Dear Charlotte

Dear Charlotte,

Four years ago today we saw your sweet face for the first and last time here on earth. For months after you were born I was so sad, depressed, heartbroken, beat up from loosing you. I wanted you so badly from the very first moment I knew I was pregnant. The first time I heard your little fast heart beat at 7wks, I was totally in love with you. Later, when we found out you were sick, I pleaded and begged God to heal you, to "fix" you. I wanted you with me until I was old and grey.

But God, in His infinite wisdom, had a much better plan for you. Today, we are celebrating what would be your 4th birthday with us. But, sweetie, I know that you get to celebrate everyday. You are perfect in Heaven. You are whole, healthy, and clothed in righteousness!

I will be honest. Charlotte, mommy misses you, very dearly! I will never stop celebrating your birthday, and I will always remember all that you did to change my life, your daddy's life and the lives of so many others. You made me a mommy...you made me a mama bear in preparation for your little sisters. I know that the last three years I have used the weeks leading up to your birthday to be used for sadness and hurt and pain. I even told your daddy and others that I get a free pass to be mean and angry and on edge because of the pain in saying good bye to you much too soon. But this year I am really trying to choose joy. Joy in knowing that you are exactly where we should all want to be. Joy in knowing that you are exactly as God created us all to be...pain and sin free living with Him in celebration. I am choosing joy knowing that not every part of your life was sad...there are several people here who will meet you in Heaven one day because of your legacy and the impact it had in showing God's true character and love for them. I am choosing joy because of who you helped/are helping me to become. Your life will always be so much more than the moments surrounding my pregnancy and labor and delivery. But even those moments are sweet and part of your story...if i choose to see those.

Charlotte, yes, you will see mommy cry today. I will cry tears of different kinds...missing you tears, happy for you tears, telling your little sisters about you tears, wishing i could hug you tears, tears when i sleep with your blanket in stead of you tonight, love you forever and forever with my whole heart tears. But I promise to bring honor and glory to God in each moment knowing that because of Him I am blessed to call you my daughter, my sweet angel girl.

Charlotte, happy 4th birthday!!! I wish you were here helping me make you spaghetti and meatballs birthday dinner. I wish you were here to enjoy your birthday cake and some balloons. But I know that you are in Heaven dancing and singing and I can't wait to get there and join you!! You bring me so much JOY!!! I love you, Charlotte Jean!!!

xxoo, mommy

Timehop

timehop, you get me every time. usually my posts from a year ago are little twin pics. 2 years ago i was posting pregnancy cravings and twin prego pics. 3 years ago i was blogging a lot! 4 years ago my little bro was living with us, so that was always interesting. 5 plus years ago, i was working like crazy on building my clientele and busy being a wife to my hunk. (ps. if you don't know what timehop is...its an ap that connects with your social media outlets to give you a recap of what you posted exactly that day a year ago all the way back as far as you posted).

two weeks ago on timehop i saw my first post about "babyLo"...i announced our pregnancy with Charlotte. the thursday before my 28th birthday i heard her heart beat for the first time. i was 8 weeks pregnant. i was elated, over joyed!! nothing was "off". peter and i left that appointment with tears in our eyes bursting to tell the world.

today i got this on my timehop: "annoyed...didnt get to have the ultrasound bc the highway was shutdown while we were on it! not cool!!" looking back i remember being so disappointed. we were glad that we were safe...the highway was shut down due to a fatality, but we had been gearing up for this other first with our first. now, i know that God gave me another week of the joy. the next week we went in for the ultrasound and our world changed forever.

you know the rest.

usually i love timehop. i wonder though if i should just not look for a few months to spare myself the emotional roller coaster it may put me on. the last time we..., the day we found out..., God why..., all of the things that i posted in fear, pain, grief.

its amazing all that has happened in the last 4 years. i am not sure that i would even recognize that young woman from 4 years ago. i wonder if i would be anything like i am today if it were not for our short time with Charlotte. would we live where we live? would i know what i know about life? would i love my hubby the way i do today? most likely no. while i often look back over those few months with sadness and grief, but i have been blessed...richly, abundantly, beyond measure. i was broken, beyond human repair. but God has used me. God has healed me. God has brought me back...beyond where i ever could have gone without my time with Charlotte. my whole life was turned around and i can't be sad about that. i miss Charlotte, some moments more than others, but i know she's holding my spot for me in heaven...i can't wait!!

so, heres to the silly posts of 5+ years ago, the emotional and grief stricken of years 3-4 (ago), the excited and weird posts of 2 years and the adorable ones from last year. time passes much too quickly so i will relish the times and thank God for each of them...a reminder that "(His) love never fails, it never gives up, never runs out on me"-Jesus Culture.

tonight i will sleep and probably dream of my angel girl...i think her hair is the same color as the twins by the way...thats what it is in my dreams.

blessings,
ALo

Happens to the best of us

postpartem hair loss...it happens to the best of us. i knew all about it. i knew that it is more than normal (can something be more than normal??) when a woman is pregnant she does not shed hair the months she is pregnant. it is her bodies natural defense to protect the baby. once the baby comes and her hormones level out (usually once mom is no longer nursing the baby, or greatly decreases her production) she sheds all the hair she would have lost while pregnant plus the 40-100 "normal loss" hairs. its shocking!! its even more shocking when you have very fine and thin stringy hair like me. its completely shocking when most of your loss is around the front hairline, again like me. it was gross. my hair loss started around 7 weeks postpartum. nursing did not go well for me and the twins. i think i have mentioned that before. but if not, in all reality i was pretty upset about it and it really sucked. we are over it now. i cant go back and change any of it. so, around week 7 i was pretty much completely dry and my hair was everywhere! every time i would look down my shirt had a good 10-15 hairs on it. i would pick them off, get up and thrown them away and then realize one or both of the babies was also covered in my lost hair. peter was completely grossed out. and when i say it was mostly in the front, around my hair line, i am not kidding. i looked like i was a middle aged man. i had a receding hairline and a thin patch in the very front. i was super self conscience when my hair was pulled back. well lets fast forward about 4 months. my hair is now coming back. its crazy! of course i now look like i have side burns and "angel hairs" all in the front (especially where my hair parts) and all down my part. in case you havent seen me, or just dont know, i have been growing my hair out since july 2012 including my bangs. my hair is longer than it has been since my wedding! and i have had bangs since middle school! i have enjoyed longer hair...being able to curl it, pull it back, etc. but now i am rethinking that! these little short hairs all over my head sure would blend in better if my hair was shorter and bangs help blend, but i think either way i am going to have awkward hair for a while. good thing i love these babies and they are totally worth sideburns and porcupine hairs! 

here are a few pics for ya!!

last thursday our friend Juliet came over, she is 3 months old. their first play date together!

see those little hairs..yep they are all along my hair line! 

Annabel, Briggs, Claire. briggs is our little buddy (just as big as annabel but a month younger) and came to visit friday. claire is already trying to make the moves!! lol 

sweet annabel! 

crazy claire, i love you! ps. she got 2 teeth in 4 days! 

perfecting her little wave on our way to church saturday night

annabel wasnt sure if she really wanted to leave the house

on our way to the BBQ cook off, claire needed her thumb to tide her over!

the twins and i at the annual COF Texans Tailgate. please excuse my face...i forgot my makeup on the way out the door! ewwww!! 

blessings, ALo

Wide Load

if you see me and the girls out shopping...watch out! we are wide load! well, its really not all that bad, thanks mostly to decent strollers. man, i would be seriously lost without my stroller!! i love it!! if you are expecting twins you have to get the Baby Trend Snap and Go stroller...even if you are not having twins, i think they make this same stroller for singleton moms, just one less space, go get it!!! and no, i am not paid by this company to rave about them, however, should they feel so inclined... :)

this is the exact one i have!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!!! it is narrow and folds up perfectly and is super light! i could not travel or shop without it!! 

here's the real deal. shopping with my girls is really pretty easy, until it comes to "bigger" shopping trips (i.e. more than the express lane in the grocery store, Sams Club). even going to the mall or outlet mall is usually pretty easy because of the huge basket area at the bottom of the stroller. but shopping becomes a problem with twins when we really need to shop. grocery store carts are not designed for more than one kid and groceries. its either the twins and no groceries in the cart or i come up with a strategy to do both. up until august, the twins and i were getting out a lot more and i would often ask a friend or one of my students to meet me at the store...one of us would push the stroller while the other pushed the shopping cart. but as august and september have rolled through along with the houston heat, i have tried not to take the girls out much (those car seats DO NOT breathe well and my poor girls sweat like their mommy). back up really quick....funniest time shopping was with one of my sweet students at the local HEB (a huge grocery store). she is a freshman this year and was so sweet and super eager to help me out. i picked her up on a super hot day in august, just before school started, to do my grocery shopping. i grabbed a cart and she pushed the stroller. not even 5 feet in the door and people started stopping us about the twins (see my last post). *ps. why do people think its ok to block me/the stroller from moving forward? can you not tell i am on a mission to get out of here? have you really never seen twins before? and please do not attempt to touch my babies, especially after your hands have been all over that grimy cart you are pushing!!! ok, back to the story. by the end of the shopping trip at least a dozen people had stopped us to ask questions and i was pretty annoyed and sweaty (it was august in houston) and i had just loaded over $200 worth of groceries into the car while my helper got the girls in. as we were pulling out she turns and says, "ms. aimee? the next time we come, could i please push the cart instead?" huh?? "sure, why?" (thinking to myself that it is probably faster if i stick with the cart) "well, i love your babies, and its fun to watch them and everything, but everyone kept asking me questions like they were my babies. i felt like i was on 16 and pregnant." lol!! poor girl!! i had wondered why she said asked me 12 times in the store how old the babies were...she wanted to make sure people knew they were mine! just so funny! but this happens to anyone that helps me shop, just ask my friend jess. :)

so today we took our first trip to sams club. and if i need help going to the regular grocery store, i knew there was no way i could tackle sams alone. my newest friend (we have known each other for a while, but just started hanging out) elizabeth has a membership and she goes with her little 2 year old, charlotte, quite a bit. so when she mentioned me tagging along, i jumped on it! thankfully sams has huge carts, but they also have these pallet carts. dont you know i got one of those!! i put both of the girls on there and had just enough room for the rest of what i needed (did you know i am really good at tetris? i can find the perfect spots for things!). so i had two babies and over $330 worth of stuff on this pallet cart. you should have seen the looks we were getting. elizabeth had to lead the way by the end...we seriously had a big, wide load!

i am so greatful to those who have helped me shop! it can be difficult, but the good news is, the girls seem to love it! knock on wood, they do not get upset...maybe its the movement or the stimulation of the passing items, either way, i will take it!

so when you see us out shopping you have two choices...1. move son, get out the way! 2. help a sista out! grab a cart and follow me or help me load my bags...i will gladly take the help. (plus i tend to tip in desserts!! elizabeth and her fam are getting a batch of cupcakes next week!! elizabeth, sorry its not sooner, im kinda busy with the shower!! just let me know your flavor preference!) and even if its not me you see out, if its another mom of twins, at the very least, please do not stop her and ask a bunch of questions. her ice cream melts in her cart just as fast as yours does!

here is a pic of the little ones after our sams run...this is just my stuff, elizabeth had her own cart! charlotte, thanks for being a big helper today and keeping the twins entertained!!

blessings, ALo

Dumb Question

people say there is no such thing as a dumb question. i TOTALLY disagree!!! listen, i have worked with middle school students for a long time. i have worked in the salon world where i have met all kinds of people. but i have met more oblivious/dumb people in the last 6 months than i have in my entire life!!!! i am not trying to be rude and i try even harder not to be sarcastic or insensitive or say all the remarks i really want to say when i have to respond. yes, this is a little bit of a rant post, but this is my life just about every day now, and to be fair, i will only address the three biggest stupid questions.

1. "Oh, one boy and one girl?" "Oh, two boys?"
i am not even kidding you that i think i can count on one hand the people that have have said "oh, two girls?" i mean, the fact that you have to question is crazy. if you have ever seen me and my GIRLS out in public, there should never EVER be a question!! most days they are dressed head to toe in pink/ruffles/flowers or some combination and if they are not i make sure they have their pink blankets AND a bow or headband on. but besides that, their car seats are ALL PINK and have PINK toys hanging from the handle. yes, i know that in todays society, some boys wear pink, but when was the last time you saw a baby boy in a pink car seat with a bow on his head? dumb question!! but i really do try to be polite because i know people do not pay attention.

2. "Oh, are they twins?"

i have seen this several places and i laugh each and every time i see it!!

this may not happen EVERY time we are out, but pretty close and i almost always want to respond with the above answer, but choose instead to give a little smile and say "yes, they are!" then in most cases they respond with dumb question #1 or with what i will write about in #3. but seriously, in how many situations do you see a person pushing a double stroller with two infant car seats (or two children that look VERY similar in age) and it turn out those kids are not twins? maybe when the girls are older i will expect this question to be more appropriate. after all, they probably will not look just like each other, and i may not always dress them alike, and annabel may always be a bit bigger than claire...ok, i get it then. but right now? i mean i am pushing a double stroller that has two identical carseats on it with two babies that are always dressed alike or coordinating. so, yes, they are twins. next... :)

3. let me preface this one...i have really only had this said/happen 3 times in the last 6 months but it is very fresh in my mind because it happened today at church. also...2 out of the 3 times, a man has said it... :) most times people say something about me having my hands full with 2 babies, but here's one for ya...

"oh, twins...probably not much different than one kid." 

are you serious???!!?? i am pretty sure that the one lady who said that has never had a child and the guys, well, seriously...! yes, i have really good babies and not just good for twins, just good babies. even in the midst of teething, they are happy! sure we have our moments of tiredness and frustration and hunger crying, but for the most part, my girls are easy! but, that being said, it is still (i think) much more work than just having one baby. from the get go, growing two babies is more taxing (my BP was an issue with the twins but never once was my BP high when i was pregnant with Charlotte). i was immediately a "high risk pregnancy" because there was two babies. from the beginning its double the stuff...paperwork in the hospital, carseats, bassinets, a double stroller, blankets, pacifiers, bottles...everything. which then leads to double the amount of stuff to take care of (blankets, clothes, pacifiers, etc.), double the laundry, double the bottle making, double the bottle cleaning, DOUBLE THE DIAPERS!!! yeah, someone's butt or nose or drool always needs to be wiped. most days i look around and feel like a baby store threw up in my house...there is stuff every where, but we use it. at some point each day both the bouncy seat and the swing are each in use, the carpet has a quilt with at least one baby in a boppy pillow while i work the other on scooting/crawling, there are two high chairs in the kitchen covered in baby oatmeal but both babies are learning to eat real food (meaning there is more on me and the highchair and the floor than what gets in their mouth). there is always a pile of clean clothes somewhere in my house with an equally big pile of dirty clothes waiting to be washed. even traveling to see family (airplane travel) is literally impossible for me to do without another adult. please hear me say this is not me complaining!!!! i know that each new mom has a lot of new adjustments. i know that we all need to find our new balance of how to make it all happen. but, i do not think that having one baby is just like having two. but when that is said, instead of listing all of the things that makes it different, i will continue to smile, shrug my shoulders and say "i am not sure!". because that really is the truth. maybe its not different. i love both of my girls and i love that my life seems crazy and busy and hard sometimes because i have both of them! i get double the smiles, double the baby gurgles and bubbles, double the morning cuddles and bed time stories, double the fun all around! but, if anyone wants to come clean my house i will let you! ;)

there are plenty of other dumb questions that i have heard...i guess it just keeps me on my toes. :)

and now my friends...its 9:38pm...the babies have been asleep for almost 2 hours, the dish washer is running, the washing machine is running and i worked all three services at church this weekend. im tired so IM GOING TO SLEEP, at 9:38!!!! hahaha!!!

blessings, ALo

4 months already!!

well, at least i am giving you the monthly updates!! lol.

in the last month it seems the girls have gotten so big! they are growing like crazy! life with twins is becoming much more normal for us. i have the girls on a great schedule...thankfully! i am not sure what i would do otherwise. i am super thankful for my husband who has been more than helpful/supportive/the best dad ever. we haven't done anything too major this month except sit at the pool at few times and we did go to our church middle school camp for a few days. peter went to help set up the tech and sound, so us girls went too...just for the weekend. it was so great being a small part and being with the students for a few days at one of my favorite times in a students' life...camp! i love being a mom and it is the most rewarding job in the world, but it is also the hardest and most demanding job. sometimes i miss being able to leave my job and come home and not get up at 3am for a feeding. :) so, being at camp, as a family, even for just a few days was the best of both worlds for me!!

so, we went to the doctor on monday for the girls' 4 month check up. they are hitting all of the milestones, right on track! annabel weighed in at 14lbs 9oz (75th percentile), 25 1/2" long (90th percentile) and her head is 16 1/4" around (75th percentile). she is a little ahead of the game...she is rolling over and cant be swaddled at night anymore. she is super strong and is really good at bearing weight and holding her head up. however, they both HATE tummy time!!! i mean, they pitch royal fits over it!! claire is still my little peanut. she was 12lbs 5oz (10th percentile), 24 1/4" long (50th percentile) and her head is 16" (50th percentile). she is not "standing" as much as annabel, but she is getting pretty good at holding her head up. i was encouraged by the doctor to not "baby her" as much...let her gain her strength. claire is not rolling yet, and still likes to be swaddled when falling asleep. she wriggles out of it pretty good, but they both like to be held tight when falling asleep! my girls are really good sleepers. we have had several nights of not getting up. the 3am feedings are becoming few and far between...thankfully! so, right now, they go down around 10 and get up at 5 to eat then sleep again until between 8 and 9. the last two days were off because they had to have 3 shots...that always really messes with things!! they both LOVE their hands...i mean eating them. they are also really figuring each other out. i love to watch them interact and have "twin time". they still both do great in the car, so we get out as much as we can. the texas summer heat is trying to kick our butts, but we do what we can! :)

each day has moments when i question if i know what i am doing...or if God was crazy in thinking i could be a mom to twins. then i will catch one of the girls smiling, or studying something, or a smirk while dreaming. thats when i stop and take a breath and say a prayer. i pray that i can continue to do my best, that the girls continue to grow and pass those milestones, and thank God for each moment that i have with them. these first 4 months have flown by and the awesome times way out weigh the hard moments! today was a good day...better than yesterday. we got out to run errands, stopped to see a few friends, did some laundry (this is everyday) and even made a batch of cookies. its a good day when you can sit and enjoy an almond joy cookie (recipe at bottom) while the babies nap! :) now off to start dinner!!

before i post the pics...please be praying for my mom. she had to have surgery today to repair her torn Achilles tendon and get rid of a bone spur on her heel. it has been an awful week for her awaiting surgery and now she will have to be in a cast for 3 months. if you know my mom, then you know this has got to be one of the worst things...especially this time of year! mom lives on a beautiful piece of land in michigan (michigan summers are the best!!!), so she wont be enjoying her tennis (which is how she got her injury), her horses, or the pool and lake. so sad!! she also cant drive!!! and lets not forget i have a 15 year old brother at home and she is a single parent...long thee months for both of them now! i so wish i was there to help her!!! love you, mom!! you are so strong and i know you can do this!! xxoo

here are a few pics from today... :) they are so big and starting to look a little more alike!

Annabel Marie

Giggles

Claire Mackenzie

she gets shy in front of the camera. glad she finally smiled!!

blue eyed babies!!

they love to hold hands, rub feet, anything to touch each other!

serious!

"Annabel, do think if i start crying she will stop??"

"Mom, Claire is serious...you might need to be done!"

i like big bows and i can not lie!! :)
bigger the bow, better the mom!!! lol
welcome to texas!

blessings, ALo

almond joy cookies, courtesy of my cousin Brooke Southwick

2 cups dark brown sugar (all i had was light, it worked!)
1 cup softened butter
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
2 1/4 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut
1 cup almonds
1 bag chocolate chips

pre heat oven to 325. cream sugar, butter, salt, and soda. add eggs and cream again. mix in the flour and coconut until well blended. mix in the almonds and chips until just incorporated. bake for approx. 15 min or until just golden. these are much better if not too done!!! enjoy with coffee or really cold milk!!

Two peas

two peas in a pod? not my girls! they are very different from each other! its pretty funny actually. you have seen the pics, but every time we go to the doctor and strip them down it is just so much more evident. plus, annabel is my drama queen. that really showed through today during shots. (ps. shots are awful!!! i know all you moms know what i mean! i almost started crying today too!!)

so, as promised here are a few more pics and 2 month stats! i cant believe how much each of them has grown in just a few short weeks! i wish i could just stop time and keep them babies, but i know that i will love each stage of their growing up...well maybe not LOVE every thing in each stage, but you know what i mean. each will present its own trials and triumphs, but that is what will keep me on my toes! and with twins!! my life will never be dull again!

one last thing...thanks to my "village" who has helped me get the girls on a schedule this last week. from moms of multiples to singletons, each has been so encouraging and helpful...we are doing so much better now! its also so nice to have two healthy babies again! today was a great day, even with the shots, because we are finally on a good schedule!

sweet curious claire's stats at her 2 month check: weight 9.9 (11th percentile); height 21 1/2 inches (10th percentile); head 15 inches (50th percentile).

drama diva annabel's stats at her 2 month check: weight 11.8 (50th percentile); height 23 inches (75th percentile; head 15 1/4 inches (75th percentile).

so, claire is a peanut and annabel is a champ at packing it on!! :) remember, claire weighed 4.11 at birth and annabel weighed 5.9!

annabel on mothers day. love these sweet dresses from some friends!

claire. and they were rocking their daisy sandals from ashley!!

claire and her make shift sleep mask today at nap time. 

annabel has awesome amazing eyelashes

the girls were rocking head to toe vera bradley outfits today from mimi (my mom).

snoozing after shots

dont even think about waking her up!!

awesome hair claire!!

the following are from our  2 month pictures. the first three are claire and then 3 of annabel. i think the crying pictures are so funny!

trying to get both together is hard! good enough!!

this was at the doctors office today. really shows how much bigger annabel is compared to claire. can you believe these girls are twins??!!?? i love them both so much!!

Psalm 89:1 "I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations."

blessings, ALo

Mothers Day 2013

i couldnt post yesterday. i was pretty tired. but thanks to my amazing husband (and babies, if you ask him) i was totally spoiled! peter helped in a huge way during the night by taking care of claire! all of her feedings and diaper changes, which was amazing because the girls somehow got way off schedule from each other! i woke up to feed annabel and found some amazing gifts from the girls! daddy helped them pick out a monogram necklace with the girls initials, and a kate spade pendant and earrings. so sweet! the gifts along with cards were in their bassinets. we took it easy that morning, sleeping in and what not...we went to church saturday night (sunday morning is still a little hard to get all of us ready, fed, bathed, and to church on time). i wanted brunch at a new breakfast place in town so we headed over there. the wait was crazy, but it all worked out because we were able to feed the girls while we waited. after lunch we went home to hang out and eventually went to some freinds' house out in the country. it was a great day of relaxing and enjoying our new family of four.

i, of course, couldnt help but think of my last two mothers days. i couldnt help but think of Charlotte. i miss her so much. i think about her all the time. i wonder which of the twins would look like her. i wonder if she would be a helpful big sister or more of the jealous type. i wonder what our lives would be like with a two year old and twins...well, i know what it would be like...it would be chaotic. but i also now know that Charlotte was SUPER sick. i mean, i have always known that, but when i look at my twins and i think about all the things Charlotte was facing/would have dealt with, it is just so overwhelming. Charlotte will always be our precious, perfect little baby, but i can say with full knowledge that God knew what He was doing, even though i still miss her so much!

i know that mother's day is hard for so many women. my heart ached for them yesterday. women who have lost their mothers. women who have lost their children, their babies. women who have lost hope of having children. women who have had to say good bye to too many things much too early. my heart aches for them. some of these women are friends of mine, family of mine. and i, unfortunately, know that there is nothing i can say to ease that pain, especially if this is the first mothers day after loss. but, does it ever really change for them? this mothers day was different for me this year because i was allowed to be celebrated. i had two babies to carry around. but not everyone can do that, many of them felt the same way i have the last two years and that hurts my heart. but they are still mothers. i like what my "fake mom", Caroline, posted:

"For EVERY woman today, a mother or not.... realizing women of all ages and stages of life may be experiencing different feelings today for various reasons.... YOU ARE LOVED, and your life is valuable and important in the lives of others. Many women who are not mother's have spoken immensely into my life, and the lives of others, and I am grateful to God for your life. . . . YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made! You are DEARLY LOVED!   Psalm 139:14"

i know that i am behind in posting 2 months photos. i am waiting until wednesday when we see the doctor for their visit...i will have their weight and height, etc. it got pushed back a week because we wanted to give the girls a chance to get over all their sicknesses before giving them shots, etc. so, i will post that this week :) 

here are a few pics from when peter's family was here the end of april and a few of me with my girls on mothers day and 2 collage pics to show how much our girls look just like us!! :) plus just a few others from here and there. enjoy! 

casual in their jeans and tshirts. annabel on left, claire right

claire all swaddled up at nap time

annabel was having a good dream

lol, claire was obviously totally relaxed

claire may not have been loving the ruffles

annabel wasnt sure either

all ready for bed! they wanted to sleep with mom and dad!

pretty sure those socks are 1/3 of her body! lol 

annabel's fit a little better

mothers day gift from claire

mothers day gift from annabel

claire was rocking daddy's shades while we waited for brunch

so precious! love you, claire! 

i am on the left and annabel is on the right. we are twins!

peter is on the left, claire is on the right! twins!

claire looks good in vera bradley!

so does annabel! starting them young!

annabel was so alert

claire may have been mid cough

aunt laura, mom with annabel, dad with claire, grandpa 

the LOtwins love their aunt Laura

babies and grandpa

mom, this sun is too bright!!! (ps. i remember saying this to my mom ALL the time growing up!!)

annabel smiling for me!! 

snuggles on mothers day with annabel

bed time kisses from claire on mothers day

blessings, ALo