Christmas

Jasmine loved all of the paper and ribbons and barely noticed the toys! She was in super spirits and had lots of fun with grandma and grandpa.

Addie wasn't having such a good day. This was one of three outfits she went through on Christmas Day. One outfit change was my fault...didn't know that Addie would detest the taste of Swisss cheese so vehemently that she'd vomit...

The dogs jumped on the opportunity to monopolize Alex's lap while he was talking to his friends and family on Christmas Day!

Jasmine was having a great time with grandpa - he never runs out of silly faces or energy!

Here are the girls in the hats that their grandma knit for them! Alex and I also got hats...but we aren't nearly as cute in ours...

We discovered on Christmas that the reason Addie was so cranky was two bottom teeth poking through. These are her first teeth - Jasmine has had her bottom two for months! Here's a picture of her with the candy cane she stole of the counter!

These are some of my favorite pictures of Jasmine! Here she is playing by herself while Addie is napping and I'm emptying the dishwasher. The orange star she has in her lap has a big mirror in it - she'd bend down and see her face in the mirror really big and then sit up chuckling to herself!! Cute sausage!

We had some friends, Gareth, Chantal & Gabriella come stay for Christmas Eve & Day. It was so much fun to have them in the house. Gaby is 13 months old and the girls loved to watch her move around and play with toys in ways they have yet to figure out! Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of them all together...!

Grateful

Have I mentioned how grateful I am to have twins?! I was reading my Twins magazine I got in the mail yesterday, and all the stories and letters to the editor made me happy to part of this unique group. There were some letters I read in amazement...but relieved to not be totally in the same boat! There were two women who had written in who had two sets of twins, one set was 11 months apart, and the other set was 13 months apart...yowzer!

I know it is in the realm of possibility that we could have another set of twins - normal average for anyone to have twins is 1 in 80 - BUT once you've had fraternal twins (without fertility meds) you odds are 1 in 20. I sort of feel like we are the 1 in 20 kind of family!!! Seriously think about - my husband is from Zimbabwe of all places, our house was struck by lightening a month after we bought it and caught on fire, we have twins - we are the kind of people who would have two sets of twins! That is why we aren't even thinking about more kids until these girls can go to school!

The evenings that Alex comes home and I go see clients, I'm relieved to leave the house and get out on my own without a double stroller, diaper bags, etc. However, when I return home I already miss their little faces and can't wait until morning to see them again! The best part about the stage that they are in now is that they can physically express attachment to us. Addie is starting to kiss. They are both reaching for us & cuddling. Even when I just sit next to Addie on the floor, she pats my leg and looks up at me and smiles.

Flashback

Today one of my girlfriends had her first baby! For those of you who know her, Angie Burlison had a beautiful baby girl, name Reese Lynn. I'll resist posting the pictures they sent me until they are posted on her blog - but they are very cute!

The anticipation of Angie's baby gave me a flashback last night. Just before I was to have the girls, I constantly wondered how I was going to be able to carry two babies around the house at the same time...I realized after they were born - you don't. You get one, set that one down, go back get the other one! Pre-babies as I was trying to figure out this puzzler, I envisioned myself carrying them around in a laundry basket...um...doesn't work so well with two newborns who can't hold their heads up (never tried it don't worry)!

But - it works fabulous now that they can both sit up! They love it - it makes it even easier to grab each other's faces and toys. The only problem is now...they are 40 lbs combined...and too heavy for me to carry in a laundry basket. Oh well! : )

Another Milestone

The girls can now sit up long enough to take baths together - which has been so much fun for us! There is always a little drama trying to make sure someone isn't slipping slowly sideways or about to bonk their head on the faucet. They LOVE to splash with their feet & legs. I'm guessing soon enough Alex will be soaked after each bath!

The biggest problem we have with crowd control in the bath is precipitated by those rubber ducks you see in the pictures! If they drop their duck, they will fearlessly lunge forward for it - Addie ended up head first on her belly in the water while trying to get her duck! She wasn't upset at all about the water in her face - just upset that her tidal wave floated her duck even farther away!

We've already had one duck casualty - turns out the dogs like the ducks just as much as the girls. One of the dogs took a duck outside and removed its cute ducky lips!

Crime & Punishment

The Crime:

As I was going to retrieve her sister, Jasmine decided to start dinner on her own! Silly mom put the baby food just within reach on the counter. Notice the initial look of BUSTED - and then how her expression changes to AREN'T I CUTE!

The Punishment:

The easiest solution to this big purple mess was to give the dogs what they were begging for! Once again, Jasmine starts out looking forlorn, but ends looking ecstatic! Lesson learned - place baby food farther back on counter...