Where did the last 8 months go...

Holy wow. This last post was a mere 9 days before our family grew and grew! Here I was April 2012. Full to the brim with baby boys.

And then April 21st we met handsome Jonah Dean and Nathan beck Thompson! Happy healthy little boys. Nearly 11 pounds of baby left me that day and I like them so much better now! My labor and delivery experience was pretty uneventful. I went to a Phoenix Suns game with Shawn, so fun and thanks to my mom and John for loaning us the tickets. Suns vs OKC Thunder, great game in that we love both teams. Fun to cheer for everyone. But I was enormous and we were on the end of the row so I had to stand every time anyone wanted to leave. Of course me standing with my baby belly didn't actually make a path for anyone to walk so then I had to turn to the side. I'm sure I was a sight to see.

And I had to take breaks if I had to stand for too long since the boys were sucking the life out of me. All in all pretty awesome. Anyway we got home from the game only to find the girls throwing up with the stomach flu, yeah. Well after pretty much no sleep and Emolyn sleeping on my bed (the couch) due to her sickness I too contracted said stomach flu. Only it was kinda hard to determine if it was stomach flu or my normal daily pregnancy vomiting. Anyway I went into labor (which i don't recommend) and was pretty sure I wasn't going to have to do because my c-section was scheduled and if I had to labor I thought I would probably explode. All that to say after laying in OB triage contracting all night on Saturday April 21st at 7AM I was taken to the OR where these crazy boys came out at the same time. Jonahs head and Nathans leg. It was great everyone was so excited, "Oh look I have never seen this before", "Oh how fun born at the same time". No one is oldest or youngest. So fun to bring babies into such a fun filled room, everyone excited with anticipation. And they were healthy and ready to eat! I was able to start tandem feeding them in the recovery room. What a trip that has been.

First Picture with Santa!! Jonah left Nathan right

Well then we moved when the boys were 2 weeks old after going through a pretty quick short sale process with our first home (which we had lived in for 6.5 years). The only thing I miss, the wall where we measured the girls. But I took a picture with a tape measure next to it so hopefully in my spare time I can re-create it.

Updates: Shawn: Stay at home dad working part time doing freelance graphic design and working for Red Plate Amps. Between changing diapers, trips to the park and constantly feeding all the many children he sometimes gets time to play guitar or this new racing game on his phone.

Nicole: New job started in august, still working for Banner but I am part of a pilot program with Medicare patients. I am doing case management in an attempt to keep people healthy and out of the hospital. So far I really like it, I love seeing the difference you can make in peoples lives. But the job is 25 miles away. Bummer. But its 4 ten hour days so thats nice. But I would LOVE to be home with all my babies. Just hasnt worked out that way. Its hard to call and hear them miss me. I leave before they get up because otherwise Elsie will cry everyday when I leave. Ahh, praying this season of having to be away passes quickly without me missing seeing them grow and change.

Emolyn: Hilarious. Ever the dramatic princess she is constantly singing and dancing. She will be 5 in February and is pretty upset if you tell her she only looks 4. Her new phrase is "speaking of". For example: Me: We are having broccoli with dinner tonight. Emolyn: Speaking of dinner, I love when you make dinner mom. She is great. Very thoughtful and kind, loves to be the big sister but also loves to be a baby. Super cuddly and always the helper. Loving to read books and "write".

Elsie: What a ham. the personality on this girl is through the roof. She talks and talks and talks, usually repeating and not always making sense but very passionate! She turned 2 in October. She and Emolyn are about 3 lbs apart. She loves to play rough and climb and do scary things, not at all cautious like her sister! She has the blondest hair and the bluest eyes. She is gorgeous! She is sort of into potty training but on her own terms, which is annoying and messy. She loves to sing and she LOVES Justin Beiber. She says the twins love Justin Beiber too.

Jonah: Lover of food and cuddling. Around a pound bigger than his brother and he claps with 2 hands. hard not to compare them. Jonah has 1 tooth and smiles a lot. Neither of the boys are crawling but they roll consecutively to where they are headed. They have just started taking toys from each other and they like to hold hands while they eat. Its adorable.

Nathan: 2 teeth 1 hand clapper. And Nathan has a dimple in his right ear lobe. Nathan is usually more interested in seeing what his sisters are doing than eating. The only hard and fast way to tell them apart. Although at this point Shawn and I think we are at about 90% accuracy rate with individual identification. named after my cousin Nathan and my mom Beckie, my grandpa always called her Beck. My grandpa passed away in September at the ripe old age of 91. He was an awesome man.