Out for a walk, might have taken us 30 minutes to get ready...

Out for a walk on my day off Monday. Emolyn with her new "training wheel bicycle" as she calls it

We love living in our new neighborhood, while on our walk Shannon came out and snapped our photo since we look like a train.

*Not taken in front of our house.

How I love my ergo...

And my sit-n-stand

And my children

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.

My sweet #2

Yesterday I got the special treat of spending the afternoon and evening with Elsie (now 18 months old)while Emolyn was at Mimis (http://lindathompson.blogspot.com/)- Thank you Mimi! I rarely get to spend tim with just Elsie and we had a blast! She is very different than Emolyn and in such fun ways. She plays very independently but is also very cuddly. She loves to sleep and she loves to eat. She has a super loud voice, maybe to be heard over her sisters constant chatter. She is very expressiver, which Emolyn was too, but Elsie seems to know when she is getting a reaction from the crowd and really knows how to work it. She loves t sing and dance. Her favorite show is "Yo Gaba Gaba" which she calls, or yells "Yeah yeah Yo", pretty much anytime the tv is turned on. She likes to use sign language but almost always will say the word while she signs it. Mostly she asks for "cookie" and "candy", awesome. She starts screaming "mama" or just screaming when I get home because she is so excited. She definitely wears her emotions on her sleeve. The way she says "Oh no!" is so adorable! When you ask her what her name is she says "Daddy" and when you remind her her name is Elsie she say "EL-sie". Every time she sees my mom she says "Papa?" Looking for Papa John.

She likes to read books and carry purses and put on shoes. She sleeps with an Elmo doll and tells you to turn off her humidifier when you get her out of bed in the morning. She has never tried to climb out of her crib but she does love to take off her clothes when she is in there. And if she says "Nigh nigh" to you and you don't say it back she will yell it at you until you do. She has excellent manners always asking please and saying thank you and will often say sorry to Emolyn when Emolyn was the offender. Thanks for letting me ramble about my baby girl but I feel like I have already missed capturing her spirit at this age. I know I got a lot written down about Emolyn but Elsie's babyhood seems to have flown by. And with the impending arrival of these boys (hopefully sonner than later) I'm so worried my little lamb will get forgotten or passed by. Stuck in between a big sister with a big personality and twin brothers. I am getting pretty confident that she can hold her own and I was reminded by my sweet friend Sarah that Elsie Lane does have a unique role in our family as the baby girl. I love you Elsie Lane, and she would respond in only syllables "ah ah ah".

I have a minute!

Thats right between packing to move (we are near the end of the process of short -or long- selling our house) being 34 1/2 weeks pregnant with twins (I don't want to talk about it), having my 4 year old and 18 month old and still working, I found 1 minute. My husband has taken the girls for a walk. Emolyn said "I wish I could go on a walk with you, maybe when you're done being pregnant". Preach it sister.

34 weeks and counting

So life update. Or maybe I can just tell you what I have done in the last hour! Its Easter! Yeah Happy Easter to everyone. I made it to church this morning (Easter miracle) and had all the girls in Easter dresses with hair done. I didn't pass out at church (Easter miracle). My blood pressure has been running super low because aparently all my blood is pooling in my pelvis to keep these children alive and not circulating to, you know my brain. So I have to be sitting down pretty much all the time (advice straight from the Dr's office, very helpful "If you feel like you are going to pass out you should sit down". Oh really I thought it would be better to start taking the stairs or standing on some uneven ground). Anyway at this point even sitting doesnt always help and I have to lay down. Awesome and convenient. So between trying to get boxes packed- one done today and celebrating Easter today was exhausting but fun. My girls are amazing and Shawn has been performing as 2 parents.

Emolyn picked their Easter gift last month. We go onto the World Vision website and pick a gft to give. She picked bunnies! A family is given 3 bunnies and in a year the should have 50! These super prolific gifts bring food and money to a family in need.

My isn't he handsome. Now you know why we have 4 kids :)

For some reason I get this overwhelming NEED to "get things done" which is nearly fruitless at thi point but I have been collecting things during my packing for my mother-in-laws yard sale. And can I just say Why di I have all this stuff I dont need! It grosses me out. Clothes that dont fit and havent in a long time or that I wouldnt wear again even if they did. Shoes that hurt my feet, notebooks full of college lectures I heard 8 years ago, and hand grippers. Who needs hand grippers? I had 2! Anyway I am so ready to purge this stuff instad of pack it. Of course then I get into packing it to move where? I dont know yet :) Just one of many of life's current unknowns. When will these twin boys come? when will we move?where will we move? will I have to go back to work full time and leave my poor husband with 4 kids at home? How long can I really make my maternity leave last financially? Ahh what an exciting life I lead :) That being said here are some photos from today and hopefully I will find more minutes to sneak away .

Elsie Lane is 1!

Elsie Lane Thompson just turned 1! Its pretty amazing. She is pretty amazing. She has like a 20 work vocabulary including some compound words such as hot dog, back pack and peek-a-boo. She loves to say baby and loves saying it with several different kinds of inflections. BAYby, baBEEE and so on. She has incredibly blue eyes and she only cries if you take food away from her. She loves food. Any food and all food. Im amazed she only weighs 21 lbs. She doesn't know the sensation of fullness.

This was the very first time we got to see her. She was so cute. She cried when only her head was out. I was a little worried but she is totally not a crier. She is such a happy girl. She adores her big sister and is pretty much up for anything. She is very social, which is difficult for sleeping when she would rather be hanging out.

She is so stunning!

 What else do I want to remember about Elsie at one? She does sign language and LOVES the Baby Signing Time dvd we have. She just started walking this week and does it with ease. she has 5 teeth and several thigh rolls. se is in the 50% percentile for height and weight and 93% for her head, brains and beauty, amazing. She will do anything Emolyn does. Did I mention she loves to eat? Hasn't met a food she didn't like. She has way more hair than Emolyn did and its super blonde but still not enough to do anything with but a barrette. She loves saying hi and blowing kisses and giving open mouth kisses and patting your back while you hold her. She is so good natured and fun. Oh and of course she is going to be a big sister. Im sure she is very excited especially with loving babies so much. Two babies should be joining the family in April 2012 if everything goes according to plan. Of course since having anymore babies wasn't in the plan originally Im not super confident in any more plans.

 Elsie at her 1st birthday party! 

Elsie's 6 month photo shoot

Im finally posting the pictures fro Elsies photo shoot because I was waiting to give them as mothers day gift. So here they are. Awesome Tracey at En Love Photography did an amazing job capturing my happy little lady.

Emolyn 9 months

Elsie 6 months

 I saw this planter and just thought what a cute idea! I think Tracey thought I was nuts but isnt it fun! I was standing right there and Elsie was totally cool with it. She is so easy going.

 Look at those matching eyes!

 I like seeing their arms next to each other. Its so funny how Emolyn totally has my coloring and Elsie is so fair. Bring on the sun screen!

 We had to get some pictures of Elsie in this sweet sailor outfit from my aunt Marianne. Isn't it adorable!
Elsie update: Not crawling yet but starting to rock on all 4's. She loves being in her bumbo and loves to eat. She weights 16 lbs. She has amazing fine motor skills and loves to grab anything in her reach. She prefers her mom to anyone and loves singing/talking with her favorite sound being "ma ma ma ma". She sits up and her favorite toys make noise, she loves her "sheep book". She laughs at Emolyn all the time. Emolyns favorite thing is to tell Elsie "a boo!" and it really makes her laugh. Emolyn is a great sharer and wishes she could carry elsie but at only 10 lbs different its not going to happen anytime soon.

Our spring garden

Our winter/spring garden has come to its end. Its time to plant some summer food but we sure enjoyed the broccoli, cabbage, turnips, carrots, basil, thyme, red leaf lettuce and are still waiting on the green bell peppers to ripen (we got 3!)

 When you plant things from seed with a 3 year old some times the drop a few too many seeds in the little hole and you end up with 50 tiny carrots! But they were delicious. She saved the biggest one for daddy because "he is a big man"

 She treated the turnips like they were her babies. Emolyn talks alot about "her" family, which is not us, its her husband Daniel Thompson and her kids, whch are constanly changing. Daniel works at a place called "donation" and its by the zoo. He is frequently at work or taking their kids to the "hostibul" (hospital) because they are sick. And some times they die, but then they are all better again :)

 She does make an excellent little mommy. I heard her telling Elsie in the other room 2 days ago "hold still Elsie", so I quickly came in to find Emolyn changing Elsie's clothes. Apparently changing her own clothes 8 times a day is not enough.

I loved that these turnips looked married to each other.

Here are my beautiful ladies!