"Neigh!"

Maybe it's that raspy voice, or the blazing fire in her eyes, or her love of books, or the pigtails, or the constant "neigh"-ing, but I'll bet that if you've had the privilege of meeting Elle, you love her. Being a mother is wonderful and challenging and craaaazy, but Elle makes me look at this life I have chosen and think, "This is SO MUCH FUN."  

Elle loves horses. Every minute of her day is spent pretending to be a horse, or riding on your back as you pretend to be a horse-- cheering "giddy-up!", or reading books about horses, or pretending all her toys are horses, or riding on pretend horses, calling "neigh! neigh!" and blowing air out of her mouth like a horse. She carries four plastic horses with her everywhere she goes, affectionately named Daddy Horsie, Mommy Horsie, Baby Horsie, and Apple Juice. She watches movies about horses, talks about horses to anyone within hearing distance---please tell me you get the picture?

SO- we had her 2nd birthday at a FARM! This may surprise you, but every member of the Hartwell family flew to Washington for the festivities. Taryn's fiance' (now husband!!!!!) OJ traveled down from Canada. Grandma and Grandpa also drove up from Oregon for the day! The Little Farm at Windwater was the perfect setting to celebrate our little Bellie.

Every time she fed a horse, she screamed with excitement!

The kids all fed chickens, goats, bunnies, and a potbelly pig with a mouthful of tusks and yellowed teeth! And then it was time for the crowning jewel of the party: horse rides. At first, we tried to put Elle on a horse by herself, and she was hysterical. So, I climbed on behind her! MUCH BETTER.

I have the cutest nieces and nephews.

Everyone had the opportunity to ride a horse around the coral, while adoring parents and grandparents oo'd and ah'd and flashed their cameras. There was something angelic about my children as they interacted with the animals, especially amidst the rolling farmlands of western Washington. 

Just because Juliette is adorable.

 So, Happy Birthday to my daring, darling, beautiful little girl. I hope the horsies were everything you dreamed they would be...

Call me Bella.

Things I can do while holding a baby:
1) Prepare/eat meals
2) Read books
3) Brush my teeth
4) Vacuum
5) Talk on the phone
6) Type this blog

Things I can do while holding 2 babies:
1) Sit
2) Stand
3) Walk
4) Call out to London for help

Let's start with Henry...
Henry is ALL boy. He is thick and dense. He is the fussier baby, with the most incredible set of lungs----but he is also the smiliest! He is very particular, and only likes being held on your knees while you sit down, or pressed against your chest with his head tilted back. I am his favorite person, and I love it.



Juliette is a tiny little angel baby. She squeaks more than she cries, and would rather cuddle with you than do anything else in the world. She lets everyone hold her. After eating, she burps like a 40-year-old-man. I have a feeling she'll be the peacemaker in our family.




The girls are adjusting to the twins as I expected. London revels in her new responsibilities as the "biggest" sister. When the twins are upset, she runs to their side to sing them songs, or tell them, "It's alright, it's alright! Don't cry, don't cry!"---and then reports to me, "Uh, Mom? It's not working." Elle is finally getting better at waiting for me when I'm busy with the twins, but we still have hard days. She loves to say, "Hi the twins!" and "Bebe Julet so cute!" She can't tell them apart yet...

The hardest thing about having twins is consuming enough calories to feed them. I feel like Michael Phelps when he was training for the Olympics. Or Bella Swan when she first became a vampire. All I do is eat, and I am STARVING. I read all these twin books during my pregnancy, and not one gave me a heads-up on this fascinating phenomenon: By the way, you will eat your body weight in food every day.

The days are long and exhausting, and it takes me one hour to prepare to leave my house. Friends still come over to help me, so I can shower before noon, or take an afternoon nap, and there is a carpool that takes London to school that I don't even help drive in. And now I understand the phrase: "It takes a village." I sure love my village.

"Are they twins? Are they boys or girls?"---- questions that make me doubt the survival of the human race.

Our first family outing....

A walking circus.