Cavity Free!

Yesterday I took Logan for his first dental appointment. It was a cleaning and check-up basically. We had been preparing for it all week by talking about all that was to be expected and reading books. Logan ROCKED the house! He was such a trooper. Since he didn't have any cavities, he is a proud member of the 'No Cavity Kids Club' complete with his own t-shirt. He also got two movie tickets, and a chance to win a Wii. He had such a good time...He can't wait for his next visit to the dentist!

Open wide!

"hmmm...I've never had a hand massage before! Are these for boys or grills?" -Logan

His new T-shirt!

Twin Bond!

Having twins has been an incredibly difficult blessing! It is a lot harder than I would have expected, but there also some amazing, and unexpected, blessings that have come with raising twins. Mason and Mya have a unique connection that I can't explain. Everyone says that, but watching it develop and grow in infants is downright fascinating. The only way I can explain it is that they are sort of like an old married couple. They compensate for eachother, watch out for one another, and overlook the faults of the other. For example, even if Mason is in time-out (his crib) for biting Mya, she will attempt to take him a cracker and try to sneak him a toy so he isn't so bored. He does the same for her. Mason will take Mya her binkie if he finds it and vice versa. If Mason is crying, Mya will go find a binkie for Mason. Mason will pass Mya his extra blueberries because Mya loves them. They don't like to fall asleep without eachother. They squeal in a way that eachother seem to understand. If Mya notices that I am getting breakfast ready, she squeals and Mason comes running. They have this crazy, innate knowledge of what the other one needs. It isn't always peachy, but for the most part I have loved watching their relationship blossom and grow! Praise the Lord for the blessings our kiddos are.

Words!

Last week Mya started speaking some words...not much after that, Mason followed suit. It is such a crack-up. They say hi, bye-bye, hot, bite, and a few other things. They are LOVING the response they get when people respond to their words (and requests). It was almost like a light bulb went on inside their minds causing them to realize that they have a simple way to get what they want. It is very cute!

Our Week at a Glance!

This week has been so busy! Nothing out of the ordinary...just a little bit of everything. Here's a glimpse into what we have been doing this week.

I took all the kiddos shoe shopping, however we only made it through Miss Mya. I will take the other two to get fitted later. Our kids all have wide feet so I like to make sure they get fitted just right....kind of time consuming, but Miss Mya's feet are all ready for fall. My patient boy got rewarded with frozen yogurt after our shoe shopping trip!

Corn on the cob...the one veggie we can get Logan to eat!

The Portland Children's Museum is always a favorite! Mom and I took the kiddos on Saturday...

What's not to love about water?

I love the monkey backpack/leash contraption. An absolute must for mothers of twins who are outnumbered by their kiddos.

Mason was dipping his binky into the recycled water....yummy!

YeeHaw!The Portland Zoo-We headed there after the Children's Museum. It was a long day, but we had a good time. The only bummer of the day was that Ryan missed out because he had to work...

Mya was out cold before we even made it inside the zoo!

Grammy and Logan...How sweet!

Proof that we survived!

Friends Forever....

Still pretty much the same....

Tonight Ryan and I got to grab some dinner with our buds Denee' and Travis. Denee' has been my bestest buddy since 8th grade. We are sort of kindred spirits. I always feel so renewed when I get to spend time with Denee'. I just love it. We can talk about nothing or everything....I got to see the awesome video of her recent mission trip to Uganda. It was so nice to catch up that after she and Travis headed home I began reminissing. I pulled out the scrapbook Denee' made me our senior year in high school. It is full of funny things like our sports pictures, banquet pics, camp, sr. trip, and pretty much anything else you can imagine. I had myself in stitches remembering all the wonderful times we shared. Here were a few of the highlights! I didn't go to the trouble to scan them in...I just took pictures of the scrapbook, but you get the idea!

I cheered, she played basketball.... Sr. Trip--Newberg

The Beach--

Junior Senior Banquet Track pictures!

Sr. pictures

Crocs butter!

One of today's many blessings was the discovery of Crocs butter! Our kiddos practically live in their Crocs during the summer so they tend to get faded and sort of cracked looking. While I was at the Croc's store I found this little sponge deal that is supposed to clean-up and restore Crocs. IT WORKS! Our Crocs look like new. I know it shouldn't matter since Crocs are supposed to be play shoes, but our kids wear them to church...everywhere, so I was happy to see them spruced up part way through the summer. I just thought I would pass on my little find of the day!

What? It's a hat!

Mason and Mya's new thing is to make anything and everything into a hat. Baskets, buckets, bowls...you name it, and they will wear it. It is pretty hilarious because they will wear them for a long time....almost like it's a real hat that they they are supposed to be wearing. The very funniest part is that Mya has excellent posture and can keep things (even quite small things) on her head for a relatively long time. I get such a kick out of all their crazy antics!

Mya's Little Tidbit

Yesterday I took Miss Mya to Legacy Emanuel to get her developmental asessment and review. I haven't even been worried about it because she is doing SOOO well. She still has the diagnosis 'dissociation of maturation' but she is far surpassing their expectations developmentally so we will just have to wait and see (as far as I'm concerned). The very best thing that can be done for a kiddo with a motor planning issues (mentally and physically getting from point A to point B...swallowing, rolling, babbling, etc.) is to have lots and lots of modeling and practice. Typically that means lots and lots of therapy and practice at home. They suspect that the primary reason Mya has progressed so rapidly is that she has had Mason as a constant model of all the tiny steps that piece together to create task mastery. So having Mason just a few skills ahead of her has really given her the edge in taking off. She is constantly striving to do what he does and how he does it. She watches him like a hawk and copies what he does. It has also provided some stimulation and motivation for her to keep trying. She has Logan but it is a lot different than having someone right at your level to follow and copy. Currently Mya is in an informal study on dissociation of maturation as there isn't much literature about it available. That was a really LONG way to say that God knew Mya needed Mason. He knew the special needs that she had and He provided for them in His loughty wisdom and understanding. In my narrow perspective I thought I had it all figured out. I felt like our parental insight was going to be what gave Mya that leg up. Little did I know that God was caring for His precious daughter in a way that I didn't know anything about. I am so grateful for the Lord's mighty hand in the lives of our kiddos.

No better sight!

I was headed over to the farm to drop off a hat and some water for Logan when I crossed paths with two of my favorite boys. Aren't they stinkin' cute???

There she goes....

Today we took Logan over to watch Uncle Tony and Aunt Rachel's house come down. They will soon be beginning construction on a new house so the old was COMPLETELY torn down. Logan and Addi had such a good time watching it be demolished. We had lunch in the grass while watching the destruction. What a sight, huh?

Mason at the shop!

Today the kiddos and I ran some errands and met up with Ryan for lunch. Afterwards we went to the shop so Ryan could quickly wash my van (sweet huh?). Logan is a regular around the shop but Mason and Mya don't spend much time there yet. Mya was sleeping in the van (while vannie got her wash down) but Mason played and explored the shop. He had a great time...and Logan was a great little tour guide (at least that's what he thought he was). I love that the kiddos can spend time with Ryan and have cool places to explore but I have to admit that my heart races when Mason and Mya are around the shop because there are so many ways to get hurt with all the big equipment around. Thankfully the kiddos had a fun and safe afternoon spending some time with their daddy and running aroung the shop!

Family dinner...all of us!

Summer and Sunshine are the PERFECT blend for family dinners outside. Typically Ryan is home long after the rest of us eat dinner, but the last couple of nights he has come home at a 6:00 before heading back to work for an evening of spraying sprout stop--yes, this does mean we are nearing the end of the growing season. It was so fun to eat dinner TOGETHER tonight. We barbecued salmon and enjoyed the fresh air. What a blessing!

Mason and Mya love sitting at the picnic table (like big kids), but they just threw their food on the ground. Apparently salmon, salad and fresh watermelon can't compete with all the excitement the backyard has to offer!

Nothing like a combine stirring up dust to enhance the ambiance of dinner...I feel like my life could be a country song! We got these for a couple of bucks at a garage sale...good find, huh?

BBQ's got so much more fun when we got a Traeger!

BBQ & sun!

Today we had a family BBQ to celebrate birthdays. The sunshine was incredible, the weather was AMAZING and the kiddos had a blast. They all ran and played until they were so tired they could hardly function. The water in their pool had turned , a less than appealing, color of brown from all the mud that had been tracked in. There was definitely much fun to be had and as always... the food was amazing. Thank you Lord for family, friends and birthdays!

The moms! The kiddos in the pool!
The BBQ under the trees!

What's not to love about this cutie? Precious Addi!