Smile & Sing!

Greetings!

The birthday fortnight has come to a close for Dan and Grandpa Paul but the singing continues! Elsa and Jonas called up Dan at work and sang a rousing rendition of "Happy Danivus" this past week but it didn't stop there. Elsa and Jonas have now moved on to the "ABC" song. Sometimes they like to join in around H I J and other times they start it up and make it about halfway through and call it good. Elsa has a whole set list of songs that she can break out at any moment. Perhaps her best performance was a couple of nights ago as she lay in bed...eyes half closed...she suddenly opens her eyes and belts out the verse of "Fruit Salad" by the wiggles. They both rock!

There is a picture of Jonas and Elsa riding on the back of Dan. Jonas and Elsa will both climb on his back and hold on tight. Then one of them will announce, "Fall down now" and will roll off the side and take the other twin with them. Both will land in a heap of laughs and tackle hugs. It is great to see and we love that Twin A and Twin B like to play together.

Every minute, even the 1:00am cryfest, is awesome!

Picture: Grandpa Harold and smiling; celebrating Grandpa Paul's birthday; cousins!; birthday fellows; a horse named Dan; smiling; banana phone. Videos: happy danivus; herding cats for a photo.

God Bless,

Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

Outside outside outside!

Greetings!

A whole week of glorious sun and two twins constantly clamoring to go "outside..outside...outside!!" It doesn't get any better! Elsa and Jonas had a wonderful week of play and learning. They both are such talkers now and they are like sponges for new words. Dan has been working with them both to say "Flying Chickens in the Barnyard" and "Odin's Beard!" whenever possible. (Our kids have some character:) :).

We have a big follow-up developmental appointment in several weeks and we are so proud at how far Elsa and Jonas have come and how far we know they will keep going.

In keeping with an old Norse tradition, our family is celebrating the ten days of Danivus (Dan's birthday). Jonas and Elsa have been seen walking around the house yelling "Happy Danivus" and singing "Happy Danivus to you...".

God Bless,

Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

Looking good in mommy's shoes

Greetings!

Elsa and Jonas had a marvelous week. The sun popped out again and they got a chance to play and play! We had several check-ups and meetings this past week for the kids and they are doing great. Jonas had a feeding evaluation and everyone thought he was doing a nice job with his eating. He likes to take his time and savor each bite.

Elsa and Jonas played with Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Paul on Friday night while Dan and Mari listened to Desmond Tutu speak at one of his last US appearances. It was a moving night and all parties involved had a great time.

Saturday was a birthday party for Elsa and Jonas's friend, Kate! She turned three and the twins celebrated the event! It was great to see them both play with other kids. A five year old girl took Jonas under her wing and took him all over the playground and went down the slide with him. Elsa waved at everyone she saw and loved going down the slide--even when she ended up spinning around and going head first!

Video: Jonas in mommy's shoes. Elsa and play-doh.

God Bless,
Mari & Elsa & Jonas & Dan

Happy Mother's Day!

Greetings!

Happy Mother's Day! Jonas and Elsa had a great time playing with their mom and grand moms this weekend celebrating this special holiday!

Elsa and Jonas had a chance to visit the daycare that they will start at in the fall. It was fun to see Jonas interact with some of the other fellows and Elsa was comfortable enough to explore a bit on her own. We are not looking forward to not spending every second with Elsa and Jonas but are also so thankful that they are developing on pace with their peers and are able to be in a day care setting.

Lots of cake and ice cream for all moms!

God Bless,

Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas

March for Babies!

Greetings!

Saturday was a really special day for the whole family. We marched proudly as part of the March for Babies event in Tacoma. It was great to see nurses that had taken care of Elsa and Jonas that remembered us. There was even a night nurse that we spoke to quite often on the phone when they were in the hospital that we never actually met face to face. It was also a special day to see so many families and teams walking in memory of babies that did not make it. It was bittersweet to see t-shirts with micro-preemie hand prints on several large teams walking near us. It was a wonderful event and we are so delighted that we could support the event.

On Friday, we celebrated the big wedding across the pond with crowns, bangers, and digestives...Elsa and Jonas loved calling out whenever a horse marched onto the screen.

Sunday was another gorgeous sunny day! We played and played!

God Bless!

Mari & Dan & Elsa & Jonas