Happy Birthday!

Today our sweet boys turn two years old. It's hard to believe 2 years ago at this time I was anxiously waiting for my surgery. HERE is the link to their birth story if you're interested.

Camden and Donovan will celebrate their 2nd birthday today with close friends and family with a construction themed party. I hope they enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed putting it all together.

Camden William- birth 5lbs 8oz, 19 inches 2yrs old 30lbs 4oz, 34 3/4 inches


Donovan Kyle- birth 5lbs 9oz, 19inches 2yrs old 30lbs 6oz, 34 1/4 inches

Cousins Playdate

Another playdate with cousin Matthew! This time we drove to Matthew's house and picked him up. Look at my "triplets" in the back seat!


When we got home the boys quickly changed into swim suits (or as quickly as you can change 3 squirming toddlers!) and we headed into the back yard.




After being outside for a while, we headed back in the cool house. While I made lunch the boys played cars... of course!


Mmm... lunch time!


My attempt at a 3 cousins pic. Yea, not gonna happen!

Twin Playdates

Ever wonder what it's like to go to a twin playdate... Check it out!

We take off down the slide and crash into the ball pit (and maybe a few friends while we're at it!)



Then it's into the club house.


After a little playtime we break for snack- yea, that's 5 sets of twins on the snack blanket!



Then we let our food settle a bit...


But not for long! Time to hold hands for a few (hundred) rounds of Ring Around the Rosey

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A Great Day!

Today was one of those rare days where I can say- the ENTIRE day was a great day!

This morning we met some twin friends at the Bolingbrook pool for their tot swim time. We took my goddaughter Hannah along to help me with the boys. They loved the pool! I watched them run in and out of the (zero depth entry) pool with big smiles on their faces. They would jump up in the air and bump down on their bottoms, sometimes submerging their face in the water, laughing the whole time. Camden swam around like a little fishy, taking in big gulps of water. Donovan practiced his new skill of jumping- leaping off the side of the pool and into the foot or so of water. What a great morning.

On our way home we stopped for a treat- lunch at Culvers. The boys ate all their lunch and behaved like gentlemen, well most of the time! Hannah and I sure enjoyed our lunch dates.

Both boys fell asleep on the way home but to my surprise, they went back to sleep in their cribs until well after 3:00. The afternoon was spent playing in the basement without a single tear. They even entertained themselves while I made semi-homemade waffles for the three of us, Daddy is at softball tonight. After a filling dinner we enjoyed the cool temps outside until it was time to wash the dirt and sweat off with a nice bath.

Now that I have two little boys tucked into bed I am reflecting on my day... and what a perfect day it was!

Camden on the upper part, Donovan heading into the lower "fort"

Cam closing the door to his "fort"




Who needs a lawn mower with these two around!

This and That

This morning we made a quick stop at Walmart. While in the kids section we were looking at all the character shirts- Cars, Elmo, Mickey, etc. Then I pointed to a train shirt and asked what was on the shirt. Camden ran up to the shirt and proclaimed "Matt's shirt!"

Sure enough, his cousin Matthew had worn that exact shirt LAST friday when we met him at the park. What a memory, and not even prompted!


Look who is using a big boy cup! And quite well I must add. They grab their cup and say "slow slow", as I taught them to drink slow!

First Trip to the Beach

We wanted to do something as a family to celebrate my birthday. Saturday ended up being the perfect beach day so we thought we would give it a try. We chose the Indiana Dunes as our destination, packed up our sand toys and beach towels and off we went. Chicagoland traffic of course held us up but we got to the beach in perfect time- got a parking spot in the 2nd row and 15 min before the water opened.

As we got to the edge of the parking lot Camden and Donovan were amazed by the sight. "Water water" they shouted as they started running. Stopping suddenly in their tracks when their sandals filled with sand. "Up please" they begged. So we each shifted our bags and hoisted a (heavy) toddler up on our hip as we made the trek across the sand to find a spot closer to the water. We got our beach blanket spread out and the kids settled- their eyes quickly spotting a few boats out on the lake.

Camden and Donovan checking out the lake from our beach spot


Camden and Donovan were happy to play with their sand toys and buckets of water, as long as they could do so from the "safety" of our beach blanket!

Camden digging

Donovan using the "fork" (when we picked out their sand toys at target he kept calling the rake a fork!)

Donovan watching the boats again

Cooling off Mommy's feet with water from the buckets Daddy filled

Daddy showed Camden how to throw the ball and catch it in his shovel- he tried over and over to do it just like Daddy

Mommy, come back on the blanket- I NEED you!


After a while of playing it was getting quite warm so we walked (ie: Mom and Dad walked carrying the boys) down to the shore. At first the boys were curious of the water... but then it washed up on their feet. Then the tears started- the water was moving the sand from under their feet and they were loosing their toes in the sand. Not a happy feeling for unsuspecting little ones. It was back to the blanket in no time!





After a bit it was time for lunch. Daddy make the trip back to the car to retrieve our picnic lunches. After munching on sandwiches and chips, we had a favorite summer treat- watermelon!





Despite it not being "the perfect beach experience" I think it was a great memory for our family. We hope to go again next year when the boys are a little older and braver. But for now, we'll stick to our backyard pool!

Fun with Friends

What's better than a morning at the park with good friends! We headed out to Plano to meet up with our friends The Sutton's. Camden and Donovan had fun following Baylie around the playground while Baby Tyler chilled in the shade.

Cam and Baylie drivin' off

Tyler and Donovan swinging

Baby Tyler eating some lunch

Lunchtime for the big kids too





Check this out- ALL FOUR KIDS LOOKING AT THE CAMERA!


After lunch we headed to the high school for a Jim Gill show. The kids all had fun singing and dancing along with the music.