Ben & Dane are 2

GOOD TIMES

Somehow we made it to 2. I don't know how, but we did.

I remember last birthday for the twins, it was such an awful affair. The constant crying and my inability to make them happy. I think I went up to my closet and cried after we had their party.

I had always imagined during the early months of their life that if I could make it a year, things would get start to be better and get fun.

I was crushed to be wrong and consider our fate.....that it may never get easier.

Then they turned 2. They are far from perfect and there are lots of tough days. I still rarely get anything done, but I must admit that I laugh a good deal more. They are much happier and this time at least they liked the cake.

We had a lot of fun just having dinner, cake and ice cream. The twins had second helpings of both cake and ice cream...which may account for the video below.

Dane loved his Woody doll from Great Grandma.

They both enjoyed playing the "ballon pop" game and "drop a clothespin into the mason jar." In fact they played with the clothes pins and jar for about an hour after we were done. Total disregard for all the new gifts and toys.

Above, Ben is just copying the big kids by covering his ears. Truth is, we had to secretly stick scissors in the balloons as they bounced. They just don't have the girth to pop the balloons yet.

But most of all - the BIKES! Hooray.

Below view a video taken right after they opened their gift from Great Grandma. Like I said, it could've been the ice cream and cake.

I'd love to be her.

This is where "sleep like a baby" comes from.

Just wanted to say that I loved the rain today. It finally felt like fall. I have enjoyed the colors so much. I wish I have been taking pictures. I haven't. Its been beautiful.

Enjoy it while you can!

Gratitude

Have you ever had one of those days where you knew you needed to buckle up and get ready for the ride? Yesterday was one of those days.

Yes, those are Cheerios on my stairs.

It was a hard morning. The twins were impossible and pretty much cried all morning. I could tell that Lainey was sick or not feeling well. With a monumental effort and help from a friend, I got the kids out the door. We got Kai to school just a few minutes before the bell. After she parked her bike she started to cover her mouth and turn green. I said "run to the grass!" It felt like slow motion. She ran and threw up on the grass by all the parked bikes. I stood there with the boys in the trailer in disbelief until I got my senses back and went over to help her.

The day spiraled down from there and by the end of the night, I was hanging on by a thread.

Then something sweet happened to end the night.

Kai went over to Lainey and began to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Lainey loved it and just cooed at Kai. It was sweet and I took some video of it.

Today the rainbow came. Lainey was sick, but she is an angel. The boys busied themselves with cleaning the refrigerator and for the first time played with each other without needing me. Very minimal crying. It was a red letter day for all of us at our house. Thank heavens. Here is a video of the boys racing back and forth on our deck in between squirting the spray bottles.

Anyway, I am grateful for today. When those days come, you gotta love 'em!

Act Natural

Sunday we took a drive up into the mountains to see the changing foliage.

No Luck.

So we stopped to play in the river instead.

Ben hung on to Cody for dear life.

Then he sidelined himself so he could throw the discus....I mean rocks. Dane can throw like a normal quarterback. Ben throws the discus.

Kai was in her own magical world as always.

and Dane (below) was just happy to be there.

Cody was posing so "well" that his dad thought he needed to act a little more natural.

So he threw a few rocks his way.

Big Rocks

That helped him act natural. It was one of my favorite pics of the day.

Unfortunately the drive made me sick. I still am feeling a little queasy. Yuck.

Also, I want to put a plug in for my friend Ali who is starting her own business:

Lemon Poppy Inc.

She has fantastic recipe books that make great gifts - only $8.

She is totally cute and very talented. Check out her site and order some books today!

Precious Little Lamb

LAINEY KATE

at

1 MONTH

A big thank you to Jessica Loucks for these precious pics of Lainey.

She has a great blog that shows her pics check it out here.

Also - Ali Eisenach took some sweet ones on her blessing day.

I have too many talented friends.

Too bad Lainey pooped through her dress. I think she prefers being naked.

Here's one in her dress....

Her dress is special because it was my blessing dress as well as Kai's. It is still in good condition for future baby girls (I hope).

Lainey's blessing was such a wonderful day.

Brett blessed her and offered a really sweet blessing.

When he came back and sat down, Lainey was motionless in his arms and she was just staring at him. He said that she looked at him just like that through the whole thing. Every time he peeked, she just stared him down. Classic. I guess she just wanted him to know that she was listening.

Been Busy

It seems like it has been pretty busy around here. The days go by way too fast. So, I thought I would catch you up with what we have been up to these past few weeks.

FREEZIN' PEACHES

It is high peach season on the Western Slope in Colorado.

The past 2 years I have attempted to freeze peaches like Brett's Aunt Helen. Let me tell you that if you are lucky enough to get frozen peaches from Aunt Helen, then you ought to play the lottery. They are so delicious - we can't get enough of them. So I decided to take a few pics through the process.

Fresh Peaches - Yum!

All the left over junk.

Sliced but not sweetened......yet.

A little Sugar goes a long way.

Those beauties are on their way to the freezer so we can eat them in the middle of winter. (yes!)

Toothless Tiger

In other news.....Kai lost her first tooth. She can't find it though. It is somewhere between school and home - or it could be in her tummy.

Lookin' good Kai.

Back to School Fiesta

Okay - so its really not a fiesta - just an annual get together with the cousins. But this time it was special because all 11 cousins got to spend some time playing together at grandmas. I can't get over how adorable they all are.

Kalid, Abuzaid and Lainey are all the newest additions to the Larsen fam. They fit right in.

Of course a baseball game always seems to break out. It seems that Gpa is the only one that can pitch to Kai so she can hit it.

Here's Lainey telling her dad how it is....

And Great Grandma agreeing with her....

"CAPED CRUSADERS"

The newest update on the twins is that they are up to no good. Wait a minute....haven't I said that before?

Okay - so they can climb in and out of their cribs now. Oh holy moly. Nap time and Bed time are totally warped. Plus, when you've just finished feeding the baby at 5am and the twins walk in at 6am saying "Hi Mommy" - well doesn't it make you tired just thinking about it?

They are, in fact, "little monsters."

A friend of mine mentioned that she was surprised they don't work together as a team more. Well, as you might know, 2 year olds don't like to share all that much, but they sure are happy to get into trouble together and laugh at ridiculous things.

Each time I go into their room to try to put them back to sleep, Ben is in Dane's crib and they are giggling themselves to death. I guess you could call that "teamwork."

Ready for Battle.

Brotherly Love

Cody is so darn good with the baby. What a good big brother.

Finishing Projects

Here are Brett's Windows.(3 small ones) Don't they look good?

I have to admit, I had my doubts about adding these windows, but I think it looks really good. I should listen to him more often.

Well, that's the news from Fort Collins. Its not exciting but its what we have been up to lately. Trust me it is a zoo around here - you don't want to know what really happens day to day, so we will just bring you the highlights. Happy Holiday! (Labor Day)