Merry Christmas!

Greetings!

What a wonderful time of the year. Elsa and Jonas had a wonderful extended weekend celebrating Christmas. It was a great time to see so many relatives and catch up with them, as well as, have them catch up on all the things Elsa and Jonas are up to.

Elsa has begun, in earnest, to pull herself up around the house. She will reach out her hand towards an adult, as if to say, 'I could use a hand here please'. She will walk herself up and stand, unsteadily, until she topples or sits back down. Exciting progress! I don't want to jinx it too much, but she is also on a personal best pace for her eating today.

Jonas is in full ham mode. His infectious smile greets us in the morning...usually a little too early. He is standing up and is feeling rather confident about his balance. So much so that he will let go of his supports and then tumble over. After a five second cry, he is back at it.

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family. We hope you had a blessed day and have a wonderful New Year's as well.

Pictures: Santa Jonas Bjorn; (tired) Santa Elsa Joy; Twin Santas; nice hats!; Elsa in a birthday tutu--a gift from her fellow twin--great grandmother Mabel; E & J opening gifts from us--a ball popper that plays loud music and twin dolls.

Movie: Babies trying to crawl off some energy on Christmas night.

God Bless,

Elsa and Jonas and Mari and Dan

Christmas Eve

Greetings!

A quick post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

We are continuing a tradition begun last year of having cheeseburgers with onion rings on Christmas Eve. Last year it was courtesy of the dedicated cafeteria staff at Tacoma General. This year we are looking a little bit closer to home! If anyone needs an excuse to indulge in a cheeseburger and/or onion rings please feel free to join in!

I was able to stop by the NICU and ICN this past week to drop off some well deserved cookies and dessert for the staff. While they are on lock-down status because of H1N1, several nurses came out of the units to say hi and ask to see photos of Jonas and Elsa. They were so happy to see pictures of our kids. It was a bit surreal walking down the hallway to the NICU one year later. They have pulled the carpet out and placed hardwood flooring in but otherwise it felt very familiar. It was good to visit and remember that it wasn't that long ago that we judged victories on the minute or the hour. We are blessed to have been in the good care of the staff.

Jonas constantly pulls himself up to stand and balance. He is getting a bit more daring each day. Elsa is just starting to stand up more frequently. I think she is waiting to see how this all pans out for Jonas before committing herself to the process. She is rather clever. Both kids are jabbering away, and as the video suggests, they are really getting good at "dadada".

God Bless to all and Merry Christmas!

Pictures: Jonas and Elsa wearing socks given to them last December; opening Christmas presents; riding double on the scooter--against the advice of the owner's manual; standing up. Video: Elsa chatting it up;

Dan & Mari & Elsa & Jonas

Of crawling, falling, and getting back up.

Greetings!

As if on cue, the snow came this past weekend to our home. Not on the 12th, but a day late is a-okay in our books. We have become used to things arriving earlier or later than anticipated. It was a small dusting on our deck and yard but enough to bring cheers to the house. I am not sure if Jonas and Elsa realized that snow was any different than the norm. We didn't get a chance to take them out in it. Jonas was recovering from his first cold and we didn't want to push our luck. Regardless, it was a great sight to behold and helped cap the birthday celebrations off nicely.

Last week at the NICU follow-up clinic, we were asked if Jonas and Elsa were using one syllable words yet. It is typical that this starts to occur at the eight month mark. They hadn't so of course we put that on our watch list for development. The next day Jonas began to say "da da da da da". The next day Elsa began to say, "ya ya ya da da da ya". It was like they knew.

In regards to the title, Jonas and Elsa are becoming increasingly skilled at pulling themselves up and standing. Of course, it should could as no surprise that every stand up usually results in a falling down at some point. They are very adept at giving a quick cry and then pulling themselves back up to do it again. We love the spirit!

We are enjoying Christmas Vacation and are looking forward to a really special holiday time together.

God Bless,

Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

We believe in miracles...

Greetings.

One year ago, in the most unbelievable circumstances, Elsa Joy and Jonas Bjorn were born. Countless miracles, blessings, gifted doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals, prayers, and supportive hugs later, our children have arrived at their first birthdays!

During our journey we read a bible verse that struck a chord with our family and our journey. It is with great joy and celebration that we share it:

Song of Solomon 2:10-12

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

Our family fell in love with this verse and celebrate and listen deeply to the voice of the turtle!

We are humbled by the gifts of Elsa and Jonas. In keeping with the tradition of the Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12th), we give thanks for our "milagros minusculos" (tiny miracles).

God Bless,

ELSA and JONAS and Mari and Dan

Another crawler...

Greetings!

The learning curve is quick with Jonas and Elsa. Last week Elsa began to consistently crawl. Jonas had been content to sit and watch. Somewhere around midweek, Jonas decided that it was time for him to crawl too! Jonas is still very happy to crawl to his favorite toy and then camp out for a while. Elsa, on the other hand, is a constant mover and shaker. She likes to test the parental defences on a regular basis. Good stuff!

We have been experimenting with all sorts of foods and snacks with the kids since introducing solids several months ago. This week we began to try some harder snacks that dissolve in their mouths. Picture a chocolate chip that is actually a freeze dried yogurt puff. They are actually quite tasty! Elsa likes to chomp down on them with her front tooth...Jonas likes to secretly squirrel them into the folds of his clothing or high-chair. Both kids can pick up the little snacks and sometimes even get them into their mouths. This is a good developmental skill.

Our family is again so thankful for and humbled by the kind emails, posts, and phone calls.

Please keep the families of the four fallen Lakewood police officers in your thoughts and prayers in the hard holiday weeks ahead. We are praying for strength and comfort for them.

God Bless,

Dan & Mari & Elsa & Jonas

I just couldn't wait...

Greetings!
We had a short mid-week post with some video evidence of Elsa the crawler. Also, we had another dietitian visit yesterday and the news is kind of the same. Elsa needs to gain more weight. She is at the bottom end of the chart but, again, she is on the chart! As we consider options, it is always nice to rejoice in the many many victories Elsa and Jonas have already accomplished.

One more for the win column...

God Bless,
Mari & Elsa & Jonas & Dan