Lately Happenings

Time has gotten away from us these past few months with all the fun we have been having, but I have been taking pictures. Here are some things that we have been up to.

Pete still loves to read and has recently been keeping the twins fully entertained as he flips through pages and tells them what is going on. Some books that he has memorized, he actually does read it to them. In particular, Brown Bear, Brown Bear and Sandra Boynton books.

Lily keeps an eye on all of us, just quietly sitting back and taking it all in. She is one content little one and is happy pretty much all the time.

We tried to have Thanksgiving here, even though no one in Africa has even heard of the holiday. We made turkeys, had pumpkin soup and even a pecan pie - with pecans straight from TX. Pete named his turkey above "Guinea"--after the lone, surviving African guinea fowl on my parents farm in Anton, TX.

The first wagon ride on a beautiful November afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! A pretty good three-kid pose, if you ask me! All looking and smiling.

We are studying Creation now in Bible study and these are some of the crafts he is showing off.

Pete comparing his old teething chew giraffe to the new one the twins received. Jude and Lily will quickly rid the newer giraffe of her spots at the rate they are going. They chew and chew on these squeaking little rubber giraffes. I don't know how we would get teeth without them.

Jude is ready to go and loving life in the exersaucer.

Mommy's little elf, helping me put up the Christmas decorations in the house. Pete is loving the hoidays for the first time this year. It has been so much fun to hear him singing Christmas songs and talking about SanTa

Failed Photo Opportunities...

Pete has it in his head that he can hold both of the twins at the same time. The other day, as I was taking some pictures of Jude and Lily, Pete decided he wanted to be in the pictures. Here are some of our efforts at a picture with all three kids.

In this picture, Pete just realized that he REALLY needed to go to the bathroom. He started desperately asking me to get Lily off his stomach and get him to the toilet!

So as Pete headed to the bathroom, Jude and Lily took some lovely, happy pictures together. Perfectly content to be leaning back together and away from the clutches of their big brother.

Then Pete came back.....

....we tried again and again.

...and as you can see, even Jude and Lily are questioning my judgement here! Needless to say, these kids will know that Pete loves them no matter what. And I will keep letting Pete try to hold them, until they get big enough to run away, which I am afraid is ever so close!

You know you're in Africa when...

...your kid downs a bottle of de-worm medicine like it was candy! Pete loved this stuff and kept tipping the bottle back to try to get more. If you look closely in the picture, you can see a white mustache on his upper lip from the syrupy medicine. It was too funny that he liked it so much. Unfortunately, it did take a toll on his little body, causing two days of 102 degree temperature and a bit of a rash. But hopefully, if we had any worms, they are long gone now! :)

New Park in Kigali

There is a new park in Kigali - or should I say a park, that Pete can go play at for a small fee. And I will say that it was completely worth it. He went with his two best friends, Tess and Cy Shelby and played his little heart out. And Jude and Lily got in on the outing too - they pretty much did a lot of sweating and looking wide-eyed around at everything.

This merry-go-round does not even work, but as you can tell Pete though it was great. I am pretty sure he does not know that it is supposed to move and play music - this a case in which ignorance in bliss!

Thanks Grandma Carol for my sun bonnet - it was really hot out there, as you can see from the expression on my face!

The trampoline was so much fun and it was so safe for them to bounce all around in. It was a dream world for these three little squirts.

Christmas in July and Life with Twins

Our life with twins so far has been quite random, as you can tell from these pictures. These are just a snap shot of our life as we ended up time in TX and now are back in Rwanda.

Pete is a little nut and keeps us laughing all the time. Underware on the head is pretty much always funny in our house!

Grandpa Tom came down from West Virginia to visit us in TX before we left for Africa. We all rode horses and had a good time out in the crazy high heat.

Pete loved walking on the hay bales, but he was incredibly cautious. I don't know if you can tell from his stance, but he took tiny steps all hunched over the whole way.

It was the summer of horny toads and everyone got a kick out of them.

Sneaking around in Papa's boots while he was gone. Pete became obsessed with cowboys this summer and plays with this wild west figurines all the time.

Jude and Lily sleep like this most every time they sleep, they are on the same schedule for the most part and are sleeping through the night now...7-9 hours. Yipee!!

We had Christmas in July right before we left. Santa Claus rode up on a horse and delivered stockings to us, since we will be away from America during Christmas this year. It was super fun and huge surprise to us all!

Pete is always loving on his brother and sister and especially likes to hold them. He doesn't realize that Jude & Lily are not too comfy.

The twins finally fit in their little matching church outfits. They were a hit this morning at worship.

This is what happens when I turn my back on Pete and the twins...Lily is wearing Woody the Cowboy's little plastic hat. Pete thought it was a perfect fit and so very funny.

Jude Anchor and Lily Ann Arrived....2 months ago!!

So the twins did arrive 2 months ago and I just never posted on this blog. I suspect that anyone who actually reads this blog has already seen many a picture, but I thought I would update and try to stay a little bit chronologically correct on this blog. I hope to update a couple of more pictures today. Lily Ann had this awesome picture taken just moments after birth and she looks so very pleased to be out in the world, huh?! I love it. They were born just 4 weeks and 2 days early, so they had to go to NICU for the hospital stay. Praise God, they did get to leave the hospital with us just a few days later and we all went home healthy and happy. Jude was born first at 5 lb. 6 oz. and Lily was 5 lb. 1 oz.

Jude sporting all of his NICU cords and monitors for his few days there.

The twins sleep beautifully just inches from each other to this day. It is so fun to see them snuggle up to each other and find comfort in each others presence.

Home on the farm in Anton, our little family of five. Pete LOVES his brother and sister and couldn't be prouder of them. He tells practically everyone we meet, "I have two babies." with a big smile.

Life Around the Farm & 9 months Pregnant

We have been back in Texas now from Rwanda for 2 months and are just now quickly trying to update the blog. Pete has been busy around the farm, playing with baby kittens, hanging out wit the dog, feeding chickens and gathering their eggs and the list goes on and on. My Dad recently built this little pond out at the farm and it makes for some great swimming on these hot summer days. We have loved that Pete has gotten so much time with his Papa and MeMaw this summer. Also, is a picture of me 9 months pregnant with Jude and Lily just a few days before we delivered them. They are here now, but that will come in a later post.

As you can tell, Pete LOVES the kittens around the farm. He is about the only person who can catch them and I am glad to say they are all still alive - despite his "enthusiastic" hugs and petting.

Who needs professional swimming lessons and fancy pools, when you have a pond full of algae and goldfish in your own backyard! Pete has a blast every time we go swimming.

Noche is so very tolerant of Pete sitting on him, kissing him, riding him, hugging him and in general constantly bothering him. They are pretty good pals.

First Stitches & First Soda

Last week we had a first, but I am sure not a last. Pete was adventurously climbing on the new stroller we got to help us out with twin transportation. We had just stepped around the corner, when he thought he would try to climb to the top of it. And the wheels slipped out and Pete met the tile floor chin first. Thankfully Dr. Brian Robinson, on our team, was near and we drove right to his house for stitches! Below are some pictures of our afternoon.

Who knew that their aluminum rolling island in their kitchen would be the perfect exam and operation table?! :)

He was not thrilled to be wrapped up like a mummy for the procedure, so we distracted him with some Peter Pan on Heath's iPhone...those phones are so handy.

Here is the finished product...one big gash sewn nicely with three stitches.

And here is the finished Pete...one disgruntled, tired little guy. Even the M&M's weren't too much of a comfort, but he ate them up of course!

Here are happier times though. A few days later while at a friend's party, Pete was given his first orange Fanta. As you can well see, he was tickled with his treat. It was hard to even get a picture of his face, as he usually had it down and focused on the straw. The fizz was so much, his little eyes watered the whole time and he kept choking on the bubbles. It was so funny to watch him drink it!!