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| December 2010 |
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to all (although I am posting this just after the Epiphany)and Happy New Year. Despite the two viruses that struck our family, we were all still in pretty good spirits! We saw tons of family and shared the joy of the true meaning of Christmas (aka baby Jesus), Rejoice!
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
1 Year Old
I can't believe my babies are already a year old. We had an nice small birthday party with the two sets of godparents and Ricketts grandparents. Here are just a few pictures. More pics and videos to come.
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| 1 Year |
Saturday, November 06, 2010
11 Months
The girls are sure getting more active and verbal! Maggie is now cruising and will practic standing on her own. Her record is 9 seconds. Mary finally figured out she was behind and is now trying to pull her self up on things, but hasn't stood up on her own. Mary is however, saying a lot more...mama, baba, lala, vava, dada...and what sounds like "hi daddy." Maggie says some things, but mostly lots of high pitched sounds and complete babble. They just seem to love each other more and more each day. You can see what I mean with the video below. Of course, this doesn't mean that have stopped biting each other!
We had a nice trip down South. Besides the girls getting over a very snotty cold, everything went well. Thanks Nana and Papa!!!
11.8.10 - Mary pulled herself up for the first time. Yay Mary!!!
11.27.10 - Maggie started saying ba ba and ma ma consecutively instead of random "ma" and "ba" within her babble. She is now doing it when she falls asleep...quite the sleep talker.
Mary likes to eat odd things lately. While changing her I found a 3 inch peice of carpet in her "diaper" that she somehow ate even though we vigilantly watch them. She was also eating a woody leaf on our walk the same day that must have fallen on her. And if that wasn't enough she is really working at removing most of the paint from the high end of her crib when she won't go down for a nap....lovely.
We had a nice trip down South. Besides the girls getting over a very snotty cold, everything went well. Thanks Nana and Papa!!!
11.8.10 - Mary pulled herself up for the first time. Yay Mary!!!
11.27.10 - Maggie started saying ba ba and ma ma consecutively instead of random "ma" and "ba" within her babble. She is now doing it when she falls asleep...quite the sleep talker.
Mary likes to eat odd things lately. While changing her I found a 3 inch peice of carpet in her "diaper" that she somehow ate even though we vigilantly watch them. She was also eating a woody leaf on our walk the same day that must have fallen on her. And if that wasn't enough she is really working at removing most of the paint from the high end of her crib when she won't go down for a nap....lovely.
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| 11 Months |
Thursday, October 14, 2010
10 Months
I can't believe they are 10 Months already!!! Daddy is still recovering from his broken collarbone, so it's been quite busy around here...for me! Larry is doing what he can, but we don't want him to grow another joint in the middle of his collarbone!!
I had fun with the below photoshoot, well sort of...they sure do move around a lot more now.
On 10/3 Mary started saying Mama. Mary is crawling, but sometimes decides not to go for it when it looks like it's too far to crawl. She is definitely more laid back. Maggie is constatnly trying to stand up in the crib and the play yard. She has been successful once!! She has said Mama a couple times, but not as much as Mary. They are loving their signing videos and Mary especially is mimicing the signs. This should help when they get frustrated trying to tell me what they want.
I had fun with the below photoshoot, well sort of...they sure do move around a lot more now.
On 10/3 Mary started saying Mama. Mary is crawling, but sometimes decides not to go for it when it looks like it's too far to crawl. She is definitely more laid back. Maggie is constatnly trying to stand up in the crib and the play yard. She has been successful once!! She has said Mama a couple times, but not as much as Mary. They are loving their signing videos and Mary especially is mimicing the signs. This should help when they get frustrated trying to tell me what they want.
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| M&M 10 Months |
9.5 Months
Well, we made it home but not without the help of many people at the Lahaina airport and Larry's dad. Pappy Parente also helped us for over a week!!! When my back finally felt more stable, I took the girls to a Twins by the Bay park event where we got to see the other M&M twins - Michael and Mellie.
Maggie started crawling on 9/26! The next day, she was trying to pull herself up in the crib!! Slow down Magster! Mary is doing a lot of combat crawling, but not offically crawling yet.
Click on the images below to see the videos:
Maggie Crawling
Mary Applauding
Maggie started crawling on 9/26! The next day, she was trying to pull herself up in the crib!! Slow down Magster! Mary is doing a lot of combat crawling, but not offically crawling yet.
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| M&M 9.5 Months |
Click on the images below to see the videos:
Maggie Crawling
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| From M&M 9.5 Months |
Mary Applauding
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| From M&M 9.5 Months |
Saturday, September 11, 2010
9 Months and Maui
Hi all. We arrived in Maui Thursday after a quite enjoyable 4.5 hour flight. We got an extra seat, so we all had seats!!! Yeah! Girls did great and are back on feeding, sleeping schedule already. Here are some pics. Check back over the next two weeks to see new ones.
The girls have accomplished a few developmental milestones while in Maui.
On 9/16, the day before I threw out my lower back, I had the girls hold their own bottles and from then on they have been holding them on their own. They could do this at 4 months, but got lazy and knew we would hold it for them. For some reason they were ready on this trip...Thank God!! Then on the same day while trying to videotaping Mary's tummy tapping, I noticed when reviewing the footage that Maggie was clapping the whole time...she's been clapping a lot since then. This morning, 9/19, Mary started clapping too!!!
Some not-so-exciting events: 9/17 - I threw my back out after a week of taking care of the girls on the floor. My back said "enough!!!" and I called in an emergency nanny since Larry was out playing golf. We liked Allison and booked her for a few hours here and there. 9/20 - 10 minutes into our first daytime date, Larry broke his collarbone coming out of the water at J.T. Fleming beach. Granted, there were Dangerous Shorebreak warning signs, but it honestly didn't look that bad. We are very grateful that it wasn't more serious!!!!!!!!!!!! The trek home was challenging and we asked for help wherever we could get it. Larry's father came all the way out from North Carolina to help us get the girls from the airport to home and take care of us for over a week!!! Thanks Pappy!!
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| Maui 2010 |
The girls have accomplished a few developmental milestones while in Maui.
On 9/16, the day before I threw out my lower back, I had the girls hold their own bottles and from then on they have been holding them on their own. They could do this at 4 months, but got lazy and knew we would hold it for them. For some reason they were ready on this trip...Thank God!! Then on the same day while trying to videotaping Mary's tummy tapping, I noticed when reviewing the footage that Maggie was clapping the whole time...she's been clapping a lot since then. This morning, 9/19, Mary started clapping too!!!
Some not-so-exciting events: 9/17 - I threw my back out after a week of taking care of the girls on the floor. My back said "enough!!!" and I called in an emergency nanny since Larry was out playing golf. We liked Allison and booked her for a few hours here and there. 9/20 - 10 minutes into our first daytime date, Larry broke his collarbone coming out of the water at J.T. Fleming beach. Granted, there were Dangerous Shorebreak warning signs, but it honestly didn't look that bad. We are very grateful that it wasn't more serious!!!!!!!!!!!! The trek home was challenging and we asked for help wherever we could get it. Larry's father came all the way out from North Carolina to help us get the girls from the airport to home and take care of us for over a week!!! Thanks Pappy!!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
8.5 Months
Both Maggie and Mary's second upper tooth came in today (4 days after the other one), so it won't look too uneven when they come in. here are some pictures from some recent activites.
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| M&M 8.5 Months |
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
8 Months and Adoption Finalized
The twins' 8th month has been quite eventful.
* Adoption: They were officially adopted on August 6, 2010 in Oakland, California. The adoption hearing was nice and imtimate. My mom came up last minute to attend and celebrate with us. The judge had a great sense of humor and we have him saying on tape that the girls have to clean their rooms as part of the adoption. We may be playing that a few times in the future!!! Apparently it's taking a year for people to get their new birth certificates after adoption... and that was before furlow days....yikes!
* Teething: They are really trying to get their top teeth in as well as some additional ones on the bottom. They like to chew on anything from clothing to the actual crib...Maggie took a nice big chunk out of hers...thank God for non-toxic paint. The breathable bumpers don't cover every slat, unfortunately.
* Crawling: Although Maggie started this first, they are both doing a backward scoot that leaves them quite frustrated. They try and grab a toy, but find that it is soon WAY out of their reach. When they hit a dead end they start to rock front to back, so crawling is not too far off. I am NOT in a hurry for this milestone!!!
* Sleeping: They are sleeping 11-12 hours every night and have a two to three 1.5-2 hour naps a day. This past week the naps seems to be getting shorter and less frequent :o( They sleep in separate rooms, but we hope to get them back together soon. This is mainly because I want to redecorate their room so that it's more girlie...we'll see!
* Eating: They are now eating solids three times a day. They love oatmeal (with hidden fruit since they won't eat fruit on it's own) cottage cheese and summer veggies for lunch and mixed grains, sweet potatoes/peas and meat dish for dinner. They both have very strong gag reflexes which can result in quite a dramatic display, so trying new foods is always eventful.
* Sweet and Adorable: Although they are exibiting a little feisty behavior when it comes to clenaing out their noses (during this last cold) and putting the highchair tray on, they are just the sweetest babies.
Here are some photo shoot pics from their Adoption and more 8 month pics:
* Adoption: They were officially adopted on August 6, 2010 in Oakland, California. The adoption hearing was nice and imtimate. My mom came up last minute to attend and celebrate with us. The judge had a great sense of humor and we have him saying on tape that the girls have to clean their rooms as part of the adoption. We may be playing that a few times in the future!!! Apparently it's taking a year for people to get their new birth certificates after adoption... and that was before furlow days....yikes!
* Teething: They are really trying to get their top teeth in as well as some additional ones on the bottom. They like to chew on anything from clothing to the actual crib...Maggie took a nice big chunk out of hers...thank God for non-toxic paint. The breathable bumpers don't cover every slat, unfortunately.
* Crawling: Although Maggie started this first, they are both doing a backward scoot that leaves them quite frustrated. They try and grab a toy, but find that it is soon WAY out of their reach. When they hit a dead end they start to rock front to back, so crawling is not too far off. I am NOT in a hurry for this milestone!!!
* Sleeping: They are sleeping 11-12 hours every night and have a two to three 1.5-2 hour naps a day. This past week the naps seems to be getting shorter and less frequent :o( They sleep in separate rooms, but we hope to get them back together soon. This is mainly because I want to redecorate their room so that it's more girlie...we'll see!
* Eating: They are now eating solids three times a day. They love oatmeal (with hidden fruit since they won't eat fruit on it's own) cottage cheese and summer veggies for lunch and mixed grains, sweet potatoes/peas and meat dish for dinner. They both have very strong gag reflexes which can result in quite a dramatic display, so trying new foods is always eventful.
* Sweet and Adorable: Although they are exibiting a little feisty behavior when it comes to clenaing out their noses (during this last cold) and putting the highchair tray on, they are just the sweetest babies.
Here are some photo shoot pics from their Adoption and more 8 month pics:
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| Adoption Photo Shoot |
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| M&M 8 months - adoption |
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
7 Months
Hello again. Well, it's been another fun month with the girlies. Here are some events/milestones:
* I take the girls to the gym across the street 3 times a week. They like the little day care and the girls who watch them. Mom like them too!!!
* They are sleeping about 11 hours at night consistently!! Yeah!!
* Had their High Risk Infant visit with specialists (offered for premature infants through Kaiser) They passed with flying colors and they absolutely loved them. "Are they always this good and happy?", said the Occupational Therapist while working with them. I hear this all the time, but nice to hear from a practitioner who sees babies all day.
* They are both rolling around like crazy - front to back, back to front
* They are also pretty much sitting up unaided, but have had a couple face plants and heads bumps if I wasn't right there to catch their fall
* They are apparently still teething (lots of drool and chewing on everything), but no new teeth since 5 months. Those two bottom teeth have become more prominent as you can see in the photos! They have both learned the hard way not to put their hand or foot in the other's mouth.
* They will be starting a third meal this week and trying meat and yogurt for the first time. Should be interesting.
* We filed all the adoption paperwork with the county and so did our agency! Waiting to hear when we attend our court hearing.
* Had our first outing to Costco, just the girls and me. Only turned into a nightmare because I only brought my Visa....argghhh
Here are some pictures.
* I take the girls to the gym across the street 3 times a week. They like the little day care and the girls who watch them. Mom like them too!!!
* They are sleeping about 11 hours at night consistently!! Yeah!!
* Had their High Risk Infant visit with specialists (offered for premature infants through Kaiser) They passed with flying colors and they absolutely loved them. "Are they always this good and happy?", said the Occupational Therapist while working with them. I hear this all the time, but nice to hear from a practitioner who sees babies all day.
* They are both rolling around like crazy - front to back, back to front
* They are also pretty much sitting up unaided, but have had a couple face plants and heads bumps if I wasn't right there to catch their fall
* They are apparently still teething (lots of drool and chewing on everything), but no new teeth since 5 months. Those two bottom teeth have become more prominent as you can see in the photos! They have both learned the hard way not to put their hand or foot in the other's mouth.
* They will be starting a third meal this week and trying meat and yogurt for the first time. Should be interesting.
* We filed all the adoption paperwork with the county and so did our agency! Waiting to hear when we attend our court hearing.
* Had our first outing to Costco, just the girls and me. Only turned into a nightmare because I only brought my Visa....argghhh
Here are some pictures.
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| M&M 7 Months |
Friday, June 25, 2010
6 Months
Hi everyone. It's been awhile since I have posted anything. My arms are a bit tired and you will see why in a minute!
We had a lot of milestones so far this month.
* Lots of rolling side to side with knees up. Mary is rolling front to back and back to front, almost. Her arm gets a little trapped when trying to get on her stomach.
* They are almost sitting, but they still prefer standing (with assistance).
* They love their Jumperoos (see pictures and videos). This is where Maggie excels. She's is a little ball of energy.
* They are also little water babies. They don't seem to care if the water is cold and love to splash.
* They love when we read to them. Their favorite book (or mine) is I Want to Read. It's an adorable story about boy/girl twins who learn to read. It was mine as a child and written in '65.
* They apparently like to travel and fly...we say that because we have had no issues on the plane or with sleeping in new places!!! Yeah, travel babies. Maui here we come in September!
Their 6 month Dr. visit went well. Mary was 19lbs 5oz, 95th %, Maggie 18lbs 3oz, 85th% - no wonder my arms are so tired!!! Their heads are in the 100th%. height is around 50th-60th%. Health is great!!!
Here are some pictures and videos since they turned 6 months on Jun 5th.
We had a lot of milestones so far this month.
* Lots of rolling side to side with knees up. Mary is rolling front to back and back to front, almost. Her arm gets a little trapped when trying to get on her stomach.
* They are almost sitting, but they still prefer standing (with assistance).
* They love their Jumperoos (see pictures and videos). This is where Maggie excels. She's is a little ball of energy.
* They are also little water babies. They don't seem to care if the water is cold and love to splash.
* They love when we read to them. Their favorite book (or mine) is I Want to Read. It's an adorable story about boy/girl twins who learn to read. It was mine as a child and written in '65.
* They apparently like to travel and fly...we say that because we have had no issues on the plane or with sleeping in new places!!! Yeah, travel babies. Maui here we come in September!
Their 6 month Dr. visit went well. Mary was 19lbs 5oz, 95th %, Maggie 18lbs 3oz, 85th% - no wonder my arms are so tired!!! Their heads are in the 100th%. height is around 50th-60th%. Health is great!!!
Here are some pictures and videos since they turned 6 months on Jun 5th.
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| M&M 6 months |
Saturday, June 05, 2010
5 Month Week 5
We survived the week even though Daddy was gone for most of it. Thankfully I had some help! the dishwasher broke the day after Larry left and of course, Sears has to roder a part so we are without one for 2 weeks....arggh....back to washing 14 bottles a day! Definitely bringing out all the paper goods.
The girls are doing great! I was brave and took them to get their next shot by myself. They did fabulous...lots of hugs and kisses!
Here are a few pics. I have been taking a break from the camera which had been nice.
The girls are doing great! I was brave and took them to get their next shot by myself. They did fabulous...lots of hugs and kisses!
Here are a few pics. I have been taking a break from the camera which had been nice.
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| M&M 5 Months 5 Weeks |
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
5 Months Week 4
It is time for me to go to bed and I can't think of anything to write!! The girls are great and are pretty "chubby and happy". I will be glad when the worst of the teething is over and I am sure they will too! We love them so much!!! It's hard not to cuddle and kiss them all day long, so we do... Enjoy the video and the Picasa photos below it.
Link to Picasa photos:
Link to Picasa photos:
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| M&M 5 Months 4 Weeks |
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Development
Mary's bottom teeth broke through today. She was so upset last night and orajel was the only thing that worked, after tylenol and Hyland teething tabs.
They are both grabbing their toes a lot and rolling to the side...almost ready to roll from front to back....but sort of glad they haven't yet!
They are both grabbing their toes a lot and rolling to the side...almost ready to roll from front to back....but sort of glad they haven't yet!
5 Months- Week 2
We had a wonderful trip down to Orange County. My cousin Janean was married to Cameron and my cousin's daughter Paige was baptised. Maggie and Mary did so well on the flight!!! No ear pain apparently. Here are some photos:
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| 5 Months |
Saturday, May 08, 2010
5 Months - Week 1
Well, after several weeks of pre-teething activity, Maggie's first tooth broke through, probably overnight. In a last ditch effort to sooth her fussiness this morning, I stuck my knuckle in her mouth and felt the very sharp tooth!!!
Mary has discovered her toes this week and loves to roll to her side. Maggie can't get enough of standing and it's hard to get her to sit while burping her.
We met our social worker today for our 3rd visit. We only have one more before we can file with the court...yeah!! Here are a few photos:
We also had a nice visit with Great-Grandma Veda and my aunt Laurie. We then celebrated my first Mother's Day!!!
More pics:
Mary has discovered her toes this week and loves to roll to her side. Maggie can't get enough of standing and it's hard to get her to sit while burping her.
We met our social worker today for our 3rd visit. We only have one more before we can file with the court...yeah!! Here are a few photos:
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| Agency Visit |
We also had a nice visit with Great-Grandma Veda and my aunt Laurie. We then celebrated my first Mother's Day!!!
More pics:
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| M&M 5 Months Week 1 |
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
More 18 Week photos
Oops. Lost 18 week footage, I also added more to the 15 & 16/17 week albums, see links in those posts.
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| M&M 18 Weeks Additional |
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
20 Weeks
Yeah! The girls rolled over for the first time on April 26th. Mary did it in the morning and Maggie in the afternoon. What twinsies! Here is the video
Here are the photos from this week:
Here are the photos from this week:
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| M&M 20 Weeks |
19 Weeks
This week the girls started noticing their hands even more than last week. I was a little worried when Maggie's eyes crossed while feeding, but it's only because she was so focused on her hands. They got some dolls at Ikea and they love them. We call them Queen Mousy..notice the crown. We also went to the pool and their 12 month swim suits fit. Mom didn't know that the swin diapers shouldn't be left on for a couple hours prior to swimming...they were soaking wet and we never went in the pool.
We tried rice creal at the suggestion of the Pediatrician, but as you can see in the pictures, it was just one big mess!!
Also, our children's heads are in the 99 percentile for FUll Term babies. The doctor was worried, but their ultrasounds showed that everything was normal in there...We just think they are brilliant!
We tried rice creal at the suggestion of the Pediatrician, but as you can see in the pictures, it was just one big mess!!
Also, our children's heads are in the 99 percentile for FUll Term babies. The doctor was worried, but their ultrasounds showed that everything was normal in there...We just think they are brilliant!
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| M&M 19 Weeks |
Thursday, April 15, 2010
4 Month Dr. Appointment
Hi everyone. We had our 4 month appointment yesterday. The Dr. said they are doing so well that they are pretty much off the preemie charts. They are in the 70 percentile for weight and height for Full Term babies. He said they don't seem like preemies at all anymore! In some areas, their development is closer to 6 month old babies (with the exception of rolling over which is my fault for not giving them more belly time).
They are also pre-teething....oh fun! Lots of slobber and gnawing on their fits. We may start some rice cereal in the next couple weeks and see how it goes!!!
We have been sitting them across from each other and they are really noticing their twin. So cute!! They look at each other with loving reverance followed by some smiles and laughter. I did get some great video of it. I hope to have more time to upload videos, but our high tech camera requires that I convert each video to a file that can be uploaded to this blog or facebook...a good chunk of time I can't seem to find!!!
Top Photo: Princess Maggie trying on dress from Grandma Ricketts
Botton Photo: Mary and Maggie with cute outfits from my friend Holly
They are also pre-teething....oh fun! Lots of slobber and gnawing on their fits. We may start some rice cereal in the next couple weeks and see how it goes!!!
We have been sitting them across from each other and they are really noticing their twin. So cute!! They look at each other with loving reverance followed by some smiles and laughter. I did get some great video of it. I hope to have more time to upload videos, but our high tech camera requires that I convert each video to a file that can be uploaded to this blog or facebook...a good chunk of time I can't seem to find!!!
Top Photo: Princess Maggie trying on dress from Grandma Ricketts
Botton Photo: Mary and Maggie with cute outfits from my friend Holly
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