Weekend Update

We had a pretty nice weekend. On Friday, Jamie & I went to the U.S. Women's Open golf tournament in Edina. It is a major golf tournament, so it was fun to see all of the big names in women's golf. I even got my picture taken with the Open trophy (see above). Jamie refused to be in the picture. :) The tournament has been held for 62 years, but only 4 times in Minnesota. So it was a pretty unique opportunity. We even got on TV on NBC from a distance in the grandstand on the #14 hole. Pretty cool! Some of the golf shots we saw were just amazing. Hopefully next time the tournament comes to Minnesota, we can bring Olivia & Violet.

Otherwise the weekend was pretty relaxing. The girls are getting so big. They are getting up on their hands & knees now, and rocking back and forth. It won't be long until they are crawling. They also think Roxie is just hilarious. When Roxie is around them, they just sit and watch her and laugh. It is pretty cute.

They also love to be outside. We set them out on the deck last night in their exersaucers, and they just loved it. They were talking up a storm and were happy as can be.

They are also developing some personalities. Olivia has been the more affectionate one lately. She hands out kisses left and right, and always wants to be held or at least be within our sight. Violet is a little more laid back. She is a little more patient but a little less generous with her kisses. Even though they are different, they are both very good girls. We are very blessed.

Baby Food

I spent pretty much all of Sunday making baby food with Jamie's cousin's wife Nicole. It was a lot of fun. We went to the farmer's market the day before and picked up quite a variety of foods for the girls to try. We made some typical foods like peas, green beans, corn, sweet potatoes, red potatoes, pears, peaches and apples. We also made some different foods like asparagus, eggplant, brown rice, avocado, mango and a rhubarb/orange mix. It will be fun to see what they like. I really want to give them a wide variety of foods to eat so they get used to different tastes at a young age.

Last night the girls tried the rhubarb/orange mixed with cereal. Their facial expressions were priceless. They weren't quite sure what to think...but they ate it!

Sisterly Love

Last night, Olivia kept trying to kiss Violet. She would lay a wet one on Violet and then laugh hysterically. It was so funny. I guess she was trying to tell her sister that she loves her! Violet's hair was wet with drool by the time Olivia was done. We learned in daycare the other day that Olivia tries to kiss everyone that comes in the room and plays with her. I guess we will have to watch out for her!!

Violet has discovered a love of bouncing up and down. If you hold her in a standing position, she wants to bounce up and down with her legs. She also goes crazy in the exersaucer. She just learned that there are springs in the saucer so she can bounce all she wants.

The girls are now eating a whole bunch of different baby foods. They've had bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, pears and applesauce. This morning I am going to the farmer's market to get some fresh fruits and vegetables to start making my own baby food. Jamie's cousin's wife is going to help me. It is a beautiful morning here, so it should be fun to walk around the farmers market.

First Sips

Yesterday we introduced the girls to sippy cups for the first time. They found their cups very interesting! They were very content to hold them and chew on the spouts, but they haven't really grasped the concept yet that there is water inside. I'm sure it will take some time for them to figure it out.

Father's Day Weekend

We had a very nice Father's Day weekend. We traveled up to Alexandria on Friday for a birthday party for our niece Maya and nephews Alex & Evan. The girls really enjoyed seeing all of their cousins. Of course, Grandma Thronson did not want to share the girls with anybody else. :)

On Saturday morning, we went to Jill's to get some pictures taken of the girls with her kids, and then we went out to the Suchy farm. In the evening, we found ourselves in a tornado watch. Jamie was fishing out on the lake at the time with his brother Joey and brother-in-law Luke, so we called them right away and told them to get home. We ended up going into the basement just as a precaution. The bad weather seemed to go around us, so we were not in the basement for long. The only thing we got was some rain. We had planned to go to a bonfire that night, but another set of thunderstorms was on the way, so we just stayed in.

Sunday was Jamie's first Father's Day. I got up to feed Violet since she woke up first, and a little while later Olivia decided to wake up her Dad with her baby talk. Apparently Jamie listened to her over the monitor for about 10 minutes and she was just talking away. I guess she was trying to wish him a Happy Father's Day! I dressed Olivia in a shirt that said "My Dad Rocks" and Violet in a shirt that said "My Daddy's the Big Kahuna." A few pictures are in this posting.

We went out for brunch with both sets of our parents, Jamie's sister Jill and her kids Nicholas & Chelsey, and Jamie's brother Joey. A picture of all of us is in this posting. Then we headed back to the cities. I took care of the girls for the evening so Jamie could do whatever he felt like doing. That's what Father's Day should be all about!

Fun in Church

The girls had their typical "tag team" going on in church this morning. Violet slept first, while Olivia was awake. About halfway through the church service, Violet woke up, so Olivia felt it was okay for her to go to sleep. During the final hymn, Violet felt the urge to "sing." She was babbling at the top of her lungs like she was trying to sing along with the song. It was so cute. Once church was over, the guy sitting next to us commented that Olivia wouldn't go to sleep until Violet woke up. He asked if they always do that. We said "Yes!" He also complimented Violet on her singing and said it was beautiful.

I guess we can't go anywhere unnoticed!

Doctor Appointment

The girls had their 6 month checkup yesterday (Friday, June 6th). Dad (Jamie) was kind enough to take them on his own. He said it was a rough experience...the doctor was running behind so they had to wait and wait and wait. They ended up being at the doctor's office for two hours. I admired him for being able to keep two babies occupied for that long, without going crazy. Apparently there was a mirror in their waiting room that provided much entertainment.

They both checked out just great. They are right on the proper growth curve. They had to get shots (again). They each had two shots in one leg and one shot in the other leg.

Olivia's stats:
Weight: 15 pounds, 10.5 ounces
Length: 26 1/2 inches
Head circumference: 16 1/2 inches

Violet's stats:
Weight: 16 pounds, 6 ounces
Length: 26 1/2 inches
Head circumference: 16 1/2 inches

Time to start a blog

I thought it might be time to start a blog to provide updates on my twin girls, Olivia & Violet. They are now 6 months old, which is so hard to believe. Time has gone so fast. We didn't think we would live through the first few months, but here we are with each day getting easier than the last.

So many milestones have been reached already...smiling, rolling over, eating baby food, getting teeth...it is hard to believe that our 5 1/2-pound newborns are now 17 pounds and doing all sorts of fun things.

Their new favorite thing is to "give kisses." They put one hand on each of the recipient's cheeks and plant on an open-mouth, slobbery smooch that usually includes tons of drool. It is great. There is nothing like it.

Morning is their favorite time of the day. They usually wake up around 6:00 a.m. with plenty of smiles for us. This morning I had a moment that just makes me realize how lucky I am to be a parent of twins. Both girls were awake in their cribs at 6:00, and they were talking to each other nonstop. The baby babble was constant over the monitor. There was no crying for us to pick them up, it was like they were talking to each other about what happened in their dreams during the night. I just sat and listened to them on the monitor for about 10 minutes before going in to see them. It was so much fun to wake up to their happy sounds.

I hope to provide updates as often as time provides.