Gangster Brandon!

Mia still loves dressing up her brother & sister! Daddy came into the room on Christmas Eve only to find Brandon looking like he was headed to a gang initiation... You gotta admit, he's a pretty cool cat!

Early Presents!

Grammy & Papa drove up for an early holiday lunch on Christmas Eve. Before going to the Club, they gave Mia a present that she absolutely loves! It's basically an erector set, but you can make various objects from a robot, to a shopping cart. She is extremely creative, and very into using tools, so this was the perfect gift. We've been wrenching all day!

Big Lovers!

Mia just can't get enough of her siblings! When they are napping she says she misses them and asks us to go get them. When they go to bed, she crawls into their cribs and cuddles with them... She is just such a sweet and loving child! It's so great that she's reached an age where she spontaneously tells us that she loves us, or misses us. Not sure how we got so lucky to have such beautful, sweet children!

Real Food...

The twins have finally made the move to real food!! We supplement their bottles with Momma's home made baby food. At first Daddy didn't take Momma's desire to make her own baby food too seriously. At least until the twins lit up when they ate the crazy concoctions she has devised... Anyone for fresh salmon, pineapple and eggplant all blended into one seriously foul looking puree?!?! They love it! Fresh fruit, a little pasta? You name it and she's blending it. They sure do love their Momma's cooking!

Messy! Who Me?

She's not too far behind her brother in her ability to wear more than 50% of her food... It's such a joy to feed them and right when you start to move in to give her sweet little face a kiss, you suddenly hear Brandon making strange noises and begin to feel his food spraying onto your face! Yep, he just loves to spit food at those around him! Very endearing habit of his...

Her Mohawk!

Momma can't help but to make silly hair styles with the twins when bathing them! They are such hams that they love the attention no matter how ridiculous they end up looking...

His Mohawk!

Not to be outdone by his sister...

Happy Kids!

Momma has a sitter come spend a few hours with the twins on Monday mornings so she can run errands. We recently started using a nice young lady named Kassy. This week, while watching the kids, she sent a text to Mommy of this picture. You can tell they sure do like Kassy! What cuties...

Big Lovers!

At dinner the other night I was able to capture these two goof balls sharing french fries... Big lovers!

Kiddie Cage!

A few years ago I saw some friends with a corrale set up in their house for their children. I recall thinking what a horrible thing that was... It's funny the judgements we'll make when we have little experience with something! This past week we set up our very own kid corrale. Wow, what a life saver it is... It takes up half our damn house, but Mom can load it up with toys and the kids can go crazy. Without walls keeping Brandon in, I'm pretty sure he'd chew through our electrical system in a matter of moments!

Momma Love...

It is truly amazing the power of a Mother's love... Aubrey & Brandon started out weighing only 3 pounds, and are absolutely blossoming in every way! Stacy's constant nurturing and love has had such a tremendous impact on their little lives. This picture says it all...

Happy Girl!

Aubrey has an absolutely infectious smile! Even first thing in the morning, she's all smiles & giggles! It's so fun to walk into the room and watch the twins just light up... They're so sweet!

Aunt Catha!

Mia has taken to giving everyone nicknames. Aunt Cathy is now referred to as Aunt Catha! Last week Aunt Catha joined us for a Chanuka celebration at Mia's school. The midget was so excited to have Mommy, Daddy & her Aunt all in attendance...

Best Friends!

It's really amazing to see how quickly Mia & her best friend, Taylor, are growing up! I remember when we thought it was so cute to see them socializing for the first time... Now they're cruising the block looking for boys! There's a couple of snow midgets bundled up behind them. That would be Momma & the twins trailing the girls...

Happy Siblings!

There sure is a lot of love in this home! The twins are beginning to really enjoy the never ending energy of their big sister Mia... Here they are all cuddled up and playing in the midget's bed!

Boy Buried...

Brandon & Aubrey like to play in Momma's clothes baskets. He usually gets 2 or 3 toys to play with while he's in there. However, on this particular day Mommy asked sweet little Mia to get a few toys for her brother! You can barely make him out beneath the massive pile of toys... She was quite amused with herself.

Happy Chanuka

Mia really enjoyed her first night of Chanuka! For some reason she thinks that this holiday is all about eating chocolate gelt and getting presents... She's all in for anything that combines her favorite pass times! On the first night of Chanuka she got an 'Olivia' trunk. 'Olivia' is her most recent favorite TV show, about a talking pig. On the second night of Chanuka she got a digital violin! If you know Mia, you know how she feels about her musical instruments. She insisted on taking it with her to her hair cut this evening... Children make the holidays so much fun!

Happy Hannukah from St. Nick!

Yes, I realize we're Jewish, but hey, we're greedy! And tell me this isn't the cutest damn picture?! Our sweet neighbor Lucia offered to watch Brandon for a little while this afternoon so Momma could run to grab Mia from school. While she had him she took the liberty of dressing him up as Santa Claus and captured a bunch of hysterical little photos... He's jolly alright!

Rough Life!

These kids sure know how to work their Momma! It's truly amazing the amount of effort that goes into caring for these children... Usually only one rests at a time, but every once in a while they will simply wilt at about the same moment! Case in point. Here they are in the middle of being fed some yummy sweet potatoes, and both of them fall sound asleep! Couple of hams...

Progress at Last...

I'm happy to announce that in the last two weeks Aubrey has made tremendous progress! In no time she has begun rolling over, is sitting up strong, and even beginning to make progress towards crawling... Of course Bam Bam Brandon is Army crawling across the room. I'm afraid if we turn our back on him he may crawl off down the street and we'll find him hitting on a neighbor girl. It's really fun to watch them progressing!

Buckeye Nation Domination!

We may not be going to the National Championship, but we sure as hell put a proper whooping on Michigan! What better way to cap off a season?! Ryan's Mom & Dan visited for Thanksgiving, so they stopped by for the Ohio State game and a BBQ. Donna is so loving and sweet, and just ate up the children... There's our future Buckeye cheerleader!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from our midgets to yours!

Cute Cousins!

Mia had such a great time with her cousin, Hadley, that she bawled when we left to go home... The two of them were literally inseperable for 72 hours! It was so great to see how respectful and loving they were towards each other. Two very sweet little girls...

Reading with Papa!

On Thanksgiving afternoon I found Brandon hanging out with his Papa, learning about cars! It was a very proud moment for Daddy... Papa was passing along some of his immense automotive knowledge, and Brandon seemed to be soaking it up! Too cute.

The Cousins!

Alec & Gavin really enjoyed the twins! It was great for all the kids to get so much quality time with their cousins, who are absolutely fantastic children...

Attack of the LIttle People!

Our home has been invaded by the little people! Daddy awoke the other morning to a horde of midgets attacking him... What could be better than waking to these happy little faces! They bring so much joy and love.

Sisterly Love!

They sure do love each other!

Grandma & Grandpa Visit!

Grandma & Grandpa made the trek from Ohio this past weekend to meet the twins! I see a resemblance between Brandon & Grandpa. They're both balding & Chubby! Heee heeee All kidding aside, it was great to see them...

Momma's Boy!

Talk about a little ham! This kid knows no limit to his flirting... He works everyone in his presence with his giant infectious grin! He's clearly a Momma's boy. I'm pretty sure he's spent close to 90% of his waking life in Momma's arms... Of course Momma can't say no! What a cutie.

Daddy's Girl!!

Aubrey is so clearly different than her brother & sister! She is just the sweetest, gentlest little girl... Whenever she hears Daddy's voice she lights up with the biggest smile! She truly is a special little girl. It's so fun to watch their little personalities blooming!

The Little Baker!

Mia is definitely what you would call a 'Tomboy'. She is very into cars, bikes and playing in the garage! This suits Daddy just fine... However, lately Momma was growing a little concerned that Mia only liked boy toys. Daddy assured Momma that this was quite natural, but Mom likes to worry nonetheless... So Momma was very excited the other night when Mia saw a commercial for the 'Magic Rise Oven' and declared she would like the princess version! Needless to say, Momma had it overnighted to the house, and the midget is now knee deep in fresh baked cupcakes!!

Note the tie-dye shirt she made at a birthday party last weekend. She is very proud!

Rainy Day!

Momma ordered a 'Thomas the Train' rain coat for Mia, and it arrived today! You'd have thought it was Hannukah come early... She promptly made Daddy button all of the buttons and get out her umbrella. Never mind that it's 85 degrees outside, we're having a rain dance...

Playmates!

Guess who has figured out that the twins are now able to play?! Momma bought a few laundry baskets to function as train cars, and Mia loaded up the fam... I think she's still a little amazed at how fun these animated, moving dolls are to play with. Those dolls would be her siblings!!

The Lady Killer!

Already practicing his moves!

Papa Time!

Stacy really enjoyed taking Mia to Kindermusic when she was a baby. So when it came time to enroll the twins, she faced the dilemma of handling two kids by herself... Thankfully a lot of family and friends have come through and helped out when schedules permit. Last week Grammy & Papa made the trek from Tucson to partake in the singing and dancing! As you can see, Brandon really enjoyed having Papa with him in class...

Grammy Time!

It was so nice for Stacy to have her parents with her to enjoy some quality time at Kindermusic! They love Grammy...

Wonder Twins!

They certainly weren't awake long enough to properly enjoy Halloween, but they had fun together nonetheless! Momma was awfully proud of their costumes. They seemed to enjoy getting dressed up and even gave Momma a big smile for the camera... It looks like Aubrey may have swalled a whole city! Heee heeeee

Last Minute Change!

As has become tradition, Mia decided at the very last minute to change her Halloween costume! For months she's been talking about being a super hero. Then, on Halloween night she made a u-turn and decided a cowboy, definitely not a cowgirl, would be a better fit... So Momma did an amazing job of making her into a suitable cowboy! She was so cute in her costume, and trick or treating door to door. This was the first year that she showed some autonomy and made Daddy wait by the street while she went up to each house with all the other kids! So cute to see her growing and flourishing...

Happy Halloween 2010!!!

Mia wanted to make sure everyone saw her pumpkin! She is very proud of it... On Saturday afternoon we went over to Nancy & Eben's house to carve pumpkins with Madi & Blaise. Mia went with the kitty theme, just like her shirt!

Big Love!

Here is a typical afternoon for the weazles! It's not as if they love eachother... They are so sweet together!

The War Zone!

The Lovell home has been quarantined this week and is officially a war zone! All five family members have been hit hard with the stomach flu... It started with poor Aubrey projectile vomiting on Sunday afternoon, and progressed throught the ranks. On Monday night, everyone but Mia was in the depths of despair at the very same time. Thank God Momma has the constitution she has, or we'd have all been carted away by ambulance. That woman's level of sacrifice knows no boundaries... Aunt Cathy was a huge help as well. She showed up sporting a surgical mask, which entertained Mia, and proceeded to assist with Mia's bathing and bedtime routine. She was a tremendous help. Then on Tuesday, as we thought we were pulling out of it, Mia decides to projectile vomit as she is playing the drums! The flu is never fun. However, watching little babies hurt without any ability to understand the pain or express their need is heart wrenching... We'll all be happy to put a few days of good health behind us!

Somebody Help me!!

Thankfully Brandon is one awfully good sport! Mia can already recognize the clear difference between Brandon's masculine playfulness and Aubrey's senstive demeanor... She is constantly harrasing the poor kid. Here he was hanging out playing with his toy, and she decides to mount him like a horse! Can you tell by the look of panic on his face that he's wondering what in the hell she is doing on top of him?! That look is usually followed by a smile a few moments later...

Sisterly Love!

I'm not sure if you can tell by the photos, but Aubrey grows more amorous of her sister by the day! Thankfully, this is not unrequited love... The two of them are growing so close and Aubrey is constanly beaming at the site of her big sister! She has the greatest grin.

Happy Boy!

I'm fairly certain there hasn't been a photo taken of our boy with anything other than a smile on his face! I used to think we were blessed and lucky to have such happy children. However, after three kids, I'm realizing there might be a common cause at work. Like perhaps being the luckiest children alive in having a Mommy like Stacy! Her never ending love and constant affection for these children is overwhelming... In fact, the state sends a developmental nurse to our home once a month to ensure our premature children are progressing in a healthy manner. During her last visit, Mia was showing off her collection of drawings of her family and friends. The nurse commented that of the dozens of pictures she saw, every person, animal or tree had a massive smile attached. Apparently that's a healthy thing, and not a big surprising to anyone who has met my over achieving wife... We are certainly very lucky for many things, and Stacy is at the top of that list!

Many Talents!

Mia is certainly a child of many talents! Not only has she shown a natural talent for music, but she really loves art. She is now taking an art class after school on Wednesday's, and yet still can't wait to get home and tear into her art supplies... Our walls are now covered with her artwork that she skillfully arranges and hangs! It's funny how 'pre-children' we were so focused on having a perfect house with everything arranged so carefully. Now, our house is in constant disarray with what appears to be a child's random scribblings hanging on all walls, hallways, windows, etc. Yet that is exactly what makes our house such a warm home... We can't imagine it any other way!

Branded...

Daddy was feeling bad that Mommy & Mia both have their names tattooed on his body, while Aubrey & Brandon were left out in the cold... So this week Daddy provided Aubrey with the best tattoo of them all! She seemed genuinely impressed! Much more so than Mommy was... I know what you're thinking, so don't worry. We're designing something special for Brandon next! Heeee heeeee

Mia's Teammate!

For whatever reason, Mia is, and has been, obsessed with baseball... Unfortunately, Mommy & Daddy can't stand the sport, but that sure doesn't slow her down! She continually asks us how many days until her 4th birthday, since that is the age she can join the local baseball team. Unfortunately, I'm not kidding! Nope, she's not asking how soon she can race her first go-kart or ride her dirt bike, which is crushing to Daddy... So, she decided to enlist her brother in her quest for baseball greatness. Here he is trying to play nicely on his own, while she dresses him up like her first baseman!

Car Wash!

We Arizonans are very excited that the summer heat has finally decided to give us a break! We cooled down to the 90's over the past week, and Mia decided it was appropriate to pull all her cars and bikes out of the garage for a good cleaning... She invited over her best buddy in the neighborhood, Easton, for a little assistance. They were so cute together! After they polished her pink Jeep, they cruised up and down the street together... She's the sweetest!

Crazy Sleeper!

Yep, this is our crazy kid Aubrey! She has decided that wrapping her blanket around and over her head while she sleeps is a very safe and comfy way to go... Actually, I'm proud to report that both babies are sleeping much better these days!! They both get a bath and a bottle around 5:30-6:00 pm, relax for a bit, and then hit the cribs about 6:00-6:30 pm. They fall asleep with no fussing and stay asleep, without making a peep, until about 5:00 am, give or take an hour! Life is looking up for Mommy & Daddy!!

The Original Mary!

These three young ladies sure do love the twins! Grammy brought two of her closest friends with her to visit last week. Mary Johnson & Chrissy Code have always played a huge role in Mommy's life, and they have been nothing but supportive and loving during the trials and tribulations of child birth. So to see them enjoying some quality time with Brandon & Aubrey, along with proud Grammy, was really special for all of us... Plus, Mia's favorite object on Earth is her Mary Bear. She is attached to this bear like you can't imagine! Mary Johnson was the generous giver of Mary a few years back, so Mia was mesmerized to meet the Original Mary! We're very lucky to have so much love in our lives...