Days of May

May 4th - Stella gives Oma a big grin!

May 3rd - Stella and Nora - up in the morning, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

May 7th - Stella & Nora...so cute in their summer jumpers!


May 8th - VISOTORS! Jen & Rory, Kesley & Sue, Peggy & Phyllis all came for a nice afternoon!

May 9th - Nora grabs onto a toy all by herself!

May 9th - Stella and Mom

May 9th - Stell holds onto a toy

May 9th - Nora enjoys her 'big' bath!

May 9th - Stella enjoys her 'big' bath!

2 Months old!

Time is definitely flying by! But I did get a chance to pose these cute bunny pics while the big girls were at preschool! Stella on the left and Nora your right. Both with smiles even! (It's almost like they enjoy creating their own future embarrassment!)

They are getting SO BIG and heavy compared to that easy one-
arm carry they used to be! Their 2-month doctor visit showed Stella at 11 1/2 lbs and 24 inches tall. Nora was 11 lbs 11oz and also 24 inches tall. They are both around 90% for weight and 50% for height...and their little heads are only in the 10th percentile! (but what mom would complain about small heads!)
They now LOVE to show off their smiles. Stella is exceptionally 'smiley' and warming. Nora has even giggled a few times! They've even pulled a few 'all-nighters' (yes, sleeping all night) before May even arrived! (pause for knocking on wood).

Hmmmm...I guess I'll have to actually start using 2 different chairs. They don't quite fit in this one like they used to!

Nora grabs the toys on her swing!

On a nice day outside, Ingrid has fun riding her bike and Dad shows Helen how to hit the ball!

Baptism May 10

Nora and Stella are being baptised at St. James lutheran Church in on 460 West Annapolis Street, West St. Paul, 55118 at the 10:30 service on May 10th. We are going to the Cherokee Sirloin room for their Mother's Day brunch buffet at noon, please let me know if you plan on joining us for brunch so I can make the appropriate size reservation!

Easter

Stella, Ingrid, Helen, Nora

Easter was lots of fun and the girls obliged me by wearing their cute white dresses, even though on most days wearing anything other than pink is a huge fashion faux paux in our house! We were late for church as usual - Mike blamed it on these photos that we snapped before heading out the door. But then I pointed out that we also spent 10 extra minutes dealing with a #2 accident and another 5 minutes hunting for another pair of white tights!

Nora & Stella

The babies also had thier own little Easter dresses that Ingrid and Helen once wore!
After church we came home and made brunch with waffles adn pancakes for all the Pones including Feliks and Vivita who both made it in town for Easter.

Stella flashes one of her blinding smiles in this photo! Now she is even starting to giggle a little!

Smile!

First smiles are so much fun! Nora and Stella both started smiling early this month. One of the best times was when I started singing to Nora before bedtime (as always) and as soon as I started she looked up at me with the most beautiful grin! When Stella awakes from a nap, I go in to get her and she always gives this big grin. (See photo at right) I smile back and her and then her grin grows even bigger! It's SO CUTE!!!!

Ingrid and Helen also had a big reason to smile with their beautiful new princess gowns and wands that Oma hand-made for them. The dresses are gorgeous and way too nice for 4-year-olds to wear around the house and destroy...which I guess will happen no matter how hard I try!

One thing Ingrid and Helen never took to was a baby sling. But these little ones don't seem to mind much at all. Here's Stella all cozied up to me while I can function hands free!

Finally, I had some fun preparing for Easter with this photo. Funny thing is that the girls were so comfortable swaddled up that they fell asleep in this basket!

One month!

They say time flies when you're having fun...although that isn't the first word that comes to mind to describe the past month, it isn't too far the list! Precious and memorable and exhausting pop right in though. Being sick has definitely taken it's toll as one needs rest to recover and rest is a hot commodity at the moment! I took pics of the babes on their one month 'birthday'...have they changed much? I can't tell, but others who don't see them often say they have! Here, Nora is pictured above & Stella below.

We visited both Mikes work at Thomson and mine at Wipaire the week of March 15. The girls even dressed up in matching outfits for one of the outings! (Pictured are Stella, Ingrid, Helen & Nora - in that order!)


Here Mike gets a rare opportunity to feed baby Nora. We had intentions of him giving a bottle every night, but so far haven't met that goal as I need to pump, which takes time and effort. Usually at this point I crash when I'm saying prayers with Ingrid and Helen at night. It's funny because I'll hear myself praying out load (you know, God bless "Grandma and Grandpa" etc.) and then suddenly I'll start saying "and Scooby and Shaggy" or something equally as mindless. Sometimes I'll find my way to bed downstairs and others I'll wake up at 1am and do some chores (or blogging!)

A bit sniffly...

So the ides of March took it's toll - the cough that Helen had when we came home from the hospital finally made the rounds...first to mom and then to babies. But thanks to the miracle of mother's milk, the babes didn't get much more than a stuffy nose - and that was suffering enough thank you! I however was totally knocked out by this bug. You never appreciate your voice until you don't have it for a few days...and let me tell you, having two very active,outspoken and assertive 4-year olds and no voice to yell "we don't touch sleeping babies!!!" kinda stinks. And I'm not exaggerating - I had NO voice left. Heck, it's been a month and I'm still a touch froggy sounding!

We moved bath time to the big tub one night and Nora and Stella LOVED it! They just floated around the tub looking at everything! And cried when it was time to get out! They are still very sleepy...and that just doesn't seem to change (which is good for now!) You'll also notice that the hospital bracelets are gone, leaving only a little pink nail polish on Nora's toes in case of mix up!


They do smile on occasion, but only when they're half asleep! They are generally happy babies and don't complain too much...except maybe when their big sisters are playing too rough with them!