We now have 1 year olds!!

Merry Christmas!! 

"Who needs Santa when I have Grandma."

We were so excited to have my parents come and spend the Christmas weekend with us.  Dad left today and Mom will stay until Saturday and then fly back home.  On Saturday, we went to the Christmas Eve service at church.  Christmas morning was so much fun with Jenna and Rachel.  They loved ripping (and eating) the wrapping paper.  After showing them how to do it, they loved getting another present to open.  As the day was ending, I was remembering a year ago when I was on Skype with my family, not even thinking that I would be in the hospital later that night.  It's hard to believe that it was a year ago!

  

Monday was Jenna and Rachel's first birthday.  We opened some presents in the morning.  They were pros by now!  Some friends came over for lunch and birthday cake.  I didn't know what to expect when we set the cake in front of the girls.  They slowly dipped their fingers in the frosting but before long, both fists were full of cake and frosting.  We couldn't get them wiped down with a washcloth, so into the tub they went.  They opened a few more presents and then played for a while.  Jenna fell right to sleep, but Rachel didn't, probably because of all the sugar!  They slept well last night!

Checking out the birthday presents.

Hugging her new cat!

A few more presents after a quick bath and outfit change!

December already?

It's halfway through December and I haven't written a blog post for this month yet.  I've been busy with playdates, shopping, putting up the Christmas tree, and chasing two babies!  The girls are still belly-crawlers but they're fast.  Now they're pulling up on everything: couches, tables, chairs, toys, and even me!  Earlier this month, they were both practicing getting down from standing.  They would stand up, just to fall back down and then get back up again. Now it's fun to watch them cruise along the furniture.  

Rachel wants to help with the Christmas decorations.

Both girls are definitely playing more with sounds and words.  Jenna clearly says "cat" and "kan-kie" for her blanket.  They both mimic me with words starting with B and D and like to make the P sound.  They are understanding simple commands and point to different things when asked.  I love seeing them learn new things each day.  
They LOVE the Christmas tree and for now we still have our storage totes around it as a temporary gate.  They like to stand against the totes and stare at the lights on the tree.  Jenna and Rachel both squeal with delight when they look at it!!

 I can't believe that my babies are going to be a year old in less than two weeks.  I was looking through some pictures and found one from a year ago. This is me at 33 weeks, 2 weeks before Jenna and Rachel were born: 

 Here's some photos from last week. Rachel's hair is long enough now for little clips and hair bows.  They don't stay very well in Jenna's hair.   

Rachel with a pretty bow

What's this on my head?

"Yum! I think I'll eat Jenna's bow!"

Trip to Canada and NY: The week in review

I've sat down to write this blog a few times but kept getting sidetacked with Cyber Monday sales, creating Christmas cards, and uploading pictures to Snapfish.  

Last week we took a LONG roadtrip to Canada and then to Rochester, NY to see family for Thanksgiving.  Kenny's grandmother lives about 2 1/2 hours from Niagara Falls.  We hadn't seen her in a few years and we really wanted her to meet the girls.  On the way, we decided to drive halfway and stayed overnight in a motel.  The babies did great in their pack-n-plays, even if they did keep sitting up and peeking out to see us!  We made it to Canada on Saturday and then stayed til Monday morning.  

Rachel LOVED Great-Grandma D.'s sliding glass door.  Look at those handprints!

On Monday we drove to Rochester to see Kenny's family.  Tuesday was my mom's 60th birthday.  My sister and I surprised her with a memory book filled with notes from her friends. On Wednesday, we visited my grandparents and they got to meet Jenna and Rachel for the first time.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures that day. 

Thursday was Thanksgiving.  Sandra and Steve came for Thanksgiving lunch and then we exchanged Christmas presents (and birthday presents for Jenna and Rachel). After lunch, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins came to Mom and Dad's house for dessert.  I was impressed with how well the girls did while they were meeting SO many new people!

 On Friday, we had Thanksgiving dinner with Kenny's family.  The babies loved mashed potatoes,stuffing, green beans, and little bits of turkey. 

Rachel loves mashed potatoes

Look at the mashed potato beard!

 Here are a few other pictures from our trip:

Rachel checking out the stairs...

Jenna was helping Grandma organize her coupons

Grandpa and Rachel 

We couldn't get both babies to look and smile.

 11 month pictures!  Boy, it's getting harder and harder to get a monthly picture.  Rachel kept playing with the bear, throwing it off the couch then trying to go after it. 

So, I tried to get a picture of her sitting on the floor.  

Jenna sat still for just a second so I got this picture!

Phew!  It was a busy and week but we had so much fun seeing our family.  

Photo Shoot

I'll post another blog later about Thanksgiving and our trip but I wanted to post some pictures from our Fall Photo Shoot.  We went to the Serenity Garden in Waynesboro on a chilly afternoon.  The girls did great!  Thank you Erika Lassen!  We love the photos!

A little of this, a little of that

Happy November (14 days late)!  The past 2 weeks have been filled with new milestones for each of the girls.  I feel incredibly blessed and lucky that I'm able to be home and see the changes each day.  Rachel is now puling up on everything.  She'll even walk along the couch.  Jenna has started pulling up but often looks for someone to stand her up.  Jenna was late crawling but now really moves.  She is able to get to sitting from her belly.  Finally, a milestone she got to before Rachel! Ha!  

Rachel's my little climber.

Smiles from the kitchen

They are both understanding more words too and I love seeing their eyes light up when they hear something they understand.  Jenna has started to say "ki-ki" when we saying "kitty, kitty".  She is also using the sign for "more" when she's eating.  Sometimes it sounds like Rachel is saying "dis" when I say, "what's this?"  We like to say to her, "What's a snake say, sssss," and she says "Sssss."  They definitely have favorite books but especially like the books that have pictures of cats.  
The girls LOVE bath time.  They love splashing the water and banging the toys against the tub.  It's so much easier to give them a bath together instead of using the baby bathtub and bathing one at a time.  They seem to have fun splashing each other too!

 When Aunt Sandra and Uncle Steve came to visit, they brought these outfits for Jenna and Rachel.  I think they look so cute! 

Jenna's waving to Aunt Sandra!

A little "wrinkly-nosed" smile!

Last week, we installed new car seats so it was time to put away the infant seats.  Before we put them away, I took a picture of the girls sitting in them to compare to the first time they sat in the seats.  Wow!  This really shows how much they've changed and have grown!

Rachel on the left, Jenna on the right