brother and sister

oh these two little cranes are totally brother and sister. i was freaking out that i wouldn't be able to handle them both, and i was totally right. haha, but i'm taking it day by day. now i know how moms get white hairs, wrinkles, and bad backs.

how have i not lost all my baby weight yet? i chase after sofia daily, i often forget/don't have time to eat lunch, and while nursing, i drink more water than a camel. but the amount of smiles i get from lucas daily makes up for every pound gained. kind of. 

lucas is still a dream kid. sofia is still absolutely hilarious. they are both ginormous, above 90% in height. sofia is learning so many words, they weren't kidding when they said they'll start repeating everything you say. jeff called me crazy the other day and said "Coo coo" and sofia ran around the house saying "coo coo, coo coo." 

anyway, here's updated pictures of them both. they are growing before my eyes.

sofia mae crane

22 months

lucas jefferson crane

2 months

love all of sofia's teeth, her bangs, her "jackie nose," and how her shoulders are shrugging a bit. love kissing lucas on the lips, and he loves it just as much. 

spoiled

i have been completely spoiled. i'll admit it. i have had a lot of help with the two kiddos.

my dad and my step-mom drove up from San Diego, spent the day with us, then drove back the next day. isn't that crazy??! they wanted to meet lucas so bad, and see how much sofia's grown, that they took the time out to come up for a quick weekend.

going up the canyon to see waterfalls is one of our favorite things. so we took them there. you don't get much of this in san diego.

the grandkids all adore my dad. sofia fell in love with him quickly. he didn't even have to do anything. not fair! i bathe her, feed her, clean her poopy diapers, and i still have to work hard for her approval and love.

this little guy loves anyone who will hold him...

after their quick visit, my cousin, Zoe, moved in with us. she came up early to get a job before BYU starts in the fall. it gave us a glimpse of what it will be like with a teenage daughter. i loved having her here so much, and sofia was very fond of her new roommate.

a few weeks later, zoe's parents came up to get her settled in. tia mary came early to spend time with me and the kiddos. we went up to the alpine slides in park city.

jeff said sofia did great on the slide. the scary part was riding the ski lift up to the top of the slide. sofia kept peeping down, and wanting to stand up. jeff thought she was going to jump off.

 this is zoe, our adopted teenage daughter.

this week, the fun ends. i will no longer be spoiled. that is, until my older sister, Melody, gets here in september for a wedding.

Crane Reunion 2012

i love family. not just my side of the family, i'm one of those girls who also loves their in-law family. there are only a handful of us. bear lake is something we look forward to all year. dave and pauline, thanks for making it happen. they rented an 8 bedroom place, there were 16 adults and 21 grandkids there. can you believe that??

i'll start with a picture of me and jeff. not a great shot of either of us, not the photographer's fault...our fault.

grandma ruth, jeff's g-ma, has a million great grand children. this is her most recent...my lucas.

although sofia could care less that a picture is being taken of her, i really like the way my husband looks here. hubba hubba. good picture, babe. i don't know at what age kids start flirting with the camera, or actually smiling...apparently sofia is not of that age yet, as you will see from all the pictures of her.

sofia is so tall. i felt like she was closer to the size of her 4 year old cousins, then the ones her age. this is cute seth, they are about 2 months apart. i told you she's a giant.

look at her ponytail! she's about to attack...

then decides to change her course...

goes in for an unwanted hug...

and somehow poor seth ends up on the floor.

no, we didn't put a porta-crib outside for sofia to sleep in. mike, brooke, maddie and matt put together an olympic games of stuff we do everyday. jeff dominates at putting cribs up. i'm so proud.

lucas is a dream. i can't even explain how much i love this kid. he is the best baby i've ever had. sorry sofia, you weren't the best baby. sofia is fun now, but didn't love sleeping as a baby, especially at night.

on sunday, july 29th, 2012, jeff was able to bless our baby. it was a sweet blessing. though my side of the family was missed so much, i'm so glad that his whole family was there to participate.

after the blessing, traci took some family pictures of us. jeff was trying to tickle sofia, which is why her mouth is open in every picture.

here's the picture Traci took of us last year, look how sofia's grown:

and here is this year:

jeff and his bro's are so alike. it's scary.

i hope this family reunion tradition continues when sofia is a teenager. i love seeing her play with her cousins. i know they will be such great examples to her and when she's in high school, she's going to need good friends around to help her. her cousins will be those good friends, i just know it.