Eva's 1st braids... her style, of course!

She finally sat still long enough for me to braid her hair!

I told her that her hair looked like Princess Anna's (her favorite, from the movie "Frozen"). She squealed, "I be Princess Anna in GIRAFFE costume!!" Sure, why not?? I love this girl!!

I hold babies.

"Mama, you make dinner. I hold 2 babies. No pwoblem."

Joseph's 1st laugh!

"When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."
J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Just holding hands after a midmorning bottle, when Joseph laughed! He looked at me and gave an adorable chuckle! 

Elijah's 5th Birthday Party

Elijah celebrated his 5th birthday with a robot party!

Oma made the beautiful cake!  She made it the night before, and put it in our new room. That night I was putting the kids to bed, and told Eva and Elijah to run up the stairs to go to bed.  Eva raced up, but Elijah and I were a bit slower. We were maybe a minute behind her, and when we got to the top, we saw Eva had taken a face-first full-on bite out of the robot cake's arm, tell-tale signs of chocolate smeared over her mouth.  I yelled. Eva confessed. Elijah cried at the carnage. Drama in the Voss house! Fortunately, upon closer look, we saw we could simply replace one of the donuts in the arm, hiding the bite mark.  Elijah calmed down, Eva said "Wowwy" (Sorry) and we were able to go to bed in peace!  Fortunately, there was no more cake-snitching, and we were able to enjoy it whole at the party!

The kids had made duct-tape robots out of various boxes with Grandma while she was here with us.  They had a blast, and we gained quite a robot family over the weeks she was here!  These robots served as our inspiration and decoration.  I also took a white-board marker and drew robot pictures on the mirrors and glass doors.

Blue is Elijah's favorite color!

The first thing Elijah wanted to do with his friends was build robots out of cardboard and duct tape, just like he did with Grandma.  The kids really got creative! The Batman duct tape, and the pink duct tape were big hits

I think we managed a nearly one-to-one adult to child robot building ratio!

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Elijah's favorite party activity was building Brush Bots.  

(Photo from website- link above)

Brush Bots are toothbrush heads, with little wires and batteries attached that dance and vibrate.  The kids had a blast building them, and letting them dance on the floor.  The pack came with stickers for decoration.  Thanks to Ben and Ruthie for this great idea!!  Caleb and Leah's dad Jeremy is a dentist, so we thought it was particularly entertaining to turn toothbrushes into robots.  David and Jeremy had fun discussing ways to make the Brush Bots perform differently (Would a longer handle-tail make it go further? Would placing the battery towards one end make it go faster?)

Presents!

In keeping with the robot theme, we got Elijah a set of snap circuits that he and his Daddy have been putting to use! Future engineer?

Pizza and cake!

Happy Birthday, Elijah!  We love you!

Morning cuteness

Here's some morning cuteness. :)

Milky smiles

Our babies can barely focus on their bottles, because they are too busy smiling at us!! Here's Peter.

Cool girl

After church we like to go to Starbucks some times and hang out as a family.  This time Eva discovered Jamie's sunglasses. 

4 kids on the couch

Babies chilling out with their older siblings watching some Red Sox.

Joseph giving daddy a smile

After a feeding Joseph was getting daddy smiles.

Comforting each other

J and P were crying, so I put them beside each other. Right away they leaned their heads towards the other, and quieted down. Moments later, they were asleep. This happens more often than not. They comfort each other. Sweet bond.

Both seem to be laid-back,  happy babies, and I can't help but wonder if having another little brother - friend helps.

Ready to ride... no training wheels!!

Elijah did it! No training wheels! Everybody's proud. This was all his idea. He decided he was ready, and off he went! He even rode to the park on his bike like he'd been doing it every day of his life.  :) Go, Elijah, go!!

3 boys in a nest

Elijah made a nest during rest time. Then he invited his brothers and their loveys to join him! (Peter on left with a Lion, Joseph on the right with an Elephant. )

Princess of the Potty!

How to potty train a stubborn little girl with a sense of humour, who finds accidents hilarious,  and can't be bothered to stop what she's doing...

1. Hire big brother with M&Ms to encourage and assist. Little sister will enjoy the attention, and that she gets to eat and share chocolate with him! Big brother will make sure the Potty work happens,  as he his highly chocolate-motivated. (Like me!)

2. Read "Princess of the Potty" again and again and again... It appeals to her sense of humor, and keeps her sitting still.

3. Discuss how you will get her a crown if she can stay dry through the weekend so SHE can be Princess of the Potty!

4. And this is key: Allow her to have her beloved pacifier while sitting on the potty. This was the key element we were missing.

Only 2 kids in diapers now!!! Celebrate with us!!

An airlock

Today our GEARRS satellite launched to the international space station to be deployed later this summer.  I was explaining to Jamie that the satellite goes out an airlock chamber when it eventually gets kicked out.  Eli asked what an airlock was so I drew him a simple diagram.  He loved the diagram so much he asked if he could keep it. Later on at bed I found it stuck to his bed.

Ready to ride?

Elijah announced he was ready to try his bike without training wheels. He came down with 2 pairs of pants on for extra padding. :)

Joseph smiles!

summer in the Gardens

Enjoying a trip to the botanical gardens with Deanna and the kids! Averlee and Eva fed the babies. They also put on a little show in the rose garden singing "Let it Go!" (Eva: "Weddit go!")

Mom and Dad Otten's 40 Wedding Anniversary

Mom and Dad Otten being here in Albuquerque for the month of May was incredibly special.  Not only were they able to be here for our twins first month of life, they celebrated Elijah's 5th birthday, Mother's Day, the Baby Dedication and their 40th anniversary!

We are so blessed to have parents that have been married for 40 years!!  And are still in love and having adventures!!  They decided to start their celebration of their 40th in epic fashion with a hot air balloon ride!  David, Elijah and Eva were the chase team, following on the ground by car.  David, ever amazing with directions, effortlessly followed the balloon across the city, and was offered a job as chase team in the future!  He laughed, and said he had his hands full at the moment.

Elijah and Eva loved watching the early morning balloon launch.

Mom and Dad got to help with each step of the balloon inflation.

Ready for take-off!

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Up, up and away!

They went low over the Rio Grande river

"Selfie!"

From Mom and Dad's balloon, they had a gorgeous view of the city and other balloons.

Elijah loves being a photographer, just like his Daddy!

Mom and Dad with their balloon team, holding certificates at the champagne toast at the finish.

We treated them to a pancake breakfast at home, and presented them with their anniversary book full of pictures, messages and memories from their friends and family.