A moose, a kangaroo, and two twins crawled into a living room...

Greetings!

This has been the week of Elsa's giggles. She has developed a really cute low toned giggle that she lets loose when she is really happy. We haven't caught it on video yet...but let me assure you that it is adorable.

Jonas and Elsa are both sitting up more and more. This morning Jonas sat happily with no support for quite a while just playing and having fun with his toys. Later, Elsa was sitting up grabbing at mortimer the moose (a toy-not an actual moose) and karl the kangaroo (again, a toy not an actual kangaroo). Jonas is a bit stronger at this but Elsa is catching up quickly!

Elsa had a near crawl this week...she will walk her feet up pushing her bottom in the air (the yoga position this reminds us of is downward dog). They are both close to crawling! Batton down the hatches--we are in for some big changes:)

Thanks for the continued support, high-fives, and parenting tips. God Bless,

Mari & Jonas & Elsa & Dan

(Pictured: Jonas, Elsa with a sun beam on her cheek, and Mortimer; Elsa and Karl the kangaroo; More pictures to come later this weekend)

If the shoe fits...

Greetings.
Jonas and Elsa had another glorious week. They continue to outgrow clothes and we are getting ready for the big transition into the 6-9 month range. Great challenge to have! They are both sleeping for a nice six hour chunk at night--thanks guys! We usually put them to bed at 9pm and get up at 3am or 4am for their first morning feeding.

We have noticed some extra fussiness the past week and our doctor confirmed that they are in the range for potential first...teeth! We haven't seen any yet, but the kids' gums feel like they have a little ridge where a tooth might be starting to press. Very exciting--and very loud--Elsa is not too happy about this!

Thanks for all the nice supporting comments--and tips--about solid foods. It has been really helpful and entertaining to hear other families stories about baby firsts:).

Pictures: Flippers for Jonas and Elsa!; Elsa smiling just before she is tackled by Jonas; more food pictures; and Jonas laughing.

God Bless,
Elsa & Jonas & Dan & Mari

More baptism pictures!

Greetings. We just returned from Jonas and Elsa's six month check-up. Jonas weighed in at 14++ pounds and Elsa came in at 12++. We are very excited for them both. They both came in at the 10% range for weight and height and 25% for head size. Not too shabby!

Our friend, Sara Montgomery (http://saramontgomeryphoto.com/), offered her services as a photographer at our baptism service last weekend. Her photos are amazing. Check them out below...(we love the feet pictures!)

Baptism x 2

Greetings!

Today we welcomed Jonas and Elsa as newly baptised children of God. We were so blessed to have Rev. Nancy Connor lead the small service that we had at the house. With Jonas and Elsa still being so susceptible to illness we opted to have the service at our home to keep their lungs safe. Nancy also was the reverend for our wedding so it was such a joy to have her be part of both events. (She reminded us of the foot race that took place at our wedding as a sudden and brief storm hit at the conclusion of our August '04 outdoor wedding service.)

Elsa and Jonas were champs. They both gave half smiles as the water was poured on their heads. They patiently sat for many photos and lots of hugs and kisses. What a great day! Jen and Ron Aviles and Karl "Godfather" and Alison Hoseth served as godparents. Grandparents on both sides were on hand to cheer them on! The gowns that Jonas and Elsa were wearing were crafted by hand by Grandma Jeanne.

The last picture of the kids is of them in outfits that we bought when we first found out that we had twins enroute. It was very special to be able to have them wear these first outfits on their baptism day.

The last picture is of the baptismal banners hand-made by honorary Grandma Kathy. Our friend Sara took some great photos of the kids with the banners that we will post another time. In between the banners is Great Grandpa Morgan's bib.

During Elsa and Jonas' first few weeks at the hospital, we had many gracious offers to baptise them in the NICU. We kept holding out hope that they would be able to be baptised at our church or home. We knew the baptism was more important than the location but we were just so hopeful that we could have them both surrounded by family and sponsors and tons of delicious snacks. What a blessing!

We could ramble on and on but hopefully our JOY jumps from the page and from our hearts.

God Bless,

Jonas & Elsa & Mari & Dan

Feeding time

Greetings!
Jonas and Elsa have enjoyed this whole new world of solid foods experiment we have been on the past week. Each day they seem to take a little bit more and end up with even more on their bibs, face, and parents. Good stuff! We will post some new photos on monday--big day for Jonas and Elsa coming up!
God Bless,
Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

Avocados and Smiles

Good news from the doctor visit yesterday. The pulmonary doctor said Jonas's lungs sound great and he doesn't need to see him again. The dietitian said they still are not gaining the weight she would like (she wants to see chubbier cheeks for winter--Jonas is 13.1 and Elsa is 11.5) but she gave them the green light to start trying solid food. She suggested starting with avocados--they are in season and have great fats, so we gave it a try today! It was interesting. Jonas acted as though he liked it but spit out more than he swallowed. Elsa seemed unsure, but ended up eating a little. It was sure fun to try. Also, I finally got a picture with a big smile from both of them. Yes!

It was fun to introduce the babies to my Aunt Jane and Uncle Ralph who are visiting from Arizona. We also ran into several of my parents' neighbors on a walk--how wonderful to be reminded that people still check in on us and still care. We are blessed!

Love, Mari, Dan, Elsa and Jonas