Lil miss Isabella Faith arrived Jan. 19th- 6lbs! Amy is doing great- up & going like nothing happened! Big brother Caleb thinks sister is great! On her first night home, Isabella slept 4 1/2 hours straight! Their family is now complete & we couldn't be happier for them! 
Look how tiny she is! 
Chris with Isabella
And just to let you know- visiting with the new family did NOT make us want to have anymore children any time soon :)
Jonas & Nolan were tagged by Hayden & Riley to list 8 things about themselves. Enjoy!.jpg)
We had the boys' 6 month pictures made at Christmas, but with the holidays- we just got them back! I'm so pleased with all the albums! Paula always does such an amazing job with my boys! Before much longer, I'll be running out of wall space in our house! All the pictures are so good, I just can't help myself. I picked a few out and scanned them on here- it would take way to long to do them all! You can click on the pictures to make them larger! Enjoy!
Jonas- he has the biggest smile :).jpg)
Nolan- just look at that face!.jpg)
Jonas in his santa hat- he was unsure about it!.jpg)
Nolan in his santa hat!.jpg)
Our family picture... Christmas 2007.jpg)
I cannot believe how quickly time passes! The boys remind me everyday of how blessed I am! They are 7 months old today, and growing by the minute! They no longer want to lay down to play- they sit up! They scoot or roll to get where they want to be and they laugh all the time! Though Chris says I spoil them too much, I am so thankful that I have been able to stay at home with them and watch them grow! I thank God every night for the joy they have brought to my life! Enjoy the pictures- they are my captured moments in time that I treasure :)
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Jonas Kade- his smile is so precious!.jpg)
Nolan Kole- his laugh is contagious!
Nolan playing.jpg)
Jonas wearing daddy's hat!
They love playing with each other!
Such big boys! 
Looking at mimi & ignoring mommy! 
Jonas & his sippy cup .jpg)
Nolan is serious when it comes to apple juice! 
Our family!
Greg's birthday was last week so we all got together yesterday to celebrate! The boys have poppy wrapped!! And who made the birthday cake- yep- it was me!! We all watched football, ate too much, and had a wonderful time! We are very blessed to have such an amazing family. Enjoy the pictures!
Caramel buttercream Icing!!
The cake before it was completely destroyed! So good!!As you can imagine- there is never a dull moment at our house! Jonas & Nolan are growing more and more everyday! They bring such joy to our home! They amaze me everyday... A couple nights ago after baths, we were getting ready to rock them to sleep (this is probably my favorite time of day because they are such snuggle bugs!) I had walked into the kitchen to put their bottles up when I heard the boys start laughing! Chris told me to get the video camera and this is what I caught on tape....enjoy!!
If I could give any parents any advice, it would be to always keep the cameras close by. We keep our video camera in the kitchen on charge and have caught so many priceless moments on tape! The videos and pictures are worth more than all the money in the world!
If you look close, you can see all the individual pictures
2 1/2 weeks ago, Jonas & Nolan both had their 1st tooth pop thru their bottom gums! Really without much of a fuss! I can't say the same for their 2nd teeth, which came thru a week ago. Jonas cried a LOT and we kept him on tylenol for all of our sake :) Last night, their 3rd ones came thru, but this time from the top! I took a few pictures, but as you can imagine, taking pictures of the teeth of 6 month old babies is very challenging! I couldn't get pictures of the top teeth, but you can see the bottom ones! Oh, and for the record- the top teeth are very painful! Both of the boys have been VERY cranky! Enjoy!!
Nolan sitting up playing with Russ the tiger!
The boys also went for their 6 month check up 2 weeks ago! Besides getting 3 shots each, all went well! Dr says they are doing great and he was very glad to hear that I had been making their baby food! They were in the 80th percentile for weight, and in the 99th percentile for heads! Such big boys!
I was thinking last night about how many changes occur once you have kids. All of a sudden, you are "grown up." A little background info- The new Victorias Secret swimwear catalog came and I was picking out bathing suits for this coming summer and it occured to me that my taste had changed. No longer do I want the college girl swim suits! So I reflected back on my clothes since the boys have came and I realized that I no longer have been wearing the fitted t's with the silly saying or ripped jeans, etc. I talked to Chris and he says "well, people were asking you if you were the boys baby sitter at first!" Ain't that funny- me- the twins baby sitter! So today, I'm packing a bunch of yard sale boxes- yep- I've finally grown up! Ok, maybe not completely- but I am a mommy :)
Mom- this was for you! All the times Cindy & I took you to buy clothes and always said "mommy's can't wear stuff like that" & "thats too grandmaish" & the favorite (mom telling me last summer while I was prego) "Mandy, you always said after you had kids, bikinis like that are out!" Haha- I love you mom, more than words could ever say!
Most of you who know me well know how much I love to cook! Not only do I enjoy cooking meals for my family & love to entertain at our house, I LOVE to bake. I'm not talking about baking from a box- I love to bake from scratch! And for the most part, I love making up my own recipes! My husband calls it a gift from God and blames it for the pounds that he has put on, but I just can't stop! Last year- I made it a tradition for birthdays. I started with Leann and made her a 3 layer caramel apple cinnamon cake (which was amazing!) Until now, I've been working with a little hand mixer which did the job, but how I longed for a professional mixer! Well, thanks to my amazing in-laws, I got a professional Kitchen-Aid mixer for Christmas! If you know me at all, you know I cried when I opened it! Not to mention that they got me the homemade ice cream maker and meat grinder as well! ( I love you Brenda!) So I finally baked my first cake yesterday- It wasn't real fancy but everyone enjoyed it, right down to the last piece! Among all the things I hope to accomplish in my life (becoming a photographer, interior designer, seamstress, etc.- I know, I'm not sure why I went into nursing either!) - its been my dream to open up my own bakery. "The Sugar Shack" - I've even had the name forever! Chris has promised that we will open it within the next couple years (for some reason, I want to finish my FNP degree first!) In the mean time, I'll just continue baking on the side...:) My next mission is to take a photography class since Chris got me a professional camera- and then its on to sewing & monogramming. I hope to be done by this time next year! Oh, and Chris & I are going to start taking ballroom dancing lessons :) fun, fun!
Here she is....she's so pretty!
2 layered chocolate mouse cake with cocoa icing and confectioners drizzel (all homemade!)
The first cut.jpg)
I've thought a lot about the past year and how blessed Chris & I have been. Sure we've done a lot- gone on vacations, bought a 5th wheel RV, put our house up for sale, & celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary- but NOTHING compares to the blessings we received on June 21st. Jonas Kade & Nolan Kole have brought more joy to our lives than I could have ever imagined having. The abundance of love is amazing. I can still hear my mom saying "you'll see one of these days when you have kids of your own"- and it couldn't be more true. I knew that I always wanted kids- being a godly wife & mother have always been my dream. I knew I would love & cherish my children- but I could never have dreamed of the magnitude & depths of a mothers love. Though I could go on and on about being a mom (and I'm just in the beginning!)- I'll tell you this. Its the single most greatest thing that I've ever done. I thank God every day for my 2 precious lil boys. Their smile warms my heart, their laugh melts my heart, and when they reach up for me and say "mama"- I know that I have truely been blessed. I could lose everything I own, but as long as I still have my family, I know I'm the richest woman ever. God is good, awesome, & amazing and his miracles are nothing short of breathtaking. 2007 was a great year & I look forward to watching my boys grow in 2008.
Mommy & Nolan
Jonas on New Years eve
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