Three months!

These girls are just so happy!  Last weekend we spent the night at the lake in my aunt & uncle's "little house" as Isaac calls it.  They let us stay in their camper as they were not at the lake for the weekend and we had such a great time.  Amelia & Caroline woke up very happy and rested!

Here are some 3-month pictures.  It does seem like they should be three months old, but they are still pretty tiny.  Which is great when it comes to a snuggling standpoint.  They are keeping their same features...Amelia with a more narrow forehead than Caroline, and just smaller overall.  They are both good babies and they are sleeping really well.  Right now they are going to bed around 10pm and waking around 6am.  I can't complain about that!  Plus they are really heavy nappers so they do rest a lot during the day also. 

Big peepers!

 Little Sister (by age) Caroline was pretty mellow during these pictures.  Big Sister Amelia however was quite happy!  Such sweet girls. 

Miss Caroline

Miss Amelia

A few things I'm not sure I blogged when Amelia Ann & Caroline Renee were born:

 

Amelia is the name of what would be my great-grandmother on my mom's side.  Amelia (Ruder) Pfannenstiel would have been my maternal grandfather's mother.  Ann is the middle name of my dear friend Jessica Ann (Miles) Wiehe.  Jessica and I have been friends for 10 years now--wow--we're getting old, Jess! 

Caroline is a name that I have always liked.  Our friend Courtney in Kansas City has a sister Caroline who just started school at K-State and in referencing names to people you know with those names, Courtney's Caroline is a sweet girl with lots of pep & energy and always has a smile on her face.  So while we didn't name our Caroline after her, she set a good example for the name that we admired.  Renee is Robynn's middle name.  Caroline is happy to have the middle name of her Auntie!  Both middle names, Ann and Renee, are from the girls in my life who make me laugh, let me vent, let me cry, and love me anyway! 

I also wanted to note that the twins were born at 35 weeks, 5 weeks early.  I had just turned 28 which is fitting since they were born on the 28th.  That will be easy to remember. 

We're getting ready to have some friends over to grill and enjoy the slightly cooler evenings than we've had in the past weeks.  Isaac is doing great at Happy Days, always happy and willing to go in the mornings.  And Chloe is growing up more and more each day.  She'll be FIVE in about a week---Ahhh!!  Hurricane Irene is working her way up the East coast (who also had an earthquake earlier in the week)  so we hope & pray that all of our family and friends back there stay safe with little or no damage to their property.  Also next week--KSU Football!  Go Cats!

A big day for a big boy!

Today is Isaac's first day of pre-school.  He is starting at Happy Days and will be there with Chloe for a year.  While he is excited, he was more nervous than Chloe.  We drove today, as we had to take nap-time bedding, etc.  And when we got in the car he said "Mom, I really don't even know what 'school' is".  I know he'll do great.  He is ready for this next step. 

Chloe will be there to show him the ropes, and also add that little bit of security that he might need.  When we got there she wouldn't let go of his hand.  There are only twelve kids, it's not like he was going to get lost!  But she was being protective. 

Isaac is such a charmer.  Last week he was playing fireman so before bed I asked for a "big fireman hug".  He said, "No Mama!  A GIANT fireman hug!"  So I got my GIANT fireman hug and as he was finishing he said "I'm about out of hugs".  So I told him that he needed to save his money and go to the store and buy more hugs.  He giggled, and he said, "But I already know where I can get more hugs" to which I replied, "Where?"  And he pointed to his chest and said, "My heart." 

My heart is so full because of my kids.  I love them all so much. 

Summer pictures

Here are some pictures to show what has been happening the last few weeks when I haven't blogged.  Caroline & Amelia are growing so much, they are just so sweet.  At their 2 month check-up at the end of July Amelia weighed 7 lb 8 oz and Caroline weighed 8 lb 7 oz.  And just after their 2 month mark their smiles started surfacing more and more.  We've even spotted dimples on Caroline.  Oh so cute!

Great-Grandma Donna and Caroline

 And Amelia showing her muscles.

Chloe & Isaac checking out the animals at the Trego County Fair

 Road trips!  Yes--our family of six and two dogs DO fit into the car!  Charlie is laying down and not shown.  Our usual arrangement is that Chloe is in the back with Isaac and the seat by the twins' carseats is down so Chloe & Isaac can load easier. 

Chloe and Caroline

Miss Chloe.  Oh my.

She wanted to be like a dancer so she put on her leotard and then it snow-balled from there. 

Photography by Chloe: 

Caroline

And Amelia.  

 And Isaac, too. 

Here are some smiles!

Amelia

and ornery Caroline!

Family Stay-cation

This summer didn't allow a 'real' family vacation so we enjoyed this last week over in WaKeeney for a fun family staycation.  It was interesting packing bags for 6 people just to travel 30 miles, but well worth it. 

Royce's sister, Gina, and her family were in town from Richmond, Virginia.  We had not seen them since our vacation last September so it was great to get the kids together again and let the grown-ups have some fun, too. 

When we were there in September this little beauty was almost done baking, and now look at her!  Little Katie, or "Kate-Kate" was born in October and she is such a sweetie. 

Libby on the left (2 1/2) and Gabi on the right (almost 5). 

Such bright smiles!   

Isaac taking a break from the pool to go cruising in his tractor. 

We also spent some time at the Purinton farm.  Royce kept the kids in the tent overnight while the rest of us enjoyed the air-conditioning.  It's always fun to go out there and BBQ, swing in the tire swing, and ride 4-wheelers. 

Libby, Isaac, Chloe, Gabi

Pretty rainbow!  We could see the WHOLE thing.  A beautiful full rainbow. 

The rainbow is hard to see in this picture, but it looked like Chloe was holding the bottom of it.  

Katie & Chris.  What a great picture!

Time for s'mores!

Gabi & Chloe running with some sparklers left over from the 4th of July.

And they all wanted Grandpa to run, too!

Breakfast at the lodge.  Can you tell it's primarily a hunting lodge?!?!?

And there's always room for funny faces!