OUR NEW FAVORITE THING TO DO...

PUZZLES!!!!

DADDY'S BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!

Not much time for a complete update on the girl's, once again they have decided that they do not need a nap. They have been doing lots of new and exciting things which I will update everyone on soon, I promise!

This weekend was Daddy's birthday. We spent a quiet day at home and then the four of us all went out for a nice dinner.

Helping Daddy open his Birthday presentA little Birthday kiss for DaddyShowing everyone how much she loves her DaddyHelping Daddy blow out the Birthday candles

One of Brian's birthday requests was that we take the girl's to see the Monster Trucks in Toronto. I have to admit I really wasn't crazy about the whole thing. All I kept thinking was how loud it would be as well as all the germs floating around. I finally gave in, but the agreement was that they could go only if we got them proper ear plugs to wear to block out some of the noise. On our way down we stopped to pick some up and they worked great!

To my surprise the girl's had a blast! They weren't scared at all by the loud trucks. For the past couple of days they keep asking to go back and see the "Big Trucks" so I guess this means when Monster Trucks return next year, we will too.

Avery sporting her cool earplugs

Daddy & his girl's

This is what happens when you THINK you are a big girl and do not need a nap....

You sleep right through dinner.

Christmas 2007!

We hope everyone had as good of a Christmas as we did. The girl's were super spoiled this year with lots of toys and clothes from both of their grandparents and of course Santa.

My parents came home again for Christmas this year and the girl's loved every minute of them being here.

Grandpa Schiller hanging out with the girl's Christmas EveGrandma Schiller and the girl's Christmas EveChristmas morning being two little mommy's with their new baby strollers from SantaAvery playing with her new guitar from SantaOlivia and her guitarBob the Builder look out!!Christmas night at Baka & Dida's houseTaking a milk break with cousin Nicholas Just looking so sweet!Olivia, Nicholas & Avery being silly in the cribGrandma & Grandpa didn't stay with us the entire time they were home. They went home for a few days so we decided to visit them. The girl's had a great time playing and being very silly. It is over an hour drive to their house and Olivia fell asleep about half way there, while Avery decided she would stay up the entire drive. I thought for sure we were in for a very fussy girl but she was actually pretty good considering she hadn't slept all day.

When we left, it only took about five minutes in the car and she out!

Running around at the restaurant

Grandma & Olivia being sillyWe also had a nice visit from our friends Angi, Ivan and Elizabeth. We missed Elizabeth's third birthday party since the girl's were sick. But as it turns out Elizabeth ended up sick too so the party had to be rescheduled. I am keeping the girl's under close wraps until the party. We aren't missing this one!New Year's Eve cuddling with Grandma Olivia & Grandpa
My crazy girl's
Grandma & Olivia
Grandpa & Avery
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

FEELING GOOD AGAIN!!

Life is certainly back to normal again around here. The girl's are feeling much better and are back to their silly old way's.

I think over the past two and a half weeks we have managed to watch every Christmas show that has been on television. This truly is a great age. I am having so much fun teaching them about Christmas and what is involved as well as getting to re-live some of my own childhood. Watching these Christmas shows brings me right back to when I was a child, and I remember being so excited for the big day! They are understanding so much more about Christmas than just ripping paper off of boxes. They know that Santa is coming here in a few days and will be dropping off presents under the tree while they sleep. The only thing they haven't grasped yet is exactly how many days. I'm sure that will be next year. The other great thing about them understanding more is I can bribe them now to go for a nap because I keep telling them that "Santa is watching to make sure you have a nap for mommy". Now I just have to figure out what bribe I'm going to use after Christmas.

When I asked them the other day what they thought Santa might leave for them under the tree Avery said fruit snacks and Olivia told me he was going to leave her some raisins. It was very cute. Something I'll have to remember a little later on in life to share with them.

I received an e-mail from my sister-in-law who lives in New Orleans this morning. She shared a little Christmas tradition with me that she and my brother started years back with my nephews. Every year each of my nephews receives three wrapped gifts under the tree along with their stocking. She said it is to symbolize the three gifts from the wise man to Jesus. It is an honor to have three because it shows Santa that they understand the meaning of Christmas. I have been thinking about this all day, and I think I might just start the same tradition around here. Especially since buying for two can become very expensive! Thanks for the tip Connie, now all I need is a tip on how to get both of them to behave at Christmas mass this year!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

TWO SICK KIDS = A VERY TIRED MOMMY

My lack of posting lately isn't due to the fact that I'm chasing two very active little girl's around. It is because we have been battling a pretty bad illness. But then again when isn't one of our sick times pretty bad? Just dealing with two of them sick at the same time is physically and emotionally draining.

It all started last Tuesday, with sneezing. Wednesday the coughing started. Thursday I was blessed with diarrhea and vomiting. All of the above continued into Friday with the addition of a low grade fever, and by Saturday their fevers got so high that we spent most of the night in Emerg.

After answering a million questions and having to go over their birth history once again, the doctor ordered chest x-rays for both girl's. Olivia was a little trooper as always. She sat like a big girl on the stool and said "cheese" for her x-ray. Avery on the other hand was terrified! I really don't blame her after her last x-ray episode in the summer for her VCUG test. So after failing to get two x-rays of her I told the technician to get out the bicycle seat and take the x-ray. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is a nifty little contraption for children like Avery who refuse to sit still. They are placed on a seat and pretty much enclosed by a plastic shield with their arms up in the air to keep them super still. I didn't want to cause her more stress then she was already going through but, at the same time I didn't want her exposed to unnecessary radiation. Out of the two of them she had so many X-rays taken during their hospital stay, so I only allow them during the most necessary of times now.

After the x-rays were complete we met with the doctor again who began to tell us that Olivia's x-ray was a little fuzzy but that Avery's lungs clearly showed a thickness to them. I knew right away what he was going to say. Pneumonia! He figured that since he couldn't give a true diagnosis of pneumonia for Olivia he would still have her start an antibiotic just to be safe and and due to the fact that they both have had pneumonia in the past.

They are slowly on the mend but not soon enough for my liking. The fever is gone but the cough they have has kept all of us sleep deprived since this started. They are both also down 2lbs! With all the vomiting, diarrhea, and just not eating I'm not surprised.

This is pretty much what life has been like around here lately. Lots of lounging as you can see. The only good thing that has come of this is all the snuggling I've been able to do with them. We have cuddled up on the couch and watched the classic movie Rudolph the red nose reindeer and Frosty the snowman so many times that the girl's are actually starting to sing the songs.

LITTLE MISS FIX IT!