Niebauer Family

happy half birthday, twinsies!

2012-01-07T22:22:00.003-05:00

Julianne and Mirabelle are one and a half today! They are so stinkin adorable! They are super active and playful, a little testy when they don't get what they want, and babbling all the time and learning new words every day.

Mirabelle is still more of a social butterfly, but she's also really asserting herself lately. If she doesn't get what she wants, she'll throw herself on the floor in a fake tantrum. She will scream at her sisters and grab things away and say "No No No!" She often refuses to sit in her high chair and wants to sit at the table and eat off a plate with a fork and drink out of non-sippy cups. She's super picky about what she eats and is skinny as ever (though not to a degree that we're worried). She's a super-agile climber- she can easily get in and out of the pack n play in the living room. She has yet to try really getting out of her crib in her room, though we've caught her several times with her leg on the rail, so it is just a matter of time. She seems interested in potty-training, backing up to the toilet and pulling her shirt up. But when we offer her the potty, she rarely wants to actually sit on it. She loves the bath and throws a big fit when it is time to get out. She sleeps great at night, but has incredibly short naps (often less than an hour, and they're only on one nap a day). She has a great laugh and a mischeivous twinkle in her eye much of the time. I think she's going to be a handful for us :)

Julianne is really happy- she has an infectious smile and loves to play on her own, but manages to be social as well. She loves bouncing and will always climb up on us for a little horsey ride to "the grand old duke of York". She is newly becoming attached to soft blankets, like her quilt from Nana (which Mirabelle has always liked). She is a great eater- not very picky and often happy to sit in her highchair for 10+ min longer than Mirabelle, just munching away. She's 3.5 pounds heavier, but also an inch or two taller than Mirabelle. She's much more "solid" but not even as chubby as you'd think anymore. She does get mad and aggressive when someone is upsetting her. She goes through periods where she'll bite Mirabelle every day for a week, and then stop for a while, and then start again. I haven't totally figured it out, or how to make it stop, which is hard, but I'm sure it is just a phase and will ultimately end with good discipline. She still toddles and falls a bit more than her sister- definitely not as agile, but she's catching up. She has a really good grumpy face but when she smiles, she lights up the room. Oh, she's just so cute!

We love these girls to death, and it is funny and crazy to think we've made it through a year and a half with them already. In some ways, it felt like forever, and in some ways, it seems like they were just born. In particular, the last year has just flown by. We do feel so blessed to have three happy, healthy, beautiful girls, and we can't wait for all of the adventures ahead of us.

The plague

2011-12-31T22:09:00.000-05:00

The plague hit our house. It started with the twins having some diarrhea and a cold. Then Mirabelle threw up. A couple of days later, Caroline was throwing up. And the nanny called in sick with the stomach flu, so I was watching the kids for a day and half or so, and the day she came back, I got it and couldn't get out of bed. Luckily I got over it just in time for Christmas, and Mike, since he was out of town when it all started, got it after Christmas. Then he also got strep throat, and when we took the kids in to test them for it, we found out Caroline and Mirabelle both had ear infections and Caroline had pink eye. It was a horrific trip to the doctor with tons of screaming and such, luckily nana was there to help. But the doctor never even tested for strep, because he was going to give the 2 ear infected girls antibiotics, so he figured, let's just cover our bases and give it to them all, and then it will kill any possible strep throat anyway. Oh lord. It was a doozy, but thank goodness we survived, somehow.

Christmas

2011-12-25T21:30:00.000-05:00

Christmas was fun at our house. We were somewhat in-between sicknesses, which was nice. Christmas eve we spent some time with Mike's brother John and went to church. Mike's parents came over for dinner: Leffse and sausage- their norweigan tradition. Caroline went to bed easier than ever- I think she thought she better be good and she better get to sleep fast so Santa could come.

And boy did he come- he delivered presents for all the kids. Stockings and 1 or 2 bigger gifts. Caroline requested (and got) a Silvermist doll (Tinkerbell's friend) and a Santa in a Sleigh. She complained that there were no reindeer, despite the fact that she neglected to ask santa for those and Santa had a hard enough time coming up with a sleigh! We also got them plenty of presents so we were opening them much of the day. After nap, we went over to Mike's parents for more presents and dinner. It was really great family time.

The day after Christmas we headed to the Wisconsin Dells for a couple of days at an indoor waterpark. It was a great idea for a gift for the family from Mike's parents (Thanks, Nana and Papa!). Mike's brothers both came, and Caroline was glad to play with her cousins. We had a great condo and the girls loved the waterpark, though Mirabelle kept getting really cold quickly (girl needs a little bodyfat!). The unfortunate thing of the weekend was that Mike got incredibly sick. He got the stomach flu we all had and threw up, and he had a horrible sore throat which turned out to be strep throat. So he pretty much stayed in bed the whole time :( Poor guy!

I need to download our other x-mas pics, but here are a couple of cute ones: Caroline with Santa at one of the Disneyland hotels, and with our tree at home. She was so adorable!

Disneyland

2011-12-15T21:25:00.000-05:00

Oma was so wonderful to treat me and Caroline to a trip to Disneyland with Aspyn, Hayden, Jaxon, and Matt and Kristen. We had a wonderful time. I was worried Caroline was too young to really enjoy it, but she was truly over the moon about the whole thing. She LOVED the princesses (we got to meet them several times), and there were a lot of rides and things geared toward kids her age, so it all worked out. Aspyn probably got a little board hanging out with us, but she did escape with Matt's family to go on the big kid rides a few times too. We also went on a boat ride to see the Christmas lights in Newport Beach, which was fun.

Matt and I took Caroline and went to see our dad, too. He seems to be in about the same shape (which isn't great, but at least he doesn't seem to be getting much worse with his Parkinsons). He seemed really happy to see us, and Caroline had fun dancing around for him and drawing him pictures.

Caroline and I spent a night with Todd and family in Denver on the way out. It was great to meet my new nephew Cameron, who is a little cutie!

Mike and the twins missed us, and we were glad to get home to them, but it was a really magical time. Thanks, Oma!

Oma, Aspyn and Caroline with one of her many new penguins- this one named "Tweety"

The big kid cousins: Jaxon, Caroline, Aspyn, Hayden

Oh, this was the best moment of the trip- our first princess- the best one, of course!

The family on our first, very rainy morning. But... a rainy Monday in Dec = NO LINES!!

We were so lucky to run into the princesses at one of the restaurants! Can't get enough!

Its a small world, in their Mickey ears... does it get more Disney than that?

The castle was awesome all lit up at night

Tinkerbell was another highlight

Watching the parade with Oma! Wrapped up in her new fuzzy blue castle blanket

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T22:49:00.000-05:00

We went down to Mike's Uncle Tom's house near Chicago for Thanksgiving. It was fun to see the triplets, who turned 13 while we were there (perfect babysitting age!). They were so helpful with the kiddos. Mike's brother Joe was there with his kids too, plus Mike's parents, his brother John, and his Aunt Pat & Brian- so a full house.

We spent the night, which may have been a crazy idea, given I was sick and the kids woke up about every hour and cried (Agh!) but I'm glad Mike got some good time with his brothers and the kids had fun (during the waking hours).

Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and a fun time was had by all. Friday we went for a walk in the park/conservancy near their house, which was a fun time.

Halloween

2011-10-31T23:51:00.000-04:00

We had a great halloween. Caroline decided she had to be a blue monster. Oma sent her this costume about 6 months ago, and Caroline has worn it a lot ever since. She always said when putting it on "I'm going to be a blue monster for halloween!" Then about 2 weeks ago, she said, "No, I want to be a penguin." To which I replied, "No, you want to be a blue monster. You WILL be a blue monster." Oma had already sent two more blue monster costumes for the twins, so it was kind of a done deal at that point.

Caroline had a little costume parade at preschool. She had a ball. Trick or treating was fun. The twins made it about twice as long as last year. Maybe about an hour. We got to meet a bunch of new neighbors, including a family with two girls- one is 4 and the other is 1, so great ages to play with our girls. So glad there are more kids in the neighborhood. Caroline stayed out for about 2 hours and got TONS of candy. It is a little out of hand.

Caroline doing the wild rumpus

Caroline with Miss Joan

Caroline with Miss Heidi

The whole class

Pumpkin fun. She drew this herself!

We let daddy do the real carving, though

After Caroline drew a face on

Trick or treating with the whole gang. Even Papa came along!

Blue Mounds

2011-10-15T22:52:00.000-04:00

We went on a little adventure to Blue Mounds State Park. We wanted to see some leaves, but we came shortly after some windy days, so most had been blown off already. Never mind... it was great fun anyways. It was actually a pretty cool day, but no one seemed to mind. The kids ran around like crazy. We hiked to the top of some view towers which was fun, but Caroline is apparently pretty scared of heights.

Apple picking

2011-10-08T23:10:00.000-04:00

We went apple picking with friends Lauren, Bryce and their son Nathan. It was a beautiful fall day and the kids had a blast. Caroline picked out a small pumpkin (in addition to the bigger one she got a couple of weeks earlier) and we picked a huge bag of apples! We ate a bunch along the way and then made a tasty apple crisp with the others.

Caroline at the pumpkin patch, in her new favorite Bucky Badger t-shirt!

Caroline and Nathan catch a ride

Trying to pull an apple

Gotta pull a little harder!

Success!

Mirabelle gets a taste

Mirabelle and Nathan

Julianne and Mirabelle

How tall this fall? Check out the progression:

2009

2010

This year- 2011

Mirabelle and Julianne update

2011-10-06T22:20:00.004-04:00

I thought it was worth doing a little update on the twins, since I'm not doing their monthly updates anymore... They're about 15 months now, and they are just so sweet and adorable.

They started walking around 13 months. Mirabelle beat Julianne to it by 2-3 weeks, and is generally quicker and more agile still. Mirabelle loves to climb. She is perpetually climbing up on chairs, tables, etc. It is getting to be enough of a problem that we've started disciplining her (yes, time outs already!). She is so fast up the stairs too, that a couple of times we haven't had the gate up she's bolted up there before we even knew it! Aie!

Julianne is a little slower and toddles more, but she still gets around fast. They can both run, even if it looks like they're about to do a face plant the whole time. I experienced the first time of them running in opposite directions one evening at the Capitol Brewery beer garden, when we were trying to play with them on the dance floor. Julie wanted to climb the stairs to the stage and Mirabelle wanted to run through the tables. Agh. I fear it is only the beginning. I am glad in some ways that winter is coming and we will have them trapped in confined spaces most of the time :)

They have their own little personalities and it is fun to watch them come out. Mirabelle is really social- she and Caroline have a special bond. They really play well together, chasing each other around and giggling like crazy. Julianne sometimes joins in, but often she is just off doing her own thing alone. It makes me wonder if she is going to be more introverted. She loves to climb into little kid chairs and just sit there, kind of bouncing or rocking. She loves to look through books. Mirabelle loves putting things in and out of containers. I'll open the cabinets and find her "lovies" in kitchen pots. Julie loves playing with shoes. Mirabelle always wants to put on Caroline's tutus.

They don't really play with each other all that much. They kind of fight over toys, but otherwise often just kind of ignore each other. I think they're just so used to having the other one there that they don't need to interact. Julianne has started biting Mirabelle again, which she had a phase of before. It is so sad when little Mirabelle is screaming and has deep teeth marks on her fingers. :( I hope as they get bigger that they get along great and start playing together more.

They say a few word like things, but aren't really talking yet. They really clearly understand what we say to them though- they'll do things we ask them, even when we ask multiple things. Its fun to watch their little brains work.

We're trying on some nicknames for size. Julianne is Julie pretty consistently. Mirabelle has loads of name, none of which have emerged as a clear winner... I like Mimi, Mike likes Mira, Caroline likes Mirabelly. I ask Caroline sometimes if she wants a nickname. She says, yeah, "Caroline Lily". She doesn't understand that isn't quite a nickname.

Oma's visit

2011-10-02T22:57:00.000-04:00

Oma came to visit at the end of September. We had so much fun with her. She spoiled the kids rotten. She took Caroline on a lot of adventures. We went up to the Spa with Mike's mom Jane on Jane's birthday, and enjoyed some papering and lots of lounging in the pool (it was a gorgeous warm early fall day). Thanks for everything, mom!

Oma, Caroline and Nana having a swing

And the twins join the fun

Caroline and Oma swing at the park

Walk in the conservancy, giving all three girls a lift

Like grandmother, like granddaughter. Such a diva.

Storytime!

At the airport, saying goodbye to Oma :(

Preschool!

2011-09-07T22:49:00.000-04:00

Caroline just started preschool this year at Middleton Preschool. She LOVES it! The first few days she had a hard time with me leaving, but otherwise it has been smooth sailing. She seems to really like all the different activities. She is so happy to paint every day. Her friend Asha is going with her, which I think has eased the transition. I think it also helped that she did the first friends program at the YMCA for the past few months, which she also loved. So she is doing great and loves Miss Joan and Miss Heidi. They are great and we're excited for this year. First day of school!

Blue Sand! Could there be anything better?

Our little artiste, with her rainbow

With Asha

Visiting Great Grandma Caroline

2011-09-04T21:54:00.000-04:00

We went up to visit Great Grandma Caroline in Phillips over labor day weekend. We originally thought we might do our first camping trip with the twins, but with rain in the forecast, we thought twice :) Good thing we didn't because it was pretty cloudy, rainy and cold most of the weekend. We decided to rent a cabin, which we were excited to find available at the last minute. It was a nice place right on Long Lake.

It was a really fun trip. We had several fun meals with GG Caroline. The girls were raising a bit of a ruckus, as usual, but we made it through. We also took GG to Niebauer Springs, which their family used to own long ago, but is now in the department of natural resources. It is a really neat place. We would have loved to stay longer, but it was so cold out and we just didn't bring enough warm clothes.

Trying to wrangle the kiddos for a picture with GG. Easier said than done.

Mike and his grandma

Julianne at the cabin

In front of the lake near the cabin

Niebauer springs!

The springs

Down by the river

Happy Anniversary

2011-08-27T21:36:00.000-04:00

Mike and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary. This year, we needed to plan a trip to an "F" location. In the past we've gone to:
- Acadia
- Boston (I was pregnant and sick, so we didn't really go anywhere)
- Canada (Montreal)
- Door County
- The Edgewater (a hotel on the lake here in Madison- we went for drinks... couldn't go too far with new twins)

A year ago, I had this fantasy that we would be able to go to France for a week or something. Oh no. Definitely couldn't do that to the grandparents :)

So we decided to keep it local, and we went to the lovely Fort Atkinson, WI. It actually was pretty lovely. We had a great day. We went kayaking on the river there, and then had dinner at a fun funky little place and then went to listen to a street festival with a country band. We were a little out of place, but it was like some sort of cultural immersion, it was funny.

On our sixth anniversary, I want to tell Mike how much I love him and appreciate having him in my life. We've got a great thing, babe. You're the best husband a girl could ask for!

The river

A little celebration on the boat :)

Mike paddling me around

Dessert :)

Garden Bounty

2011-08-10T21:30:00.000-04:00

Oh how we love our huge garden! It has brought us such a bounty this year! Once the tomatoes started coming in, we started making a lot of gazpacho. One day, when we were bringing in everything, Caroline said, "Can we make a salad smoothie?" That was her description of gazpacho which I thought was priceless :)

Caroline is excited about the veggies. Mirabelle, less so...

Helping make gazpacho!

Summer update

2011-08-03T00:15:00.004-04:00

So summer is just flying by. Lets see... the past few weekends, we've done some fun stuff:
- We went to see "The Critic" at American Players Theater with friends Anna and Langdon and NO CHILDREN. It was awesome, but absurdly hot.
- We've gone to Capital Brewery a bunch of Friday nights with friends
- We've taken several hikes and bike rides. The twins are getting better with the bikerides, but still wouldn't exactly call them fans.
- We've spent a lot of time in the garden- gathering lots of cucumbers, zucchini, lettuce, spinach, kale, herbs, garlic, and now just starting to get tomatoes and we harvested a big batch of onions. Yum!
- We've also just spent time in the yard with the kids. They love the babypool and the sprinkler. They're also fans of the splashpark, which we've visited a few times. It has been pretty hot around here.
- We've enjoyed some fun boat rides with Mike's parents, but only managed to waterski once this season.
- Mike and I have had some good date nights and I've had some fun girls-night-outs.

What else to report? The twins are walking a lot more now. Mirabelle will walk clear across the room, but she is still not totally steady and often tries to go too fast and falls. Julianne is a bit more hesitant, only taking a few steps at a time and then seemingly giving up and going back to crawling. They're both starting to "talk" a lot more too. Especially Mirabelle. She says Mama, Dada, and Hi pretty consistently. And she'll say other things that sound like the right word once in a while, like "all done", though I'm not sure if she really means it yet... Julianne has been on a biting streak, which is most often inflicted on poor Mirabelle, but she's gone after Kate and Mike recently too. Mirabelle loves giving raspberries on people's bellies. Except Mikes, which seems to be a little to fuzzy for her to get a good buzz on :)

Caroline is doing great. She's still loving her "first friends" preschool program at the YMCA. She has been taking swimming lessons on and off this summer, and I am mildly annoyed that they seem to only play and she isn't making any progress, but now I've decided to just lay off and let her have fun and worry about learning to swim later.

Today I had a strange moment when I realized that her former penguin, who she named "Fiesta" in what I thought was a very amusing and creative way, was actually probably just named such because it was a "Fiesta" brand toy. (I discovered this while searching for penguins to replace Fiesta who we lost in California, but Oma already replaced fiesta with a bigger, blue one, so of course Caroline seems to love him even more than the lost one.) Anyways, I was a little disappointed that my girl wasn't as wacky and creative as I previously assumed. I suppose she's wacky and creative in many other ways :)

Mike and I are doing well. But somehow I feel like we're not taking full advantage of the summer. It is just so hard to go do all the outdoorsy things I'd like to do with all of these little ones. In a few years I think it will be a lot easier. I think we both need a little something to look forward to, though. I really want to go on vacation, but its not really feasible at the moment (for many reasons!). I think we might try to go camping as a family later this month. I want the twins to be walking pretty well before we go, so there will be less hands on dirt and sticks/rocks/bugs into mouths (wishful thinking, I know). But that will be fun. And Mike is talking about going backpacking in the grand canyon with his brother John, which I think would be great for him to get away, even if it means I'm on my own with the monsters. Speaking of which... he has a new work project that is going to have him away for 10 days! Including a weekend. Whaaat?! And then at least another week after that. I could cry. But hey, work is work, and let's just be glad we're all gainfully employed. And god bless our nanny, who might just be picking up a few extra hours there.

On the twins birthday- dinner at the grandparents

Fun in the sun - swimming with daddy

Splashpark!

At APT- roasting in the sun, but having fun

Mike, John and Julianne

Caroline on the dock. I love this picture.

Caroline and Owen checking out a caterpillar

Mike and the girls

Anna, Langdon and the twins at Capitol Brewery

Birthday barbecue

2011-07-09T23:27:00.000-04:00

We had a great party for the twin's birthday. Both of Mike's brothers came to town, which was fun. So we had lots of family along with lots of friends and little munchkins running around. The girls liked their cake. Mirabelle went after it with gusto, picking up the whole piece and shoving it in her mouth. Julianne was a bit more well mannered about it :)

The toddler crew: Eliza, Caroline, Nathan, Owen, Asha, Morella, and Athena (Neeners)

Happy birthday to you!

Before the mess

And after... Julianne munching away

Mirabelle pigging out

The cake- notice the creative handiwork we did to make a 1 candle...

Julianne with her balloons

And Mirabelle getting her fun in with them too!

Happy birthday Julianne and Mirabelle!

2011-07-07T22:22:00.005-04:00

The twins are one today! They are precious and adorable and we just can't believe a whole year has gone by. Really, we can't believe we survived the first year!

The girls are doing great. Mirabelle took her first few steps a day or two ago. I saw it, and Kate and Sadie said, "Oh yeah, she's been doing that all day!" Oh well, nothing like missing first steps :) But maybe we'll catch Julianne's. Neither of them seems in a huge rush about it. I really thought they'd do it a month ago, but oh well. They sure get around fast by crawling, and they love to climb. Up onto the couch, up the stairs, you name it. It is all sorts of trouble.

Julianne seems to be teething again- her upper molars are breaking through. Plus she seems like she has a little cold, so she's a bit cranky. Mirabelle's been cranky too, but we can't see any new teeth just yet.

We celebrated their birthdays at Nana and Papa's with a nice dinner outside, plus some delicious cake and ice cream. The girls seemed to enjoy it. Caroline loved singing Happy Birthday about 20 times today. Kate gave the girls a book each, which was so sweet.

At their one year appointment, Mirabelle weighed 18lbs 5oz and measured 29 inches. Julianne weighed 20lbs 13oz and measured 30 inches.

Birthday girls at their party

4th of July

2011-07-04T23:17:00.000-04:00

We had a mellow 4th. Since we had just returned the night before, we spent the morning just getting caught up on life- grocery shopping, gardening, etc. In the afternoon we went over to Mike's parents and enjoyed a sunny afternoon by the lake. We had to put the kids to bed before it got dark, but I did get to see some fireworks from our deck, which was fun.

California trip

2011-07-03T23:19:00.017-04:00

Disclaimer- this is a really long post. I just wanted to capture our whole experience. Feel free to skip down to pictures :)

We went out on a trip to California for the past week. It was a great time! The whole reason for the trip was to go two weddings on back-to-back weekends for some dear friends of mine from my bridgespan days in Boston. But we also decided to make a road trip of it and spend some good time with friends and family.

We flew into Orange County on a friday evening flight that went somewhat well (some crying, but not incessant or anything). But of course at the airport all hell broke loose and I was reminded why I wasn't sure I wanted to take this trip at all. Mike went to get the rental car while I juggled one baby in a carrier and 2 more in the stroller while trying to round up luggage plus 3 car seats and get it all out to the curb on my own. Some lovely people helped make this happen, but not before hysterics broke out. And it didn't die down for an hour. Seriously. But eventually we got to the hotel and got everyone in bed. Phew!

The next morning we were going to try to connect with my brother Matt but decided so much driving for pretty limited hanging out time didn't make that much sense. So instead we got together with my friends Phil and Michelle and their little boy Oscar, who is about 6 months older than the twins. We went on an awesome walk down to the beach near their house and had a blast catching up. Then we had lunch with our friends Harpreet, Allana and Tous, all of whom are here for the wedding as well.

The wedding- the first of two of the trip- was for my dear friend Jen, who I shared a cube wall with at Bridgespan. She met her husband Daniel while we were working together, and I remember the days where she didn't want to call him her boyfriend, so she just called him her "person." So great to see them get hitched! Jen is one of the most hysterical people I know and her wedding was as fun as one would expect. She had another of our friends and former colleagues, Peter, serve as the officiant. He did such a fantastic job- just the right level of humor, charm, romance, and all of that... The reception was a crazy good time. Lots of dancing and laughing with old friends. And it was so nice to have a night out with out the munchkins! We had a great babysitter who we found through my friend Phil, who just jumped in with no hesitation and took the kids off for a walk to the mall so that we could get ready to go. Caroline didn't even cry! It was awesmoe. It took a while for everyone to get to sleep, but otherwise I think it was a pretty easy evening for her.

We left early the next day to go visit my dad. It is always good, but hard, to see him, given his Parkinsons. He seemed in about the same shape, physically, although it is hard to imagine how he could get much worse. Mentally he seemed a little less aware, though he still had some good moments with us. He loved watching the girls and seemed glad to have us there. I don't know if Caroline will remember her Popsie in the distant future, but I'm glad that she is getting to know him now. We spent the morning with him and then left mid-day, when it was nap time and the monsters started getting pretty cranky.

We drove up to Santa Barbara and checked into our hotel. We had a little challenge when they thought they didn't have 2 pack-n-plays, but after much begging and pleading, they rounded one up at a partner hotel. We all went for a swim that afternoon which was fun. Caroline is hesitant to swim around the pool, which annoys me a bit after she just spent 2 weeks in swim lessons, but hopefully she'll improve and be more brave after more this summer. The twins had an absolute blast- they loved splashing around! After our swim, we went walking around downtown Santa Barbara in the early evening. It is such an adorable little town! I loved it. Would love to spend more time there. The next morning we went walking on the beach and Caroline played in an awesome park. Then we drove north a bit to the wine country. We had a picnic lunch at Sunstone winery and then stopped by a couple more (Rusack and Lincourt). It was great fun, and we could have kept going, but it was a little hard juggling the kids (mostly we just let them crawl around on the lawn) and Caroline needed a nap. So we went back to the hotel (a new one in Solvang) and went for another swim and then everyone had nap. Except Mike, who went for a little more winetasting in town... We all had dinner out in a restaurant, which is always a little crazy (we've mostly been buying food and eating at the hotel), but it went ok. We walked around the mission before heading for bed.

The next day, Tuesday, we drove up to San Luis Obispo to spend some time with my dear old friend Jenny and her family. She has 2 girls- Charlotte (Charley) and Lucy, who are 5 and 2. All of our girls had a blast playing together with each other all day, and Jenny and Jay were wonderful hosts, giving us their room, hunting down 2 pack-n-plays from their friends, and serving us wonderful meals. What a fun day we had with them while the girls played in the sun, splashed with the hose, drew watercolors on rocks, played at the playground, and generally had a fabulous time.

On Wednesday morning, we got up early and headed up to my mom's house. My brother Brian was around for a couple of days before heading to China on a 2 month trip before starting his PhD at Stanford (nice choice, kid). We hung out around the house, and my mom and I snuck out for pedicures while the kids napped. Then in the evening we had a little barbecue. Some family friends stopped by and my great aunt Joan stayed for dinner. It was nice to be in one place for the rest of the trip, especially since the twins can get used to sleeping in one place (they've definitely struggled going to bed, and have only been able to nap on car rides...)

Thursday morning I went to happy hollow with the kids and my mom. We met up with another dear old friend, Beth, and her little ones- Cash, 3 and Scarlett, 1. It is a fun little zoo/little kid amusement park. Apparently I went there as a child, but I didn't remember it. But we had a lot of fun and it was great to catch up with Beth. While we were out, Mike and Brian went for a hike. That afternoon my mom and I snuck out again to get foot massages at "U lucky foot." So great! And we all spent some time in the pool/hot tub. Sadly, the pool heater wasn't working well, so it was kind of chilly, so mostly we stayed in the hot tub...

Friday we had a mellow day. Mike took Brian to the airport and I went to the park with my mom and the kids. That night was the rehearsal dinner. My friend Harpreet joined us to drive over to Santa Cruz and go to the event. It was at a gorgeous spot- Chaminade Spa/Resort, which is up in the hills overlooking Santa Cruz. The dinner was fun, but mellow, since it was "dry," as was the wedding. Probably best to keep us all well behaved :) Harpreet spent the night with us and hung out that morning with us too.

Saturday morning we went walking around downtown Los Gatos and then just got ready for the wedding (which started at 3:30). Mike and I arrived a bit early, and found a winery along the way, so we decided to make a quick pit-stop. We only had 20 minutes, but we managed to taste quite a few wines. Also a good approach when going to a dry wedding :)

The wedding was absolutely beautiful. The location- at Kennolyn Camp, even further up in the hills above Santa Cruz, nestled amongst the redwoods- was gorgeous. And the ceremony was a really cool fusion of hindu, buddhist, and western traditions. But luckily it wasn't too long, since it was insanely hot outside! We had a blast at the reception with a bunch more bridgespan friends. Fun dancing and chatting and tasty food and cake. Afterwards there was an afterparty at a cool bar with an outdoor patio, where we danced more and celebrated the birthday of one of our friends, Maria, who was also at the wedding.

We are immensely grateful to my mom for watching the girls for both those days/nights. It is a lot of work, and we were just so glad to know they were in good hands (and not have to pay a zillion dollars to a sitter!) Thanks, Mom!

Sunday morning we got packed up and headed off to the airport pretty early. It was sad to say goodbye to mom... hope she comes to visit soon. The travel was a little bit harder than the way out (with the exception of the 1 hour screaming fit at the end of the first journey... luckily there was no more of that). But they seemed a little crankier, squirmier, etc. Luckily Caroline was a good girl again.

When we made it home, Mike's parents had turned on our AC and filled our fridge with dinner. So nice of them! They also stopped by soon after we arrived to spend some QT with their adorable granddaughters. They said they had grown and changed so much in that week. True.

All in all it was really a fun vacation. I was hoping to just survive it, given the challenges we had at Christmas. But really, I loved it. It was a great mix of visiting with family, catching up with old friends, good bonding time as a family, sightseeing, and a little time away from the kids. We are lucky and I'm so grateful
for these times.

The Bridgespan crew at Jen's wedding

At an awesome park in Santa Barbara

In San Luis Obispo, Caroline, Charley and Lucy in Jen's kitchen

5 under 5 (yikes!)

Me, Jen, and our girls

At Happy Hollow in San Jose with my friend Beth and her kiddos, Cash and Scarlett

Mirabelle

Julianne

Trying to round up all the munchkins into one shot... not so easy at this age!

Caroline loved the rides!

And some quality time with Oma

The girls got worn out with all the fun

At Gihani's rehearsal dinner at Chaminade

Me and Harpreet

Prasad and Gihani during the ceremony

And gettin' down.

Father's day

2011-06-19T20:33:00.004-04:00

We had a great father's day! Mike got breakfast in bed (lucky guy) and then we went out for a lunch picnic with Mike's parents at Pope Farm Park- a great spot on top of a hill with nice views. Jane made some incredible hoagies. Then we went for a hike on part of the ice age trail near Cross Plains. The girls were in backpacks, but it was pretty hot and muggy, so we didn't get too far before they got their crank on. It was really enjoyable all the same. Then after naps, we went over to Mike's parents house and had a delicious dinner. Thanks, Jane!

Of course I have to recognize my amazing husband on this Father's day. He's such a wonderful dad to our girls! I love watching them all play together. And I'm so thankful for Mike's dad, Joe, who is such a big helper around here too! And I'll be glad to see my dad in LA in a week or so.

Speaking of, we have to get ready for that big trip- aie! Adventures ahead!

Fun with friends

2011-06-10T08:28:00.001-04:00

A lot of our recent weekends have been pretty mellow- just enjoying summer, having cookouts with friends (you know you're in the midwest when you start calling them cookouts instead of barbecues), and other such fun.

We've tried to take the girls on a couple of bikerides, but they don't seem sold on the idea just yet. There was lots of screaming! We had a little trip to the beach but it was colder than expected... not that it stopped Caroline from jumping in the water. We had a fun night with Anna and Deanna and all our monsters at home while our husbands went to the Brewers game. Loads of good fun.

Mike puts the girls to bed

Bike ride with Landon and Eliza

The big girls

The little girls

Beach fun with Asha, Ansley and Megan

Storytime with Langdon

Bath fun on moms night in. Craziness and fun all at once.

11 months

2011-06-06T21:51:00.006-04:00

The twins are just a month shy of a year and they are just going crazy. It is so fun to watch them grow. I thought they'd be walking by now, but not yet. They both stand for up to 10 seconds without holding on to anything/anyone. And they walk great while holding onto hands/furniture. I think it will be soon, but after seeing some walking twins at our last playgroup, and the trouble they can get themselves into, I'm not all that eager...

They're definitely developing a lot mentally too- they really seem to understand so much when we talk to them now.

They play together more now, but they are still working on sharing. And generally, they've been better about not hurting each other, but Julianne has been on a biting spree lately. Can't leave them alone for a minute or Mirabelle is wailing with bite marks on her. Poor thing.

They love to play with their toys. They really get bored of their little enclosed living room space, so we let them explore other rooms more now, and play on the porch and the play area outside, but they need more supervision so they don't kill themselves...

Oma Visits!

2011-06-05T21:41:00.004-04:00

What a fun week we had with Oma! My favorite day was at the spa with mom and Jane. Oh, it was sheer heaven- hot stone massage, lounging by the pool, swimming and hot-tubbing, eating lunch in the sun, outlet shopping, and then a boat ride with the whole clan when we got home. We had another fun mother-daughter, no children day where we ran around madison- got pedicures, went to the mustard museum, strolled through the shops on State St, and did even more shopping!

There was lots of fun with the children too- Oma took Caroline out for some fun adventures, including the children's museum, we all made popsicles and cupcakes, we went on boat rides and had fun family dinners with Mike's parents every night.

Of course Oma spoiled all of us rotten. We especially liked that she took over morning duty so Mike and I could sleep in past 6am, and Caroline had fun snuggling with her and playing with her iPad, which she loves almost as much as Oma :) I'm sure the twins miss her too- they're just too little to say so themselves.

Thanks for everything, Mom! We miss you already! But we'll be glad to see you in California soon!

Oma entertains the girls with her iPad

At the spa

Oma planted some beautiful flower boxes for us! Thanks, Oma!

Pool fun in the sun

Catching up

2011-05-29T22:52:00.002-04:00

I'm officially a terrible blogger. Totally fell off the wagon. What can I say, I've just been unispired. Seems like life isn't all that exciting lately, and maybe I'd just rather read a book :) I do want to keep it up, especially as a family journal/scrapbook, but it will probably be updating in monthly chunks like I've done lately. Hey, you do what you can do, right?

I have a few more posts written, but I'm too lazy to download the pictures right now so you will all just have to wait. And it might be a little while, since my mom arrives tomorrow for a week! Whoopee! Can't wait!

Garden!

2011-05-29T22:48:00.004-04:00

We put in the biggest garden you can imagine behind our house. It is crazy huge. Probably about 6 times bigger than our plot last year. It is so much fun. Mike's done all of the heavy lifting- cutting sod, filling with manure, rototilling, planting, and building a fence. I help out a bit- I'm in charge of the herbs- but mostly I just watch the munchkins while he gets out there. I do look forward to them being a little bigger so they can walk around while we work out there. Now we put them on the grass and they try to crawl into the dirty garden, or else we put them in a pack-n-play and they get bored in 10 min and want to get out.

Anyways, that's how we've spent most of our free time lately, in addition to just getting outside for walks or barbecues on warm days.

Breaking ground- the planted bit was where the garden was last year

With a little growth and a fence to keep out the bunnies!

Mother's day and Maddy's birthday

2011-05-12T23:11:00.004-04:00

So lots of celebrations for me lately! First was mother's day and then was my birthday. And everyone was nice to me!

For mother's day, we had brunch with Mike's family & mellow afternoon. We were going to head over to the arboretum for a walk but the nap times just didn't coordinate, so someone was always sleeping. It was hard to motivate given all of that. But it was really enjoyable all the same.

My birthday was just a few days later. I did work, but I snuck out for massage in the middle of teh day, which was a real treat. Then we had dinner with the whole fam, which was great.

On this mother's day, I want to thank my mom for being her amazing self. She's done so much for me over the years! We can't wait to see her in a couple of weeks here. And Mike's mom, Jane, is so wonderful too. She's just a huge help to us and we love having her be such a big part of the kids' lives. And she makes some pretty good cookies, too.

10 months

2011-05-07T22:43:00.002-04:00

The twins are 10 months old. They are doing great. They are so active!! They are crazy crawlers and are pulling up on everything to stand. They are much more confident doing that and have fun walking along while holding our fingers. I would say they're probably about a month away from walking. Mirabelle at least. Julianne might take longer...

They love to eat. Now that we're trying to slow down on their bottles and give them more sippy cups with milk, they are starting to eat so much more. They now hate baby food and only want finger foods that they can pick up. They eat most anything, but they did get annoyed with us giving them bananas at almost every meal, so they staged a protest and both of them just stopped eating them!

They're continuing to be more interactive with Caroline and they love to play. They're getting bored with the living room where we keep them cooped up most of the time, so they get really excited when we let them crawl around in other places like the dining room or kitchen or outside. They really put EVERYTHING in their mouth, so that's the big challenge there.

Now that the weather is starting to warm up a bit, we've spent a little more time outside and they like crawling around on the grass, eating it and every twig, leaf or rock they find. It is a little too exhausting for us to be fun at this point :)

They're super squirmy. These pics were hard to get... Mirabelle was the real trouble maker!

Easter

2011-04-24T22:26:00.000-04:00

We had a nice Easter. I wasn't sure if Caroline would be up for it, given her vomiting episode yesterday, but she felt good enough in the morning for Easter basket fun, and a little Easter hunt in the yard. Caroline was so excited that the Easter bunny had come to visit. He left her an Easter basket full of goodies and the biggest pink poodle stuffed animal you can imagine. It is as big as her! The twins got little baskets too, but we didn't let them eat too much candy- just a little taste of chocolate. Caroline ate a bit, but I don't think she was quite herself.

We skipped church since we didn't know how Caroline or the twins would do. Mike's parents dropped by after they went, and we spent some time visiting with them. After nap-time, we went over to their house for dinner, which was lovely. Caroline did start slowing down at that point, though, and wasn't feeling great by bedtime. Luckily it passed and she was pretty much fine by morning.

We did get some fun family pictures...

Little sickie- round deux

2011-04-23T22:31:00.000-04:00

So Caroline came down with a nasty stomach bug on Saturday- vomiting, diarrhea, the whole deal. She was so lethargic and feverish all morning, I was almost relieved when she threw up, since we finally figured out what was wrong with her. Poor thing! She was miserable. She seemed fine Easter morning, which was great since we could have a fun time, but by that night she had a fever and more diarrhea that night and Monday. We're hoping it ends soon.

Not long after she threw up, she drew this picture. She didn't say that's what it was, but sure looks like it to me...

A day away... off to New Glarus

2011-04-22T22:23:00.000-04:00

I had a random floating holiday for work last week, so I talked Mike into taking the day off so we could have a day of fun sans children. It was a bit gloomy out, but that didn't stop us from having a great time. We drove down to New Glarus- about 45 min south, out in the countryside. Its is kind of a random little mini-Switzerland in Wisconsin. It was actually started over 100 years ago by Swiss emigrants and many of the buildings are swiss-style.

We stopped at a bakery for donuts, and then went off on a hike though New Glarus woods. It rained on us a bit, and we had to do some off-trail bush-wacking to get back to our car, but it was a fabulous adventure. It was strange thinking that our lives used to be like this all the time- just going off on adventures on our own. In some ways, it was fabulously freeing to do it again. But at the same time, it lacks the richness of our time as a family. I kept thinking of things that Caroline would enjoy if she were with us...

After our hike, we stopped by New Glarus brewery, which was just across the road. It is a great spot. We walked around the brewery and hung out tasting the different brews in the giftshop. It would have been a fantastic spot to sit outside and enjoy a beer, but alas, it wasn't really a day for picnicing. So we drove back into downtown New Glarus (all 3 blocks of it), and had a lovely fondue lunch. Mmmmm.... Cheese and beer. Such a Wisconsin day! Then we perused the shops before heading home. Loads of fun!

Nana and Papa return!

2011-04-16T22:15:00.000-04:00

Nana and Papa went to New Zealand and Australia for 3 weeks. We managed to survive without them, but of course we missed having them around. And not just because of all the help they give us... we're just used to having them as part of our day to day lives, and were lonely without them!

Caroline was over the moon when they got back and brought her a little kangaroo (amongst other gifts for all of us).

A walk in the conservancy

2011-04-12T22:10:00.002-04:00

On one of our awesome, warm spring evenings, we went out on a walk in the conservancy near our house. It is so great to have this space for runs, walks, bikes, and running around at the playground.

Mike pushes the girls down the hill...

...while Caroline dashes ahead!

Double trouble in the swing

Caroline is all smiles

Three quarters of a year!

2011-04-11T23:04:00.006-04:00

The twins have made it to the 9 month mark. The months seem to be literally whizzing by us these days. It is hard to believe how fast it is going by. I'm really trying to relish these last baby days. They'll be toddlers before we know it. And though I king of long for the sweet newborn days, I'm not sure we'll ever get to experience that again. (Though I do occasionally make Mike nervous by talking about wanting more babies.)

The big change for them these days is how interactive they are. I know I've said this before, but really, they seem to have really turned a corner on this. They seem to be understanding us when we talk to them. They react to each other so much. Mostly, they get annoyed when one rolls over on the other, or the pull one anothers hair. They definitely feel jealousy when one is being held and the other isn't. And they're already fighting over toys.

Caroline is interacting so much more with them now, and they seem to really love it. For whatever reason, Caroline has taken a shining to Mirabelle and definitely favors her over Julianne. We remind her to be nice and loving to both her sisters... I'm sure the favorites will shift over time... most things do.

Our nanny Kate thinks it is funny that Julianne used to be the high-maintenance one, because Mirabelle has been the more demanding/challenging one ever since she started. Mirabelle has had a tougher time getting down for naps, and just wants to be held a lot. She always crawls over to you and climbs up so she's standing and holding on to your knee and then makes this pathetic whining sound until you feel sorry for her and pick her up.

They are both crawling like mad. Julianne has really started moving and just this week has started crawling on hands-and-knees for real.

Julianne has 7 teeth. Mirabelle has 3 and a half. They're using them well on their food- we're starting a lot more finger food now, which they love. Think we're going to transition away from babyfood at this point.

At their nine month appointments, Mirabelle weighed 16 pounds 9 oz (14%) and Julianne weighed 18 lbs 12 oz (51%). It will be interesting to see if the gap closes or shrinks over time... for now it has just stayed the same. Mirabelle is 26.5 (19%)and Julianne is 28 inches (70%).

They were a lot harder to photograph this month. They were just squirming and rolling and not wanting to stay in one place.

One of the few good pictures of them together

They were happier standing up! I'm surprised how much taller Julianne looks here.

Mirabelle didn't want to lie down for me

But at least I got this shot

Smiley Julianne

Glorious spring!

2011-04-10T22:57:00.002-04:00

Oh, what a wonderful lovely weekend we had! It was SO beautiful out all weekend- in the 70s, sunny, just teasing us that summer is nearby but not quite here. We spent a ton of time outdoors. Caroline LOVED being outside, played in her swimsuit in a sprinkler, sat in her sandbox for hours. The twins got to really explore the outdoors for the first time. They were crawling in the grass, putting grass, leaves, sticks, etc. in their mouths. Mike and I got to do some yardwork and just play with the kids. I took my new bike out for a quick spin and was in heaven (almost didn't come home!)

Mike and I had a date on Saturday night- we went out for Mexican food and a drink at the Plaza. It was really great to get out without the kiddos and reconnect with one another. Really, really great.

On Sunday afternoon, we had old friends Matt, Deanna, Asha and Noelle along with new friends Keri and Cade over for dinner and play. The kids had a blast and we had such a lovely dinner (Thanks guys- delicious!).

We were so busy enjoying ourselves that I totally neglected to take pictures. So use your imagination!

A bunch of sickies

2011-04-06T22:12:00.001-04:00

We've had a rough couple of weeks in our house (though not as rough as my poor mom, who had the flu and then kidney stones- yikes!). Julianne had a really high fever for a couple of days, so we took her to the doctor and turns out she had an ear infection. So she was on antibiotics, but it took a good 4 days until she started feeling better. Then she finished the antibiotics after 10 days, and 2 days later started pulling on her ears again, and turns out it didn't heal or else came back. Ugh! And it took a long while, but Mirabelle finally caught it too and got an ear infection as well. Yikes! We ended up having to cancel the twins playgroup we were supposed to host- Twice! On both weekends we were sick- luckily someone else offered to host the second time...

Now I think I got the cold/flu that caused their ear infections. So I'm all achy and stuffy and generally miserable. I think it is tough for Mike since he had to watch the girls while I was on a work trip to NYC this week, and now that I'm back, I'm sick and useless. And I've been this way for almost a week! Luckily, he is a huge help and is taking care of all of us.

Also, Caroline's been really whiny and attached to me lately- not sure why. But she had a serious screaming fit one day when I was out when she woke up from her nap and I think she nearly drove the nanny out of her mind. She wouldn't stop screaming, woke the babies, everyone was crying. Drama. And bedtime is more of the same. I just don't know how to help her disattach from me more easily...

Planting time

2011-03-27T22:34:00.000-04:00

We started a little planting for the garden! Mike is so excited- he got some growing materials from his brother for his birthday, so he was eager to get going. We planted tomatos, cucumbers, zucchini, peppers, green beans, and more. They are growing away in the window, on a warming pad and under a heat lamp. Can't wait til we can get them all in the ground. Mike also dug up a patch for asparagus, though some little animal seems to have disturbed it. He also planted some onions, along with the garlic we planted in the fall. So fun! We're really expanding the garden this year so we'll have tons of great veggies.

Our friends Langdon and Eliza spent the night, while Anna is off in Africa visiting her sister. We got to try a fun new game- Pandemic- and we did the planting with Eliza and Caroline.

Our crawler

2011-03-24T22:40:00.000-04:00

Mirabelle really gets around these days. The other day we were having dinner and heard a noise in the living room. We peeked in to find that Mirabelle had pulled herself up to say hello to Julianne, who was asleep in the swing. It was seriously so cute. We put her down and she just went over and did it again.

She definitely moves a little quicker than Julianne... as evidenced in this "race"

Caroline's birthday party

2011-03-19T21:50:00.006-04:00

We had a great big bash for Caroline's third birthday. It was our first real big party in Madison... now that we have a big enough space to have friends over and aren't wholly consumed with newborns.

We invited all of our friends and it was a serious toddler-fest! We have a couple of playgroups that we have taken Caroline to for a while, so she has a bunch of friends almost exactly her age. So it was fun to watch all of the little three year olds running around all over the place.

I think she was more excited for her party than for her actual birthday (which was the day before). We had lots of great food (thank you, Costco... I did not cook) and mimosas and an awesome poodle cake that Mike's mom got and everyone loved.

We started the party inside, but once it warmed up, we ventured out. And it turned out to be one of the first truly gorgeous spring days! We were SO lucky! The kids were all running around and the adults were just standing in the sun. I was even in a t-shirt. In March! So fantastic!

Our friends brought a bouncy house that they own- I forgot how big it was. It was the HIT of the party! The kids had such an awesome time.

We're so thankful for our wonderful friends. And Caroline was happy that many of them ignored the no-gifts rule...

A couple of funny things Caroline said that day:

Looking at a "happy birthday" banner over the doorway, she said, "Mama, does that say 'protest'?" HA HA HA! Clearly we've been single minded in Wisconsin these days :)

When someone wanted a ball she had, she said, "You can't have that. *You're* not the *birthday girl*!" Oh, such a princess already. Watch out!

The fabulous poodle cake

The birthday girl and boy- caroline in her new crown and fairy outfit from Oma

Blowing out the candles

The crowd gathers

Owen, Naomi, Asha and Caroline dig into some cake and ice cream

And time for the bouncy house!

How many kids can fit in one tiny sandbox?

The twins get into the fun

Joe and Julianne

Papa- busted yet again!

Caroline is THREE!

2011-03-18T21:58:00.003-04:00

Caroline and her new quilt

Caroline turned three today! (Mike turned 35, but that's not quite as exciting, now is it?) We celebrated with Mike's family- Joe and his kids came down from Oshkosh, and we all had dinner at Nana and Papa's house. It was great to have everyone together for their birthdays! And we also celebrated Henry and Owen's birthdays which were in March (they are 3 and 5 now). It was a wonderful time. Caroline got lots of fun gifts, but one of the best was a new quilt for her bed, lovingly sewn by her nana. It is such a fun bunch of colors, with lots of blue- her favorite. Thanks Nana!

So what is Caroline like at three? She is simply precious. She is so loving and adorable. Not that she doesn't have her moments, but don't we all?

She is very energetic- loves to jump and spin and play all the time. She dances around, plays dress up, jumps on the bed (and the couch, the chairs, the floor- there is a lot of jumping and bouncing!). She is pretty artistic- loves coloring and drawing, and is getting good at making recognizable images. Mostly just faces (with legs and arms coming out of them :)), but sometimes rainbows or other things too. She is also still a huge fan of playdoh.

She just started playing real games. She loves (and is great at) Memory. She also likes a game called busytown where you move along a board and have to find objects, a la "Where's waldo". And Cootie is a favorite too. Shoots and Ladders and Candyland seem to lose her attention more quickly than we can finish, but they're still fun. She's starting real puzzles, though not with too many pieces.

She's learning a lot, but it is hard to say why some things stick and others don't. For example, I'd say she knows most of her letters, but can't identify almost any numbers. I just don't know if she has been exposed to them less or what, but it is odd. Especially since she counts great, even in spanish! She has started writing her letters. If you help show her how along the way, she can even write her name. One day at play n learn, she went to "sign in" and wrote the letters "ine". Everyone was impressed.

She is a little bit shy. Especially when she first comes into a setting with other kids or people she doesn't know well, it takes her a few minutes before she's comfortable.

She's pretty independent and will just go do things by herself when you ask her to. But she is still a little clingy to me in particular, and wants help more than she needs it on occasion. Like with the bathroom- sometimes she'll go in, do her business, wipe herself, get dressed again, and wash her hands all by herself. Other times she just wants and claims to "need" help.

She loves her sisters. Now that they are more interactive, she seems a bit more interested. I'm excited to see them all playing together in 6 months or so. But for now, she gives them toys or (more often) takes them away. She touches their faces and says sweet things. She occasionally tells me not to hold or feed a baby- when she really wants attention all to herself, but less than she used to.

At her three year appointment, she was 36.1 inches tall (21%) and 28 lbs 14 oz (30%).

Some cute pics

2011-03-13T22:11:00.001-04:00

So the past several weeks have kind of flown by. We've gone to a bunch of kiddo birthday parties, visited with friends, and generally laid low. The kids are cuter than ever- here are some recent random pictures.

Mirabelle in her Johnny Jump-up

Julianne in her bumbo

Caroline with her ducks, making a sad face for some odd reason

Caroline loves "potato sack rides" - she was going to take her sister along for the ride until I intervened :)

Julianne in a rare mellow moment on the changing table- usually she's flipping over and crawling away

We all went out on a walk when the weather started warming up. I realize that it really doesn't look warm in these pictures- what with everyone bundled up and the snow all over, but really, it was probably a balmy 40 degrees out!

Daddy got to push the girls up the hill

Mike and Mirabelle down by the lake- think it is going to thaw soon!

Caroline and Mirabelle getting their swing on

8 months

2011-03-07T21:59:00.002-05:00

How are these little twins already 8 months old?? They're growing SO fast! They're already out of their 6-9 month clothes. Well, Julianne is, so I'm just doing one big switch over so I don't have to deal with figuring out who wears what.

These girls are just making so many advances. Mirabelle is a crazy army crawler. She will cross the room in no time. Julianne can do it too, but she's a lot slower and will often just hang out in one spot instead. They're both just starting to get up on their hands and knees, but they haven't figured out how to move forward from that position. Julianne is sitting up really confidently- rarely falling down. Mirabelle still tips over quite a lot.

We had to do some serious babyproofing to keep them out of trouble. Mostly to keep them in one place and keep Caroline's little toys out of reach.

They love to play with things now. And by "play with" I mean put in their mouth. But really, they are so much more interactive. Even Caroline is starting to play with them... a little. They get annoyed when she steals their toys.

They're teething like mad. They both have their bottom two teeth. Julianne now has 4 teeth coming in on top. Mirabelle has had teething symptoms but nothing has popped through yet.

They are eating SO much baby food. Its funny because Caroline never really liked baby food. These girls do pretty well with it. They obviously like the sweet stuff better-apple, pear, banana, and fruit-flavored yogurt. They make funny faces with peaches but like those too. Peas, squash, etc- get down, but definitely not as desirable. They LOVE things they can eat with their hands- little stars, cheerios, biscuits. Mirabelle was quicker to pick things up and get them in her mouth, but now Julianne can do it too.

Mirabelle was making consonant sounds first, but Julianne just started that. They both love to say "Dada"... I'm getting over it :) Mirabelle babbles away all the time. Love it!

They also have the cutest little giggles. It is literally my favorite sound in the entire world.

Babies' first protest

2011-03-04T21:45:00.002-05:00

So unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard about the crazy dictator playing the part of governor of Wisconsin. He's a real nut-case, and I really do hope he gets recalled someday. We had been watching all of the protests from a distance (i.e. from our couch, on the Daily Show), though Mike has been vigorously e-mailing senators and such. Anyways, the crowds at the capitol have been getting bigger and bigger, so we figured it was time to join in the fray. We schlepped all of the kiddos down there, and went in the capitol and then around the square. We met up with Anna and Eliza and roamed around with them for a while, and just happened to run into my friend John and his daughter Sophia. And then we met up with our friend and former neighbor Jen who was handing out "protest balloons" and trying to spread some love in the midst of the chaos. The babies were awake but mellow, despite a lot of time outside in fairly cold weather. Caroline had fun with it all- chanting "Hey Hey, Ho Ho, Scott Walker's got to go!"

Caroline shows her sign

Protestors in the capitol rotunda

With Anna and Eliza

The twins taking it all in

Mike helps Caroline get a better view

Jen handing out balloons

The capitol with protestors

Ballet

2011-02-24T21:37:00.001-05:00

We've been thinking about signing up Caroline for a class, so we went to a trial ballet class with Caroline's friend Ansley. They were totally cute running around the room. Not doing so much actual ballet, but lots of movement and fun.

I think we've decided to sign her up for "first friends" at the YMCA instead- it is kind of like pre-preschool. So she'll do that from late April through August, and then she'll start real preschool in Sept. But I do hope we'll get her doing ballet sometime soon, because it is perfectly adorable.

DC trip

2011-02-13T22:26:00.001-05:00

We went to DC for Teach For America's 20th Anniversary Summit this weekend. It was a fabulous time! I decided to bring Mike and the twins along. TFA is great because if you have a child under 1, they'll pay for 1/2 of the cost to fly a caregiver out with you, and give you a private hotel room. I thought since we have 2 kids, they should pay for Mike's whole ticket (but I'll take what I can get!). We decided to leave Caroline at home with Nana and Papa. It meant being away from her for 2 long weekends in a row, which was hard, but she seemed no worse for wear.

The summit itself was amazing. There was SO much work leading up to it (I was planning our all-day team conference plus another panel during the summit, so I had a lot on my plate), so in a sense I was just relieved it was here. But it was just such an amazing, powerful, inspiring, moving experience. On Friday, the day of our team conference, I finally got to meet all of these people I work with- who I've traded countless e-mails with and been on loads of phone calls with, but never seen face-to-face. We also had a staff lunch that was just incredibly inspiring. They had such a fabulous line up of speakers-- staff members at all levels and on all teams, who each had such a unique and moving story. I shed a few tears (OK, I admit it, I was a hot mess!)

On Saturday, there were almost 11,000 corps members, alumni and staff who came together for loads of panels and speakers. All of the big names in education were there: Arne Duncan, Michelle Rhee, Joel Klein, Kaya Henderson, and of course, Wendy Kopp (who started TFA). Then there were some other big-name folks: Gloria Steinem, Malcom Gladwell, Don Graham, and more. And John Legend, a new board member, played a few songs for us- one with an orchestra from a KIPP school. So awesome! And...even president Obama did a video address. It was such a phenomenal event. Everyone went away feeling like we could change the world, and had a moral obligation to do so. Oh, I wish I could put that energy in a bottle and drink it up on those days I need a jolt.

The trip was also a great chance to catch up with folks. Mike was excited to spend some good time with his brother John. And I was excited to catch up with my Aunt Mad, Uncle Bill and Cousin Sandy. I was just sad that my cousin Betsy and her new baby Charlotte just moved away, so we couldn't see them. We also got to see a few old friends- I had dinner with Barb and Jen from Bridgespan (Barb was 2 days past her due date, but looking fabulous despite). I also ran into several other old friends during the summit, and I'm sure there were lots more there who I didn't even see...

Bill, Sandy, Mad and the twins

John and Julianne

Barb, Jen and the twins

Mike and the girls

Nanny transition

2011-02-08T21:24:00.000-05:00

OK, so I'm about a month behind in my posting. But I'm getting on it now...

We said goodbye to our beloved nanny Laura in February. She is off to graduate school in South Africa, and you can check out her adventures on her blog (linked at left- Loli on the Kaap.)

We welcomed our wonderful new nanny Kate. She is a mother and a grandmother, so she brings a wealth of experience and a loving heart. Her daughter Sadie comes over when she doesn't have school, which Caroline loves because Sadie plays with her for hours on end.

I was worried the transition would be really tough, but we talked about it for a long time before it happened, so Caroline was ready. I missed Laura's last day- I was in Carmel with my mom- but that's probably for the best because I am a big sap and would have cried. Caroline still talks about Laura a lot- every time the color green comes up (Laura's favorite), or we see a bus (which Laura used to ride to work) or we talk about school (since Laura went away to school)- but she seems to take it all in stride. She really likes Kate and the whole crew has been getting into the new routine.

Kate and Sadie with the girls

7 months

2011-02-07T20:50:00.000-05:00

So the twins are 7 months. Things are going great. I think this is the honeymoon period! They are sleeping through the night most nights. They are happy, smiley, active and interactive. But they can't move around yet! Well, they can roll remarkably quickly, often all the way across the room. And they are just starting to scootch, but no crawling yet.

They are starting to eat a lot more solids. And Mirabelle is really trying to get food to her mouth. She can (sort-of) pick cheerios up from the tray, but she can't seem to get them from her hand into her mouth. It is very sweet and a little pathetic :)

Mirabelle is also starting to babble a whole lot. She says "Dada" all the time. And "nana" too. She has said "Mama", but not as much (we'll have to train her).

Julianne isn't doing those things yet, but she is still very physically active and seems to be getting really strong. She'll just flip herself over and try to do her own thing when you're changing her.

Caroline seems to be having more fun with them now that they interact more. She'll do little songs and dances and get excited when they smile. I can't wait until they can all play together.

The twins do seem to notice each other more now, though usually they just seem to get annoyed that the other one is rolling on top of them, poking them in the ear/eye/mouth, etc.

After a long hiatus, I've started tandem nursing them again once in a while (usually when both of them are screaming for attention). It is still a bit of a struggle getting them settled, but they are so cute- looking at each other, holding hands, etc. The nursing is actually going better- they will nurse during the day once in a while (they had just been doing it in the morning and once-in-a-while at night). So that makes me happy. Still only producing maybe 1/3 to 1/2 of the milk they drink, but I'll take what I can get.

They are just such a joy these days! I think we've made it over the hump (the first hump, that is. I think #2 is when they start moving). So we'll all just enjoy our bliss until it gets all crazy again :)

The dynamic duo

Mirabelle

Julianne

Mom's Carmel Birthday Celebration

2011-02-06T22:06:00.001-05:00

For my mom's 60th birthday, she got together a bunch of her girlfriends and invited them to a fabulous beach house in Carmel. I was so glad to be able to join them.

I left Mike at home with the kids- he was a trooper to take them on his own for so long (though his parents pitched in, of course!) I love and adore my children, but it was such a retreat to have a break from the day-to-day chaos and really, truly relax. It was a real vacation, for once.

We had a really wonderful time- daily walks on the beach and thru the adorable neighborhoods of Carmel. There are all of these cute little cottages (all worth several million, so not your average cottage), and a fabulous little downtown area with dozens of shops. We got pedicures and massages, bought face masks and bath bombs at Lush to enjoy at the beach house, and indulged in fabulous food. Really, it was a little slice of heaven.

We celebrated mom's big day with a cake and some presents. I put together a book with letters and drawings from the kids and grandkids, plus loads of photos. And we got her a few other little things. Her friends got her a very generous gift certificate to a jewelry store she likes, so she'll enjoy that!

What a wonderful time!

The beach!
With mom on a morning walk

Sunset view from our roof patio. Oh, what a great spot!

Dinner with mom and Eleanor

Masked...

Hot tub time

Enjoying a little wine with Anjali, Claire, and Vanessa

The teetotalers= mom, Jeanne Ann, and Kathleen

Our birthday girl

Life...

2011-01-31T00:13:00.003-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been a blur. Work continues to be pretty crazy for me- getting prepared for our 20th Anniversary Summit. That happens in Mid-Feb in DC, and it is going to be AWESOME, but I'm hoping work will slow down a bit after that!

The weekends have been fun. We started trading date nights with our friends Deanna and Matt- after the kids go to bed. So Mike and I went to see live music one night and to a movie another night. We also started doing a dinner exchange with these guys- they bring us dinner every monday and we bring them dinner every Tues. It is kind of nice, because it isn't too hard to make a double recipe and then you get a night off of cooking!

We've gone to kids in the rotunda with friends a couple of times, had some playdates, and just generally stayed pretty mellow. It has been pretty cold and snowy, so not much outside time, but luckily I'm not feeling too stir crazy yet. I also had a fun mom's night out and a playgroup with my mothers of multiples- we had 11 babies this time (a few people couldn't make it- there were originally 19 babies set to come- yikes!) Luckily someone else was hosting this time!

I think we decided on a preschool for Caroline for next year too. It was a tough decision, because there were a bunch of good ones- including a really amazing one that in the end we just couldn't afford. But I'm really excited for the one we picked and for her to start school. I wish she could start now- she's definitely ready!

Oh, and we had a bout of illness in the house- well a couple of them actually! Everyone except me has had two colds- or else just one that came and went. I think Julianne may have actually had croup, because she was barking like a seal. But luckily she didn't have any spasm attacks in the middle of the night. We're in the middle of the second round of this nonsense, and I'm just hoping I don't fall victim as well... I have my own problems- I think I may have sprained my knee. I couldn't stand on it the first day, and it is a lot better now (about a week later), but it is still swollen and inflamed and just a bit sore. Hoping it heals up quickly.

I'm getting ready and excited for a trip out to California for my mom's 60th birthday this week. I'm leaving Mike and all the kids here (but his parents are around, so don't feel too bad for him). It will be a real vacation and I seriously can't wait! Then I'm home for 2 days and then Mike, the twins, and I head out to DC for this conference. Caroline is going to stay home with Nana and papa, just so things don't get totally insane. Will keep you posted on the adventures... probably about a month after the fact (So hard to stay on top of this blog anymore!)

Survival!

2011-01-18T23:52:00.000-05:00

We somehow made it through our 5 days on our own. Really, it wasn't even that bad. Thanks, mostly, to Laura for being here 11 hour days every day, plus all day on Saturday. On Sunday - our one day alone- we were lucky to have our friend Deanna take Caroline for the afternoon. And in the morning, I did 3 nanny interviews, so I got some free baby holding :) And I think we may have just found a nanny as well! I really liked two out of the three, so we'll call in Mike to help with the final decision.

The girls look no worse for wear :)

Fun with friends

2011-01-17T00:03:00.000-05:00

On MLK day, Eliza's daycare was closed, so she came over to our house. Laura was working but I had the day off, so I took Eliza and Caroline to Bouncy Town and met up with Deanna and her girls, Asha and Noelle. The girls had an absolute ball- it was really fun!

These are a bit fuzzy- just shows you all the action going on...

Deanna and 3 girls on the slide!

Caroline and Eliza creating their masterpiece

The craziness

2011-01-12T23:55:00.006-05:00

So life is getting all sorts of crazy these days.

First of all, work has been totally insane for both me and Mike since we got back from break. I've been up til 10 or 11 working, which is madness.

And now Mike has to go on a work trip for 5 days over next weekend. Which is a bit of a disaster, because his parents are out of town that entire time as well, to visit John in DC. So I am ALONE with these kids for 5 days! Yikes!

Luckily, the nanny is happy to pick up some extra hours, and fabulous friends have jumped in to take Caroline for long stretches, so I think we'll actually be OK. Will keep you posted...

In other news... Our beloved nanny Laura is going back to school in early February, so we've been looking for a new nanny. It is so hard trying to find the right person, but I'm confident we will.

And I'm starting to look into preschool programs for Caroline to start in the fall. Hard to believe you have to sign up in January, but I guess that's just how it goes here. I just feel like I have a lot of important decisions and they all need to happen now.

Trying not to be a total stress case. But we'll see how this all pans out.

Weekend fun

2011-01-09T23:27:00.002-05:00

On our first weekend back, we went to a birthday party for our little friend Noelle, who was turning one. It was a great party with lots of our playgroup pals. Great work, Deanna!

And our friends Anna and Langdon spent the night, which was fun as always. We usually play Catan, but I guess last time we played they accidentally brought it home with them, so we had to get creative. So... they taught us bridge. What fun. We've played once or twice before, but it was great to relearn. I see many fun nights ahead.

On Sunday we went over to Mike's parents house and we all went out on the ice for a while. It is interesting how the frozen lake comes alive in winter. People are out there in their fishing huts, people clear off snow to create ice rinks, people are walking their dogs, even riding bicycles!! Caroline loves getting otu there and crawling and rolling around on her belly (thank goodness for proper snow clothes). We took the twins out too- Mirabelle in the sled and Julianne in our arms. They seemed to like it well enough, though I think it was a little too bright for them.

One of Caroline's favorite Christmas toys is this easel. It has chalkboard on one side, and white board on the other, and a roll of butcher paper in the middle. Caroline is very excited about painting. We don't have a painters smock, so she strips down for painting time!

Happy half birthday!

2011-01-07T23:37:00.004-05:00

The twins are 6 months old. Wow- all I can think is, how did we make it through the first six months?? With a lot of help, that's how. But it is hard to believe it has really been that long. I'm hopeful that the days ahead are easier (though I am nervous for once they start moving!), and I'll miss those early days when they're all sweet and little and mushy, but I'm also just so excited to see what they do over the next 6 months, six years, and beyond. I just love these little darlings.

So they've had a lot of milestones in the last month. Julianne got her first tooth just before Christmas and now has both of them poking through on the bottom. It is SO cute! I thought there would be more crying with the teething, but she actually seemed to do pretty well. Mirabelle just had her first one start peeking through her gum.

They've gotten a lot more mobile. They are amazing little rolling machines. Mirabelle was about 2 weeks behind Julianne on the rolling - she seems to be that way with a lot of things. Physical things, at least. She is already sitting up a little bit on her own (10 seconds or so), but Mirabelle isn't. Mirabelle might have a slight advantage on fine motor skills (she's quite a grasper) and speech- she's making consonant sounds. I definitely heard her say Mama one day - I know she didn't mean it, but I'll take it. Mike claims he heard Dada just a couple of days later. Highly suspicious :) But I believe him.

So yeah, they are rolling around a lot, and they are also thinking about crawling. Julianne will get her legs all the way up under her butt and push, but she cant get her chest and head off the ground. Lets hope it stays that way for a while. But I doubt it!

They are just starting to eat their feet. Such a funny stage! And they do suck on their hands and arms a lot. Julianne actually gave herself about 5 hickies on her wrists one day by sucking on them like mad. I was worried she got pinched or burned or something until I saw her do it.

We just started feeding them solid foods. They are doing ok. Not great, but not totally terrible. Mirabelle was a little better than Julianne initially, but now they're about the same. They push it out of their mouth a lot, but I think a little is getting down. Amusingly, they definitely do well with better tasting things. I gave mirabelle some split pea soup I made and she definitely liked it better than her sweet pea babyfood. I'm sure she just liked the salt! We've also given her little licks of chocolate and she goes nuts. It is so cute.

Sleep is going better. They are just starting to sleep through the night. We started "sleep training" about a month ago- before we went on vacation. We stopped feeding them at night and let them cry a bit. But of course we regressed on vacation. So we had to get them back in shape when we got home. I think just being in their own beds helped, because they got back on the wagon pretty fast. It is so nice to have them sleep longer! They've only slept through the night a few nights, but I'm hoping it is the start of a trend!

At their 6 month appointment, Julianne was just over 16 pounds, and Mirabelle was just over 14. Still our little peanut, but she's filling out. Julianne is a bit taller, but Mirabelle has a bigger head! They are perfectly healthy and on track, of course. And we're thankful for that!

And they are just full of smiles and completely adorable!

Home!

2011-01-06T23:24:00.001-05:00

I've never been so happy to be home. It is so nice to just stay in one place, where we have all the various crap you need to properly/easily take care of babies. The kids are all starting to act normal again and get into their routines. I'm over the moon to be in my own bed again.

And I am so, so happy that my vacation is over and I get to go back to work. And finally get a break. From these children. I love them, but 10 days with them 24/7 is an awful lot. My job is SO much easier than taking care of them. I love them, but seriously, it is absolutely exhausting. God bless our nanny.

Thanks to my family for showing us a great time, but how about next time you come to us?

GG Ruth

2011-01-04T23:16:00.003-05:00

On the last leg of our trip, we went to visit Caroline's Great Grandma (GG) Ruth! My dad's mom. I love and adore my grandma Ruth, so I was really glad we could go up and see her, along with my fabulous Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Steve. We just spent one day and night there, but it was enough to get in a good visit. Grandma seemed in good spirits and good health, though she's definitely slowing down and isn't nearly as talkative as she once was. I miss her stories!

We spent part of the day at her apartment. Then while she and Caroline were napping, Syl, Steve and I took the babies for a walk around Green Lake. It was nice, but a bit nippy out, and I didn't really have the warm clothes I needed for the girls, so I think they got a bit cranky for that reason. We ended up carrying both of them- I had Julianne in the ergo carrier, and steve tucked Mirabelle right into his jacket. It was very sweet.

In the evening, we all went out to a nice dinner at a seafood restaurant. Caroline behaved herself surprisingly well (maybe she's growing out of the age where she wants to run around and sit at everyone else's table).

We had a couple of mishaps with Julianne during the day and she ended up taking two falls within a matter of hours. She got a bloody nose with one. I was feeling pretty awful after the second one, but she was surprisingly no worse for wear and didn't even cry for that long.

Not sure when we'll be back in Seattle again, so I'm glad we made it on this trip, and the girls got to meet their GG. I think Grandma enjoyed it too!

With Julianne

With Mirabelle

4 generations of ladies

The whole gang

Beach week

2011-01-02T00:30:00.001-05:00

We spent the week between Christmas and New years with my mom and brothers and their families at a beach house near Santa Cruz. We had our requisite family drama, but nothing too bad considering we were all living in one house for a week! And it was really a wonderful time to reconnect with everyone and for Caroline to get to know her cousins. Thanks, mom, for helping make it happen!

We did lots of fun stuff- we went to the boardwalk, the monterrey aquarium, the beach, and more. A couple of friends came to see us there, and Mike and I took the girls down to San Luis Obispo one day and up to San Francisco another to see more folks. It was so fun to introduce the twins to everyone, and for Caroline to play with our friends kids who are the same age.

It wasn't exactly the restful vacation I hoped for. Someone said, vacation with young kids isn't vacation... it's relocation. That's pretty much how it felt. All the same work and chaos, just in a different place without all of the tools that make it easy. My mom and sister-in-law Kristin were both really helpful with the babies (my brothers, also, on rare occasion :) ), but still- just so much work. Regardless, even if it wasn't restful- it was enjoyable!

ARG- photos not updating- will post those later!

Christmas!

2010-12-25T22:50:00.004-05:00

We arrived at my mom's house on Christmas eve. We all stayed up late catching up with my brothers and mom. In the morning, the kids were up early and excited to open presents. They woke up Caroline and the rest of us and we all went downstairs. Santa left them all huge stockings with lots of presents.

I think Caroline was in shock. She just sat and stared at her cousins madly opening their gifts. I gave her one to open, but she just sat with it in her lap, unable to even think about opening it. Finally, she got over that and started in with her presents. But honestly, I think she was more excited about all the "Candy Cans" hanging on the tree. Girl ate so many candy canes on this trip!

One funny moment was when Caroline asked whether Santa brought her an iPad (she is obsessed with Oma's iPad). When we said no, that iPads were for grown-ups, she just crumpled into a ball on the floor, whining and crying. It was so sad and funny all at the same time. Luckily, she got over that and managed to have an enjoyable Christmas all the same.

She got lots of great stuff- tons of coloring/craft stuff, Dora and swiper stuffed toys, play doh, memory games, books, a cute hat, etc.

It was fun- this year was really the first time she understood the concept of Santa, being good, getting presents in stockings, etc. It was very sweet. Ever since then, she's been talking about Santa leaving presents, etc. I think it was hard for her that Santa didn't leave things at our house- she kept saying "Santa didn't bring me any presents at my house"... Lesson learned there! But she was just so excited about it all. I loved it!

Visiting Popsie

2010-12-24T22:43:00.002-05:00

We went to see my dad in LA on the first leg of our trip. We stayed at a hotel, just because we're all a lot to handle, and frankly, he has enough to handle in his own life... It ended up working well since we got in so late anyways. So when we woke up, we went straight over there in the morning, and then stayed until mid afternoon or so.

My dad's health continues to decline- it is hard to see him suffering. But I was happy to see that he's in pretty good spirits. Though his body is failing him, his mind is sharp as ever. One time I thought he was sleeping, but I made a joke and he started laughing. That was fun.

I think he and his wife Mary and his caregivers all enjoyed seeing the girls. Caroline was really precious. I thought she might have a hard time dealing with the whole thing, but she wasn't scared at all, didn't say anything awkward, or anything. She was just her happy, charming self. Singing songs for Popsie, Dancing around, coloring, etc. She loved the hello kitty backpack they got for her and ever since then keeps saying "popsie gave me a present!" So sweet.

There were some great moments where Dad was just looking at the twins with such love- it was so touching. I'm so glad we got that time with him. He can't express himself with words anymore, but you can really read the emotions on his face, and I know it meant a lot to have us there.

As always, it was so hard to leave. Lots of tears and I love yous. I hope to see him again in June, when I think we'll be in Cali for some weddings.

Our great holiday travel adventure

2010-12-23T22:10:00.002-05:00

We got the crazy idea that we needed to see EVERYONE on the west coast over the holidays. I figured I couldn't go out there without seeing both my dad and my grandma, neither of whom travel. And we also planned to spend the week after Christmas with my mom and brothers. We were really excited to introduce my whole family to the twins!

You all might think we're crazy- we are crazy. But I figured it was easier now- when they are not yet mobile, but relatively happy- than it would be in a year when they want to run around like little monkeys.

The travel was pretty tough, I'm not gonna lie. There is just a whole lotta crap you got to bring to deal with babies. (Never mind schlepping around the babies themselves). The first flight was the worst- we just didn't know what we were doing, so everything took longer and was just a pain- checking in, security, etc. And it was an evening flight, but Caroline didn't sleep at all. She just bounced around in her seat and wanted to run through the aisle. The twins only cried a bit near the end of the flight, and slept most of the way, so that was great. By the time we got to the hotel in LA, it was 2am Wisconsin time, and Caroline was so tired she was downright hysterical. She was screaming "I want to go home! I want to sleep at Hooooome!" Oh good lord. She was waking the babies up, it was horrible. But eventually we all fell asleep. For at least 4 or 5 hours until they were all up again.

The next couple of flights went better- they were shorter (LA to San Jose to Seattle), and we were able to check in more quickly (on the curb for one of them- so great!). The flight home to Wisconsin felt really long again- especially because I was holding Mirabelle, who showed no interest in sleeping, while Julianne was conked out in Mike's arms. And Caroline continued with her jumping around...

Anyways, we did make it through, thank goodness, and it was definitely worth it. Not exactly relaxing, but really enjoyable all the same!

Meeting Santa

2010-12-18T22:02:00.004-05:00

Our friends Tracy and Chad hosted a great holiday party for our playgroup. Santa made an appearance, and all the kids were so excited- even if they didn't necessarily want to sit with him. He brought presents for all the kids (a clever way to do our gift exchange), and they loved it! Caroline got some games, including Cootie (which she calls Scootie, and LOVES). We all ate way too much sweets, traded Christmas cards, and enjoyed one anothers company. I wish I got to hang out with these guys more often. Alas, work. But at least we do still get together in the off hours...

Caroline and her first "Candy Can" of the season!

Story time!

Tracy (middle) holding mirable, Sue holding Julianne, Chad with Leo

The chaos and excitement of Santa!

Santa with his sack of toys!

Caroline starts opening hers!

Caroline was a bit terrified of Santa, so I had to sit with her.

Julianne on Santa's lap

Caroline was brave enough for a hug goodbye... sort of!

Winter wonderland

2010-12-15T22:49:00.003-05:00

We've been holed up at home for the past while here- another big storm this weekend dumped at least 6 more inches of snow. Luckily, Mike got a snowblower from his parents for Christmas (thanks, guys!) so he made short work of the loooong driveway. It was also absurdly freezing - with highs in the single digits and lows well below zero. Brrr. The lake froze up pretty quickly.

And the tree is up!

More snow- very pretty

What do you think about the snow Caroline? Brrr... its actually too cold to go play in!

Double trouble. Love these Thing 1 & Thing 2 onesies- Thanks Courtney!!

Doing some double-duty these days...

Funny Caroline

2010-12-13T20:11:00.002-05:00

This girl had us in stitches tonight. A little back story... whenever Caroline has a temper-tantrum and won't stop crying for some silly reason, we tell her to go cry in "Oma's room" (which is also Mike's office, and is just off the living room, so it is a good place to send her to calm down.)

So tonight she was eating candy from her advent calendar, and Mike asked for a bite. She said no, so he said, "Oh, I'm so sad!". Caroline didn't miss a beat, saying in her best mommy voice- "You go cry in your room!"

I nearly bust a gut.

5 months!

2010-12-07T23:43:00.004-05:00

The twins are 5 months old now. Crazy how time flies right along. They are just getting so much bigger and more active. They are really fully in control of their heads now, and have much more core strength. They don't sit up by themselves, but they can sit up with support pretty well. And they still love to stand in our arms too.

Julianne is a holy roller- spinning this way and that all over the place. She can roll from back to belly and back again. Sometimes she gets an arm stuck, but by and large, she gets herself free. She is just so strong and squirmy.

Mirabelle, being her more mellow self, doesn't really bother with all this rolling stuff. You put her in bed, and come back hours later and she hasn't moved an inch (meanwhile, her sister will be turned around 180 degrees and shoved in the corner of her crib). She does arch her back and pivot around sometimes, and she has rolled in the past, but nothing real recently.

They are both really smiley. They've done well on their anti-reflux meds- they're spitting up much less and have less inexplicable crying. Julianne just started really giggling and it is about the cutest thing ever. She'll do it if you tickle her or give her raspberries, but she'll also do it if you make a funny noise or face. Mike took a video on his fancy new iphone, so I posted that below.

Mirabelle's hair seems to be getting rosier and rosier by the day. I think we have a little pseudo-red head on our hands. Strawberry-light brown as I like to call it. It is very cute.

Sleeping isn't going so great. I am not sure what happened. At 2 months, they were only waking up once a night. Lately, it has been about every hour or two. Its really more than we can handle. It started when they were kind of sick, and then I think they just got in the habit of "snacking" at night, and getting lots of snuggles nursing with mom whenever they wake. So.... we're going to put a stop to all this nonsense. Hello Dr. Ferber, meet the twins. Time to cry it out. We'll keep you posted on how it goes, but no more night time feedings, I say. Caroline started sleeping through the night at this age, so I think it is their turn now.

My happy girls! Julianne Mirabelle With big sis, showing off her belly button Giggles

First snow and the christmas tree

2010-12-05T23:38:00.001-05:00

We had our first snow of the season this Saturday. It was about 4 inches and it was pretty fun. Caroline was excited to go outside and make snowballs. Sadly, the snow was too light to pack together well, so that was a flop. We also did a little sledding down the hill in our front yard, which is not quite steep enough to get going fast, but it is a good start... We made a tiny snowman, and Caroline and Mike made snow angels. I got Mirabelle and Julianne in their snowsuits and out in the snow briefly. But it was hard because you can't really just put them down, but if one of us wanted to play with Caroline it was hard to do with one of the babies. So I stuck them in the snow for the obligatory first snow shot, but then just brought them back in.

Saturday night our friends Anna, Langdon and Eliza came over for dinner and a sleep over. We had a fun game of Catan and some Euchre too.

On Sunday we braved the snow and went out to chop down our christmas tree. They even had a little reindeer at this place for Caroline to see. (Bizarre, really). Unfortunately, it was pretty cold and Caroline was pretty whiny, so we just found the first vaguely acceptable tree and took it home. And it took us a few days to get it up and decorated, but now we're all in the Christmas spirit!

Snow girl

Snow man (I know, he's wimpy, but the snow was REALLY hard to pack together. Hence the tiny pin head) I also love Caroline's "just take the darn picture" face here...

Someone is going to be a snowboarder... And no, we didn't actually let her try to go down like this!
About to go down with Daddy
Our little cherubs. Could they be any cuter?

Mmmm.... hot chocolate!
chocolate mustache
Storytime with Langdon and Eliza
Daddy chopping down the tree
And schlepping it down the hill

Caroline

2010-12-01T23:12:00.000-05:00

I felt like I needed to do a little update on Caroline here. She's just growing and changing so fast these days! What I really can't get over lately is her imagination. She now has an imaginary friend- Natalata, or Nata for short. Nata is always needing dresses-- usually shimmery tank-tops she finds in my closet (which I'm happy to have her play with, since clearly I don't really get the chance to wear such things in my current life!). Caroline will tell us all about what Nata is up to, and will even have full-on conversations with her. Godo is another imaginary (boy) friend who appears a little less frequently.

She also has a nonsense language that she talks. I think it is from watching Dora/Diego and hearing Spanish, which she really doesn't understand. So she just makes up words and songs and things. Very cute, if a bit odd.

She's also just generally more attached to things. Her pink poodle, her polka-dot and Dora blankets, her blue bowls (God forbid she eat out of any other color).

She says the funniest things, and it is really amusing how she'll imitate the things we say. For example, she'll say- "oh yeah, that's right!", "Whatever!", "hmmmm, let me think about that" (hand on chin), "Just a minute, I'm working". Or to nana, who she told to "try harder!" So funny this little one.

Thanksgiving weekend

2010-11-28T22:44:00.004-05:00

For Thanksgiving, we went up to Mike's uncle Tom's house in Green Bay. It was great to have a lot of family around, though we missed Mike's brothers. John stayed in DC and Joe's family ended up staying home because Henry was sick. The twins were good for the drive (2.5 hrs each way), so that made it easier. And the triplets- Tom and Denise's kids- were great with Caroline. And it was their 12th birthday, which was fun too. Everyone took turns holding babies, and we all cooked and ate and had a nice time. I took the day off from my diet (luckily the game allows for that), but I ate WAY too much, so I don't think I'll make my goal weight this week...

Later in the weekend, Joe, Henry and Owen came down to spend the night with Nana and Papa. Mike and Joe went to the rose-bowl-clenching Badger football game, which was a crazy blow-out against Northwestern (sorry, Brian!). I spent the day at Nana and Papa's with all the kids. Caroline had fun playing with her cousins, and I was just happy to have some extra hands to handle the babies!

All the ladies in the kitchen (Jane with Julianne, Denise, Pat, Caroline, and me with Mirabelle)

Me with Mirabelle

My smiley little turkey

The triplets- Hanna, Matthew, Sarah

Denise, Sarah, Brian and the babies

Henry, Owen, Julianne, and Caroline... getting ready for naptime

...or not!

Henry holding Julianne

Caroline, Mirabelle, and Nana

Papa took the kids down to the beach by the lake- until their feet got wet and they were pretty quick to come in and warm up! (it was probably below 40 degrees)

Sunset on the lake

Oma's visit

2010-11-21T21:13:00.001-05:00

My mom came out to visit us for a week for the girls baptism. It was so great to have her here, as always. She did great taking care of the twins and playing with Caroline. Mike was away in Maine for work for the whole week, so it was actually pretty lucky timing. It was SO nice to have her help every day and night.

She mentioned (several times) how hard our lives were right now. I guess it is reassuring to hear it from someone else :) Although, by and large, I'm feeling better about how everything is going in life, and feel like I'm past the frustration/depression/fighting with Mike. Not that I (we) don't still have moments... but generally things are a bit better.

She mentioned that she thought the twins seemed crankier than typical 4 month olds, so she suggested getting them on some anti-reflux medication, which we're trying now and it seems to be working at least a little bit.

She took Caroline out on all sorts of adventures- to the library and the museum and the store and more. She and Mike's mom Jane made memory boxes for each of the girls with pieces of their wedding dresses (already cut up for the baptism) and pictures from their weddings and from the baptism. It was really sweet. Also sweet (literally) was the crazy gingerbread house they made.

Thanks for everything, mom!

At the children's museum

Is this little coat and hat cute, or what? Oma knows how to spoil this girl.

Making a gingerbread house with Nana and Oma

Game on!

2010-11-20T22:41:00.002-05:00

So some of my friends from playgroup convinced me to join them in a diet and lifestyle change game called Game On! It is a neat concept where you join teams that compete against each other for points that you earn by eating 5 small balanced meals, exercising for 20 minutes, sleeping 7 hours, taking on a good new habit (flossing for me), and getting rid of a bad habit (cleaning up Caroline's toys rather than making her do it herself). I'm doing it because I need some motivation to start working on losing this baby weight, and because I have a competitive zeal. You pay in $25 and the winning team gets all the $$. I doubt we'll win because my team had a tough first week, but anyways, it is still really fun.

So far it is going OK. It does make me more conscious of what I'm eating and gives me a reason to exercise when I might be too lazy otherwise. It is a bit restrictive (esp. on alcohol and sugar), but I guess that is what it is supposed to do :) Lost 5 pounds the first two weeks, so something must be working! (about 7 to go to get back to pre-baby weight) Will keep you all posted on how it goes :)

Baptism

2010-11-14T22:24:00.007-05:00

We baptized the twins this weekend. My mom came to join us in the festivities. She made a baptism gown and two capes for the girls to wear. Julianne wore the baptism gown that my grandmother made, which was worn by my mom, me and Caroline. Mirabelle wore a gown that was made from her great grandma Caroline's wedding dress with pieces of lace from Jane's wedding gown. Julianne had a cape that was made from my mom's wedding dress. And Mirabelle's gown was made from Jane's wedding dress. It was really just so lovely. These dresses and gowns were really works of art- so thanks to my mom for making them, and for Jane for helping her plan it out, and to all of them for turning their wedding gowns into family heirlooms which will be passed down for generations (I hope!).

The baptism was at St.Bernard's church here in Middleton during a Sunday mass. There were six kids total being baptized, including another set of twins! And, amusingly enough, the priest was a twin too! So he kept making funny comments throughout. Mike's brother Joe and sister-in-law Lisa were godparents for both girls. We were also happy to run into our neighbors, Conrad and Mary at the ceremony.

Julianne cried for most of the ceremony and wouldn't be hushed. I spent some time in the crying room with her. But when we went up to the alter, she really wailed. Oh well. One of them was bound to, right? Mirabelle was good natured, for the most part.

After the ceremony, we came back to our house for a little family party. Mike's brothers Joe and John, and his aunt Pat and Uncle Tom and their families came to join in the fun. We had inordinate amounts of food and really had a lot of fun!

The gown made from GG Caroline's dress with lace from Jane's dress

Cape made from Jane's dress

Cape made from my mom's dress

Before the ceremony, with the big sister

With the twins before heading up the aisle to the alter. Amusingly, Mirabelle looks like the cranky one here, but she mellowed right out.

Julianne being blessed with the holy water

And Mirabelle's turn

With the grandparents and Godparents

With Joe and Lisa- the Godparents

Nana and Oma and their namesake babies- Mirabelle Jane and Julianne Christine

The happy parents :)

Back at our house for the party- Mike's aunt Pat with the two of us

Mike's dad, my mom, me, Mike's uncle Brian

4 months old

2010-11-07T22:11:00.003-05:00

Julianne and Mirabelle are 4 months old. They are sweet girls- they smile and coo a lot! They love to kick and stand (in our arms, of course) and reach for things. They've just discovered putting their hands in their mouths.

Julianne is still quite a bit bigger than Mirabelle- she's at 13lbs 10oz, while Mirabelle is 11lbs 15 oz. So almost 2 pounds bigger. And you can feel it!

They're still pretty cranky a decent amount of the time- my mother thinks they may have some reflux or something. So we're trying out some medicine to see if that's really the case.

Sleep is going so-so. They were doing so great for a while there- only waking up once a night at around 2 months. But it seems like they've regressed lately, often waking up 4 or 5 times a night. Its enough to drive you bonkers. Oh well. They'll get through it eventually.

They're so squirmy now, it was tough to get their monthly picture...

This one cracks me up!

And I think this picture just perfectly captures their dynamic. Julianne is the dominant one- shoving little Mirabelle around. She's been doing it since they were in the womb. (seriously!)

Mirabelle

Julianne

Three little ladybugs

2010-10-31T23:10:00.000-04:00

Three little ladybugs were sitting on the couch... Thanks Deanna for loaning us this costume for a cute photo-op!

Halloween!

2010-10-31T23:01:00.004-04:00

We had a busy halloween week! We had halloween playgroup on Tuesday, Caroline went to a halloween party with her old daycare friends on Thursday, She went to the library storytime/party on Friday, we had another party at our friend Laura's house on Friday evening, then there was a party at Deanna's on Sunday and of course trick-or-treating. Wow! Lots of chances to show off her pink poodle cuteness. And the twins were just adorable as little ladybugs! What fun.

Unfortunately, we also had a bit of cranky babies to drive us mad. On Friday, after the party, we came home and Mirabelle screamed for about an hour. And Julianne piped in as well. On Sunday, after a little while in the stroller, trick-or-treating with Caroline, they started to fuss so Mike took them home. And then they cried for an hour again! And not just little whimpers- full on blow-your-head-off screams. Horrible. Its enough to drive you mad. I am proud to say that even through that trauma, Mike and I managed to get along and didn't get in a fight all weekend. And no mental breakdowns for me either. We're moving in the right direction :) And I finally put on a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans! (They used to be a lot looser, but hey, at least they fit!)

Caroline and Eliza outside of Deanna's house

Caroline playing with the whoopee cushion- it was a huge hit with the kids!

Playing in the jumpy pit with the kids

Everyone in their costumes at playgroup

Deanna with Noelle and Mirabelle

Caroline at Jenny's party with her old pal Aubrey

The twins showing off their adorable halloween outfits again

Our little ladybugs

Julianne

Gimmme some CANDY!

GRRRR! Mean poodle!

With Nana and Papa

Family portrait

Caroline and her loot!

Daddy looting the loot.

Halloween preparations

2010-10-25T22:22:00.005-04:00

We had a busy weekend getting ready for halloween! On Saturday, Jane and I made a costume for Caroline- a pink poodle! So cute! And on Sunday we carved pumpkins!

Getting crafty with Nana! I said to Jane a couple of weeks ago... "Caroline wants to be a pink poodle for halloween. I can't find that in the stores..." And Jane responded with a laugh... "I know exactly where this is going!" She was so nice to go get all the materials and we sewed it up together.

Our finished product

Trick or treat!

This girl loves her candy!

After weeks and weeks of sunshine and beautiful days, we finally got a little rain. Caroline got all suited up.

Carving pumpkins with daddy! (Let it be known, that even though he did most of the carving, I scooped the goop!)

Boo!

Twins playgroup

2010-10-16T22:04:00.000-04:00

So I joined the mothers of multiples club a while back, and though they have some great events (like the huge resale), and I've met some other great moms, I didn't feel like I was meeting moms of kiddos the same age as my twins. Probably because we're all holed up in our houses wondering how to survive the early months :) So I decided to start a little playgroup for other new moms of multiples. We had our first meet-up at our house this Saturday.

It was a great success. We had 6 moms come and 12 babies (4 sets of twins, a set of triplets, and one other twin who left his brother at home). I knew a couple of moms from the la leche league multiples meeting, and got to know a few other new ones. There were several other moms who couldn't make it but hope to come in the future. So I think we've got critical mass, and people are interested in continuing to meet up.

It was fun to trade stories and realize that we all have some of the same challenges. It also made me feel better that I'm not really producing enough milk for both girls- only one of the moms there was able to do that. I'd been feeling quite frustrated about that. If I could up my production more, I'd be happy, but alas, there is only so much one can do. I also feel pretty lucky about how well they're sleeping, compared with all of these other twins.

Schuster's farm fun

2010-10-15T21:51:00.000-04:00

Caroline went with Laura to a halloween party at Schuster's farm. She met up with her old day care crew there- Jenny and all the kids (Rachel, Aubrey, JD). It is so fun that she still gets to see them and play with them sometimes, because I know she misses them. And Jenny is so great to invite Laura to meet up with them, and helps hold babies and all of that!

Caroline wore a bee costume that we had around. She's got something else up her sleeve for actual halloween, though :)

With Aubrey and JD

With Laura

Adorable all over the place

2010-10-11T22:07:00.002-04:00

Just some cute shots from this month...

Train time

2010-10-10T21:14:00.005-04:00

This weekend Mike's brother Joe and Lisa, Henry, and Owen came down to visit from Oshkosh. On Saturday, we all hung out at Mike's parents house by the lake. It was a gorgeous day. The weather has just been outstanding for that last week or two- gorgeous, sunny fall days. Love it! So we had a nice time hanging out there, and then on Sunday, we all went up for a "fall colors train ride" near Baraboo. It was really pretty, though I think the leaves were maybe just past their prime. The kids loved the train and we all had a fun picnic afterwards.

On the train

Picnicing
All the kids were looking at a ladybug

The baby holders!

Phew- finally a break!

Caroline and her pals

2010-10-09T22:00:00.002-04:00

We had Eliza come spend the night with us this weekend, so her parents could go out and celebrate Anna's birthday- she turned 30 on 10-10-10. How cool is that?! The girls were perfectly adorable and played well together. We tried to have their first real sleep over, but of course they didn't go to sleep, so Caroline moved out of her room and slept in our room. Finally everyone went to bed.

Playtime Snuggle time Bath time... funny faces Foot eating contest Bed time! (yeah, right!)

On Saturday morning, we went to kids in the rotunda and met up with our friends Helen and Siyamo. They were having a circus performance and the girls had a ball. How great is this video of them dancing?

Three months!

2010-10-07T23:00:00.001-04:00

The twins are three months old. Wow, how time flies! They're getting so big, so fast! They are masters of their own necks, no more floppy heads everywhere (well, still a little bit occasionally, but generally they're pretty good). They are sucking like mad on everything and have just found their hands to suck. So cute. They're big eaters, though they've been intermitently fussy with nursing and with bottles. And they've just generally been fussy a lot. I was kind of hoping the fussy period would be coming to a close around now, but it seems to be spiking. Seems like someone is always cranky. But when they're happy, they are just SO adorable. Smiling a whole lot now, which just makes your day.

Sleep varies quite a lot. Most of the time, they just wake up once. But sometimes it is 2,3,4 times. Which is fairly exhausting! Julianne is still quite a lot bigger than Mirabelle, but Mirabelle is starting to eat a bit more, so we'll see if she catches up...

They still spend a lot of time hanging out in their swings or bouncy seats. Not much longer and they'll be in their exersaucers. They also love to just lay on the ground and kick their feet around while we all stare at them. They are just starting to coo, and it is so sweet and adorable.

What cuties!

Doesn't Mirabelle look like such a little peanut here?!

A little snack from my sister's hand...

Julianne

Mirabelle

The Edgewater

2010-10-06T21:27:00.001-04:00

Mike and I celebrate our anniversary each year by going on a special adventure according to the alphabet. We started year 1 in Acadia. Year 2 was Boston (I was pregnant and sick... not much excitement that year). Year 3 was Canada (Montreal and Quebec City). Year 4 was Door County. Year 5... letter E. Where could we go for letter E without leaving our twins for long?

The Edgewater Hotel. A lovely spot in Madison, right on the water on lake Mendota. We ended up celebrating a couple of months late, because on our actual anniversary (Aug 27) my girlfriends were visiting us. And then, well, life just got in the way. So finally this week, we decided to take advantage of a gorgeous day, and we took Mike's parents boat over there. We went upstairs to their bar, where there was just such an amazing view of the lake. We had champaigne and appetizers, and just savored one another's company. It was very lovely and romantic... And then we returned to our real life! HA!

Happy very-belated anniversary, my dear!

trucking along...

2010-10-05T12:57:00.007-04:00

So things have continued to be a little hard for me lately. I'm not sure what it is, exactly. But I just get so burnt out by caring for the girls all the time and I just feel like I need a break. Like this Saturday- I got up early with them, and by about 10am, I was just so fed up of dealing with one of them crying and fussing all the time. It was so mentally and physically exhausting. And Caroline, in the background, whining for another show and not being able to entertain herself without the TV on. AGH! It is just so hard. I think the girls are going through a particularly fussy stage. And I am getting incredibly frustrated by the fact that I seem to not be able to make enough milk for them. And they're having a hard time breastfeeding as well- refusing and wanting a bottle a lot of the time. I just get so mad that all the things I'm doing to get more milk to come in (special tea and herbs, hydrating, pumping more often, etc.) isn't doing much of anything.

Sometimes I just feel like I can't do it anymore. Mike and my mom think maybe I'm having post-partum depression. I don't think so, since it isn't a sustained thing- it really comes and goes. A lot of the time I love being with them and I'm really happy. And then they'll just be so cranky and all I want to do is go hide and sleep or read a book or just be by myself. Never by myself anymore. Ever. Well, actually, I was alone a bit today. I had to drive to Chicago and back for work today to interview a candidate to be my boss' new assistant. It was so great to just get away from it all and be alone for a while. Even if I was driving for 6 hours.

I think I just need to ask for help when I need it and remember to take a break. It makes a big difference just getting away for a few minutes. We will make it through. Somehow.

Toddler talk

2010-10-05T12:43:00.004-04:00

More funny things Caroline has said recently:

She was playing with her new friend Noah. Caroline had three balls and gave two of them to Noah, keeping the blue one for herself (of course). He reached to grab the one ball she had left, and she said in a very firm voice, "No, Noah, you have PLENTY!" We were all in stiches.

I was crying one morning and she came over and stroked my cheek and said in a sweet little sing-song voice, "Mamma, caaaaalm down, caaaaaalm down. You be OK. I'll give you a sticker." She was doing just what we do to her when she cries. It was so sweet, it made me want to cry even more.

Wearing her new bunny slippers, she picks up her stuffed bunny, faces it to them, and says. "Hello, bunny. Meet your new friends. Nice to meet you."

On a playdate with her friend Eliza and Eliza's daddy Langdon:
Getting into the car:
Caroline: Nice car, Langdon.
Langdon: Oh yeah?
Caroline: Yeah, windows all around!

During the ride (I'm not sure that they actually saw cows...):
Caroline: "Ooh--nice cows!"
Langdon: "Did you see some cows?"
C: "Yeah. I count. One, two, three, four, five."
Eliza: "Six, seven, eight!"
C: "I like cows!"
L: "Yes, I like cows too."
C: "Eliza, you like cows?"
E: "Mmmmm....YEAH!!!"

Amy and Taylor visit!

2010-10-03T12:51:00.002-04:00

Our friends Amy and Taylor and their little boy Noah came to visit us this weekend. They stayed with Amy's cousin Pam, which was probably for the best given the typical chaos around our house these days :) But we got to see lots of them!

Friday morning we went for a walk along state street with the kids. It was a beautiful day and lots of fun. Except when one of the twins had a big blow-out. That was less fun. Friday night they all came over to Mike's parents place for a boat ride and then over to our house for dinner. Caroline and Noah were running around like maniacs, but seemed to have a good time together.

Saturday afternoon we met up at the Monroe St. festival. But it was cold weather and the place was just shutting down. Caroline got a few jumps in at the bouncy house and then we watched some drumming and dancing (got Taylor and I reminiscing about our days in the Peace Corps). After that we went to a park where the kids ran around until they froze and we went home.

Sunday we went to the zoo in the morning. Noah loved the "train" ride and Caroline loved the carousel, as usual. She was terrified of the tiger for the first time ever. But Amy caught a great picture of the tiger right up in her face, so now I can see why (will post it once I get it from them).

So great to catch up with these guys. They live in Portland, ME, so we saw them pretty often when we were in Boston, but not since we moved. So it was great to get the visit. Thanks, guys!

Beach time

2010-09-29T17:47:00.000-04:00

I'm trying to enjoy my last few days off during the week- I'll be working full time as of Monday. So we went to the childrens museum this morning and are at a little beach this afternoon, enjoying a little indian summer.

It's not always so easy...

2010-09-26T15:51:00.002-04:00

So I know I have said many times that I really don't think this twins thing is all that hard. And compared to my expectations of the worst, I think it has been relatively easy. And most of the time it is really quite manageable. But then there are those days...

I think that, more than anything, it's the cumulative effect of it all. You just never really get a break. Even the times when you do get a break - and God bless grandparents and nannies for those - it just seems so short lived. And then it is just back to the daily grind. Weekends are often more work then workdays, because you're trying to do stuff around the house AND watch all the kids. And invariably one of us is busy or running around for part of the day, which leaves the other person to manage all three alone. And that is definitely doable. For limited periods of time.

So take this Saturday for example... Mike went to the Badger game with our friend Langdon. He left around 9am and came back around 2pm. And it was all I could do to survive. We had a playdate in the morning, where Caroline's new pal Siyamo and her mom came over, which was a lot of fun. But after they left, the girls were just so fussy, and when Caroline went down for a nap, I thought I'd get a little rest. But Julianne just wouldn't stop crying and Mirabelle started in. I was just so tired and really didn't feel like listening to them cry. By the time Mike got back, I just needed to go lie down. I had just fallen asleep when Caroline got up from her nap and came in to see me. I was so grumpy and irritable that I threw a total fit that Mike couldn't keep her occupied while I napped. Its like this sleep deprivation has taken over me and turned me into a monster. Agh! And then I felt so guilty about being so mean that even when she went downstairs, I couldn't sleep. Oh well. Need to work on not getting so worked up.

Oh, and by the way, that whole sleeping through the night thing... appears to have been a fluke. Not surprising, I suppose, especially after I cursed myself by writing about it.

Anyways, I don't mean to complain. Because I wouldn't trade these girls for the world. But its just to say that its not always sunshine and rainbows over here. Sometimes it is a friggin typhoon. But we'll make it through. Somehow :)

2 month pictures

2010-09-23T15:37:00.000-04:00

So we got these fun stickers you can put on little onesies to capture their monthly birthdays. I only wish I had gotten them in time for their 1 month... And they are a little past their two month birthday here, but looking totally adorable. It's amazing to see how much bigger Julianne is than Mirabelle. She's our pudgy bunnie!

And their individual portraits... on their quilts from Nana!
Julianne

Mirabelle

Apple Picking

2010-09-22T14:53:00.000-04:00

We went apple picking with our playgroup this week. It was such a fun time last year that I was really excited to go again. Caroline wasn't really all that into picking apples, unfortunately. I'd give her one, then she'd take a bite and put it in the basket. So eventually I got her to just finish off her one apple. But I had to do most of the picking myself... She was, however, totally excited about picking raspberries. Maybe because it was more on her level or something. She wanted to hold the basket, but that just sounded like a bad idea, so she just went around picking and eating, while I picked and put in the basket...and ate a few myself :) We also found a tiny little frog which all the kids took a turn holding- very cute. It was fun to see how much they've grown on the "how tall this fall" chart!

Morella, Leo, Athena, Ben and Caroline

checking out the baby pumpkins

...and the goats

mmmm!

So many apples, so little time!

The official wagon puller

Raspberries!

Tiny frog!

"These pumpkins are bigger than me!"

Badgers and Birthdays

2010-09-19T15:21:00.001-04:00

We had a fun weekend. On Saturday, Mike and I went to the badger game with our friends Kris and Tracy. We had a blast, but at the end of the day, I felt like we were away from the kids too long- it ended up being about 7 hours. Mike's parents were saints to watch the girls that whole time, but I was just really eager to get back to them. We had fun getting lunch and drinks on State St. and then watching a pretty close game to ASU. Luckily the Badgers pulled off a win. But it was close.

Then Sunday, I got the girls all dressed up in matching dresses that my mom gave them and took them over to Evan's first birthday party. It was a fun time, and luckily the twins slept most of the time so I could just have fun with Caroline.

The whole gang grabbing a pre-game beer

Mike and Tracy- old college pals

The marching band takes the field (still not as fun and entertaining as Stanford's...)

Caroline got all decked out in Badger gear as well

I love this picture. Caroline is all grins while Mirabelle screams her head off and Julianne zones out. So funny!

An only slightly less cranky Mirabelle.

Mama and her girls

Having some cake with Evan and his brother Grant

Caroline hits the bit 2 point 5

2010-09-18T14:34:00.006-04:00

Caroline is 2 and a half today! Happy half-birthday to you (and to Mike, though 34.5 is perhaps a bit less exciting than 2.5). She is totally adorable and fun, when she's not being a holy terror :)

She says some pretty funny things, many of which I can't put on a blog, but if you see me in person, ask for some stories. A few funny ways she says words:
"Juli-lanne!", "my mow-lawn" (lawn mower), "afterday" (yesterday).

She is a great big sister. She is always putting blankets or toys on her sisters, and loves to come watch them smile. It is perfectly adorable.

She is recently obsessed with her pink poodle, my little pony, and anything related to Dora. She still loves playdoh and her sandbox. She loves putting stickers everywhere and has temporary tattoos of princesses which turn out to be more long-lasting than we'd like...She plays lots of dress up. Her favorite books, of late, are "Alice the Fairy" and "Blueberries for Sal." She's very cute at storytime and the library dance parties, and she is doing great when she goes to the pool with Nana. She is always hopping or spinning all over the place. When we put her to bed, she always wants "one more book!" So we've taken to singing her songs after the books. Daddy usually sings actual songs, albeit random ones, like the banana boat song "DAY-O...". I usually make up random songs about whatever she tells me to- her poodle, her grandparents, the dance party at the library, everything under the sun. I'm pretty good at making up these songs, if I do say so myself :)

She has very good manners, and will often say "Thank you for coming over" or other sweet things without being prompted. This makes me inordinately happy. As do her hugs. She'll just squeeze you so tight. She tells me she loves me and about how she cries when we go away because she misses us. It is super cute!

And now for the terrible twos... She is supremely whiny. It is about the most annoying thing ever. I WAAAAAANT ANOTHER SHOOOOOOOW!!!! (yes, she watches too much TV, but hey, we have twin babies. What are you going to do?!) She has also started shouting "NO" while making a mean face, and sometimes throwing things. Ugh! Poor child is getting more than a few time-outs lately. She is still very clingy to me and often tells me to put down the babies or not to feed them. But otherwise she's very nice to her sisters. She is still working on her sharing skills. She does usually have a big fight during any given playdate, but after a while she gives up and goes back to playing nicely.

But luckily, there are many more good times than bad and we love this girl to death!

My sleepers

2010-09-14T14:48:00.002-04:00

Miracles never cease. Both twins slept through the night. I am elated.

Pesto and Playdates weekend

2010-09-13T14:15:00.005-04:00

Last weekend was a fun one! On Friday night, we had our friends and former neighbors- Jen, Liz, Doug, Esa and Dek over for dinner and play-time. It was so fun to reconnect with them. Caroline loves playing with Esa!

On Saturday, Mike went to the Badger game with his dad while I went with Jane and the girls to their CSA farm. We got to pick all the basil we wanted and take it home to make pesto. We got the twins in the stroller and rolled around the farm. Caroline had fun picking raspberries and feeding the goat they have there. It was only a little annoying when she decided she didn't want to walk back, but we were trying to push a stroller and carry loads of basil, so it wasn't so easy carrying her as well... Anyways, we made it out and made it home and made 12 tons of pesto and made the car and the house and everywhere in between reek of basil! What a fun day! Oh, and we stopped to have a little picnic and visit a fantastic shoe store on the way back. Caroline is over the moon about her new Dora Crocs.

Sunday I had a massage in the morning (So needed, and let's be honest... so deserved :)!) and then in the afternoon we had some friends over. Anna, Langdon and Eliza, who we hadn't seen in far too long, along with some new friends- Siyamo and her mom Helen, who we met at the park near the zoo last weekend and who are new to Madison. So the kids played for a couple of hours and then we had a lovely dinner that Anna and Co. brought over. I am so appreciative of all those dinners from friends. Especially now that they're mostly done, since we realize what a handful it is trying to cook dinner and watch 3 kids at the same time. Even with 2 people it is hard to manage, since that's the girls cranky time of day.

Baby holders take over! Love it!
But we returned the favor!

Caroline with Esa

And with Dek

From our trip to the Vermont Valley Farm:
Caroline picking out tomatos (we would have picked from the vine, but they sprayed some organic fungicide on there, so they didn't want us to do that)

Caroline meets the goat

And tries to feed him with Nana's help

Caroline samples the goods.... mmmm! Basil tastes good!

Nana gets down to business

Joe and Mike, still in their badger gear- Joe went to work plucking leaves

Does this look tasty or what? We made FIVE batches this big! We'll be eating pesto until we're green!

All smiles!

2010-09-10T17:16:00.000-04:00

I was so lucky to catch this one on film! Their smiles just melt my heart :)

Back to work

2010-09-10T14:10:00.002-04:00

I went back to work this week. I was actually going to wait until October to go back, but for whatever reason, I just felt ready. It was different with Caroline- I wanted to be home for as long as possible, and was with her for the first 4 months and then worked part time for 2 months after that. This time, I'm going back after 2 months, and only doing 1 month part time before going back full time in Oct. I guess it feels different for a few reasons... Since it isn't my first time doing this, I just feel a lot more confident in my role as a mother, and I worry less about missing out on stuff because I'm working. I think it also has something to do with the fact that I work from home, and I'll take time out of the day to nurse the babies, so I know I won't be away from my kids for the whole day. And the twins are actually much better sleepers than Caroline was at this point, typically waking up just once during the night to eat. So I'm not so sleep deprived (although, don't get me wrong... there are those nights!). And as it turns out, my day job is a heck of a lot easier than taking care of three kiddos 24/7. It is actually a nice break :) So I'm glad to be back!

Mirabelle and Julianne are two months old!

2010-09-07T09:59:00.004-04:00

The twins are two months old today, and they are doing great! They have grown so big and really don't seem like their little mushy newborn selves anymore. They'll be big girls before we know it! They are really taking in the world around them much more now. They'll watch people and things around them. They definitely react to my voice, too. They're grasping at things like mad. Their back and neck muscles are getting so strong- they're holding their heads up and they can push up when they are on their bellies. And they can both roll over from front to back.

They spend about half their time during the day awake and the other half napping. They aren't always on the same schedule, but I'm hoping they'll get more aligned when I go back to work this week and we need to nurse them together more often. Right now, I often just feed them on demand, sometimes that's together, but often it is separately.

They're sleeping well, for the most part. They occasionally have tough nights- usually Julianne- but many nights they just wake up once, around 3 or 4 am, to eat and then go back to bed.

Julianne still cries more than her sister, and eats a lot more too. It is starting to be fairly apparent that she's a lot bigger than her sister. Her face has really pudged up. No longer our little "skinny carrot"... Mirabelle is now the skinny minnie.

Mirabelle just started smiling yesterday. Not all the time, but she has done it several times and it is just so cute. I can't wait for more!!

Mirabelle (front & left) and Julianne

Julianne

Mirabelle

Daddy's home!

2010-09-03T21:16:00.000-04:00

Halleluja! The father has returned. He managed to arrive amid a chorus of crying, so we decided to just hand the babies over to him...

Surviving sans Mike

2010-09-02T23:41:00.002-04:00

Mike's been gone to Indiana for work for the past 3 days, and comes home tomorrow. How in the world am I surviving? Nana and Papa. There is no way we'd make it through without them. Or without our nanny Laura. These people keep me sane.

Nana and Papa have been cooking us dinner and helping watch the girls in the evenings and on the days the nanny isn't here. They are just so helpful and wonderful.

Thank you all. And come home soon, honey! We miss you!

Rolling over

2010-09-02T23:39:00.007-04:00

We had fun with the girls tonight. We had all three of them laying on the floor and they seemed to have fun looking at one another, and Caroline was running around and interacting with them a lot. We put the twins on their bellies and they both rolled over onto their backs! Julianne had done that a week or two ago, but I think it may have been Mirabelle's first time. It is so hard keeping track of these things! Anyways, here is the video evidence, as well as some other cute pictures from the evening.

Mama with her three girls! Look, now we have a fourth! And also a little pony. Sprinkling fairy dust on her sisters... or something like that! Caroline conducting her chorus Tummy time fun! Caroline and Papa getting in some yoga

Girls weekend!

2010-08-28T22:32:00.001-04:00

A few of my girlfriends from my Bridgespan days came to visit us this weekend. We try to get together every so often, now that we don't get to work together. They were excited to come meet the twins and see Caroline, and I was happy to get some girl time and show them our life here in Madison.

They came on Thursday and we had a mellow evening barbecuing and talking until the wee hours. Friday we had a big breakfast and then went to check out Madison. Nana watched Caroline and we took the twins along for a walk down State street for some shopping and some ice cream at the UW union terrace by the lake. It was such a fun day! That night, after we got the girls to bed, we went out for a night on the town. We had a bit of an impromptu bachelorette party for Jen, who recently got engaged. It was great to get out, since I don't do that much. We tried to go dancing, but the only place in town that has a dancefloor was having a "freak" party, which, while thoroughly entertaining, wasn't exactly our scene... So then we went to another more mellow place to have a drink and catch up. Lots of fun!

Saturday, a bunch of them left to go to a friend's wedding in Chicago, but Harpreet stayed for the day to hang out with us. We had a mellow day- just did some shopping and spent lots of time with the girls.

Dinner at home on Thurs

Out and about on State St. - Jen, Gihani, Harpreet, Allana, me and the twins

At lunch

Gi holding Mirabelle

At the UW union terrace- the perfect day for it!

Harpreet holding Mirabelle

Allana holding Julianne

Some of the day's purchases: Gi in her new hat

Allana with her parasol

Out for a boat ride!

Jane and Joe watched the babies while we were out on the boat. They had a good time just rocking on the porch

Getting ready for our night on the town

Jen in her bachelorette get-up

At the "freak" party. Freaky, indeed! This was the bartender, who bought Jen a drink!

With our "freaky" glow bracelets

Toning things down at a more mellow spot!