11 Months and Counting!!!!

Claire and Chloe are now on the countdown to their first birthday. Each day brings some new skill or development. It is amazing to watch. I think when you are the parent, you miss some of the "awe and wonder" of it all, or at least I think I did, or have forgotten . Maybe it is because you are so busy with the day to day responsibilities of caring for the child (or children). But, as grandparents, you can just "enjoy the ride" and take it all in.

The past few days we have been working on parts of the face, among other things. Both of the girls can point to their nose, or yours, if they are in the mood. Chloe has some more words in her vocabulary. The ceiling fan has interested both of them recently. Chloe will point and say "fa"...she can't quite get the the "n" sound. Today Claire decided it was time she join in the "high five" club. She had not been at all interested in taking part previously, while Chloe has "high fived" for a few weeks. I love that they seem to have different interests and progress at their own speed.

They each point to their individual pictures that are on the wall, when asked. Both girls, today, at different times, sat with a book in their lap jabbering as if they were reading. Below is a sequence of pictures that show them interacting and at play.

Yes, we have a climber on our hands. As you can see Chloe climbs on chairs, horses (above) or whatever is handy.

Here is a video of Chloe playing on the chair and Claire entertaining herself nearby. And, following that, a video of Claire walking and pushing the little Dora the Explorer car.

Here is wishing you a Happy and Blessed New Year!

A Very Merry Christmas!

Claire and Chloe experienced their first Christmas celebrations and made our Christmas so very special. Christmas Eve was spent at Uncle Paul and Aunt Patty's house. Their cousin Alexa was a wonderful source of help and entertainment. The first pictures show Claire and Chloe in their booster chairs waiting patiently for some Christmas Eve delicious dinner.


Alexa spent lots of time sharing toys and tending to the babies needs. Here are Alexa and Chloe playing with Alexa's stuffed horse.

Claire got a turn with the horse and immediately knew that the potential to make it a "rocking horse" was there.

Alexa also shared one of her doll's with the girls.

And just before going home Claire had a little cuddle time with Cousin Lisa.

On Christmas Day, Claire and Chloe came to Grandma and Papa's house. Here they having a little Christmas brunch.

And opening gifts.......

And CLIMBING on their new musical chair that they are supposed to sit on....







Christmas 2008 is over but our memories will
last a long, long time.

Happy Birthday Paula!

The highlight of last week, (and boy did it fly by!) was a little celebration for Paula's birthday. The family went to La Hacienda, one of our favorite restaurants. Here is the birthday girl/mommy in the traditional La Hacienda photo opportunity. Also shown are Mike (aka Daddy) and Claire and Chloe. The girls were perfect and enjoyed refried beans and cheese among a few other tasty items.

Later in the week, Papa and I had the opportunity to watch the girls while Mike and Paula attended Mike's work Christmas party. It was so fun to play with them and get them ready for bed. Most of the evening involved Claire chattering non-stop to Papa. Most of the time she had her pointer finger in the air pointing and talking about something. Unfortunately whenever I tried to get the camera out, she would be distracted from her chatter. During that time she also discovered her shadow on the wall, and was fascinated by it. We laughed and laughed.

Chloe was very interested in her picture that hangs on the wall and repeatedly would look at it and tell Papa something about it. Chloe now has two very clear words which can be understood. Dog (pronounced "gog") and bye-bye. Often the bye-bye comes after the person has gone out the door. While the babies had their last bottle, we played their Christmas DVD which has beautiful Christmas music and Christmas scenes. Included in the DVD is even a piece from the Messiah, the girls love it. Chloe fell asleep quickly but Claire lingered listening to the music and smiling up at Papa. Eventually, she too, dozed off.

Here are a couple more shots of the girls from last week as well as the traditional Santa face cookies that our family has made for many years. I can't wait for Claire and Chloe to be able help with the decorating. Maybe even next year!

Munching and Taking Turns

This past week brought lots of activity from Claire and Chloe. The weather was quite cold so we didn't venture out much. They have lots of things to keep them busy. Here they are seen playing with their "old" activity saucer which is used only occasionally now, to keep them safe and out of trouble for a very short time when needed.

Below there are a couple of still shots of the girls munching at lunchtime as well as a little movie that I couldn't resist adding to the blog. Claire was acting a little shy with the camera, but they were enjoying their carrot wheels, a toddler finger food. The carrot wheels and apple wheels keep them occupied for an amazingly long time.

As Christmas approaches, the almost one year old babies, are seeing their first sparkling lights, hearing Christmas music, hearing stories about Christmas and playing with their own nativity set that Mommy and Daddy got for them. What a neat way to learn about the birth of Jesus and what it means to us. Here you can see the pretty little tree that is in their home but safely out of their reach.

One of their books is a book called Silent Night. The book plays the song and has little lights that blink around Baby Jesus' head as the music plays. The next two movies show the dynamics of learning to take turns. They couldn't possibly get the concept yet, but in time they will.

Pictures and Prunes

This year has passed so quickly and in less than two months, we will celebrate Claire and Chloe's first birthday. This week brought some wonderful photos of Claire and Chloe taken by their Aunt Rebekah on Thanksgiving Day. She is an extremely talented photographer and apparently is only doing this as a hobby, but she does a terrific job. She called the two photos "Busy Ballerinas" and I can't wait to see the other photos that were taken on the same day.

We also took some fun photos this week. Chloe seemed to be in front of the camera most of the time and as you will see she had a week full of smiles. The photo of her looking in the mirror is right before she "kissed the baby" in the mirror.

Grandma got lots of kisses this week too, from both of the girls. It is amazing how much they understand when you talk to them, and how they are beginning to follow directions.

Below, Chloe is definitely having a good time. She was hilarious this week. The last picture below is Chloe after her second helping of prunes for the day. Enough said! She also enjoyed a turkey and brown rice casserole that day for lunch.

In the first picture below, Claire is working those teeth that are popping through on the top. She pretty much puts everything in her mouth to get some relief for those sore gums.

While Chloe enjoyed her prunes, Claire followed up her turkey and brown rice casserole with bananas and applesauce mix.

Below are both girls looking very satisfied. If you look closely at Chloe, she is doing a "thumbs up".

A Year of Thankfulness

What an incredible year our family has experienced! I believe we are all "brimming over" with thankfulness. We did not spend Thanksgiving Day all together this year, but even so, we did celebrate in smaller ways. Papa Norm and I had dear friends, Susan and Bill, with us as well as our son Jon. The day was quiet but very enjoyable.

Yesterday Papa and I spent a few hours with Claire and Chloe. What a treat! It was their 10th month birthday and we took a few pictures, of course. Chloe decided to snooze in Papa's arms and stayed there for over an hour. In this picture, it is actually her second position. She sat up once and we thought she was going to wake up but she snuggled up again and fell back asleep.

Claire, however, was a busy little bee for most of the morning. She chattered constantly, most of the day, as this little film will show. Until she, too, fell asleep in Papa's arms.

The girls had some more play time before we took a walk in the neighborhood. What a beautiful day it was, leaves were falling and the temperature was perfect.

After our walk, we paused for a while to enjoy the outside air and listen to Claire's speech, or maybe her song (?). Chloe enjoyed the pleasure of a leaf in her hands and also the fun of removing her sock for about the fifth time that day. :):):) All in all, it has been a wonderful long weekend. We continue to give thanks for the many, many blessings we have.

Great Grandpa Turns 90!!!

The highlight of our week has been the celebration of Claire and Chloe's Great Grandpa Ove's 90th birthday, (Papa's step-dad). We all attended a big party at Aunt Jen and Uncle Mark's house where there was wonderful food and lots of friends and family. Claire and Chloe dressed up in matching jumpers and had a good time with the guests. Above, they are checking out one of their favorite type toys, an empty plastic soda bottle.

Here is Great Grandpa Ove with two family friends, Kathryn on the left, in pink, and Ellie on the right. Ellie is aka "GG" to her grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Below is Great Grandpa with his children, including Claire and Chloe's Papa.

The next picture is Great Grandpa with all but three of his grandchildren and great grandchildren. Jon was fighting fires in So. California, sweet Becky lives in Chicago, and her brother Tim who lives in San Diego was unable to attend as well.

Chloe is seen here with Papa's cousin, Sara, and Claire is being held by Papa's cousin Melody.

After a busy day of travel and fun yesterday Claire and Chloe had a quiet day at home with Grandma. Here they are as they played. Also, below are two film clips of Chloe putting balls into the "laughing giraffe". She learned this skill a few months ago but today she dragged out the giraffe and played with it for some time. Not to be outdone, Claire also decided to use her dexterity.