New bikes!

Ashton got a new bike for his birthday. When we were out last weekend, we decided to get Weston a Strider Bike so that he could teach himself how to ride a 2 wheeler. They both have been enjoying their new wheels! Yesterday after the boys got out of school, we went out and rode around. Our nanny brought the babies out later to watch their big brothers ride for a while. They were watching very seriously. We are looking forward to warmer weather so that we can enjoy more bike rides!

Our twins are 1:)

Balloons for the birthday boys!

I am so in love :)

Nixon with his bed head and cupcake

Cooper did not like cake! 

Ashton singing to his brothers

Cooper being Cooper :)

Our happily ever after

Nixon sharing his cake with me

We did a chocolate/funfetti swirl cake

Getting ready to blow out the candles

The aftermath 

Nixy and Coop 

Wow, has this year flown by! 

One year ago we were cradling our new, healthy twin baby boys in our arms at the hospital. 

I remember hearing both of them cry for the first time. I remember the doctor showing me each one. 

I remember them quieting down and snuggling together in the same bassinet as soon as they were swaddled. 

They were perfect, and they were ours. 

2 days later we took them home from the hospital and dove right into twin baby mode. 

It has been one exciting year. 

At 8 weeks old, the babies took their first plane ride across the country to Washington D.C.

At 3 months old they were given a name and a blessing.

At 4 months old we moved to Tokyo, Japan.

Also at 4 months old, they decided that they didn't want pacifiers anymore.

At 5 months they started army crawling and both got their 2 bottom teeth.

At 6 months they started crawling on their hands and knees and their two top teeth popped through.

At 7 months they started pulling themselves up to things.

At 8 months they each got 2 more teeth and started interacting more with each other.

9 months they started walking along the furniture.

10 months was their first Christmas and Cooper decided to get 2 more teeth (8 total for Cooper, Nixon has 6)

11 months they are standing on their own and taking small, wobbly steps.

And here we are at 1 year! 

Favorite toys are their banana toothbrushes.

Favorite foods are nursing a few times a day (YAY FOR MAKING IT ONE YEAR NURSING THE TWINNERS!) and pretty much anything we are eating. Rice, eggs, bread, mashed potatoes, avocados, crackers, cereal etc. They love baby food especially when fed out of their Boon spoons.

They are growing so quickly. Ashton and Weston adore them and love that they can each play with a baby. The twins already race over to the older boys and try to wrestle with them. 

Happy Birthday Nixon Sawyer and Cooper Hunt!

We LOVE you! 

Different stages-our big boys.

This morning while I was trying to get through an interval training run at the gym, my mind wandered off and started thinking about each of my boys. Before I knew it, my run was over and my heart was full because I am so blessed to be a mom to 4 healthy, happy children.

I want to document the things our older boys are doing now. They are only 17 months apart, and enjoy a lot of the same things. But they are oh so different.

Ashton. You will be 6 in 2 weeks. You are in kindergarten and are a leader in your classroom. People gravitate towards you and your self confidence. I am amazed at how well you do at new things. You rarely get nervous whether it's for an audition, a talk or scripture in church or other challenges that arise.  Yesterday you performed some of the new karate moves in front of the whole class-and you did great.

You are very smart and like to make sense of everything. We love hearing about all of your thoughts and ideas.

Being the oldest you have a lot of responsibilities. You are always the first to ask if I need help with the babies. This morning you heard them in my room and came in to see if you could help me bring them downstairs for breakfast. Yesterday, you helped us all get to soccer. You quickly changed into your uniform, helped Weston get into his and then offered to carry both backpacks and coats to practice so that I wouldn't have to. 

You are very tall and skinny. We are constantly buying you new shoes and pants because you are growing so fast! You have lost 2 teeth, but the new ones have already grown in. 

Some of your interests include:

Legos

Ninjago

Soccer

Karate

reading

writing stories and notes to people

skylanders (xbox)

Mine craft on the iPad 

We are impressed at the young man that you already are.

Weston. You are 4.5 and have a contagious smile and laugh. You are our silly boy. Always telling a joke or saying something funny. You like to tickle the babies and they giggle so much when you play with them. 

Your teachers tell us that you are a leader too in your class. They say that you are very kind to others. You like to sing and dance. In fact, your dance moves are really good! 

You are extremely good at math. Even your teachers see it. You like to point out all numbers. You are always counting and looking for numbers to read. 

You are a natural born athlete. Any sport that you try you are good at. We are excited to see you excel at sports.

Your favorite food is Pizza. But you also eat Japanese ramen and gyoza like crazy! 

You are very outgoing and will talk to anyone! You can strike up a conversation very easily. 

You love to snuggle and I enjoy when you sneak into our room and sleep at the bottom of our bed.

Some of your interests now are...

Pirates

nerf guns

curious george

soccer 

baking with mom

super heroes 

What a happy boy you are. You are growing so fast.

I am so happy to see our boys at different ages. It is fun to see them both interact with their friends. It is fun seeing them try new things. 

At times being a parent is frustrating. They fight us about bed times, dinner and homework. 

Sometimes they fight with each other and drive us crazy. But that is just part of the ride. 

And we are thankful to be their parents.

It's official....

Ashton and I have been taking Karate together now since October. At the beginning of December, we went and tested for our blue belts. It is a very serious test and only offered twice a year (once in December and once in June). After we tested, the Grand Master and other prestigious black belts lectured us on our techniques and offered up help to perfect our moves. They told us that they would deliberate and have the results in less than a month. After Christmas, Ashton and I were happy to be informed by our sensei that we had passed the examination! Just last week, our blue belts and certificates came and so he presented them to us! 

Now we are learning the blue belt moves. They are very difficult and we have a lot to learn. 

I am so happy that I get to do this activity twice a week with Ashton. I enjoy seeing him learn and master new things and I, too enjoy the challenge!

Clips from the boys' Christmas programs

 a clip from Weston's "Santa lost his ho ho ho" play

The opening number at Ashton's Christmas program

Both boys' Christmas programs were over the top. Weston was cast as Santa in his classes rendition of "Santa lost his ho ho ho!" It was a very cute play and his part was very funny. 

Ashton's musical numbers were very good. I couldn't believe that I was watching kindergartners! 

Enjoy!

Random pics from my phone

This particular night, Ashton had been at a job all day long (they paid for him and a parent to take the bullet train to Nagoya) and then hurried home to another audition. He was starving afterwards. This picture is him with his tummy full of Ramen. He was full of energy again!

The babies are so close to walking. Cooper looked so handsome in his clothes so of course I snapped a quick picture.

This was at one of Nixon's shoots a few weeks ago. They had a little boy kimono for him. It was darling. This was his snack/break time.

 This picture was taken a few days ago. Those of you who follow me on Instagram already know the story behind it. I had rocked Cooper to sleep because he is getting his molars in. He was really sad so I cuddled him. Nixon saw this and climbed out of his nap nanny and up onto the couch. Once he was there he snuggled up next to us and fell asleep too. I just enjoyed my time with them.

This was just a fun picture of the babies with some of their favorite toys

 I enjoyed a nice evening out with my friends Wednesday night. We ate dinner and went and saw Les Mis. Didn't get home until midnight, and all the kids were in bed! Fun night :)

We took Weston out to lunch on one of his days off of school (Ashton was at school). He chose a happy meal. We opted for Japanese cuisine of some sort. Most likely Ramen/gyoza.