Beautiful Girls

Miss Hillary

At Rex & Reed's 1st b-day party, getting their faces painted.

Here they look so much alike, you can barely tell the difference.
This is my favorite shot of Mallory. Is this the best, or what?!?
The girls with Nana.
Such a beautiful pic of Natalie.
Another great one of Mallory.

Look at Natalie's eyes! Striking green.
Sweet Mallory peeking up at me.
Here's a couple funny photos taken with a sweater wrapped around their heads. They really got into it as you can see! They always have a great sense of humor!
Below is Natalie with a big smile!


Since Jeannie has been such a slacker about posting, I wanted to share some really cute pics of the girls that I have taken. They are so funny, so cute and I always look forward to seeing them. They really make me laugh! --Auntie Katie

Sick

As most of you already know, the girls have been sick with a stomach bug. I think it is finally on the way out and I'm am glad because Jay just left town on business and he was my personal clothes washer while they were sick. Mallory started Thursday night and soon after it was Hillary, Jay, Natalie, Auntie Amy, Nana Joyce, Uncle Paul and Papa Rich. It spread like wildfire and I am so thankful that we didn't see more people and infect all of them. You'd think I'd be sick but so far, so good. Not much else is going on around here. Just waiting for the warm weather and Moosehead in July!

p.s. Not sure if I mentioned the fact that the girls were separated at school because they were setting eachother off. Well this past week the teachers decided to give them a break and reunite them and they ate their entire lunch, laid on their nap mats and were "talking up a storm," according to their teacher. Let's hope all goes well in the weeks to come. As we were leaving school the other day, Hillary's teacher said here goodbyes and Hillary turned around and said, "Bye! I'll call you!" It was too funny. That is my exact goodbye to all of my sisters and it amazes me what they pick up.

Just a few sick...almost better pictures. Thank you Nana Marie for babysitting last night!

What a mess!

The streets are completely flooded. What was supposed to be a day spent snowed in turned out a lot different. It's raining here and now the roads are flooded with slush. Oh well. The kids are home with me today. The daycare was open and they were scheduled to go but I hate driving in the snow. So it's been a lazy day. Not much else is new around here. I start work tomorrow and I'm very excited. For those who don't know, I got a job at a nearby spa. It is a beautiful place and I feel so lucky to find something that fit our schedule so well. The twins seem to be accepting the fact that they have to go to school. Hopefully as the weather gets warmer and they're playing outside at school, they'll be completely preoccupied.

Some pictures taken throughout the weeks...

School days...

I tried to break the news gently. It didn't go over well.

Big Hugs

School in the morning. Wish us luck!

School in the Morning Ha, Ha, Ha...

I think my sisters will appreciate the title of this blog. Despite the fact that people say they'll never be like their parents, I found myself singing that song the night before they began school. Wednesday was the girls' first day of school. I was a nervous wreck because they wouldn't eat breakfast and I was afraid they'd be hungry until lunch. The drop off seemed to go well. By the looks on their faces, they were in complete shock. And if I didn't feel bad enough, they started saying, "I want to go home." Next I had to drop Mallory off in her classroom. She reacted just how I thought she would - fine! She started playing with toys and never looked back to me. I just knew she'd be the easiest. After I left I ran a few errands and went home to clean. I thought about them all day and decided to pick them up 30 minutes early. I stopped in Mallory's room first and found all three sitting together. The teachers told me that throughout the day the twins wanted to visit with Mallory. Besides looking a little teary eyed, the report they write out each day said that they did very well considering it was their first day. The hardest part was nap time because they don't usually nap at home. I asked them if they wanted to come back tomorrow and they said yes so I figured the second day would be a piece of cake. I wasn't aware that the second day is the hardest of all because they realize they are staying. Drop off wasn't as easy but I figured they'd settle down after a few minutes. I called about an hour later and they were taking turns crying. The problem was one was setting the other off. And to my surprise, Hillary was always the first to cry. I gave it some time and called back after nap time. They wouldn't eat any lunch or snack, refused to participate in an art project and refused to even sit on the nap mat. Needless to say, I got off the phone and went to the nearest store for chips, cookies and coloring books. I picked them up two hours early and they were walking around the classroom with their jackets on. And what do you think Mallory was doing? Having a great time! So their next day isn't until next Wednesday and I've spent the last two days second guessing myself. I knew this would be hard on them but I didn't realize it was going to be so hard on me. They say it could take weeks before they begin to feel comfortable. I took a few pictures their first morning.

We're off to physical therapy this morning and then BONKERS! The girls are so excited to see all of their cousins. They opened their eyes this morning and said, "Bonkers?" They don't forget a thing!

Bonkers!

Last night Auntie Kelli and I took our girls to Bonkers. They had so much fun in the toddler maze, on the slide and eating pizza (not the fish...who is doing great Auntie Katie!) Now that Mallory is crawling, she was even getting in on the fun.

In other news, the girls start school next Wednesday. They are so excited! Their physical therapist thought it would be a good idea to introduce their snow pants, boots, hats and mittens because they'll be putting them on each day in school. Hillary has been telling me she "needs to practice." I'll have to take pictures. It is too cute.

Mallory had her nine month appointment yesterday. When I told the twins we were going to see the doctor, they both yelled, "Dr. Phil!" The nurse thought that was so funny. Mallory is 18.4 lbs and 26.5". The doctor said her weight is in the 46th percentile and her height is in the 75th. Growing baby! She is just a few ounces behind Natalie now. The twins weighed in at 19 and 24 lbs.

I will be blogging pictures of their first day of school, so check back!

Hello! It's been a while since our last blog. I was having issues logging into the website but I think everything is resolved now. So another Christmas has come and gone. We had an amazing Christmas this year. The kids were so much fun! Christmas eve was spent at Nana and Papa Rich's house and then we were off to see Nana Marie and Papa Marty. Uncle Andrew, Auntie Christy and Auntie Maureen were all in town. It was so nice to see each of them. Andrew and Christy came to our house late Christmas eve to help "santa" set up. The girls were so wiped out from our busy night that they slept until 9:30 the next morning. We actually had to wake them up because we were so excited. We spent the morning opening every gift that they unwrapped. Christmas day we had breakfast at Nana Marie's and then we headed down to Grammy Maxwell's house. As if the girls hadn't been spoiled enough, they got even more at Grammy's. We are still trying to settle in with all the new toys. It's hard to believe we thought we had no room before the holidays. New Years eve was pretty uneventful. Jay had to work at the Mandrake so we spent the night at Nana and Papa Rich's house. I don't think one person made it to 11:00 pm. Times have changed since having children.

Happy New Year!

The girls love their new snow boots! They love them so much that they've been wearing them around the house in their pajamas...with their winter coats. This is going to be a great winter. The twins have really grasped the whole idea of snow and Santa well. We've been singing Christmas carols lately too. Yesterday, while driving in the car, Bruce Springsteen's rendition of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" came on the radio and Natalie yelled, "Mommy's song!" I got a kick out of it. Then she held her nose and said, "Santa stinks!" I won't tell him that. We attempted Santa pictures last weekend and needless to say, we came home empty handed. Maybe next year.

A few nights ago we spent time with Auntie Kelli and cousins Cassidy, Reilly and Caragh. Kelli and I took the kids to Putnam Pantry. The twins had never been...except for a few times while they were still in my belly. All of the kids were well behaved and surprisingly very neat. The twins look up to their cousin Reilly and she loves every minute of it.

We're checking out a daycare this afternoon! I would love to work two days a week and I think the twins could really benefit from it. I'll keep everyone updated.

Love this picture. Natalie and Mallory were playing so well together at their bench piano and guess who plops down right between them? What the picture doesn't show is that seconds later Natalie was on the floor. Followed by plenty of screaming and then I had to intervene.

Gotta love the bald spot!

So much for updating often! The truth is we were stuck inside because Mallory wasn't feeling well. A few nights ago she had a temperature of 103. We brought her to the pediatrician and she was all clear from ear infections and her chest sounded fine. She seems to be back to her old self now. I'm just glad that it passed quickly and the twins didn't catch anything.

Yesterday we ventured out to Bonkers. Yes, Bonkers. Jay thought I was crazy to go alone but it was a great idea! Only until we were packing up to leave, did another group show up. How often are you the only people in Bonkers? I was so happy we were because the twins were able to run right in and play without having to warm up to the people around them. Sometimes they are really shy. Mallory was happy just looking around at the lights. I didn't even think to pack the camera so I was surprised when I came across it in the diaper bag...

The other day Hillary took something right out of my hands and said, "I own it!" I don't know where she picked this new phrase up but Natalie has certainly caught on. There is nothing funnier than seeing twins clinging to one toy and shouting back and forth, "I own it!" Auntie Katie thinks the twins have a very civilized way of saying "mine."

In other news, we've added a new member to our family. NO, not another baby! It's Pizza. A beta fish that the twins named Pizza. They were a little nervous at first but I caught Natalie gazing at the tank saying, "I love you, Pizza." So I think it's a keeper.