(Almost) Wordless Wednesday - My Family

PICTURES! May family came to stay, and you might not have even known it, if it weren't for this. So here you go... almost wordless.

The sandbox is our new home. That is: we spend most of our time there. The boys completely LOVE it.

 I think the above picture is so funny! Micah couldn't decide which of his toys to play with. His new car? Or the sandbox? So obviously, he has to try to play in the sandbox from his car....

Ha! Grey refused to smile in that picture with my mom, but she looks so pretty, I decided that I don't mind that he looks solemn! And my handsome brother Jack is starting high school this year. Those freshman girls are in trouble. Handsome, smart, funny, AND good with babies? Watch out!
And today is even his birthday! Happy Birthday, you fifteen year old, you. I love you. I think that you are much cooler and better looking than I was at 15.

I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would have liked, but I never do. We were too busy moving and shaking... maybe our next family visit will allow more actual "visiting time."

Click to vote?

Goodbye, my family

My family has come and gone.  They spent spring break with us, and we had lots of fun.
We didn't even drive each other (too) crazy.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from yesterday when we were all playing:

I absolutely love the pictures of all four kids: Jack, Kathryn, and the boys. I think they're so cute!
And Kathryn is turning 7 next month, which is crazy to me. I love all her long red hair, and I think it's so funny that because of our coloring, Travis and I could have dark-haired babies or red-headed babies after Grey and Micah.
And speaking of hair... my boys hair is getting so long and crazy! I LOVE IT. Travis wants to cut their hair, can you believe it?
I might never let him cut it, it's so blasted cute when it's long.

These pictures were edited with PennyLane (BW) and Girly Twirly from HoneyBee Actions.

And I'd love a little vote please! Just click on below....

Birth Story - Color Crayon Version

A few weeks before I came out to visit my family, my mom emailed me a book that my little sister Kathryn had turned in for school.  Considering the fact that the babies were born during the last school year, not this one, I'd say that Kathryn thinks about this a lot. 

I love it.

My Sister. 

Becky is pragnite. I got to poot my hed on hr stumik. I felt the babys kik me on my hed.

(Becky is pregnant. I got to put my head on her stomach. I felt the babies kick on my head.)

She had hre babys. I lockt in the windo finaly. Tha went home, I went with.

(She had her babies. I looked in the window, finally. They went home, I went with.)

Tha are 2 mans. It was fun. "Ho ho."

(They are two mans. It was fun. "Oh, oh" or "ho ho"?")

Things I love about this book:

1. It appears to be a fantasy/adventure book. I mean, there's a dragon on the cover, and a fairy and, of course, a volcano.

2. She seems to get bored of the story half way through, because suddenly it's very minimalist and hurried.

3. My babies are dressed like... elves? I'm pretty sure that that's because of {these pictures.}

4. There's a wheelchair in the babies hospital room, and Kathryn looking through the window. 

See some of Kathryn's other drawings on the blog {Here}.

I can't wait until my boys start coloring! I handed them each a crayon on Sunday and they scribbled for about 30 seconds, before they decided that they'd rather eat the crayons than draw with them.

And I'd love a vote! The numbers are still wonky from being reset, so every single vote counts!

Snowbunnies

There is snow up here in Montana, but the most that the boys and I ever do is sit. In the snow. Just sit.
They're pretty cute though.
And they sure like it.

The cute redheaded girl is my sister Kathryn.  She's 6, so she's actually closer in age to the boys than to me, and more like a big sister than an aunt. She's so sweet and fun with the boys, and always helping, hugging, and doting on them.

All the pictures with me in them were taken by Kathryn... maybe we have another photographer in the family...

These pictures were edited with "Micah Love" at 50% from the HoneyBee Action Set.
Also, read this review of the actions, on Katie's Blog: The Bradley Bunch.

Hope your weekend was lovely!
Mine included caring for two sick people, and Kathryn and the boys.
Man, I should just be a nurse, amIright?

a golden birthday

As promised: today is my little sister Kathryn's birthday and this is a post about her.

I want to talk about how awesome she is.

She is so smart and funny, and she's probably the reason that I've never had any problems with the boys. She was born when I was 16 and I learned all the ins and outs of taking care of a baby thanks to her.

Kathryn was the smartest toddler, and is the smartest kid I know. 

She was so funny with the boys when she was here. She could shift them from cradle hold to being upright on her chest and talked to them like a little grown-up. 

"Why are  you fussing? Is there a little burp in there? Let's see if we can get it out. Oh! That was a good little burp. Do you feel better?"

She was pretty mesmerized by watching me breastfeed and once -as she stared at the babies latched on to  my chest - I said "You know, Kathryn, you can look away."

Without blinking she replied, "Uh, no I can't."

We watched a home video of her as a baby, and she was very upset that we hadn't filmed her breast feeding.  She asked, "Didn't you think, maybe someday I'd want to see how I used to eat?"

When the boys were circumcised my mom wanted to prep her, "the boys are having a little surgery today, so when they come home we have to be extra quiet and gentle," she said.

"What's wrong with them?" Kathryn asked.

"Nothing's wrong. It's just a little surgery that most little boys get."

"What is it?"

"Well, they cut away a tiny piece of the skin around a boys penis."

Kathryn thought about this for a few long seconds and then asked, "Did you have to do something similar to me when I was born?"

"Nope, only boys."

"Did Dad and Jack and Travis have it done?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

(By the way, what five year old uses the word similar?)

That night when we changed the boys' diapers Kathryn gasped. "Oh! My poor babies, that is more than just a little skin!"

She was very upset. 

Her concern was pretty adorable.

She also couldn't always tell the babies apart. She knew one of the boys (Grey) had more hair than the other, and one baby was smaller, but remembering which was tricky. So she started to call them "the baby with the mohawk" and "the other little baby."

She has recently learned how to read, and tried to read a little story to the babies almost every day.  The problem is, she's a serious cheater. She pulled out Goodnight Moon to read, and every time she got stuck on a word she'd scan the page for a hint of what the word was.

She'd sound out "ki..." and then instead of finishing sounding out the word, she'd look for something in the picture that started with a k. "Kittens!" she'd triumphantly declare.

Little stinker.

I only hope my boys are little kids like her. (Although Travis hopes they have better taste in entertainment... iCarly = Dumb)

This is Kathryn and Grey when the boys were almost 3 weeks old. It was the first time she held one of the boys.
Her face at 0.05 is priceless.

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Snow family

This last weekend it snowed!
Grrr! Why can't it be springtime for three days in a row?

But the snow came with its benefits, and when I woke up from an afternoon nap and peeked out the window, there were three snow people peeking back at me!

All thanks to my very talented snow-sculptor husband and his assistant, my five-year old sister Kathryn.


I really hope this upcoming weekend stays nice, but right now it's raining, and this time of year rain has a tendency to turn into snow..

Hope your weekend is warm and sunny, but if it's not then I hope you have a snow-family to chill with.
Happy Friday!

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Doctor's Orders

Before we left the NICU we were given very specific orders:

Don't go out in public.

Don't allow visitors who are or have children.

Don't let my five year old sister Kathryn go play with other kids or go to school if she's staying with us (which she and my mother are).

Don't allow anyone to kiss the babies heads, faces or hands.

And make everyone who comes over wash their hands for like an hour - even if they don't hold the babies.

So, in case you were wondering if you can come visit me, here's the deal:

No.

Probably not.

We decided that our immediate family can hold the babies, although we not only made Kathryn wash her hands but also bathe and change clothes before she could hold the boys.

A few friends who don't have kids and only hang out with other adults have stopped by for brief visits, but we're also really into turning people away.

Oh, and the doctor said we shouldn't go to church for like three months, even if we go by ourselves and don't bring the babies - since we could come into contact with a bunch of sick people and then bring germs home to our tiny, adorable and susceptible children. 

But if you are my or Travis' siblings please stop by.

And if you are not then you can hold the babies this summer, unless you are sick.

Speaking of, people are really into wiping their runny noses and then saying "It's just allergies."

I don't care why your nose is running. I don't want your snot on my babies.

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Well Wishes

My five year old sister Kathryn is quite the artist, and has sent Travis and I pictures several times over the course of this blog.
They're always awesome. You can see them all {here}

But this week Kathryn sent a card congratulating us on having two awesome babies.
Complete with her own spellings.
She's pretty good at spelling for a five year old.


Aww, look, Grey can say Mom and Micah can say Dad. What smart babies.

Also, this is the first time I've seen Kathryn draw profiles of people.
Pretty impressive.

The poor girl didn't even really get to see the boys when she was here, since the NICU rule is "No Kids" (except sick or teeny babies, or course.)

But she did spend a lot of time hanging around outside their window:

What a good auntie.

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