Easter Eggs with Nana

On March 18th Nana came over with all the necessary materials to dye eggs for Easter. Ada and Emmet very much enjoyed playing with all of the soupy colors and seeing the changes in their eggs. Such fun!

Perfect partners

What better way to spend an afternoon than playing cars with your best bud? Mind you...this is not always the way things look around here. It seems that Emmet and Ada are either the best of buds or the worst enemies. On the day this video was taken I was in heaven!!!

Your next American Idols

March 16th...Some good friends of ours sent Ada and Emmet an early birthday present...sticks and balls that are magnetic. Ada and Emmet thought they made the perfect little microphones!

Where to begin.....

I cannot believe I allowed myself to get this far behind on my blogging, which only means hours of catch up. It seems that spring came and went in a blink of an eye. With school being done for the summer I have high hopes of 1) catching up and 2) posting more often.

I'm so so SO excited to be home for the summer to spend lots of time with my favorite little duo. I'm also looking forward to some time to spend with just me or with Roger. We have made the decision to keep them in daycare for their normal two days per week for several reasons. If we took them out we run the risk of losing our spots and having to find a new provider again in the fall. This is also a big part of their weekly routine that they enjoy so it just made sense to stick with it. This will also give Roger and I an opportunity to reconnect, reorganize and regroup. Lots re-ing around here.

So, on to my catch-up.

Sick...again!

Both Ada and Emmet are fighting off yet another cold! When will this end? They both have horrible coughs and stuffed up noses. I took Ada to the urgent care on Sunday but after a quick check it seems just viral. They did however give her an inhaler because she has been wheezing and breathing heavy again. Poor girl. Because of these colds they have had short tempers with each other and there has been A LOT of fighting, whining and crying. Roger was so happy to see me when I walked in the door yesterday from work. He had definitely had enough. Hopefully they are feeling better soon, I hate to see them so miserable!

An update on Emmet's shoulder...
We saw the pediatric surgeon last week. The Cystic Vascular Lesion is nothing to worry about, in fact many kiddos have them, they just never make themselves known. Bumping it or injuring the area can make it "grow". It is entirely possible we will never see it again. The surgeon said if it grew a third time he would consider removing it but for now we just carry on. Such a huge relief! Also, last Friday Emmet was fitted for braces for his ankles. This was recommended by his physical therapist to correct the pronation in his feet/ankles. He walks on the inside of his feet. The braces will offer him enough support to correct the pronation yet still provide flexibility for running, jumping, and allowing the muscles to strengthen. They will also increase his balance and endurance.We should be getting them within the next week. I'll be sure to post pictures when we do. I'm not sure how Emmet will react to them but I'm hoping for the best!

I thought I'd post some adorable pictures from Pops. So precious..




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Valentine's gifts from Nana

Nana came over for Valentine's Day bearing gifts. A book, shirts for each and Playdoh! Both Ada and Emmet really enjoyed squishing, mushing and making shapes with cookie cutters. In the attached videos they are singing into their Playdoh microphone!

Playdoh microphone

Playdoh microphone

What toddler twins do when you're not paying attention...

GG & Barbie

A couple of weekends ago Great Grandma, a.k.a. G.G. (pronounced jeejee) and Great Aunt Barbie came for a visit, along with Nana and Pops. What a blast we had! G.G. is just so sweet and Barbie always has fun songs and games to play!

January 2008 moments

I have not done a very good job of keeping up to date with my blogging. It seems there is never enough time and/or energy to stay on top of things lately. Hence the middle of February posting about Christmas. Pathetic! January was quite a busy month and it went by in a flash. Hopefully if I can format this post correctly it will all make some sense. If not...just enjoy the pictures!


Emmet entertaining himself while Ada was so sick.


Ada came down with pneumonia/RSV and a double ear infection. The poor girl was so incredibly ill, it was rather frightening. There was a point in time we thought she may have needed to be hospitalized but she responded well to the antibiotics and the Nebulizer. Pops (Doug) gave me a shirt that he had shrunk, which Ada found to be such a comfort...she calls it "Pop's shirt" and loves to snuggle with it. Emmet luckily only came down with a bad cold..."only",ha. It was a rough several weeks. During this time Emmet developed a lump on his clavical/back of his shoulder. The doctor did an x-ray and was concerned with what she saw - it stumped her. So we were referred for a sedated MRI, which was no fun at all but Emmet was an incredibly brave little boy. What we've been told is that it's a Cystic Vascular Lesion. We have been referred to a pediatric surgeon for a consult, although it has decreased in size significantly now so I'm anxious to see what he says. It was quite a scary time.


Ada, Mommy and the Nebulizer. Such a trooper.


Such a big girl doing it all by herself!


Boom botty, boom botty, goin' potty! (A little diddy created a LONG time ago by Peggy and Mickey, reincarnated for some potty training fun)

Arenz Christmas

We had such a great time at Kraig and Kay's for our annual Arenz Christmas celebration. With everyone's families growing and changing and on the move we don't get to see eachother very often so this was quite a special day. Thanks to Great Aunt Karen for the pictures!


Emmet playing ball with Great Uncle Brian


Opening presents from "Santa"


Ada really enjoyed getting a back rub from 2nd cousin Jennifer


Emmet was totally in his element "futzing" around with Great Uncle Kraig and his train set.

What a great day!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was spent just the four of us. What a special morning. They really enjoyed finding and opening their presents this year. The stockings were a hit too!

Christmas 2007 cont.

Julie, Greg and Gina looking at a calendar made by Nana.


Ada pushing their new stroller with twin babies from Nana.


Emmet wearing all of his new gear and pushing the stroller while Grandpa and Julie look on.


Ada & Nana

More pictures.

Christmas 2007 continued

Mommy & Emmet


Greg and Gina...not on Christmas Eve but I thought I'd throw it in anyway.


Emmet helping Nana set-up the Nativity.


Emmet passing out gifts.


Emmet and Ada received the coolest shirts from Greg and Gina. They both say "Wonder twin powers, activate" on the front and their names on the back. This is Emmet's.

There are too many pictures to share and they won't all fit in one entry. These are all from Christmas Eve.

Christmas 2007

On the 23rd we celebrated Christmas with aunt Jodie, cousin Cantrel and Grandma Barb. Aunt Jodie brought a TON of delicious food for us all to eat. Ada wasn't feeling well and Emmet wasn't quite himself either but it was still nice to spend time together as a family. We don't see each other often enough. Neither Roger or I took any pictures (crabby babies), which is a bummer because I don't have any to share here then.

On Christmas Eve we were lucky enough to have a house full of guests to celebrate with again. Greg and Gina came in from Colorado. Nana and Pops came over and so did Grandpa (Bumpa) and Julie. Ada was still a little under the weather and wasn't quite herself. It was so so so nice to see Greg and Gina (they stayed with us for their stay here in Wisconsin). Emmet and Ada thoroughly enjoyed having them live upstairs. Gina went running nearly every morning and Ada and Emmet are convinced that anyone who goes running by is Gina now. They both still ask for "Geg" and Gina periodically.

We were all so spoiled with gifts and love. Ada and Emmet really enjoyed opening their presents this year. Emmet took it upon himself to pass out the gifts, which was absolutely adorable. At times they would say "wow" or "whoa" when they opened a present. It was truly precious to watch them enjoy all that Christmas has to offer; Santa, Christmas trees and ornaments, gifts, family time, music etc. It's quite special to have the opportunity to see Christmas through the eyes of your own child. Something special indeed.

Thanksgiving...I'm trying to catch up!

Patrick


Sam


Ada blowing on a car whistle


Emmet playing with Nana's train


Barb

We had a terrific Thanksgiving this year. It was so long ago though (I really should post more often) that I barely remember it! We spent the day at Nana and Pop's house with Great Aunt Barb, and our 2nd cousins (not sure if that's correct, it may actually be 1st cousins once removed) Patrick and Sam. The food was delicious and Ada and Emmet enjoyed being at Nana's having fun with family.

Sorry

I promise I will update soon. Busy, busy, busy!

For now here's a little picture to tide you all over!

Ring Around the Rosie

Holding Hands