DYNAMIC DUO

New Videos Posted

At last!  I've finally figured out how to post videos to our blog.  Check out my latest posts below.

A hilarious snipit of cake eating from Max and Miles' first birthday party AND...fresh video - just shot today of the dynamic duo taking their first steps!!! 

At 13 months old, both of the boys have finally started testing out their walking abilities over the past few days.  And while the learning process is still in "baby step" mode (with a typical maximum of five steps in a row), it's SO exciting.  I can just see it now...Max running in one direction, Miles in the other...uh oh, are we really ready for walking?!?!?!  

Enjoy this little clips for a quick laugh :) 

VIDEO: Miles the High Flier

VIDEO: "This Max was made for walkin'..."

VIDEO: Let Them Eat Cake!

Spring Brings a Fresh Blog Update (FINALLY) and a Fabulous 1st Birthday!

To everyone who's been faithfully checking our blog for updates, only to be disappointed...THANK YOU for continuing to follow us and for your patience!  I've finally carved out some time from our busy spring schedule to upload 5 MONTHS worth of photos.  Here's what we've been up to since Christmas:

It's been an incredible time to watch our two princes grow and learn.  They have become such little "men" all of the sudden, I just don't know where the time goes.  We came out of hibernation from a long, Chicago winter to enjoy a few family days at the Museum of Science & Industry and Brookfield Zoo.  Max and Miles loved checking out the exhibits and getting up-close with the animals (especially the dolphin show).  The boys love playing in their play room - you'll see TONS of photos of them goofing around with each other and interacting with their toys.  By 9 months, both were able to shoot hoops with their basketball game and Miles still loves wielding around his baseball bat. 

As usual, we hit the road a few times for a few vacations.  My mom and I took the boys to St. Louis in late March while Mike was on a business trip to Germany.  We had a great time visiting my friends from college and my mom got to see first-hand what it's like to travel with a pair of rambuncious twins.

And our foursome just returned from an incredible Florida vacation which, of course, included the boys first plane ride.  They were troopers (again) and enjoyed a few days in Orlando - punctuated by their first visit to Disney World's Magic Kingdom - and a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's boat in Longboat Key.

It goes without saying that in these past months the twins have experienced many exciting milestones.  In the course of about a week, we ditched the bottles and the formula to make the switch to "real" milk and all sippy cups, all the time.  And like the big boys they are, Max and Miles are also eating all "table" foods...no more homemade baby food for these kids!  And they have learned many fun, new games like peek-a-boo, SO big and clapping.  As for walking...they are SO close and have been for a bit now.  Pulling up and standing on EVERYTHING, taking a guided step from toy to toy.  They certainly have the skill but seem to lack that last little bit of much needed confidence to make the transition.  In the meantime, I'm enjoying what could be the last few days of "control" before they start running in different directions and leave me in the dust behind! :)

The biggest milestone was the highly anticipated FIRST BIRTHDAY!  Max and Miles officially turned one last Wednesday and we threw a fabulous family party on Saturday to celebrate a year filled with excitement, joy, laughter, awe, and...exhaustion.  Despite Max having just gotten over a cold and Miles just going through the worst of it, the boys had an incredible time sharing their special day with the most important people in our lives and getting their first taste of sweet, sweet cake!  The photos tell the whole story, take my word for it.

Best wishes for a beautiful Spring from our family to yours.  And be sure to check back often as we continue to update our site with fresh commentary and new photos.

A Very Merry 1st Christmas

The month of December was truly magical for our family.  We decorated our entire home with exuberance...the direct result of not being able to fully enjoy Christmas in 2007 (thanks to the renovation on our house that ran behind schedule, preventing us from moving back into our place until well after the holidays had gone and the spring weather arrived).  Our Christmas tree was beautiful - donned with nostalgic favorites and a few great new ornaments for "Babies First Christmas." 

We took our first family portrait and sent out our first family holiday letter along with our card.  Max and Miles sat on Santa's lap for the first time.  And, we hosted our first Christmas dinner - bringing together our entire families from both sides - and (if I do say so myself) knocked the socks off our guests with an amazing spread of delicious food, festive drinks, holiday music and simply wonderful family time. 

And that was just one of the FOUR days of Christmas we celebrated.  It started with Christmas Eve with Mike's parents, sister and brother-in-law; continued with Christmas morning presents at home and our fabulous all family get together; included a day-after-Christmas intimate celebration with my mom; and concluded with a Saturday night pizza and grab bag party at my dad's house.  I'm exhausted just re-living it in my head!  As you can see from the pictures, each moment was a very special one and we are so blessed to have such an incredible family to share this special time of year with.  And thank you to everyone for the abundance of gifts for Max and Miles...it's clear they are two lucky (and very spoiled) boys.  I think it's safe to say we enjoyed the wonder of the days more than they did.

In this time of uncertainty as to what 2009 will bring for our economy, our world and frankly, right here at home, may you find comfort and strength in reflecting on how blessed you are with the things that really matter - most importantly, family and friends.  We wish all you a happy and healthy year to come.  Happy New Year! 

Time Flies When You're Raising Babies (AND Having Fun)

It's December 3rd today.  How is that possible?  While we thoroughly enjoyed fall, experiencing the turning leaves in three or more states (thanks to our two road trips), I feel like the past several months have just zoomed by.  Warm weather walks have been replaced by cold cooped up days as the snow and icy rain have made their way to Chicago.  I MISS YOU SUMMER AND FALL!  I barely had time to pull down the fake cobwebs, front yard gravestones and other spooky Halloween fixtures (okay, so my ceramic "carved" pumpkins stayed up through Thanksgiving) before putting up our Christmas tree and festive decor. 

It was a great four-day weekend extravaganza punctuated by the boys' first Thanksgiving.  The marathon day started out a my dad and Sue's house.  Donning specialty bibs for the occasion (and stuck on day one of eating sweet peas), Max and Miles sat at the table with the rest of the family and pigged out on solids while we gorged on turkey and all the trimmings.  Sorry, boys...no stuffing sandwiches until next year.  We then headed to Mike's uncle's house for dessert.  A delicious day was had by all.  It took us two days to trim our beautiful new artificial tree (thanks, mom!) and decorate the whole house...why does everything take twice as long to accomplish once you have children?  It was well worth all the time and work, especially seeing as we didn't do ANY decorating last year because we were still staying with Mike's parents waiting for our house to be finished.  On Sunday, we did more decorating - this time at my mom's.  What a way to kick-start the holidays!  AND, I've offered to host Christmas day at our house...bring it on, Christmas!! 

M&M are growing like weeds.  I terrified I'll wake up tomorrow morning to find them in their room, organizing a backpack and heading off to Kindergarten!  At their belated 6-month appointment last Wednesday, Max weighed in at 18 lbs., 10.5 oz and Miles at 17 lbs., 7.5 oz.  They're both 28.25 inches long - "skinny, tall boys" is what our pediatrician predicts.  Miles has two teeth already..."Frank" and "Stanley" make their appearance known with every adorable toothy grin.  Max has taken up crawling and seems to make it from one end of the playroom to the other in record time all of the sudden.  It's been a cranky week of teething and adjusting to a new schedule as they now eat three meals of solids each day.  I'm making homemade food for them which has been wonderful and they really seem to love it, too.  And we've started attending some local playgroup meetups which has been a nice way to enjoy the company of other moms and their little ones in lieu of our neighborhood walks and trips to the library.  I fear the winter will really put a damper on our activities as it's already hard enough to schlep around with two babies (and their stroller, a diaper bag, toys, feeding supplies, etc, etc, etc) without having to do it in 3 feet of snow!

We're looking forward to the wonders of the twins first Christmas...lots of hot chocolate, mulled spiced wine and cozy nights curled up with a blanket in front of the fire.

   

Happy Halloween 2008!

All other babies were "green" with envy this Halloween as Max and Miles were certainly the cutest little costumed characters this side of the pumpkin patch (or at least that's what their mom says)!  Dressed as two peas in a pod, they enjoyed parading around in full garb as we greeted trick-or-treaters and guests of our Halloween night party.  Mommy was dressed up as a farmer and daddy donned a full cow suit to pull together a hilarious family costume.  Our house was all decked out for the occasion with a haunted front yard graveyard and spooky cobwebs and other creepy decor inside.  We all had a bone-chillingly good time and the little guys loved their first Halloween!

Fall Tour and a weekend of firsts!

We enjoyed an amazing weekend in central Indiana - a little getaway with the Windy City BMW chapter for a driving tour through the back roads of the area's Amish country and covered bridges.  At 80-degrees and sunny, the turning leaves seemed somewhat out of place.  Now old pros at road trips, the boys enjoyed the scenic drive, a few short hiking excursions and plenty of socializing with new people.

It was a big weekend for Miles as he cut his first tooth - his lower right front one poked through on Friday and has been welcome with much crabbiness.  And in a very exciting new first, both of the little guys tried rice cereal for the first time last night.  Be sure to check out the hilarious photos in our album.

Busy, busy, fun, fun!

The past few months have been filled with so much exciting activity.  Most notably, Max and Miles were baptized on September 7th.  The ceremony took place at First St. Paul's - the same church where I was confirmed and Mike and I were married.  It was a beautiful day to enjoy with our family.

Over the last week of September, we embarked on the first road trip with little guys in tow (from Chicago to New York and back) for the BMW car club's annual Oktoberfest event.  We stopped in Cleveland to break up the drive and had a great time exploring the city and the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame.  Our final destination was Watkins Glen and a week long trek through the Finger Lakes region of NY - amazing wine country.  Between our own scenic drives and event rallies, we took in quite a bit of the area.  Highlights included tastings at various local wineries (all with stunning views), hikes through the waterfalls at Watkins Glen State Park, the Corning Museum of Glass and of course, all the delicious local food!  The boys were troopers and really enjoyed the trip as well.  I think they've already come to love travel as much as Mike and I do!

The change of season has brought changes for the little guys too.  At their last pediatrician appointment (9/17/08), Max was a whopping 15 lbs., 13 oz. and 27" long; Miles wasn't far behind at 14 lbs., 9 oz. and 26 1/2" long.  They're in the 95% now for length (yeah, tall boys!) and 50-75% for weight.  Not bad for being twins!  Developmentally, they have outstanding neck strength now and can do tummy time at length - they love to face each other, stare and laugh.  Miles has mastered rolling over from his back to his tummy and is now unstoppable in this new-found talent.  The first time I walked into the nursery to see him laying on his stomach sleeping, I nearly had a heart attack!  We've had to lower his crib mattress to make sure he doesn't try to escape!  Max is catching on too but still prefers to lounge on his back.  The teething continues as everything goes right into their cute little mouths.  Good thing they have gotten so adept at holding toys!  The best part is their joyful laughter and little screams and the fact that just about any look from mommy or daddy now creates a big smile.  In just a few short weeks, they'll be ready for solid foods...can't wait for that! 

We're looking forward to a fun fall with activities like apple picking and the babies first Halloween.  Check back to see what costumes they wore!

Be sure to check out all the newly uploaded photos!