Okay, I read what I just wrote and while it was therapeutic I need to just get over myself!!! Look at the happiness on her face, how could I not be happy for her.

Janna lost her first tooth

Earlier this evening Janna lost her first tooth. It has been loose for a few weeks and she had another tooth growing in behind it. It finally fell out with a little help from daddy. Janna was chewing on a towel pretending to be a dog when David pulled the towel out of her mouth. They were playing and both were surprised when her tooth popped right out. She got a little scared by the blood but let me give her a cold washcloth to sooth it. Then she realized she reached a major milestone and couldn't wait to tell everyone. She called her grandma and Aunt Tina then asked if she could call some of her friends.

The cutest for me was to hear her on the speaker phone with her friend Sarah (age 7). Sarah began explaining how her life was about to change. Sarah told her how it would be harder for her to eat, she'd have to put all her food one one side and that it would feel really funny for a couple of days. It made me see both of these sweet girls in a different light. They were friends, turing to each other in times of joy and offering advice. It was so grown up!!

Janna has been waiting for this great change to happen since Sarah & Erin both lost teeth last summer. She would point to her gap and say, "Look, I lost a tooth." So she was in her element to be able to proudly join the ranks of the big girls and proclaim that she had finally lost her first tooth. To have Sarah give her big girl advice was the icing on the cake!!!

But to be honest the whole thing made me a little sad. I know my child is supposed to grow up, I know she is supposed to go to others for advice, I know she is supposed to have these expereinces sometimes without me. Knowing them and experiencing them are two different things. I'm so happy for her and I would never spoil the moment for her. I waited until she fell asleep before the tears came. Perhaps I'm being overly sentimental (you know me!!!) or perhaps I'm still sleep deprived (I do have infant twins you know) or perhaps I'm just noting the passage of time.

I'm not trying to compare my children. Its just hard when Kennedy has gotten her first two teeth in and here is my oldest child losing her first one. It's like she lost a part of her babyhood. While she will always be my precious baby, the truth is she is growing up. Losing a tooth tonight just forced me to see it in a way I hadn't before.

You hear people say motherhood is hard. Well, these are the moments that make it hard. Trying to figure out why something affects you so much and then dealing with those feelings.

After all, it's just a tooth. Right?

High Star Christmas Tree Farm

My Mothers of Multiples group did a breakfast with Santa at the High Star Christmas Tree Farm today. While we weren't in the market for a tree we were definately up for a day of fun.

We decided to get some pictures and I was impressed that all of my girls actually liked Santa. Perhaps it was his friendly voice. Or his blue jeans & cowboy boots. All I know is that none of my girls were afraid and all seemed to enjoy taking pictures with him. We lucked into a gorgeous day. We even managed to get a family shot right before the train ride started. We took the train all around the farm, drank hot chocolate, ate donuts, Janna got her face painted and we simply enjoyed our favorite past time - being together.

There was a huge hay stack f0r the girls to play in. At first we let Janna play as we held the babies to let them watch. Janna played with the other children and ran to the top only to throw herself into the huge pile below.

Kennedy was yelling happy noises at the top of her lungs so I finally decided to put her in the hay. As you can see from the pictures she tried to eat it. Courtney just liked to run it through her fingers and feel the texture in it.

We did manage to get some great photos out of the deal so everyone was happy.

This is the tree Janna wanted to cut down for the babies. I do not condone the cutting down of trees for the Christmas holidays so the baby tree was spared. Janna agreed that we would just put a little fake one up.

I had to add this photo because I really liked it.

Of the many things I'm grateful for this Christmas you are looking at the four things that are most important to me. David is still my best friend and an amazing husband. Janna as always is the light of my life. Courtney & Kennedy have brought their own brand of joy to my world. I couldn't imagine a better life than the one God has given me. I am blessed beyond belief to be a part of this sweet little family.

Most of all I am grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I am thankful for a Father in Heaven who has given me these wonderful children to raise and to treasure.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and your blessings are plentiful. I hope as you rush to enjoy the holiday season that you are able to stop and appreciate the small moments.

Christmas is coming!!!

We're getting ready for Christmas in the Sorensen household.

We have a wonderful theater district in downtown Houston. To open the holiday season they do a lighting of the Christmas tree party with various cast members of the ballet and other shows. Here is Janna with Clara & her Nutcracker - from the ballet. They are her two favorite characters and she was so excited. Although she was a little embarrassed because he's a boy with his arm around her. It kept making her laugh.

Kennedy loved her little dress. Do you remember this one Aunt Shana? You bought it for Janna years ago and I still have it. She loved the camera time and was happy to pose for me.

Can you handle the cuteness? Courtney wanted the jingle bells off the Santa hat and she loved seeing Janna wearing it.

We have decided we need more reindeer ears (or moose depending on who you ask) in our house because everyone looked so cute in the ears.

Twilight

Okay my Twilight friends out there - don't hate me.

I don't think I get the popularity of these books. I have trouble with what I view as the pedophile thing: Bella starts out at age 17 and he’s 100+ hello?!?!?!?! Frozen in time or not, that’s just gross. I can handle the glaring typographical errors (although wasn’t someone supposed to proof-read the books?), and the inaccuracies (didn't she keep track of her own story lines?) but I truly don’t get what all the fuss is about. Personally I thought the books were okay for light reading. Well, until I got to number four and she completely lost me. As a series I thought they were somewhat entertaining but nothing new and unusual. So why are so many people going crazy over these books? I’m not trying to insult those who love the books – I truly just don’t get it. So if you’re up for it, email me and explain. I'm asking this because so many people I know are into these books and I'm truly trying to understand the appeal.

More silly photo's

Our favorite thing in the world is to make each other laugh. We do funny dances, tell jokes, whatever we can to get a smile. The babies get in on the act as much as they can. They stick out their tongue - most times its completely on accident when they make faces.








Janna put on her daddies beenie - and yes I have pictures of David wearing it. No I won't post them here.






Here is Kennedy doing our favorite silly face of hers.





My neighborh (who has triplets) brought over some clothes for the babies. As I was sorting through them Courtney was in playing with the clothes. I couldn't resist the opportunity to put this on her head. Cute huh?

Happy 40th Birthday David

Happy birthday to my sweet husband!!!!

Janna made her daddy a picture filled with hearts to show how much she loved him. Then she said there wasn't enough room to put all the hearts on the page that were inside her so she would just tell him how much she loved him. You can guess how much he enjoyed his picture.

Here he is with all his sweet girls. It's about 7:00 a.m. and I'm surprised at how happy everyone looks. Then again, when daddy is there - life is good. Janna of course couldn't pass up an opportunity to be silly.

Election Day

Janna's school did mock elections today. Janna came home and told me, "Mommy, Matthew voted for the goat!!" I'm sure she meant Donkey but it was still pretty funny. I told her its not nice to ask people who they voted for and she said they talked about it in class. She voted for the elephant because he was the biggest.

We've been talking to her a lot about making choices and why this election is so important. It's been very sweet to hear her say her prayers and ask God to help people to make the right decision. Tonight she prayed that the President would choose the right.

We were talking about God and how we can't see Him but some people can feel the Holy Ghost and therefore feel God with them. She said, "I feel God with me when I'm outside in nature. I also felt God here last night." She then pointed to her bed. She said He laid down with her last night when she wasn't feeling well.

Can I tell you how much I love that little girl? Her mind & heart are so pure and so good. She never ceases to amaze me and I love to hear what she has to say.

Happy Halloween - Part 2

Here's a quick group shot of our lovely girls. Courtney kept staring at Janna's ears and more than once tried to grab them.
Janna decided to be a leopard. Although after so many houses the headband hurt and gave her a headache. So I wound up carrying the headband and the candy bucket!!

careful - we have a leopard at our house and she has claws!!!

As you can see Kennedy loves Courtney's hair so she grabs it every chance she gets. Having it painted blue made it all the more tempting. In all fairness Courtney likes to put her fingers in Kennedy's eyes & mouth - it all evens out.

We hope you had a wonderful Halloween. Janna is now passed out due to candy & sensory overload. Courtney & Kennedy are back to normal and sleeping - I think I'll take that as my cue.

Happy Halloween - Part 1

I will write on this blog

You will see something new.

Two things. And I call them

Thing One and Thing Two

Jellystone - Canyon Lake

We went camping with some friends out to the Hill Country last weekend. We lucked into amazingly beautiful weather, a great campsite and wonderful friends to share the time with. It was a place called Jellystone Park, Canyon Lake and it was so much fun.

Here is the website if you want to check it out. They have campgrounds like this all over the country and they are truly family friendly.

http://www.jellystonehillcountry.com/

It got cold at night and in the early morning. As you can see Janna & Courtney pilled on daddy to get warm. And yes, David is wearing Janna's Dora hat to be silly!!

Here Janna & Ashley are enjoying hot chocolate late at night. Janna's got a headband flashlight on - which work great for kids when camping.

Tammy gave the children a task - gather acorns and you can earn glowsticks that night. Being the task driven person she is; Janna attempted to fill her Yogi Bear bag with them. Yes, the acorns all made it home with us.

Courtney is getting so close to crawling!

Rachel sat down to play with the babies. Kennedy took that opportunity to gnaw on her hand.

All our girls loved being outside, enjoying the sunshine. There was a playground on site which all the children enjoyed, although Courtney and Kennedy watched from the sidelines. I did take them both on the swing with me.

Running out of paper didn't deter our girls. They put their artistic talents to good use painting all the rocks on the camp site. As they got bored they began to paint themselves!!

All in all we had a good time painting, doing crafts, making S'mores, drinking hot chocolate, hay rides, playing in tents, eating, campfires, swimming (let's here it for indoor pools) and being with friends.

So what was my favorite part? A group of astronomers came the last night and shared their telescopes with us. We got to see Jupiter & her four moons, the Andromeda Galaxy and the M 16 constellation!!! It was incredible to behold. It touched me more than I expected. It was amazing to look into this tiny lens and view something so magnificent. It reminded me again how great God is, how vast our universe is and beautiful life can be. It was humbling and I feel like mere words can’t describe the experience. I’ll tell you what – if you ever get a chance to peer through a telescope at the amazing worlds beyond us, DO IT!!!!

The trip to Old MacDonalds farm

Janna letting me know she's dressed and ready for Old MacDonalds farm. She insisted on the boots.

Checking out the pigs

She loves animals and of course her favorite is to be able to ride a horse.

Here she is with Rachel - can you tell its the end of the day and they are about worn out?

Kennedy and I cuddling

Here's Courtney and mommy

Scooting & Crawling

Courtney & Kennedy are starting to scoot around. Courtney gets up on her knees and rocks. Then she does the Army crawl (or rolls). Kennedy has her own unique way of getting around. Just watch the video for yourself.

FYI: Janna was watching her sisters try to get around and as she saw Courtney smack her little head for about the fifth time she looked at me and said, “Mommy, maybe we should get them helmets.”

Peaches

The girls have started solids. So far Courtney has loved everything and is really excited about the baby food. Kennedy - well that's a whole other story. She hasn't been impressed with too many foods. Mostly she'd rather nurse. However, when she tried peaches for the first time it was funny enough that I had to give them to her again and get a video of it.

Thanks for feeding her grandma while I captured the moment!!! Although her face the first time was even worse if you can imagine.

On the playground

There are some great parks in Austin. So we had lots of opportunities to play!! Courtney fell asleep so she missed out on going down the slide. But I did capture Janna & Kennedy sliding down together. As you can see Kennedy really wanted to play!

















At another park all the girls got into the act. Courtney woke up and took a ride on the swing.


















Janna took her turn on the big girl swings. She also got to ride the train around the park, play on the jungle gym and generally enjoy herself.






Kennedy took that time to kick back and relax. She didn't have a binky so she chilled with a thumb!


Then it was over to Barton Springs for a dip in the water. We forgot swimsuits but that didn't deter Janna!! She wound up swimming and getting completely soaked! No one minded at all. That's what beautiful days & swimming holes are all about!!!



















Courtney & Kennedy wanted to get in the water too so Aunt Shana helped them dip their toes in. It was a bit chilly for them but they did enjoy the goose that honked at us to get out of its spot!!! Once we left it got back in the water and finally stopped honking at us. What a great day. Thanks again Shana!!!