Crazy Hair

The girls' hair is getting pretty long and shaggy. I'm thinking a hair cut is in their near future. Check it out after baths tonight.

Caroline

Olivia

Baby Ben

We made a quick trip to Minnesota this weekend for a baptism - Rob and I are the proud Godparents to the adorable Benjamin Robert! We were so honored to be a part of this special celebration for the sweet little guy.

Thank you to his mommy & daddy, Melissa and Jerry, for everything this weekend! And thanks to my dad and step-mom for watching our kiddos so we could have a stress-free trip!

15 Month Doctor Appointment

The girls were 15 months 5 days ago, and their appointment with the pediatrician was this morning. It ended up being quite the traumatic experience as they had to get 3 vaccination shots each, both were diagnosed with ear infections in their left ears, as well as bronchitis! No wonder they weren't getting any better over the last 3 weeks! Of course, I feel horrible thinking it was just a cold all this time. Poor kiddos! We were taught by the nurse how to give them breathing treatments at home with an inhaler and face mask; and also a prescription for antibiotics. Great, another reason I'll have to wrestle and pin my screaming kids down. Hopefully they'll finally start getting better now.

Now for their 15-month stats:

Caroline

Weight - 18lbs, 13oz - LESS than 5th percentile

Length - 30.5 inches - 45th percentile

Olivia

Weight - 20lbs, 12oz - 20th percentile

Length - 30.5 inches - 45th percentile

Caroline continues to worry me about being such a PEANUT in comparison to Liv, but our Pediatrician remains optimistic and chalks it up to her individuality. It's next to impossible not to compare identical twins to each other, and a steady 2lb difference when they're this little is pretty noticeable! I'm doing everything I can think of to fatten her up - she gets half an avocoda a day (good fat source), I use lots of olive oil when I cook for them, cream cheese on bagels, lots of butter on pretty much everything... you name it. We were advised to start supplementing her with Pediasure as well, which will give her extra calorie boosts.

The girl needs to EAT!

We do have a follow up Cardiology appointment for Olivia in a couple weeks, as well as a first time Cardiology appointment for Caroline that same day. C's heart murmur is still present so we'll be going in for an echocardiogram and an EKG to see if she might have the same thing as Liv - a PFO heart condition.

A couple pictures of the girls with their daddy waiting to see the Pediatrician.

C in pink, O in green

And a video.

We're trying to teach them all the basics,

and I think they've got Handwashing down now.

Happy 3rd Anniversary!

Happy 3 years to my dear, sweet, husband. You are my best friend, my confidant, my biggest supporter, and the most devoted husband & father to our two children. I couldn't ask for anything more. I love you with all my heart.

Home with the girls

I had yesterday off in honor of MLK Day, so was home with my girls. We stayed in our pj's most of the day and played. Here's a video of the girls just having some fun with their toys:

Tomorrow is their 15 month appointment at the pediatrician - can't wait to see their stats! Let's hope little Caroline is starting to gain some weight!

Weekend Catch-Up

I know, I know. I only update this blog on the weekends/about the weekends. I never get pictures on the week days anymore. This is mostly because by the time I get home from work it's a mad dash to make the girls dinner, feed them, clean up the mess they made, give them a bath, read a couple books and then bed time. If I get to even sit down during that couple hour period it would be a miracle!

So here you go, our weekend in review:

This is from Friday night. We discovered a new way to entertain the girls - just put their space saver high chairs on the floor! Who knew this could be such fun! They climbed all over them and sat in them for a long time and thought it was hilarious.

My friend, Andrea, was visiting Chicago for the first time so us girls had a fun evening out on the town Friday night.

Me, Andrea & Lindsay


We've been trying to transition from two naps a day down to one. Saturday was our first attempt. Caroline made it all the way to lunch time and passed out in her high chair. Sweet baby.

And today we took the girls with us to run some errands. They needed to get out of the house. Here they are getting restless before we left while mommy got her grocery lists together.

And they always love surveying all the purchased items once we arrive back home.

Caroline is rocking the messy pony these days. Her Aunt Nee-Nee would be so proud!

Blanket Ghosts:

Caroline takes all her toys out of the wagon toy so she can climb in:

And this is how Livi gets in - head first.

"I think I'm stuck."

They are loving their babies these days too. They carry them around and give them kisses.

Cell Phone Wars

So,... we're still working on that sharing thing.

Grown Ups' Weekend!

I had a full schedule of events this weekend. It was so much fun! Not that I don't love spending my days off with my kiddos, but having plans to get out and dressed up is always exciting.

First, I attended a baby shower for my beautiful friend, Julie. She and her husband are expecting their first - a baby boy! I'm sorry I didn't bring my camera, so have no pictures to share. It was at this swanky restaurant downtown and was so much fun to see her just glowing with excitement.

Then, Saturday night was Rob's Company Holiday Party at the Chicago History Museum. What a fantastic venue! And we had the best time being out on the town. Thanks to Mama Diane & Papa Bede for babysitting the munchkins for us!

And then today, my sister-in-law, Kari, put together a little birthday surprise for her mom - Afternoon Tea at the historic Drake Hotel! What a treat - us girls had a fabulous time socializing and enjoying our champagne, scones and sandwhiches. Happy early Birthday to you, Diane!

The Birthday Girl

Such a beautiful setting there, complete with a live harpist. And thank you, Kari, for putting together this fun afternoon!

Grilled Cheese!

Grilled Cheese has become a staple in the Krupa household. Tonight was the first time I gave the girls a sandwhich whole, though. (I usually cut it up into pieces) They thought it was the best thing since sliced bread!

Caroline

O

Mmmmmmm.




And Miss Olivia's new thing is to tell us No no no. Guess she hears that a lot these days.

"No No No" and "Da da da"

Sick Babies

The girls both have colds right now. Only the second time they've been sick in their whole little lives, which is pretty amazing considering they're almost 15 months old. I guess that's mainly due to the fact that they pretty much NEVER leave our little apartment. Poor kiddos. Caroline got it first and is on day 5, and sure enough Olivia caught it a couple days later so it's day 3 for her. I've been having to torture them with the infamous booger sucker, and their little noses are just red and raw from all the wiping we've been doing. Other than being a little cranky, they're mostly in good spirits and have been their silly-selves.

Sweet Liners laying with Charlie

Liv entertaining herself with a storage tub.

And yes, they still love to crawl into the dog's kennel. Why is this fun? No idea.

Silly girls.

Caroline trying on her daddy's safety glasses.

They've discovered how to climb on their big girl chairs. Great.

We were cleaning out their closet, and of course they wanted to try on everything we were pulling out. They LOVE to put on shoes. I need to get a video of them begging to put some on. If they see any of their shoes they say "chooos, chooos!!!" and stomp their feet until you put their shoes on them. So naturally when they spotted their snowboots, they just had to have them.

And a video:

Another discovery in the closet: life vests we had bought on clearance for the girls to wear next summer. These were a bit hit tonight. They did NOT want to take them off and wore them around the house for a good half an hour. A short video of this:

New Years in Michigan

We spent the last few days at Grandma & Grandpa Krupa's Michigan house. Cousins Katie and James were there too!

Looking down from the top of the stairs.

Getting ready to go play in the snow!

We're ready!

Liv, the snow queen.

Daddy pulling up the sled in the backyard/woods.

They really weren't sure about this.

Check out the snowman Uncle Jay & James built!

starting to get unhappy.

heehee

We tried to get them to make snow angels. They weren't having it.

Olivia on NYE

And Caroline too.

Caroline went with daddy to take Charlie out.

She was so cute bundled up inside his coat.

And Liv watching them from the porch.

They have such a beautiful home there. Here's a shot of the living room.

Rob and I drove around the town to take in the scenery.

This is the beach off Lake Michigan. Snow covered sand this time of year.

Look at those icicles!

We drove home at night so the girls would sleep. But we didn't realize we'd be driving through a blizzard! It was snowing so hard and the highways were just covered - you couldn't see the lanes, or even where the heck the road was! Pretty scary, we were doing 20 mph for about 2.5 hours. This picture through the windshield does not even do it justice.

But the girls did sleep through most of it, which I was very thanful for.

We wish everyone Health & Happiness in this New Year!