It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

At the beginning of the month we went to our ward Christmas party.  The boys were SO excited to see Santa and then Kelson ended up being too scared to sit on his lap.  He did sit by Mrs. Clause though :)  Caleb asked for a Cow and a Pig- yes real ones not pretend ones! haha

On Saturday night we went into town and let the boys pick out gifts for each other.  Caleb and me went to pick out gifts for dad and Kelson, while Kelson and Trev went to pick out gifts for me and Caleb.  It was an adventure!!  

The boys are really getting excited for Santa to come bring presents... In fact, just the other night Caleb said in his bedtime prayers "bless that Santa will come here."  It was pretty cute.

We got a tree last Thursday and it has been sitting in the house un-decorated until we finally did that last night.  Trevor is out of town so my mom came up and helped tend the babies while me and the boys decorated the tree.  I think the tree turned out perfect!!

Thanks to Shanley for the idea of making our own ornaments... they really added to the tree!

10 Months

Just some stats...

Noah weighs 14 lbs 15 oz

Noah has 2 new teeth and is teething.  Noah is crawling and he is fast.  In size 6-9 month clothes.  He has started waving "bye bye"

 Leah weighs 12 lbs 5 oz

Leah is teething and she is scooting and starting to crawl.  She has been sleeping less this last month.  usually wakes up at least 1 time per night.  In 3-6 month clothes.

Family Pictures

I just had to post some of these, cause I thought they turned out so good.
I love my family!!

I must be doing something right

Sometimes being a mom is the hardest job...  So many times I feel inadequate or like I should be doing better.  Having twins is no picnic and having preemies is a whole other story.  Lately I have been stuck in the "what if" mode. I keep wondering if I had done things different before now if things would be different, but I can't change the past so I keep trying not to dwell on the past.  As moms we worry more and love more!  We want the very best for our children and we worry A LOT because of all the LOVE!!  Lately I find that the twins weights are always on my mind.  The babies turned 9 months old on the 4th of November and at their appointment we found out that Leah is starting to fall off the growth curve.  I KNOW she is small and people tell me ALL the time (as if i don't know)... "she is so tiny"  "there is no way they are really that age" "they look unnatural sitting/crawling cause they are so small."  I know that when people say these things they aren't trying to be mean or hurtful, but every time someone does it just reminds me of the worry that is already in the back of my mind.  It makes me wonder if I had given formula sooner, if I had only nursed one baby, if I had been invited to NICU grad-checks after discharge- would things be different??  Are they small and not growing good because of me??  Could I have made a difference sooner??  Sometimes I feel inadequate...
Then I look at the sweet smiles, I watch them sit, play, eat and I hear their laughs, and I KNOW I must be doing something right.  They are still doing well developmentally and I can't change the past, but I can make the future the best that I can.  I can have faith that if I try my hardest and believe they will grow if it is God's will, they will- just not on my time table.  I love being a mom even if it is the hardest job.  It is definitely one of the most rewarding!

9 MONTH STATS
Leah: 11 lbs 10 oz (0.02%), 24 1/4 inches long (0.05%)  Wearing 0-3 & 3-6 clothes. 2 teeth, loves solids but hates to drink a bottle, army crawls/scoots fast.
Noah: 14 lbs (0.18%), 25 3/4 inches long (0.15%)  wearing 3-6 & 6 month clothes. 2 teeth, loves to nurse and eat solids, army crawls/scoots,

Halloween

Happy Halloween from Clark Kent, Peanut Butter & Jelly, and a horse!  

Caleb loved that he got to dress up for his preschool party (but he was NOT about to wear his "church pants")  He made a cute superman/Clark Kent.  Kelson got to dress up for Kindergarten party too.  We went and watched him in the costume parade at school.  He made a very cute horse.  And the babies didn't realize it was a holiday, but they got dressed up anyway  in their peanut butter and jelly outfits.  They were pretty cute!

Marathon, Conference, and 8 month old twins

Marathon and Conference
Pretty much every year the Gardner family goes camping over Conference weekend because it is the opening week of the elk hunt.  This year, I chose not to go.
 Me and the 4 kids went to St. George and enjoyed some good Barlow family fun.  My twin brothers ran the marathon so we watched part of their race, we ate good food, we watched conference, the boys got to play with their cousins (Aliza, Tate, and Rylee) and it was a great weekend.

After the marathon

Lynzee (4 months), Hattie, (7 weeks) and Leah (8 months)

8 months!!!

Leah and Noah turned 8 months on Saturday, Oct. 4!  It is so crazy how fast the time has gone!  They hit some major milestones this month!! Leah started sitting!  Noah started scooting!  Noah has completely outgrown 0-3 month clothes. Leah has started saying "mmmom" and "mmommma" and yes it totally melts my heart!!  Noah is starting to sit, but still pretty tipsy and doesn't catch himself at all.  Just today Leah started getting on her hands and knees and rocking.  These babies are going to be crawling before too long!!  They are both eating most baby food.  We haven't tried any meats yet or baby snacks.  They both prefer fruits to veggies, but they will usually eat just about any baby food.  Leah weighs 10 lbs 14.5 oz and Noah weighs 12 lbs 9.5 oz.  They are drooling tons and biting everything, but still only have 2 teeth (they both got their bottom two teeth between 6 and 7 months).

They are starting to realize when I am holding one baby and they get jealous, which is making them kind of hard right now.  But on the other hand... since they are starting to sit and be a little bit mobile they are more content on the floor.  Life is crazy busy with them but I wouldn't change it for anything.  I love these twins so much!  I LOVE being a mom and I have the cutest 4 kids ever!! 

Leah sitting

Noah has become camera happy :)

The Carnival

We did the funnest baby shower for Baylee and the baby.  We did a carnival theme and it turned out great!!  We all chipped in to throw the shower, so it wasn't too stressful for anyone.  Baylee's family did the food.  There were churros, popcorn, hot dogs, cotton candy, cupcakes, and caramel apples.  We did fun games too "ping pong toss," "blindfolded diaper changing," "guess the size of the incredible expanding woman" and more... it turned out really cute!  Not only was it a fun shower, but it was a great success.  Baylee got lots of stuff for her new little peanut!

The invite

Decorations/seating

Party favors 

"Kissing Booth" and "Pick the date" games and Gift table

Pick the date game

Some of the food