All the Kids

Here is a picture of my two fatties.

And one of all my kids. The only picture (well, a few from this session) that I've managed to get of them all. Happy Father's Day!

Father's Day

In a rush to make something for Father's day, I made these simple sheets for my kids to fill out. You've probably seen something similar online already, which is where I got the idea. 

Click HERE for a PDF of the dad sheet. (In addition to my kids filling one out for my husband, I'm going to fill one out for my dad. I wonder if I should have left more writing space on some of those answers . . . )

This one is for the grandpas. Click HERE for the PDF.

HERE is one that is super similar and really cute too if you'd like to download that instead! There are a ton of these online, you can probably google another if you want one with more artistic style. I saw one with a chevron background a few weeks ago!

Fabric for Trixie Baby

I'm excited to introduce my first fabric! Trixie Baby is a dutch company that makes adorable fabric baby products. Several months ago I was contacted by them and asked to make a pattern that would then be sewn into various baby items.

I gave them a few patterns to choose from, and the one below is the one they went with. It's awesome not only having my design made into fabric, but sewn into so many adorable products! Here are a few highlights from their catalog:

This, if you can't tell, is a long sleeved sleeping pouch. I love these for my kids (once they are older and aren't swaddled anymore), but I've never been able to find a long sleeved one. I'm super excited about this product.

To see the catalog, click HERE (they ship world wide!). The other fabrics in the catalog are adorable too, I especially love the owls. I'm not sure how often they come out with new fabrics/catalogs, but I think it is annually. Hopefully I'll have another pattern in their next one! Also, I need to get my hands on some of my fabric and make something with it.

Boys

Since I hardly leave the house, my subjects are limited. Good thing they are cute.

Here is little Luke.

And of course, Jude. Can you see their differences? They aren't identical.

I don't take a lot of pictures of them. I don't understand how people do it. I'm too busy figuring out how to keep nail polish off the carpet (happened last week) and other similar disasters. These pictures document the third time the babies weren't just in sleepers, too much work to get them dressed in more than one pice of clothing! I don't really make dinner either. I've been living off frozen dinners that I pre-made, or dinners people have brought over. So many people have been extremely generous with gifts, dinners and/or their time. A friend of mine and also one of my sisters have each given us many dinners and spent a lot time over here, it has made both dinner time and my well being much better.

Now that the babies are 2.5 months old I might try to get out more. I mean, my brother and his wife are in europe for three weeks, and I don't even go to the grocery store! :)  I know it will happen again eventually though, but I think I'll start with walks. Baby steps! I'm extremely grateful for what I have, even if it has been challenging and exhausting. And, I know when my kids are older and out of the house, I'll wish for this time of my life to happen again.

Here are the little guys together.

Body parts are bound to get tangled up when laying this close together.

Liam needed to join in on the fun. He loves having his picture taken. I think it's a two-year-old thing.

The babies were pretty mellow while I took these pictures. Little does Liam know that his sweet hug is slowly wearing Jude down . . .

I'm still alive . . .

. . . just really exhausted.

I don't get a lot of pictures of me with my babies, but here is one my sister took. It is Luke. Jude is in my other arm actually, but hiding behind our heads.

The babies are doing great, sleeping a larger chunk of time at night now. I think they know I wouldn't be able to function without it or something. Either way, I'm greatful. My sister documented some things on her baby sleep blog HERE if you're interested. Not super interesting unless you have twins probably.

I've been enjoying life with twins a lot, but excited to find a little time to design again. Or even time to just take a shower without having to go as quick as lightening and still hearing crying when I get out, even though I think the babies are asleep. Good thing they are adorable! 

Baby Boys

Pictures of the babies. I am no baby photography expert. It takes TONS of patience. Not to mention there are two of them and I have a toddler running around trying to get in each shot. I think this photo session lasted all of 8-10 minutes before I called it quits. I want to give it a try again, but I don't know if I have the energy! 

So far we're doing great, but it is as exhausting as you would think. I estimated yesterday that we change about 20 diapers a day (including 3-4 for our two year old). Somehow knowing that this stage won't last forever makes it easier and I'm surprisingly feeling pretty good most of the time and not too overwhelmed. Imagine those sleepy and squeaky sounds of one baby doubled! Adorableness.

In the picture below, Luke is the yawny one and Jude is the sleepy one. 

They are fraternal twins, meaning I had two sacks and two placentas and they don't look the same. However, I learned during this pregnancy that even if you have two placentas your babies are not always fraternal. If the egg split within the first 3 days, then they are actually identical twins. This happens something like 18-25% of the time. Wikipedia explains it pretty well.
If you can't tell by looking at your babies if they are identical or not (in this circumstance of having two placentas), then there are tests that can be done if you'd like, but our babies have quite a few visual differences. I think they will be even more noticeable as they get older.

This one is Jude.

And little Luke.

Sweatshirt

The best articles of clothing say right on them what they are. Like this sweatshirt. It was my husbands when he was a kid, so it's from the very early 80s. Now my little boy gets to wear it in all its glory.

Pockets!

Modge Podge

A few unrelated to each other designs I've done over the last little while.

Some Additions

There are a couple new babies around here. Luke Henry and Jude Elliot were born last Tuesday morning and were 7 lbs 6 oz and 7 lbs 8 oz. They have been just as much work as you can imagine and are just as adorable as you can imagine. Thanks to a helpful husband, daughter, and some family members and friends, it has been a little less overwhelming. I mean, my sister not only brought me lunch today but she also cleaned my whole house and I took a nap!

As for who is who, Luke is on the left and Jude on the right. They are fraternal twins (although I've learned that fraternal twins still have a small chance of being identical if the egg split within the first three days), and are looking more different from each other each day as their faces de-squishify and de-puff.

As for this blog, I have a small freelance project I'm working on which will probably take any free time I have, so my posts on here will be lacking for a little bit. Once a couple months pass and the babies start sleeping more I'll be posting up on here more regularly once again. 

I can't believe I have four kids! 

Valentine's Day Card Free Download

Wow, life has been crazy and I haven't posted in ages! I think I've been a little burnt out from the Christmas downloads and some other work, and a little busy with things at home like a broken pipe in the front lawn and no water in the house for 10 days. All is well now, but it is amazing how much effort it takes to wash dishes or shower when you have no running water. Ahh, the simple life.

Now that things are back to normal, I have a couple of simple cards available to download for free. They are flat and you'll get one of each on an 8.5x11 page. Click HERE to get the PDF, and please let me know if you have any problems. I post my PDFs through adobe acrobat and I think it works pretty well, but I won't know if there is an issue unless someone lets me know. 

I don't know about you, but I have no plans for Valentine's day this year (we usually keep it low key anyway) except a movie at home on the couch. I'll be due with my twin baby boys no later than Feb 18th, so I'm going to enjoy my last weekend of peace before the chaos begins! 

This is Auvi

She is preparing to go on a mission for the LDS church, and asked me to take her picture. Her full name is Auviaunce. I love it, and its shortened version.

My front doors are quite unattractive with their gold trimmed glass (unless you're my dad who happens to love them), however, they keep producing these nice pictures in my stairwell so I can't decide if I should replace them. Oh well, the money to replace them is the main hurdle right now anyway.

Thank You!

At the end of September I posted THIS POST about my cousin Cherie and her husband Josh. Thank you so much to those of you that took the time to read the post and even watch their video and donate! They are up past $6,000 thanks to so many kind people, and have just 21 days left to reach their goal of $14,000, which is what they need to reach to do one session of In Vitirio. You can go back to my original post to read some quick details about why this is their last option to have a baby.
I know a lot of people are short on money after the holidays, but I love these guys and wanted to make one more push on my blog to try to help them reach their goal and dream of becoming parents. Maybe it is because I already have two kids and am currently pregnant and I'm feeling a little guilty that I'm so lucky, but I really appreciate all of you reading this and maybe just posting their link (below) on Facebook if you're not able to donate a few dollars. Thanks and Happy New Year! I'll be back to my regular posting soon.

Cherie and Josh's fundraising link is HERE.

Day 24: A Christmas Thank You Card

As our last download this Christmas season, enjoy this thank you card. Print these out and give them to all the loved ones that gave you a Christmas present this year. Get the PDF HERE.

Merry Christmas!

Day 23: Food or Name Place Tags

Help guests recognize what food you'll be serving at your Christmas table this year. When at parties, I always want cheese platters to have something like this so I know what cheese I'm eating, and so I know what to buy if I like it! You could always use these as name place cards, if you don't think your food needs to be labeled. Get the free PDF download HERE. Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

Day 22: Reclaimed Wood and Ribbon Rosette DIY

Get the DIY on this cute decoration from Julia HERE.

Day 21: B&W Christmas Tags

Julia made this cute and simple tags for those gifts you're giving away. Download them HERE.