Flower Kids

Tycen and Shaylie were the 'flower boy/girl' in my cousin, Kristin's wedding. It was especially sweet because I was the flower girl in my Aunt Peggy and Uncle Steve's wedding (Kristin's parents) when I was just over two-years-old.

The rehearsal was on Thursday, September 29th. We weren't sure what to expect with the kiddos, they're pretty good listeners but also pretty unpredictable at times, too. You never really know what or who you're going to get with a 3-year-olds' rollercoaster of emotions on a day-to-day basis. We had been getting them really excited for the wedding, though, and I had a feeling they'd do well :)

On our way to the rehearsal...all smiles :)

Shaylie with Aunt Peggy, Mother-of-the-Bride :)

Best Buddies:

Rehearsal dinner:

Love my Grandpa Jack :)

Mommy and my mini-me :)

Daddy and his mini-me :)

My Aunt Carol and cousin Katie live in California and we're so excited when we get to see them!

The wedding was at Langdon Farms Golf Course and was absolutely beautiful! The weather held off just long enough for the ceremony, which was pretty amazing considering it was outdoors on October 1st in the PNW. The reception was in a cute little barn that was open but covered from the rain, which made for a perfect day and wedding for Jake and Kristin.

My Aunt Peggy made these adorable hair clips and also bought/tailored Shaylie's dress and added the sash:

Tyce and Shay with the beautiful bride just before the wedding:

Mother and Father of the Bride (Uncle Steve and Aunt Peggy):

I love this picture so much, I had to put it in twice! :)

The wedding coordinator had told us that she usually bribes the young flower kids with smarties candy waiting for them with one of the bridesmaids in order to get down the aisle and also to keep them occupied during the ceremony. My cousin, Jill, had some in her pocket but I told her not to give it to them unless they started talking or getting restless.

Tyce and Shay did amazingly well and didn't need any bribing/candy to get down the aisle or incentive to stand still without talking. This is truly amazing because these two don't stand still or stay quiet for much of anything! They are a little on the shy side especially when they are around people they don't know, so I had a feeling they'd do well during the ceremony, but I definitely wasn't certain of anything. Well, they did so great and we couldn't have been more proud of them!! :)

 

We had so much fun dancing together as a family at the reception. Thank you, Jake and Kristin, for including our kiddos in your special day. Your wedding was so beautiful and will be a memory we will never forget :) We love you and wish you a life together filled with love and God's blessings!

Life Lessons

Tycen & Shaylie,

Each year around your birthday, I like to do something special for you. On your first birthday, I wrote you each a special letter (you can find it in your baby book and also in your blog book). On your second birthday, I picked out some of my favorite Bible verses for each of you using your names for acronyms (you can find these in your blog book, too).

This year, I wanted to share some life lessons with you. These lessons are so very important. They are things that I've learned since I've known you. In fact, these are things that YOU have taught me. They are the ways in which you live your life. My hope is that you will reflect on these lessons when you grow to be an adult one day and you can learn something from yourself, when life was so much more simple.


Top 10 Things I've Learned from My 3-year-old Twins:

10.  Learn. Be excited to learn something new every day. Never be afraid to ask questions. No matter how smart you think you might be, you can learn something new from every single person in your life. If you listen to them closely, you'll be amazed at what your little children will teach you daily.

9.  Imagine. We are not limited by our abilities (or disabilities) but only by our lack of imagination. Believe you can be anything you want to be. Imagine it. Pretend it. Pray about it. Believe it. (Just remember that Got may have a plan that is even bigger than our own, as His imagination is beyond our comprehension...be open to what He has planned for you, you may not have extended your imagination beyond its limit).


8.  Enjoy Life. Be excited about each new day and the opportunities it will bring. Have fun. Even when you don't have anything special planned for the day, find a way to make the day special. When all else fails, be silly...that's always fun :)

7.  Eat. Eat until you're full...then stop. Be more excited to play than eat.

6.  Sleep. Get enough sleep each and every day. When you are tired, you simply don't act your 'best' self.

5.  Be distractible. When you're feeling sad or mad, allow something simple that brings you joy to quickly distract you from your grief and never think twice about it again.

4.  Get back up. If you fall down, get back up. Even if you've fallen too many times to count in one day, always bounce right back up and brush yourself off.

3.  Strive. Always try to reach higher heights. Challenge yourself daily. Conquer the impossible. Nothing is truly 'out of reach'...you just have to figure out the best way to get there.

2.  Laugh. Laugh wholeheartedly. Laugh loud. Laugh especially when you're tired. Laugh at yourself. Laugh often.

1.  Love. Love your family with all your heart and look at them with eyes of joy. Forget about disputes and never hold a grudge. Get excited each and every time you see a loved one enter the room. Make the ones you love the most feel special every day.

3 Year Check-Up

Tycen and Shaylie did great at their 3-year well child check up. It's been a very long time since their last doctor appointment, possibly since their 2-year well child check up, which is definitely a very good thing :) It's always fun to see all the staff at the doctor's office since we spent a lot of time with them in the 1-2 years of Tycen and Shaylie's life. They were all amazed at how big our two little preemies have gotten! I think they were both about 5 lbs the first time we brought them into their doctor office, almost 3 years ago.

They continue to grow and move up in the growth chart. Tyce and Shay both grew about 4" since their 2nd birthday and gained 5 lbs each. 

Tycen
Height: 40.25" (95th percentile)
Weight: 32.8 lbs (60th percentile)

Shaylie
Height: 38.5" (80th percentile)
Weight: 31 lbs (50th percentile)

Now that they're big 3-year olds, they get their blood pressure and oxygen saturation levels checked, too. It was fun for me to watch them do this and see their curiosity rise. I shared with them how it's something that mommy does at work, too, which is neat for them to see since I usually just tell them that I help people to walk who have a hard time walking... Haha, if only it were that simple! ;)

Tycen
BP: 90/56
SpO2: 99%
HR: 122 bpm

Shaylie
BP: 98/60
SpO2: 97%
HR: 124 bpm

Dr. Jones also asked the kiddos some questions and I thought some of their answers were pretty funny:

What do you like to do for fun?
T: Go to the park
S: Go to the store (Ha! Ya right!!)

What is your favorite vegetable? (...we've been working on what's considered a fruit vs. vegetable...clearly we need some more discussion :)
T: blueberries
S: apples (this was a surprise to me, she'll eat bites of them but I wouldn't say they're a 'favorite' :)

What is your favorite food to eat for dinner:
T: french fries
S: sandwiches 

Did you have a birthday party?
S: We had Mickey and Minnie

Shaylie was pretty cute and kept answering Tycen's questions for him (i.e. 'His name is Tycen; He's 3'; etc). In most cases, the opposite is true and Tyce usually introduces Shaylie to new people we meet.

Ahhh (sigh of relief), what an easy and uneventful trip to the doctor's office, praise God! We've sure come a long way in the past 3 years, it was so much more challenging when they were little and I was juggling them both in/out of clothes/diapers, entertaining and/or consoling for 1 1/2 hrs in a little room, etc. Since Tyce and Shay are on a selective vaccination schedule and we don't do flu shots, they haven't had to get any shots since about 1-year-old, which definitely helps make a trip to the doctor pretty easy these days. Let's just hope and pray it stays this way and we won't have to return to the doctor until their 4-year well child check up! :)

Birthday Party

Tycen and Shaylie picked a Mickey and Minnie Mouse theme for their birthday party this year :)













Shaylie wanted a "purple chocolate" cake. The side of the cake was all purple and she got chocolate cake with strawberry filling:










Tycen wanted a "blue cake with blueberries." The side of his cake is blue and he had a white cake with blueberry filling...wish I could say I made them :) 

Our whole family wore Mickey and Minnie Mouse shirts... I know, a little corny, but we had fun with it :)

We were so excited that Aunt Katrina flew up from California to stay with us from Friday night until Monday night! And of course, we're always happy to have Grandma Jan come up from S. Oregon and stay with us, too!!

Uncle Cory and Aunt Kolleen made the drive from S. Oregon on Friday night. It was Zaiden's first long car ride and let's just say it took them a bit longer than expected ;) We're so very grateful they made the trip up to celebrate Tycen and Shaylie's birthday with us!

Gramps, Oma and Kai all came down, too!

We're so happy Grandpa Jack came to celebrate with us!

Two of our favorite little people (who both happen to be very tall for their age :), they're only one month apart:

We were a little bummed that it was raining again this year for the kids party. We had planned to borrow cousin Gracie's bounce house and do a lot of the other fun activities outside. We still did the pinata, though, which was a lot of fun for all the kids :)

We also played a couple of fun dancing games: The Hoki Poki, freeze dance and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes:

Cake Time!

This picture makes me laugh...it was taken right after Shaylie blew out her candles and then without hesitation took a bite out of her cake! Haha, I'm not really sure what she was thinking...apparently she didn't realize she was supposed to share her cake :) 

Tyce was pretty funny when blowing out his candles....he had a little difficulty and quickly realized that a little saliva goes a long way in putting out a little candle fire ;)

Tycen and Shaylie got so many great gifts for their birthday this year. Every year before their birthday, I've tried to go through all of their things and set aside a large amount of toys, dolls, books, etc, to be donated or loaned to friends/family. This year was more fun than the years past because Tycen and Shaylie could help me pick out which things they'd like to give away. They even helped me drop off a big bag of their things to The Fish, a local donation bank in town, which I am really proud of them for being happy about giving some of their things away to kids who need them more than they do.

Opening presents:

A few pictures of the fun dress-up clothes they got: 

 

 

 

 

We truly cannot thank everyone who traveled near and far to help us celebrate Tycen and Shaylie's birthday! You all mean so much to us and we are beyond blessed to have you in our lives. Thank you for all of your love, support, laughter and prayers. We love you!!