Thursday, February 5, 2009

Okay, okay.... :)

Wow...it has been so long since I posted on my blog I am not sure if I remember how! :) And all of you have been waiting sooo patiently (some more patiently than others :) ), that I can wait no longer. My list of excuses for not posting is long but I will skip all those and just do a random post of what we have been up to lately. :)
First up...Abby and Claire. :)

As per my last post, we FINALLY got to bring them home from the hospital on Dec. 6th (9 1/2 weeks after they were born). After becoming BFF's with a few of the nurses and obtaining my very own, self-proclaimed, VIP parking spot at the hospital, I was immensely excited when the girls finally came home. In fact, I think I had a perma-grin for at least the first week. :) They are doing marvelous, sleeping better, and are the nicest, happiest babies ever! They are gaining weight (both over 9 lbs now) and have been healthy from the git-go. Unfortunately since they were sooo pre-mature and trying to avoid RSV like the plague, we have not been able to take them out much. Which is why no one has really seen them. :( BUT...I am happy to announce that we will be taking them to church for the Fast Sunday in March to bless them...so then people can actually see these girls they have heard about but never seen. :) We are still not supposed to take them out but I figure having them at church for 1 hour is no more dangerous than being at our house afterward with all our friends and family and 40 grandchildren! Well, without further adue...here is one of the ONLY good pics we have of them! You would be SHOCKED how difficult it is to a good pic of two babies...you get one set up and then the other falls over...then you get one in focus and the other is blurry... Anyway, here they are...

*Can you guess who is who??? Abby has more hair and is bigger... ;)














We are just loving having these girls home! Aren't they darling??!!!


Next up, Holidays....

Okay, these weren't as crazy as normal because we couldn't go anywhere! It was actually kind of nice. :) We just hung out at home, worked on our basement (more on that next), and spent time together. I was smart this year and got all my Xmas shopping done before the girls came home and so we were ready and could just relax...

Here are some pics of the kids on Xmas morning...Jake got a Jeep powerwheel, his very own guitar, and tools. Does it get any better than that for a little guy? Morgan got a gymnastics mat, Littlest Pet Shops, and Barbies...such a girl. :) The babies got...well nothing. :) Lots of love... :)















Last, and quite possibly the thing that has been keeping us the BUSIEST...we have been finishing our basement! We intended to have it done BEFORE the girls arrived but that obviously didn't happen. We have done most of it ourselves (when I say "we" I mean Trev and his brother Rich) :), and so it has taken a lot of nights and weekends and pretty much every other minute we have to spare. We are ALMOST done though...and we couldn't be happier! Trev and Rich have done a WONDERFUL job and I will be posting pics once it is completed. Don't worry, I have before and afters. :) Oh...and we only finished half of it. We finished a great room, kids cubby under the stairs (which I think I am going to make into an old candy shop theme.. :) ), eating island complete with cabinets, a mini-fridge, and a microwave, some shelves in my storage room, and finally Trev new favorite room...a movie theater! We also partly finished a bathroom but will fully finish it later. :) We are REALLY excited and since the carpet was put in, have LOVED hanging out down there. We also moved all of our TV's downstairs and so now I finally have a "living/sitting room" again. That has been the other part of the busiest. I feel like we have experienced a mini-move! We moved Morgan upstairs, the girls into Morgan's room, the "family room/entertainment stuff" downstairs, and created our "living room." Whewww... I am getting tired just thinking about it. We are still in the process of getting everything set up, but once it is all done I will post pics of everything! :)

Well, we are now heading into what I believe to be our busiest month of the year...February. In our house February means Valentines, our 7th Anniversary, Morgan's birthday, President's day, and my birthday!

Morgan just LOVES throwing parties and so you can imagine how psyched she gets for her birthday! This year she wants a Tinkerbell PJ party...I was planning it out last night with her and I was getting excited for her!
Happy Birtday big girl!!! She is turning five, starting kindergarten in the fall, and still just as sweet as can be. She also says some of the funniest things! She asked me today what it means to be "scared out of your shorts." Sooo cute!


Jake is just getting sooo stinkin' big! I swear he believes he is just as big as Morgan. In fact, while the babies were in the hospital he decided to potty-train himself!!! He is the funniest, craziest, sweetest little boy ever. He also seems to have already hit puberty because his voice is the deepest I have ever heard for a 2 year old. We love our Jakey! He starts pre-school in the fall...wow how it flies.

Okay, so now you can see why it has taken me so long to blog... :) But I finally am feeling like we are getting into a good system and life is getting into what will be normal for us. :) We are loving it! Hope to blog again soon...

20 comments:

Leandra said...

Yay! Thanks for the post! Your kids are all so adorable and sweet. And I'm SO jealous that Jake potty trained himself!!!

Jilene said...

Congrats on everything Kasey! Your kids are absolutely adorable and you look wonderful. Hope you are enjoying a little "me" time in the midst of all your kiddies!

Heidi said...

Glad you found time in your busy life to post the photos. All of the kids look so sweet. I especially love the photo of Morgan and Jake together with their baby sisters.

The Clawsons said...

hey, welcome back! we miss you guys so much!love the pics of your sweet little girlies.

Kimberly said...

Hello skinny minnie! You look great. I can't believe your son potty trained himself! I heard boys are so hard...you totally lucked out. Glad you guys are doing so well.

The Foulgers said...

I'm so glad to see you are back to posting! The kids look adorable. I'm glad the twins are doing well. You have been super busy! I miss you. I still need to stop in and see you.

Beck said...

Such cute pictures. Loved it! They are beautiful little girls. And your kids are darling. I dont know if I have ever seen them before. Weird huh! So cute!

Jill said...

beautiful babies! I want to see them in real life. Hope you are all doing well, happy for you that they are doing so well!

Carina said...

So excited to finally see these beautiful little girls, Siena has definitely surpassed them in weight now. Your little family is so cute!

Amy said...

Adorable family! Can't wait to see them again.

The Blackham3 said...

Hey! Kasey! I am so glad you posted!!! Everyone has been asking how you and the girls are. Now I can send them to your blog! I cannot believe how big they are. They are beautiful(still). I miss you all the time. I am so glad I got to know you! Keep in touch! Now you are four, five and under! Kiss the girls for me! ~Jen

Maughan"sters" said...

So, do the girls look like Morgan, Jake, Trevor or you??
I can't wait to see their blessing dresses.

Unknown said...

Love it! Everyone looks great, especially you! So glad to hear the girls are doing well and things are getting back to "normal" (not sure that's ever existed in the Lighten-Manola household). :) Hope to hear from you soon, lots of love coming your way! Enjoy February!

linds said...

It's so good to see you guys again ;) Wow, things have been REALLY busy at your house!! You have a beautiful family...your baby girls are so, so cute. Congratulations!

Kim said...

I'm so happy things are going so well for you guys and that the babies are doing well, they are adorable. Such pretty little girls.

Alicia H said...

So good to hear all is going well. I don't mean to sound too concerned...but the invitation you put on hear has WAY TOO MUCH information on it. I would blur it out or something. I know I may sound a little crazy...but better crazy safe than sorry. Miss you all tons. :)

Loni said...

Yeah!! I am so glad all is well with the girls. What is it about having twins that makes you re arrange the house? I am still in the process as well. Good luck to you and I hope to meet those sweet babies!!
Ps. What did you decide for a car??

Kasey Lighten said...

Alicia,
Thanks sooooo much for telling me about the invitation!!! I wasn't even thinking about that! So I went and replaced the picture. :) I am usually really careful about that kind of thing...this time I just wasn't thinking. Thanks sooo much for saying something! Also, I want to see your blog...can you send me an invite>? kasey@kaseylightenphotography.com

Megan said...

Oh my gosh! Don't know how I missed your post, but I've been dying to see pics of the girls. That are BEAUTIFUL! I can't wait to see them in real life :)

melinda said...

The girls are beautiful and I can't believe how big Morgan and Jake are...time goes way to fast. I so glad that you had a great holiday and that life is calming down.