Four Months

Hannah Kate turned the big 04 months on July 23rd. This past month's biggest accomplishment has been becoming an avid finger sucker. They are in her mouth all the time... the same two on the same hand. We have even said goodbye to the binkies. Why don't I have a picture of it yet? I have no idea and didn't even realize I didn't have one until I sat down to write this. So alas, it will have to come later.

Hannah Kate is oh so close to rolling over from her back to stomach, and she can even turn herself around in a complete circle- pretty talented I know. I made an attempt to give her some rice cereal to which she made horrible faces and spit every last drop out, so we are going to try again in a couple of weeks. She wants to eat big people food so bad!

Her other current joys in life include:

- Watching everything Parker and Emma Jane do

- Pulling hair

- Attempting to sit up whenever laying down- she has freakishly strong abdominal muscles

- Chewing on toys

- And again- sucking on her fingers

Parker thought Hannah Kate needed a bracelet for the picture

Hannah Kate wasn't too thrilled with this photo shoot- What you can't see is Parker and Emma Jane each holding their own "cameras" and "phones" taking pictures of Hannah Kate while I am trying to... can we say overwhelmed?

The other HUGE undertaking that has occurred in the Broge household has been... potty training. While Jason and I knew this would be quite the undertaking to have two children at the same time doing this- we were unprepared for how intense it would be. We had a three day intensive don't leave the house/ pump the children full of liquid/ give out M&Ms like crazy/ weekend and now we are pleasantly surprised at the results. Yay!

Summertime

Summertime is well under way! At the end of June Hannah Kate turned three months. She is developing more and more personality everyday. Like her parents and sisters, she is proving not to be the most laid back person (shocker I know). She likes to be entertained by Parker and Emma Jane, held, and awake at three AM. She has mastered rolling over from her belly to back although still gets stuck occasionally. She has also found her feet and is able to turn in a complete circle on the playmat (very entertaining).

The obligatory three month elephant photo

So I tried once again to get a picture of all three. I must have said something about making a silly face which prompted Emma Jane to accidentally crush Hannah Kate's face. Afterwards while Hannah Kate cried and recovered from this insult we had a talk about how we can't cover up her face with anything :) Side note, Parker is in fact wearing her sparkly princess dress with her "nurses coat" (NOT a doctor's coat) over it. She wears this almost everyday, and what you can't see is that she also has on high heel dress up shoes.

Parker and Emma Jane are doing fantastic. Having twins is just the best. I love love love watching them interact. They have games they play I don't understand, they make each other laugh (and cry), they tell each other what to do now, and try to help each other. Its awesome. Parker talks talks talks all the time. When she's not talking, she is singing. She wakes up singing most mornings and naptimes. She is SO emotional which is good and bad. Emma Jane wants to be a grown up most of the time. She loves to do anything active- jump, run, swim, etc. She is definitely more strong willed than Parker. They both love Hannah Kate which we are so thankful for and I look forward to the day when they can all three play together.

Because I'm not the kind of person that can just pick up and go with three children, we have been fortunate enough to have lots of summertime fun come to us. Our backyard has a cornucopia of toys and we have lots of friends who have been willing to come to us to play. Maggie and Ben, some small group friends, came over a couple of weeks ago. Maggie is the girls age and Ben is about to start kindergarten. They all played well and Ben got chased by three girls at the same time. It was very funny. Henri and Graham Byrge have also been frequent visitors and we always have a good time when they are come over!!

Chasing Ben... I have a feeling this won't be the last time Ben is chased by a group of girls. That boy is hilarious.

Pool time with Henri

For the fourth of July we didn't do much. It was nice just to all be together as a family for three whole days. We hope everyone had a fantastic holiday!

Chattanooga

A few weeks ago we made the long trek to Chattanooga. Our first stop was in Nashville where I got to see the Echerds and Barretts. Brett and Katherine once again let us stop and hang out at their house so the girls could get a much needed break from the car. Cindi also came over with her new little man Dalton. He was born just 10 days after Hannah Kate.

Emma Jane, Hannah Kate, Dalton, Parker, Lilian, and Hayes

Once we got back in the car everyone took a much needed, although very short, nap.

Chattanooga was filled with seeing lots of family, being outside, and eating good food! My grandfather built the girls a sandbox which they loved. Being able to sit in the sand was a new experience. Jason and I (along with Nana) got a change to have some time with just Emma Jane and Parker which was wonderful. We went down to Coolidge Park, rode the merry go round 100 times, and Parker and Emma Jane got their very first ice cream cone from Clumpies. I have never seen Parker eat something with such focus and determination. She ate every single bite. It was hilarious.

(P.S. I have no idea why the pictures have decided to line up the way they are- but I don't feel like moving them).

She really is having fun, I promise.

This was also our first trip since the girls transitioned to big girl beds. I brought a bed for both girls, but they wanted to sleep together. This is the first time in their lives they have ever shared a bed. It was pretty cute!

We were able to see my brother's little girl, Lily, since Christmas. She had gotten so big! Here is a picture of all the cousins. Getting them to look in one direction was impossible.

Two overwhelmed babies :)

Two Months

Hannah Kate is two months old now which is hard to believe. She is smiling lots, cooing lots, and so close to laughing. In the last couple of weeks she has found her hands and they are her new best friend. I am wondering if she may become a thumb sucker :) She also loves her swing and playmat. My one goal in the life is to have all three children asleep at the same time. At 7 weeks she weighed 10 lbs. 3 oz and was 23 inches.

So Parker has a monkey, Emma Jane has an owl, and Hannah Kate... has an elephant. I missed the one month shots, but here is her two month photo shoot!

Flower Girls and Random Pictures

Some pictures from everyday life...

One of Hannah Kate's favorite positions- on our shoulder resting on her arms

The girls have begun to like painting with brushes, particularly Parker who likes all crafts.

Holding Hannah Kate is more and more becoming a daily occurrence mostly because I can only say "no"so many times... Here are some of Emma Jane's first attempts. (note that Hannah Kate isn't enjoying the experience so much).

One of my dear friends Shannon got married a few weeks ago and the Parker and Emma Jane were the flower girls. This was their first wedding. We prepped for the event by watching the royal wedding (seriously), by making a HUGE deal out of their special white dress/shoes/headpiece, and of course having loads of candy. One of our other friends little boy, George, was the ring bearer. While the girls had met George before it was only briefly and I didn't know if they would walk down the aisle with him. Turns out it was love at first sight and they all three held hands and walked easily down the long church aisle. I wish I had a picture of it because it was just the cutest thing. Emma Jane and George also did some dancing at the reception where all three children lost their marbles. Fortunately they went crazy in a good silly way instead of a nervous breakdown/crying way. It was a sight to see.

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was the fifth annual Easter at the Broges lunch. Once again it was a success and even though it was raining all 28 people that were crammed in our little house seemed to have a good time. This year was even more special because the Ernsts traveled back to St. Louis from Denver to celebrate with us. It was wonderful to have our small group family back together again. The Broge family's big accomplishment was making it to the 8:00 service on time. I personally am very proud of that! Here are some pictures from the weekend. They are in reverse order as I just don't have the energy to fix them right now :)

This picture is one of the reasons I love our small group so much. Everyone just loves on everyone else and their children. Emma Jane just crawled up in between Melissa and Sarah (who is holding Hannah Kate) and didn't think twice about it.

Drew Ernst trying to look like Mr. T and eat a slinky all at the same time.

Crazy Hair

Aviva being a good mommy

The five of us... Jason and I look exhausted...

On the Saturday before Easter our church has a huge Easter Egg Hunt and then tons of activities for kids. Here we are pre- hunt.

The girls Good Friday outfits :) I absolutely love both these pictures!!