Grandparents (and Great Grandparents) are the best!

Look Who's Crawling!

Thats right!  Emma started crawling over the weekend.  So far it is still very timid and slow, but she is moving.  Charlotte thinks it is funny until Emma crawls up, takes her toy, and then crawls away (yes, this has happened multiple times.)  I am excited for this milestone, sad because my babies are getting bigger, and nervous about how I am going to successfully manage two moving babies.  I will keep you posted.

Hair Cut and Visitors

My husband's parents and grandmother are here visiting.  It is such a special treat to have them here and also works out great because John is out of town, so I have extra help.  It is very fun to watch the girls play with their grand and great grand parents.  Here are some action shots of fun being had by all today.

Charlotte was telling Great Grandma (GG) a story.

Grandma is watching Charlotte and Emma share the walker.

Grandpa's adoring fans.

This was so funny.  Grandpa put Emma's hood up and it made Charlotte laugh and laugh.  She patted Emma's head and tried to head bump her. 

And to finish things up, I got a hair cut today.  It was so nice to be able to take an hour and do something just for me.  I have been in the after holidays/ my parents went home/ my cat died blues for a couple of weeks now and this lifted my spirits.   I am realizing that time like that is few and far between, but important to grab when I can.   

Also notice Charlotte's awesome outfit.  Yes, that is a purse and puppy stitched into her jacket!  My Aunt sent the girls those clothes for the girls to wear, and I love them.

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!)