Back To The Zoo

We went back to Brookfield Zoo on Saturday with Nana & Grandpa Cermak. We only visited two areas, but that's the great thing about being members - it's no problem to see small sections each time and come back to see more the next week!

Here are Gavin and Nana on his most favorite thing - the carousel:



Evie hung on tight with Grandpa:



Gavin loves it so much, we have to ride twice (not that anyone minds):

Then we looked at the butterflies. Evie just loves them! They were very active that day.

Four butterflies landed on Nana! One landed on Grandpa too.

Time for a snack!

The kids took 15 minute naps in the car, and then refused to nap in their rooms at home. Luckily, Nana & Grandpa kept them very busy for the rest of the day!

New Playset

Francis was so excited to find this neat play set for the kids on Craigslist, called the Woodland Climber. He got it set up just in time for the three days of rain we had last week, but we couldn't wait to play on it. I dried it off during a break in the weather, and out we went!

Here is Francis after assembling it - it only took him 5 minutes, and it was dark!




Here are Evie and Gavin exploring their new toy:

Friday Cuteness

Gavin is learning to pose for the camera. When I ask him to smile now, this is what I get:



Or this:



"Just hanging out at home, watching my brother act silly!"



Gavin slept so long I had to wake him up from his nap. (You can see Cookie Monster in his crib - he's never too far away!) I guess all that hamming it up for the camera wore him out!

Holding Hands

Evie went to her cardiologist today for her regular monthly checkup. She finally weighs (and is maintaining) 17 pounds! 17 pounds 3 ounces, to be exact. She has recently been eating more, so we are proud of her and also a bit relieved that she is finally growing. The appointment went very well - no real changes with her. I got to put on her blood pressure cuff and pulse-ox wrap, which helped keep her calm. She was perfectly calm for Dr. G to listen to her heart, and stuck out her tongue for Nurse Julie when it was time to go. (That's her new thing - showing everyone her tongue.)

Here are the kids eating after they woke up from naps yesterday. I would say this is their happiest time of the day, and this video shows it:

Gavin's On The Mend

After three doses of antibiotics, Gavin is feeling MUCH better. He didn't seem like he was in pain at all today, and his nurse gave us the green light to go to our workout class tomorrow. Here are some pictures I took of him last week:


I knew this day would come...Gavin's head now bumps the countertop overhang! And it seems like every day, he can reach more and more things that are "up high."




Gavin is a "climber." Wait, make that "mountaineer!" His new favorite thing to do is to scale the couch and sit on the top of the back part. He knows he's not supposed to, so when he does he gets this huge mischievous grin:




He also loves to vacuum:

Happy Birthday, Diana / Gavin Gets Sick

Yesterday morning Uncle David came over and amused the twins with his iPhone while they munched on toast. It turns out there are "apps" for all kinds of SILLY noises, and Evie and Gavin thought this was hilarious.






But Gavin woke up from his nap with a fever. He perked up enough to go over to Grandma and Grandpa Cordes' house to celebrate Auntie Di's birthday:



Evie ate fried chicken and corn fritters, and then watched her aunt open gifts from the vantage point of Daddy's back:

Gavin made a good effort but he didn't last long. He was really listless and threw up on the drive home.

We didn't have a spare outfit for him, so we put him into one of Francis' old T shirts that we had in the trunk. He promptly fell asleep!

I took Gavin (and Evie) to the pediatrician today, and it turns out he has a "bad sore throat with white spots on his tonsils." Luckily, it is not strep throat. We got an antiboitic for him, and I hope he will be back to his old self soon!

Happy Birthday, Paige!

Yesterday we went over to our friend Paige's house to help her celebrate turning ONE! Evie and Gavin loved exploring her yard and playing with the ice in the beer container. Evie also loved eating cheese, but Gavin wouldn't touch it. He did give Paige a birthday pat on the head, though

Paige and her mom, Katy:

Evie and Gavin were delighted to play on a slide at the house next door:

Time to eat...the kids weren't too interested in their regular food.

But they loved eating chips! Evie especially liked shoving them into Daddy's mouth:

and Grandpa's as well!

Gavin was very intent on getting as many chips in his mouth as possible.

Auntie Clare is such a trooper - she made it to the party after running 23 miles in the morning! We will be cheering her on at the the Chicago Marathon in October!

Playdate!

Today our twin friends Emma and Caroline came over with their mom, Gretchen. The girls are two months younger than Evie and Gavin, and I met Gretchen two years ago when we were both pregnant and enrolled in the "Marvelous Multiples" class at our hospital. Emma and Caroline were super sweet and did a nice job of putting up with Gavin, who had a little trouble sharing his toys.

At first, Gavin wanted to hide from all the girls!


Then he warmed up to Emma and showed her his new Thomas the Train book:



Emma tickled Evie's arm and she was totally fine with it! Usually Evie gets upset when other kids get in her "personal space," but she thought Emma was pretty neat and gave her a pat on the head.



Gavin showed Caroline how to turn on the vacuum cleaner:

The Ill-Fated Ball Tent

Remember how I said yesteday that breakage is a factor with Gavin? I think it is a factor with twins in general! Auntie Clare got the kids an early birthday gift of a ball tent. It was a hot day so I set it up inside. The kids loved it, until Gavin tried to walk and push it while inside it. Evie would go inside it for about 5 minutes and then crawl out.

Then when we were done, I folded it up according to the directions with virtually no trouble! When I took it out again yesterday, it wouldn't stand up straight. Francis said it was bent beyond fixing, so we are going to send it back. Oh, well - it was fun for a day.

Today I tried taking Evie off of her oyxgen. She did REALLY well - her stats stayed in her normal range (pulse-ox of 78 - 83) for 90 minutes! We will try this, at least a little, every day.