Nora & Erin

finally a Christmas update...

2011-02-17T21:51:00.025-06:00

Yes its February. I know I'm late with this but better late than never! Here we go!

We built a Gingerbread house for the first time, what FUN that was!

CHRISTMAS PRESCHOOL SING

The girls had their Christmas sing at preschool and sang many songs, including Happy Birthday Jesus, and it was my birthday that day too!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

Yes there were 38 candles on the cake this year! Had fun celebrating at home with the family. Then out with the adults the Friday afterwards to McNally's and then The Bee Hive I think it was... fun being OUT!

GIRLS BAKING DAY

Each year we get all the girls together - no matter who is here for Christmas cookie baking! This year was super fun to have Aunt Hannah join us. We baked our Hungarian Kifli cookies (which is similar to the Klotchky cookies that everyone knows as the polish version. Also made were the famous spritz cookies, Hershey kisses cookies too. Brighid had made gingerbread, snickerdoodles and brought some along to share as well. We had a great day!!

CHRISTMAS EVE

We went to Uncle Ed's house on Christmas eve for a nice visit with Ed, Conor, Brighid, Uncle Mike, Aunt Hannah and the girls. It was snowy and just a fantastic evening. Uncle Ed made special Santa drinks (kiddie cocktails).

Uncle Ed's old fashioned Christmas tree complete with live, shocking tinsel!

Picked out the perfect cookies to leave for Santa, and one final pose in front of the tree before bed: (check out our new Santa PJs from Grandma Ann!)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christmas morning the girls were so excited that Santa came and got many games to play together including UNO, a new Candyland, BusyTown and puzzles, along with some new clothes, Rapunzel Barbies, New Princess Nightlights and Minnie Mouse Hats. Big presents from Santa, as the girls wrote letters to Santa for American Girl Dolls this year and they were extra good!

Nora's doll came complete with glasses, just like hers!

Christmas dinner included our standard fare of Standing Rib Roast, Yorkshire Pudding, mashed potatoes Au Jus. Our dinner guests this year included Hannah's friend Julia from Indianapolis. We enjoyed her company as she helped with the girls, made and brought cookies and peppermint bark, and played games with the girls too. Betty also joined us for dinner this year. We brought the kitchen table into the foyer next to the dining room so that we were all together. Later we visited our best neighbors for a cup of holiday cheer. We had a great Christmas.

We missed grandpa this year, he is the one that instilled this holiday feast and traditional Christmas fare, complete with the waterford crystal champagne glasses at dinner. Thanks Dad!

NEW YEARS EVE

It was 50 degrees this year for New Year's eve! How fun the girls got to do some chalk, even though the ground was wet from the melted snow.

Off to the neighbors for a NYE Party: What a fun way to ring in the new year. The girls did get to bed early though with their cousins Conor and Brighid babysitting for us.

here's to 2011

2011-02-17T21:39:00.008-06:00

Lots of indoor activities are necessary as this seems like the coldest winter in quite awhile. Tons of snow, horrible temperatures and wind chills WAY below zero. So over the winter!!

FUN WITH FINGERPAINT

we are having to do lots of indoor activities since the Blizzard of FEB 2, 2011. Some blizzard photos are below.

ME BEHIND THE SNOWDRIFT:

DRIFTS OVER THE GIRLS HEADS

FRONT OF THE HOUSE

THAT'S NORA FINDING ICE CHUNKS

Birthdays and Football

2011-02-17T21:35:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday to our daddy:

Everyone gets in on the act of being in the background, even Uncle Mike in the kitchen. For Brent's bday this year we actually headed over to the neighbors for the superbowl. A custom Blackhawks cake was made especially for Brent. It turned out great!

We had a fun day celebrating!

Hello Summer... In FEB

2011-02-17T21:28:00.003-06:00

today was 55 degrees. Here it is, the WARM few days we get every February that no one believes me... and its here today, it was fantastic. A bit windy but WARM!!!

Love it!

Girls had a great first Valentine's Day party at preschool, they filled out their preschool valentines and then another batch for their daycare and neighbor friends. They did such a great job writing the names down from the class list and then crossing off each name as they went. Took awhile but they did each one themselves! Was proud of them.

Thoughts of St. Patricks Day are coming. Can't wait for the day O the Irish!

Winter fun

2010-12-14T21:04:00.015-06:00

AN ALMOST WINTER DAY

We went to the Almost Winter day for pony rides, hot chocolate and petting zoo in South Elgin.

It was great pony rides were only $2. what a deal, the girls were super excited. Finches met us up as well. They ran out of hot chocolate though. Santa appeared and sang Christmas carols too. Was a fun night even had Bon Fires to keep warm.

Next year we'll get there a bit earlier for some hot chocolate and the free s'mores!

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving we spent at the Finches house. We loved our turkey and all the fixings. The girls had a great time playing with their friends while mommy and Denise got to sit after dinner and flip through all the "Black Friday" Ads. I think that was the best part!

OUR CHRISTMAS TREE
(GIGGLES)

CHICAGO WEEKEND

The following weekend we went to Chicago for our weekend get away. We took a half day from work, picked the girls up from preschool and off we went to the city! The girls were very excited. They fell asleep 5 minutes before we got to the hotel, and yes we actually got there in record time in like 45 minutes! We stayed at the Marriott, using our gift card finally from our 10 year anniversary. Friday we went to a late lunch at Bubba Gump (Nora especially loved the name of the place, as it sounded like bubble gum).

Then to the Childrens museum at Navy Pier. After that we went to look at the Macy's windows, spend a little bit of time at the Christkindlmarkt in Daley Plaza. There was hardly a line to see Santa so we did that, and then bough the girls the heart shaped German Cookies.

GERMAN COOKIES

After that we went to the "Bean" at Millennium park to hear the carolers at 6pm.

From there we met Uncle Mike and Aunt Hannah at Pizzeria Due for dinner.

PIZZERIA DUE

WINTERWONDERFEST

Saturday we went to Winterwonderfest at Navy Pier. Was a lot of fun riding rides and enjoying all the decorations. Next we went back to the hotel to swim in the pool and hot tub and relax. We met The Dorns at Rosebud for dinner and then back to their house for a bit to relax and catch up. Sunday was our last day and we went to The American Girl Store to have a look around, then to the John Hancock tower to see the city from way up high. After that we went to visit Uncle Mike and Aunt Hannah as they are only a 10 minute ride from the city -- on a Sunday!

What a great weekend, we did it all! And had a great time. We got our first snow while we were in the city and it was so magical with all the twinkling lights!

Disney /Florida Trip September 7-14

2010-11-30T23:32:00.026-06:00

Our first Disney Trip as a family. How exciting! We went the day after labor day, for 4 days. Stayed at the Polynesian Hotel. Right on the monorail (a must for families with kids in strollers!). We told the girls we were going to Disney world about 10 minutes before we boarded the plane. All along they thought we were going to visit Grandma Ann (that was only partially true).

We expected the girls to be more excited, but they had never been there before so what did we really expect...

DAY 1
On the plane, Erin threw up, poor kid. below a pic before she got sick.

Not sure if she really was sick or nerves or airsickness. Just as the flight attendant was next to me serving drinks. I already had the sick bag in my hand, but the first instance got all over her. A planner, I had a ziplock bag in my carry on and a change of outfit for Erin. No one knew she got sick on the plane since the drink cart was next to me--hiding it!

We left our house at 4am for an early flight to Disney. If my dad taught me something when traveling it was "be at the pool at noon". We checked into our hotel expecting our room to not be ready, but it was so we dropped off our bags, and picked up 2 autograph photo books for the girls, rode the monorail to Epcot.

It was super hot in early September, as we walked through to head to Germany for lunch. There we found Snow White.

We got in line right away and were SO excited to see her and be able to take a picture and get her autograph. After that we ate lunch and then walked around the park, after we got rained on of course! We also waited in line to "Meet all the characters" where Mickey, Minnie, and all we got autographs and got to see them up close. I was worried about Nora as she had started to be afraid of "Large mascot/characters" from parties at Chuck E Cheese and parades that we attended only a week before. As long as mom or dad were close by, she was ok with it. She just ADORED the princesses, as they weren't wearing giant heads or costumes that were freaky. -least not to her. After Imaginarium tour and finding nemo ride we were ready to head back to the hotel for dinner and to recoup. It was super hot and humid.

After dinner we went to our room and changed into our bathing suits. The pool/beach at the Polynesian overlooked the lagoon and Cinderella's castle, and they piped in music from the magic kingdom for their fireworks show. Also there was a lights parade on the lagoon itself. Nora -- not a fan of fireworks was pleased to watch the show from farther away. The pool was great with the hawaiian theme of the hotel and the sand/beach was where we sat on lounge chairs to watch the fireworks. After that a few more minutes for a swim, then off to bed to dream of Mickey.

DAY 2
Woke up and met Grandma Ann at the hotel, she had the room next to ours we were super excited! She brought lots of goodies for our trip especially for the girls such as fruit snacks, juice boxes, bottled water that we loaded up the stroller with our goodies and headed to Magic Kingdom.

The girls LOVED the Dumbo Ride and the Large Merry Go Round right by Cinderella's castle. At around 11am we went to the Bippity Boppity Boutique where I told the girls that daddy called to see if we could have lunch with all of the princesses, and would they like to do that? Yes!! Then said daddy arranged for the girls to have their hair and makeup done to be princesses for the fancy princess lunch. I pulled out the Snow White and Cinderella dresses we brought from home, they escorted us into a fancy changing room, then waited our turn.

The fairy godmother in training each did Nora and Erin's hair and makeup, complete with Fairy dust, a princess crown and sparkling Mickey Barrette. They were so excited and felt like princesses. Outside we found the official Fairy Godmother and the girls just were thrilled. Cinderella's Castle lunch was great. A wait in line for a picture with Cinderella, then at lunch each princess came to our table to talk to the girls and give an autograph. Erin was especially excited that Snow White gave her a kiss with her red lipstick and wouldn't let me remove it. The food was really good even the sprinkles on the kids' sundaes were in mickey mouse shapes.

Arial and the girls at our table at lunch

After our lunch we went back to ride all the fun rides, They Just LOVED The teacups! Peter Pan's flight, Dumbo, Merry go round again, haunted mansion, enchanted tiki room, pirates of the Caribbean. Everyone in the park loved the girls' dresses and hair that we had people ask if they could take their pictures.

On the way back from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride the person working there a pirate said, "Welcome back Snow White and Cinderella" the girls were just thrilled.

It was super hot that day we kept trying to find air conditioned rides. The people mover was good, Monsters Inc Laugh floor was nice and cool.. the buzz lightyear ride was the best!

For dinner that night we were late coming back from the park it was too late to get a table at our hotel, so we went to the Grand Floridian for dinner. Excellent food, very fancy. we got to watch the fireworks during dinner this night (yes we were eating dinner at 9pm!). After dinner we rushed to catch the last monorail back to the hotel and right to bed...

DAY 3:
Magic Kingdom again for us as the girls really did love the merry go round, dumbo and Peter Pan rides. Grandma Ann opted to stay at the hotel pool to relax this day. We did our usual rides, and snacks, saw the occasional character - after the magic carpet rides and jungle cruise we waited in line to meet Jasmine and Alladin. It was SO hot for us that at 2pm we opted to head back to the hotel pool to cool off ourselves.

The girls LOVED the pool. They got to wear their swimmies and were very brave little swimmers. It felt great to cool off and relax a bit.

Then we had to get ready for dinner at Chef Mickey's - it was very good. They had great kid-friendly food, again very disnified (even the noodles were in mickey shapes!) We went to leave the hotel and the monorail was not working... so mom drove us to the Contemporary hotel for dinner. All the characters came to our table during dinner. Nora did well but kept her eyes on them like a hawk. She could barely eat, she didn't want to be taken by surprise! On a trip to the bathroom, we missed Donald Duck coming to our table. we had to wait longer for him to make a trip back to us.. thank goodness!!

After dinner we went back to our hotel, the monorails were working again, and at about 8 or so we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for the fireworks show. This time we were going to watch it right there. It was truly amazing. So wonderful to see the girls' faces so happy and full of wonder.

waiting for the parade to start:

After the fireworks they had their electric lights parade which was amazing. We left and headed back to the hotel with lots of other people! It was pretty crowded, I couldn't imagine going during the summertime where crowds were even larger.

DAY 4:
This is our last day at the Magic Kingdom. We checked out of our hotel, headed to the park and enjoyed the favorite rides. We even got to meet Woody and Jessie today the girls really loved that, especially Nora who decided to be Jessie for halloween this year.

We watched another parade during the day this time was really nice! An early dinner for us and we headed out to go to Grandma's house, about a 1 hour and 30 minute ride. A long ride, the girls fell asleep in the car, for a bit, Erin stayed awake the longest, I thought for sure they would both be out like lights. Finally made it to Grandma's and off to bed we went.

DAY 5:
Beach today.

Being so tired from all the running around it was nice to head to the beach and SIT DOWN. Of course the girls wanted to go in the ocean even with their lifevests daddy had to take them in as there was a huge drop off and undercurrent. I was so happy that he obliged on more than one occasion! A great beach lunch that day was fantastic with a beautiful view. What a great day! Pizza for dinner was good - love the NY Style dough. shhh.. don't tell anyone!

DAY 6:
Today went to Ken's for a pool day and bbq. The girls loved swimming in the pool with their lifevests on they gained lots of skill and courage! We were proud of them. We had a good day visiting.

DAY 7:
Back to the beach!

Aunt Charlotte came to visit the girls and we had a nice visit with her. She spoiled her grand nieces with books and toys. We girls go to sit at the table and chat it was so nice! Back to Mulligan's for dinner with mom and Ken. We really liked that place it was super close and thought the food /view was great. We were sad that we had to leave for home the next morning.

Back home the plane ride home was better than the ride there. I was at the ready with Erin and the sick bag but she was just fine this time. Thank Goodness! Our disney trip was really wonderful, the girls had a blast, it was so worth it to spend the time with our girls with undivided attention in the best place on Earth.

Summer 2010

2010-08-23T12:58:00.008-05:00

This has been a fun, hot summer. Last year we had the pool out maybe 2 times total. This summer lots of pool fun in the backyard.

Spring also had us saddened by the loss of the girls grandpa. He passed away April 29, 2010 at age 64. The girls still ask about Grandpa, and we tell them all about him and how much he loved his granddaughters.
We miss you Grandpa.

Fall is around the corner with the start of PreSchool for the girls. I am very excited about them attending, all of the stuff they are going to experience and learn. They are super smart (said by pround mom!) and will just love learning, they are so interested in everything and I'm happy the preschool will be the perfect place for them to expand their learning. They will have science, math, computer time, reading, tell the weather report, etc..

Aunt Hannah and Uncle Mike are staying with us for a few months, as Mike is going back to school for his Bachelor in Art History, then moving onto Columbia College in the Spring for a masters program. Aunt Hannah found her dream job at Heritage Farm in Elburn, she is working with the bees and brings home fresh veggies and honey for us to try.

Our first Disney vacation is in 2 weeks. I'm super excited. We haven't told the girls just yet we're going. Nora does not like "characters" very much, afraid of Chuck E Cheese, in fact at Chuck E Cheese they have a curtain with an automated mouse and he sings, etc. But then the curtain closes, and Chuck comes out himself, Nora freaks out saying, "They let him out!" poor kid. Should be interesting at Disney!

Time to clean out the linen closet, thanks.

2010-04-28T16:14:00.000-05:00

Working furiously a few months ago, (the work just kept coming in!) I hear Brent upstairs saying to the girls... "You better put that away before Mommy sees it". Not even being able to stop for a second I was already rolling my eyes.

I go upstairs to find that they had pulled their bathroom stools out, and in front of my hallway linen closet, decided to empty the entire thing. OMG.

I couldn't believe 1. that they did this! and 2. Like daddy thinks they could "put it all back" hello!

Guess I had to clean out my linen closet that day. thanks kids!!! ahhh!

Fun with water

2010-04-28T16:12:00.002-05:00

I woke up early this morning to the sound of running water. Noticing that Nora was up, I asked her what she was doing. "Just getting a drink mommy"
ok.
"Can I give Nicky treats mommy?"
Yes sure Nora.
Then I hear her padding her way across my bedroom floor, slowly. I get up to see her carrying her pink cup from her bathroom, into my bathroom, where we keep Nicky the cat's food and water. She was pouring the water into his dry catfood. In his water dish were the treats she had given to him floating. "cat soup" she said.
NO.

2010 A new year

2010-01-13T19:27:00.002-06:00

We got to visit with the Drinking Cousins this month. Kelley, Kirby and Pat O'Malley came in to visit their Uncle Ed, my dad. Dad's cancer is back, sadly, and well, its just going to be a tough road ahead. No surgery for him this time around, as the cancer is in his jawbone. Throat cancer was found and major surgery in 1998. He healed for a long time with that, learning a new way to eat. Still he has many heart problems too, however this time we don't think it will be the heart that will be the end...

So we are just trying to spend a lot of time, and listen to some great stories and advice, and see lists similar to that of "1,000 things to do before you die" He mentioned to me that I should definitely go to Ireland. Fantastic! I think so too, I said maybe by the time I'm 50 I can go. He replied that I should go at like age 35, well too late for that! He laughed.

Nora & Erin are "baking cookies" right now in the kitchen as I type this. I'm liking having the computer in the kitchen, so much easier! They have every piece of tupperware out on the kitchen floor and stacking, pouring, and "baking". The imagination of a 3 year old is priceless!

The kitty is nervous

2009-12-14T22:36:00.005-06:00

"The kitten is nervous"

Said Nora at dinner tonight. Yes, we got a new member of our family. Nick. Nick's your buddy, Nick's your pal. So the girls call him Nicky.

We got him on December 4th. We just went to "look". Yes, that was it, not ready to buy anything yet, no supplies at home, nothing. So once we had a look at the kitty, we just had to get it. He was 8 weeks old when we brought him home, so we think his birthday is around our Anniversary. (Oct 3). We picked up the girls from daycare that night, and then since Nicky was in our bathroom, told the girls that we had a surprise early Christmas present for them since they have been such good little girls. We walked upstairs, and at this point you can hear the cat meowing very loudly. I said, What is that sound?? They both looked at each other and were like, its a kitty!! They just LOVE him to pieces.

I'm thinking of renaming him George.

Birthday eve

2009-12-14T22:27:00.002-06:00

So I am having a birthday tomorrow. Guess there's no stopping it.
My sweet hubby decided to go out shopping the night before my birthday, leaving me to attempt to put the girls to bed, alone. Ha. Tag team, they knew they could over take me.
I think I tucked each girl in 4 times before daddy made it home, after 9pm.
I told them daddy would kiss them goodnight but that they had to stay in their beds. Right.

A few more minutes go by as daddy goes up to kiss the darlings goodnight. Then calls me upstairs. WHAT? i kind of yelled.

Erin was holding a dozen pinky colored roses, and Nora was beaming. Happy Birthday mommy they all said.

Ugh. My heart aches. What a sweet family! Love you all...

Now get back in your beds!

Disney, Toilets and Socks and Halloween

2009-10-28T11:21:00.007-05:00

Disney Live

We took the girls to see Disney Live last Sunday. They just loved it. They were in awe when Cinderella was on stage singing "so this is love" (from the movie) then the fairy Godmother came out and sang Bippity Boppity Boo and changed Cinderella's dress into a "more sparkly" one. They were glued to their seats with eyes and mouths wide open. Then Tigger bounded to the stage and had a "bounce" song and that was when they really got into it, jumping all around. Was so fun and cute to watch them enjoy it.

Lou Malnati's Pizza for lunch after the show was our treat. As sitting and waiting for our pizza, Erin with hands on chin sighs and announces: "What's wrong with this family" in which Brent gives a huge reaction of disbelief, only making it worse Erin keeps saying it over and over and laughing. God knows where she got that one from!

Toilets and Socks About a month ago, it was a typical end of day senario: Mom picks up girls from daycare, who of course decide that they DO NOT want to go home right now, and that they will be staying at Angela's house. So I'm chasing them all over trying to find and put shoes on them and coats and collect their cups and papers from the day. Get home, get them to take shoes off and hang coats, go potty and wash hands. Ha! oh and cook dinner at the same time. SO a lot of commotion coming from the hall bathroom and Erin's crying histerically. NOW WHAT I think to myself. Did Nora go potty first and Erin wanted to? Did Nora flush and she wanted to first?? SO I take a deep breath and see what's up (hoping the noodles I'm cooking don't overflow on the stove). Erin (so hysterical) says, "Nora flushed her underwear in the toilet!!!!" Nooooo.... she didn't honey, she has them on (showing her). "No mommy its in the toilet it went DOWN there!" So i look and Nora who is calm as a cucumber and with a little smile on her face, and see that she is wearing one sock. hmmm. I said Nora, did you put your sock in the toilet as Erin was flushing it? Yes, I did that she says camly. WHY? "I did that" she repeats. UGH. NOTHING goes in the toilet except pee pee and poo and that is IT. Everyone wash hands and to the table for dinner. UGH. 5 minutes later we're all sitting down beginning to eat, as daddy walks through the door. Smiling he is like hello how's my girls. Good daddy! they yell. Sure.

Getting ready for Halloween

This Halloween, Erin is going as Snow White - cuz she looks like her, as she says, and Nora as Cinderella, cuz she looks like her--as Erin says. They are so into princesses and dressing up right now. Playing Beauty Salon is so much fun, and have to admit that I don't mind having my hair "done" by them either! Reminds me of second grade when girls would sit in front of their friends at school and braid hair...

Tonight will probably entail carving pumpkins and roasting the pumpkin seeds. mmmm.

The leaves are beautiful right now and fall is definitely in full swing.

3 year well doctor visit

2009-07-22T21:38:00.002-05:00

Saw Dr. Eng on 7/17 (uncle Ed's birthday!)

Erin weighs 30lbs, Nora 29lbs. Erin's height 36, Nora 35 1/2. Erin is 50% for both height and weight and Nora is 25% for both.

No shots! The girls did great. No fussing and no fears. BUT did have to have a potty break in the middle of the appt! Typical but they at least both went.

Talked about Nora's heart murmur which we had another baseline test done in the fall, all results were normal. Doc said its sounding less prevalent. So happy to hear that. I talked to Grandma Ann, and she was talking to Aunt Grace, who also had a heart murmur, and also told us that MY grandmother also had a heart murmur (she is also named Grace!) So its not surprising that our Nora Grace has one. Funny.

3!

2009-07-22T21:10:00.003-05:00

3!

We are three now! We had a Dora the Explorer Birthday party for their big day. First Ice Cream cake from maggie Moo's. So yummy. So not cheap!

Firsts: (july 09) First "fair" we went to Kane county Fair on July 18. Merry go round, those crazy cars that have the annoying beeping horns, "bumpy boat" ride that Nora really hated but at least didn't cry and cotton candy.

Slip n slide: With cousin Brighid in the backyard. Fun gift from uncle Ed. Dairy Queen soft serve ice cream cones, just before July 4th.

As heard in the car: As daddy pointing out the growing corn to Erin while driving, Erin commented on the rows and rows and rows of corn! Daddy: "And that corn still has a lot of growing to do. They are going to grow 2 or 3 more feet" Erin: "No Daddy, corn doesn't have FEET! ha ha!" Daddy: "no but it has a lot of ears"

Both girls are potty trained and wearing big girl underwear during the day. working on night time and will be transitioning to toddler beds by summer's end. Erin is still my great sleeper, Nora fights us on going to bed and definitely requires less sleep than Erin.

They love playing mommy with their dollies. Favorite thing to play is "baking cookies" also. They take turns and look out for one another. They volunteer the other twin when mommy and daddy ask a question: Who wants more carrots? Nora will say "Erin does!" Too funny.

Nora is constantly singing and gets mad if mom sings along now. Usually tells me to be quiet, that her babies are sleeping.

3 is such a turning point. I can't believe we made it!

Its finally here

2009-05-18T21:33:00.003-05:00

Ever since the girls were born, I got many many people to tell me "Ohhh. It will get easier. It will get easier...." and all I could think was that they were LIARS. Finally its here. Its "easier" or is it different? I will say that they have turned a corner in the last few months. Playing together, taking turns, cracking each other up, running around silly and giving lots of love and hugs, telling each other they are their "best friend" and always wanting to play together.

Well almost always.

Typical day at our friend's (the Finches) house: Erin/Amanda/Mckenna are down in the basement playing "babies" and where's Nora? Upstairs reading books in Amanda's room quietly. Nora does tend to like being alone more often than Erin. Erin gets hurt feelings when Nora tells her "no" that she doesn't want to play. Getting to know the neighbors' kids as well, and the girls are having a lot of fun, finally leaving mommy and daddy's side to go explore and get into some sort of trouble. No, really they are good little girls. We couldn't be prouder!

They had their first Haircut Feb 14, 2009. Nora's hair was SO long!!! Erin's was pretty long but her waves made it seem shorter.

In March they went bowling for the first time. By that I mean Erin tried to pick up every bowling ball she could get her mits on (yes even the people the lane next to us) and Nora would "help" roll the ball down the lane.

In April the girls got to go to their first Easter Egg hunt. It was such a nice day that they had a huge turnout, was a bit crowded, but they liked seeing the bunny.

In May we went back to Brookfield Zoo (our membership passes had not quite expired from last summer) and they were big enough to ride on the large Merry Go Round that is in the front. They just loved it to bits, and have even picked out their next "animal" to ride on.

June is around the corner with Memorial Day coming up this weekend. Daddy is planning to go to the Blackhawks playoff game this weekend, he is so excited. We are happy he is able to go! Monday (Memorial Day) we are hoping to go out with Uncle Ed, Brighid and Conor and fly kites. Should be fun.

Conor is graduating 8th grade already... time does fly its so true what they say.

I'm planning a Dora the Explorer 3rd birthday party for the girls. Working on menus and party lists as of now. Gotta find that Dora pinata!

No major plans as of yet for summertime, hopefully lots of fun with neighbors and friends. Looking forward to getting outside a lot more.

What we are up to at two and a half

2009-01-29T10:13:00.005-06:00

The girls turned two and a half on Dec 30th. What do they do all day anyways?

Talking. A lot.

Potty training, getting better. Some days are great, others are very wet.

Learning to share. More like whining and jumping up and down while waiting for their turn. Working on that.

Manners are being practiced. Love hearing "You're welcome mommy!" Please and Thank yous are coming along.

Things we love:
Dora
Spaghetti
Bacon (Nora)
puppy dogs
kitty cats
Jumping - We went to jump zone with the twins club. DEFINITELY a wonderful winter activity!
Running in circles

Erin jumped off the couch into the coffee table in December. Hit the corner of the table just above her right eye brow. (man does the head bleed!) That was a fun trip to urgent care. It was wonderful that it is within walking distance. Miss Tabitha got to come and help/watch. They gave her that skin-glue but unfortunately it rubbed off when she was sleeping on day 2 of having it.

Their memory still amazes me, as most moms will contest, you know that it will develop but its neat to see it in front of you.

I took a spill down the garage stairs in the summer. I was carrying Nora and the diaper bag, wearing flip flops and yes down I went so scared of hitting Nora's head on the concrete garage floor I took a big hit from the wooden stairs and the floor. Nora was fine thank goodness, me not so much. Giant knot on my shin and LOTS of black and blue bruises and scrapes. To this day if I am carrying Nora outside, she says to me, "Mommy no fall down!" ok, trust me I will be very careful not to, it hurt really bad!

They remember gifts they got for Christmas, such as "Grandma gave me these pajamas" or Miss Tab gave us these shirts. Its neat to see their memory expanding. They know that Daddy works in Chicago, and takes the train every day. If you ask where they live, Nora answers Illinois, but Erin is adamant that she simply lives "at home". They know that Grandma Ann lives in Florida and has to take an airplane to get there.

They know that to go to school (Kindergarten) they have to be 5. Every morning as we pass the school to drop them off at daycare, they see the kids waiting for the bus stops and going into the school. They love to talk about when they are 5 and can go to school with teachers and kids and fun. Oh are they going to be in for a surprise. :)

They really enjoyed playing in the snow. The last BIG snow was 1/10. They helped shovel the driveway too!

Getting Ready For Christmas

2008-11-25T15:41:00.002-06:00

Looking forward to a few days off for Thanksgiving and spending time with friends. Oh yes, and all the FOOD!

Although its only Thanksgiving week, the girls are getting ready for Christmas! I've taken out a few Christmas items so that I can take my time to decorate.

Here is a video of the girls enjoying the Rudolph stuffed animal that plays "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer." fun!

Sit N Spin

2008-09-22T13:42:00.002-05:00

Oh what fun you can have when you're 2. Yes, they do own a sit n spin, No, they do not use it very much, but LOVE the lazy susan on the top of the table.

a little update

2008-09-16T11:59:00.002-05:00

Its September now, and the weather has gotten just a little cooler. The girls are wondering why the need for light jackets and socks/shoes vs. tank tops and sandals. They are very adament on what clothing they want to wear - typical 2 year old behavior.

Other typical 2-year old behavior is biting. They are biting each other and nothing seems to help. Time outs - yelling - making a fuss over the victim - banishing to cribs... hopefully like everything else will be a phase and pass soon.

The girls love watching College Football with us, and Nora will throw up an arm and yell "GO go go!" too funny.

2 cute kid quotes:

When asking Nora if she would like turkey and cheese for lunch, she simply shakes head and says, No like that. So I asked what she would like for lunch, "Cookie" with a smile was her reply.

Watching bull-riding on tv (The girls thought they were "jumping cows) -- and no we typically DO NOT watch bull-riding, however Brent was explaining that they are not cows, but Bulls, and see that they have 2 horns, to which Erin replied, "Beep Beep."

Pool Time in the hot summer sun

2008-08-04T14:25:00.002-05:00

The girls spend most weekends at home playing in the pool and sand table.

I will be wishing for these days come February.

more summer fun

2008-08-04T14:18:00.003-05:00

remember being a kid and lying on your back and watching the clouds float by?

2-Year Doctor Appointment

2008-08-04T13:51:00.001-05:00

Took the girls on Friday to the doctor for their well-baby checkup.

The doc wants us to take Nora for an echocardio gram, since her heart murmur is still present. They thought by age 2 it would be gone. They want to compare it to when she was 3 months old, to see if there were any changes. He talked about why we would want to do that, etc, with our heart history, etc. He said it wasn’t “urgent” but certainly something to have in her files as we are watching her grow up. If something were to change, her growth, activity etc then he would be very concerned, but he isn’t “worried” but wants to keep an eye on it. So have to schedule that, I think I will do that in sept at some point.

Otherwise, they had 1 shot each, I think it was called the HepB? They were both right around 24lbs and 32 inches tall. They are 25% for weight and 10% for height on the charts for girls at age 2. (so a little small) but they have always been on the “smaller” side so he isn’t worried.

He said they looked great, and are very active and talkative. Erin wouldn’t open her mouth for him to check her teeth / gums, but Nora did (I think since Nora went second, she saw what the doctor was doing, etc..) Plus I was holding Nora and talking to her, “See how the doctor will look at your ears, eyes, etc?” They have a little stethescope for an “animal hospital” toy they got so I was showing them that and how you can listen to your heart, etc at the doctor.

Overall they did well. Erin didn’t cry for her shot, but Nora did. I held each of them (facing me) and the nurse did the shot, I said the Nurse is going to put medicine in your leg – and then you get a Bandaid!!! Erin was happy with her Bandaid. Nora, not so much, but once we got out of there and each got a sticker AND lollipop, all was right with the world.

Diaper issues

2008-07-22T21:36:00.003-05:00

Can't seem to keep their diapers on.

Tried the diapers on backwards. Tried the onsies on backwards. PJs, etc. you name it they can get out of it and then off comes the diapers. Yes a few accidents have happened because of it. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all well aware that when you are potty training, you will have accidents. BUT if we were amidst potty training (Which we are not--yet) that would be fine. We are just having accidents because they are naked at every chance they get. ah!

Erin's been using the potty every day. Not consistently, but if she asks to go, we let her go, and she will usually go. Nora has now lost all interest in the potty and can't even get her to try, that is fine, she is not ready. But she still wants to follow Erin through the steps of the whole ordeal!

So the question is, do I start to potty train Erin now and wait until Nora is ready? Is that harder or easier? I don't know the answer to that, so therefore, I will just let Erin go when she wants and praise her for it. No pushing or forcing. Still changing diapers....

BIG girls, big stuff

2008-07-07T09:08:00.002-05:00

Yesterday for the first time ever the girls went pee pee on their potties!

They were running around Naked ( a favorite thing to do at our house lately) and then Erin came into the laundry room-where I currently have their potties, and picked it up and carried it out. Then I hear Brent saying from the other room, Erin just went potty! So yes she sure did, and I gave her lots of hugs and kisses and then I emptied the pee into the big toilet and let her flush it, wash hands, etc... well Nora must have got a clue from that and then she went right out and went Pee as well!

I'm very excited. I am hoping that we'll be starting this soon! At least I know that they "get" it!!

woohooo!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

2008-06-30T08:11:00.021-05:00

The girls are 2 today! Happy Birthday my sweet girls.

We celebrated their birthday with a party on Saturday. We had a ladybug theme, as "our little ladies are turning 2". A ladybug pull apart cupcake cake (which I thought was fantastically EASY to pull apart and hand out, no cake cutting!)

They wore the dresses Grandma O'Malley sent to them with blue gingham and ladybugs/flowers on them. SO Sweet.

HISTORY:
If anyone didn't know the history of the "Zonyk" parties, its as follows. It almost ALWAYS rains. We used to have huge Memorial Day parties. It would always be beautiful and sunny all week, but sure enough on that Saturday it would be 47 degrees and rainy. Their first birthday party (Held on June 23...) was only 57 and yes, raining.

The weather on Saturday was sunny, not a cloud in the sky, although very high winds so couldn't have the umbrella open on the back patio. (let me tell you how fun it was to cram all of the balloons in the back of the car that morning!) But at 3:45pm, the skies grew dark and thunder / lightening / downpour began. The party started at 4pm! Thankfully the rain blew through pretty quickly and we were able to go outside and enjoy the Jumper (brought over by the Finch's) a bean bag game, and slide, riding toys etc for the little ones.

Conor & Brighid are the big kids now, playing bags with their dad...

Happy Birthday to yooouu...

The girls loved the singing. I think they actually realized it was for THEM. Nora got a little stage fright where Erin's eyes grew large and she sang a little bit toward the end of the song. After the song, Erin clapped and yelled "yay!"

Then Erin sat forward and blew out both of her candles in one blow, AND Nora's candles too! I re-light the candles for Nora so she could do it, and she did, and clapped and yelled "yay!" also. It was so cute. They really enjoyed it. Right before we started to sing, Erin swiped her little finger over the cupcake frosting for a taste, looked up and me and said, "I like it mommy."

PRESENTS:
Lots of friends and family and fun new presents. Sand and Water table from mommy & daddy, a ladybug nightlight for their room which shines the stars onto the ceiling. Their very first Barbies - they got 2 kinds - princess ones and ones with bathing suits. Baby doll changer and tub, little babies with clothes you click in place on them (how inventive!), baby elmo and baby cookie with books, new sprinklers to play in, a butterfly catcher and more sand toys, playdoh, a little table/chair/ umbrella set for our patio, darling outfits and outdoor picnic blanket, sidewalk chalk (We love that stuff!) beautiful music boxes from Grandpa with their names on them...

Opening up presents (Kiara, Mckenna, Erin, Nora, Brighid)

What a fun party!

...The Next Morning...

The usual suspects stayed over, sat on the patio outside for a bit and after a few rounds of Rock Band it was time to "shut it down". Had breakfast with everyone the next morning, the kids all played together nicely and it was another sunny day to enjoy.

Aaron, Kiara, Erin, Amanda, Nora (not pictured: Mckenna & Robbie).

Sand & Water table: Mckenna, Amanda, Aaron, Erin, Nora, Kiara

Mr. Finch was nice enough to set up the jumper (again) for the kids the next day. They LOVE that thing! As you can tell, he couldn't set it up fast enough!

ABCs & Twinkle Twinkle

2008-06-25T09:56:00.003-05:00

Nora loves loves loves to sing. And i love to hear her little voice singing. Erin has just started to sing along too. They sound so cute together.

Here's Nora singing her ABCs while holding onto a Watermelon, while sitting on the counter...

Then for her next song, she will sing Twinkle Twinkle little star.

Summertime fun

2008-06-19T11:28:00.014-05:00

So its not officially summer yet but we've been lucky to enjoy some fun outside in the pool and playing in the sprinkler.

(Erin carrying my Peonies that finally grew after 3 years...)

The girls also LOVE birds. Look at the video of them watching them in the grass outside:

We finally got our patio installed (after waiting 5 years) and are hoping to have many days/nights sitting out there and having fun.

Brent also got a new grill. His old charcoal weber grill he has had for almost 15 years. He won the old one at a golf tournament. It was time for something new. I'm looking forward to lots of outdoor dinners this summer. He finished installing it on Father's Day.

Planning the girls 2nd birthday party, something small at the house. I can't believe it was 2 years ago that they were such tiny little babies. (sitting on their daddys lap at 1 day old).

Sharing a bouncy and a nap:

2 weeks old:

Thanks for being nostalgic with me for a minute....

Yes its so true what they say, they grow so fast. I try to stop and take notice every once in awhile of what they are saying or doing as almost 2-year olds. I am sure in 2 1/2 more years as they start Kindergarten (!) that I'll be sitting here, saying the same thing,

"where did the time go?"

The things we do

2008-06-10T21:20:00.002-05:00

At 23 months the girls are really talking up a storm! They say a new word each day and are using 2 and 3 word sentences all the time. I'm amazed that in the past month, their conversation skills have really leaped. They've always been able to point out and say many words/objects but "now we're talking"!

Nora can sing her ABCs very well and Twinkle Twinkle Little star is still the favorite. Erin's favorite new word is "Happened"... with hands up and a little shrug. (Mommy must say "What happened only 1,000 times each day)

Favorite things / activities at this age: The slides and swings on playground (NO swings for Nora please.) Peek a boo, running and chasing each other around the house, the vacuum, ice cream, m&ms, mommy's bracelets, OH and eating Vaseline (Nora--yes, under daddy's watch).

Naked. Nudie.

Yes, they have learned to take off their diapers. (wonderful!)

Nothing like going in, in the morning to get them and they both are saying the word diaper and pointing to the used diaper on the floor outside their cribs. Or when you check on them after 20 minutes of crying at bedtime to find them naked then too. Luckliy so far we have not had any accidents from this new found enjoyment of being naked, but all in good time, I'm sure.

Our Florida Vacation

2008-05-23T11:06:00.034-05:00

We left for FL on Wednesday. The girls enjoyed looking at all the different people at the airport, and especially the airplanes!

Erin and Daddy before the flight.

Very happy Nora before the flight. Yes, she's holding the Motrin syringe!

During the flight we lucked out and had a middle seat open.

The girls enjoyed watching their dvd movie, and having many snacks, playing peek-a-boo with the people behind us. All in all a good first time on the airplane!

Arrived in Orlando (check it out we had to get a CART!) and waited for a LOOONG time to pick up our already reserved rental car.

Then off to drive about an hour to The Villages. We got a little lost once INSIDE the Villages, but finally found the hotel and then off to Uncle Bob's house for a home made meal. Had a nice visit with Memae, Uncle Bob, Aunt Pauline, Lisa and Lauren and Derek.

Next Day Brent and Uncle Bob got to golf, and we went to the swimming pool afterwards.

The girls loved the pool and loved playing with their stacking cups in the water. They did great with keeping their hats on too!

Erin especially liked the "pool noodles"

Erin trying to get away from Uncle Bob.

Another night on the town at the Villages, which has beautiful town squares with restaurants and shops and live music, plus a boardwalk along the water.

Our Family:

Brent got to Golf another time with Uncle Bob and then Aunt Pauline took us and the girls in the golf cart to the town square with Lauren too, and we listened to some live music, the girls danced and then we walked around with the strollers. It was a beautiful night!

Nora Dancing:

The town square-check out all the golf carts!

The girls loved the fountains at the other town square. It was very pretty.

Then off to visit Grandma in Vero Beach. We went to dinner on the Marina the first night. Even Uncle Mike and Aunt Hannah joined us!

Looking at the boats in the Marina after dinner:

FIRST DAY AT THE BEACH:
The girls LOVED the beach. The ocean, the sand, the shells... Erin collected as many shells as her little hands could hold. Nora preferred to be held by daddy in the ocean, and laughed as the waves hit him. Brent would say Nora here comes a wave, and she would wave each time. Too cute!

Erin Digging in the sand.

Nora and daddy.

Bathing beauty.

Aunt Charlotte visits:

Auntie spoiled the girls with adorable straw and eyelet lace hats, and matching purses, plus CUTE sweatshirts, books, stuffed animals, baskets.... The girls loved visiting their Auntie!

Erin looking at the bows with Auntie, and being shy.

Mike & Hannah have to head back home, we pose for a group pic.

Then giving bye bye kisses to Auntie:

The girls sit with Grandma to look at their new books. Nora is almost "full hair twirl" mode.

Here's Erin and daddy sitting watching nursery rhymes and having a little snack:

Another Day at the Beach:

Grandma taking Erin for a walk along the beach. Erin was collecting all the shells her little hands could hold.

A day at the firestation:

Getting a drink of juice before we go visit Grandma's work:

We went to visit Grandma's work. Also Aunt Charlotte was at the front desk and the girls LOVED playing peek-a-boo with her and her window. They thought that was the funniest thing ever!

Next we looked at the big Firetrucks. The wheels were bigger than the girls. They love the "woo-woo's" as they call them.

After our Firestation visit, we went to lunch on the Marina. The girls loved looking at all the boats in the Marina with Grandma and daddy. It was so beautiful. The water was such a pretty blue color. Then walked around looking at the water, they had a waterfountain also.

Smiling for mommy-having lunch at the Marina.

Sitting on a bench at the Marina with Grandma.

Pretty water fountain.

Getting Ready

2008-04-14T08:13:00.003-05:00

We leave this wednesday for our first airplane trip with the girls. So excited, been making lists and packing stuff every spare moment. Brent wants me to "pack light" but even still, taking only 2 pairs of shoes each for the girls still means 8 shoes....

Off to see Uncle Bob, Aunt Pauline & Cousins on the first leg of our trip to "The Villages" or as Aunt Pauline describes, Disney for adults. Then off to see Grandma and Auntie in Vero for some more sunshine, good company, and if the girls are being good, they will get to see Firetrucks at Grandma's work up close and personal... At home they run to the windows when firetrucks are going by, yelling "woo woo's". Brent is looking forward to golfing and I'm looking forward to sunshine, being away from my gray cubicle for over a week.

I've been gathering lots of little portable snacks for the plane as well as books, stickers and dvd movies. Hopefully it will all go smoothly!

Park fun

2008-04-07T08:47:00.004-05:00

With a beautiful spring weekend (finally) we were able to go to the park and play!

Nora loved the slide and Erin loved the swings. There were many dogs at the park, which kept the girls very happy and excited. A small terrier dog was being held by a little girl while Erin was on the swing. Erin looked over to the girl, and pointed at her dog and said "meow" it was too funny. The dog was pretty small and could have been a cat! Well to Erin it was a cat.

We also drew on the drive way with new sidewalk chalk, and had a blast running all around!

"Minkle Minkle Little Star"

2008-04-04T14:10:00.003-05:00

Erin's favorite song. The other night she kept saying over and over again, "minkle" I had NO CLUE what she was talking about. Then I heard her mutter the word "star". AHA! They love that song, Nora sings along, getting the "key" words correct.

Nora loves to hide. That is her thing. When picking up from daycare she immediately runs around the corner, peek a boo a favorite game of hers.

Wisconsin Dells Trip

2008-04-04T13:52:00.005-05:00

We went for "Spring Break" this year with the Finches. We stayed at the Copa Cabana resort which had PERFECT babypool/splash area for the girls, also had a pirate ship with all kinds of things you can squirt and play on including the girls first waterslide!

Nora loved the slide, she kept going up the stairs and down the slide. You'd have to catch her at the bottom, but she had this look of terror coming down the slide, but sheer joy once she reached the bottom. Erin wasn't too crazy about the slide but enjoyed splashing around in the water, we couldn't get her out of the pool.

We went to dinner a few nights, here's all the girls waiting patiently for our table.

Then after dinner they had a mini-indoor amusement park. The girls didn't know they weren't really "driving" :) Was a lot of fun.

Happy Easter/ Happy Spring!

2008-03-31T15:57:00.013-05:00

Erin coloring her eggs. Ok, a picture of Erin just about to grab the entire carton of colored eggs before mommy grabs them from her. Nora holding up her egg.

Easter this year was early, and yes, we still had snow on the ground. At least we were able to get outside for a few pictures. We colored Easter eggs, they liked to bang them on the table, and then Nora started to peel hers... The Easter Bunny brought Playdoh which Nora found delicious.

Happy Spring, oh wait, never mind

2008-03-20T23:51:00.002-05:00

Happy spring. The first day of spring was celebrated by the girls heading to the park after daycare w/us and going down their very first slide (note: all by themselves). They LOVED it couldn't get enough of it! How fun for us too as we could watch them feel all proud to do it by themselves.

Next week we're heading to Wisconsin Dells for the first time (for me and Brent too). An indoor waterpark with family friends a much needed break away from work for us all. We're excited to see how the girls enjoy the small waterpark (yes, its indoors) and its geared for little kids. They will have a blast we're sure of it!

And speaking of spring, we're expecting 6-8 inches of snow tomorrow.... This is the most snow we've ever seen - its been a long, record-setting winter. At least I know I won't be seeing any tulips or bunnies on Easter this year, it will be too cold!

My little leprechauns

2008-03-20T23:45:00.005-05:00

Happy St. Patricks day!

What a difference a year makes! The girls got a kick out of their Shamrock headbands this year. Last year they just had NO idea what the heck they were.

We celebrated with the adults the Saturday before the Official day. The girls brought shamrock cookies to daycare the Friday before also. On St. Patricks day we went to Uncle "egg" (ed)'s house to visit Pop pop Conor and Brighid. Grandpa got them cute tshirts that said wee little trouble maker on the front. So cute.

Hello can it BE any colder?

2008-02-19T11:24:00.003-06:00

Hello from Cabin Fever central. This morning when I left, it was 4. Degrees. Wind chill -15.

I'm done now. Just feeling very cooped up, and sick of the whole hat/mittens, start the car before loading routine.

By the time I get the girls loaded into the car and to daycare (Which is literally 7 minutes from our house), the girls have pulled off their hats, socks and shoes. Thank God for seatbelts or their coats and maybe even their clothes would be off too!

Happy Valentines Day

2008-02-19T11:20:00.008-06:00

Above: Brent was standing behind me and pointing to his cheeks, and saying to the girls, Smile and Say Cheese!!!

The girls enjoyed their Valentines day this year, as Daycare had a little party and handed out Valentines. Erin especially loved lining up all the valentines in a row and admiring them, until Nora would run by and swipe them from her.
Then there was crying (erin)

Then there was teasing (nora)

I think Nora now realizes if she takes things from Erin, she cries. Oh no. But Nora thinks its funny. ugh.

MORE snow!

2008-02-07T09:51:00.000-06:00

Another foot of snow for us. The girls had much more fun outside this time in their snowsuits. I let them run around for a few minutes in the house to get used to the snowsuits.. Its not easy standing up in those once you're down!

Its been a very snowy and cold winter. I'm dreaming of taking long walks in the stroller and an afternoon at the park. Spring is just a little too far away right now. The girls are learning to get DOWN the stairs. New milestone. They like it so much that the stairs has become a new "game" for them, as I say "Scootchie" to get them to sit on their bottoms and scoot down the stairs... hopefully they are learning and not going to have too many falls from the stairs!

packing peanuts!

2008-01-29T08:49:00.000-06:00

Grandma O'Malley sent some things to me that she didn't want/need and was sent through those Pack n Mail type places. Those are the kinds of places that fill your box with packing peanuts.

The girls LOVED them! Nora was sitting in the box and trying to get the peanuts all over herself. She thought it was Snow, was funny she kept yelling "nnnooooowww" (no "S" pronunciation yet.)

18 month old check ups and one shot

2008-01-22T09:18:00.001-06:00

Last Friday the girls had their 18 month check up.

Nora: 23 pounds, 30 inches. (25% for weight/30% height)
Erin: 23 3/4 pounds, 31 inches. (30% for both)

I don't agree on the height of the girls. I think they are exactly the same or if anything Nora may be slightly taller. Erin did not want to stand on the scale. or sit on the scale. So even her weight may be slightly off, but as the unconcerned Nurse says, "close enough" its not as pertinent when they get older as when they are newborns. uh, ok.

So Erin sat on the baby scale (barely) and then we had to lay her down on the table for her height measurement. Nora got measured against the wall with the measuring stick so really how accurate is that especially getting a one and a half year old to stand up straight and hold still. ha!

The girls had one shot each. Nora barely flinched. (big surprise!) and Erin's bottom lip was sticking out before I even laid her down on the table. Just a little fuss, nothing more. Thank Goodness there was only 1 shot!

Ewin, Ewin, Nona, Yellow and Blue

2008-01-22T09:15:00.001-06:00

The girls are learning each others names. Its very cute! Nora finally calls herself Nora, except its "Nona". Erin calls herself Ewin, and also calls Nora Ewin.

Colors & Numbers: Ask Nora what color that is, and she will always answer Blue. Even when she's holding that red block. Erin's response is always Yellow. Hey at least they are saying a color. IF you want them to look super smart, wait until Nora is holding a blue crayon and then ask her and the same for Erin. Genius!

Erin loves having 2 of everything. Since I usually supply the girls with their own toy or book or crayon, Erin would like both of them, please. And then when she is holding them, she will say Twwwoooo. Not sure if she gets that there are 2 items, but hey, its a start.

happy happy happy

2008-01-15T10:59:00.000-06:00

Conor turned 13 last week. We went for cake/presents. Nora LOVED the cake and kept clapping her hands, saying oooooooohhh and happy happy happy, 3 times each.

Nora wearing Conor's new hockey hat. The girls know their names now, but Nora occasionally calls herself Erin (Ewwiin). very cute. When they do say Nora's name, it comes out as "Nona". Close enough! They love to be chased around the house and giggle when you chase them. They dance to music all the time. Erin is still fond of stuffed animals and learning to be "gentle".

Getting better at taking baths, they still hate water on their faces/heads.

We went outside the other day for a walk in their pink cars that I keep in the basement. They were SO excited. When we came back inside, Nora was crying and didn't want to come in. I asked her if she wanted to go back outside, she answered by signing the "more" sign and nodding her head. So we went back out for a little bit longer.

18 Months old. We're one AND A HALF

2008-01-08T10:14:00.000-06:00

My attempt to take their 18 month old pictures didn't go too well.

They were sitting "nice" for about 1 second, then that was the end of that.

Nora's Favorites: Elmo, Daddy's remote control, books, the telephone

Erin's Favorites: Elmo, babies and her teddy bear.

Love their strollers and walking the babies all around.

Love their play kitchen and are pretending to eat the fake plastic food, its funny. Nora still LOVES books and will sit down, feet crossed and "read" the book out loud, followed by an "all done" and throwing the book down.

Erin is my "put away" girl. She cleans up before bed, and is very helpful! Once we announce its BedTime, she starts putting away toys, or babies, or books saying night night, then once half way up the stairs, turns and says "bye-bye" to the toys.

bee-bop, za-pee, go-go and obots...

2008-01-08T10:06:00.000-06:00

Ok, what?? Exactly. The girls are talking up a storm. Although it does take some interpretation to understand exactly what they are saying!

Dinner: Pizza for dinner. Nora proudly says "bee-bop" for pizza. Erin gets it backwards and announces "za-pee" at least they (and we) know what that is. AND they love it too.

Elmo & Grover:
Mommy brought back a mini Elmo and mini Grover from her Business Trip in November. Nora was waying Go-Go for days, and it wasn't until she was in the car, holding Mini Elmo and then saying "Go Go" that I realized it was mini-Grover she wanted. AHA!!

OBOT!
Sounding like Robot, but without the "R". Erin's favorite word, meaning "Open it"! They love to open and close things, especially water bottles that they go and find in the tupperware cabinet. Erin gets very adament about OBOT! as she yells it louder and louder until someone will "open" whatever it is she is holding.

Birthday, Christmas, Sickness and Happy New Year

2008-01-02T13:02:00.000-06:00

Happy 2008!

Nora on her sled: (eating the snow)

Erin on her sled

Someone turned 35... i think it was me. how did that happen??

My 35th bday.

Dec 15th got a lot of snow for my birthday and got to play outside with the girls in the snow. They loved it. We took them out on their sleds that I got at the twins club resale (Best $6 I ever spent!!)

Then had cake (they loved THAT especially). That night we went out to a sportsbar that is very close to the house, which was good since we got so much snow that day. I had so much fun for my birthday!

Me and Jill at the bar:

Brookfield Zoo:

We went to see all of the holiday lights and the animals on Dec 22nd, with The Finch, Laux and the Morris families.

The girls LOVED the bears, and the lion. Erin kept growling after we saw those animals it was funny. Luckily the weather was "warm" for December so it wasn't bad being outside. Did you know they sell beer at the zoo??

Denise and Tabi:

Waiting for Santa:

Christmas: The girls had colds this Christmas, unfortunately it was Christmas Day that was their worst day of their colds... they didn't want anyone to hold them except mommy and daddy, and it was tough as we hosted dinner and were trying to get everything ready. Thankfully uncle Ed was happy to make drinks for everyone!

Some fun new presents were: New Sippy cups, PJs, books, Wizard of Oz movie, Sesame Street Garage and some other fun toys. Grandma Marge got them a play kitchen and Grandma O'Malley got them a fun animal choo-choo and cd player/toy. Also got new blocks and a push "popper" that they love.

Christmas morning we opened gifts, then went to Uncle Ed's house to bring their presents to them, and cousin Brighid gave them cookies, they were thrilled.

Then came home, the girls napped, and we started making our Standing Rib Roast/mashed potatoes/Yorkshire pudding for dinner.

NYE: dinner reservations made for 5pm (ok, we are old, but not THAT old) allowed us to go out for a wonderful adult dinner with Denise and Chris, and then be home by 8pm to put all the kids to bed. Got one babysitter at Denise's house so everyone was all together. It was wonderful! Then watched tv, drank and played cards all night. Was much fun. We got a ton of snow that night too. It was beautiful the next morning.

Dinner at Dunhills:

NO! Night-Night, Baths and Icky things.

2007-12-12T09:39:00.000-06:00

Erin has started the NO phase. Its here, we knew it was coming. But now it has arrived. Yesterday she No'd me a TON of times. I was like Erin, lets put on your coat, NO! Lets put on your shoes so we can go bye bye, Noooo!!! I'm ignoring it for now. What else can one do?

Night-Night:
My girls have been crying a lot before bed. I don't know, I think because we are shifting to one nap, their sleep patterns are messed up. I think they are overtired because they don't get enough "daytime" sleep and then have a hard time settling down. I went in there last night after Nora screamed for 30 minutes, she had pulled the pad off the changing table/dresser (which her crib is next to) pulled the curtains out of their holdback things, her blanket and "baby" were on the floor. Yikes. I know Nora is breaking those pointy teeth now, she has one cut through, not sure if the others are coming in and that is the issue or what??!! Its so hard to tell!

BATHS: we did baths on Monday. I dreaded it. Erin seems ok , but Nora gets MAD! She starts stomping her feet and stiffening up. She hates the water on her face when I'm washing her, and won't lay down AT ALL to be washed... So I washed her standing up. BUT I've always said to them, you need to be sitting down in the bathtub. They know they are supposed to but...

So I tried to explain more what we're doing -- showing her the soap, and saying, Nora do it, Nora wash your hair. Nora take the soap and the bubbles and wash your tummy, etc... Ahh! She did it a little bit, She still cried, but not as bad, and was climbing and reaching for Brent to take her out. Then once he picked her up and wrapped her in the towel, she waved and said "bye bye" to erin who was still in the tub. It was funny. But she loves the water and loves getting in the tub. Just didn't want to get clean.

Icky!
Now the girls are pointing out "icky" things to me. They were going up the stairs, and yes, I do need to vacuum my stairs, but they kept pointing at fuzzes and going "icky!" yes, I KNOW! Then after dinner they point to the floor and go "Icky". And crouch over all the food they threw down there during dinner and point and yell icky a 100 times until I get the sweeper out. Then they laugh. At least they aren't eating it. Erin used to crawl under the kitchen table and graze there after dinner when I was trying to get Nora cleaned up.

Snow

2007-12-11T10:23:00.000-06:00

Let the girls "play" in a bowl of snow the other day. How sad is that? I still don't have boots for them and need another set of snowpants. I will get them soon, I promise!

In the meantime, the girls enjoyed eating and touching the cold snow.

Its Santa, OH NO!

2007-12-10T14:13:00.000-06:00

We had the twins club kids' Christmas party yesterday.

They had "the Little People" as entertainment, crafts, snacks and SANTA!

We made a craft when we got there, these tiny little bags, with stick on foam Christmas decorations.. then had a snack, watched the little people perform, and enjoyed how excited Nora got over it all. She was dancing and smiling/clapping. Erin joined in after a little while.

After the Little People were done, the Santa line began. We waited in line for a little bit, and as we waited I had to go "get" Erin from the front, no less than 4 times. She was so excited. Santa! Ho Ho Ho! THEN it was our turn. Poor kid changed her mind. Not entirely surprised. I was wondering who would freak out.

The Little People:

Waiting....

Waiting some more:

Oh NO!

Get me outta here!

Nora met a nice little boy Ryan, who just turned 2.

On / Off

2007-12-07T09:43:00.000-06:00

Our favorite words this week are On and Off.

Shoes ON! Shoes OFF! Sock OFF (can't seem to keep the socks ON lately!).

I'm amazed at how intrigued these 2 are with this stuff! I know I know, proud mommy comment coming your way. Its tough these days to get them ready for daycare in the morning, as I turn around and their shoes and socks are off, and they are running away, twice.

Open / Close
Another favorite of the girls. If you're in the refrigerator, you can say "Close" the door and they close it before they decide to pull all of the salad dressings out of the door. But its tough when you're actually trying to get stuff out of there, and they are pushing the door closed. And they mean it! Get that door closed, now!!!

waking babies

2007-12-04T10:07:00.000-06:00

Got the tree done last night. Took all of 3 hours. I'm exhausted today, but at least the tree and all the holiday (indoor) decorations are up!

Brent had hockey last night, so it was my time to get r done as they say. As soon as he got home at 11:30, Erin woke up crying. So as not to wake Nora, Brent took her out of the room and handed her to me, then Nora woke up crying-and looking for Erin. Where is she? Is it time to wake up now? What's happening?

Erin was all stuffed up and she went back to sleep ok. Nora on the other hand was not too keen on going back to sleep. She wanted to stay up and stay with daddy to play. She was pretty mad that he put her back to bed. After all, at this point it was after midnight. She cried for a few more minutes, quieted down, we thought she was asleep. Not so. She cried some more, brent went in to comfort/rock her and she got quiet. Then lay her down to sleep and the screams started up again. ahhh!

Big surprise she was the sleepy/tired one this morning.

The girls stopped dead in their tracks as they rounded the corner of the room where the tree is. OOOOOOHHHHHH they exclaimed with clapping hands. I said, that is the Christmas tree. See how pretty? NO TOUCH! for now, they left it alone. I can't wait until tonight when the lights are actually on to see what they do. At least I put all the breakable ornaments up high.

Fall Leaves

2007-12-03T10:16:00.000-06:00

Playing in the leaves at Uncle Ed's house. The girls had a lot of fun! Of course they weren't sure at first (especially Nora) but once they realized the leaves were fun, they had a blast. Loved watching cousin Conor run and jump into the huge pile of maple leaves. Nora and Erin giggled each and every time he did it!

Brighid and Nora:

Look at the pile of maple leaves!

What a difference a year makes

2007-12-03T10:15:00.001-06:00

Last Turkey Day:

Look at these cuties!

Thanksgiving

2007-12-03T09:16:00.000-06:00

It was wonderful of our friends Denise and Chris to take the girls for us the weekend of Mike & Hannah's wedding. It was even nicer of them to host us for Thanksgiving!

The girls had a lot of fun with all of the kids. There was definitely a "kids table" the girls were a bit distracted from eating. Nora found out that she could get out of her booster, and kept trying to climb out. Erin sat nicely and ate her food, as always, she is my good eater. Nora loved and gobbled up the turkey. Erin stayed with the mac n cheese and some stuffing.

We had a good day and lots of great food!

November...weddings and turkeys

2007-12-03T09:12:00.000-06:00

I know I'm late updating these "holidays" but that is how it goes in the land of no free time.

I feel like I'm going in 10 different directions between work, home, kids, myself, husband, friends, family... I feel like I don't get to give 100% to any of these areas and feel at times, spread very thin. But its all worth it. When I look back and see where we've come (from 2 tiny infants) to 2 thriving toddlers, I'm amazed that I'm still standing.

Mike's wedding was Nov 17th in Gainesville, FL. It was a lovely wedding and Hannah and Mike looked so very happy on their big day.

Happy Halloween!

2007-12-03T08:47:00.000-06:00

We had a lot of fun this halloween. Nora was the Bumblebee and Erin was the Ladybug. The girls enjoyed being pulled in the wagon and watching the excitement in the neighborhood, as kids ran from house to house, and some houses had hot chocolate and cookies and mini haunted houses in the garages.
They didn't quite understand it but it was so fun to watch a little bumble bee and lady bug running around!

We did make it to the pumpkin patch this year with Amanda and Mckenna Finch.

Mommy grabbed them both for a quick picture by the pumpkins.

Ice Cream Time

2007-10-08T16:01:00.000-05:00

After we got back from the Scarecrow Fest, it was time for Ice Cream!!

October Heat

2007-10-08T15:59:00.001-05:00

Its a blazing 90 degrees today. How is this October weather??

We took the girls to the Scarecrow fest yesterday to visit with another twin family: Brian, Katy, Nora & Allie.

It was so hot though, all the girls' cheeks were bright pink. We didn't get to stay long.

This was also the only time they were sitting down on the blanket, Erin kept running away!

Our First Vacation

2007-07-13T09:03:00.000-05:00

To the Biltmore Estate!

First we travelled to Asheville, North Carolina to visit the Biltmore Estate. Just amazing and beautiful. It was the girls actual first Birthday. (June 30). The drive was about 11 hours from Chicago.

The Biltmore Estate was amazing. The tour was very well done, as they gave you your own audio unit and a map, and you could go into each room and play the audio for that room. The girls did well considering. Erin had a nap during the tour, and Nora napped when walking through the gardens. It was a hot day! Erin had a small nap during the garden walk. They had a winery as well, we didn't have time or energy for a wine tasting that day, but visited their store to bring some wine home and some to Uncle Kirby's house as a "housewarming" gift.

Then back to the hotel for "real" naps for all of us. Tomorrow we would be driving the 6 hours to the beach and Uncle Kirby's house.

To the beach!
North Carolina, Emerald Isle.
July 1-6th, 2007

Pretty pink sunhats and crisp white terry cover-ups. How cute are we??

Keeping cool in the shade with cousin Kylie. Cute Beach Babies!

At Uncle Kirby's new house, cute little chairs for the babies!

Happy 4th of July! We watched fireworks from Uncle Kirby's porch. The babies watched in wonderment, pointing at the sky. So cute!

We're ONE!

2007-07-13T08:12:00.000-05:00

Happy First Birthday!

We celebrated Nora and Erin's first birthday with a party at home. We had about 45 guests. Lots of kids and fun! They loved being sung to, and had big smiles while listening to the birthday song. They each had their own smash cake and Nora really got into it! She was squeezing the icing and cake in between her fingers. Surprisingly, Erin only tasted the frosting and didn't like the cake as much, but she managed to flip the whole cake over on her highchair tray!

Much beloved gifts received were the Pink "Buggy" cars, Wagon, Bubble Machine and many cute outfits and books.

I can't believe the year is over. What a crazy fantastic ride it has been. I look down at night at the girls sleeping, and don't remember them growing up so fast, but there they are right before my eyes.

Almost ONE!

2007-06-18T15:03:00.001-05:00

Getting ready to have the girls' first birthday party.

Where did the year go?

The girls are getting so big already. Erin is cruising on all the furniture, Nora hasn't found a need to stand up on her own yet, what's the rush?

We had a fun Memorial Day weekend. Lots of BBQs to attend.

Picture at left is at Tabitha's house for a BBQ. It was sure bright and sunny that day!

What can we do? at 10 months...

2007-05-25T21:04:00.000-05:00

The girls are growing so fast. Nora is learning to immitate. We play Patty Cake and she claps and "rolls" her hands/arms. Its so cute. She also flicks her finger on her lip and makes that bbbllee noise (how do you describe it?) But when Brent does it she will do it back. They were a hit at daycare and the doctor's office.

Erin is standing up like a pro now. She is a fast crawler, and will pull up to stand on almost anything. She is also very careful when she sits back down. At first she would lean way over with her free hand to feel where the ground was, then plop down. She is becoming more confident now.

We upgraded their car seats last weekend. They are still rear-facing, I'd like to wait until Nora is 20lbs, which is very close. No more infant seats. Its a whole new ball game now. Having a hard time keeping up with them especially getting ready in the morning and then going to daycare, then after work too. But it is so fun watching them crawl all over the place, chase the cat, take their toys out of the basket.

The giggles are endless. They love to be in the same crib, and they "monkey roll" over each other and laugh and laugh. Lots of clapping and laughing. What fun!

Doctor appt for Nora

2007-05-25T20:52:00.000-05:00

We had Nora's follow up doc appointment today for her anemia. Her iron levels were much better up a few more points, so we can stop taking the iron supplements after we finish up this bottle. Yay!

Nora weighs 19pounds 6oz. I think Erin is about 20++ for sure. Only Nora got weighed in today.

After that we went to the Claddagh for lunch with the girls, our first family dinner with the girls in high chairs! Was a little hard to keep their hands off of everything, but I think they enjoyed it. They were trying to lick the highchairs from the restaurant (ick.) oh well.

Then home for a nap (for mommy too!)

Crazy Hair!!

2007-05-07T13:52:00.000-05:00

I don't know what to do about the girls' bangs. I don't want to cut it yet, but seems like it is always in their eyes, no matter how many clips or pony/pig tails I try, they pull them all out. If Nora doesn't pull out her own bow, Erin is sure to do it.

aaahhh!!!!

Squeaky Clean

2007-05-07T13:48:00.000-05:00

Having fun with Nora at bathtime!!

She wasn't feeling well last week. Fever for no apparant reason. It was getting higher so decided to give her a bath, worked like a charm.

Standing!!

2007-05-07T13:39:00.000-05:00

Erin has figured out how to pull herself up in her crib. I'm not ready for this stage!!! But its cute to watch them figure it all out. Nora follows her all around, only pulls up to her knees so far.

Playing

2007-05-04T12:10:00.000-05:00

More pictures of the girls playing outside. The weather has been good, we are so excited! Nora & Tabi here in Tabi's back yard. We went to their house for the "FIRST GRILL" of the season. We had a blast. Nora hating the grass in this picture. Notice how she won't let her hands (or legs!) touch it!!

Outside in the Springtime

2007-05-04T12:08:00.000-05:00

The first time we put Nora in the grass, man did she HATE it!! Poor kid wouldn't let the grass touch her.

Erin wasn't terribly thrilled, and still checked it out.

Happy Easter

2007-04-11T09:04:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a nice Easter.

The Easter bunny brought new sippy cups, some more Gerber Graduates puffs, sandles for this summer, a stuffed bunny and some M&Ms to share with mom and dad.

We went to Ed's house in the afternoon for traditional Easter buffet, was very good.

9 months old

2007-04-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

Wow can't believe the girls are 9 months old!

At their well baby check ups, they are:
Nora: 18lbs 4oz and 27 1/2 inches (50% for both)

Erin: 19lbs 8oz and 27 inches (75%, 50%)

The girls are crawling too!

Erin is doing the hand and knee standard crawl, and Nora's favorite is the army crawl. Still sleeping through the night, the girls go to bed at around 7 or 7:30 depending on how they napped that day.

Still no teeth for either of the girls yet. We are waiting for those!!

Going on a trip this weekend to go visit cousins Karen and Patrick in Michigan. We are looking forward to a little road trip too.

Holy house of sickies!

2007-02-26T08:26:00.000-06:00

We have had a rough couple of weeks.

2 weeks ago, the girls got that horrible stomach virus. Then they gave it to mommy. It took over a full week to recover. It was very messy and bad!!

Finally over that, Nora had developed a little cold with a fever, so daddy took her to the doctor and she checked out ok, no ear inf or whatever and then she was super crabby/unconsolable. It was NO FUN. And Nora is our very content happy baby!

Erin woke up this morning with the sniffles. aaaaaaaaack! I can't wait until Spring when they are a bit older and hopefully get over all of these little colds/viruses!!!

happy birthday daddy

2007-02-06T10:49:00.000-06:00

today is our daddy's birthday. We can't wait for him to get home for some yummy cake! and to watch him open his presents.

Here we are at 6 months old. Our tshirst say "6 months" on them.

We are happy little girls!

Lots of giggles

2007-02-06T10:42:00.000-06:00

Erin and Nora love to laugh and giggle.

their favorite thing is when uncle Ed will juggle for them. Its their most favorite!!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rl1vnNTnVeo

The video above is from Christmas. The girls were getting fussy when uncle Ed started to juggle, its the first real giggles we'd heard from the girls (at the same time!)

Erin loves to be in the bouncer that you hang from the doorway. If I place here there, and then put Nora close by in her exersaucer, they giggle at each other.

When feeding them their morning bottles, they each reach out for one another. They are often holding hands or grabbing each other's feet. They are very "grabby" at this age. Its hard to not get them to go for the cat! He tolerates them very well, but the girls often take handfuls of his fur. (and yes, end up eating it.)

7 months old

2007-02-06T10:37:00.000-06:00

We are 7 months old now! Where did the time go?

We weigh about 18 pounds each. Nora is 1 inch taller than Erin, and just slightly lighter. Erin is 75% for height and 95% for weight and Nora is 95% for both.

A typical day includes:

Waking up at 6:30am for a 6oz bottle.

playing until 7:30 am then a nap from 7:30-9am.

9:30am we have cereal mixed with fruit.

then we play until lunchtime.

At lunch we have more cereal mixed with a veggie. We are splitting that right now. Then sometimes we have a little 3oz bottle before a nice long afternoon nap. Sometimes we don't make it this long and have a mini-nap at around 11 or so.

After an afternoon nap we have a 5oz snack bottle and then play until dinnertime which is rice cereal and a veggie followed by a fruit for dessert.

Just started trying sippy cups, although can't figure them out just yet, but fun to chew on the sippy part anyway for practice.

Bedtime is usually around 6:30 or 7pm, depending on how our day went.

4 month well baby visit

2006-11-22T07:50:00.000-06:00

We had the girls' 4 month well baby visit on Nov 3 (I know, I'm a little late with updates!)

Both girls are 24 inches tall, Erin weighed 14lbs and Nora: 13lbs 6oz. They are doing very well!

We then had Nora's cardiologist appointment at CDH, and all proved to be fine with her, she has an innocent heart murmur, and the doctors say she will grow out of it, and there's nothing to be worried about. whew!!!

Now they are concerned that Noras head is flat on the back (well, yes it is flat...) so i have yet another appointment to make for that, they also want Erin to get looked at as she would always lay on one side, so that side is a little asymmetrical.

Still up to my ears in bills and trying to catch up, still from their delivery!!!

Happy Turkey Day

2006-11-22T07:46:00.000-06:00

We've made some strides since October that is for sure!

Erin is starting to love her "tummy time" and giggles at Nora when they are on their bellies looking at each other. Nora is reaching out for Erin, they are noticing each other and its so adorable! Lots of smiles all day long.

We started cereal! We started a few weeks ago with a few tablespoons mixed in the formula. Erin loves it, Nora is still unsure what the heck we're giving her, sometimes as Brent says, it looks like we just put glue into Nora's mouth, as she freezes and makes a face.

Hoping to start some veggies this weekend. Should be interesting. I can't wait to see what kind of face Nora has in store for us.

The girls are sleeping much better. They sometimes wake up in the middle of the night but not always the same baby and not every night either. Last night was night 3 in a row of no one waking up until 5:30am! woohoo!!!

What's happening?

2006-11-03T10:45:00.000-06:00

A little update:

The babies had their baptism on Oct 15th. Godparents to Nora Grace: Ed O'Malley and Tabitha Dohn and Godparents to Erin Colleen: Michael O'Malley and Denise Finch. It was a nice ceremony and we had Grandpa, Conor and Brighid, Chris Finch, Amanda and Mckenna and Chris Laux to join us in the celebration. We just held a small party at our home afterwards.

Halloween has come and gone. We went to the pumpkin patch on October 29th to Goeberts with the Finch family. Afterwards we went to Millrose for some adult beverages, we think this may become a new tradition! The weather couldn't be more perfect that day. The girls were sunflowers for Halloween, they were so adorable!

Big Week

2006-10-04T14:46:00.000-05:00

We celebrated our 9 year wedding anniversary yesterday. Not too much of a celebration, as the girls decided to catch their first cold from daycare.

Today we stayed home with the girls, and took them to the doctor. No infections (yet) but they have fevers and are congested. They were pretty miserable too.

Little Nora just looked up at us with her bottom lip out and red, teary eyes. Poor baby. Hopefully they will take some good naps today and feel better.

On the other hand, I think mommy has caught their cold. I was feeling faint in the doctors office and had to sit outside for a few minutes. Not good. After that appointment we visited their Grandpa and Uncle for just a bit to say hi and have their "brunch" and then back home we went.

Time for naps. For all of us.

Back into the swing of things.

2006-09-28T18:50:00.000-05:00

Mommy's bringing home the bacon again.
Started back to work. Not too bad, but very busy. I cried a lot the night before when I was setting aside the girls outfits for the next day. I woke up at 2am that night with a horrible migraine... just worried about everything. AND Erin was up all night too. She's like her mommy, she must have known something was up.

Daycare: They did ok at the daycare, but they are not sleeping very much. At home they would sleep approx 6 hours from the time of 7am-5pm, and according to the daycare, they are only sleeping around 2 hours or so. So when I get home they are exausted and crabby and falling asleep. I want to get them right to bed, but instead let them nap, then wake them for a bottle, then off to bed at 8pm, and they have been sleeping through until 6:30 the next morning! Poor babies are all tuckered out.

Heart Murmur Appts/Tests: Nora's appt for her heart murmur was today. We dont have results yet, but it was tough to get her to hold still for 1 hour while they did the echo, she was trying to grab a hold of all the wires stuck to her, and also the EKG the wires kept coming off... it was frustrating. Then she had her chest XRay that went ok, they only took 2 at least it wasn't too long. So we'll see what the docs say. Now we wait.

The girls weigh about 11.6lbs, we weighed them the other day. They are growing!!! They aren't really fitting into the 0-3 month clothes too much anymore, only a few here and there. I have to go through all of their stuff and pull out the too small things and bring out the cooler weather outfits too. Sure, in my spare time, what is that?

Ok, wait. We're not sleeping all night now.

2006-09-21T09:55:00.000-05:00

So they've pulled a fast one on us. Guess it was wishful thinking that they would still be sleeping all night huh?

At least they are going to bed around 9 and sleeping until 3am. Just have to make that push towards 6am someday!

The weather has been chilly so we've had some fun wearing some fall clothes.

oh how fast they grow

2006-09-18T15:37:00.000-05:00

The girls are growing like little weeds!

Eating: I think Erin takes after Daddy, and always finishes her meal, where Nora eats like me, snacks here and there... its pretty funny!

Playing: They are awake longer during the day. They are super smiley and love their rattles and music star on their gymini play mat thing. Erin still hates tummy time and gets very mad very quickly and Nora just hangs out and looks around.

Lots of times I go in during naps to give them back their pacifiers and they smile up at me like, hey, lets play! Very cute, but its nap time!

Erin has the chubbiest of cheeks, and her hair is coming in nice and thick. Nora's hair is coming in blonde now, but much thinner than Erin's. Their eyes are still blue, Erin's eyes more grayish blue and Nora's are still deep blue.

They will be going to daycare next week, 3 days a week. I am sure they will do great, I'm just worried about ME missing them too much during the day.

We're sleeping! We're sleeping!

2006-09-18T14:41:00.000-05:00

The girls finally decided to sleep all night!!!

The first night was Sept 14th, they had a bottle at 8pm then to sleep by 8:30 in their crib. We didn't hear a peep until 5:30 the next morning! AND it was Erin who woke us, we had to wake Nora up at 6am to eat.

They have done it for 4 nights in a row. Lets just hope this continues, as I start work next week.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

Getting settled

2006-09-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

We are finally seeing a schedule emerge from all the eating and sleeping patterns!!! Very excited as I start back to work in 2 weeks, so this will hopefully help me and the daycare ladies out!

Our days look like this: 6am awake for bottle (usually 4-5 oz). Back to sleep by 7, sleep until 9.

9am: Bottle 4-5 oz. Then play/activity.

10:30: Little nap before lunch

noon: 5 oz bottle/ play activity

1pm: Afternoon nap.

4pm: awake from nap, get changed and then eat around 4:30.

play, then small nap around 5:30.

If its bath night, we do baths, and then they get a bottle around 7:30 or 8 and go to sleep in their crib. They sleep until 2 or 2:30am, then back to sleep until 6am.

Not bad, they are 10 weeks old now, almost 11 weeks.

dilemmas...

2006-09-06T15:51:00.000-05:00

Daycare dilemma: Now searching for new daycare for the girls. Very disappointed because I found my current daycare provider in May I think it was! They cannot accommodate us on Fridays and I really do not want to have them attending TWO different daycares.

Baptism: Need to take the prep class for Baptism. Hopefully we can manage to fit that in, and still have the baptism in October???

Nora's heart murmur appts: Finally got an appointment to take Nora in. Of course its after I return to work, so that means that I need to take a day off, after returning to work for 2 days. Oh well, have to do what I have to do.

Medical bills: We are up to our ears. Surprised? no. Just digging out from our hole.

Lots to figure out this month! Hopefully this full moon will come and go soon so I can get back on track with things!

2 Month Well Baby Visit

2006-09-01T15:27:00.000-05:00

Babies update:

Nora: Height 22 inches Weight 10lbs 3oz.

Erin: Height 21 1/2 inches Weight 10lbs 5oz.

They detected a heart murmur in Nora, we need to go get an EKG, and Echo along with chest Xray for her. I'm worried of course, but its precautionary and they hadn't heard it before for her. Brent told me to relax until we know more, but what I do best, is worry.

Otherwise they are doing well. I'm so glad they hit the 10lb mark, and think its funny that little Erin has passed Nora in her weight. She certainly seems "chubbier" -- must be that 1/2 inch shorter difference.

They did ok with their shots. Nora freaked out and I've never seen that shade of red on her little face, Erin did a little better, I think because she was 1/2 asleep. But now they are sleeping soundly. Definately much harder on us than them.

We got some sleep last night...

2006-09-01T12:53:00.000-05:00

Sleeping:

we have been trying to put them down for bed at around 9pm. They slept fantastic last night! I did baths for both (they are liking them better and better now) and then we fed and put them both down at around 10 - we tried to get closer to 9, but that didn't happen.

They slept until 4am!!!! woohoo. What an accomplishment. Erin was starving and crying, and I had to wake Nora to feed. Then they slept until 7am.

Yesterday we were out all day long. It was challenging but fun. We went to WalMart (did 1 hour photo, so walked all over WalMart waiting..) then went to Algonquin Commons shopping, then to Target... I fed them at 10am we left at 11, they ate outside at the commons at 1pm and then home by 3. I think maybe all the fresh air helped them sleep at night?? who knows, but we were thrilled to get some sleep ourselves last night.

Napping:

morning: I am trying to follow the sleep book loosely. In the mornings: they are up around 6 or 7am to feed, then try to put them back to sleep for a nap within that hour. I swaddle them and lay them down (with Paci's in) and rub their belly's a little then leave the room... sometimes have to go back in to put the paci's back in.

afternoon: after their morning feeding and nap then I bring them downstairs and feed again, let them "play" in their gymini or other bouncy seat etc.. then within 2 hours I try to get them to sleep again. This time I swaddle them again, put in their paci's and lay them in their boppy pillow. Usually they fall asleep after a few fusses.

evening; after their evening feeding, (around 5ish) Nora has a very hard time taking a nap, I usually have to soothe her/rock her cuddle her to sleep. Sometimes she stays up until the 8 or 9 feeding and then she's overtired and harder to get to sleep.

I'm only seeing a pattern starting now, so hang in there your girls are still 6 weeks old and soon they will get it!!!

We are going to the doc today for their 2 month well baby visit and shots. Oh goodness I'm a little worried... wish us luck!!!

What do you expect?

2006-08-29T12:18:00.000-05:00

tummy time.

Supposed to let the babies' lay on their tummies so that they can build their neck muscles. Ha!
My babies fall asleep when I placed them on their tummies!!

Oh well!! We'll have to try again later, when they are awake.

Nora:

Erin:

Its the girls' first block party

2006-08-29T12:07:00.000-05:00

We had our neighborhood block party this past Saturday. It was pretty organized, considering there were 43 families and probably 50+ kids running around.

They had it catered which was nice, and they had organized games for all of the kids. I am sure next year won't be as relaxed for us, as we'll be chasing after Erin and Nora. Here is the picture of us from the block party. Love the burp cloth on my shoulder. Nice, huh?

What do you do all day anyway?

2006-08-28T15:11:00.000-05:00

Ok, still figuring out this feeding schedule. From last night::

5pm: eat 5oz each baby. Then play.

7pm-10pm slept. Then I woke them to feed them at 10. Hoping for a longer sleeping period after this.

1:30am: Babies both eat 4oz and back to sleep.

4:30am: Erin is up and fussing, ready to eat again. I give her paci, and she goes back to sleep. Yes!

5:30am: Erin and Nora are up to eat. Each have 4oz and go back to sleep. Erin sleeps until 7:15, then wakes I take her into my room, she falls asleep and then I put her back to her crib.

9:30am: Both girls are up ready to play and eat. 4oz each baby, then play in crib w/mobile, then come downstairs for "photoshoot" and then to sleep at 11am.

11:00am: Both girls down for a nap.

1:30pm: Both girls eat lunch 4oz

2:30pm: Both girls down for nap. Erin goes to sleep after a little cry, and Nora is in there still cooing and smiling. Its 3:15, Nora is still staring up at me, ready to play...

Summer's nearly over

2006-08-28T12:58:00.000-05:00

Can't believe that summer is almost over! Its the last week of August.

I think the girls are getting into some kind of schedule, i'm hoping they have it perfected by the time I go back to work, Sept 26th.

I took a few pictures of them today, for their "2 month" photos. They are growing fast. Erin smiles and gets so excited she kicks like crazy. Nora gets happy and opens her mouth to smile, I am sure soon that will be accompanied by a giggle or two.

Feeding Twins

2006-08-24T21:35:00.000-05:00

Never thought how hard it would be to feed these twins at the same exact time. I'm getting much better at it, although the babies would argue that point.

Erin needs to be burped more often, if not, you will pay for it! Poor kid keeps spitting up her bottle and she is not pleased about it either!

They started out every 2 hours, with about 2 oz each. That was so tough! Then they moved to about 3 hours in between and have graduated to about 4 oz each time. Nora is on 5 oz occasionally when she feels up to it.

So the schedule of Midnight, 3am, 6am, 9am, noon, 3pm, 6pm, 9pm... has actually started to shift. The girls are sleeping a bit more at a time.

So now its more like 2am, 6am, 9am, noon, 3 or 4pm, 7pm, sometimes 10:30, then around 1:30 or 2am... and then I try to get them back to the 6am again...

The other night we fed them at 7, they played, had baths and then went to their crib at 9pm. They didn't wake up until 1:30am! Woohoo! So thinking we had a good 6 1/2 hours in between feedings, the next night I fed them at 10:30, hoping for them to sleep until 5, but no luck. They were both up and hungry at 2am... we're almost there!

We have a doctor appointment next Friday and hopefully we will get a little insight on what else to do/try. I don't think crying it out will work just yet.. they are still small and are only "newborn" size now.

They weighed 4lbs 15oz (Erin) and 5lbs 8oz (Nora) at birth. We think they are around 9lbs each now.. not bad in 8 weeks time!

Ok, the sleeping at the same time didn't last too long. Nora is up and hungry... the binkie just isn't cutting it anymore!

Sleeping Girls

2006-08-24T21:11:00.000-05:00

The twins are sleeping. At the same time.

A miracle!

The babies will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. Wow has time flown by! I'm still sleep deprived. Still figuring out the girls and how different each of them are.

Nora is a very good eater, burper and easy to feed. She is also very demanding, when she cries, its as if she is saying "NOW!!" and gets loud, fast.

Erin is harder to feed, with a bit of reflux and gets very anxious when you take away her bottle to burp her, which has to be often, unfortunately! She is not as demanding as Nora, but will whimper for a few minutes before getting upset and then, her cries are not as loud as Nora's!