Stephanie Howell

FIVE!!!

I can't even believe I'm typing this, but Cate and Lucy are five today!

It's no coincidence that these two are my "turkey" babies, my babies born Thanksgiving week. I am so so grateful for the joy and pure love that they have brought into our lives.

They are simply amazing.

They are funny and have us in giggles almost every day. They are full of whimsy...on any given day you might see them in cat ears or an Olaf costume. And Elsa and Anna...always Elsa and Anna.

They can speak Italian, though they won't do it at home. They are excellent helpers and listeners, and super snuggly.

They are my heart.

They are pure, unadulterated joy. They are uncomplicated, no-strings-attached love. They are light and magic and laughter. They are hand holders, hug givers, and proof of God's love.

Happy 5th Birthday, Cate and Lucy!

 

xoxo

four ²

 

Four is hands down the cutest age for these two.

I know, I know...I said that at one and two and three and at three and a half. But four is by FAR the cutest.

They are absolutely hilarious. But when they throw a fit...oh LORD can they throw a fit.

Lucy has long amazingly beautiful hair. She LOVES her hair. She loves having people do it for her (me, her teacher), she loves choosing headbands, she loves braids. She loves to toss it over her shoulder.

Cate's hair is much thinner but she was born to have shoulder length hair. I marvel at the fact that we didn't see it sooner and that it took the gum incident for us to cut it. She loves tucking it behind her ears and it's the most adorable thing ever.

Lucy's a comedian. She loves to eat, she moans the entire time. She burps. A lot. And the burps are BIG. And we laugh every single time.

Cate's more dainty. She's very conscious of her manners and how she comes across to others. She embarrasses easily.

They are both so giving with their affection. They love to climb in my lap, throw their arms around my neck, and kiss me. They hold my face, stare into my eyes, and tell me they love me.

They say "I like you so much!" "I like you to the sky!" and for them this is the most they could ever imagine loving someone.
It means something when they tell you this.

They are best friends, inseperable, but they can fight like darn maniacs too.

They are absolutely EDIBLE. I want to eat them right up. I can't get enough of them. I smell their hair, kiss their plump cheeks, hold them tight.

They mispronounce some words and I'm loathe to correct them. Not for a long time, anyway.

"lesterday"

"aggagic" (attic)

"airleal" (Ariel)

ephephant (Lucy) / enephant (cate)

 

They are so loved by their sisters. They play in pairs all day long. They are the darlings and the sunshine of this family and I can't even for a moment imagine what life would be like with them.

They are all smiles. And big eyes. Impish faces and beautiful hair.

They are joy. Pure and utter joy.

Yes, four is the BEST.

 

xo

S

 

four

The day I first saw them on the ultrasound screen I couldn't really focus on their hearts beating or the blobs on the screen.

I was shaking so hard that the entire exam table was shaking. Clattering. I was grinning but I had tears streaming down my face. And they were tears of shock.

Not Jimmy. He had the biggest ear to ear grin I'd ever seen. A grin of pure joy.

For about 24 hours I couldn't really talk to anyone, I was still shaking. Twins? Four children?

Let's be honest. Four years later...I might still be in shock. HA!

But I got over the fear and read everything I could get my hands on. We bought 2 pack and plays, a double nursing pillow, boxes and boxes of diapers, binkies in 2 different colors, bottles galore...and prayed. Prayed that my pregnancy would be a healthy and safe one. And it was.

We prayed that they would stay in my belly for as long as possible. And they did. 36 weeks.

And the first year was a BLUR. Seriously...I look at photos from the first year and I don't even remember being there. I'm not exaggerating. J was gone for most of the time and the first year was a frenzy of feeding and burping and swaddling and rocking and spit up and SO MUCH POOP and ...truthfully...lots of crying. From them and from me. And from Harper and Sadie.

From the moment they were born they have stolen our hearts. They have changed our lives and our family in so many ways. Some we could have imagined and so many that we never in a million years could have suspected.

And today they are four.

We are so in love with them. They fill this home with pure joy.

I am in awe of the way that God shaped our lives in a way that we never could have seen. He had bigger and better plans than any we had.

This life is so full. Full of laughter and screaming and hair elastics and Barbie shoes and love. It's so full of love.

Happy, happy birthday darling girls.

You are our sunshines.

xo

wordless (ish?!?!?!) wednesday

Oh, sweet Lucy.

I know. It's so so so hard being three.

No one understands what you are trying to say, and that makes you mad. It causes you to talk louder (and really close to Mommy's face) and gesture wildly.

And then Mama STILL doesn't get what you are saying. And that? Makes you fusstawated, as you say.

It's hard having to choose a different princess dress to wear every day. And then choosing the accessories too? Exhausting.

It's horrible when you try to kiss your sisters but decide to lick their faces instead. And then they scream!

The humanity.

Mommy won't let you brush your teeth 7 times a day for an hour each time, even though you ask repeatedly. And she says "No Ma'am!!!" when you suck the toothpaste right out of the tube.

She doesn't let you have cake for breakfast or yayyipops in bed.

Sigh.

It's horrible.

Your sisters are always up in your business, your mommy won't let you use the grown up scissors. You're not allowed to pull Cate's hair. Your daddy says "No No! Softer!" when you chunk things at him as hard as you can.

Your favorite song is "I yike fooooood" "I yike chicken " "I yike pizza" "I yike freeeee fries" and your mean mommy won't give you those things for every meal.

Double sigh.

Is it any wonder you are perturbed?

I think not.

wordless (ish?!?!?!) wednesday

Just some photos of the cutest (almost) three year olds I know.

L- Lucy ,R-Cate

L- Cate, R-Lucy Cutest hoodies ever (those mittens are the pockets!) from Kiabi.

L-Cate, R-Lucy (if you want to know what they are reading you can read about them here.)

They are SO funny. They make faces all day long (see 2nd photo). They also make me laugh all day long. They sing a LOT.

Love books,baths, hoodies,snacks, Barney. They are practicing their right to say (yell?!?!) "NO!".

Cate likes to point at me, furrow her brow, yell "NO!" and then immediately say "I SY MOMMY!".

I love them so much it makes my heart hurt.

Happy Wednesday,sweet friends.

Back tomorrow with a Project Life post and giveaway.

xo

S

wordless(ish?!?) wednesday

at almost 2 1/2 years old..

They are clearly super boring. No personality, no facial expressions whatsoever.

They never make me laugh.

Okay, who am I kidding. I might be biased...but they are the cutest things on God's green earth.

True story.

In my house...things like this really happen on a regular basis. Randomly.

And this is why i never. Never ever ever ever x100 want people to say "they feel sorry for me".

It's one of those random things people say when they see us out. Four girls? And TWINS? Oh. I feel sorry for you.

Really?

It's AWESOME to have them in my life.

Exhausting...but thoroughly awesome.

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

xoxo

S

documenting lucy and cate

it's been a while since i've shared photos of the babies/twinners (bahaha) and talked about what they are up to.

these photos are from a while back at the corn maze. i never shared them and i wanted to today.

so...i know everyone thinks they have the cutest baby in the world. but honest to blog I DO. i have the cutest babies in the entire universe. and that is a fact.

i mean...just look at them!

they are HILARIOUS. and wild. they are into everything. they climb and throw and destroy. they are baby godzillas.

they can destroy our home in 10 seconds flat. and they do so on a daily (hourly?) basis.

they love snacks.

and bath time.

and elmo. they love each other so much.

unless they are beating each other up. yes. they are like the 2 stooges. face slapping,tackling,hair pulling, licking. it is out of control.

they have insane amounts of hair. crazy hair.

i tie it in tiny topknots every morning. cate somehow has a ratted birds nest in the back of her hair in the same spot every single day.

their favorite words are NO and CWY(color). they like to point and yell no at us in surround sound. it's pretty awesome. not.

they are picky and stubborn. they don't talk much so i usually can't figure out what they are mad about. but they get MAD.

they say "sheshe" and "cake" for lucy and cate.

they freak out if we separate them. i once tried to take ONE baby to the grocery store and an epic meltdown ensued. i took both. if cate wakes up from nap first, i take her downstairs and she spends the entire time walking around with a furrowed brow,tilted head,and puzzled facial expression saying "sheshe? sheshe?".

they think that they can do everything themselves. and they do not like you telling them otherwise.

they like to clean up clean up (deedup deedup) with a baby wipe. they will go full "cinderelley" and wipe the floor all day. they also like to throw random things in the trash. which is helpful. :)

they love music and dancing.

and their big sisters.

they like to kiss you on the lips while holding your face in their little hands.

they can throw themselves to the floor, limbs flailing,angrily screaming,limp noodling...like nothing i've ever seen before.

and in one week from tomorrow they will be two.

how did that happen? y'all i can't even tell you how much i love them. they are so precious. our lives have been so changed by them. they are exhausting and beautiful.

i love you cate and lucy.

xoxo

Baby Time-Weekend Photos.

Note:Make sure to check the crop winners I posted this morning, y'all!

This weekend,as I mentioned,it was just me and the babies.It was seriously weird. And quiet. But really fun. We blew LOTS of bubbles. And danced,and snuggled,and sang The Itsy Bitsy Spider 23428340283 times. And blew more bubbles.

I don't think they knew what to do with themselves. I'm not sure if they wondered where the big girls were, or if they just LOVED having me all to themselves!

I decided it was time to get out my "real camera" and document how cute they are right now. Their facial expressions slay me.I mean really...the eyebrows. The mouths...I die.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the weekend. Lucy is in the left in all of the table shots,and Cate is on the right.

In the outside shots,Lucy is in the yellow and Cate is in the pink.

 

Love to you all!

xoxo

wordless wednesday

so, i've never done a wordless wednesday post.because...well if you know me at ALL, you know that "wordless" and "stephanie" are not synonymous.

but come on...i mean really. does this photo need any words? no. it's pure awesomeness.

and only i would have a wordless wednesday post with 50+words.

good times.

xo

juxtaposition

from this:

to this:

pretty much sums up everyday life right now.and i wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

xo