Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Playing Around

Playing around with Dad and Grandpa Willms when we were back in Iowa over the twin's baptism weekend.

Matthew gets so happy when you stand him up.

Hey lil' buddy!

My boys!

Me and my twin.  I love Matthew's expression with his chipmunk cheeks!

Grandpa Willms and Katherine - cute picture!

Proud to be an American Pose...I think?

Yay, Fords!  Showing Matthew how awesome Grandpa Dufel's ford vehicles are!

We thought it would be fun to put the twins on my dad's motorcycle.  Matthew gets to drive Kate around. 

Enjoying her time with her silly dad and grandpa!

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Lucky 7

Wow!  Kate and Matt turned 7 months on September 27th.  I can't believe they're already passed a half a year old now.  We definitely are starting to see more and more of their little personalities come out.  One big difference is how busy boys are compared to girls!  Kate would rather sit and look at her toys, but not this little boy.  Now that Matthew is starting to become more mobile, scooting himself around the room, he is into everything!  He constantly has to be moving and grabbing for anything he can see or see that someone has.  Matthew is trying very hard to start to crawl.  Even though I can't wait for the next stage to begin, I must admit I am not ready for the baby proofing to begin.  (Don't mind me if I shed a little tear thinking how the baby stage is quickly passing us by and heading towards toddler hood.) 

We also have big news for our little girl.  On Wednesday, Oct. 5th, Kate rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time.  I went to get her from her crib after she awoke from her nap, and to my surprise she was laying on her tummy!  But she was crying.  She's still not a fan of tummy time, unlike her brother who spends most of his time there.  Miss Katers, you are starting to move and kick a lot more.  We know someday you're just going to take off with Matthew (maybe be even ahead of him)!




Love this one!



Katherine Ilene

Diaper Size: Size 3's
Clothing Size: 6 month and 6-9 months

Sleeping: You are still an amazing sleeper!  You take 3 naps during the day.  You wake up in the morning between 7:30-8:00, have your first bottle, and then take your first nap after an hour of when you woke up.  You take your second nap around noon, and then you last quick nap around 5:00.  You eat your last bottle between 7:30-8:00 and then we put you to bed.  We can put you in your crib and you'll coo a little and then fall asleep all by yourself.  We might have to put your paci in your mouth a few times in the middle of the night.  You always do great at falling rigth back asleep.  To help you sleep you love to have your monkey blanket.  You love to feel the furry monkey and the satin with your hands.  We also put your muslin blanket on the otherside of you.

Eating: You still eat 7 oz every 3 to 4 hours and have 4 to 5 bottles a day.  The new baby foods you have tried this month are squash, pear, and, sweet potato.  You eat baby food twice a day.  Fruit in the morning after you wake up from your morning nap and then vegetables and some fruit in the evening.  You and your brother usually split a container of baby food a time.  Your favorite is peaches and applesauce.  You can be a little impatient in between bits. :)

Dislikes: You don't like to be on your tummy for very long.  You are also starting to notice when mommy leaves the room during the day.  I appreciate this Kate, but it does make it hard for mommy to get things done around the house during the day.

Favorite Activities: You still love being in the exersaucer!  You also love stroller rides and being outside the fall.  You love to watch the vibrate leaves blow in the wind.  You like to play Patty Cake and we can really get you giggling by tickling your tummy and playing Peek-A-Boo!

Nicknames: Kate, Katers, Kater Tot, Taters, Pumpkin' Head, Kater Gator

Talking:  You are making sounds all of the time now!  You love to coo on our walks, while laying in your crib, and when you put your fingers in your mouth.  When you get mad you do a mix of crying and cooing that sounds like you're trying to tell us what's wrong.  You make sounds like "da da", loud happy screeches, "hi", "yeah", and "hey".

New Adventures: Pine Tree Apple Orchard with mom, dad, Matthew, and Grandma and Grandpa Willms.  You and Matthew were baptized back in Iowa at Fredsville Lutheran Church on September 25th.  We had a luncheon afterwards to celebrate with all of your relatives and friends.

New Skills: You can now roll over onto your tummy!!!  Yay, Kate!!!  You get mad because you forgot how to roll back onto your back.  You're starting to sit up with less support from mom and dad.  You can take your paci out of your mouth.  You've been discovering your hands and feet.







Matthew Edward

Diaper Size: Size 3's
Clothing Size: You can still fit into some of your 3-6 months, 6 months, and some 6-9 months.

Sleeping: You are quite the "cat napper". You take 3 short naps during the day. You wake up in the morning between 7:30-8:00, have your first bottle, and then take your first nap after an hour of when you woke up. You take your second nap around noon, and then you last quick nap around 5:00. You eat your last bottle between 7:30-8:00 and then we put you to bed.  Daddy and I have been working on putting you down in your crib at night more awake.  You can definitely fight going to bed.  You cry a little and move all around in your crib before fall asleep.  You like to sleep with your muslin blanket and listen to your lullaby CD. 

Eating: You still eat 7 oz every 3 to 4 hours and have 4 to 5 bottles a day. You still like to try and hold your own bottle.  The new baby foods you have tried this month are squash, pear, and, sweet potato. You eat baby food twice a day. Fruit in the morning after you wake up from your morning nap and then vegetables and some fruit in the evening. You and your brother usually split a container of baby food a time. Your favorite is peaches and green beans. You can be a little impatient in between bits. :)


Dislikes: Taking naps and falling asleep at night. 

Favorite Activities: Moving, Moving, and more MOVING all around the room as much as you can scooting around on your stomach.  And don't forget smiling!  Everything seems to make you smile!  We've even seen you log roll a couple of times.  You like being in the exersaucer, going for stroller rides, playing airplane, putting your feet in your mouth, rough housing with dad, and taking baths.  You like to play Peek-A-Boo, Patty Cake, and you giggle loud when we sing pop songs and move your arms around like you're dancing.

Nicknames: Matt, Matty, Wiggles, Wiggs, Brother

Talking: You are making sounds all of the time now! You love to coo on our walks as you watch the trees above you.  You make sounds like "da da", loud happy screeches, "hi", "yeah", and "hey".  You like to coo and have a conversation with us.
New Adventures: Pine Tree Apple Orchard with mom, dad, Kate, and Grandma and Grandpa Willms. You and Kate were baptized back in Iowa at Fredsville Lutheran Church on September 25th.  We had a luncheon party afterwards with all of your relatives and friends.

New Skills: You can put your toes in your mouth.  You can move yourself around in a cirlce on your stomach and move backwards.  You've been trying hard to get up on all four's to crawl.  A little more practice and you're going to be crawling soon little man.  You can put your paci in your mouth by yourself.

Twin Time!


Thanks to daddy for helping mommyby trying to get the kiddos to smile.  Matthew wasn't really in the picture mood at this time.






Mom and Dad love you so much and we can't wait for the new things you're going to learn next month!




Thursday, October 6, 2011

Foto Fall Fun!

The kids and I have been loving this awesome fall weather!  We've been trying to be outside as much as possible enjoying it while we (or should I say "I") can.  The twins love going on stroller rides and watching the colorful leaves blow above them.  Lately during our walks I get to hear the sounds of Miss Kate cooing as she watches the world around her.  I think fall is Matt and Kate's favorite season! :)

Love this one!




"These leaves are pretty!"


Got to grab my feet - my trick that I love to do all of the time.  Now I can put my feet in my mouth!

Matthew found a leaf.

Touching toes.



"Hey sis, can I come in your Bumbo too?"

Looks like she's in the thinker's pose.

Matthew loved playing with the leaves, but I had to watch the little man so he didn't put it in his mouth!

Thanks Mother Nature for this beautiful weather so we're all able to get out of the house. 

Monday, October 3, 2011

Baptism

Just think,
your baby boy and girl are here not by chance,
but by God's choosing.
God has allowed them to be here
at this time in history
to fulfill His special purpose
for this generation.

-Roy Lessin

On Sunday, September 25th we had Katherine and Matthew baptized.  We choose to do this back at my hometown church, Fredsville Lutheran Church.  The verse above was on one of Kate and Matt's gift sacks from that day.  I am posting it because I feel it sums up the feelings I was feeling that day.  As Pastor Lisa walked the twins arm in arm down the isle showing the twins to the congregation, the emotion hit me.  These two precious gifts from God were the two babies we had been waiting and praying for back when we started the journey to be parents almost 3 years ago.  Katherine and Matthew we not here by chance, but part of God's plans to be the children in our 'new' family.  It was an amazing experience seeing Matthew and Katherine being baptized now into the Lord's family.  We've come along way from those days I first entered the hospital on bed rest in December.  The scare of thinking we were going to lose them, and Kevin and I having to think about doing a baptism in the hospital in case they were born too early.  And there I was, now standing in my hometown church watching these healthy, 6 month old babies being baptized. 

The church service was wonderful.  Pastor Lisa did a great job with the service and Kate and Matt were amazing!  They were all smiles for their baptism.  The senior choir sang special music, 'Borning Cry' for the baptism.  My mom is in the church choir and wanted to sing that particular song for the twins.  Plus, the bell choir played which was special because I was in the bell choir for 10 years.  We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate this joyous occasion with our families and church families.  After church, we had people come over to my parent's house for a luncheon. 

Pastor Lisa walking with the twins at the beginning of the service.

Kevin and I along with the twins' sponsors - Michael, Kelly, and Jenny. 







A picture with the sponsors.

Dad, Mom, and Aunt Jenny


The Grandparents

Pastor Lisa

Kevin's family

All of the Great Grandparents - Jim and Ilene Bernhardt and Virginia Willms

The banner hung in church for their baptism.

Grandma Joyce and Katherine all smiles

Kate with Grandma Joyce and Great Grandma Ilene

I think the twins love their grandmas - look at their big smiles!

The dress Kate wore was the dress my mom was baptized in and then I also wore it for my baptism.  I was glad we could continue this tradition.  The shoes Kate wore were from my friend Krista and Matt and they have her name and birth date printed on the bottom.

Thanks cousin Lizzie and Ryan for making it to church! We were so glad to have you there!  We hope to see you again soon.

Uncle Michael and Matthew

Thank you Suzie for the beautiful cake you made.  You did an awesome job decorating it and it was delicious.

Trying our best to get a picture of the cake with the twins. 

Not happy at mom at the moment.  I was trying to get a picture of her in the dress.  I guess I waited too close to nap time.

My mom and Carlene or my second mom growing up!

Natalie and her family were home visiting and were able to come celebrate with us.  I miss you sis and we hope all is well with your transition out east. 

Matthew reading his new books he got to his Great Aunt Cherri.

My bff from elementary/high school was also back in town visiting and came for the baptism.  It was so good to see you - thanks so much for coming!

We think Matt might have his "first crush" on you!  He literally sat there staring at Casey for a long time not moving an inch.

Great Uncle Bill and Great Aunt Jan with Katherine.

Making Miss Katers giggle

Thanks again to all of our family and friends for sharing in on this special day for our twins.