Settled Now!

Wow, I can't believe my last post was in November! Time has really flown by! For those of you who don't know, we recently moved to Utah and are loving it!! I always had so many hangups about Utah- Too many Mormons, not enough trees, nothing green, boring desert towns.... I am glad to say that I was wrong. We love it here and are looking forward to buying our first home next year. Wahoo!! I would love to stay in this exact neighborhood, it is soo neat!! Take for instance the shopping center in the middle of the neighborhood called SoDa row. It is so cute and full of boutique shops and fun places to eat. They also have a live band play there every weekend, how cool is that!? Tomorrow they are actually having a craft fair full of fun kids clothes, bows, jewelry, paintings, candy, aprons, etc.. So excited!! Another thing I like about our little neighborhood is that there is a little lake in the middle with tons of trails and bridges going over and around it. But the best part...the houses!! Here we have lots of colorful craftsman style homes, bungalows, victorians, and even cottages. I am never bored on my walks looking at all of the different styles! This first picture is of my favorite home, overlooking the mountains. You can literally see them from almost every window in the house...sigh. I love blue craftsmans....

Here's another one of my favorites, sitting right next to the temple. It looks like a witch's house...I want it! haha

There's even a bunch of cool modern ones...not exactly my style but they're cool to look at:

Here's a few other images from around our hood... No pics of our place, sorry. But we are currently living in a cute yellow townhome.

(www.waystogogreen.com)

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Daybreak_Community_Utah_2011-06-20.JPG)

(http://www.fivelittlechefs.com/2012/04/breathing-space-blogger-retreat.html) That's all for now!! I'll write more tomorrow about our kiddos!

Letterboxing!!

I am so excited to start 'letterboxing' I just HAD to make a post about it. What is letterboxing you say? Well let me tell you. To start letterboxing you will need:
1. Your own unique stamp (you can buy them at a local craft store). And not a stamp for postage, but a stamp that you stamp in ink and press onto things.
2. A notebook
3. A handy pen
4. A code name
5. This website: http://www.letterboxing.org/america.htm

This is how it works... Go to the website and click on your state. Then find your city. It will then show you a list of 'letterboxes' in your area. These are little boxes (could be a tupperware or shoebox or whatever) hidden somewhere in your town. There are literally hundreds in some areas! Anyways, click on one of them and it will give treasure hunt instructions on how to find it. Some will be rhymes, some will be riddles, and some will be straight forward. Anyways, follow the instructions until you find the box. Then open it up and stamp your personal stamp, and write your code name on the notebook or paper inside of it. Then, open up your personal notebook and take the stamp that comes with the letterbox and stamp it. Also write the name of the hunt into your book so you know you've been there before. That's it!!
This is such a fun idea for kids and really gets you out exploring your area! I already know where one is but haven't been able to take logan to it because we still have to go purchase our stamp. You can also do this on cross country trips with your little ones!
If anyone has done this, please tell me about your experience, and if your child enjoyed it!!

Busy busy

Okay this post is way overdue, but to my credit I have been extremely busy! The twins are so fun and cute but man, do they wear their mommy out! I will make longer posts in the future, but for now here are the main things going on in our lives:
1. Jane and Claire (aka piggy and fatty) are now over 10 pounds!! They have both doubled their birth weights and look like completely different babies! They are breastfed all day and night except for one feeding (which daddy does around 10 or so) when they have a bit of formula. I used to be able to pump enough for that feeding but now I am so swamped with the kids that their is no time.
2. Logan's vocab has tripled since the babies were born! Its so crazy to hear what comes out of his mouth these days. Like two days ago, when he handed me a chewed up piece of popcorn. I told him that I didn't want it and to go put it in the trash. He then shook his head and said, "No mommy, iz for gerwz..." and then walked away! haha! I don't know why he thinks nasty food is for girls, where did he get that?? He also talks to us all day about the crazy 'Skwerz, or skwizz' aka squirrels outside our window. I could list a million things he says now on here, but you get the idea, he talks A LOT! and in complete sentences finally!
3. Both babies can now lift their whole upper body off of the floor, at 2 1/2 months old!! And they start rocking like they are going to roll over...should be soon!!
4. Logan has now made a total of 6 'Freenz' who come over to play soccer with him outside every day. It is so fun to see him feeling like a big boy and making new friends. It is also so fun for mommy to get a break lately!
5. We are getting a van!! We finally saved up enough for a down payment and are looking for a used, not too old, van that we can buy in the next couple of weeks. I can't wait to be able to leave the house with the kids during the day, wahoo!!
6. We have not started cloth diapering yet. The reason..they don't fit!! I am thinking of trying them on the girls again in the next couple of weeks and hopefully they fit better around their legs. But I have to say, they are so darn cute on, I can't wait!! I am also waiting to put logan back in cloth diapers until the girls start again..I am ready to start saving money again! 3 kids in diapers is soo expensive!
Anyways that's all I can think of now..more updates soon!

The Babies Are Here!

For those of you who haven't yet seen the links on Google+ or Facebook, here are the pictures and a video of Claire and Jane!

Logan's first black eye!!

Logan got his first black eye the other day and he looks so pitiful! He was playing with one of his mommy's 1 pound zumba weights and threw it up in the air, only to have it fall and land on his eye! I feel so bad for him, however strangely enough I feel it was a rite of passage for every baby..sooner or later they all get their first black eye! He doesn't seem too broken up about it anymore though....

3 weeks left!!

Wahoo we are down to the final stretch, only 3 weeks left!! I am so ready to be done! I really try not to be a complainer but man, this is tough! My single pregnancy was NOTHING compared to this, I feel like I am completely bruised from the inside out. Eesh. 8 appendages punching and kicking you all day is no joke. But there is sunshine just around the bend! In no time they will be out and in my arms. I can't wait to kiss their little faces, nurse them for the first time, and introduce them to their big brother. I look forward to the day when I can line all 3 of my babies up on the couch or bed and just stare at them (for as long as they let me). I can't wait to be a mommy again!!
Btw ..here are some pics of my huge-mongous belly. And no, there will be no more bare belly shots for this pregnancy or ever again. haha! These girls have wreaked havoc on their mommy's belly!

Jane and Claire update

Here's just a little update on how little Jane and Claire VanderLinden are doing. Claire, or baby A, is the biggest at 3 pounds 10 ounces. She is in a breech position and is lying across the bottom of my belly. She is in the 30th percentile for her size and weight. Jane, or baby B, is 3 pounds 6 ounces and currently resides in my ribs. She is in a transverse position and it looks like she has no plans of moving any time soon. She is in the 22nd percentile for her size and weight. I wasn't at all shocked to see that they were both on the smaller side because I tend to have long skinny babies. I was told not to worry though and that they will definitely both be over 5 pounds by the time they are born ...which will be Aug. 9th at 9 am by the way! Wahoo!
Oh, and something funny we just found out is that they both have nice long wispy hair, haha! The ultrasound tech showed us their little fuzzy heads last time and it was so cute! Their hair was just swaying in the water... i loved it!
We have been so fortunate with this pregnancy to make it this far. I am so much more relaxed now that they have both reached the age of viability and would be fine if born early. It is such a relief!
We were also blessed to have a baby shower recently for them thrown by my friends here in Ashburn. We made out like bandits!! The relief society even came together to get us a gift card, baby clothes, and BOTH CAR SEATS!! I feel so blessed to know so many great girls and to have made so many friends. Life is good :)