Tulip Festival 2017.

We had to miss most of Tulip Festival this year because we were in Des Moines for my sister's graduation, but we enjoyed what we were there for! (And if we had to miss, this was a good year to miss because the weather was cold and rainy!)

It was so much fun to take Norah on the rides this year. She was old enough to anticipate it and know it was coming, and she was anxiously awaiting all day. It was so cute. Here's Norah and Kley on the carousel!

Norah absolutely loved the giant slide and had to go down twice in a row. She stood at the very top just shaking her arms and shouting, "I'm so excited!" All that money we spent on overpriced ride tickets was absolutely worth it to see the look on her face and the joy in her voice. Watching your kids have fun is even better than having fun yourself!

And isn't her t-shirt the cutest? It says, "Wooden shoe rather be dutch?"

This year was also Norah's first time going on a ride solo. I knew she would either absolutely love it or cry/hate it, and I'm so thankful she loved it! I wondered if she would be scared to go by herself, but we told her some of the rides were to small for us and were just for kids, and she thought that was awesome and walked right on in! She loved driving her own car!

Riding the dragons with Aunt Elizabeth!

Ferris wheel!

We were able to make it to one parade before heading to Des Moines, and even though it was cold, I'm glad we made it. It was Lucy and Ellory's first Tulip Festival debut! Here is the POD (Pride of the Dutchmen) marching band, where Kley went. He absolutely loves seeing them every year and freaks out.

The Queen and her court.

Watching the parade.

It was so cold, but the girls handled it so well. 

Had to take a picture by the tulips!

Kley was also very excited this year because he got to play as part of the entertainment! He played with his cousin and a friend, but they printed it in all the announcements as the "Kley De Jong band," so everyone kept asking us about his band, and I kept having to tell people that this was just for Tulip Festival and it's not a real band. Ha. But, he really enjoyed it. I, unfortunately, had to miss most of it because it was right during the girls feeding time, but way to go, Kley! I felt bad for him that not many people were there because of the bad weather, but he did great!

Our little cuties.

I know we are biased, but boy oh boy aren't they just the cutest? :)

Mother's Day 2017.

Happy Mother's Day! It didn't go exactly as I hoped for me, but that's okay too. You'd think I would learn after having a couple of them under my belt, but for some reason I still naively hoped for a perfect day, so I found myself grumpy when Norah was particularly challenging. Kley and I said it was one of our hardest days yet as parents of three, but I'm so thankful we could help each other and I'm still thankful to be a mother, even on the hard days. I prayed that when I was praying with Norah after she was being naughty and I got angry, and I pray that even though I'm not a perfect mom, that I can lead them to Christ. I want my girls to know that they are so loved by their Father, and both by Kley and I, no matter what. Motherhood isn't very glamorous, but it certainly is beautiful, both in the trials and the joys. Jesus, thank you for making me a mother. I am so honored.

We got to see lots of family throughout the day, which was very special. I am so thankful for my mom and mother-in-law. I have definitely learned from the best! Their help since the twins have been born has been so valuable to us! And yes, Norah has a sticker on her forehead. Oops.

Also, I watched this video several times and cried. I love it so much. The normal things are beautiful!

 A Normal Day

Great grandparents, Norah dates, and twin photo attempts.

Kley and I are very thankful to have all of our grandparents still living (what a blessing!), and it's really great that 6 of the 8 live really close to us! The girls were able to briefly meet Great Grandpa and Grandma Ver Steeg (Kley's mom's parents) on the day they came home from the hospital, but it was so fast that we didn't get a photo, so I'm so glad we got another opportunity and they were healthy enough to come visit again! I will treasure this photo, along with the other great grandparent photos we've gotten with the girls.

One Saturday, Norah got to have both a mommy date and a daddy date! There was a tea party at our church, so Norah and I went to that in the morning.

In the evening, Norah got to have a daddy/daughter date! We had been talking about it all week and she was very excited. I think it's so important for her to have one on one time with each of us, especially since the twins have arrived. It's also so special for her to have one on one time with her dad, because he is pretty fantastic and so sweet to watch her look up to him and have such a good male role model in her life. They went to McDonald's and the indoor pool. She loved it! She's mentioned she wants another daddy/daughter date several times already,

One morning I tried to take some photos of the twins, and this is what we got. I forgot how hard it is to take pictures of young babies- they make quite a few strange faces! These were the best of the bunch. But no matter how the photo turns out, we think they are crazy cute!

They are starting to smile more now and I love it so much.

Ellory is still our paci girl, though she has been sucking her thumb some too! Lucy will occasionally suck her fist, but doesn't really like her thumb or the paci.

Ellory is more laid back and Lucy is a bit more dramatic. Lucy cries to be held more and has a higher pitched cry. Ellory's cry is softer, with her bottom lip sticking out and big tears rolling down. Ellory smiles more freely. Lucy sucks the air when she's hungry, as if that will magically bring food to her mouth. Lucy loves to lay on your chest. Ellory poops and spits up way more. Lucy takes her time with her bottle, while Ellory likes to chug it. You can already tell how different they are and it's fun to try to learn their personalities. We love you both so much!