A Visit With Laura

Last week, our friend Laura came over for a visit. We were happy to find time to catch up with her, since she has triplets age 2 1/2! Laura helped watch Gavin while Evie was in the hospital - it looks like he didn't forget how much fun they had!





Gavin thought it was the funniest thing in the world to throw toys at Laura:

Lunch With Our Cousins

Last Saturday, we took the twins on a road triup to Kenosha, WI, to have lunch with our aunts and cousins from Milwaukee. Evie and Gavin slept in the car onthe way there, but were rather overwhelmed when we got into the restaurant and were greeting everyone. They both were in full Mommy-mode! They relaxed after a while, though. Not all of the cousins had met the twins (although they read the blog faithfully), so they were a big hit.

Here's Gavin exploring behind Dennis' chair:


Cousin Steven and his fiance Amy, who are getting married in May:


Our Aunt Sharon was thoughtful enough to bring some new table toys for the twins. A new toy can go a long way!


David fed Evie her lunch. She discovered crayons at the restaurant and did not want to let them go!

Evie thinks about coloring:

Gavin was happy to sit in Grandpa's lap and gnaw on the mustard bottle:

Fashion Plates

The twins have been spoiled with a lot of new clothes lately! I have to admit that I think their outfits are so adorable that at night, I set out their clothes for the next day, even if we are just hanging around the house. Here are some of their new duds (mostly Evie, but there are more choices for girls)!

This ladybug outfit is one of my favorites!

Just Playing Around

It seems like every week, the twins invent a new game or just do something silly that makes them giggle. They still like to play with their hats, and now they like to put them on and take off each other's heads:

They also love to roll around on our down-filled lap blanket - if one of them starts, the other has to join in!

New Tricks

I mentioned last week that Gavin was making progress with his sippy cup. He is doing really well with it, drinking water whenever he gets thirsty. He has also figured out that he can take a mouthful of water and then just open his mouth and let it all dribble out. He thinks this is quite hilarious - so that is why we are sticking with water for now!

Here he is:

The kids also know to hold the play phones up to their ears. Here is Evie getting a call:

Never mind, she decided it's for Dad!

Evie Update and Silly Uncle David

On Christmas Eve, we were able to speak with Evie's regular cardiology nurse here in Naperville. She gave us some good news: Evie's cardiologist and her surgeon had a meeting that day to discuss her case. She also told us not to get too worried about the opinion of the doctor who performed Evie's angiogram, because he does not have the years of experience of her cardiologist and surgeon.

We were glad to hear that the mutual opinion of Evie's cardiologist and surgeon was that she is doing very well! We still have many questions, however, so we are going to meet with the cardiologist on January 15 to figure things out.

Here are some pictures and videos from the weekend before Christmas, when Uncle David was visiting:

Gavin was very mellow before his nap:


The kids (well, mostly Evie) did some Christmas dancing:


When Evie woke up from her nap, she was in a very silly mood. Put her with her uncle, and you never know what they'll do! (and yes, those are Starbucks lids; what can we say, but that Francis is a Starbucks Gold card holder--thanks to our friend Christian--and that there are lots of them lying about!).










Giggling with her uncle:


"Today I decree that we shall all wear coffee lids on our heads!"



Evie has spoken, so Uncle David obliges!

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day, our camera broke and our garage door broke, but other than that we had a great time! We started out by meeting up with Nana and Grandpa Cermak and Auntie Clare at IHOP. This was the twins FIRST ever trip to a restaurant! We timed it so they weren't due for a nap or a feeding, and they did REALLY well.

Don't they look ready to give the waitress their order? "Two plates of Mickey Mouse pancakes, please, with extra whipped cream!"


They got tired of sitting in their high chairs, and tried to grab everything on the table, but that is just typical 14-month-old behavior. Here are Clare, Grandpa, & Evie:


Grandpa entertained Evie by making pyramids out of the coffee creamers; she loved knocking them down!


Gavin wiggled around a lot in my lap. Nana and I were constantly moving things out of his reach:

Back at our house, we started opening gifts. The twins each got a new cell phone - yes, this is their third set of phones this year, but the twins are very tech-savvy and they must have the newest products! What will they be like when they're teenagers?!

Gavin is pleased that he has a signal in all rooms of the house:


Three generations: Gavin, Francis, and Grandpa with one of Grandpa's gifts - an Elvis record and custom CD Francis made for him:

Evie decided that Grandpa didn't need all of his hair. "You know, if you used some volumizer Grandpa..."

Clare and Nana open our gift for them: a "2009 Legendary Twins" calendar. We've been working on it all year!

Here is the big hit of the day: the Fisher Price Learning Home, from Auntie Clare.

It kept the twins and Grandpa amused for hours!


Francis saw a deal on a Walk-n-Ride toy on Amazon, so he bought a second one. I had started keeping the first one in the basement because it just caused a lot of tears. Gavin would take it away from Evie or else try to run her over with it. I am not sure if a second one will work out, but I am willing to give it a try. Somehow I predict a lot of car "crashes."

Here, the kids are very interested in helping to put it together:

Evie plays with another new toy that has pop-up animals Grandpa and Nana picked up for them. Nana said that Francis loved playing with nearly the exact same toy when he was a baby too:

It was a great Christmas, and we cannot wait until next year when the twins will start to understand Santa and we can start teaching them Christmas traditions!

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we headed over to Grandma & Grandpa Cordes' house to get together for dinner with them and Auntie Di and Uncle Kevin, and Uncles David and Brad. The twins were impressed with the big, lighted tree, but they quickly moved on to the stacks of presents.

We tried to get them to unwrap some gifts, but they weren't always up to it. Gavin was happy to tear into this present from Di and Kevin, though!

We tried to remember to bring everything we could possibly need, but we forgot the portable high chairs. Evie got fed by Uncle Kevin while sitting on Dad's lap:

Grandma & Grandpa had one portable high chair at their house (donated by a friend of Grandma's whose grandkids have outgrown it) so we put Gavin in it:

Evie cuddled up to her Uncle David:


All of us:

Sometimes the twins only want Mom!

Gavin thought it was hilarious to rub his wet washcloth on his head:

Then he moved on to Grandma & Grandpa's cushy rocking chair:

With both ovens going, the house had gotten quite warm by this time, so the kids both ditched their pants.

"If you don't feel like opening a box, just climb on it!" Evie says.

"Hold my hands tight, Uncle Kevin - I'm still learning this walking stuff!"

Evie enjoyed pulling tissue paper out of this gift bag and trying to get whatever was inside:

Here are the twins and Uncle David, while I open up a sweater gift for Evie off camera. She seems to love it!