6 month and growing...

The girls are now 6 months old and growing like weeds. They are still neck and neck for weight. Audrey is 16#9oz., Lydia is 16#6oz. And they are both 27 inches tall. That puts them in the 65% for weight and 90% for height. It's amazing that I have all these tall kids, since I myself am not tall, nor do we have height on the Dodd side. Hhhhmmmm, are these really my kids? LOL. One look at Lydia and you know she is all Bjorn. And the same for Myles and Audrey with me. Can't believe how different they are getting. Fun personalities too. They are way more interactive than Myles was at this age. It's really fun, exhausting, but fun.

Myles thinks that when you say "cheese" you close your eyes too. Can't get him to do otherwise. But he really wanted his photo taken too. Who could resist a face like that!

Growing up

So what does it say about your "little boy" when all of the sudden he is VERY interested in the Toys-R-Us Big Book of Toys? It's like my baby transformed into a big kid. He spent about 15 min. pouring through the pages of this catalog, almost like he knew what it was. I'm really not sure if he just liked the pictures and bright colors, or if he knew they were really toys. Either way I'm holding on to this little gem. It's 15 min. of uninterrupted time for me!

Fall fun

Well it's that time of year when the weather FINALLY gets cool, the leaves go "crunch, crunch, crunch" under your feet, and the little kids all say "trick-or-treat"! We have been busy making our Halloween rounds this year. It started last Monday with a "trunk-or-treat" at the church. We all dressed in costume and won the family prize. If you can't tell Bjorn and I are flowers and the kids are all our bumble bee's. Yea for the Dodd hive! The girls loved this costume because they love to be held and baby bjorn's simulate this. The night was full of chili dinner, ghost cup cakes, carnival games for the kids, and the trunk-or-treat to finish it all off.

Friday night was the Myrtle street fair. We like to take a walk down there every so often. Not every weekend, in fact I don't think we have been there since June. Anyway, with our big triple stroller you can imagine what a zoo it is to walk there. We get stopped every 5 feet and it takes a lot of patience to get through the place. It was a perfect night for us however, there were a lot less people than usual and we made our way through with ease. Myles even had a stop at the petting zoo for a pony ride. He's wanted to do this several times before, but I didn't think he would sit still long enough. He had such a great time! Take a look at his cute little face.

Saturday was trick-or-treating on Myrtle street. All the merchants come out on the street and hand out candy to the MILLIONS of families who parade their kids up and down the street. It's really a nice thing for little kids. It's early in the afternoon and you don't have to worry about where to go. It's fast and the kids get a good haul. Then you don't have to feel bad about putting them down to bed before the trick-or-treaters get to your home that night! What a successful Halloween. May they all be this easy.

"I can't hear you"

As a mother I take pride in the fact that I usually keep my cool. I am usually very patient and try to explain why I want Myles to do things. I try to use distraction in order to avoid temper tantrums. I'm usually very level headed when it comes to the kids but, what does it say when your two year old covers his ears before anything comes out of your mouth? Picture this: we have been having a really hard week at the Dodd home. Myles has been exceptionally grumpy and disobedient. This has caused me some stress(okay, A LOT of STRESS). I've tried everything I can think of, but when you have to put a child down for a nap for the 22nd time you just start to loose it. I'm not kidding about 22 times! So Myles was playing yesterday while I was doing my hair. He pulled out the keyboard drawer and then pulled out the extra space shelf, and I'm guessing here, used it to get up on the trunk. Of coarse it isn't rated for this kind of weight and it split the wood that housed the drawer. I came out to the sound of a crash. Myles took one look at me and covered his ears as if to say, "I can't hear you!". He knew I was going to be mad and yell at him. I guess I've been doing too much of this lately. It makes me feel bad, but sometimes it's either yelling or killing, and I think the first is the better option.

Back on the move

I'm now seeing how dark this picture is and I'll try and post a better one.

I've been meaning to post about this for a while now. I've had my "BIG" stroller for a while now and I can't tell you how much I love it and how happy it makes me. The kids and I can now get out of the house every day. It' s so nice to be able to walk at a normal pace and not at Mylo pace. You see that's how we used to do it. I would put the girls in the double and Myles would walk. Well you can guess how well that didn't work. He would walk in the opposite direction that I wanted/needed to go. Then he would walk soooo slowwwww. It took us 1/2 hour to walk 2 1/2 blocks to the grocery store once. So now that I have the big stroller we can zip in and out of the store. Or at least that we the plan. We must be quite a sight because I have yet to use the stroller when I didn't get stopped at least once by someone who was interested in all the kids, or the stroller, or both. It's funny how perfect starangers will tell you their life story if it has anything to do with the fact that they had twins, or knew someone who had twins, or for no reason at all. Anyway, we love our stroller, we love that we are now back on the road.

Celabration

I *HEART* Fall. I love the cool weather, I love Halloween, and I love the beautiful colors it brings. I also love that October bring my birthday month. I look forward to my birthday all year. I guess I'm still like a kid in that regard. I celebrated my 34th this year. Yep, I'm in my MID THIRTY'S now. Not that I really care. I'm still young compared to Bjorn who will turn 40 this January. I guess he can always say he is in his EARLY FORTY'S! Anyway, it was a great birthday.


I had a great time on Friday night at the baseball game. I love getting to watch the Red Sox play. I have a fabulous husband who planned a great weekend for me. He even did his own shopping for a gift, flowers and a cake. I was going to say that he baked a cake for me, but non of you would have believed me. You all know he doesn't cook anything but oatmeal. Then on Saturday morning we drove to the Farmers Market at the Grove and had Crepes. It's something we used to do often when we lived on the West side. Now that we are farther away we don't do it that much, but I do love it. I love the cool weather over there and I love the outdoors. I love the crepes too. Then to top it all off we had take-out for dinner.

We put all the kids into bed and had cake and ice cream by ourselves. It was a glorious day. A whole day where I didn't have to cook anything. What more could I ask for. It was a great birthday thanks to my sweet husband. I'm not sure how I landed him, but I'm thanking my lucky stars!

Two year old stats

(Myles and Lydia, yes mom, he did get a haircut for his second birthday.)

Myles is now two, and he had his two year old check up with Dr. Ng. He is now 37# and is 40 inches tall. That's on target for 6'-7'' in case you are wondering. I'm wondering if he is ever going to slow down. He's already wearing Seth and Tates size 3 clothes and a size 9 shoe. He's wearing a helmet that was for a child ages 5+. Where did this giant come from? We don't have this kind of height on either side of the family. I guess only time will tell how tall he will really be, but I think we better start working on our ball skills!

Birthday Fun

(Angela is the tall one on the left. Sorry this is the only picture of Angela I could find. Among other things she is great at she is always taking the pictures. I have very few of her. You know always behind the lens kinda thing.)

So my friend Angela picked me up this morning for a fun date. We both ditched our kids and went to the opening of the Nordstroms Rack in Pasadena. It's been a long time since I've been there since we didn't have a close one to us. Anyway, it was very busy. As we walked in the door they almost made us wait till some people left. They said we were the 800th people inside. Then when we were checking out the sales guy said they had 350 staff too. I believe it. Man was it busy, but man was it great! Three hours seemed like three min. to me. Does this mean that I need to get out more?! We found some great stuff and I will be going back when the store isn't as crowded. It's a fun place to go and dig, especially when you don't have your kids. Today the store was brand spanking new and everything was in it's place. It was great! Then to top it all off I was treated to a lunch at my favorite bread shop, Panera. What a great birthday treat. What a great friend I have. Who else would want to go shopping at a really crowded place on the opening day. Angela would!

Picaso?

This is Myles favorite doggie. He got the original from Auntie Bug, when he was just a wee pup himself. As time has gone on he has grown to love this little doggie. You ask "what is the doggies name?"...well....Doggie of coarse! He can't go to sleep without him, he carries him all over the house and to most places we visit. Since he loves him so much I bought Myles a few extras since they would get really slobbery from all the loving Myles inflicted on him. If I didn't wash him about every two days you can't stand to sit next to him it would stink so bad. Even out of the wash he still has a small odor of spoiled milk and laundry detergent. Above you can see what a "new" doggie should look like. The picture below is the Picasso doggie. I often look at the poor thing and think of all the weird paintings that Picaso did. After Myles gets done with him, this little guy could resemble some of them. Notice how doggie is missing his hard plastic nose. Instead, he has stuffing coming through the hole where the nose once was. His face has sort of been "rearranged" by all the chewing and loving on it. Unfortunately you can't smell this little doggie nor does my photography portrait him in his true Picasso state. This little doggie is one of those things that I both hate and *heart*!

Two years old

My first born turned 2 today. I can't believe it, where has the time gone? Myles had a fun filled day beginning with presents early this morning. He wanted his P.J.'s off, so that's why he is filmed in his diaper. You can really see how much he is thinning down and getting REALLY tall without his clothes on.

Cars from Auntie Kristin and Uncle Chris
Train from Uncle Dru and Auntie Melissa

After breakfast we packed up for a shopping trip with a great friend and a little buddy of Myles too. We shopped for a while then had lunch on Myrtle street. After lunch we came home for a quick nap then it was off to the park for cake and ice cream with some friends. What a fun day.

The cake this year was Blue's Clues, Blue. Myles has loved the show the last month or so. He flashes his fingers open and closed when he wants to watch it. He was very happy looking at the picture I had pulled off the Internet this week. Then when he woke up this morning he was really happy to see the finished cake. He wanted to put his little fingers right in it! We also made a M&M cake, just to make sure we had enough for all our friends. Myles loves M&M's, and each morning he shows me his two fingers and points to the candy jar full of peanut M&M's. He knows he only gets two. This is a child of habit, if you can't already tell. It's kinda like living "Groundhogs Day", every day.

We had a great day, can't believe he's already two. Now I can say I have three kids, 2 and under!

Gravy Train

Well the girls are 4 months old and I just had to buy the first package of diapers for them( other than the preemie size). Can you say this is the end of the "gravy train". I think we did really good considering the amount of diapers we go through. We had so many generous people give us diapers as a shower gift. I imagine that it has saved us hundreds already. I don't really like to think about how much diapers cost over the life of the child. It's too depressing to do the math. I also still have 4 packages of size 2-3's which are still too big but we will use them when they grow a little more. And speaking of growing...

I don't know where the time has gone, but Audrey and Lydia just had their 4 month check ups. They are both growing and thriving. Audrey is 24 1/2 inches long and 14lbs. 2 oz. Lydia is 25 inches long and 13 lbs. 14 oz. That puts them both in the 50% for weight and Audrey in the 50% for height, but Lydia in the 75% for height. She grew 3 1/4 inches in two months! They are great babies and we can't imagine, nor remember, how life was without them. Here's a little shot of them playing in the "jungle gym". They love to be near each other and are often found with their sisters body parts in their mouths. I tried to capture this, but was too slow at getting the camera. I was lucky to remember to take a video at all! It's been a long day already since Myles got me out of bed @ 5 am today. I HATE the big boy bed for that reason alone. When he wakes he is on the prowl. Not much I can do about that. It is nice to have the girls in their real bed in a real bedroom however. All three are now sleeping great in the same room.

Big boy bed

Myles has been transitioned out of the crib, and into the queen size bed. I have to admit the first night I thought I was going to regret doing this. He came out of the room about 5 times and was awake for a LONG time. The problem was that he could get out of bed by himself, but couldn't get back into bed without help. We quickly found a stool to place at the end of the bed. When I finally checked on him, hours later, this is what I found.


Little Myles asleep peering with his head poked through the curtain, with his head off the edge of the bed. The other two nights have gone MUCH better. He hasn't come out of the room at all, and has only cried till the bedroom door shuts. Maybe he knows that we aren't going to come and "save him" if he continues to cry so why bother. He has even been sleeping in the right direction when I have checked on him. The only down side to the bed; when he wakes up in the morning he can get out of bed! Then he comes to get ME out of bed! What a bummer! You gotta love being a mommy at 6:30 am. And speaking of Mommies and Daddies, why is it that he only wants the Mommy? Why doesn't he ever want the Daddy during times when parents like to be sleeping.

Snow in September in So. Cal

This is my freshly washed car now covered in snow/ash

I woke up today thinking it was a really nice cloudy overcast day. Well, not so. It is cloudy, but not the kind of clouds you are thinking of. They are of the kind that are big and gray and full of ash. The fire in La Canada( about 20 miles away) is putting out all kinds of ash into our air. I was all excited to take the kids for a walk, but with it raining ash. I looked at the car and wondered, "did it snow." It doesn't snow in So. Cal but every 20 years or so. No, this isn't snow, it's lot's and lot's of ash. I think we will wait for a better day to take a walk.

Note to Self

Picture this:

I strap all three kids in the car. We drive to the local "do it yourself" car wash. I pull into the bay leaving the car running, it's already 80* and it's only 8AM. I get out of the car, go to the machine and get my quarters. I walk back to the bay, put in my quarters and select high pressure soap. I proceed to lather the car up and wash it down. By now my time is almost up and the machine is beeping at me to add more quarters or it's going to shut off in 16 seconds. I quickly add a few quarters to get me through the rinse process. I'm rushing like a mad woman because I have no more quarters to add, and I need to finish getting all the soap off the car. One side down, one more to go. I round the back of the car, now to the last side, the side of the car that Myles sits on. He is strapped in his seat this time. I'm spraying like crazy when all the sudden I can see this look on his little face, then a little scream. Then I realize what has happened here. He has OPENED his window and I am now spraying off the entire inside of the car and Myles is dripping wet. I quickly stop and start yelling, ahhhhh...

Note to Self: when washing the car while kids are still in the car, mom MUST put power windows on lock so as not to flood the inside of the car!

I'm telling you, I just shouldn't go to the car wash. Every time I have in the last few weeks it hasn't turned out good! Plus now it's been two hole days and my car is covered in little while bits of ash from one of the many fires near our home. GREAT, so glad I washed the outside, and inside of the car.

SICK

" I cannot go to school today
said little Peggy Anne McKay.

I have the measles, and the mumps,
a gash a rash and purple bumps."

OK so thanks to a little Shell Silverstien. I'm not that sick, but Bjorn has taken a bunch of time off to help me and the kids. It's wonderful to know that he is so capable and competent. It's great to know that Myles throws a fit now when daddy leaves the house to go to work after having him home for almost a week.

We've been watching A LOT of T.V. and movies this past week and as the Little Einsteins would say, "Yea, Bjorn." Thanks for all your help this week sweetheart!

History Lost

My Grandma "Pat" Nakaya died late last night. She had 4 boys, and one daughter. She had 13 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren, with three sets of twins. She was 93 and it was her time to go. She had been living without her husband for 5 or 6 years now and she wasn't really happy to be in this life anymore. With the exception of the last two or three years she has been healthy and strong as a horse. She would walk the halls of the local mall, swim laps each morning, and tended a beautiful yard and garden. She cultivated beautiful flowers to place at the alter in her church each Sunday and she was also an amazing cook, although this is part of the loss. She didn't have anything written down. No more raisin cookies, yum, baked spaghetti or New Years Shogatsu.

Grandmother was one tough cookie if you know what I mean. She raised 5 children on a shoe string budget. She was an excellent seamstress, and a hard worker. She even worked for a famous movie star. She later worked for Ropers Department Store in the old ZCMI center in Salt Lake City. She could grow more vegetables in a small space than anyone I knew. She was a grand fisher lady. She would often take all 4 of us grandchildren on early morning fishing trips to Strawberry Lake. She managed to live through "Camp". For those of you who don't know what "camp" is, it was a really dirty thing that we did to our own people. During the war we rounded up all the Japanese Americans and put them into camps around the country. My grandparents and their three boys were placed in a camp in Colorado. They were given little notice and even less luggage allowance. They lived in this camp for several years during the war. While in camp my father was conceived and was born only three short months after they were released from camp. Most of all grandmother was a survivor. She outlived almost all her friends. I guess getting old is lonely too.

I'll miss her, but I'm happy for her too. Like my Grandmother Williams said " getting old isn't for sissy's". I've seen this first hand. I'm glad I got to spend so many good years with her. I'm glad I will always have lasting memories of her as a younger woman full of vigor and energy. I'm glad she was such a wonderful grandmother to me and great-grandmother to my children.

Escape

So I'm starting to see a pattern to my post'. The last post was about Myles escaping from the crib. This post is about Myles escaping from the HOUSE. I'm not kidding. He can reach, and has now mastered, the deadbolt. He can successfully get the front door deadbolt unlocked. He does it with ease and is quite quick about it. Before I know it he is half way to the street. I can't believe my not quite two year old is causing me so much grief. What is a mother to do?! I guess I need to get a safety latch at the top of the door. I don't know what else to do. He's too smart for his own good!

The end of an era

Today I put Myles in time out, the offense isn't relevant, but he had other ideas. You see time out in our house is in his crib. While I sat on the couch feeding Audrey, I watched as Myles tried to figure out how to CLIMB OUT OF THE CRIB! I know that I have been lucky that he hasn't tried this before now, but really what am I going to do now? It started with him reaching his arm through the bars to see how far away the bed is from the crib. Then he stood up and pulled himself up on the end of the crib. Then the foot was over the rail. Then the other foot on top of the rail. A bit of nervous crying, and he didn't actually get out, but if I had let him try longer I think that he would have. I can't believe it. That means bye-bye long naps where he would play in the crib for and hour( or two). Bye-bye to sleeping in on Saturday mornings(he knows how to open doors). Oh, I really don't want to be in this phase of life. I like putting the children in a particular spot and knowing that when I come back for them they will still be there. Not so anymore! Maybe I should get a lid for the crib!

Blessings x2

(Our first family photo, too bad Myles bit the driveway Saturday morning)

Yesterday we had the blessings for Lydia and Audrey. It was a really nice event and I thought that Bjorn did a wonderful job of giving each of the girls a great blessing. I especially liked the part where he blessed them to be each others best friend. You know they were "womb mates" after all. The girls were perfect during the entire blessing, they didn't make a peep. It was really fun to have Mom and Dad and Kristin fly into town for the event too. Dad was able to represent the Nakaya's in the circle. The girls looked so beautiful in their dresses that I had ordered from Belgium. The shoes that Auntie Kristin made for them fit perfectly and were just exquisite. They truly were the "Bell of the ball".

The proud momma

After leaving church early we came back to the house where we hosted a brunch for family and friends. We ate egg souffle, assorted muffins, and fruit. The kids mostly ate assorted pink candies I had out of the table as a centerpiece. Since it was such a nice day we had some people on the front porch(still in the shade), and others just milled around in the house.

Jacob, John, Audrey, Lydia, Ashley,& Holly

Another special thing about the day was the three sets of twins in our home. Angie's boys, Jacob and John, and the Hyer twin girls, Ashley and Holly. What a fun picture. Now all we needed was Ryan's boys.

Sleep

Lydia on top, Audrey on bottom. They like napping on the bed, on their bellies. Don't tell the Pediatrician.

Sleep is not something I have been doing a lot of for a long time. It all started with pregnancy and then continued once I delivered these beautiful girls. I'm not complaining, I'm merely stating the facts. It has been about 4-5 months now since I got a full nights rest. Well last night I got one. I was sooooo tiered that I didn't even notice the dog had jumped up on the bed to sleep with us. I always notice the dog. He gets out of his bed and shakes his floppy ears and I notice. Not last night. You see it was the first night that the girls got the boot from our room. They now sleep in the living room till they can learn to sleep through the night. They did great last night( I think), I only heard them once and then when I got up to feed them in the morning it was just Lydia screaming, Audrey was sleeping like a perfect little angel. I think that I could get used to this sleep thing!

9,10,34

These numbers are the weights of my children. Yesterday we all went to the doctors office together. Myles had his 21 month check up and Audrey and Lydi had their 8 week check up. Lydia weighed in yesterday @ 9lbs. 15 oz., and is 21 3/4". Audrey is 22" tall and weighed 10 lbs. 2 oz., and Myles the big bubba weighed 34 lbs. and is 38 3/4" tall. He didn't gain any weight, but grew an inch. His feet are growing too. He's now into a size 9! His feet don't look big, but when you put shoes on those feet they sure do. He's on target to be 6'-4". I can't believe how tall he is. Unfortunately he is built like me. He has a long body and short little legs. He also got long arms from his daddy. I guess we need to start teaching him tennis. He has the perfect body for a Tennis Pro..

We will be getting the girls to sleep through the night this week! YEA! I'm really tiered, to the point that I can't remember anything. I need a full nights rest or I'm going to have a serious problem. I feel like a person with sleep apnea. I can fall asleep in under 30 sec. these days.
We'll let you know how it goes. That also means that Myles is going to have to start sleeping in a big boy bed next week. I'm dreading that. I don't want bedtime to become a three ring circus.

Life at the Dodd house is never dull!

The Girls

Just a few pictures of the girls. These really cute rompers came from our cousin Ulli in Germany. We think they are super cute! Thanks Ulli.

The fruits

This is the fruit of last years labors. I hadn't pulled out my last tomato plant from last years box garden. When I went to do that this spring there were flowers all over it so I decided to leave it. Let's just see what happens. Well starting in May we had fresh beautiful luscious tomatoes to eat. I have been very blessed because this year there wasn't going to be any kind of garden. I didn't have the energy to plant it when I needed to and now I have no time to do much of anything.

Last week alone I harvested a sink full of ripe tomatoes. They were great to eat, but coming out of my ears. I would pick between 20-30 each day! I called mother and got the Anderson's salsa recipe so I could use them all up. I got 3 six quart pots full of salsa. It turned out great, a little to spicy for me, but not bad for Bjorn.

Now all I have to do is figure out what to do with the rest of the years crop. I've already made and froze spaghetti sauce for two meals. I have about 100 more tomatoes on the vine, and remember this is only one plant. Maybe I should just bottle them. I don't know. Too bad I sent all my bottles home with Ryan in June. Oh well I'll think of something.

Myles and his keys!

It all began when I had the great idea to pile into the MDX and go to the car wash. It was the big outing for Saturday. We get to the car wash and successfully wash the car. We pull out of the bay and up to the vacuum when Bjorn and I are out drying off the car.

Now this is the part where you need some background. Myles loves keys. All kinds, but especially car keys with big plastic heads and clickers attached. In my rush to get out the door I didn't pay attention to the fact that he had the spare set of keys in his grubby little paws. We are driving to the car wash and I notice this, but it's too late and if I try and take them away now I will have to hear about it all the way to the car wash and I just didn't want to, so I left him with the keys.

By this point you can probably guess where I am going with this. We were out drying off the car when the last door gets closed to dry it off. Well, Myles had pushed the largest button on the clicker, the LOCK button! I closed the door and dried the car and went to put the towels in the back of the car when the door was locked. I walked to the drivers door only to find that locked too. Myles was tooling around in the car with the clicker in hand and a big smile on his face. By this point I am feeling really stupid. REALLY STUPID.

Here I am panicked because my 20 month old and six week old twins are now all locked in the car and the two parents are standing on the outside trying desperately to get the 20 month old to unlock the car. He successfully locks the car several times but never manages to get the idea of how to unlock the car. He's figured out how to unload the 5 disc CD changer, and is now trying to load them back into the glove box! It's been several min. now and I am starting to worry. Myles is starting to get hot. His hair is starting to look sweaty and his top lip has beads of sweat on it. I then start thinking how hot the girls are in the back seat all covered up by their car seat blankets because it's too cold for them with the A/C on. Well by this point Myles has managed to turn the car off so, no more A/C. I can hear the girls screaming and Myles is starting to think the fun game isn't so fun any longer. We call AAA, but they are taking too long, roughly 45 min. By this time I can't wait any longer. Myles is starting to cry and the girls are too. We call the police hoping that they have a slim-Jim and can open the car for us.

The police arrive in short order but they don't have slim-Jim's anymore. They call for Fire to come out on scene. The Fire truck and several other rescue units come too. They all decide that the only way to get the kids out is to break the window! We distract Myles into the front seat while they break the back window and unlock the car. When I get the girls out of their seats they are soaking wet. I'm glad I had bottles with me to feed them right away. I knew they would need some hydration. Myles had been drinking from his sippy cup this whole time and he was just happy to be out. The Fire department gave him a fun badge and he was good as new. I guess I should count my many blessings that we had waited till evening to wash the car. The sun had almost set and the temp. was much less than it was during the day. Had it been in the middle of the day things could have been very different. Our car now has one less window to wash, but hey look on the bright side of things, my car is very clean! What should have been an hour long outing turned into a 2 1/2 hour ordeal.

Do you ever have days when you wished that you never left the house?

One great dad

It's only fitting that this father's day Bjorn is getting a release from his Bishopric calling. He is being released so that he can spend more time with his family, his number one responsibility. He's sad to be leaving the Bishop and Craig(the other counselor), but I don't think he is going to miss early morning meetings, or early morning youth temple trips. Not that he doesn't like these things, just that he doesn't do EARLY anything.

We couldn't be any luckier! We have the best daddy on the block. He is our number one playmate, best friend, and role model. Myles beams when daddy comes through the door, Yoda goes ballistic, and mommy is always relieved to see him at the end of the work day!

We knew that multiples were a possibility when doing IVF but never really thought too much about it. Now that we have multiples our lives have forever changed. It's not easy, but he has never complained, or shirked any responsibilities. He's always there to feed, hold, burp, change, or play with a child. He is truly our #1 dad.

Happy Father's Day Bjorn!

Audrey and Lydia

Lydia in stripes and Audrey in pink

I was just trying to give Myles some equal time, but it turns out that no one is interested in him any longer, they just want to see the girls. Well here you go. It's hard to get pictures of them with their eyes open. They still sleep alot and I don't think about getting the camera when they are awake as I am really busy at that point!

Myles goes to Disneyland

(as usual, Bjorn has his eyes closed!)

Ryan and Leslie and their boys were in town for the week so we wanted to spend some time with them. Disneyland is a place that is "magical" for little kids. It's right in our backyard however, we have never been. Bjorn has lived here in So. Cal. for about 10 years and has yet to go to Disneyland. I thought it was high time that we all made the trek since there would be extra hands on deck to help out with the kids. Myles was really great! He had a short nap in the stroller and made it all the way to the end of the night for the fireworks show. He enjoyed many rides, and just generally being entertained by his 4 cuzzies. It was a great day, all in all, and everyone had fun. I'm glad that Myles got there this year. I don't know that we will be going anyplace like that next year!

Myles on the King Aurthur Carousel and Dumbo rides and a shot of the petting zoo. He even used his "soft touches" that we have been working on at home. Good thing too because there was a really grumpy goat who actually charged him and head butted Myles right in the belly. I guess he wasn't up for being bothered by any little kids!

One month old

Lydia on left, Audrey on right

Audrey and Lydia are one month old today. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. They went to the doctor for their first check up and have done really well. Audrey weighed in at 6 lbs. 4 oz. while Lydia(our little one) weighed 6 lbs. 3 oz.. She has really done well and has caught up to her big sister. They have grown out of their first preemie clothes from Wal-mart, while other brands of preemie size are STILL too big. They are still in preemie diapers, something I hope they grow out of soon, as they are really expensive and hard to find. The girls are both eating every 4 hours during the day and about 41/2-5 hours at night. I can't wait till 8 weeks when I can get them sleeping through the night! We are all surviving having little sleep. The cute little faces make it all worth while!

Audrey and mom

Two peas in a pod

Thursday the 21st we were able to bring Lydia home from the hospital. It is so nice to have everyone home. Running back to the hospital twice a day for feedings was getting hard since the other two kids were not allowed in the NICU. Plus I can now have the girls on the same feeding schedule. It's been really nice.

Mom came on Friday night and has been a life saver. She cooks meals, feeds babies, takes good care of Myles and even let's me catch a nap if I want one.

Bjorn went back to work today, he has a trail starting Wednesday and then June will be spent in two or three other trials. Funny how things never work out how you want them. I had hoped we would be able to have him home for a few weeks, but as it turned out that couldn't happen with trials stacking up. So lucky for me that mom is here to help out during the day.

Myles is doing okay. I think for the most part he is just ignoring the girls. He has stopped crying when they cry. He is having some outbursts of bad behavior, but all in all I think he is doing really well considering that he didn't really know what was going to be coming home with us. The first picture is Lydia and the second is Audrey.