It's Christmas Time Again!

That means that Madeline and Elizabeth get to spread some holiday joy to all of you. Merry Christmas from Santa's adorable little helpers!



We took the girls to the mall one early Sunday morning because we heard that Santa Claus might be making a personal appearance. Apparently we had some inside information because there were not many other kids waiting for Santa when we got there. It's a good thing we got in line early though, because the place filled up very quickly.



All I have to say is that I'm glad we brought our camera to capture the delighted expressions on our girls' faces when they got up to see Santa! (little bit of sarcasm there) (Also, because the camera the photo people used turned out to be WAY out of focus when they printed their picture)



And finally, what would the holidays be like without wrapping your children in a string of Christmas lights? Sure, there are many hazards associated with such a practice but it makes for one heck of a beautiful photograph.



Happy Holidays from our family to yours and may your days be filled with joy and laughter. Since the pictures have been relatively sparse as of late, I have uploaded a whole bunch for you to browse over in our Flickr album.

Giggly Girls

Our latest "fun thing about having twins" - the girls have finally noticed each other, and find each other hilarious.

The latest things that are really funny? Hitting themselves in the head (with their hand, or even better, with a toy), hitting each other in the head, hitting one's head against her sister's head... notice a theme here? Head bonking is just completely hilarious.

Of course, our series of videos has nothing to do with head bonking, just the girls, who discovered the french doors (we have doors going from our hallway to the computer room and on the other end of the computer room to the dining room. They're pretty much non-functional, but they look nice, so we haven't taken them out yet.)

"Most" babies start laughing around 6 or 7 months, the girls first laughs were after that, and it's only recently that they started laughing a LOT so, this is extra fun for us!

One Year Stats

In the last year

Elizabeth has:

Gained 13 pounds 3 ounces (currently 18 lbs 8 oz)
Grew 10 and 1/4 inches (currently 28 inches)
Learned to roll over, sit, crawl, stand, and almost walk
Amazed us with her adventurous spirit

Madeline has:
Gained 12 pounds 12 ounces (currently 18 lbs 9 oz)
Grew 10 and 3/4 inches (currently 28 inches)
Learned to roll over, sit, crawl and stand
Delighted us with her love of snuggling

We can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

Madeline and Elizabeth turn One!

I can't believe just one year ago the girls were born! This year has FLOWN by! Our girls have gone from 5 pound preemies to 19+ pound toddlers!

This past weekend was the girls first birthday party! Grandma and Grandpa Carlson, Grandma White, PopPop & MeMa, and Uncle Troy all came to town to celebrate, and the Morelands and the Schilfs came by to celebrate as well!

The girls seemed to enjoy the party, even if Elizabeth did wake up from her nap with a rather high fever. I think the biggest hit of the day was the curly ribbon that was on a couple of the presents!

Without further ado - the pictures! (As always, more in the Flickr album!)

Finally, remembering this year in pictures (it's long!):

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Erica and I took our little monkeys to visit a few of the neighbors on our block. We didn't even want candy, just the chance to show off our cute little girls. We got these adorable monkey costumes from Old Navy and they were worth every penny, even if Madeline and Elizabeth will only get to wear them once.

480,960 Minutes

11 Months...
334 Days...
8,016 Hours...
480,960 Minutes...
28,857,600 Seconds...
... and counting.


Madeline and Elizabeth are now just a month shy of their 1st birthday. They have come a long way in just a few short weeks. Both of them are babbling a lot more now. No discernible language yet, but they are very chatty. Madeline in particular has taken to pointing at things and saying, "Dah!", which we accept to mean pretty much everything. There is more clapping and waving as time goes on as well, so we practice every chance we get. They have mastered the art of feeding themselves and pretty much eat whatever we are eating (just cut up into small pieces). Sippy-cups are still a challenge, however.

One unmistakable sign that they are getting bigger is the gradual transition to a single nap during the day. We are still at the point where they sometimes still could use two, but more often it works out pretty well when they just take one nap around mid-day. This is a slight transition for us as well and we tend to get a little less done around the house on weekends.

We picked up some fun new toys for Maddie and Lizzy to play with. The tunnel was definitely a big hit. The girls crawled around together and laughed like crazy. They would get to one end and then race back to the other, sometimes even rolling the tunnel around from the inside.



We had a very special visit from Great Aunt Gail all the way from California on her first trip to see us in Chicago. My dad was staying at our house and flew his sister in to join us around mid-week. Cody might have been the happiest of everyone because he had all sorts of company during the day. We were thrilled to have her stay here and especially fortunate when one day the girls were ill and both Erica and I needed to be at work. I don't know what else we would have done if they weren't here to save the day! Come back and see us anytime, or maybe our family would love to go back to sunny California.

This makes it all worth it

Twins can be a handful sometimes, but THIS makes it all worth it!

We started giving the girls baths together (why we never did this earlier, I have no idea) and boy oh boy do they find it HILARIOUS. (And so do we!!)

Genetics is funny sometimes

Gary's mom loves to tell us how when Gary was a baby, he used to do what they called "piggy snoots" - scrunching up his nose and snorting. Now, this is something she told us about, and (not having the fond memories that she has) not something we ever demonstrated around the girls.

Imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago, Madeline started doing it, completely umprompted. (Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth started doing it too, but that could have been her noticing Madeline doing it and getting a lot of attention for it, so I wasn't quite as amazed!

Here's Gary doing it!



I mean, I know hair color, and eye color and all of that is inherited, but what amounts to a REALLY specific facial expression? Genetics sure is funny!


And not to be left out, so far as I know this one doesn't come from anywhere, but Elizabeth has noticed that she can make funny noises with her hands.



Stay tuned later this week for a really adorable video of the girls in the bath together. Apparently bath time is HILARIOUS to them (but only when they're both in the bath together.)

Elizabeth is Catching Up!

We finally went to the doctor today for our 9 month appointment, and our little Lizzy is catching up to Madeline! Elizabeth now weighs 16 pounds, 14 ounces, and Madeline still just a few ounces ahead at 17 pounds, 4 ounces. Big girls (though actually pretty small for their age, but they were early, so that's ok!)

Last week we had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Carlson! Our daycare provider was on vacation, so Grandma was generous enough to come spend the week with the girls! (And Grandpa joined in the fun halfway through.)

The highlight of the trip was the girls first visit to Wrigley Field to see the Mets (our team, of course) play the Cubs! Thanks so much to the Flannerys for the great seats!

As is usual for our trips to Wrigley to see the Mets, the Cubs won. It was a cloudy afternoon (which had been preceded by three days of rain), but that actually ended up in our favor - for a late August afternoon, it was only in the low 70s, so very pleasant!

When going to the games, it always helps to know the folks operating the signs, so you can have your name in lights! (Gary and I were up there too, but we missed getting a picture of it... oops!)





Also when going to the games, it helps to bring small cute babies to get yourself on TV!



That there at the end is one VERY tired Madeline. Elizabeth took a short nap in my arms during the first few innings, but Madeline wouldn't sleep at all. Poor thing was exhausted by the end of the game.

9 Months In, 9 Months Out

Well, technically, it was more like 8 or so months in, but who's counting?

Can you believe we've gone from this:

to this?



The girls are zooming along now. Both are excellent crawlers, and they are now both pulling up on anything and everything! Elizabeth can cruise around on the furniture, while Madeline as usual watches her sister figure it all out before she does it herself! We have 13 teeth total (7 for Lizzy, and 6 for Maddie). They're getting better at feeding themselves little bits of whatever we give them (vegetables, or really whatever we're eating) though they still like baby food as well. We next see the doctor (for a no-shots visit, I think!) in a few weeks, so we can get all the official stats then! Until then, I leave you with a few pictures!

Friends for Life

We celebrated my birthday this year in style. The whole family traveled to California for a visit with our good friends the Olesens. The trip started on an excellent note. The four hour flight that we were slightly dreading went off without a hitch. It's a wonderful feeling when everyone around you compliments on how well they both behaved. The young woman seated next to me turned out to be an identical twin herself. This was the first of 3 identical twins that we would encounter throughout our vacation in a very strange series of coincidences. From the moment we arrived and saw the smiling faces of Oscar (Jake and Lora's 4 year old boy) and Olivia (2 year old girl) we knew it was going to be a trip to remember.

Among the first of our many destinations was the San Francisco Pier. It turned out to be a beautiful day in the city and we enjoyed a stroll along the docks and took in the sights. Another day we all decided to drive out to San Anselmo. Home to Bubba's Diner that was featured on the Food Network program - Diners, Drive-Ins and LIES. No it's actually "Dives", but the softshell crab sandwiches were a big disappointment. We managed to squeeze in a stop to visit with Auntie and Uncle Dom on the way there. It was wonderful to see them and I'm glad we found the time.



Jake's parents were kind enough (and brave enough) to invite us all over to their gorgeous home in Walnut Grove. It was a splendid day of swimming, playing and delicious home cooking, Yum! Madeline and Elizabeth had a chance to show off their adorable new bathing suits and enjoyed soaking in the hot tub.



There was plenty of time spent at home relaxing and playing with the kids, too. Our girls absolutely adored Oscar and Olivia. Maddie and Liz's faces would light up and they would laugh at them all the time. As Livy would say with a giggle, "He's laughing at me!" (Still working on the pronouns, hehe) and Oscar would find any excuse to give them hugs and kisses every chance he got. Sometimes he got way more than he bargained for if one of the girls was especially drooly at the moment. Lots of parks and walking paths in the area made for a great excuse to go outside and have some fun.



Once the little monsters were all in bed, we would play board games and enjoy good conversation into the late hours of the night. What? Did you think I was going to say "wee hours of the morning"? You're kidding right? Sleep deprivation was something we were prepared for heading into this vacation. Plans were made without too much emphasis on baby naps and bedtime schedules. If we were strict about sleeping then we'd hardly have time to do anything. It made for some crankiness and rough nights, but overall it was worth it and the girls were wonderful. They usually are! Can't wait to start planning the next time we can all get together again.

As Requested, More Video!

This time of their new favorite toy - the doorway jumpers!

Also, they turned 8 months old last week! They're still moving all over, Elizabeth is trying to learn to stand up by herself (she can get the legs straight (with her arms and head on the ground), or the arms up (with legs bent under her), just can't manage it all at once yet.) Elizabeth has 3 teeth now (the original two on the bottom, and one on top. Madeline is still working on her top teeth. They're eating solids, and starting to like them a bit more. They LOVE orange veggies the most - especially squash and sweet potatoes. They also LOVE the Gerber puffs, so we're using those to start teaching them to feed themselves. Madeline sometimes has some trouble getting them in her mouth, Elizabeth likes to grab 4 or 5 at once and shove them ALL in!


Liz is saying here "Daddy you are HILARIOUS!"

This is When It Gets Harder...

I think I liked it when they stayed where I put them!

Those days are over!

They've actually been moving around for the last few weeks, but keep getting better at it. I think this was the first time I saw Madeline "really" crawling (as in on her hands and knees the whole time, instead of dragging herself by her arms like Elizabeth does) This time they were going in the same direction (lured in by Daddy's keys!), but usually they're headed in opposite directions, towards whatever looks the most dangerous!

I can't believe how big they're getting!

7 Months!

The girls are now 7 months old! Well, really, they're nearly 8 months, but I'm still in denial about that!

Both girls are now crawling, or nearly so - Elizabeth got up onto her hands and knees first, but Madeline moved ahead in 'crawling' - they're not really crawling on all fours yet, more pulling themselves with their arms (army crawling) and lunging forward, but they're definitely moving around even more than they were when it was just rolling! They now seem to move towards the most dangerous objects in the room - Madeline especially likes power cords. Looks like it's time for us to start babyproofing!!

The girls are also sitting champions - after worrying me because they couldn't do it at their 6 month pediatrician appointment, we realized it was just because we hadn't practiced. Oops! Bad parents! Within a week of that appointment both girls could easily sit independently. Miss Lizzy can even go from her tummy to sitting up all by herself! Maddie hasn't figured that one out yet.



The girls are babbling up a storm, Elizabeth says maaamaaamaaamaaa... but only when she's upset, and Madeline has been saying dadadada. They both also are good at the gagaga, bababa as well. In one of the cutest developments yet, the girls have finally started to notice each other, and every once in a while will smile and giggle at each other (they still don't laugh very much, much to my dismay, but Grandma Carlson tells me I never laughed much either as a baby.)

Grandma and Grandpa Carlson were here to visit for the Fourth of July, and we had a relaxing weekend with them and the girls... even if nobody really napped very well, they were pretty cheerful anyway!


Madeline liked chewing on any glasses she could get her hands on - Grandma and Grandpa BOTH have them!


Elizabeth on the left, Madeline on the Right


Elizabeth trying to get at the very expensive toy Daddy has!


Someday we'll have a nice picture of the four of us, where everybody is looking at the camera and smiling!

From the Desk of Madeline and Elizabeth

Madeline writes:

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Elizabeth writes:

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-- 7uhgv v n b

Comments from the Editor:

It may not make any sense to you, but believe me these are bound to be instant classics in the blogosphere. Just look at the use of punctuation, spacing, grammar... and numbers! haha! The girls hope you enjoy their literary art. I'm sure we'll be publishing excerpts from their collection of works in the future.

A New Equation

The number of blog posts is proportionate to the amount of sleep you get over a period of time. You do the math:

A few short weeks ago (or really what seems like ages), our girls came down with a nasty cold which kept them up at night. After the colds subsided, Elizabeth had decided that she no longer felt like sleeping through the night. With few exceptions, she has been waking up multiple times each night and demanding to be fed. This comes as a bit of a system shock to parents who were, until recently, blessed with all-night sleeping infants. We've run the gauntlet of experiments... putting them in separate cribs, putting them in the same crib, giving her a stuffed animal to sleep with, going to bed early, going to bed later, getting an extra bottle before bed, eating solid foods, whacking her over the head.. ok maybe not that last one. At this point we are down to waking up once at around 3:30 am or so which is a vast improvement, so we're chalking it up to a growth spurt or maybe teething or maybe just a phase, who knows.

Other than the lack of sleep, everyone has been getting along just fine. The girls had their 6 month pediatrician appointment at the end of May. Madeline weighed in at 14 lbs. 11 oz. and was 24 inches tall. While Elizabeth weighed 13 lbs. 12 oz. and stretched out to 23¾ inches tall. This might have been motivation for Lizzy to eat more and bulk up to catch her sister, which she very well might have done since then.

Solid foods were an amusing novelty for a while, but have not really been a big hit with either of them. We've backed off them a bit and will try again in a couple weeks. I think the biggest hits might have been pears or bananas and oddly enough green beans seemed to give them the most problems afterward (maybe gas).

The milestones keep on rolling in. Both Maddie and Liz are able to sit up fairly well on their own now. We've been practicing with them a lot more often. Liz has been giving lessons on rolling over to Madeline and it looks like she has finally gotten the hang of it. Now both our little monsters are rolling around, front to back, back to front. Elizabeth was scarily close to crawling the other day. Just a little more coordination between the hands and feet and she'll be on the move. I think the whole mobility thing is the next biggest step for us as parents. Having the girls not stay in the same place where you put them down is a concept I cannot wrap my head around yet. We also got these little jumpers that hang in the door frame that they can play in to help build motor skills.

Weekends are obviously the time when we get to spend the most amount of time with our girls. During the week it seems like there is barely enough time to get everything done that we need to do before they are ready to go to bed. I envy the stay-at-home parents out there because time spent with your children is so precious and you can never get this time back. So, we try to make up for it on the weekends. There is story-time (we are on the 3rd book is the Harry Potter series, and Dr. Seuss is a household favorite), sing-along-song time (with classic tunes like "Little Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly", "Patty Cake", "Old McDonald" and more), even movie-time is fun to sit and watch with them (Baby Einstein, Baby Signing Time, and even Disney movies like The Little Mermaid). We also try to get out of the house and do things with them when we can. Just last weekend we took the family out to a historic little village northeast of us called Long Grove. There are little shops to explore and just a nice, relaxing day out.

Check out photos on our Flickr album to see a bunch of pictures from over the past month and we'll see you back here again soon. Hopefully sooner rather than later because that would equate to more sleep!

Traveling Babies!

Traveling with babies is easy...
See the gate agents for tags...

...check your babies at the gate, and they'll be waiting for you when you arrive at your destination!

Actually, the girls were very good on the plane - on the way to NY, they smiled as we took off, fell asleep 5 minutes later, and woke up as we arrived in Islip! On the way back to Chicago, Maddie fussed a bit on the way up, but was asleep by about 10 minutes into the flight (and slept until we arrived back home in Chicago!

We purchased one seat for the girls - figuring that if the flight was full, we'd at least all be able to sit in the same row (you can only have one 'lap baby' per row because of the number of oxygen masks). Turned out, neither of our flights were full, so we ended up being able to carry on both carseats instead of just one, but that meant we had to sit in separate rows. On our flight to NY, the last two seats open on the plane were the two aisle seats next to Gary and me - two women got on the plane at the last minute, and the first, upon arriving at my row, rolled her eyes, muttering "Oh, a baby!"... then walked two steps to see that the next row was no better! Fortunately, the girls were good, and they complimented us as we waited to get off!

Saturday we got to introduce the girls to many of the Carlson/Gempp Grandmas, aunts, uncles and cousins, and Grammie White (plus a surprise visit from John, which we weren't expecting!)


Great Grandma Carlson


Great Grandma Gempp


Uncle Greg


Grammie and JB (as he shall henceforth be known)


Great Aunt Lois


Great Aunt Joanne


Great Aunt Maureen and Great Uncle Tommy


Great Uncle Eric, Cousin (once removed, I think) Jeffrey, and Grandpa

Sunday morning, we got to go to Grammie's house!


Grammie & the girls

And then to "Aunt" Jill and "Uncle" Brandon's, where the girls got to meet all of their honorary aunts and uncles and friends... except we were seriously lax in taking pictures, and this is one of the only ones I got!


Maddie, Lily and "Aunt" Jill

Monday we visited Pop Pop and Mema before we headed off to the airport.


Pop Pop & Mema

As is usual when we get back to NY it was a busy, whirlwind trip, but it was SO great seeing everyone.

There are a whole bunch more pictures in the Flickr album, so go check them out!!