I know it's May

It's May, but I am going to do the unthinkable and recap April.

Are they hearty little babies or what!?

These girls! What you see is what you get. Rosemary is still no nonsense. Eleanor chatters all days long.

I thought I would give everyone a window into the girl's digs. After all, I was still able to squeak out some crafty projects while these girls were chillin' in my guts.

The room is light and bright and cozy. The green chandelier is something I painted for the junk hunt. I happened to mention that I thought it would look so adorable in a little girl's nursery, long before I was pregnant. Well, it never sold and surprise, it's in a little girl's room. Thank goodness I didn't say, "wouldn't this light be adorable in triplet girl's room."

I bought the chair on CL for 30.00, all the pics in the room are printed on good old printer paper and I traded a ski pass for those adorable curtains. You guys, these girls have brought my thrifting skills to a whole new level!

Ambition really struck me when I decided to make a mobile for one of the cribs. These little bird houses: Michael's for 1.00 each, white paint and a black Sharpie- stop it! I lost my ambition to complete the mobile, still cute on the shelf, right?

The cornice board is made of Styrofoam. I covered it with the world's cutest fabric, honestly, if you aren't smiling right now then you hate kids.

2 babies, 2 cribs. 

Tour over.

We took our first car trip to see my family for the Easter festivities. Everyone in a car seat slept on the trip there. Henry and I pretended we were on a romantic date. We really wanted coffee, but were too afraid to stop the car so we just talked, which was nice too.

The Bunny Weekend Photo Dump.

Rosemary and Victoria

 Rosemary and Caraline

Rosemary and Erica. Poor Eleanor makes it so hard to pass her around.

Ahhh, Spring!

 Girl Power.

Oscar will probably always have to be the dog in the game of house.

Aside from the special weekend with the cousins, we had some fun times at home last month. Oscar and I made some snow slides in the back yard.

Oscar and Tui had one day of sliding fun before the weather warmed up. I have big plans for next winter!

We spend the majority of our time just hanging out being cute.

A couple of people have asked about Stella, remember our Shitzu? She still lives with us and we still love her. I am thinking about a feature story in May's post.

Mom Tip!
3 things that I wish I would have had with our first:
1. Comfy Rocking Chair. Our wood rocker we used with Oscar pales in comparison. 
2. IPad. I can't even remember what I did while I was feeding Oscar for all of those hours, reading magazines?!
3. Boon Grass. They keep all of our bottles in an orderly fashion. I love it. 

Lastly, Rosemary and Eleanor's Best Friend was born yesterday, Pia. We have been waiting patiently for her to arrive. We asked Oscar, "How many sisters does Tui have?" and he said "Just one." One perfect sister. She better be prepared for a lifetime of Pia Sandwiches from the Lovely Girls.

Check out the news clip on our BFF's family. Sooo excited for our new adventures together!

What? March is over?

Although it appears that I can't keep track of time, the truth is, I feel every minute of it at home. Last Sunday after the girls were in bed, Henry and I were embracing in our own little pity party, all the while Oscar was repeatedly ramming his garbage truck into our feet. We know this child rearing thing gets easier...right? Some days it sure doesn't fee like it.

Thank goodness for the monthly snapshot to prove that these girls are indeed growing.

All complaining aside, we were able to squeeze in some fun activities and visits with family and friends this month.

My mom turned the BIG 6-0. I think it is legal that I just told everyone on the World Wide Web my mom's age, after all 60 is the new 39. All of the Olson gals visited for a weekend of celebrating and baby holding.

Oscar really changed his tune when we mentioned that there was cake!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Our friend Tracy came for a visit as well. As a gift to Henry and I...wait for it....she got up with the girls in the middle of the night...for 2 nights. One easily forgets how valuable a full nights rest can be. 

We miss Tracy!

Henry took Oscar skiing for the first...second...and third time this month. Oscar loves it and it satisfies our goal of tiring out the resident toddler.

Everything is cuter when it is small.

THE DAY TO DAY STORY...

I am thankful for our whole darn family, but most days we are pretty overwhelmed. It is the first time in my life that I appreciate Monday mornings. Seriously, an uninterrupted  cup of coffee and a hot shower later (we have showers where I work) I am like a whole new gal. My newest addiction...Meet Emma!

Emma takes care of the girls during the week. She always shows up with a smile, she is caring and can make our babies giggle like nobody else. I love her and boss her around which officially makes her a Lovely!

We could not do this parenting thing without her!

The girl's personalities...

Eleanor cries big and smiles big. Her emotions are off the charts. She knows what she wants and when she wants it. 

Rosemary is one cool cat. Her cry is more of a whine. She is much more serious and not a fan of tummy time. She is content just eating and lazing around all day. 

Can you guess who is who?

Following Emma's suggestion, we put the girls in separate cribs for the first time last night. They are starting to squirm around and Eleanor's howling often wakes Rosemary- and everyone else. The result, Eleanor woke up an hour earlier than her sister this morning. I poked my head in Rosemary's crib before I left for work and she was just laying there looking around- enjoying the peace and quiet!

Mark my words...Eleanor is going to have us running after her by the end of the year. She is going to be picking on her brother (he has no idea what is coming) and running circles around her sister. Check this girl out...Emma documented Eleanor rolling over on camera.

 And she managed to squeeze some expression out of RM.

The following pictures are 'Real Life' at the Lovely's...

Serious Cabin Fever!

Tui and Oscar found the camera. Thankfully I got there in time to save it. In the mean time they took this pic. Hmm, Cute!

Just hanging out.

Okay, for real 'Real Life'. 

"Be gentle with your sister. Be gentle with your sister. Be gentle with your sister...Oscar! You need to be careful. We don't touch people's faces! That hurts your sister. Get away from her. It's not funny. Come on, get up. Stop it. Why are you crying? I am sorry I hurt your feelings. You hurt your sister. Please apologize to Rosemary. Stop it. Apologize and touch her nice! Fine, you can watch one episode of Chuggington."

February's Over?

Is 28 days really a month? I am a few days late on my February report, sue me. I am kidding, you wouldn't want to waste your time, we don't really have anything of value, unless you are interested in a kid.

All things February...

Considering our girls are the 2nd child, in true form I couldn't keep up with the weekly picture. When one was awake the other was sleeping, when one was eating the other one was bawling her face off, if one girl had a clean diaper the other was sitting in a pile of.... and seriously, "where is that darn camera?" The weekly picture? Not going to happen! So I quickly switched to a monthly photo.

January 

February

Seeing these pics make me a little sappy. They are growing, it's true. The days seem long; we are tired of the middle of the night routine, feeling housebound and managing our rambunctious toddler around his fragile sisters. Then I see these pictures and it reassures me that time is marching on and these gals will be playing with Oscar before we know it while Henry and I are drinking beers and re watching the Dexter series alone in the family room.

The little dude and I skipped town and hung out with our best buddies in Florida for 5 days of sunshine and swimming. Minnesota weather has been brutal, if you live here, I know you would have ditched your husband and infants too. The weather was beautiful and we had so much fun with Tui and Gina!

Waiting for the trolley.

 Digging.

 Frolicking.

Let me set the scene...We showed up to the beach and a little boy and his dad were working on this sand sculpture. Gina and I were forced to play defense so that our little boys wouldn't destroy their work.

 As the family was leaving, the Dad turned with a smile on his face and said "at least wait until we are in our car." These two photos were taken approximately 3 seconds apart. Animals!

The phrase of the week, "you boys are so lucky."

I know they won't remember, but I will remind them!

Back at the house, I did manage to squeeze in a project this month. My friend Steph came to visit and we took on a little removable wallpapering project in our kitchen.

Before

After

Removable wallpaper is basically a huge sticker that you can re-position as many times as needed, as long as you are careful. Genius.

Aside from the big mentions, we continue to smile and encourage each other to stay positive when we are feeling tired and tired. Did I mention we are tired? The best advice we've received is to play circus music in our heads when moments get really crazy, even though I really do think this is the best kind of crazy.