One year ago. . . .

This isn't our exciting news. . . just a little flashback. I always hear people say "In a year from now . . . ect". Well, instead of always looking ahead, I am the type of girl who likes to reflect back when it comes to children. Instead of thinking about how quickly they will grow I like to remember where we came from and make those little years last. So here is where we all were one year ago. Tiny budding teeth, a lot less hair, parks on cool crisp days, and a baby brother on his way to becoming our very best buddy. One year ago we had one year old twins and never thought we could be happier. Boy, oh Brayton were we wrong! :)

Leaps and Bounds!

Well, well, well. . . .fancy meeting you here! Actually, fancy meeting me here after the week we have had. Let me put it to you this way. . . we have been on near lock-down at our house!!!! My sympathies have grown ten fold for people who have sick children. Ten fold I say!!!!! All of my children, thank goodness, have been healthy as an ox for as long as I can recall. My pediatrician even says my twins are some of the healthiest kids he has ever treated, How great huh?!? Not this week!!!!! At almost 2.5 years old Annelise has received her first dose of antibiotic for a DOUBLE ear infection! Brayton also had one and the two of them together were some FULL TIME work for mommy and daddy! Brayton had it first and seemed to be totally over it until two nights ago and now he has a whopper of a cold again! Oy-voy! Let's hope we are on the up-and-up!
In more exciting news, our new cousins are home!!!! Hurray! After a bumpy ride mommy and babies are doing well and feeding and growing! We are just thrilled by this and hope to meet them very soon!!!! It's an amazing blessing!
Other fun things we managed to do during our days of wellness and days prior to illness were sort of thrilling as well! I actually attended my dear friend Belinda's 50th birthday party! It was a real treat to be out amongst adults and I even stayed 2 full hours! Big step for me! I mean that too. I probably need therapy for seperation anxiety from the babies but I will promise to sign up by the time they are 18!!! We also hit gymnastics with some friends where Bodie proved to be a real monkey and Annelise jumped around like a crazy girl! It really is fun to get your sillies out! Other than a few playdates (thank you Ames' girls and Kiyah) we had a pretty normal week. Motorcycles in the yard, walks, and some crafts. However, stay tuned for the next posting when we have some EXCITING news to share! LOL!!!!!

Preston in his car seat! Is this the cutest baby EVER???????? I think perhaps!
Bodie jumping in the foam pit fearlessly!

Annelise and her 20' trampoline gooditimes!

Brayton chillin' with Amber and her sweet baby boy Cayuse.

Annelise and Daddy.

Bodie swinging like the monkey he is at Danik Gymnastics!

All the kids coloring at our weekly Ames dinner.

He is finally growing into his hat!

Go Anna go!

Very scary Bodie!!!!!! ROAR!

Exciting News!!!!!!!

Alrighty. . . Brace yourselves!!!!! Since I am no longer the weekly blogger I use to be my blog reports have grown and this one is a whopper!!!! So much to report but I think I shall start with the most important! Aunt Georgia (Bodie's sister) gave birth to her twins!!!!!!!! Hurray! Welcome Piper and Preston!!! This is another set of Bates' twins that was a long awaited gift. The twins,Georgia, and her partner Kim are doing well. Georgia is on the road to recovery even though it has taken a little longer than expected. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers if you wouldn't mind! ;) The babies are BEAUTIFUL if I do say so myself but then again being their Auntie I may be biast. Aunt Shelley now can have the braggin rights to say she is an Auntie to THREE sets of boy/girl twins in only 2.5 years!!!! Go Aunt Shelley! There is our BIG news but follow below to see how much more we have had going on. . . .

My Dad with Brayton at my nephew Ezrin's Birthday party. Ezrin turned 4 and there was no shortage of kids to help him celebrate. We don't see him enough and it really was a reminder to make plans with him more often! A fun cousin indeed!
The kids with the Ames' girls celebrating their Mommy's birthday! They ate more cake than you can shake a stick at but what fun! We do a lot of activities with them and just adore their three girls. BFF's for sure! Dinner at their house has become a weekkly event and I couldn't be more pleased. First of all, Tiffany is a fabulous cook and who doesn't love to not have to do the cooking once in a while? Secondly, the kids really do play soooooooo well together. They have a sincere love for one another and I hope to see that flourish through the years. Their family has been a gift for us that we truly appreciate!

A little "Happy Birthday" for Tiffany!

A little ball action at playgroup! Friday we have a regular scheduled playgroup with an amazing group of kids and women. Seriously, the children are all so well behaved and the mom's are a genuine blessing to me every week. I admire so many of them and look to them for advice and suggestions since all our babies are so close in age. This Friday Christy, who always goes ALL out on every occasion, did it up great again! We made Valentine's Day boxes and exchanged home made valentines and lots of candy! The other set of twins in this phot are only 6 days younger than ours with an amazing story! This playgroups is always so much fun! I look forward to them every week!

The only picture I had of Georgia and her partner Kim with one of the twins.
A bluebird day snowmobiling in the Trinity mountains. Home away from home and a place we hold closest to our hearts. Dare I say, who needs therapy when you have mountains like this??? Although the twins have had more snowmobile trips than I have, all of us have still had a blast this year in the snow! If you call our house and we aren't home just glance to the east and know we are riding and loving our life! There really is no other place we love more in any season! Bodie and Annelise have gotten use to gearing up and heading out for a ride. Seeing them learn to love our same passions is an overwhelmingly huge joy! (Please do not spell check this or critique my vocab! ;). . .. .

Bodie! Silly boy has been having a great time this winter playing with his dog and helping his Daddy! Lately he seems to be attatched to Daddy at the hip. He loves garage time and tools too. A real man's man!

Mary getting a little love from Brayton. She is a Prairie girl herself and we always delight in some special time to catch up with her and her family.

Brayton broke thru his second tooth on February 11th. . . coincidence? I think not! The day the twins were born!!! However, he hasn't taken a liking to razor sharp teeth cutting up his gumline yet. Sleep is a memory and drool is the only thing we have in large quanities around here! Lucky he is so sinfully sweet!

Our evening motorcycle rides with Daddy. Daddy has taken to three kids like a fish in water and it has been the brightest light in my life to watch us all grow together. He is always there for our babies and they wait for him to come home every day like it's Christmas! Funny how nothing matters more when you see you babies happy!

My man of solid foods now. Baby food hasn't been his favorite but he is slowly adjusting to it. More times than not now he eats it without a fuss but never without a mess!

If you didn't already know, my kitchen table serves a make-shift pony when we need a little western adventure and it's cold outside! Giddy-up!!!

Grandma Linda made a visit last week as well bringing hand made gifts! There is nothing better, in my opinion, and the kids love their new hats and scarves. This is Anna's second pink hat and I am afraid she will never wear store bought again!!! It was great to visit with her and they sure loved their loot!

Annelise wanted to get in the tub with her clothes on and I simply couldn't find a reason not to! It was funny to us all! Sometimes a good bath with bubbles and your clothes on really makes your day! BTW, Annelise is a card carrying member of the "I literally potty trained myself since my mom waited too long" group. YEAH! I was waiting for Bodie to be interested and since he still cares so very little Annelise took matters into her own hands. What a leader! We are so proud of her and she has done a great job!

My dear friend April and her daughter Scarlett. They actually live a stone's throw from us and we love having them as neighbors!!! It's been fun to go on walks and simply hang out together when we have the time. Plus, she has been my organic food growing and eating side-kick! I think she is as neurotic as me so it's a beautiful friendship! :)
I think I might kidnap her beautiful baby girl one day but I can't say I never warned her!

The kids and I headed off the McCall for the weekend to enjoy the Winter Carnival. This is their third trip and we seem to be enjoying it more and more every year. The parade was a real thrill this year since the children were old enough to understand that they were throwing candy at us! It's always a sweet surprise when two year olds "get it!" and they got it! Lots of it too!!!! I had candy in every pocket of every coat we had on. This also means that we washed a lot of in the laundry! oops! The sculptures were beautiful and the scene was even more spectacular on the drive up and down. We are so lucky to have McCall just a short drive away!

Another fun pastime is all bathing together now that "B" can sit up on his own in the tub for long periods of time. They love anything that he can do with them and he adores all the love!

Piper Bushard Bates. She weighed 4lbs. 15 oz. and was 18" long. What a cutie!

Preston Bushard Bates bringing up the rear with 3lbs. 15 oz. and 16" long. Another adorable set of twins for our family if I must say so myself. However, believe me when I say we ALL think so!

Daddy ripping up some powder on a bluebird day! This boy has some skills!