Our twelfth month has been full of exciting and fun things!
The weekend of our birthday, we got to go to an ice cream social for Northern Virginia Parents Of Multiples, where we met a lot of other twins.
The next day, we went to our very first park, Clemyjontri, near here. It is a very special park for children, brightly colored, soft surfaces, and completely handicapped accessible. We got to try out swinging for the first time, and explored some of their other fun equipment. The next time we go, we want to ride the carousel with Mommy and Daddy!
Later that week, we went with Mommy into DC to meet Daddy at work. We got to meet some of his co-workers, and we all went out to lunch together at Firefly in DuPont Circle. The crazy thing was that it was restaurant week, and we were seated right by the hostess station in front. But this was a great vantage point for us to study everyone in the restaurant, and for Christopher to monitor “command central”! Mommy and Daddy did a pretty good job of grabbing all the extra china and knives before we could, and even helped us decorate cookies with sprinkles our waiter brought us. After lunch, they brought them back, all baked, and they were a very messy, yummy treat! ☺
And then last week, we had our playgroup friends over, and we had special treats (animal cupcakes, and some goldfish and puffs!) to celebrate our birthdays and our friend Lexi’s birthday! We played inside, and then sat out on the lawn to eat treats and play with bubbles and our cool birthday bubble machine! We learned that Katharine is afraid of the bubble machine, but we both love to watch regular bubbles being blown.
The next day, in the middle of our pre-afternoon nap diaper change, we were listening to music and picking out a book when our windows began to rattle. When Mommy saw the huge TV in front of us begin to shake, she grabbed us and headed for the closest doorframe. It lasted about 45 seconds, and then a phone call from Daddy confirmed that we had just experienced our first earthquake (Mommy’s too!). It was the biggest earthquake in this area since the year 1897, and tied that one at 5.8 on the Richter scale. There were two aftershocks, but we did not feel those. Daddy was able to make it home on the metro, but it took two hours. We didn’t have any damage. An elephant fell off of the Noah’s Ark in the kids’ room, and a picture fell off our mantle downstairs. But we were fine, and had great naps afterward!
And then this weekend, we had our first hurricane! Sort of. Hurricane Irene caused lots of excitement for all the grownups. When Mommy went to get groceries for the week, the lady at the store laughed when she asked what aisle the water was in. We took one of the last three containers of water left, and mommy found extra batteries the next day at another store. The morning of the hurricane’s arrival, it was gloomy but warm, so we went to the farmer’s market and the store, and then headed home for the rest of the weekend. Irene luckily downgraded to a level 1, and it was just really windy and rainy here at our house. The lights dimmed once on Saturday and once on Sunday, but we were really thankful not to lose power. And on Sunday, we enjoyed the beautiful sun by sitting out on the front step and blowing bubbles.
And this week, we are going to visit Mommy's school and have lunch with Miss Lauren and our friends Alex and Ela at Miss Kathie's house, and meet baby Mila!
Other big news!
Katharine is seventeen pounds and nine ounces, and Christopher is twenty-two pounds and ten ounces. Christopher is too tall for his infant car seat at 30.5 inches, so we both got new car seats last week. They are HUGE! They are supposed to last us until 59 inches and 70 pounds. Can you believe that? Since we aren’t using our old snap-out car seats anymore, we get to start using our stroller seats when we’re out! They’re so cool, because one of us sits up higher so we can both see. And we can face forward or backward, or face each other, which we think is so fun!
Christopher started truly crawling (although he still sometimes needs some reminders, as he still likes to belly crawl when he’s in a hurry or excited), and pulling up on his own last week. He loves to stand, and seems to be thinking about taking steps sometimes! Daddy even caught him dancing a little bit at the music table tonight! He is getting the hang of the snack trap, and is almost a pro at holding his own sippy cup after only about a week of practice! Katharine loves her snack trap, but is not loving the sippy cup as much. We recently tried drinking milk without thickener, and lets just say it’s not her favorite thing. We’ll keep working on that… We’re hoping the reflux is behind us! And both of us are bringing in another new tooth in our bottom front row.
Well, that pretty well catches us up for this month! We have a photo gallery for our birthday celebration with our playgroup, and another one for all the fun stuff we did at home for our birthdays this month. Here they are…
August and Our Birthdays At Home
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=7010268980105%3A1665264563&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Top
Playgroup Birthday Celebration
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=1110268980105%3A1798024512&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Top
Enjoy!
Love,
Katharine and Christopher
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
We're One Year Old!
Hello everyone! Can you believe it? We’re one year old!
One year ago, Mommy and Daddy got surprising news – that we were coming, ASAP!
On August 11, 2010, Katharine was born at 11:20 am, at three pounds, one ounce, and 16.5 inches. Christopher was born at 11:22 am, at three pounds, one ounce, and 17.5 inches. And we were both taken promptly to the NICU, where we stayed for seven weeks, until we moved to the NICU at Fair Oaks hospital for two more weeks. While we were there, we learned to breathe on our own, eat from a bottle, and regulate our body temperature outside of the controlled isolette environment. Mommy and Daddy were thankful to watch each of these developments. And when we were ready, we finally got to see our room at home on Saturday, October 16.
Through this year, Mommy and Daddy were thankful to see that the PDA in Katharine’s heart had disappeared, that our eyes and ears and lungs were healthy, and that little-by-little, we would begin to overcome the severe reflux that resulted from being born so early.
This year has been full of doctors’ appointments, developmental assessments, therapy sessions, and follow-up visits. There have been medicines and therapy, special formula and thickeners. There have been nearly sleepless nights (we slept great, but Mommy and Daddy have been yawning a little!), and worry.
There have also been overwhelming blessings and joy. Our laughter fills our home more often than our cries. We are tolerating the entry of our new teeth as bravely as we can. Our bodies are growing and strong. We have learned to roll over, sit up, crawl, and stand. We love to feed ourselves solid food in our high chairs (especially when icing is involved!). We can hold our sippy cups and even sip a little from them if we like (which we normally do not). And Katharine has become a master of the snack “trap”!
We love to laugh and babble to each other and to Mommy and Daddy, and say lots of interesting things, with increasing intensity and volume! We are very curious about everything! We love to move, investigate closely, experiment, and reach in and out of things.
We have seen so many new things this year, traveling to Ohio and California. We’ve learned about cats and dogs, trees and mountains, water and sand, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We’ve made lots of new friends to play with, and have had fun meeting Mommy and Daddy’s friends too!
And we are SO big now! On our birthday, Katharine is seventeen pounds and 28 inches, and Christopher is 21 pounds and 30.5 inches.
And we had a great birthday!
While we were at Fairfax Hospital (or as Mommy and Daddy used to call it, “Hotel Fairfax”) for our one-year follow up appointment, we decided to make some visits! We dropped off flowers and a photo thank you card at the NICU, and at Perinatal Associates, where Dr. Nies surprised us by coming out to see the kids for the first time since she delivered them! And we had a fun reunion with Mommy in the HRP wing, where we met a lot of the wonderful nurses who made such a difference during her stay there; Julia, Judy, Wendy, and Christine, who was her nurse the morning we were born!
It was a wonderful way to remember our journey into the world!
And after a great nap, we had a special dinner at home with Mommy and Daddy, and got to blow out birthday candles one more time and have a special animal-shaped birthday cupcakes Mommy made and decorated herself! ☺
And that is how we ended our journey to this one-year milestone! We still can’t believe it, but we’re so glad we’re one! Thank you for all your hugs and love this year!
And we can’t wait to share this next year of growing and adventures with you! Who knows what it will hold for our family?
Until then, here is a link for our Kodak Gallery of our birthday fun! Enjoy!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=9935327480105%3A1248595606&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Top
Love,
Christopher and Katharine
One year ago, Mommy and Daddy got surprising news – that we were coming, ASAP!
On August 11, 2010, Katharine was born at 11:20 am, at three pounds, one ounce, and 16.5 inches. Christopher was born at 11:22 am, at three pounds, one ounce, and 17.5 inches. And we were both taken promptly to the NICU, where we stayed for seven weeks, until we moved to the NICU at Fair Oaks hospital for two more weeks. While we were there, we learned to breathe on our own, eat from a bottle, and regulate our body temperature outside of the controlled isolette environment. Mommy and Daddy were thankful to watch each of these developments. And when we were ready, we finally got to see our room at home on Saturday, October 16.
Through this year, Mommy and Daddy were thankful to see that the PDA in Katharine’s heart had disappeared, that our eyes and ears and lungs were healthy, and that little-by-little, we would begin to overcome the severe reflux that resulted from being born so early.
This year has been full of doctors’ appointments, developmental assessments, therapy sessions, and follow-up visits. There have been medicines and therapy, special formula and thickeners. There have been nearly sleepless nights (we slept great, but Mommy and Daddy have been yawning a little!), and worry.
There have also been overwhelming blessings and joy. Our laughter fills our home more often than our cries. We are tolerating the entry of our new teeth as bravely as we can. Our bodies are growing and strong. We have learned to roll over, sit up, crawl, and stand. We love to feed ourselves solid food in our high chairs (especially when icing is involved!). We can hold our sippy cups and even sip a little from them if we like (which we normally do not). And Katharine has become a master of the snack “trap”!
We love to laugh and babble to each other and to Mommy and Daddy, and say lots of interesting things, with increasing intensity and volume! We are very curious about everything! We love to move, investigate closely, experiment, and reach in and out of things.
We have seen so many new things this year, traveling to Ohio and California. We’ve learned about cats and dogs, trees and mountains, water and sand, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We’ve made lots of new friends to play with, and have had fun meeting Mommy and Daddy’s friends too!
And we are SO big now! On our birthday, Katharine is seventeen pounds and 28 inches, and Christopher is 21 pounds and 30.5 inches.
And we had a great birthday!
While we were at Fairfax Hospital (or as Mommy and Daddy used to call it, “Hotel Fairfax”) for our one-year follow up appointment, we decided to make some visits! We dropped off flowers and a photo thank you card at the NICU, and at Perinatal Associates, where Dr. Nies surprised us by coming out to see the kids for the first time since she delivered them! And we had a fun reunion with Mommy in the HRP wing, where we met a lot of the wonderful nurses who made such a difference during her stay there; Julia, Judy, Wendy, and Christine, who was her nurse the morning we were born!
It was a wonderful way to remember our journey into the world!
And after a great nap, we had a special dinner at home with Mommy and Daddy, and got to blow out birthday candles one more time and have a special animal-shaped birthday cupcakes Mommy made and decorated herself! ☺
And that is how we ended our journey to this one-year milestone! We still can’t believe it, but we’re so glad we’re one! Thank you for all your hugs and love this year!
And we can’t wait to share this next year of growing and adventures with you! Who knows what it will hold for our family?
Until then, here is a link for our Kodak Gallery of our birthday fun! Enjoy!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=9935327480105%3A1248595606&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Top
Love,
Christopher and Katharine
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
July Into August - Our Ohio Birthday Celebrations
We Can’t Believe It – We’re Almost One Year Old!
July flew by, along with our eleven-month birthday. We had one more cold at the beginning of the month, so we stayed home a lot with Mommy for a week or so. But soon we felt better and were ready to so back to see our friends in playgroup. And we got to have lunch with Anne, Doug, and Zachary, and try our hand (or shall we say our feet?) at painting our own pottery, with Mommy and Daddy’s help.
We were so excited that the end of the month came quickly, because we were really looking forward to spending time with all of our grandmas and grandpas in Ohio, and playing with our aunts, uncles, and cousins, with the kitties and Zoe Dog, and seeing some more of our family and friends from home. While we were there, we got to share two fun celebrations with everyone for our upcoming one-year birthday. We learned that we LOVE cake, and Mommy and Daddy took lots of cute pictures of us trying that out. We also got so many new fun toys to chase and rattle and roll around. We are having SO much fun with them now that we’re back at home, because we love to make noise, take things apart, and be on the move!
Katharine still loves to walk with anyone who will hold their hands out for her to grab on, and she loves to climb the stairs when Mommy and Daddy spot her from behind. She laughs and giggles with glee every time, and is starting to try out holding on with only one hand. She can get herself up and down near furniture, but is not yet into "cruising around" on her own. Christopher is doing a really fast army-style crawl everywhere he wants to go. He even started to get a little blister on one foot from pushing himself around so much with his toes. He’s doing a great job getting his knees under him for a little while, but is not using that position for traditional crawling yet. He’s also getting better at climbing the stairs, getting all his movements coordinated more easily. His greatest fun this month happened while we were in Ohio – He is now able to sit himself us whenever he wants to, and does this all the time to look at things that interest him. When we got home from our trip, he even started pushing up on his knees and on one foot by himself while playing at his music table. Mom got some pictures of that because it was pretty cool!
There was something else new for Christopher this month. At his follow up with his eye specialist, we determined that his tracking issue is more noticeable, even though it was almost non-existent at his last follow up appt. So for the next three months, he gets to wear a cool sticker over his right eye for an hour or two a day. In some of his photos, you might notice it on the left side. He doesn't mind it when he's playing and distracted, but it is all about timing. When he's really not in the mood, he knows how to get it off. Hopefully, this patching approach will help the other eye grow stronger, so that the two work together more consistently without further intervention.
And we keep growing! Christopher is about twenty-one pounds now, and Katharine is close to seventeen. But Mommy will do an official weight on our birthday (TOMORROW!). And we’ll find out about our height and all kinds of great developmental progress when we see our pediatrician later this month for our 12-month appointment. So more good news coming soon!
But let’s face it; this post is really about the photos! We have a ton of photos to share, of all the fun things we did, and wonderful moments spend with our loved ones! Here’s the address…….Enjoy!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=3301599380105%3A385101228&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Top
Thank you again to everyone who celebrated with us, held, fed, comforted, and played with us while we were visiting. We miss you all so much, and we are so thankful to be blessed by so much love!
We can’t believe we’re almost one!
Love,
Christopher and Katharine
July flew by, along with our eleven-month birthday. We had one more cold at the beginning of the month, so we stayed home a lot with Mommy for a week or so. But soon we felt better and were ready to so back to see our friends in playgroup. And we got to have lunch with Anne, Doug, and Zachary, and try our hand (or shall we say our feet?) at painting our own pottery, with Mommy and Daddy’s help.
We were so excited that the end of the month came quickly, because we were really looking forward to spending time with all of our grandmas and grandpas in Ohio, and playing with our aunts, uncles, and cousins, with the kitties and Zoe Dog, and seeing some more of our family and friends from home. While we were there, we got to share two fun celebrations with everyone for our upcoming one-year birthday. We learned that we LOVE cake, and Mommy and Daddy took lots of cute pictures of us trying that out. We also got so many new fun toys to chase and rattle and roll around. We are having SO much fun with them now that we’re back at home, because we love to make noise, take things apart, and be on the move!
Katharine still loves to walk with anyone who will hold their hands out for her to grab on, and she loves to climb the stairs when Mommy and Daddy spot her from behind. She laughs and giggles with glee every time, and is starting to try out holding on with only one hand. She can get herself up and down near furniture, but is not yet into "cruising around" on her own. Christopher is doing a really fast army-style crawl everywhere he wants to go. He even started to get a little blister on one foot from pushing himself around so much with his toes. He’s doing a great job getting his knees under him for a little while, but is not using that position for traditional crawling yet. He’s also getting better at climbing the stairs, getting all his movements coordinated more easily. His greatest fun this month happened while we were in Ohio – He is now able to sit himself us whenever he wants to, and does this all the time to look at things that interest him. When we got home from our trip, he even started pushing up on his knees and on one foot by himself while playing at his music table. Mom got some pictures of that because it was pretty cool!
There was something else new for Christopher this month. At his follow up with his eye specialist, we determined that his tracking issue is more noticeable, even though it was almost non-existent at his last follow up appt. So for the next three months, he gets to wear a cool sticker over his right eye for an hour or two a day. In some of his photos, you might notice it on the left side. He doesn't mind it when he's playing and distracted, but it is all about timing. When he's really not in the mood, he knows how to get it off. Hopefully, this patching approach will help the other eye grow stronger, so that the two work together more consistently without further intervention.
And we keep growing! Christopher is about twenty-one pounds now, and Katharine is close to seventeen. But Mommy will do an official weight on our birthday (TOMORROW!). And we’ll find out about our height and all kinds of great developmental progress when we see our pediatrician later this month for our 12-month appointment. So more good news coming soon!
But let’s face it; this post is really about the photos! We have a ton of photos to share, of all the fun things we did, and wonderful moments spend with our loved ones! Here’s the address…….Enjoy!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/sharing/shareRedirectSwitchBoard.jsp?token=3301599380105%3A385101228&sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Top
Thank you again to everyone who celebrated with us, held, fed, comforted, and played with us while we were visiting. We miss you all so much, and we are so thankful to be blessed by so much love!
We can’t believe we’re almost one!
Love,
Christopher and Katharine
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