Week One

We documented the first year of Oscar's life and we are going to do it for the girls, darn it. They were in the hospital for the first three weeks, so we are starting their 52 week collage from the time that we brought them home, where they belong!!

Miss Eleanor

 

Miss Rosemary

 

Eleanor and Rosemary

Oscar's first week at home.

At the end of 52 weeks we will have neatly packaged reminders of how quickly time marches on. 

 One week down, 51 to go. Fingers crossed.

Welcome Rosemary and Eleanor!

The girls made their entrance into the world on November 15th, 7 weeks early, and we brought them home from the hospital last Wednesday in the middle of a snow storm. They are both sweet and lovable and we are really glad we decided to keep both of them!

Oscar likes to visit them in their bedroom and touch them with one finger, because that is the rule. Sometimes he wants to bite them, but I have politely told him that is rude.

Here are some pics of what we have been up to since the girls arrival.
 
The girls spent nearly 3 weeks in the NICU. I cried when we left. Not out of fear of taking care of my own babies, but I met some really nice nurses and will miss their company.

+

Our first night home was joyful and peaceful!

A gift from Oscar's sisters. He loves his new bike, which we let him ride in the house because he is the boss of us...

The girls are not identical and will be hooked up on heart monitors for a bit. They were kept a part in the NICU, but clearly know that they are best pals.

 By the way, Oscar is pregnant...

with twins!

We are all right where we belong, under one roof!

Family Photo Year 3

Life is anything but normal right now. Everything we do feels like it is in preparation for the twins. Buying a couple of extra sticks of deodorant,  donating all of our books, vacuuming out the car...it's all for the babies!

We did manage to take our yearly Bagley Nature Area Family Photo. I wanted to share some of my faves!

October 2011

 October 2012

 October 2013

If you scare easily don't read the next sentence. I still have 10 more weeks of belly growth to go, eek!

The Invasion of Ponies and Pink Ribbons

I declared my return to blogging with good intentions. Then we had a bit of a set back that we had to cope with before sharing the news...

Our sweet donut loving baby boy

is going to be a big brother to 2 baby girls.

Meet Baby A and Baby B. The bottom photo is their two noggins plotting how they are going to torture their big brother. Poor guy! These little girls are scheduled to arrive in December. Anyone know of a screaming deal on a mini van?

Road Tripping with Kiddos

Before we left on our 30 hour road trip to the Oregon Trail I broke the news that our cargo would consist of a 1.9 and 3.9 year old.

Mile 5, they look happy, right? 

We left home with a glove box full of snacks and juice boxes. We had a huge bag of reserves in the trunk because our best of friends dropped off loads of sugar to help keep these little people happy. 

Before we left town I wrapped up a bunch of crap from the dollar store. At every stop they excitedly opened a present... stickers, books, slinkies, crayons, videos, sun glasses, plastic dolls, koosh balls, etc. etc. We also got some fun car toys from the same great friends...I think they were mostly concerned about our sanity?!

In case you are wondering, yes, both kids had their own video players. They were not the electronic babysitters we were hoping they would be. They did the trick here and there, but certainly nothing magical. Videos are not a cure for sore buns.

We tried our best  to stop whenever necessary in hopes that we wouldn't push these kiddos too far into a state of misery.

So we did a lot of this...

Did you guys know that Burger King has play lands? All in the name of competition, I guess, good for them!

We can tell you where every playground is from here to the Pacific Ocean.

We also made some special pit stops to see the sites.

Jamestown, ND 

Get ready...the next picture is a big deal. Apparently, there are people that camp out for days to see 'the white buffalo'.

We didn't have days, we had an hour to run around and buy some plastic crap at the tourist trap, but an hour is all we needed. Bucket List: White Buffalo. Check!

We also spent some time running around at the Theodore Roosevelt National Park Visitor Center.

Caraline taught us how to play Toilet Tag! Fun times.

Believe me when I say, it did NOT get cuter than this!

Aside from our frequent pit stops, Henry and I committed to swimming every night. It was our bed time trick to tire out our sugar packed and sedentary passengers. 

If you have a smart phone disregard the next paragraph.

We sent a text to a loved one about our projected stop and they would make us a reservation at a hotel with a pool. If you must know, we also used a good old fashion road atlas (my brother was mortified that we had to pay money for it).

They really do L-O-V-E to swim.

Here are a few shots of happy hotel times. We don't have any shots of unhappy hotel times because we were too busy being unhappy.

Thankfully, the phones are unplugged because these two were on the phone all night like a couple of teenagers.

Only the best. A special room service treat. wink! wink! It was actually leftover lunch, but Henry plays a convincing Hotel Waiter.

The 29th Hour.

Both kids got a little bug on day 4. Oscar drank some chocolate milk and an hour outside of Portland he barfed all over the car. As we were frantically trying to pull of the highway, Caraline popped her head out of her blankie and said "Auntie Nikki, Oscar spilled his milk!"

Still makes me smile.

In the moment, there were certainly some trying times, but looking back I don't have much to complain about. We all had our moments of insanity but the memories are mostly good. Henry might sing a different tune. Henry?

Wait, have I mentioned that Henry drove back to Minnesota alone? 

Hey!

I just stole this picture off of someone else's blog, but I couldn't have said it better myself. I hope you missed me more than you missed the Twinkie. Seriously, they are kind of gross.

We had a great time on our month long journey to Oregon, but we are so glad to be back in our own house, sleeping in our own beds, peeing in our own toilets and regaining some kind of routine, especially for the toddler in the family.

There was a lot of this...

Way too much of this...

Oscar and I had the pulse on every donut shop across the state of Oregon.

And some really special celebrations like this...

I love this picture. I think it captures the true spirit of the birthday cake anticipation.

I have plenty to share about road tripping with toddlers, fun places we stopped along the way, tips on how to rent out your house and lots of other stuff that I haven't been sharing in the last 3 months. 

Thanks for sticking with me.

Checking In before I Check Out

It's been a little over a month since I have blogged. Time warp for Mrs. Lovely!

Summer has officially started, even though the weather majorly sucks in Duluth, and we are packing the car and driving to Oregon for a month.

That was dramatic, we are not hitting the road because of the weather, although it does suck. We have been planning this trip for months and tomorrow is the day. We are taking Oscar, of course- because he is our child, and Caraline, whom Oscar is obsessed with and we think it will be so fun! Who wouldn't want to drive 30 hours in the car with a near 2 and 4 year old. So fun!

 This is a recent picture of the two of them digging for dinosaur bones. They are fun, right??

After the super fun 30 hour car ride we are looking forward to our beach stay, celebrating Oscar's 2nd Birthday, our stay in the mountains and special time with both of our families and lots of friends, including girl's weekend; BFF VII. You can read more about some of my very favorite Oregon things here.

When we get back, I will get my blog back on. I have lots to share. I have tips about 'renting out your house', 'traveling around Lake Superior with your best pals' and 'our plans for baby no. 2'.

Surprise! I am pregnant. I am about to hit the 14 week mark and slowly starting to get my groove back. I just recently have been able to stay up later than 7PM, even without a nap. Looking at a computer screen and about everything on the planet was making me terribly nauseous. If my constant need to sleep and barf wasn't enough, I already have a mini bump, which is actually just bagels, but people think it's the baby popping out and I don't correct them.

Oscar is thrilled because he thinks the only thing that big brother's do is eat cupcakes.

Henry and I are excited and a little nervous, but now we know that if this baby is even remotely as wonderful as our first baby then good times are in store for the Lovely's.

Father's Day

There you have it, last month and next month, in a nutshell.

PS I have a message for nataliesweeks@gmail.com, I hope you haven't given up on me...You can have the curtains! I tried emailing you back and never got a response. Please be in touch if you are still interested. nikkilolson@gmail.com