Birthday morning

On birthday party day (we told the girls their birthday was on Saturday since that was the day of their party and I didn’t want to drag out celebrations!), the girls woke up to balloons falling from their doorway after Jake woke up at 4 a.m. to rig up a makeshift balloon drop.

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The birthday princess Samantha.

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Should-be-sleeping Beauty!

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The girls were so excited to open the door and see their birthday present from Sheela and her family– a birthday balloon wreath! Sheela’s family puts their own balloon wreath on the door for each of the kids’ birthdays. It was so special for her to make a wreath just for the girls!

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Amelia gears up for our traditional birthday Funfetti pancakes!

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Funfetti pancakes and sparkler candles– can’t get more festive than that!

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Samantha couldn’t wait to dig in.

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Happy birthday, sis!  IMG_0029

And then this happened:

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Getting the girls a trampoline for their third birthday present was born out of desperation! I needed something to help get the girls’ energy out without leaving the house, since that’s hit or miss most days right now. I figure any ER bills will be negated by the fact that I didn’t have to pay for my own therapy.

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The Amazon reviews for this trampoline were hilarious… apparently, many parents ordered it for the same reasons I did. After reading comments that stated how parents were able to throw their toddlers in here, zip it up and let them duke it out UFC style, I was sold!

So far so good as far as getting the girls tired. They can jump to their heart’s content, while I supervise from the convenience of the kitchen while cooking or while taking care of Meredith. Happy early birthday present to me!

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We love getting to celebrate TWO birthdays on the same day! Twice the fun.

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Lots of love,

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Happy 3rd Birthday Samantha & Amelia!

It seems like the girls came home from the hospital yesterday… and now they are three year old little human beings with OPINIONS! Particularly since Meredith joined us, Samantha and Amelia have been so grown up and independent, from getting dressed by themselves (they only get their underwear backwards every other day or so) to grabbing diapers or changes of clothes for their sister. I miss those small little babes, but am so proud of the big girls they are becoming.

They are so grown up, that for the first year, I sat them down individually for a birthday interview and asked them about their favorite things instead of just writing down what I thought the answers would be. They were beaming the whole time and felt so special answering all the questions.

Some of their answers that didn’t make it on the poster were interesting! When Amelia was asked what she wanted to do when she grew up, she responded with, “Go potty!” I’m not entirely sure she understood the question, but she was adamant.

Amelia also stated that her best friend was Samantha, while Samantha responded, whilst looking over her shoulder at Amelia with an evil grin, that HER best friend was Grandpa. I think she was trying to get a rise out of Amelia, but that sweet girl didn’t seem to mind at all… or, more likely, she wasn’t going to let Samantha have the satisfaction of seeing her upset!

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This week, Grammy and Grandpa flew into town and the twins had a jam packed week of adventures, including three birthday parties: Grammy’s 60th, their friend, Grace’s, who shares a birthday with them, and the grand finale… their princess themed birthday party at We Play Loud. They had a blast partying with all their friends and were especially honored to have Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty show up to celebrate with them (well, Amelia was excited, anyway!)

For anyone who has a spare thirty minutes, here is their 3rd birthday slideshow that we played in the background at their party (click the speaker at the bottom of the slideshow to play the music). Happy 3rd birthday, girls! We love you!

Lots of love,

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