Still A Little Sick

We are still a little bit sick over here at the Cermak house. Evie was over her cold, then it started up again mid-week. Gavin has finally gotten over his cough, but Francis and I have it. Needless to say, we didn't do a whole lot last week.

Gavin sat with me on the couch early one morning. Yes, he loves to wear his coat at home, too. (He eventually gets hot and takes it off.) We weren't even going anywhere that day!



Grandma Cordes came over to help, and Evie snuggled up to her for a story:





We did manage to get outside for some fresh air as the weather warmed up at the end of the week. We even had a spontaneous trip to the Riverwalk! It was so spontaneous that I didn't have my camera. We looked at ducks, looked at all the snow in the fountains (the kids found that fascinating), and Gavin ran all around the amphitheater with two little girls we befriended. I hope to get outside even more this week!

Gavin's Spoon Symphony

Gavin discovered some of my kitchen utensils and proceeded to test them out on the kitchen floor:

He is quite pleased with himself!

A story with Grandma Cordes before naptime:

Sit and Spin

Last week our speech therapist forgot the sit and spin toy that she had brought over. It was no problem for us to keep it for the week - Evie and Gavin got to use it as much as they wanted. They spun around on it all day for two days, and then they were done with it. I'm glad we found that out through borrowing one instead of buying one!

Evie didn't get on it right away, but curiousity won out and she had to check it out:





We weren't sure if she cold do the arm motions of pulling her body around, but she did!



Gavin used it a lot also - I just couldn't get any video of him on it!

Time To Make Muffins!

Last week, the Whole Foods store near us kindly hosted up a muffin-making class exclusively for our twins group. I really wasn't sure what to expect, with a room full of toddlers twins and baking ingredients...but it turned out to be a lot of fun, and not too messy!

Each child got to add one ingredient to the mixing bowl. Gavin got to add the eggs! (He kept his coat on the whole time, as usual.)



He was very careful and followed his instructions:



Evie wasn't interested in adding any ingredients. She just wanted her trusty snack cup.



The store had wisely made another batch of muffins earlier, so they were ready to go when it was time to add the frosting. Not a good idea to make a bunch of toddler twins (I think I counted 11 moms, so that makes 22 kids) wait around for muffins to bake and then cool!

Did I mention frosting? Yes, this part could've gotten really messy, but all the kids were very interested in getting as much frosting on their own muffin as possible. All except Gavin - what you see below is about all he put on.



And before you go imagining a room full of sugar-crazed toddlers, let me add that at least the frosting was healthy: it was made from carrots and cream cheese.


Next we made a craft: stringing cheerios and pasta noodles onto elastic to make bracelets. Gavin did his best to get the string through and got one cheerio on before getting tired of it. Evie wasn't interested in doing any stringing.



Here's a close-up of our bracelets:

It was a lot of fun and we hope to do this again! Who wouldn't be in favor of taking someone up on an offer of messing up their kitchen? Thanks, Whole Foods!

Mommy's Birthday

On Sunday we got to see our whole family in honor of my birthday. My actual birthday was last Friday, the 19th, but I consider the entire weekend to be my "birthday weekend." I am just grateful that Evie is not in the hospital this February, as she was in 2009 and 2008. Last year what I wanted most (and which I got) for my birthday was to hold Evie, something I hadn't been able to do for two weeks due to her ventilator and chest tubes. Her nurse even brought me a piece of cake from the cafeteria!

We started the day at Eggsperience with Nana and Grandpa Cermak (Gavin kept his coat on, as usual):









"No, Nana, I didn't break that crayon...it was already like that when the nice waitress brought it..."



"... and in conclusion Dad, that's why I prefer the butter to the jelly.



Evie enjoyed stacking the jellies:



We went back to our house to meet Auntie Clare and open presents. Then the kids took naps, and when they woke up we headed over to Grandpa and Grandma Cordes' house.

Gavin tried a wheat Ritz cracker:



He loved Grandma's red bear candle...



...and her oven mitts. "I'm ready to help you in the kitchen, Grandma!"



Hanging out with Uncle David:



and Auntie Di:



Then Evie helped me open gifts:



I had a great weekend - thanks everyone!

Ah-Choo!

As Francis mentioned, we've been a little sick over here. Last Monday Evie came down with a runny nose and then a cough. Then Thursday Gavin got the same thing. Evie is pretty much over it but Gavin is still coughing occasionally. I felt stuffy for a day or two, then bounced back thanks to "Mommy immunity."

Fortunately it was just a run-of-the-mill cold and nothing serious. This is only the second cold Evie has had all winter! She managed to not lose any weight either - although I kept stuffing as much pasta as I could into her.



Last Friday we went to a "Black Light Puppet Show" at our local library. The room was pitch dark but Evie and Gavin weren't scared. The staff moved brightly colored cardboard cut-outs around (instead of actual puppets) to stories played on CDs. It was a bit slow paced but it was free, and the twins love going to the library.

Under the Weather

Hi everyone, it's Francis here. Sharon and the twins are a little under the weather (everyone seems to have a cough and sniffles), so there may not be an update here for a few days. Rest assured that Sharon is in "blog withdrawal" and can't wait to get back to blogging.

Thursday Cuteness

Gavin helps Nana Cermak open her Valentine card:



Gavin uses his screwdriver to change some batteries:



Snuggling with Grandpa Cermak:




"Ahem, Gavin, you might want to turn that camera around before you press the button..."



Gavin vacuums the driveway:

Grandma & Grandpa

On the day that Grandma and Grandpa Cordes came over last week, Gavin took such a long nap that Evie got a lot of undivided attention from them.






After some books and playtime, Evie opened her Valentine's Day present - new clothes! As usual, Evie liked her card, too:

"Thanks for my new pants, jacket, and pajamas, Grandma!"

Finally Gavin woke up:

Evie "fed" Elmo with her new princess wand:

More books and clapping. What a fun day!

In Which Evie Decides That I Am Funny

This was one Sunday morning where Evie was practicing her favorite word, "no."



"Mommy is the only one who is funny!"

Reading with Uncle David (who is also funny):

On the rockers with Gavin: