November Wrap-Up

So it's December?! Not quite sure how that happened, but it did. I feel like November was a blur of busy-ness with our trip to Belgium and getting ready for the girls and I to make the long flight to the US. I got a chance to dump my photos from the month on my laptop so here's a bit of November to capture some memories. :-)

Baby snuggles.

Big sister love.

Smiles.

Chocolate face.

Celebrating Guy Fawkes Day with sparklers and fireworks!

More smiles. :-)

Family snuggles after a couple of hard days.

Madi home from school and wanting to play outside despite it being cold and rainy.

Little track stars.

Ready for Brussels!

And the teething begins...

Tummy time.

Big sister hugs.

And these girls. We have been so blessed to have had help during the day and evening from these two amazing ladies - Eno and Eme. Madi and the twins love them and we are so appreciative that they were in our lives to love on our family! We are sure going to miss them come the new year.

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30 Things I Never Expected to Happen or Experience Before 30

I never made a bucket list of "30 Things to Do Before I Turn 30". However, I feel blessed to have had an incredible 30 years and thought it would be cool to share some of the things that have happened to me or that I have experienced that I didn't expect to do before I turned 30.

So - in no particular order - here is that list:

30 Things I Never Expected to Happen or Experience Before 30:

1. Live and work overseas in Norway
2. Have three children under the age of three
3. Have three children - period
4. Give birth to twins (Are there really two of them??)
5. Meet the love of my life at just 18 years old and marry him at 22 years old
6. Visit 25 countries on four continents

7. Skydive in Brush, Colorado
8. Ice climb Matanuska Glacier in Alaska
9. Go on a 45 mile, 5-day hike to Machu Picchu
10. Go on multiple mission trips (to Mexico, Romania, and Honduras) including...
11. ...drilling a water well with Living Water International
12. Run two marathons and half a dozen half marathons
13. Ride the MS150 twice and reach Top Fundraiser status
14. Visit 26 States in the United States

15. Lose all my grandparents - cherish the time you have with loved ones
16. Experience tremendous beauty in Norway with the warmest summer on record last year and tons of hiking around the country
17. Struggle with depression after Madi's birth (but thankfully not after the twins' birth!)
18. Major in engineering - I was totally planning to be a lawyer!
19. Graduate with a major GPA of 4.0 in petroleum engineering
20. Be so organized and anal retentive - it's not in my gene pool
21. Encounter so many wonderful friends across the world who love on us and our girls

22. Admit that my mom really was right about almost everything and realize it's a compliment to see how I've become like her in so many ways
23. Join a sorority and meet some of my closest friends
24. Purchase our first home just after college
25. Have a blog that more than just my mom reads (my dad also reads it ;-) )
26. Develop a passion for designing things like our Christmas cards, birth announcements, etc.
27. See the Northern Lights - one of the most amazing things we've ever seen!
28. Have all my children born in a different country than their citizenship (no Presidental candidate for us!)
29. Fall deeper in love with my husband when he became a father - I can't describe the joyous feeling I get watching him interact and play with our precious girls

30. Bake and decorate cupcakes and have happy birthday sung to me in the most precious voice imaginable :-D

Thank you everyone for all the birthday love and wishes!! :-) 

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Belgium!

Mid-November we decided to take a trip to Brussels, Belgium. Our time left in Europe is limited and we've been bit with a travel bug to see what we can - and a city known for chocolate and waffles? Yep, it topped the list. The flights getting there weren't too bad, but we ended up having a layover in Amsterdam. Fortunately our lounge access allowed us to relax and catch our breathe between flights. 

We landed Thursday evening and after a bit of a mix up getting on the wrong train and ending up halfway to Antwerp, we finally made it to our Air BNB apartment and got settled for the evening. It was a perfect location and setup and we really enjoyed it. We had plenty of space for the girls and our strollers. And with views like this around the corner? Amazing. 

The next day we headed to the Hop On, Hop Off bus. It was the quickest way for us to get around to the sites we wanted to see and to get some history on the bus. We hopped off at the Atomium and Mini Europe stops for most of the day. 

The next day we took the other line for the Hop On, Hop Off bus and visited Autoworld. Jason and Madi had fun looking at the cars they had on display!

The next day we hopped on a train (the correct one this time) and went to Bruges. It was a beautiful little town and we had a lovely time walking around the city and enjoying it. Madi and Daddy even got to go on a carriage ride around the city and Madi helped feed her horse. She was in heaven! They also had some amusement games and rides setup that she enjoyed. 

Monday was our last day in Brussels so we made sure to visit the Chocolate Museum and do some chocolate shopping. I'd say we were successful. ;-)

But my favorite thing about Brussels? Hands down this - hanging out with my crew and eating these every.single.night.

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Evelyn and Olivia: Four Months

My oh my! I feel like you girls are constantly changing and growing. You are both so alert and happy! I feel very blessed with both of you and am enjoying my days with you both. Here are some of the things I want to remember from this past month.

- Although both of you are acting like you want to roll from back to stomach, neither of you have done it yet. Evelyn is still rolling from stomach to back pretty well, but Olivia hasn't yet done that roll.
- Both of you have started laughing and it's so precious! We've been able to catch Evelyn on video, but haven't been able to catch Olivia. It's harder to make her laugh, but just as adorable when she does!

- You guys took your fifth and sixth airplane rides when we went to Copenhagen in October and are about to get a few more miles when we travel to Belgium!
- We are still working on getting you both to sleep through the night. You are waking up somewhere between 5:00 - 7:00 am. One day Evelyn slept until 7:30! And one day you both slept until 7:00! You'll probably both be sleeping through the night just in time for your schedules to get all screwed up when we fly to the US. :-/

- We've continued to have lots of drool from both of you, but no teeth so far that I can see. You'll probably also time your first ones for the flight to the US like your big sister did - HA!
- You continue to take 1-2 great naps outside in your stroller. It's amazing how much better you sleep there than inside! The weather is getting a bit poorer here, but we have good clothing to bundle you in so you are nice and warm.

- Evelyn continues to kick and flail her arms whenever she's on her back. The health station even commented on how active both she and Olivia are!
- Olivia is more of our cuddler. She loves to be held and will lock your eyes and smile huge when she's snuggled into your arms. Total melt. :-)
- It seems like you two are starting to notice each other even more now. Every once in a while we will catch you looking at each other. You have also started grabbing each others hand when laying next to each other on the play mat, whether it is on purpose or not it's still cute!

Evelyn Grace

Weight: 5.765 kg (12.71 lbs)
Height: 61 cm (24.0 in)
Head: TBD

Olivia Ann

Weight: 5.625 kg (12.4 lbs)
Height: 59 cm (23.2 in)
Head: TBD

We love you so much precious girls! You are such a joy to our family and we are all smitten about you - especially your big sister Madi. This month she held your hand, asked to carry you, and read stories with you. We are sure going to love watching you three play together one day (all too soon)!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

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