Hey look at me...no hands!

Greetings!

The countdown to walking is getting ever closer to zero. Elsa has been spending the weekend practicing standing up and smiling. She then plops down on her bottom and repeats. Jonas took the weekend off from trying but he has been getting balancing reps in too. We can tell they are close.

It was a great week...not too many doctors' visits. Elsa and Jonas are trying more and more of our food as we eat dinner. This week it was pancakes! (It was national pancake day on Tuesday--we had pigs in blankets to honor it). Elsa, in particular, loves to try anything off of our plates. She loves pancakes!

With the sporadically nice weather this weekend, we were able to get several walks and some yard work in with the kids. It was great to be out and about!

We are keeping our thoughts and prayers with the family of the Tacoma teacher that was killed this past week. Such a tragedy.

God Bless,

Mari & Elsa & Jonas & Dan

I spy blades of grass

Greetings!

It feels like spring in the pacific northwest. The high yesterday was almost sixty! Not too shabby for a February afternoon. We took Jonas and Elsa on a long walk on the Orting Trail on Saturday. The kids got to see a river up close and personal, as well as, a herd of cows! They kept looking all over as we walked until finally exhaustion kicked in and they both conked out. Today we had them help us with yard work and they both officially touched grass for the first time. They both were a bit puzzled at first but seemed to enjoy it!

Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Paul created an I-Spy quilt for our living room. The kids crawl all over it and can't stop looking at the different shapes and pictures. It is amazing! They, and Mari and Dan, love it!

We have our first dentist appointment tomorrow and another feeding evaluation later this week. Otherwise, just another week of fun with the kids awaits! We are so blessed!

God Bless,

Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

Long weekend!

Greetings!

Jonas and Elsa have been enjoying the four day weekend! Lots of partying, crawling, and not enough naps. We are getting ready to head out the door for their monthly RSV shot...shh don't tell them.

While I was at Costco this weekend, I ran into one of the four NICU nurses that was present when our twins were born. It was funny running into him out of context because I think we both did a double-take. I wasn't sure if he would remember our family because he sees so many families. Imagine my surprise when he asked if our kids were 14 or 15 months old now. We had a quick chat and we went our separate ways. It is a bit surreal to see someone who saved our kids' lives picking up some bread at the store.

And with that, I see the window of free time is closing...off to the doctor. Have a great President's Day!

God Bless,

Mari & Elsa & Jonas & Dan

Superbath!

Greetings!

Elsa and Jonas had a really solid week. Elsa had another swallow study this past week that indicated that she still has a little trouble with liquids. Overall, she is doing good and we all had a great time this weekend. We spent most of the weekend napping or playing...both kids have found a new turbo gear for crawling that has added an element to the supervision aspect.

Today, Elsa and Jonas took extra long "Super" baths to get ready for the big game. They splashed and laughed the entire time. It was great! An hour or so later, they were both covered with yogurt!

We watched an episode of the "19 kids and counting"...no worries we are very happy with two...this past week. The family had their 18th baby at 24 weeks this past december. The episode hit really close to home. The dad made a comment right before his wife gave birth to their daughter via an emergency c-section that we praise God in the good times and we praise him in the bad times. Their baby was born at 1 pound 6 ounces. There are few times when we can actually say, "I know exactly how you are feeling..." but watching that snippet of their life we had flashbacks to our last year and the rollercoaster of emotions that went with it. Needless to say, we are keeping that family in our prayers in the months ahead. We looked online for an update and saw that their daughter was off the ventilator for the past two weeks...it was such a huge victory for both Elsa and Jonas when they reached that point...I've, almost, forgotten what a drager is.

Praise God,

Mari & Jonas & Elsa & Dan