Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Ear Tubes!

The twins have been getting repeated ear infections over the past few months, so the doctor decided it was time for them to get ear tubes... The surgery itself isn't such a big deal, but the lead up was a nightmare for Mommy! She had to get up and feed them a bottle at 4 am, since that was the last time they could eat. Thankfully Mama D came along to help out. She has been a huge help ever since our stint in the NICU. Here is Brandon passed out in the nurses arms just prior to his surgery. Even asleep the little man has the ladies fawning all over him! Actually the nurse really took to him and didn't want to let him go... Thankfully they've both recovered well from the surgery and we're keeping our fingers crossed that the ear infections are behind us!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Little Man's 1st Hair Cut!

Momma has been stressing for some time about the twins' unruly hair. So, last week she took them to a children's salon called Snippety Do Dah! Here is our strapping young man getting his first hair cut. I'm not sure what he's doing at the moment of this picture, but this expression is usually reserved for when he is flirting with some pretty girl... He did great, no tears, and looks very handsome now!

Sweet Aub's 1st Hair Cut!

Surprisingly, both kids did really well. Tracy was kind enough to come along and help Momma try and keep things under control... Aubrey was a little unsure of the whole venture, but really put on her game face and did well. Aubrey is now sporting a fresh trim, with a single Pebbles style pony tail on top of her head. All 2-3 inches of it... So sweet!

Little Babe Ruth!

Mia had her first T-ball game this past Tuesday! She was so excited to don her entire uniform! I must admit, she was strikingly cute in her full get up. We've been going to cousin Nick's games for years with Mia cheering him on, so he showed up to reverse roles and cheer her on. She was so proud and we sure were proud of her... She's the best!

On Deck...

Here is our big hitter getting ready to put on her batting helmet and go up to bat! She hit with her first swing both times, and had so much fun running the bases... It's so cute to see how much she loves baseball. The two other girls on her team are equally as serious. In fact, the head coach's daughter, Gracie, actually hit a home run!

Purim Festival

Mia had a Purim Festival at school last week. She got to dress up as her favorite character, and of course she chose to be the King! They marched in a parade, shared Challah bread and then spent time singing songs in Temple. She had a blast, and was so happy to have Mommy, Brandon & Aubrey with her all day...

The New Playroom!

The quest to complete the kid's new playroom is just about done! Daddy spent all day Saturday building storage containers and organizing the new space. Mia, like most children, has a penchant for ignoring fancy toys and turning ordinary household items into joyous wonders! Take for instance our new storage tubs. Mia decided they are containers for her & the twins to hang out in... Aubs wasn't so enthused, but boy is up for anything his big sister proposes. It's great to finally have space of their own!

Monday, March 21, 2011

She Moves!!!!!!!!!


This was a big weekend in the Lovell household. Aubrey finally decided to begin crawling!! We've been waiting patiently for months while her Physical Therapist told us that she'd begin crawling any day... Well, apparently 13 months was the number. All of the sudden this weekend she decided that she was tired of sitting in place whining and waiting for everything to be brought to her! Don't get me wrong, it's not much of a crawl at this point. It's more like she's doing the 'worm' or something. But hey, we'll take it! We're very proud of our little girl...

The Computer Nerd!


Recently Daddy was dislocated from his home office... It became clear that the only way to avoid the children totally over running our home with their toys was to provide them a play room! So, Daddy surrendered the office and now the kids have got their very own area to destroy. Mia loves the play room, but missed playing on the computer. So this weekend we went to Ikea and found the perfect children's desk. Now Mia has her very own office that she is exceptionally proud of. Turns out that boy is quite fond of the computer as well. Now that he can reach it we continually find he has crawled over and is playing on her computer! It's really quite cute, he's the perfet computer nerd the way Momma parts his hair...

Sunday, March 20, 2011

T-Ball Star!



Mia started T-ball practice a few weeks ago and our first game is this Tuesday, against the Dodgers! She is so excited to play against another team for the first time, especially since Daddy is the Assistant Coach... Last week Uncle Ryan took this picture at practice. It's my favorite! She looks so serious.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Touchdown!


Brandon has finally entered the stage of learning and mimicing our actions! Here he is doing his famous TOUCHDOWN! He holds up one finger when you ask him how old he is, and the cutest is when you ask him, "Where is Brandon?". He promptly covers both of his eyes to hide... He is such a sweet little boy! You may notice Aubrey's absence in this series of photos. Unfortunately, he is still advancing far more rapidly than she is. The good news is that she is definitely progressing, but still very slowly... She rolls over, sits up and tries to crawl, but isn't quite there yet. Which isn't good at almost 13 months. The specialists assure us she is fine, but we'll feel better when she is crawling & then walking! The physical therapy sessions she attends definitely seem to be helping, but her attitude doesn't. All of her therapists have shared with us what a stubborn little child she is! Great, lucky us... She sure is a sweetie though!

Mrs. Brandon?!?!


Poor boy has to grow up with two sisters who love to dress him up like a woman! It's funny, because Mia has, for some time now, been adamant that she is not a girl, she is a tomboy... Yet, she loves to make Brandon into a little girl. You may notice that every picture with the two of them has her smiling, and boy sharing a look of mild panic! Aren't siblings fun?!?!

The Passenger!



These two sure have a lot of fun together! Brando is always cruising all over the house in his walker, and big sister Mia decided she'd hop on for a ride... It was great, the strong little boy continued to cruise around the house with Mia on back!

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Spring Training!



So here is the best story! Mommy & Daddy go away for the weekend with Mia, leaving the twins at home with Kassy, a babysitter we use who has become one of the family. On Sunday morning Momma says she misses the twins and feels bad that we left them home. A few hours later Kassy texts this picture to Mommy and announces that she's taken Brandon & Aubrey to their first Spring Training baseball game... How bout that? Brandon spends his Sunday afternoon hanging at the ball park with a couple young ladies, while Momma's feeling bad for him! Daddy hasn't even made it to a game yet this year... These kids have the life! Apparently all the beer & hot dogs wore them out, cause they were tired when we got home!

Sledding in Flagstaff


It's been quite a while since Mommy & Daddy got quality time alone with the midget. So we left the twins in the caring hands of Kassy, and headed up to Flagstaff for the weekend. Mia's last sledding experience was when she was 2 years old and face planted on her first run. So we were hoping for a better experience this go round. Thankfully she had an absolute blast! The first run scared her a bit as she wasn't expecting the speed and bumps. After a few runs she really got into it and had a blast! She even made a few runs on her own... After a long day of snow play, we headed to downtown Flagstaff for a pizza & some warm milk. A fantastic day!

Snow Play!


After working up a sweat sledding, we decided to wander off into the woods and build a snow man. The snow was starting it's spring thaw, so while we couldn't make snow angels, we sure could make snow balls to throw at Mom!! Mia loved it...

Off Roading!


On Sunday we drove down from Flagstaff to Sedona for the afternoon. Along the way we took a little off roading excursion in Daddy's new 4x4. Mia was thrilled that she was able to sit up front with Mommy & Daddy while on the trails... We stopped off for a photo op with two of the world's most beautiful women!

Ice Cream in the Park!


After a nice long weekend of quality Mia time, we ended our Sunday with some ice cream in the park! We found a great little park in Sedona with beautiful ducks, slow running water and amazing tranquility. We'll definitely be back...

Shabbat Shalom!


Every Friday Mia's class has a Shabbat celebration, followed by services in the Temple. Each week a different parent gets to be the 'Shabbat Parent' and help serve snacks, read stories. etc. This past Friday was Mommy's turn! Mia was so excited to not only show off her Momma to her class mates, but also her twins siblings... Mia asked if Aubs could sit with her in Temple, which you see above. She sure loves those twins!! By the way, notice Brandon creeping up over the back of the pew... That kid is always up to no good!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Happy 1st Birtday Twinlets!


Of course Momma dressed the twins in matching #1 onsies for their first birthday! Here they are doing their 'touchdown' poses to impress Mommy & Daddy! We had loads of fun celebrating the twins first birthday tonight. Mia was so excited to pick out cupcakes for them. Then she made sure to dig out the birthday candles and presented them with their first real dessert. The pictures that follow will attest to the fact that they clearly like dessert!! Can you believe they are already one?!

Definitely Likes Sugar!


Yep, this would be the look of pure, unadulterated joy! Big boy had his first cup cake and literally reveled in it... By that I mean he sniffed it once, and promptly ground it into his entire face and spread it all around. I think I heard little grunts of joy, but it was hard to tell because his noises were being muffled by chocolate cup cake!!

First Cupcake!!


Somebody learned today that cupcakes are incredibly yummy! She sure had a lot of fun eating her first chocolate cupcake... Pretty sure that won't be the last!

Big Boy is 1

Wow, could this kid be any better prepared for trouble?!?!?! He is all boy, massively aggressive and ready to take on the world... He's clearly been honing his smile for the ladies!


The Princess is 1


The Princess is no longer an infant!!!!!!!!! Holy moly, hide the car keys...

Happy Chinese New Year!


Can you believe that this was our 4th Chinese New Year celebration with Mia?! Wow, time flies... The annual FCC (Families with Children from China) New Years celebration was this past weekend. Momma worked very hard, as always, raising donations for the auction, selling raffle tickets, and helping out all day. The event was a huge success, and Mia had so much fun! The event concludes with a wonderful parade. The children are gathered by province and each group carries their province's banner. Mia was so proud to be with her Guangdong province cohorts and proudly carried her flag! Momma's focus on continually including Mia's heritage and making China such a big part of our life is really enjoyable for all of us, and provides Mia with a great sense of identity!

Big Sister Support!


This was the first year that Mia celebrated Chinese New Year with siblings! The twins had such a great time at the FCC NY celebration. Aubrey even sported one of Mia's old outfits we got in China... They are such social children, and really enjoyed themselves!