Happy New Year!

We spent NYE at Great Wolf Lodge. The kids had a blast at the waterpark. Unfortunately Uncle Don, Aunt Cate, and cousin George were supposed to come, but George (and soon after Aunt Cate) came down with a really bad cold. My sister Jamie and her family were also going so they canceled their reservation and stayed in our suite.

There were so many activities for kids to do. One of the attractions was a show and then they made it snow in the lobby. Ethan and Elaine were both fascinated!

After the snow show, it was time for the babies to go to bed. After an afternoon of swimming, activites, and playing with their cousins Morgan and Jake they were pooped!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! The twins woke up and were really excited to get moving on their presents! Ethan was especially ready to get moving.

Normally we start with the youngest person in the family and let them open all of their presents so everyone can relax and watch. Since the twins are still so young we alternated between the two.

Both kids LOVED their toys. After the first few toys the babies lost interest in opening their presents because they wanted to play with the already opened toys.

Charlie had a good time too! He would have been just as happy getting a bag full of hugs!

To Grandmother's House We Go

Once we were done opening presents, we packed up and headed to Cleveland to meet up with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Cate, Uncle Don, George, Aunt Melissa and Uncle Timmy. It was a long drive, but we made it!

The kids had a good time opening presents and helping all the others open thier presents. The twins cousin George graciously helped them learn how to work their new toys.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Tonight the twins got to finally meet Santa!....it only took a 3 hours! We got to the mall at 3:30. We didn't have much traffic and found a spot one space from the door! We thought we were in complete luck...then we got to Santa's line. They were taking reservations and the first available was at 6:05. We walked around the mall until 5:45 and went back to Santa's area. We then waited until 6:20 for Santa to come back from his break. While we were walking around the mall, Patrick had to run across the street (we didn't want to lose our parking space) to Fresh Market and get the twins some Cheerios. After all said and done, we finally got home right after 7pm because there was an ice storm while we were in the mall and driving home was REALLY SLOW! It was worth it though. Elaine was all smiles, Ethan wasn't too thrilled to sit on some old man's lap....we'll have to watch Elaine closely in the future!

Osborne Christmas

Today my family came down to celebrate Christmas. The twins had a blast and did a great job unwrapping their presents. They got so many interactive toys, Patrick and I are looking forward to them being occupied and giving us a little break here and there. Thank you to everyone for such generous gifts!

The Rhythm is Going to Get You

The twins got an animated ornament from their GG. They LOVE it! As you can see, Ethan seems to have a little more rhythm than Elaine but she's all heart!

Our First Christmas Present

Today the twins got their first Christmas present! Lizzy came over and dropped off a present for them, two adorable outfits from the Gap. They loved ripping the paper.

Festival of Lights

Tonight the twins' cousins Morgan and Jake came down to go to our annual Festival of Lights trip at the zoo. Ethan and Elaine had a blast, but it was really COLD.

Because of the cold, we had to cut the trip a little shorter than usual. We still saw a bunch of animals and had some hot cocoa. Next year when the twins can walk, it should be a little easier going in and out of the stroller.

Elaine's New Game

Elaine has a new game...Peek-a-boo! She loves doing it, it will bring an end to any crying fit that she is in the middle of throwing. The next morning after this video we were in the grocery store and she started playing Peek-a-boo with her tuperware of Cheerios. It was too cute. Patrick was able to catch Elaine playing Peek-A-Boo on his cell phone.

"Clean Friday"

After Jamie and I got back from our Black Friday shopping extravaganza, the twins were in desperate need of a bath. Ethan was feeling much better and Elaine was her regular looney self.

A Memorable First Thanksgiving

Ethan had a bit of a rough first Thanksgiving. He was fine in the morning, but after his lunch he vomited very much like the scene from The Exorcist. Thankfully Aunt Jamie was holding him so I didn't get anything on me! :) After we got both of them cleaned up, he seemed fine. Dinner came and he ate great! Right after he finished... up it came! This time Patrick was holding him but it wasn't as messy because he didn't have a bottle yet...just solids. After that we gave him some water-down apple juice and let him fall asleep. He slept from 6pm to 5am. The next day he was fine.

A Low Key First Thanksgiving

Elaine had a much less eventful first Thanksgiving! She just played all day and tried some mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole. She was tired by the end of dinner and ready to get in some comfy pj's.

A "right of passage" for Every American!

Thanksgiving was in Urbana this year. We got up there on Wednesday so the boys could start on their garage project. The twins, Morgan and myself joined Nonie on a shopping trip for last minute items at the SUPER WALMART. Since the Walmart near us is SCARY, this is their first Walmart experience. (ps. Happy Birthday Nonie)

Who Needs Toys!

The kids have found a new toy...diaper boxes! They just love being pushed around in them. It's even amusing for them to watch the other ride in the box!..plus I get to show them a few of my radical driving moves for when they are older.

Happy Anniversary

Today was our four year anniversary! (ps. Happy Birthday Uncle Michael) To celebrate we went out to dinner at a sushi place we had never been to before. The kids were content with eating their Cheerios, but Patrick has high hopes for them becoming sushi enthusiasts one day! After dinner we stopped by one of our old hangouts to see Jeremy.

Like all women, Jeremy seemed to work his charm onto Elaine who thought he was awesome.

My, Aren't We Popular!

Today was a crazy day of visitors! It started off with Lizzy coming over to watch the twins while Patrick and I worked on a few things around the house.

After the Bengals game was over, she left and more visitors came. Grandma and Grandpa came to stay the night on their way home from St. Louis.


Uncle Timmy and Aunt Melissa also joined us to visit and have dinner. They stuck around to help read a bedtime story. Unfortunately Grandma and Grandpa had to leave the next morning, so the visit was short. It was nice to see them even if it was so brief.

A Sight as Momentus as a Giant Squid Spotting!

Today is Ethan and Elaine's 9 month birthday! We finally caught Elaine eating cheerios on her own! Hopefully she keeps this up and stops demanding us feed her them.

9 Month Checkup

Today was the kids' 9 month checkup. I had to take them alone because Patrick had taken the previous day off to watch them. This was quite an experience. If anyone knows the stage that the kids are in, then you'd understand. They can't sit still and refuse to just lie on their backs. Dressing them is as Aunt Jamie describes "trying to dress a cat!" Luckily the nurses helped out tremendously and we made it through the measuring, examination, and two shots without too much chaos. Dr. Deblasis gave them a clean bill of health and was so excited to see how big they have gotten.

Their stats are as follows:

ETHAN:

Weight: 19pds3.5oz (29%)

Height: 27.25in (18%)

Head Circumference: 17.9in (57%)

ELAINE:

Weight: 17pds10.5oz (29%)

Height: 28in (67%)

Head Circumference: 17.75in (81%)

Both babies are trying their hardest to stand. Unfortunately they seemed to have inherited the "Blair" arm strength and cannot pull themselves up. They can, however, push themselves up on their feet from lower objects like steps, our legs if we are sitting on the floor, and their all-time favorite....THE DISHWASHER DOOR!

Dear Santa,

Dear Santa,

We need ANOTHER BABY GATE, they've started climbing stairs!!

Love,

A Very Good Jenny & Patrick

Future Jedis

Bev, the twins' sitter, gave the kids these light toys that she picked up at a festival. I had to cut the plastic rods that came out of it due to my fear of them poking themselves or the other in the eye. They love them and constantly practice their light saber Jedi moves.....I think they both have a long way to go!

In Training

After spending Thursday and Friday in Urbana with their Nonie, Poppy, Aunt Jamie, and Aunt Tuffy while I was in Columbus for a two day conference, the twins were excited to see their Daddy and Charlie.

They also can't resist a chance to "cheese" for the camera. If I whip out the camera, they will immediately stop crying and shoot a smile or a giggle. I'm trying to teach Elaine how to "smile with her eyes" so she'll be ready for America's Next Top Model-Cycle 80...Tyra Banks would be proud of her progress!

Feeding Time at the Zoo!

The kids have been eating Cheerios and loving it. Both can feed themselves, but Elaine refuses to 99% of the time. Ethan, however, is like an animal. Like an animal, he gets a little distracted by crowds watching him.

ps. that is Princess Elaine in the background demanding to be fed another Cheerio!

Just like any animal, if you wave the food in front of him long enough he'll eventually ignore the crowd and dig in!

A Surprise in the Mail

Ethan and Elaine received really fun pumpkin toys from their Grandma and Grandpa in the mail today. Ethan is a little unsure, but Elaine can't enough of it. Now if I can just teach her to push the button so I don't have to do it!

!st Halloween!

Tonight the twins experienced their first Halloween! We weren't going to take them out because they clearly can't eat candy, but Ethan's cold had brought down my mom, Morgan, and Jake. (who had school off) So we took them around with Morgan and Jake.

You can clearly see the excitement in their eyes as we get ready to take off!

The end result was great. I think the kids enjoyed watching everyone and receiving a crazy amount of attention from fellow trick or treaters. Morgan and Jake got a boatload of candy. Everyone was a little wired was bedtime came around, but eventually we got them down.

Future President Barker

Ethan has mastered waving "hi/bye". In fact it is his new favorite thing. From the minute he gets up he waves, while smiling, down the hall, down the steps, to the fridge, to the stove...I think you all get the picture! As I watch him do this two images pop in my mind....beauty pagent and politician. I think I'll stick with the politician image! :)

Elaine can also wave, but she is MUCH more selective on who, when, or why. This makes it much harder to get a picture. I'm working on it though.

Nonie to the Rescue!

Ethan is still sick! It started at the pumpkin farm on Sunday. We took him to the doctor on Monday and he was diagnosed with croup. After missing one day of work for me and two days of work for Patrick, we had to call in reinforcements....Nonie to the rescue! My mom came down tonight and will help us out the rest of the week. We can only hope he will be better by this weekend. Trick or Treat is Friday!

Super Elaine

Meanwhile, Elaine is fighting off Ethan's croup like a champ. She even has time to help with the dishes.

Shoes

Today the kids got their first shoes! They got to try them out at the pumpkin farm. Nothing to crazy or fancy...Patrick just got sick of them pulling their socks off and thought these might help.

Pick a Pumpkin, Any Pumpkin

This Sunday we took a trip to a pumpkin farm. The kids had fun picking out pumpkins and watching kids play in the playground. Next year we promised them we would go into the corn maze and on the hayride.

Towards the end of our adventure, Ethan started taking a turn for the worse. We quickly packed up and headed back home.....have you seen anything this pathetic?!!!

HallZOOween

Today we headed to the zoo for HallZOOween. Our nephew Jake came with us and attended a class "Being Gross is Great"! After the class we got our costumes on and went trick or treating around the zoo. Actually just Jake got treats. Patrick only tried once to get candy for the kids and was denied. He was crushed becuase it was his favorite...tootsie roll pops!

We finally found out what's more annoying than being in public with twins.....being in public with twins dressed as giraffes! We couldn't take one step without people pointing, talking about us loudly, or stopping us to look at the twins. It was crazy.

Chef Jake

After the zoo adventure we headed back to the house where Jake showed us his culinary talents. Chocolate/Peanut Butter cookies....YUMMY!

Bye Bye Bumbos

The kids have said goodbye to the bumbos! They now use their highchairs to eat. It's a sad day for me...they are growing up TOO fast.