Just me My Soldier and our 4 little chicks

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 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

joy and satisfaction

it's a joy to be able to witness 2 almost 18 months old feel the sand under their toes for the first time.

it's a treat to watch the sand move under their legs as the tide comes in and to see the complete and utter confusion on their little faces.

there is nothing...and i mean NOTHING cuter than chubby baby legs and swimsuits.

watching a baby accidentally eat sand for the very first time is hilarious.

cate found it hilarious too.

this one kind of grosses me out b/c it looks strangely real. but that is a beach toy:

and i have to tell you...there is major satisfaction to be found in the simple act of taking your four children to the beach without your husband's help.

it was a major i CAN do it moment! yes...the bigs were there, but i didn't get any photos because they were frolicking in the ocean and i couldn't leave the babies for a second. :)

hope your monday is beautiful,blessed,and productive.

xoxo

17 months? Really???

How in the world are they almost a year and a half old?

Y'all...I know I am biased but they are so so precious. They giggle and kiss and dance all day long. I am just absolutely in love with them. Their favorite thing to do right now is kiss.

They start about a foot away from me and say "nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnUH!" and on the UH they give me a big smackeroo on the mouth. They smooch and hug each other all day long.

Also they pull hair and slap each other all day long. That's not so nice. We are working on "BEING SOFT".

They make a mess everywhere. Anything they can reach they WILL pick up and move. I just found a box of quinoa in the bathtub.

The other day i found one of my flats in my shower. They hide in one of the kitchen cabinets and think it is hilarous.

Baby proofing? Has taken on a WHOLE new meaning with these two.

They also love bath time. The splashing and giggling is out of control during baths. I swear I'm going to have to start wearing a raincoat. HA!

At 17 months

Cate:

Is hilarious. She is tiny (but she has quite the belly) and her hair is curly. She is the quieter of the two,but she loves to interact. If anyone smiles in her direction, she is SO engaged.

She loves making exaggerated facial expressions. Her favorite is her "OH!" face (see above). She makes it any time she is excited, or any time she does something wrong. It makes me laugh every single time.

She doesn't take a binkie but she does this thing we call "monkey mouth". She sucks on her tongue when she's tired or doesn't feel well.

She loves bananas,crackers,and sweet potatoes. She runs really fast with one arm swinging and she dances by not moving her body,but holding her arms up in the air and making her "oh" face.

Lucy:

Is about 3 lbs bigger than Cate. She loves to eat and moans the whole time she does (AHAHA). She loves blueberries,cheese,strawberries,crackers and whatever I am eating. She is such a beggar!

She gets DOWN when she dances. Literally. Girlfriend bounces so deep her diaper hits the floor.

She says "UH OH" in the most perfect way when she makes a mess or does something naughty.

If i don't put her hair in a top pony she can't see a thing through her mop top and will run into walls.

She talks a LOT. She is the verbal one. Her favorite words right now are: UH OH, Sadie, cracker,cheese,cookie,ni night,mama,dada,harper,car,bye bye bath

She still loves her binkie.

The other thing that they are way into right now is saying "cheeeeeeese!". Here's a video of them right now.Y'all I love them so much I can't take it. Twins are just so much fun.

Happy Tuesday friends. Hope it's beautiful and blessed.

 

cheese from stephanie howell on Vimeo.

irony

is it ironic that a beginning can also seem like an ending??

on saturday afternoon, both of my baby girls took their first steps.

cate first...she let go of my fingers with a grin firmly in place. and she took two wobbly steps before collapsing in my arms with a giggle.

lucy girl was next. she took two lunging steps, interrupting jimmy right as he was saying "who knows when she'll walk with those thunder thi....".

i remember harper's first steps (to jimmy, in her bedroom at 12 months old) and sadie's first steps (to my mother-jimmy was deployed-at 10 months old). i remember them like they were yesterday. but they weren't.

and as the girls walked to me, i tried to hide my teary eyes with loud laughter and whoops of joy. but a tear or two escaped as it hit me-

"these are the last first steps i will witness".

and i think i am okay with that, but it breaks my heart a little bit.

i know there will be so many more firsts. so many more. but for a moment i wanted to treasure THESE first steps. savor them, revel in them, imprint them in my memory.

the day both of my babies walked.my last babies.

now? on to something new. :) BABY CAGES. just kidding. sort of. leashes?

xoxo

s

first cupcakes.

it was a super low key event. 2 balloons,

2 cupcakes from fresh market,

2 high chairs

2 one year olds

2 TOTALLY different personalities.

cate= mild,suspicious and kind of disinterested

lucy= thrilled. lucy went to town.

 

they are so funny. so different...and i LOVE that.

pretty sure that cate thinks lucy is nuts. :)

and i'm so glad i took a video...lucy's little excited noises are hilarious. :)

happy wednesday, y'all! xxo

 

c+l cupcake wars from stephanie howell on Vimeo.

what a year. (x2)

a year ago i gave birth to two baby girls. one was 6 lbs. 4 oz. and we named her Lucy Claire. one was 4 lbs 12 oz. and we named her Catherine Bennett.

i was scared. i didn't know how i was going to handle two babies.

i didn't know how i was going to handle four children under five.

one year ago they wheeled me into the operating room and i didn't know what to expect. i certainly didn't expect to deliver two babies in three pushes! i certainly didn't expect to not even know i was in labor (the babies were so big, i ALWAYS felt like i was having contractions!!). i certainly didn't expect to have no pain or recovery after the delivery. i think God knew i'd need my strength,ha!

a year ago jimmy and i had a quiet thanksgiving in a hospital room as we looked at our two daughters...marveled over them...and talked in hushed tones about the future.

everything about them, EVERYTHING...has been unexpected. from  the moment they told us they saw two heartbeats...everything has been a surprise.an adventure.

they have turned our worlds upside down.

they have taught us all more than we ever could have known.

and i NEVER could have anticipated how FUN this would be. watching them together is a blessing. it is so interesting, and wild, and exhausting, and funny, and scary, and did i mention exhausting?

i became a better mother this year. i became more patient, more loving, more able to just soak it all in.

they are my "gentle reminders" from God. my nudges.my reminders that i am not in charge. i am not the one that knows what is in store.

they are proof that WE CAN. every time we think we CAN'T handle something as a family, we do. they are proof that we are stronger, better than we think.

 

they are beautiful. they are wild. they are EVERYWHERE and into EVERYTHING. they have taught me that my love can MULTIPLY. my love has not been divided. i now love four little girls with more love than i knew i had.

 

they are our saving graces.

 

happy birthday, cate.

happy birthday, lucy.

thank you for lighting our lives and filling our hearts.

xoxo,mama