nope, they are not identical

here are some close-ups of both the boys together (jake on left, ben on right).

now it is up to you, do you think they look alike?

i sometimes call jake "wolverine" b/c of all his dark hair and chops.

todd and ellie call ben "benji" or "benji-o." 

 jake giving his superman pose. ben is flexing for the ladies.

love these boys!!!

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 those eyes are so different from one another. i don't know if you can tell, but jake has a pretty dark complexion like todd did as a baby and my dad and brothers pete and michael are. it is fading a bit, though, so i'm afraid he won't keep it- sad!

  the girls wanted to get in on the photo action.

i think jake looks more like abby and ben like ellie. 

also interesting note: from the time i was pregnant, ellie always said baby a (ben) was her baby and baby b (jake) was abby's. while the girls absolutely LOVE both boys, they have each kind of taken to one baby- ellie to ben and abby to jake. 

gardner village witches

todd took the girls on trax (one of their favorite things) to see the witches at gardner village.

pumpkin patch

unfortunately it was going to get dark while we were at the pumpkin patch, so we quickly took some token photos and then got right to picking out pumpkins. the girls loved pushing the kid-sized wheel barrows while going down the rows of pumpkins to find our perfect pumpkins.

FOUR KIDDOS

i haven't posted in awhile... and this is why!

january i was very tired. very tired. i thought it was just the aftermath of the holidays along with my cfs. however, it was just not improving. 

turns out i was pregnant! 

i went to my obgyn for my first visit and found out i was pregnant with twins!! there are no twins in my family, so you can only imagine the surprised look on my face. (i just saw my doctor for my 6 week check-up and she commented on how it was in that examine room where i found out about the twins and the look on my face. it must have been a good enough look to remember 7 months later.)

 benjamin

 jacob

ellie was so fun to photograph. it is nice when they stay still and look at the camera.

and abby is 2. so, no photos of looking at mom (although she would look everywhere else!)

and... abby wouldn't keep her jacket on- so her photos are of her in a t-shirt. (i love this one of her actually looking at me. you can tell exactly what she is thinking!)

crazy weather

this winter has been strange indeed. we have received snow, but then we also have had warm enough weather to play outside with just jackets. i love it, but at the same time hold my breath for when winter does come with a vengeance.

 the bikes were put away, but then taken back out a few weeks ago

my old roommate from byu came to visit us this past monday with her cute family. they told as (as we played at the park) that this weather was like it was back home in arizona. 

 it is a good thing todd hasn't purchased a tarp to cover our play structure yet

 "check out our super lush, dead grass."

 we had to pry ellie away

abby sincerely hopes ellie gets a bike for her birthday next month, so she can inherit the radio flyer.

new year's eve

new year's eve has always been a big event for my family. we grew up having our favorite snacks and treats and were able to drink as much soda as we liked. this was big since the only other time we drank soda was when my mom made pizza. so, the tradition lives on as we gather together in both portland, oregon and here in utah. this year we hosted the utah crew. it was a fun night of food, movies, food, games, and food.

 abby looking oh so cute "working" in the kitchen 

 felicity and ellie as snow white and sleeping beauty

 thanks, grandma karen! the dress-up clothes and beads were a big hit

 you have to be quick to catch abby, i mean cinderella, in motion

 playing this year's new game- word on the street. verdict: a very fun game and was especially great for a group

 aunt jessica heading up the games for the youngins

loving the sister shots

 getting ready for the countdown

annalise getting into the new year's spirit

Christmas

Christmas day was a wonderful time spent with family. the girls woke up to having nona and papa at the house to see what santa brought them (the joy of having young children that you have to wake up for Christmas morning!). unfortunately, we only took video of their time here- so no photos of the beginning of the day...

a lot of our friends talked about how wonderful it was to have church on Christmas. i respectfully disagree. i found it challenging having our kids open gifts, enjoy their gifts, have breakfast, and get ready for church in the morning. plus, when we got to church, all our girls wanted to do was go home and play with their new toys. we spent the majority of our time in the hallway. getting off my soapbox...

we returned home just in time for grandma karen & grandpa kent and grandma & grandpa smith to come to our home. we got the girls back in their comfy pjs and spent time with our sweet grandparents.

 abby with grandma karen. abby is a cuddly girl and grandma karen is happy to take full advantage of it.
(michael, i know- we are planning to pull the binkie after this next group of teeth come in, she is too addicted to it.)

ellie showing grandpa kent her cool barbie car. it is a joy having a husband who plays the piano so well- listening to him play is one of my favorite things!

the evening was spent at my brother's home with a delicious Christmas dinner and time to play with cousins. it was such a special day seeing so much family!!!

Family Christmas Gatherings

we got together with some family from my mom's side for some appetizers, singing, talking and games. it was nice having everyone together- i hadn't seen my cousin jilene & her family in years!

 it was so fun seeing all the Christmas decorations i grew up with in my parents' new home. i remember playing with this toy for hours when i was young.

 singing Christmas carols with Jake, the wonderful pianist.

 playing games & chatting

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Christmas eve was spent with Todd's mom's family for dinner and the nativity. this is the best part of Christmas- seeing everyone together!

 uncle greg with emma and ellie.

 professor brian imparting his knowledge upon us. 

just have to throw this in: todd's family are huge university of utah fans, but brian teaches at my alma mater byu. this may be why i love brian so much- he really is a genius. :)

 todd played the music for the nativity.

final pose with all the cast.