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.