butterfly. babies. love.

i have been loving watching my babies grow into little girls. and sure, they are only 18 months, but the days of bottles, high chairs, teethers, crawling, and baby food seem so long ago. i miss it some days, of course. in fact i may miss it just a little every day, but i have no complaints about the excitement that each day of their development brings now. yesterday was such an amazing time for our little family. after church and before brunch, we took a little stroll in the park. we snapped some pictures and laughed a lot. i saw my little girls point out the grass, the buggies, the sun, the trees... as they ran to each other and asked me to hold their hands one minute, while running free and independent the next. motherhood has brought so much purpose to my life, so many more obstacles, so many more responsibilities, so many more prayers... and so, so much more joy. with rockstar being such good girls at brunch aviyah flying high with daddy micaiah loving he...

baby linda kay i never truly understood it before, because i could not.   a mother's love is one of the most special gifts in the world. to feel the love  of a mother, and to feel love  as a mother... i have experienced both and am so incredibly grateful for every memory and emotion that is brought on by these gifts. my mommy came to visit last weekend. she flew in for one full day, really... and it was a visit that i will always be grateful for. she came simply to spend some time with her baby and her baby's babies. she came simply to encourage me and hug me and hold my girls and buy us lots of things... pregnant - summer 2010 she somehow managed to cook me all my favorites before she got on the plane. in between taking care of little jonah and working at the hospital, she found the time to cook enough food to feed us for three days. she packed it all up and as i unloaded her suitcase it felt like christmas morning. of course i had ideas of ...

two smiley, rambunctious, crazy-haired toddlers greet us from their cribs every morning. it is a joy that will never get old. my girls will sometimes start their day by asking "play?" as we head downstairs for diaper changes and hello's to rocky. they have always had a partner in crime, a confidant, a best friend. they have always had a perfect playmate. i have been told that sisters share a special bond... but twin sisters, from what i have seen, have something stronger than a bond and even deeper than that sister connection. it is as if these two are so in sync, that they could just play forever... with the other one climbing on her head, kissing her face, tickling her belly, sitting beside her, even crying in the corner of the room... as long as they are in the same room, she will be more than satisfied. but there is something we love about having the girls interact with other children too. it is an exciting adventure to watch my girls talk, laugh, and share with ...

my little (big) ones were passed out after church. they still had their dress shoes and sparkly pink and grey dresses on, still snuggled in their pink coats and lamb hats. they look so calm and peaceful. i love that. i don't love it solely for the hour of quietness, the hour of my hubs and i softly wondering what we used to do sunday afternoons, the hour of having rocky lounge around without any fear of getting a strong hug or a quick pull on his tail... i love it for the anticipation of the loud excitement and the cherished snuggles that will happen when my wide-eyed girls stop napping and rejoin us.  no matter what they decide to do when they wake... whine a little at first, whimper daddy and mommy's name, giggle a lot, hug tightly, sing loudly, twirl and twirl... they just never disappoint. they always seem to make every wait worthwhile. since the day we first saw two flickers on an ultrasound.

18 months ago. it was 18 months ago today that we first met 2 little girls who have forever changed our lives. as i watch them sitting on the sill of our bay window, singing and dancing, hugging and talking... i cannot help but remember 2 perfect little babies in a basket, already sharing secrets with each other. and here they are - a year and a half later curly-haired balls of energy and sass, of sweetness and silliness, 2 beautiful little girls, who sometimes, just sometimes, share their secrets with me.