The Back Story on Xmas

Here is the back story on Christmas... Friday the 18th we had the girls 9 month appointment which went well and they got the H1N1 vaccine. Sunday Madeline threw up in the middle of the night in her bed, which led to Stan and I double teaming to get her bathed, bed changed and back in bed in about 10 minutes. We figured it was a reaction to the shot, but nope another stomach virus. That was followed by one of the girls throwing up each day and lovely diaper explosion until Christmas eve in which we made it through the whole day without any barf. However, we were all bathed and dressed in our pretty Christmas dresses when Madeline had a major diaper explosion as we were getting ready to leave so Madeline wore her brown and pink polka dots to church instead. Thank goodness it happened before we left the house. We made it through Christmas eve service at church and it was nice to have the girls hear the Christmas carols and be a part of it all.

Christmas morning was wonderful as you saw in the pictures, then Christmas night Taylor started up again, oh well. We went to the doctor on Saturday and Madeline had a single ear infection, Taylor had a double ear infection and Taylor also got a nebulizer so she could get breathing treatments for her wheezing chest. Let me tell you, trying to give a 9 month old an 8 minute breathing treatment in the doctors office with no distractions is not fun. It was a little better at home with TV to keep her distracted. In the middle of it all Stan got the bug too so I was flying solo with two sick kids for a day or so. I felt bad, but never fully got it thank goodness. We were on the mend just in time for my parents arrival and then a day later it hit my Dad and he was down for the count for a whole day, but thankfully it was quick for him, relatively speaking. Then the day before they were to go home, it hit my mom, but not as bad.

Now after New Years I got a head/chest cold, does it ever end. Just in time to go back to work...

So... it has been a hard week of vacation, but we all seem to be on the mend and after the girls got medication. They perked up very fast and have been back to their normal little selves.

I hope everyone else stayed healthy this xmas, I think we had enough bugs for everyone.

Christmas in Pictures

We captured the joy of Christmas with the girls, although they won't remember, it will be a memory Stan and I will never forget.

Here is our tree and all the packages left by SantaWe left Santa and his reindeer cookies to keep them going on their long journey.Santa said Thank you for the cookies and the reindeer loved the sprinkles. Here are the girls enjoying the gifts Santa brought.

It is great for standing up and practicing our balance.

It's the Wallace bobsled team...

Madeline loves her new shoes, we could be in trouble here.

Taylor said, this reindeer is almost as big as me!

Madeline thinks bows are the BEST!

Taylor already talking on the phone, well I guess he is really talking to the phone here.

And here is the mayhem that begins when trying to get them both together for pictures...

Taylor wants Madeline's bow...

Then Madeline wants Taylor's bow...

and finally we capture a good shot of the bow thief's.

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!!!

9 Months Old!

We can't believe the girls turned 9 months old this past Thursday, time is set at light speed when you have kids. We had our 9 month doctor visit with Dr. Rusher and the girls got an A+

The continue to grow and develop well and the doctor couldn't be happier with their progress, which is nice to hear since as a mother I worry.

Here are their stats:
Taylor - 17 lbs 5 oz (25%), 26 inch (10%), head 46.5 (97%)... and yes that is 97% on a non-adjusted scale, she has lots of brains

Madeline - 17 lbs. 8 oz. (25%), 25.5 inch (5%), head 44.5 (70%)

Here is an overall update on the girls:

• They both have gotten their two bottom teeth in
• They sit up on their own
• They pick up all their toys easily and of course everything goes straight to the mouth for a taste test
• They babble and giggle all the time
• They love to be with each other and will look at each other and laugh
• Taylor wants to play with every toy Madeline is currently playing with
• Madeline will let Taylor have the toy, then either take it back or get another one
• Bedtime is easy, thank goodness
• Madeline is our morning girl and Taylor is our night owl
• They go to bed at 7 and get up somewhere between 5 - 6:30am, 6:30 if we are lucky
• They love to eat everything Stan makes - lima beans, peas, sweet potato, carrots, avocado, apples, pears, bananas, and any other food we decide to make
• They are doing very well at picking up their little puffs and feeding themselves, they are similar to Cheerios, but they melt much faster in their mouth.

I think that is about it, but I am sure there is something I am forgetting. Overall they are really happy babies and definitely have their own little personalities! No crawling yet, but Stan and I am pretty happy about that right now since it makes it easier on us. The doctor said we should start transitioning to small table food over the next three months and we are clear to start meats so that should be interesting and fun.

Here are the girls ready to eat in their new highchairs! We got the girls highchairs earlier this week and it has been WONDERFUL!! It makes mealtime a lot easier and they seem to really enjoy them too! (THANK YOU Great Grandmom and Great Granddad, Taylor and Madeline love their xmas present!!!)

Professional Photos

Before Thanksgiving we finally went and had some professional pictures of the girls taken. However we hadn't posted them yet since we didn't want to spoil our Christmas card. So here are some of the pics that we had taken.

Madeline...

Taylor...

We had some regular family pictures taken too since we didn't want all x-mas...

Our First Christmas

We have been having a wonderful time enjoying the Christmas spirit this year. We took the girls to pick out there first Christmas tree and they played happily while we set it up and decorated. We also dragged our x-mas decorations out of the attic and spread the good cheer around the house. Stan puts Christmas music on every evening for the girls and I to listen to while we eat dinner and go about our night. The one benefit of a tough economy is it really has brought us back to the true meaning of Christmas and the innocent joy of the holidays...
Madeline putting her first ornament on...Taylor putting her first ornament on...

Update on Videos

I realize it has been awhile since I posted but Stan has been busy taking videos so here are a couple to catch up!

Taylor and Madeline have gotten quite good at picking up puffs and yogurt drops with their fingers and actually getting most of them into their mouths, but as you will see in one of the videos below it took a little getting used to.

Overall they are very happy babies and love to play, giggle and babble.

Madeline is getting teeth!

Madeline is getting some teeth on the bottom!! We finally started to feel some sharp baby teeth at the end of last week and are barely popping through now. Taylor definitely has her two bottom front teeth now and can use them to eat puffs.

We went to get Christmas and family pictures done today. We figured since they were already 8 months old we should probably get with the program and get some professional pictures taken. I definitely appreciate the photographers there who got the girls smiling and looking at the camera at the same time. There is something to be said for a fast taking digital camera, especially when you have twins!

The girls are doing wonderfully, Madeline is about 16 lbs 9oz and Taylor is about 16 lbs 3 oz now. So little Taylor is catching up! They have had their share of ear infections and colds but overall have been doing very well. They love to chatter and giggle and are almost always a joy to be around. Luckily bedtime is pretty easy too!

They are eating up a storm, pretty much anything we give them and they seem to really like the puffs and yogurt drops!

Here are the latest pics!

Madeline giving Daddy the "not again" look...Madeline mid-chatter, her chatter is quite loud...We were given some hand-me-down shoes so I thought I would try and put some on before church on Sunday. We only have 1 pair of size 2 so Taylor small feet got those and Madeline got the size 3's. They were both big and didn't stay on very well even with socks underneath, but they made it at least through church. They both thought it was funny to have stuff on their feet and they had to investigate.

Here is Madeline checkin out her kicks... The girls playing before church with their shoes on.

Taylor, not so sure about this shoe thing... how am I supposed to suck on my feet?

The girls love to sit near each other and play on the floor. The often take toys from each other while playing. So far they are good at sharing. They will either take the toy back or just grab a new one. No one gets upset yet, I know, give it time.

Taylor eyeing Madeline's toy.

Look at those Taylor cheeks!

This is a typical Taylor face we see, she loves to go AHHHHH, very loudly.

8 Months Old!

The girls are 8 months old today!!! Their little personalities are starting to come out as Madeline is our morning person and Taylor is our night owl. Not that Taylor gets to stay up any later, but I bet she would if we let her. Madeline talks a lot and loudly in the mornings where Taylor is more talkative and giggly at night. Taylor also falls asleep on the way to school and Madeline plays will her moose toy that is on her car seat.

They are both doing very well at sitting up on their own but still topple over. They pick things up very well and as you will see in the video below we have started some baby finger foods. Since Taylor only has 2 teeth and Madeline has none they are the easily melt in your mouth kind so they don't choke. We are not ready for Cheerios yet.

They are eating up a storm with the veggies and fruits. They aren't picky either as they eat anything we make. I say we, really it is anything Stan makes.

Here is a video of them enjoying their banana treats. They get very sticky after eating these so it is always followed by a bath, but they love it and it is really fun to watch them. The other video is them enjoying some finger foods! They are not very good at getting it to their mouth so half ends up on the table but practice makes perfect.

Another ear infection

Well we had a couple of weeks of our happy girls... and now we have ear infections again.... they are still pretty happy babies even with ear infections but they tend to get cranky much faster when they don't feel well. The doctors always laugh at us when we bring them in because they are always giggling and smiling when they see them. We get the, yeah right, sick kids, look from them. I always feel like saying come home with us and get up every hour during the night and tell me again they don't look sick... or maybe that is me that looks sick. Luckily we only had one night with virtually no sleep, but I am still not recovered.

Here are some pics of the girls playing... Taylor looking so cute...

Madeline enjoying a tasty fish...Getting ready to take a snooze under their soft monkey blankets.

Happy Halloween!

We went over to the Glittenberg's house to hang out and have chili for Halloween. We had a great time catching up and Stan and I even threw together some outfits for a family Halloween picture.

Here is Lars and Stan hanging out with the best pumpkins ever... Stan and Madeline having a good time.

Anne-Katrine making Taylor laugh...

Jenny making kissy faces at Madeline...

Anne-Katrine's last minute pumpkin costume. All ready for some candy!

The Great Pumpkins

Today at school the girls had a Halloween parade so I took the morning off to spend with them and see all the kids dressed up! It was a lot of fun and a fun way to spend Friday morning. Here is a peak at our great pumpkins!!!


Here are the girls getting loaded into the buggy for their parade. Taylor playing at school.

Madeline playing at school.

They love to look at each other while playing, they laugh and talk to each other the whole time.