Santa!!!!

here is Joe playing a few Christmas songs at the ward party. sorry these pics are out of order.

This saturday was our ward christmas party, and of course santa was there to take pictures with all the kiddos. Thanks Rachel for taking these since i didn't bring my camera. As you can see, the boys absolutely loved Santa. This poor guy didn't know what to do. it was way past bed time at this point and the boys are both a little sick. Needless to say, this santa didn't stand a chance. At this point in the night I wanted to lay on the floor and kick and cry and scream too. but joe was asked to play a few songs after santa left, so we stuck around, fits and all. oh how i hate the terrible twos.

Go Hawks!!

Here is a quick video that I made to show my love and support to the Hawkeyes.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Yes, I realize that was yesterday, but these pictures aren't. Here is noah eating some scrambled eggs for breakfast. He wouldn't let me get him dressed, so i just left them in their diapers while they ate. Yum!

And after breakfast, I let them play on the new bed. It's a TON taller than the previous bed so they can climb up into the window frame now.

This is Ethan cuddling up in his blanky. Thanks again Janette Lloyd for this super soft blanket. We don't have pacifiers here, but having their blanky makes them just as happy and it won't ruin their teeth.

And this is just for fun. When i saw this i started singing a revised version of the thong song. "Let me see your diaper thong! Diaper thong th-thong-thong-thong!"

gotta love it.

Is it too early to be thinking about Christmas?

answer?
only when you're thoughts of christmas=gifts.
Guilty as charged.
Joe and i already purchased our Christmas gift this year. A new mattress! We have always known that we needed to get one at some point, and when Joe and i started waking up with back, neck, and shoulder aches we decided that the time was now. Joe is usually the one to research, find, and purchase big things like this, but he was quite busy with school so i decided to pick up the slack. I found a going out of business sale here in coralville, found a mattress, got a deal (a total steal! I'm the queen of shopping in case you didn't know), and then brought Joe to the store to give me the thumbs up to make the purchase. We are supposed to have it by tomorrow, but its still going to count as our christmas gift this year. Some people consider this spoiling the gift, but i think of it as enjoying it sooner.

because i feel like it, thats why!

Just some pictures that i've been meaning to blog, but never actually got around to it.

This is Jackson Abarca. He decided to be a really good helpful boy, and clean up all the toys in the boys room. Obviously he doesn't know where they go so he piled them in Ethan's crib. Everything that was out went straight to the crib. He even went the extra mile and cleaned out the inside of a few drawers. It was very funny. We were all laughing and the poor guys couldn't tell whether or not he was in trouble.

This picture was from earlier this summer. The boys wanted SO BADLY to play in the water in the sink. So i indulged them, and they were very cute and very happy. So long as i was standing there to make sure the water wasn't too hot or too cold, it was perfect.

This is the "before" picture. My amazing aunt sheila promised on her blog that she would give out homemade gifts to the first 3 people that responded. So she sent me a cute handmade craft that allowed me to get rid of this horrendous key ring that i've long hated, but couldn't get rid of bc i'm too cheap to buy a replacement.

Here is the "after". MUCH better, don't you think? Thank you aunt sheila for (1) sending me this beautiful home decor, and (2) allowing me to take out my hatred for the other key ring by stomping on it before i threw it out.

She's so talented, and luckily i reap the benefits for it in this case.

Here are the boys in their cute costumes before we left to trick or treat. You may recognise the other two boys, Spencer as a frog and Jake as a Lion, who are the boys best buds. It was so fun to have all of us parents parading around our mostly oblivious kids around from house to house.

Noah checking out his loot at the end of the night. Boy oh boy did they ever pitch a fit when we had to take the candy away and put them to bed. Don't worry, we did give them a carmel and some other small candies first.

Here are the pumpkins we carved earlier this week. Can you guess which toothy-smiled pumpkin joe and i made? The scary skeleton belonges to our neighbors Jonathan and Kate.

This was earlier today. I made the boys pose with the pumkin, just for fun. I have some other fun random pictures that are a bit outdated, but i'm so frustrated trying to get these dang pictures in the right order that i'm going to give up for today and post the pictures later. bye bye for now. happy halloween!

Ya? So What Else Is New?

This is the follow-up post to the previous one that wasn't all that detailed. So...what to report about life in Iowa with twins...Iowtwins. That was a little bit lame, but oh well.
Things have been pretty average around here, except for the fun Halloween festivities. We've carved pumpkins, carameled apples, and even attended an early Ward Halloween party. We dressed up as whiteheads. We wore all red and spray painted our hair white. As a family we were acne. It was pretty awesome, except for the part when we didn't win the family costume contest. I guess our humor is a little too vulgar for some people, but i thought it was pretty good. Joe introduced himself as Poppa Whitehead, and then introduced me as his main squeeze. We also informed the audience that our boys were crying because they just don't do well under pressure. Unfortunately we forgot our camera, but we had a friend take our picture. When i get the pics i'll blog them for you.
Joe is still going strong with school and us. He is getting smarter (nerdier) every day.
I have been trying my hand at sewing. Joe bought be a sewing machine that we found at a yard sale earlier this summer, and i'm still looking for fun ideas. So far I've made 2 baby quilts (for baby showers, i am not pregnant), two hooded towels for the boys, and i've hemmed a few things here and there. i REALLY want to make a huge over sized pink cuddly blanket for myself this winter, but i'm still searching for the perfect fabric to match what i've already got.
I've also been thinking a lot about life after dental school. I know I want to work, and I'm pretty sure i'd like to go back to school, but i have absolutely NO idea what i should go into. I recently took a career aptitude test that was 486 questions long only to find out that i am best suited for a career as a funeral director. Super Lame. I'm open to any non-ridiculous suggestions as to what field of study or employment would best suit me.
Ok, I posted an in-depth post about what is happening in our lives, so now i can go back to posting adorable pictures of my adorable monsters.

So whats REALLY going on?

So, I've noticed in my past...ten or so posts, I just put up some fun pictures or videos and say 'hope you enjoy' and leave it at that. I figure that the blog is for distant family and friends who mostly just want to see the boys. But in reading blogs from others, i have realized that i never actually tell ya'll whats going on. This is going to be a hard post, since i really have a bad memory and i can't really remember important events or milestones to report. I'll do my best.
Joe is knee deep in school and football these days. Studying is starting to pick up and the Hawkeyes are ranked #7 in the nation right now. I feel like we've been handling this really well as a family. Joe can usually study at home, when the boys are asleep, and i find something to occupy myself so i don't distract him. I run errands, go to craft night, or just wander across the hall and hang out with Kate (for those of you who don't know Kate, she is an awesome girl in my ward who lives across the hall from me).
This system seems to work really well. I'm not left home alone all the time with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Joe gets to study in his sweatpants, and not feel like he is abandoning his family to go to the school and study.
He is doing superbly in school. And by that i mean that he is satisfied with the grade he is getting/time he is putting into studying ratio. Does that make sense?
Shoot. I have to start dinner-even though joe is already peeling the potatoes for me. I have such a great husband. More about whats REALLY going on in the next post.
Much love, Jessica

Woody Woodpecker laugh!

Noah has this funny little laugh that he does when he gets super excited. He has always done it, and i've never been able to catch it on video. Score another one for the new Flip!

So Flippin Fun!

So Joe and i have once again convined ourselves that we really needed a specific gadget. We bought a Flip video recorder. They are like handheld (about the size of the first cell phones) little video cameras that we can tote around with us wherever we go. Joe bid on one that he found on Ebay and ended up getting it for a steal. Here is the first of many videos to come for your enjoyment at home.

I've seen that face somewhere before...

Today is the day that the boys finally discovered the secret corner cabinet where i keep all the cans. As i watched them having TONS of fun pulling out everything they could see, i thought to myself "hmm, this looks familiar, where have i seen this before?"



























Right here. This is the day that they discovered the now-empty drawer where we kept the cooking utensils. People say they grow up so fast, but mine seem to be stuck in the past.

Words

The latest and greatest...and only words the boys can say.

Summer in Review

In no particuar order...














DISNEY WORLD!!!!! We happened to track down Walt and Minnie for a picture.

My parents came to visit! Yay momma! Also, Joe's parents and older sister came, but I can't seem to find any pictures of it. Sorry, but we still love the Whiteheads too!

Fourth of July at a Kernals game with Jonathan and Kate Allen and Kara and Allen Bankhead. Go Corn!

Babies first tampons. Sorry about this one Joe.

My first taste of the ocean in Florida with Sarah. I'm getting beaten up by the waves and Sarah thinks its hysterical. It was so AWESOME!

Robots in Disguise

I was listening to Harry Potter the other night, and decided that I had to stop and go to bed. It was already past midnight and I knew that if I kept listening I would stay there til 3 in the morning. When I climbed into bed Joe was already asleep. This is how the conversation went:

Me: "I can't sleep."
silence
Me: "Joe, I can't sleep. I'm too excited. I can't sleep. I just want to keep listening to Harry Potter, but I can't or I'll never go to sleep."
Joe: (groggily) "Just...think about science."
Me: (slightly taken aback-Joe knows how much I loathe science) "I...I don't even know HOW to think about science."

I sat and contemplated how pathetic it was that when I tried to think about science, such a broad topic, my mind went totally blank. I began saying aloud then only things I could about the ominous 'science'.
Me: "atoms....chemistry....cell walls....platelets....catalysts.....atomic numbers....facial nerve...."
On and on I continued. For at least ten minutes. One word statements generally referring to science, but never really saying anything about it.
Me: "kinetic energy....biology....protons....deceptacons"
I giggled. There was no way I could seriously THINK about science, but it did help me fall asleep. No wonder Joe always sleeps in class.

Part Two

Spokane

Vienna

South Africa

Montana

Long Island

London

Tahoe

Kenora, Canada

Austin, TX

wide open spaces

i absolutely LOVE living in Iowa. I thought that I would hate it, and every time i tell people how much I love living here I surprise myself. Why on earth would i enjoy Iowa? I had myself a good cry before i left Salt Lake, where all my friends and family live. I knew all the good places to eat or play or hike or camp. i was comfortable there. So why would i want to move to a place that i knew absolutely nothing about except that it didn't have any of my friends or family in it. I thought of moving here as doing time. Turns out that I'm doing the time of my life, and yes i got that line from my new fav show Arrested Development.

So ever since i realized that moving away from Salt Lake wasn't the end of my life I've been excited to decide where I'll go next. I realize that there is this tiny voice in the back of my mind that sounds like my sweet mother that says "you have to move back to Salt Lake, you can't live away from your family" but I still like to dream. Unfortunately i cannot narrow it down in the least. every week I've got a new possible destination. Poor Joe. I always ask him, "Joe, where do you want to live?" and he dutifully responds with the place that i had most recently "decided" that we would live, only to have me convince him of how wonderful it would be to live someplace else. here is my most recent list of places that I want to live someday.

Bear Lake

Amsterdam

St. George

San Francisco

Wyoming

Oh, the list goes on and on. There will most likely be a part 2 to this post. There are so many breathtaking places to see in the world, I just want to scoop it up and devour it like ice cream and a bag of doritos. Any suggestions? I've lived in Salt Lake for 20 years, and i feel like there is so much of the world that i don't even know about.

Trip to Utah

Phew! we are finally back from our trip out to Utah! We had a LOT of fun visiting family and meeting some new family members for the first time. We started our trip leaving Iowa at around 5 pm and arriving in Utah around 10 am. We were quite nervous about attempting the drive all in one shot, but it ended up working out quite well...for the most part. We would definitely recommend doing it this way to anyone-unless your kids won't sleep in the car. We encountered this problem on the way TO Utah, but on the way back we made sure they were properly medicated so they would have a sweet restful night in the car seats.
Anyway, i could talk talk talk about this trip, but that would take forever so I'll just share my favorite pictures. Sorry to all of the family that we didn't get pictures of!
Jaden and Mason, the oldest set of twins

Ethan, displaying his inner petersen-going after the kitty with a bat, naked.

2 out of 3 sets of twins after a long day of swimming.

And little chunker Conner, this was our first time meeting him.

For the first part of our trip we spent our time with the Petersen side of the family. We were lucky enough to have the generosity of my SUPER AWESOME Aunt Sheila who let us sleep in her brand new monster RV. It was incredible, and quite the lifesaver for us. Thanks again Buchei family!

We spent a LOT of time in the water to keep ethan and noah happy since they were understandably grumpy from all of the traveling and dry heat. Hence all of the naked baby pictures you saw. We even lucked out that they had a little kiddie pool at my cousin's baby shower. The boys just hopped right in, fully clothed, but they couldn't have been happier. I gave up trying to stop them and figured that they had their blankets in the car and plenty of extra diapers, so i let them have at it. It was very funny. And I know funny (that's for you Dad).

We got to visit aunts and uncles grandparents and cousins from both sides of my family and Joe's maternal side of his family.

We then spent a day in Logan, a day at Starvation Reservoir, and a few days at my cabin with Joe's side of the family. The whole trip was a blast (despite getting overwhelmed with my boys' tantrums) and i can't say enough about how lucky we are to have such wonderful friends and family. We love all of you and wish we could have gotten to see more of you. Special hello to Joe and Britt, Addie and Hayden, and the twins. Get better Austin, we are thinking of you and love you all!

Yes, I've been avoiding you...

I haven't posted for so long now that i feel like there is just too much that i need to catch up on, and i have no picures to illustrate-which i hate. so i won't bother with the catching up and i'll just skip straight to what is going on right now. If you want to hear about girls camp, you'll have to check angela dougherty's blog. She covered the basics, but i really did love it and would do it again in a heartbeat.
ok, back to the present. My niece Alex has been with us for the past...week or so. Its been really fun to have her here, and to have a shopping partner-not to mention an extra set of hands around here. Right now we are preparing for our trip to Utah which is, needless to say, stressful. I am NOT looking forward to the drive with my little monsters, as i have taken to calling them. We are hoping to do what the Rasmussen's did and drive straight through the night but if you know Joe then you know what a task that is. He MUST sleep. He has no tolerance for staying up late. It will be a task to be sure.
Goodness look at me. I have a pile of laundry staring at me, and unlike other occations, i have a deadline to get all of this done. But i am typing away hoping that my unending list of to-do's will magically disappear if i ignore them long enough. I've got to go. sorry this was such a boring post.

Good Love is on the Way

This past week has been quite different from most. Jessica has been gone since Monday helping with stake girls camp and I am being "Mr. Mom." I tell you what, it is not even close to as easy as Jess makes it look. During this last year of school I have dreamt of being able to spend entire days with the my boys; two or three hours each day simply wasn't enough. Now I have a bit better of an understanding as to why Jessica gives a great sigh of relief when the boys go to bed for the night. I have loved spending time with Ethan and Noah but is really is exhausting. In just a few short days I have gained a far greater appreciation for Jess than I ever thought possible. I thought I knew how hard it was and I only gave that level of respect to my wife. Now my respect level for her has increased 10, nay, 100 fold. I have never felt so selfish and naive as I do now that I understand (in a minute amount) what she goes through each day in raising me and the boys. She is my everything. She is beautiful. When she was pregnant I used to say that she wasn't just carrying twins, she carried me too. As we have been here in this unique stage in life she has carried me more than ever. I hope that somehow I can express to her how much I love her. I know that she can sometimes feel under appreciated and alone and I hope I can remedy those feeling by showing an increase in love. Her boys love her too. Two days ago when they woke up from their nap they were both calling "momma." When I walked in I think they were a little disappointed. I could not survive without her. My "Mr Mom" skills can never match the abilities she has. Jessica I love and miss you and I can't wait to see you tomorrow. Im excited for you to tell me all about the things you have learned and the experiences you have had. I can't wait to hold you with no intention of letting go.

I made this video for Jessica but you all get to see it too. If you want to see it full screene you can find it by going to http://www.youtube.com/ and typing "ethan and noah whitehead" of just click on this link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAXLnC288TM

Triplets for a Day

Not really, I just borrowed one. Yesterday was my good friends, the Rasmussen's, anniversary. They decided to celebrate with an overnight get-away and trusted ME with Spencer. You remember Spencer right? From the previous haircut post. And countless others. Spencer is the same age as the boys and they have a good time together. Anyway, so yesterday I had three boys, and whenever that happens i like to think that i have triplets for a short time. Not that its anywhere NEAR the same-I apologise to all those who actually do have triplets and are thinking "oh sure, one day? anyone can do ONE DAY. Try a lifetime sister, starting from when the three of them need your two milkers every three hours." Props to you ACTUAL mothers of triplets. You win. Times Infinity.
Alright alright. Picture time.





Here's Spencer!

Count 'em baby. 3! They needed a little supervision while playing. Too much toy stealing between the 3 of them.

Dinner time was a lot easier than i thought it'd be. As long as I didnt' eat anything. jk, I ate my fair share.

Getting on PJ's and diapers.

Overall, everything went smoothly. The evening time wasn't much different than a normal night here. At bedtime I took Spencer to his own crib in his own house so that he could actually sleep through the night. Joe stayed home with the boys. Spencer was so easy to put to bed, and so smiley in the moring when i woke him up. I was worried that he'd be grumpy seeing my nasty morning mug instead of his mommy. But he did really well. I'm really glad that i could help out Tawnya and Jed so they could have some time away for their anniversary. Congrats on three years you guy!

P.S. In response to Haley about C-sections. I had to have one, I wasn't given a choice. The actual surgery part of it was totally fine. While it was happening, I really didn't feel any of what they were doing. I felt some tugging around my chest, but nothing close to pain. The post surgery was no good. I needed a lot of help for a long time. It was about two weeks before i could get myself out of bed without Joe's assistance. IF I had been given a choice, knowing what i know now, I would definately try to deliver vaginally. My sister in law delivered her twins that way, and she said it was great. She fell asleep while she was in labor, and couldn't feel anything while she was pushing. Her recovery was about two days. Mine really was 6 weeks. And even then I was only about 70 %. but i was on bedrest for 6 weeks prior so that makes the recovery harder. It may not be as bad if you are up and about beforehand. I just had no muscle mass to help me recover. Sorry if this is scary. No one ever told me the truth before i had a C-section. It wasn't actually as bad as i made it sound. I wasn't writhing in pain throughout it or anything. I just had to be careful for a long time. email me if you want to talk more. whiteheadcwm@hotmail

Haircuts, Races, and Popcicles.

This was an event-filled day for us-except that i don't remember which day this was. My friends Tawnya and Angela came over to visit and brought with them Ethan and Noah's friends Spencer and Jake. They have so much fun together. We really lucked out that we all had boys the same age. So we (I) decided that Tawnya and Jed had missed their chance to cut Spencer's hair. They've been talking about it for weeks, and so i told them that the next time I watch Spenc I was going to buzz off his baby mullet. Tawnya was a little hesitant, but I convinced her that the skullet had ruled Spencer long enough and the time had come to take action. So we did.

This is Spencer's before picure.














Cutting Spencer's hair proved to be very challenging. Even more challenging than cutting both of my boys' hair put together.














But we managed to get through it and save the clippings for Spencer's scrapbook.







Next we took the boys outside and they all raced up the stairs as fast as they could, which gave us mom's an idea. We put them all back down to the bottom step and set up a REAL race. I just can't supress my competitive nature.
3...2...1...GO! And they are off. The twins are neck and neck straight out of the hole, and Spencer is following closely behind. Jake, for the first time in his entire life, has not yet moved...
















With one step behind them Noah is pulling ahead and Jake has caught up to Spencer in a tie for third place. Yes, you can see Angela and I egging them forward with a popcicle.













Ethan drops behind to last place while Noah emerges ahead just steps from the finish line. Jake is in second place, but seems to have stopped for a quick scream. Will Spencer merge ahead for a chance to pass Jake?








Noah wins! Yay, and the victory popcicle is his for the taking. Spencer takes second place, Jake came in third, leaving Ethan in last place.

But victory comes for all today as Ethan and Spencer both enjoy some popcicle.

...and Spencer really really enjoys it.

...and Jake really really doesn't.