives bring to our family. We do not take the blessings we've been given lightly. Our hearts are extremely thankful.

Happy 6 Months Sweet Ones!

Big Brother

Asher is the BEST big brother. He is so caring, gentle and sweet with the babies, loves making them laugh and always wants to hold them. I'm so thankful for his help!

5 Months

Can't believe my babies are already 5 months old. Time is going so fast and they are changing so much!

Their temperaments couldn't be more different: Elias - chill, Ireland - high strung

But they are so cute together and starting to notice each other's presence

Things are starting to get fun!

Christmas 2010

Only a month late. Not bad, right? Because an entire Christmas post with explanations and loads of pictures is not going to happen, here are a few pictures to show that we at least celebrated Christmas this year!

Sweet Bubba at the Christmas Eve service

(I was a little concerned he was going to drop the candle and start the church on fire)

Had to get a picture of the babes in their Christmas Eve outfits - Ireland was not a fan of the bonnet (shocker):

Christmas Day before heading over to Grandpa and Grandma Brokke's

Family Pictures - not great but good enough for these days...

4 Months

Better late than never!

4 Month Photo Shoot -

Thanksgiving

The best 2 out of 7...take your pick:

So thankful.

So blessed.

Naked Babies

These babes are happiest on their changing table. Stripped down to diapers and free to kick around, they smile, laugh, talk and coo when they're being changed! I'm pretty much up for whatever makes them happy these days...

Besides the fact that they're both white, bald-headed little babies, isn't it crazy how different they look from each other? Elias is all Finzel and Ireland looks so much like my baby pictures and my mom's side of the family!

love it.

3 Months!

Three months old today! Wow. Time really is going by so quickly. They are getting more and more interactive each day--"talking," smiling, cooing, laughing every once in a while. It's starting to be fun, not just work. I'm sure the fact that they're sleeping longer stretches at night helps too.

We were able to squeeze in a quick photo shoot before bed tonight. Please disregard their tired eyes and the red blotches on Elias' face....this was after their bath and they were DONE with our shenanigans.

From the looks of this picture, Ireland looks much larger than Elias but he's actually a bit bigger than her.

Had to put in the token "I'll just sit here and chill while sister screams" photo.

Overwhelmed with thanksgiving and gratefulness for our precious 3-month olds.

Trick-or-Treat

Believe it or not, this was Asher's first experience Trick-or-Treating for Halloween! Last year he had the flu and the year before that we went to our church's Harvest Festival. All that to say, he was VERY excited to wear a costume and say "Trick-or-Treat" this year! Although, on the way up I rehearsed with him what he was supposed to say after he rang the doorbell and he excitedly exclaimed, "Happy Birthday!" Um, no. We had to practice a few more times!

Because both of the babies were sick with a cold, Mark stayed home with them while I took Asher out with some friends....

Asher and his sweet friend Kadence (the ballerina)

My sweet little fireman

Getting the hang of how it's done!

Enjoying his first treasure

(he was overwhelmed with excitement by all the candy he got, the kid has never owned so much candy in his life)

The best picture I got with all the kids - rough.

I'm glad he was finally able to experience Trick-or-treating and the joy that comes from a sugar rush. He's been wearing his costume non stop both yesterday and today...I'm afraid it may become a permanent outfit in our house!

2 Month Photoshoot

I know we're about two weeks late, but at least I'm getting these up! The babes are growing and doing great...can't believe they'll be 3 months old in just a couple weeks!

The photo shoot this month was definitely less than "perfect" but turned out to be quite comical trying to get all 3 kids to look decent for the camera. I think I need to lower my expectations for all pictures in the future!

My 3 precious children (the one in the middle has a rockin' smile):

Chill brother and quite concerned sister (she is always quite concerned about something):

It's a good thing he's so chill because I have a fiery one with her....not sure where she gets that from!?!? Just kidding.

Happy 2 (1/2) months sweet babies!!

One Month Old!!

Don't know where the past month has gone but it has flown by (in an "I never sleep more than 5 hours a night and I'm pretty much exhausted sort of way.") Everyday I'm adjusting more and more to having 3 kids. It is A LOT of work - no way around that - but we are incredibly grateful and blessed by these precious gifts!

Here they are tonight...ready for bed in their matching swaddle blankets. As you can tell, they are pretty much beside themselves with excitement over being a month old.:)

Oh, Ireland got to go off oxygen today and we're hoping Elias will be off in the next week or so. It will be SO nice to be free from it as I feel somewhat chained to the house right now.

Happy One Month Old sweet babies!!

Home Sweet Home

Our twins are home from the hospital and we are so thankful! It has been a long week and we are glad to be home and settling into our new routine and new "normal." It is still hard to believe we now have 3 children! Such a blessing. Though, I will say, I forgot just how sleep deprived the first few months are....every feeding requires a small pep talk to myself. Here are a few pictures from our going home adventures yesterday -

Elias in his going home outfit

Ireland in her outfit

So tiny in their carseats! And, the pacifiers look humongous on their faces!

We are outta there!

We are in love...

...and so overwhelmed with God's incredible blessings and gifts to our family.

Ireland Grace was born August 20th at 1:45am (5 lb. 11 oz.) and Elias Daniel was born just 5 minutes later at 1:50am (5lb. 12 oz.)

(Elias on the left, Ireland on the right)

35 Weeks

It is really hard to believe that I'm already 35 weeks along - this pregnancy has completely flown by for me. While I'm totally uncomfortable and have a hard time doing almost everything, I know the longer the babies stay cookin' the better things will be. I'm hoping to make it a couple more weeks even though, if I were to go into labor now, they wouldn't try and stop it and the babies would be fine. Emotionally and mentally, Mark and I could both use a couple more weeks to "prepare." Ha! Like you can really prepare for two new babies.:) Anyways, here are a couple updated pictures of my belly at 35 weeks:

I'm thinking the next time I post will be when Ireland and Elias are here! Wow.

The Belly: 28 Weeks

Can't believe I'm already 28 weeks along! This pregnancy is just flying by and it's a little crazy/scary to think that if these babies are born the same time Asher was (at 36 weeks) I only have 8 weeks left! Ah! For all of us, I'm hoping that they stay in until 38 weeks. You can be praying for that.:) Here are a couple updated pictures of my belly - definitely feeling larger and more uncomfortable by the day.

California Trip

We had a wonderful vacation in California last week filled with lots of family time, friends, activities and, of course, tons of recreational eating! It was a busy, busy, busy trip with not much down time, but we all enjoyed getting out of "routine" for a little while.

I have to confess that I have totally fallen off the wagon with taking pictures these days. I either forget my camera all together or bring it with me and remember AFTER the fact that I even had it. So, I'm sad to admit I barely took any pictures of the really important parts of our trip (our brothers' college graduation, the beach, time with friends and family, our trip through AZ to see Mark's grandparents, etc.) I'm hoping once the twins are born I'll find a new passion/reminder to take more pics! But, for now, the pictures I did take will have to do!

We stayed in South Orange County with my dear friend, Kathleen, and were able to visit many of the places we used to go when we lived there. One place was the Rancho Santa Margarita lake. Mark and I used to frequently go on walks there when we were first married so it was fun to take Asher around the lake too...he had a great time feeding the ducks!

silly bubba

One day we made a trip down to Sea World in San Diego. Asher LOVED it! He's been into big "ishies" (aka. fishies) recently so he was enthralled by all the cool stuff.

We saw sharks....

Elmo and Grover (that's normal for Sea World, right??)

Excited about the Sesame Street play area at Sea World

Two cute penguins

A huge Walrus...Asher's favorite thing. Seriously. We probably stood by this window 20+ minutes while Asher watched the huge Walrus eat and regurgitate a fish. Yep. It was SO disgusting and I'm not sure why he loved it so much but we couldn't pull him away!

The Shamu Show

Asher's feelings toward the hot sun and heat during the Shamu show -

And, the Dolphin Show (sorry about the lame picture)

I captured this sweet picture inside one of the exhibits - I love them so much!

One of the last days we were there, my awesome brothers came down and went to Taco Tuesday with us at one of our favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurants. Mark and I used to go almost every Tuesday for dinner and we miss it so much! Colorado Springs just doesn't have authentic Mexican food like SoCal does!

Asher loves his uncles...he frequently refers to them as one name "DrewDerek" when "talking to them on the phone". :)

Um, and yes, the only picture I got with our whole family in it!

Ah, I told you I've fallen off the wagon.:)

So, there you go, our vacay. I'm planning to get a few pictures from graduation off of my parents camera so I'll post more when I do!