mini makes: the pinky promise

 I love that Henry is such an affectionate brother to the babies.

 He loves to hold them and always jumps at the chance to throw away dirty diapers.

Today, while he was holding Charlotte, I over heard him say he pinky-promised she would grow up to be big and strong.

I think my heart melted a little bit.

 These are some lucky babies.

i mustache you a question

 If I am to believe this nine-year old, mustaches and pineapples are the it things of the moment. While I haven't seen a lot of pineapple stuff around, there is a plethora of mustache paraphernalia.  We found some mustache fabric, and I made these simple shorts.  Then, I appliqued a mustache on to a t-shirt.  So, these are suppose to be pj's, but...

 I know she's going to ask to wear them to school.

A Bowling Alley Cats Party: A lengthy birthday post for posterity

I think it all started with Milo and Otis.  

Then, Lucy got a Hogwarts Castle Lego set that came with some cat figures.  The castle was soon placed on a shelf and the cats became the catalyst (pun intended) that initiated L and H's imaginary cat world that consists of a number of special cats: Milo, Joy, Bequeath, Milo Jr., and Stripey, to name a few.

There are also Webkinz.  Lots of Webkinz cats that have the same names as the Lego cats.

They spend a lot of time thinking like cats.

In our house, we talk about birthday parties for months before they actually happen.  There is a lot of brainstorming and planning that goes into each one.  I consider birthdays a main maternal priority and responsibility.  I mean, if your own mom-- the person responsible for your birth-- won't make every reasonable effort to make you feel super special and celebrated on your birthday, then who will?  So, no matter the party request, I try my best to execute their vision.  Henry first wanted a Transformer party, which suited me just fine since I knew I would have my hands full with newborns.  Transformers would be easy-- you can pretty much let Party City take care of the details.  Then, he remembered (with Lucy's help) how much he loves cats. 

So, an alley cat party was requested.

I wasn't up for a full-on party at my house, with aforementioned newborns, so I suggested bowling.

Bowling Alley Cats.

If you Google "bowling alley cats", you will learn that there is a Tom and Jerry episode with the same name.  I dislike Tom and Jerry.  A lot.

With Mom's help, this is what we came up with:

Lucy and Henry made alley cat goodie bags.

We had fun, but a full game of bowling proved to be about 30 minutes too long for our average party goer.

Today is Henry's actual birthday.  We celebrated with a low-key family day, starting with breakfast in bed: and "h" shaped pancake and half a pear.

Presents followed.

We rounded out Henry's 6th year with lunch with cousins, cupcakes, two trips to Walmart (and a few new Lego sets), corn dogs for dinner, followed by a bonfire and s'mores.

Henry is a smart boy.  He is a thoughtful friend and very giving.  He loves to get compliments.  He is kind of sneaky- if something is misplaced, H is the first person we ask. He is a protective brother and cuddly son.  His laugh is infectious.  His imagination is immense.   

And we love him a ton!

Togetherness Makes: Easter-Blessing Day

This is what you look like on Easter Sunday when your mom has four week old twins and church starts at 9:30 am.

Here's what you look like on Saturday afternoon when you have a grandma staying with you who has the foresight to suggest taking Easter/Blessing pictures before the chaos of the actual day.

 We were so glad to be joined by close friends and family for the twins' blessing, even though it was a busy day for some of them.  This isn't a picture of everyone, seeing as Lucy, Henry and the Toblers ran off as soon as Sacrament was over.

Here are a bunch of pictures of the littles-- just fair warning.  

I simply can't help it.

 Pink bow = Tessa

White bow = Charlotte

 Grandma J made their dresses.  I just love them.  They are simple cotton with a faint Swiss dot-esque pattern. Both dresses were made from the same pattern, but embellished differently.

Mom also made blankets for the girls out of a crocheted table cloth that belonged to my grandma.

A matching dress for Lucy.

I honestly don't know how my mom does it.  She made all of this within a few days.  I am in awe of her.