May Birthdays

I feel so bad that it has taken me this long to do the girls birthdays! May was a crazy month, then June went fast and next thing, it was July and I was on vacation! It seems like the months since that have even been faster.  I will attempt to catch up...  but it may take a while....

Samantha wanted a pink cake, and pink frosting, and she requested sqaure shape.  Easy enough.

Samantha turning 3 made me wonder what has happened in the last 3 years, how could she be 3 already?  I remember when I went to the hospital with her, 2 days before the Twin's birthday party that we had planned.  Had to cancel that party, we weren't even home yet.  Poor girls had to wait awhile for the party.

Samantha went upstairs right before her "party" (a.k.a. singing to her, blowing out candles, and opening up presents) and came back down in a total different outfit, which is the one she has on in the pictures. 

When I asked her why she changed, she looked at me and said, "Mommm-- I had to get ready for my birthday!"  Funny girl!

She enjoyed opening up her presents and finding all her treasures inside. 

Lindsey and Lauren share a birthday together which is just 6 days after Samantha's birthday.  Wierd thing about it, my due date for the twins was June 11th same due date for Samantha, but Samantha ended up coming even earlier than the twins.  Weird huh!

Lindsey wanted a soccer ball cake and Lauren chose a football cake.  Lauren likes to play football at recess at school.  Maybe it is just catch with the football.  Although that was last year for 3rd grade, maybe now that she is in 4th grade things are different.

These two girls crack me up!  Lindsey has a funny, silly personality.... but also very thoughtful of others.

Lauren can be silly too but is normally more compassionate and loving toward others and their feelings.

The girls turned 9 this year... at each birthday I find it hard to believe as I think back on the day they were born, I am suprised that time has moved so quickly.

And it makes me miss my little babies.... how much they needed me, how dependent they were on ME, and now I am no longer the center of their life, but more of an accessory.  I am afraid it will get more and more like that as the years continue on.

Happy Birthday Amber!

It seems like it wasn't more than a day or two ago and we had this little baby in our arms.  I remember it so clear, going to the hospital in labor, them sending me home.  I was walking around at home in front of my 4 yr old twins, pacing trying to be side tracked, them talking to me telling me things, asking questions.  We still at that point didn't know if we were having a baby girl or baby boy.  Then we went back to the hospital and not long after that I heard Robert say, "It's a beautiful girl!"  He sounded so excited, but I think it was just the joy of knowing my pain was over.  It has got to be so tough on the husbands too, feeling so helpless during the whole labor of birth.

 I was a bit afraid to get attached to this baby before she was born.  With the experiences we had before, I didn't want to get attached, I didn't want to experience another disappointment.  I was trying to NOT get attached, not getting excited about it, just in case things didn't turn out well.  Finanlly she was here, she wasn't going to be a disappointment, she wasn't going to get my hopes up for nothing.  We had Amber Elizabeth.  My Grandmother's middle name was Elizabeth too.  We waiting over 2 years for her,we finally had our little Amber.  She was worth the wait.  She has brought so much joy and laughter to our home.  Of course the other girls loved her from the beginning. 

Amber recently has been asking me to tell her stories of when she was a baby.  I tell her the story of when she was little, she never smiled.  She must have been at least 4 months or more before she really gave me a smile.  She would smile at the bookcase, the ceilings, but never at me when I would talk to her.  I wondered if maybe there was a problem. 

 Then one day, it finally came... she not only smiled but she would start to "talk" and "babble" back at me too when I talked to her.  My fears were eased.  She was the center of attention.  It seemed like we were starting all over again with babies.  My youngest besides Amber was now 4, and it seemed so nice and different to have just ONE baby again instead of two to care for at the same time.  It seemed almost too easy. 

 I was a bit afraid to get attached to this baby as it was growing inside my body.  With the experiences we had before she was born, I didn't want to get attached, I didn't want to experience another disappointment.  I was afraid that maybe it would be hard to have that bond with her after trying to NOT get attached just in case things didn't turn out well.  I had not problems with bonding when she was here.  She turned one and I was very attached to this little girl.  What a wonderful time!  Sometimes she still wasn't very smiley but she makes up for those lack of smiles everyday now.  She is always such a happy smiley girl!

Amber was such a sweet spirit.  By this time we were expecting another baby.  After having such a hard time getting Amber we didn't want to wait too long to get that last baby here.  It was kind of sad for me to think of how different Amber's little world would be once we had that new baby. 

Amber herself, was just a little baby.  She was barely a year and a half and then we had a new baby.  It was like my little Baby Amber grew up over night.  When she came to visit us at the hospital, it was amazing to me.  I felt so sad for her, knowing her life and her attention would be so changed with this new little baby.

 Amber seemed to adjust okay.  She loved her little sister to pieces.  Sometimes she loved her a little too much.  I was telling Amber just yesterday about the time she was kissing her little baby sister's head and she must have gotten a little excited or something and she bit her head.  It was so sad, but who knows what that little girls was thinking.  We celebrated Amber's 2nd birthday with the thing she loves best... suckers!

I still don't always know what she is thinking about.  She is crazy most the time!  I love her so much!  She is that warmth you feel when you are sitting in a sunny window.  You can't help but to be want to be around her.  She is a burst of energy and craziness too! 

I am not sure when it started.  Somewhere between her 2nd and 3rd birthday, but she loves getting her picture taken and she wants to always be in the pictures.  She is so darn cute it's hard NOT to take a picture of her.

 She is also a creature that loves other creatures.  We were driving by some mink farms yesterday and she pointed to them and said, "is that were the living animals are?"  Kind of a funny way to put it, but yes that is I guess where they are.  She is our lover of all.... she likes the spiders, snakes, and bugs right along with all those cute fuzzy animals that most like.  She was our chick keeper when Grandpa brought home like 12 chicks. 

 I could hardly believe it when she turned 3.  Where did the time go?  Did life really go that fast.  My little baby is growing up.  She loves Dora and Diego too.  I remember when the twins were this age and they were in love with Dora and Diego.  I wish time would pass a little slower.  I feel like I am missing too much.  

Amber continues to do these crazy and wild poses for pictures.  When I have the camera out, it is normally because she is being crazy with some sort of costume or addition she has added to herself.  It was hard to choose some of the pictures because she has some really funny ones!  Did I already say she is CrAzY?

 She is a blessing to have.  To think there was a time I wasn't sure if we would have more than the 3 kids we had, we are very blessed.  Amber is such a goof ball, she is so fun to be around.  If you spend anytime with her, you can't help but to love her and want to be around her more.  She is one unique girl.... I love her so much!

I could hardle believe it was that time again, time for her to be one year older.  I knew it was coming but I didn't want to face it!  My baby is 4.  How did that happen?  She wanted a cow cake for her birthday.  I was so excited and was ready for it.  We went to the store to buy black for the frosting and she changed her mind to Mickey.  Maybe because of our recent Disneyland trip, who knows?  She said her next birthday she will do the cow.  I am thinking that won't happen though, but maybe, with Amber she is always suprising you.

I really was sad about the cake, I bought a disposible tin pan that had the little face on it.  It was so not good.  The cake didn't keep it's shape, the face was too big.  I tried shaping the cake and I tried trimming the face.  I would not recommend using their kit.  I would have instead just used a few round pans instead and put them together.  Amber didn't seem to care.  She thought it was great.

So my little baby, or the one whom seemed to be a baby just a day or two ago is now 4.  How did that happen?  I know it happens because I have other children who seem to be a little too old for the time I feel like we have had with them.  I treasure my little Amber each and every day.  She is such a blessing, an answer to prayer, and a wonderful big sister to Samantha.  I love the relationship they have.  I know they will be best friends forever.  Amber is loved by so many!  Especially by me!

Lindsey and Lauren turn 8

Being a twin is pretty cool... I know what its like.  But in other ways its not always nice.  For me it wasn't too bad because not many people mixed my brother and I up.  Lindsey and Lauren are always confusing to people who is who.  Lindsey has braces now but still it seems to still be a problem. 

In the past we have sang to the girls together, this year we decided to do them seperately.  We sang to Lindsey and she danced during the Happy Birthday song.  She blew out her candles.

She wanted a dog cake.  I took a cake mix and put it into 2 8in square pans and then stacked them.  I then traced the 8in pan on a paper and drew what the dog shape should be from the top.  Then I started cutting.  OH-totally a good idea to freeze the cake before cutting it that much.  Then I kind of just went from there on how the dog shape should be.  I thought it turned out pretty good for my first time.  I think it would have been easier and been better if it was bigger to start with.  It is hard to shape something so small.

Then it was Lauren's turn... we sang to her and she blew out her candles.  Samantha was in front of her cake and she blew out some of the candles.  I guess she knows what to do now for birthday cakes.

Lauren's cake I wasn't even going to put on here... I was very disappointed with it.  I ran out of frosting and the cake just didn't take shape really.  I used the pan for the barbie doll type pan.  I forget what it is called, but the cake is the dolls dress and you put a doll pick in the top or a barbie in the middle.  I couldn't get it right... the cat turned out kinda scary and pretty ugly I thought.  The face, the front legs... it is just not good.  It did look a little better once I put on the collar, but before that I was not even liking it.

Then came the presents... Amber got the girls some stuffed animals from the zoo.  We had gone to the zoo and at our house it was nice and sunny but at the zoo it was really cold.  My girls were in shorts and summer clothes, so I bought some sweats for my little girls and then got a great discount on the animals.  We did this the very first thing at the zoo so the girls rode in the stroller with animals.  Samantha held the giraffe the whole time. When we got home I imediately wrapped the animals so Samantha and Amber wouldn't keep playing with them.  Although Amber told the girls what she got them. 

When Lauren opened the giraffe, Samantha saw it and said, "jaf," grabbed it and took off with it.  She acted like she lost her little friend and then was happy to see him again.  Poor Lauren. 

Of course Lindsey knew what she was getting since Amber already told her... an elephant.  Isn't it cute!

The girls turned 8, so they will be baptized, and got scriptures for their birthday.

Here is Lauren with her scriptures too.

And they also got new dresses to wear at their baptism.  Lindsey was in a bad mood.

I can't believe my girls are 8!  I can still remember being on the ultrasound table seeing two rib cages and the tech saying, "you knew you were having twins right?"  When I recall that moment I still feel a little panic of being overwelmed.  I am glad the hard part of having two little new babies is over.  That first year or so seems like a blur.  My twins are 8, wow!

Samantha is 2 now!

Samantha turned 2 years old, can you believe it?  I can't!  Two years ago I was planning Lindsey/Lauren's birthday knowing I was pregnant and due after their birthday so I wanted to get their birthday party done before the baby so they would really have a party.  I planned their party a WEEK before their birthday.  Robert had told me not to but it was like 3 weeks or so before my due date so I didn't think it would be a problem.  Robert had been in Florida for work stuff and he came home on Wednesday night and Thursday morning I heard this strange *snap* sound.  I was wondering what it was and then shortly figured it was my water.  What timing!  I had Samantha on a Thursday and I was suppose to be having the girls party on Friday.  Ooops!  I should have listened  to Robert.  Lindsey and Lauren told their friends the party was postponed.  It surprised me because it was 3 weeks early, I never went that early.  The twins were only 2 weeks early.  I guess Samantha was just ready to be a part of our family.  At 9lbs 5oz it was probably good that she came 3 weeks early.  She would have been HUGE otherwise.  (Not that 9lbs isn't already big.)

Samantha didn't really know what to do with her candles... she didn't blow them out or even attempt to.  Amber was okay with that because then she got to blow them out.  We wanted to do a cat cake for Samantha, I had invisioned doing the number 2 for a cake and then putting little cats that I had seen at Zurchers along time ago.  When I was by the store last I forgot I needed to go there and instead tried Partyland which had dogs, frogs, horses, bugs, and zoo animals but no cats.  I thought I would look at a few other stores just in the toy area, which came up with nothing!  I was so frustrated!  I decided last minute (midnight at the store on Friday night) that I would do a ball of yarn with a cat behind it.  I was not happy about it, but I would do it.

Emily helped me with the cake.  I frosted it pink and then gave her the frosting bag to do all the string/yarn lines on the cake.  She did a great job.  She got frustrated (sounds like what I do) when it wasn't turning out like she was wanting it to.  I finished it for her after she had done it for awhile.  I thought it was okay, but I wasn't super thrilled about it.  I should have used a smaller bowl to bake the cake in.

I ran out of Birthday paper so we used Christmas wrapping paper.  I don't think she really cared!

Everytime she opened up something she would say the next present was that same thing.  She got a bee, then she thought the penguin was a bee before she opened it.  Then the gift we gave her next she said was a penguin.  It was cute. 

She loved her snake and frog!

She thought the gecko was a little "scarrrrry!"

She got some play food (which by the way is junk! it is already all falling apart.)

To go with her play kitchen.  (thanks again Wendy for spotting it and getting it for us!)

This is the bee that Lindsey got her.  She loves it!  I hung it up kind of above her bed, she always notices it when she gets up or goes to bed.  She thinks it is really fun.  I wasn't thinking it was a good gift, but Lindsey thought it would be.  I guess Lindsey was right!

Happy Birthday Samantha!!

April Fools

The girls were really into April Fools day this year.  They were joking around and trying to play pranks.  I am not really too big into it, I don't ever do anything for it, other than try to think of something good to get Rob on, but this year I didn't even do that.

I had thought about doing a fake meal or something like that but couldn't think of anything good.  Then I saw this idea of a meatloaf cooked in a cake pan and then frosted with mashed potatoes.  That sounded good enough for me.

I told the girls it was carrot cake and since it was a special day we could have dessert for dinner.  They thought that was pretty good.  Amber wanted to lick the icing knife...  she said, "mmm that's good, but I don't want anymore."

This is what it looked like on the plate.  Pretty good huh!

Robert came home late, he had a soccer game.  The girls had put up some plastic wrap on the way up the stairs for Robert to run into.  Of course he saw it when he came home and asked who I was trying to get.  I told him it was for him.  He asked if the girls were watching...  I went upstairs to have the girls hide while they could see the bottom of the stairs.  Then I called for Robert to come upstairs.  He ran right into the plastic and fell to the ground.  The girls laughed and laughed.  Then of course they wanted him to have a piece of cake. 

I cut him a piece of "carrot cake" which he was a little worried about and took a bite.  He immediately spit it out.  The girls again rolled with laughter.  I heated it up for him and he did eat it after that.  I was wondering why I never made meatloaf before, and as I served him the plate of meatloaf "cake" he said, "I don't really care for meatloaf."  The rest of the fake carrot cake went into the garbage.  What a WASTE!