The 1st, 1st Birthday Party

Yesterday we had the girl's 1st, 1st Birthday party. It was too much fun and cute. The girls actually opened a few of their own presents and Maddie true to form loved her cake. She was a little tentative at first but then got the hang of it and had it all over. Natalie on the other...also true to form took everything in and wanted to be fed with a spoon, and did not like it at all when Tom took her hand and put it in the icing. It was to cute and to funny. Their favorite part were the mylar balloons that they got. I have never heard them laugh as much as they did playing with them. I can't believe that we are already celebrating their 1st birthdays and my parents tell me time will fly even faster now, something I am not ready to deal with. But I am going to enjoy the moments as we have them!

To Cute for Words

I have decided, just when I think my kids can't get any cuter, they do. The cutest thing yet is Natalie with her pacifier in one hand and her pink bunny blanket in the other hand trying to walk. It really is adorable. She has taken 13 steps in a row and is trying all the time to stand and walk. Maddie has shown no signs of wanting to walk without help. She loves to hold hands and walk or to push her little cart around, she basically runs. We are pretty sure that by their birthday in a few weeks Natalie will be running and Maddie will be on her way...at this point I am going to be in trouble to say the least, but it is so much fun and way to cute so I will just deal with having gates up to keep everyone safe!
In other news I am in Ohio again for a few weeks, for the girl's first first birthday party...we are having 2 so all the relatives can celebrate with us. I can't wait to see the mess they make with their cakes...should be pretty fun! Also, thank you to Maya, (laurentfiles) for giving me the nice award...that was very "nice" of you...I hope to pass it along in the next few days!
So hopefully we will have more fun stories from our journey or maybe someone will be running soon.

Don't Touch My Seat

Have you ever let or had someone drive your car, only to have them move the driver's seat? I have recently realized that this has become one of my biggest pet peeves, but that I am not alone. There is something special about the way a person positions their driver's seat. You just get it perfect so that you can see out, reach the peddles and drive well. Then someone gets in and messes up that perfection. Tom says he doesn't mind when I mess up his seat...secretly I think it annoys him, because I am so much shorter than he is, it makes it hard for him to get into his own car when I forget to move the seat back. My sister hates it when our dad moves the seat in her car and I cannot stand it when Tom messes with mine...does it bother you when someone moves your seat?

Like Mother, Like Daughters

Tonight we tried giving the girls mashed potatoes. They weren't real, just those potato buds you can get. Last week I had mashed potatoes and they loved them, so I thought, why not change up their routine? Well, Tom tried giving them the potatoes and they wouldn't eat them. We were going to give them some veggies mixed in, but then I thought...Ketchup. So Tom put a little ketchup on them and you betcha they ate the right up! Now for those of you who know me well, you know that I eat ketchup on just about everything...steak, hamburger, chicken, mashed potatoes, baked potato, salmon, shrimp, etc...you get the point. So it only figures that my daughters would prefer their potatoes with ketchup as well. I guess their Nana and Poppi better get a supply again for Christmas :-)

We Have a Basement

Well, we are back into the building swing of things and we have a basement, AGAIN! It is nice to see progress, finally, it seems like it has been forever! We are not getting to excited this time around so that we don't have our hopes dashed if something happens, but the builder has promised us we will be in by December 14...so we are hoping they can come through with that promise. Anyway, here is a picture of the basement. I guess right after I took this they came and insulated and were getting ready to pour the floor, but oh well.

Trying Something New

So I am debating on whether or not I want to start adding pictures to my blog. I try not to give very much information out online, because you hear so many stories of people finding people on the internet and stuff, so here is a picture that doesn't give anything away, but is from our trip to Minneapolis.

Mommy No

As if putting the girls down for naps and bed at night isn't hard enough...Maddie has learned how to totally pull at my heartstrings. She now says, "Mommy No, No Mommy." When I go to put her in her bed. Only it isn't said, she cries it...it breaks my heart. Even more she grabs onto my neck and won't let go. It breaks my heart, but sleep is the best thing for her. It is so strange how babies know just how to get to you and make you fall in love with them even more. I am hoping that this little phase passes quickly and that Maddie doesn't keep breaking my heart!

Mommy and Maddie's Big Adventure

This past weekend we split the twins up for the first time ever, and hopefully we won't have to do it again anytime soon. One of my best friends from college was getting married in Minneapolis and we decided it was to expensive for all four of us to go and I couldn't go alone, so I took Maddie. People ask how we decided who would go, Maddie is still nursing, so we left milk behind for Natalie and hit the road. The flight there was great, we had three seats all to ourselves so Maddie could bang on the window and tear up the free Sky Mall magazine...so that was great. We then got to go the site of the wedding and walk around the gardens and then the wedding and reception, which were fabulous. Maddie did a great job, she barely had a nap and she managed to stay up until 10:30 and then slept until 9:30 the next day! Sunday we even made it to the Mall of America on our way to the airport...it was pretty cool and huge! While Maddie had a good time, poor little Natalie had a harder run at it. I guess she kept looking for Maddie and wouldn't play or talk or laugh. Sunday she even looked at Maddie's high chair and started whimpering...she missed her sister that much. Then once we got in the car, she started laughing and grabbing her hand and laughing and talking and then they couldn't wait to play and hug each other. It was pretty darn cute to see them back together, but sad for me to think that Natalie was so sad all weekend. It was a tough decision for me, as their mother to have to choose between one of my babies, but it was the only way. I hope in the future I don't have to choose again!

Where is our break?

On Monday I came home and checked our mailbox for our mail, only to find two huge yellow pieces of paper in the box. The first one said, "This box is vacant." The second one said, "New Teneant card, please fill out immediately." What the heck I thought, steaming mad...where was our mail? Of course it was after 6:00 and the apartment office and the post office were closed. I called the 800 number on the card and someone actually answered and informed me that I had moved...I thought this comical, because had I moved I think I would have remembered. So I informed her that I had not moved and wanted my mail. She then questioned me again, "you haven't moved?" "No, I have not, please tell me where my mail is." At this point she told me to take my id to the local post office and they would have my mail for the next ten days. The next morning I called the post office to try to sort things out and talked directly to our mail carrier. He informed me that the apartment complex had notified him that we had moved and so he emptied the box and returned our mail, "return to sender." At this point I was livid, because I was expecting several packages and some important checks and other mail. I guaranteed him that I had not moved and to please continue to deliver our mail. I then called the apartment office and was informed that the mail carrier must have read his sheet wrong because they did not have us marked down as moved out or even on notice. I wanted to say well that is good since I NEVER MOVED! Anyway, I thought we had everything straightened out and we have been getting our mail all week. Only to come home to a note in our box today that said, "Stahl Family, Please go to your local post office and cancel your change of address that you placed on 7-24-? with the address to the destroyed house." WHAT, I screamed to myself. Not only did I re-forward our mail back to our apartment as the post office requested, but I paid the fee to have it done and now two months later they are telling us to cancel a change order...come on get with it...I am quickly losing faith in a system that I already questioned a little...ahhhhhhhh....here is hoping we can get everything straightened out and when we really do move in the future our mail goes with us. I guess this might be why our new checks never reached us...lost in the limbo land of the United States Postal Servcie.

Fall

It is that time of year again, Fall, my favorite season. At least it is my favorite season when we actually have it. It seems like anymore we have 2 seasons, winter and summer, freezing and hot. I prefer Fall. Jeans and sweatshirts, open windows, beautiful leaves and great smells. Hot chocolate or warm apple cider if you prefer. The return of pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks, pumpkin muffins at Einsteins, Carmel apple shakes at Steak n Shake, Carmel apple suckers and walks in the park watching the leaves change colors and not sweating, because the temperature is perfect. Here's to fall and all its sweetness!

No, No and Yes, Yes

As the girls get older it is funny on the things that they are picking up on first. Natalie will now shake her head from side to side when you tell her no and sometimes even up and down signifying yes when you tell her no. Other times they will laugh at me like I am crazy for telling them no and try to continue doing whatever it is they shouldn't...like trying to pull the floor lamp over. Other times they will dance to music and both are trying to walk...a scary thought because they are already crazy fast on their knees. They also both wave bye bye and Natalie waves hello sometimes too. It is pretty cute, because when you take her out of the room she waves bye bye...usually to no one in particular. As they reach their eleventh month I cannot believe how fast time has gone by and I wish I could freeze time right now and enjoy them both at this stage a little longer, before they really start to throw tantrums or can talk back...but you can't so I will just take the memories with me and laugh as we go along.

Of Course

Next weekend the girls will be 11 months old. Do you know how long it took me/us to realize that it was okay to shut the door to their room when they are napping and at night to start out while we are still up? It took 10 months. I don't know why we didn't do this from the start, but boy does it make a difference. They go down when we put them in and of course all our messing about doesn't wake them back up. I mean come on Lauren, common sense should have kicked it, but nope it sure didn't. I think part of me was afraid that they would be afraid, but they aren't, they are always totally fine. They prefer to be together of course, but they don't mind the door being shut. Crazy how something so simple can slip your mind...but at least we know now!

Like Father, Like Son

Today I took the girls to Martinsville to see their Nana and Poppi and to get out of the apartment...always nice. We were eating lunch and Tom's dad offered to feed one of the girls. I had him do Natalie because she is a really good eater. Well, I looked over and she had food all over her face and his dad had a huge heaping spoonful of food waiting. I just laughed and said, "maybe if you give her less she won't be so messy." I got the response that this method helps it go quicker. I just had to laugh because this is exactly how Tom feeds the girls. Heaping spoonfuls as fast as he can. I guess what more can you say than, like father, like son.

Third Time

Today I developed my third, yes third breast infection in the last 10 months. Let me tell you, aside from child birth these are seriously the most painful things I have ever experienced. They are so painful that they give me Vicodin to relieve the pain...crazy. My last one was two weeks ago and my dr. thinks that it didn't clear up so I am on 1 pill, 4 times a day for the next 10 days, fun stuff. This one that I am currently having has been the worst, I completely feel like I have the flu and I am achy. I did manage to drive us back from Ohio though without any problems and now I am just waiting for my dinner to digest so I can take my meds. My dr. has given me a 48 hour window to feel better or I am going to have to go in and see her. My first infection was so bad that I had to have an ultrasound to make sure that nothing was horribly wrong and it wasn't and I was better within 48 hours so here is hoping this one gets better too so I don't have to go through that again. Still even with all this pain it has been worth it to not have had the girls drink much formula, or any for that matter for the last 4 months, so oh well I guess, here's to getting better!