Double Helping: June 2009

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

My Babies

Ella has been getting up on her hands and knees for a few days now. She gets up, but doesn't stay there. I've tried and tried to get a shot of it, but you know how that goes! :P She is also really good at sitting and bending over to pick something up, and bringing herself back up to a firm sitting position -- go Ella!

Blueberries & Green Beans

The newest additions to my baby food making are blueberries and green beans. We have more green beans than we know what to do with. My mom has MANY bags just filled with them in the freezer and just one day's picking of like half a row was dedicated to making food for our little monkeys! The garden is definitely plentiful. I had some really nice blueberries so I cooked those up tonight (so they're not tart) and pureed them up as a special treat for the babies... they're SO good for them! Let's just hope they like them. I'm a little concerned about blueberries staining so it might be a "naked" meal, where I'll strip them down to their bib and diapers to lessen the chance of clothing stains! Eek. Let me know if you have any other suggestions! =)

I was able to use an antiqued heirloom sieve to filter the seeds out of the blueberries. My mother-in-law let me use the one that she has that her mom, and grandmother had used. How cool is that to use one that many generations have used! =)

Lots and lots of yummy blueberries!

SOME of the green beans that were put in the freezer!

Monday, June 29, 2009

Pretty

My sweet little Bean. She is so cuddly and fun to be around. All her facial expressions make me laugh, but melt my heart at the same time. I am so lucky to have her as my daughter. I love you, Ella-girl!

Going...

... going...

...gone!

Mirror Mirror on the Wall...

Evan has been having a great time watching himself in mirrors lately. I'll hear him giggling and look over to find himself cracking himself up. He really likes that handsome boy that ALWAYS smiles back at him! =) Too cute!

The mirror is on the exersaucer in the "book" part, next to the sun...

Getting a closer look...

Visiting...

... with Papa and Grandma Norie. We had a lot of fun visiting with our great-grandparents Sunday evening. We're so happy that Grandma Norie is home now and can have visitors (even though you can't hold us yet! :( ). Papa is a lot of fun... he lets us jump on his lap and he makes really funny duck noises. We hope to see you again this coming Sunday! =)

Taking Toys & Crying

Here's The Bean and Buddy playing on the floor. I was around the corner in the office, when I heard them playing, laughing and talking to each other. I decided that I would grab the video camera (the HD one because Greg said I'm using the "poor quality" one too often!). I had to zoom in really far because I didn't want to disrupt them. It was so cute to watch them, but we are still stuck with not knowing how to get the other camera set up to post videos to the blog-- Ugh! So I grabbed the "lesser" of the two cameras and got a couple of minutes of it. This footage isn't nearly as cute as the other one, but this will have to do for now.

Ella is CONSTANTLY trying to get Evan's attention and, of course, still taking toys away! =) I was pretty far back because as soon as Evan sees me, he decides that he would like to cry! *sigh*

Hopefully you can hear them okay in the beginning, but it's really funny to see Ella whip the toy away and poor Evan just sits there and watches forever! :( You then get to see a mild version of one of Evan's meltdowns when Mommy comes in or leaves the room! =)

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Oh, Tush-Tush!

I brought Ella up to bed for her nap after bringing Buddy up and found him asleep like this! SO cute! =)

New Friend

Tuesday evening we had dinner with our friends, Greg and Trisha. We met them in our childbirth class and realized that we had a lot in common... we were Christians, we were due within a week of each other, and the obvious, our husbands have the same name! We ended up seeing them in the hospital because we gave birth to our babies the day after they had their sweet little baby, Gwyneth. She was a cute, chubby little one pushing 9 lbs., I believe! =)

Trisha and I have been emailing each other for "advice" ever since then and decided that it was time to get together and visit so that our babies could finally meet outside of our tummies! We had a great time visiting and had delicious food! The babies had a great time as well and enjoyed meeting their new friend! Thanks Greg, Trisha, and Gwyn! We hope to see you guys again soon! =)

They loved the Sesame Street toy!

And Evan loved their jumperoo that allowed him to turn around in circles!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Poop

I realize the title is pretty disgusting, but really, it's the one and only word to describe this...

And then Evan's pj's... I guess sitting in the jumperoo just shoots it right on up! =)

What's wrong with my kids?

Apparently...

... it's time to "baby proof" the house! This afternoon I left the babies on their blanket while I went in to throw some clothes into the dryer (couple of minutes max!). I heard a little cough and became instantly worried for some reason (motherly intuition?). I ran into the family room and noticed that I didn't have ANY babies on the blanket, or even close to the blanket! Hmmm. Ella was at the wall picking at the swing legs and Evan was attacking my Pottery Barn Kids magazine. Yikes! I freaked out and grabbed him to check if any paper was in his mouth. Seriously. When did they decide it was time to venture off the blanket? My goodness, it scared me half to death. So it's obvious that they know how to get around without having to crawl.

More Sitting

We're still practicing our sitting skills. This morning I sat the babies up one-by-one so I could monitor them... it's not easy doing both at the same time. They are both getting really good at it, even while moving and trying to grab something. When they try to grab a toy and almost topple over, they put their arms out and balance themselves. They'll also grab the sides of the blankets and use their stomach muscles in order to get back up. Ella got in a little more practice today, but Evan was doing pretty well too! It was so fun to watch! Go Ella & Evan!

Trying to attack her brother...

Using her arms to brace herself from the fall...

Flung herself too far back... and then decided to grab a foot while she was down! =)

They LOVE the V-tech ball... instant hit!

Amazingly, she didn't fall while trying to reach for it!

Playing Together

This morning I decided that I should work on giving the babies some time to play independently (without me in the room). They are getting SO bad about me leaving the room or even turning my back to them... complete meltdown!!! Ugh. Anyway, my friend Trisha reminded me of this activity to do throughout the day (thanks, Trisha! You always have such great suggestions! =) )

I put the two exersaucers next to each other and then I went around the corner (while they're not looking) and into the office. I decide that I'll check my email, et cetera. I was quite surprised at how well things were going! After a bit I started to hear some "talking" and some back and forth laughing from each other. It was the cutest thing! I could hardly stand not to go out there, but knew that there would probably be instant crying. I waited a while and then I heard the fake, "bad coughs" (as we like to call them). Ella would do a little "bad cough" and then two seconds later you'd hear a "bad cough" from Evan. It was hilarious. I finally decided that I would go out and see what was happening and wanted to snap a few shots of them together. My prediction was right, and there was that instant crying I feared would come. Oh, Buddy. Afterwards, I did get a few cute pictures of them playing and occasionally interacting with one another! =)

Ella deciding that she wants what Evan has (of course!)

Playing and playing, chewing and chewing... it's so cute to watch them whiz around in circles in their seats check for a toy they may have missed!

Still in our pj's...

Evan and those eyebrows! =)

Spinning circles on the ground and then realizes I'm watching...

... and buries his head in the blanket out of excitement!

Reminiscing...

So lately, I've had the itch to travel... yah, not gonna happen! I decided to look through pictures of our past travels and read through some of my journals along the way... seriously makes me want to pack up the kids and... take them to grandma's!!! haha =) And you'll be able to tell who took most of the pictures, based on how little Greg shows up! =)

Marseille, France