Christmas Days

We had a very nice Christmas week. On Christmas Eve morning, the girls opened their stockings that had been filled with gifts from Santa. Then we drove up to my parent's house. All of the girls' cousins were there, so it was fun to see all of the kids. My parents & all three of my sisters were there as well. All of the kids managed to nap, and then we went to church together at 4:00. When we got home from church, we all assembled at my Mom & Dad's big dining room table and read the Christmas story. Then we had a delicious meal, prepared by my sister Rhonda. We made the older grandchildren sing a few Christmas songs before opening presents, which was a tradition when I was little. Olivia & Violet didn't have too much interest in tearing off the wrapping paper, but they sure liked to see what was inside. They received very nice gifts, and then it was off to bed at 8:00. The adults exchanged gifts at that time, and then we spent the rest of the evening just relaxing & hanging out together. We also spent Christmas Day at my parent's house. Santa had made a visit overnight, so all of the kids had a gift from Santa to open. Otherwise it was a very low-key and relaxing day, the girls didn't even get changed out of their pajamas.

On Friday morning, we headed over to the Suchy household. Jamie made venison sausage all day with his Dad, brother and nephew while the girls and I hung out in the house. The sausage turned out awesome, it is so tasty. We celebrated Christmas with the Suchy family on Saturday. We had a very delicious meal at noon, then the girls opened their gifts before taking a nap at 1:30. They received many wonderful gifts! We are lucky to have such generous families. After the girls went down for a nap, the adults opened gifts and then we played some games. It was a very enjoyable day.

We drove home Sunday morning. The girls were so used to being held & being constantly played with that we had our hands full. They expected the constant attention to continue. So I didn't get all of our unpacking done...oh well.

Hope you had a great Christmas!

Olivia & Violet, Thronson Christmas:

Entire Thronson Family:

Thronson Grandkids:
Evan (18 months), Olivia (1), Emma (3), Maya (5), Violet (1), Alex (2 1/2)

Family Picture, Suchy Christmas:

Olivia & Violet, Suchy Christmas: Santa Babies, Suchy Christmas:

Olivia & Violet with Grandpa & Grandma Suchy, and cousins Chelsey & Nicholas:

Long Days!

The last few days have been extremely long ones. Both girls have been very crabby since last Saturday. We have been pulling our hair out! Luckily my sister Terri & her husband Aaron have been around to help us out, and to give us a break when we need it. They have been visiting from Madison, WI and have been staying with us. It has been very nice to have them around. They brought their golden retriever Brinkley, who the girls love. They have been hugging and petting him pretty much nonstop.

We attempted to visit some friends of ours, Todd & Colleen, last Saturday. We brought the girls with and they were not cooperative. Todd & Colleen made a delicious meal, which we could barely enjoy because we were too busy trying to keep the girls from crying. They kept clinging to our legs at the dinner table. If Todd & Colleen were ever thinking about having kids, I think our girls certainly made them decide not to!! :) We did have a nice visit though, and we certainly appreciate their patience and hospitality.

Sunday was not much better. Yesterday we finally brought them into the doctor. Olivia was checked first. She had a little bit of fluid in her right ear, but otherwise was fine except for a cold. Violet ended up having a chest xray. Daddy went with her for the xray while Olivia & I waited in the treatment room. Daddy said they put Violet in an enclosed cylinder, and made her put her arms straight up in the air. Needless to say, she did not like it. There was some blockage on one side of her lungs, so she was diagnosed with possible pneumonia. Poor girl! She was put on an antibiotic. We're hoping their moods improve soon or we might go crazy. :) Poor Daddy has been staying home with them the last two days, while I have been at work. He is on vacation from work all week, and I don't think taking care of crabby children was what he had in mind for his time off. I certainly appreciate his efforts, I know it's not easy to stay home with crabby kids.

Unfortunately they are also getting over a case of pink eye. On Saturday, December 13, I baked Christmas cookies all day with Jamie's aunt Debbie, cousin Kari, cousin-in-law Nicole, and Nicole's mom Diane. We had a blast hanging out together. We shared a lot of laughs and we ended up with so many yummy cookies....what a great combination! When I got home in the late afternoon, Violet looked pretty rough so I took her to the doctor. Yep...pink eye. So we had to wrestle them with putting drops in their eyes three times a day, for almost a week. Fun!

It hasn't been all bad though. Olivia has been taking more steps on her own. She will go about 10 to 15 steps at a time now. Violet has shown a lot more interest in trying to walk. She will attempt to let go of a toy and walk to us, although she usually needs help with her balance.

We exchanged Christmas gifts on Sunday with the girls. They had more interest in playing with the wrapping paper than opening the gift. We gave them each a pink trike that they can use next summer. The girls got me some really beautiful earrings with their birthstone color in them, so I can think of the girls when I wear them. The girls got Daddy a wool coat (pretty boring - but he needed it)! We look forward to traveling to our parents tomorrow morning and spending Christmas with our families.

Merry Christmas!!

Crazy Weekend

We had an extremely busy weekend....but a fun one too! On Friday night, Jamie & I actually went out to supper with his teaching supervisor and wife. It was fun to have a night out. We went out to eat downtown, it took me 90 minutes to make the 10-mile drive...but other than that it was a pleasant evening. Jamie's Aunt Debbie & Uncle Al babysat the girls. Everything went well I guess, except Violet didn't want to go to sleep right away.

Saturday morning, we drove up north for the extended Suchy Family Christmas Party. Most of Jamie's aunts and uncles were there, but not many of Jamie's cousins made it. It was fun though, and nice to visit with everyone. Santa made an appearance with gifts for the kids. We thought our girls would cry for sure...but neither of them did. They both sat on Santa's lap and just stared at him.

Sunday morning, we stopped by Janell & Luke's new house since we hadn't been there yet. They have a very nice place and it is decorated so cute for the holidays. Then we headed to the extended Pomeranz Family Christmas Party (Jamie's Mom's side). Almost all aunts, uncles and cousins were there so it was fun to catch up. Santa made another appearance...boy, he sure makes the rounds! Again, the girls did not cry, but they didn't really smile either. Santa tried to tickle Olivia with his beard, which she did not like at all. Otherwise they were happy to go up to Santa and get their Christmas gifts, and they both actually got into ripping off the wrapping paper. Then we made the drive back home! We were very pooped out by the time we got home. The girls went to bed an hour early because they were extremely tired, which meant they were up early Monday morning. Ewww.

News we haven't posted yet...my sister Nikki & her husband Brian are expecting a child in June!! This will be their fourth. Congratulations!! We are excited for all of the family babies.

A few updates on the homefront...Olivia has been getting better at taking a few steps on her own, but she still crawls if she has to go more than a few feet. Violet has no interest in walking on her own yet. We have been working on some sign language with both of them. They both sign "all done" when they are finished eating, and last night Olivia signed "more" while she was eating. We'll see if they catch on to any others. Olivia's latest love has been looking at books. We have a farm book that she absolutely loves to look at. We have read it to her probably a hundred times, but she never gets tired of it. She'll sit on our lap while we read it, then when we get to the end and close the last page, she will grab it and hand it to you to read again.

Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Violet & Olivia on Santa's lap with Jamie's cousin's twin boys, at the Suchy party:

Violet with Santa at the Pomeranz party:

Olivia with Santa at the Pomeranz party, right before he tickled her with his whiskers:

All of the kids at the Pomeranz party:

The Big One

We celebrated Olivia & Violet's first birthday on Saturday, November 29th. We went to a hotel & waterpark in Maple Grove. They had a smaller pool for young kids that was only a few inches deep...I thought the girls would like it, but they absolutely loved it!! Olivia wasn't sure at first. She cried when we first put in her the water, but she changed in her mind pretty quickly and decided the water was pretty fun. Violet loved it as soon as we put her in the water. She dove right in. There were sprays of water that the girls had fun with. Violet kept putting her face right in it. Most of our families were able to join us, which was nice. Guests included Grandpa & Grandma Thronson; Grandpa & Grandma Suchy; Rhonda, Jeff & Emma; Nikki, Brian, Maya, Alex & Evan; Jill, Nicholas & Chelsey; and Janell. We went to the waterpark for a few hours, then ordered pizza for supper. The girls opened gifts...they were extremely spoiled by our generous families. Then we went back down to the waterpark for more! The girls did great, even though they were pretty off-schedule. It was a very fun birthday party. It is still hard for me to believe that they are one. The past year has been just a blur...hopefully they don't all go this fast!! We are so blessed with two spunky, smiley little girls.

Olivia & Violet with their Grandpa Thronson & cousins:

Saying "thank you" after opening presents:

Olivia (pink swimsuit) & Violet (red swimsuit) in the pool:

Olivia with Grandma Thronson by the water sprays:Olivia with her Auntie Jill:
Violet with Grandma Suchy, Olivia with Auntie Janell:

Thanksgiving Days

The girls thoroughly enjoyed their first Thanksgiving. We spent a very relaxing day at home. We made a traditional meal...turkey, mashed potatoes & gravy, stuffing, corn and cranberries. The girls both went for the cranberries (the only colorful thing on their plate) and loved them. They didn't want to eat anything else at first, but they both managed to clean their plates.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, we brought the girls for their one-year checkups. They both are doing great. Violet weighed 21 pounds, 9 1/2 ounces and Olivia weighed 20 pounds, 3 1/2 ounces. They both were 29 1/4 inches long. We changed to their forward-facing car seats. The first time they rode in them was when we went to the doctor. They liked it...especially Olivia, who smiled the whole time.

Olivia with her Thanksgiving meal:

Violet with her Thanksgiving meal:
Olivia with her clean plate:
Violet with her clean plate:

Twins With Twins

The girls received a twin doll set from their cousin Maya for Christmas last year. Jamie & I assembled everything last weekend, and now they love to push their twin babies around in their double stroller. It is so cute. The set also came with a changing pad, bassinet, and swing/high chair....all double, of course!

Olivia pushing baby twins:

Violet pushing baby twins:

Go Olivia Go!

Look what Olivia can do! (Please disregard the mess of toys in the background....)

One Year Pictures

We had one year pictures taken of the girls this past Saturday. The morning didn't start out the greatest....Violet woke up with a half-swollen left eye from who knows what, and she had a scratch on her forehead from daycare a few days before. Olivia also had a scab on her chin. They are definitely into the very active stage! We went to a new photographer that works out of his house. The photographer was great...he was very patient and said he would spend as much time with us as we wanted. It was quite an escapade! The girls did not want to sit still. We spent half of the time chasing them across the room and the other half of the time trying to get them to quit crying. It sure made for some interesting pictures. They were both quite happy at the end when they were able to eat chocolate birthday cake. Jamie & I needed a nap after it was all over! The pictures can be viewed at www.KalinKauppila.com/SuchyTwins.

Growing Up!

The girls borrowed a walking toy from Grandma Thronson, and they love it!! They both cruise around pushing it with their short little chubby legs and feet taking steps. It's so cute. They both usually want to push it around, so we have them take turns. They are getting more steady on their feet each day. They aren't quite walking on their own yet, but they are becoming more brave.

They both love to hand us things. We have to say "thank you" and then hand it back. They also love to look at pictures. When we walk by a framed picture on the wall, they usually point at it so we stop and talk about who is in the picture....usually our family members.

They are now down to having one bottle per day, right before they go to bed. They are drinking their milk out of a sippy cup during the day. We are excited, but also kind of sad, to be almost done with bottles. I guess it's another step out of the baby stage. Our little girls are growing up. It's unbelievable how fast the past year has gone.

First Birthday Party...and Deer Hunting

We traveled up to Jamie's parent's farm on Friday for deer hunting. The weather was extremely chilly, I thought they were crazy for sitting outside in that weather! It was pretty exciting though because it was our nephew Nicholas's first time hunting. He was pretty excited, and showed up all prepared with hand warmers, a flashlight, layers of clothes and two thermoses of hot apple cider (just in case one ran out). He sat in a stand with his Grandpa Suchy (Jamie's Dad). Unfortunately he didn't get a chance to shoot at anything all weekend, but he said he wanted to keep trying so they are going out again next weekend. Jamie shot a doe on Saturday evening, which was the only deer his party got all weekend. Here is a picture of the hunters...Joey (Jamie's brother), Jamie, Nicholas & Paul (Jamie's Dad):


We also celebrated the girls' first birthday with Jamie's family. Their actual birthday is still three weeks away, but since we were all going to be together for deer hunting we thought we would celebrate a little early since we won't all be together on the day of their birthday. The girls were both extremely spoiled with presents from Great Grandma & Great Grandpa Pomeranz; Grandma & Grandpa Suchy; Auntie Jill and her two kids Nicholas and Chelsey; Uncle Joey; and Auntie Janell & Uncle Luke. Thank you to all for your generosity!! They were a little tentative with opening gifts, and didn't get into it too much. They started to rip the paper a little bit at the end, but it took them awhile to warm up to the idea. After we opened presents, we had dinner...followed by chocolate cake for the birthday girls. Olivia dove right in and had half the cake smeared all over her face within minutes. She couldn't shovel it in fast enough. Violet was a little more dainty and picked all the sprinkles off the top before dabbing at the frosting. She almost licked her fingers clean between each bite, while Olivia was smearing cake all over. They really enjoyed it though!! Here are some pictures.

Birthday girls Violet & Olivia:

Olivia in her birthday hat:
Violet in her birthday hat:
Violet & Olivia with their cakes:

Olivia diving into her cake:

Violet savoring her cake:

Busy Saturday

We had a fun and eventful Saturday. Olivia was up early (5:45 a.m.) but Violet decided to sleep in until 7:30. We had breakfast, and then we all played together. The girls were playing peek-a-boo with each other behind our curtains. One of them would hide behind the curtain, and then when she pulled the curtain away and showed her face, they would both crack up. It was so cute. Here is a short video.

We also let them play on the organ for the first time. Boy, did they make some beautiful music, ha ha! I turned on some of the preset musical beats, and they were both dancing while banging on the keys along to the preset music. It was pretty funny. Here is a short video.

After dinner, we decided to run some errands, so we all went to the mall. Jamie needed to get some new work clothes and shoes, and his patience for shopping lasts about 15 minutes, so it was a pretty quick mall trip. Then we stopped by Toys R Us to pick up a few things for the girls' birthday coming up. Man, we were overwhelmed with all of the choices. We managed to wander around for about 45 minutes and pick out a few small things for them.

It was such a beautiful day that we spent the rest of the afternoon outside. The girls were fascinated with the leaves on the ground. They loved to crawl around in them. We also pushed them on the swing for awhile. A couple of the neighbor's kids came over and played with them too. We had supper, and then we attempted to keep the girls up a little bit later than usual since we gain an hour of sleep tonight. They had fun playing with each other. They played peek-a-boo with a Tupperware container, and chased each other around the living room and under the coffee table. Violet got mad because we blocked the stairs, so she couldn't crawl up them. She has a fascination with the stairs lately. Both girls had only a brief afternoon snooze in the stroller while we were at the mall, so we are hoping that they sleep until at least the new 6:00 a.m. tomorrow. We hope they aren't up at 5:00 a.m., since one of them is usually up at 6:00 a.m. usual time. We shall see!

Olivia (in pink) & Violet (in brown) playing with leaves:

Olivia:

Violet:
Olivia & Violet by Papa's dogwood bushes:


Violet playing peek-a-boo with Tupperware (Olivia was laughing):

Violet & Olivia chasing each other through the living room coffee table:

Our Halloween Night

We had a fun Halloween night. When I got home from work, I changed Olivia & Violet into their costumes. It was quite chaotic. They did not particularly want to be changed at that time of day, since it was out of their normal routine. They were squirming all over the place! I felt like I was in a wrestling match. :) I finally managed to get Olivia into her Supergirl costume and Violet into her Wonder Woman costume, but I had clothes strewn all over. Jamie got home from work shortly after that, so we carried the girls to about four of our neighbors' houses to hand out treats to their kids. After that, we went over to Jamie's cousin Kraig's house. Kraig & his wife Nicole fed us pizza (yum!). The girls pigged out. Kraig & Nicole's daughter Athena dressed as Belle from Beauty & the Beast. We took a few pictures and then we loaded up the kids to go trick-or-treating. Athena rode in a wagon and our girls rode in their double stroller. We had quite a crew, so it was a lot of fun to walk around in a group. Kraig's parents Debbie & Al and Nicole's Mom Diane came with us. It was such a beautiful night. The girls didn't collect any candy, but we had fun bringing them up to the door and saying "Happy Halloween" to people. They waved to people a few times, which was cute. Olivia even got to ride on her Papa's shoulders for awhile. She loved it! She was smiling and laughing the whole time. The girls behaved pretty well, even though we had them up about an hour past their normal bedtime.

Olivia & Violet in the Halloween shirts they wore to daycare (thanks Auntie Jill!):

Violet giving Olivia a hug:

Violet (Wonder Woman) & Olivia (Supergirl):

Violet, Athena & Olivia:

Walking to our first trick-or-treating house:

Ringing the doorbell to trick-or-treat:

Papa & Olivia:

Happy Halloween!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

One Step Closer

We have been having so much fun with the girls this week. They both have been in such a good mood all week. On Monday, Olivia began to stand on her own for a few seconds at a time (see video below). We think she will be walking soon. Violet discovered an interest in the stairs the past few days. She has become pretty quick at getting up them, but she still needs help going back down. Tonight I was upstairs in the girls' bedroom getting pajamas, and all of a sudden Violet came crawling in. Go figure!

The girls spent last weekend at Grandma & Grandpa Suchy's house. Jamie went up there to go bow hunting, and by his own generous will he offered to bring them up with him so I could stay home and have a weekend to myself. It was wonderful! Don't get me wrong, I love my family to pieces, but it was nice to have some time to do whatever I wanted to do (which mainly included doing laundry and cleaning). The best part was waking up in the morning and knowing that I could just lay in bed and not have to get up with the girls!!

The girls also received a special package in the mail the other day. Our friends from Germany sent them a traditional German Christmas calendar. Beginning December 1st, we open a flap for each day until Christmas. Behind each door is a special treat. Thank you Esther & family!!

The girls are such a blessing. Jamie & I are both exhausted pretty much every night, but it's worth every second. Their simple smiles make it all worthwhile. I was playing with the girls outside on the swingset this evening, and I was thinking to myself that I just can't remember what life was like before they were born. Olivia has such a zest in her that makes us laugh. She is our spunky girl that will keep our lives interesting. Violet is such a sweetheart and loves to pass out hugs and kisses. Violet's daily daycare report today said "Violet was chasing her friends to give them kisses today!" That's our Violet. It's amazing how they can have different personalities, but you love them both equally just how they are.

Here is a video of Olivia standing. It also shows our bottle collection...prepare to be amazed!

Party Hardy

We had a fun weekend...the girls were able to party hardy! On Saturday, we went to a birthday party for Jamie's cousin's daughter that turned 3. The party was at the Maple Grove Community Center, which has a pool, so the girls were able to wear swimsuits and go "swimming" for the first time. Violet loved it, Olivia wasn't quite sure about it. It took them awhile to warm up to all the other kids in the pool and all the splashing that was going on. I think they were pretty overwhelmed at first and just wanted to take it all in!

After the party, we drove up to my sister Rhonda's house. We cracked up because our girls were in bed at 7:30 and went to sleep without making a peep while Rhonda's three-year-old daughter (our niece) Emma was still running around and looking for things to do at 9:30 p.m. when us adults were all ready for bed! Emma has pretty much always been a night owl. We had Emma's third birthday party the next day. The kids were able to wear costumes if they wanted to, since her birthday is so close to Halloween. Olivia dressed as Supergirl & Violet dressed as Wonder Woman. They looked pretty cute! Emma, the birthday girl, looked adorable in a ladybug costume. Rhonda did a great job planning the party - there were a lot of fun things to do! They had a scavenger hunt, a drawing contest, bobbing for apples, a pinata, and pumpkin decorating. Our girls were too young to participate, but it was fun to watch our other nieces and nephews join in the fun.

Here are some photos from the weekend.

Olivia (pink swimsuit) & Violet (red swimsuit):

Olivia (Big Sister) & Violet (Little Sister):

Supergirl (Olivia) & Wonder Woman (Violet):

Olivia & Violet with Grandma Thronson: