Jingle Bells make a Joyful Noise!!!

In the middle of December a dear family friend (hi Mary Jo!!) sent the girls some jingle bells to play with.  Both girls love anything to do with music, especially Emma.  When any music comes on she will bebop back and forth, and they both love to bang toys together to hear the noise.  As soon as I opened the package, I placed the jingle bells on the floor for the girls to explore.  They immediately were interested with the shiny bells and each grabbed one.  Once they figured out that the bells made a sound they became intent on making them ring.  Such fun was had by all!

What is this thing?  Why does it have holes on the side?

Emma making a joyful noise, while Charlotte studies the string.

How do I make this work?

Grandparents are the best!

What a couple of weeks we have had!

We have had so much going on here the last few weeks.  I never realized how hectic things get around the holidays when you have children.  Not only did I have all of the daily care that we normally do, we also added on outings, parties, shopping, and getting ready for the holidays.  It seemed to be much more rushed and hectic than in the past.  In the middle of the month my parents arrived for a wonderfully long visit that lasted through New Years.  I am incredibly thankful that they made the effort (and three day drive!) to come and spend the holidays with us.  It was a very special time.  My parents really spent a lot of time with E and C.  Unfortunately we all spent most of the time sick with colds.  We seemed to pass them between the six of us through the whole visit.  I got my first real experience dealing with sick children.  The worst was the nights of very little sleep.

 For Christmas we baked a country ham, that was an experience (a detailed Christmas post is in the works).  Unfortunately, after Christmas I got extremely sick with mastitis.  It really is the sickest I have been in years.  My parents cared for the babies while I stayed in bed.  Thankfully, after a call to my OB, I was able to get antibiotics to help me feel better.  We had another round of colds after that, but I think we are finally all on the mend.  New Years was fun with finger foods, sparkling wine, and good conversation. 

Unfortunately that weekend our sweet cat Gus got very sick.  He ended up having an enlarged heart that led to congestive heart failure.  We had to make a very hard decision and he is no longer with us.  It was very sad and we will miss him for a very long time.  We are now adjusting back to our regular routine with our family of four.  It is nice to have the hubbub of the holidays fade away and face the new year together. 

I leave you with a sweet picture my father took of the girls.  More to come!

Smiles

While we still have snotty noses and miss our grandparents horribly, we are pretty happy playing and enjoying each others company today. (Also notice that one small girl is working on pulling up!)

Merry Christmas!!

Here are emma and charlotte ready for Christmas breakfast. They must have known it was Christmas because they were an hour earlier then usual.

Excited to see Grammy

I was getting ready to take their photo when Grammy walked in. Their faces lit up when they saw her. I am so glad that my parents and my daughters get this time together.

Sick.

Sleepless nights.

Runny noses.

Fussy girls.

Tired mamma.

We have had our first round of sickness with Emma and Charlotte, and it is no fun at all. Of course, it could be a lot worse, just colds, but everything just seems harder when everyone is sick. Also, I never knew that little babies could make so much snot. Hopefully we will all be on the mend soon.