Merry Christmas, Babies

The babies made Christmas lots of fun this year. Grandma Julie and Aunt Lauren were here with us for the holiday--the babies loved all of the extra cuddles they got, as well as all of their Christmas presents. They got lots of clothes, books, and toys from grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, and friends from all across the country. If this year was an indicator, we are in for many fun Christmases to come with these two.

Here are the babies' Christmas Eve outfits*--on Christmas Eve, the babies and I watched National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation while we made Christmas treats and finished wrapping presents, then we all took a walk through the dog park. We finished the day with a delicious taco fiesta for dinner and an airing of Love Actually.




*these pictures were actually taken two days after Christmas--Jackson blew out of his outfit before we could take pictures on Christmas Eve

Here are the babies Christmas morning in their special first Christmas pajamas from Lisa and Terry--so adorable!





And since their pjs were so cute, they stayed in them all day to celebrate! We had a big Christmas dinner, which my former boss and current friend Cathy joined us for. Here we all are hanging out Christmas evening.







At the end of the day, the babies had a lovely Christmas bath--these guys just love soaking and splashing in the tub!

Half of my heart...

It feels like half of my heart left last week. My mom went back to Idaho. She took such good care of me--she took far too good care of me. And she was endlessly good to the babies, and such a help with them and with things around the house. We have been so lucky to have her here--I have been so lucky to have her here. What a blessing that a girl gets to be the best of friends with her mom, and even though we live so many miles apart, have the time we've had together.


Half of my heart has always been out west, and lately, my heart has really been yearning for home--for those mountains, to be closer to my family, and to be able to do more of the things that I like to do, with the people with whom I like to do those things. Having Addison and Jackson has made these feelings even stronger--I want them to be able to grow up doing the things that I got to do, to play outside all day, to go swimming all summer, to be the first one to catch a fish every time we all go fishing, to go skiing and snow machining and sledding, to build snowmen and snow forts, to learn to water ski and to ride a tube giggling and squealing until you can't hold on any more, to have a relationship with their grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins (when they get some).

Compounding all of these feelings is the fact that next week I have to go back to work. Consequently, half of my heart will be left at home every day with these babies. They have been my world these past four months, and it has been such a magical time. I want to see everything with these two--I don't want to miss anything, and it seems like they are doing something new every single day. Turns out, I'm selfish--I want to be the one who experiences all of the new things they're going to be doing in the next weeks, months, and years with them. It kills me that I'm going to have to be at work while someone else gets to spend their days with my angel babies. It hurts my heart that I won't be able to see their smiling faces all day and hold them close. I can't imagine not being the one that they look to when they need to be comforted or reassured, the one that cheers them on day in and day out.

My poor heart. It can't take much more of this.

What a Good Dog

Spud has been such a good dog since we came home with the babies. My nearly constant companion during the final months of my pregnancy, he has continued to be my loyal friend. When I'm up at night feeding the babies, he's up with us. He comes in from his walks, and the first thing he does is check on the babies. When we're all laying on the floor playing, he carefully lays on the edge of the rug and watches. He loves to sneak kisses, little puppy licks on the babies' toes--if we let him, he would kiss these babies up and down--so we have to watch him carefully, that he doesn't lick or get too close to the babies when we're not right there. He still loves to go on walks and play outside, and has been a trooper about getting fewer of those walks and a little bit less time at the park. I think Addison and Jackson are going to have a good friend in Spud as they get a little bit older...

Family Pictures

The Satterlees have a tradition of getting a picture taken every year for a Christmas card with all of their kids wearing antlers. While not always what everyone wants to do (wear antlers, that is)--the pictures always turn out great. And it is fun to look back and see all of the antler pictures over the years. This year, all of the Satterlee children were here in November to visit the babies, so we had our pictures taken then, and we were lucky enough to have some pictures taken of our own little family. Here are a few of the best shots from the day with photographer Thomas Graves...

Pretty Princess

Our friend Laney, who has two adorable little girls and a baby on the way, gave Addison this outfit--and of course, we had to dress her up in it. Too cute!


And just look at those chubby arms and those chubby cheeks--I love it!

We're getting ready for Christmas!

Babies' first Christmas, here we come! Here we all are, dressed up for our first holiday party (it was a gathering of my office mates at my boss' house--the perfect place to take the babies out). The babies are all dressed up in cute holiday outfits--Addison is wearing a red, ruffled onesie with a reindeer on it, and Jackson's blue shirt has a wintry moose on it. Notice that Addison is grinning in the picture--she's looking at one of her favorite things, the ceiling fan in the living room.


Here is Addison with Grandma Kaye--it was our first shopping trip with the babies' to the mall--as you can see, Addison is into it, and Jackson is asleep in the stroller. Typical male behavior. But it was a good thing we made it out--we got lots of Christmas shopping done!

Thank goodness my mom was here (for so many reasons)--one of them was that she and Kenny watched the babies so Daniel and I could go to my office's big holiday reception. It was held on the 11th floor of the Newseum, overlooking the Capitol--here are Daniel and I on the balcony (and then one of me and my co-worker Jill).


Here are the babies in one of their Christmas outfits...they were all dressed up to decorate the tree and help make Christmas treats.

Check out Jackson's lower lip quiver--he's got that down pat!

And here is our Christmas tree--not a lot of space for it, but doesn't it look beautiful! Daniel and I went to Eastern Market to get it, and drove home with it tied to the top of our car--very reminiscent of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Addison and Jackson ready for an outdoor adventure in their fleece vests.


And we all went for a walk on Saturday at the dog park. We tried to visit Santa, but he was eating a sandwich. Seriously. Anyway, the babies enjoyed their new BundleMes--so soft and warm!

Three months!

I can't believe we've had these babies for three months now! They are so much fun, and they seem to do something new every day.

In the past month, Jackson has really discovered his hands--and he has started sucking on them. One night, he escaped from his swaddle (my little Houdini!) and I woke up hearing the loudest sucking noise on the monitor--I went into their room, and there he was, happily sucking away on his hand! Addison has more recently found her hands too--she's less of an avid hand-sucker, but is still rather pleased with herself when she can get her fist to her mouth without fail.

Our babies are babblers--they chat a lot. Addison will talk to you, like she fully expects you to be able to understand what she's saying. She sometimes has quiet, sweet conversations, and other times it seems like she is yelling at you. Jackson is the same way--he's a little bit more thoughtful about what he has to say, and doesn't yell as much. Rather than yell at you like his sister, he'll go from being sweet to being mad and crying very quickly. I love our conversations. While we were in Idaho, Addison had lots of deep conversations with her Grandpa Tom--our girl has lots of things to say!

Both Addison and Jackson are more and more smiley, and have even started to laugh a little bit. They are both really happy in the morning--we have lots of fun kicking, laughing, talking, and smiling after we have breakfast. And their eyes follow you all over the room--they see and recognize a lot, and react to things they see by yelling or giggling or wiggling around. If you smile at them, they will smile back--and if you talk to them, they will talk back.


In good news for their mom, the babies are sleeping more. We've been experimenting with bed time, but overall they sleep for one long period (from 9 - 2 or 10 - 3), wake up to eat, then fall back asleep until 7 or 7:30. It's really nice getting a little bit more sleep. And the babies seem to be getting into a bedtime routine, so they've been falling asleep a little bit easier.


It is so much fun that both babies still love bath time. Even if we've had a fussy evening, both babies are calm and happy for their baths. Jackson has a new favorite thing--he is so strong that he can flex all of his muscles and stand up. So before he gets in the bath, Grandma Kaye has started helping him stand up next to the sink, buck naked. He is so proud of himself, and he concentrates so hard--but he can stand there for a long time, our strong little boy. And Addison kicks off the side of the sink like a little frog when she's in the tub for her bath. I think we may have some little swimmers on our hands--I can't wait to get them in a pool next summer!


Both of our babies are little cuddle bugs, but Jackson in particular curls up on your chest like a little bean with his bum sticking out. Jackson, my sweet cuddly bean boy.


We spent a couple of weeks this past month at home in Idaho and while we were there, Jackson moved into size 2 diapers, and Addison is well into size 1. While we were in Idaho, Jackson full on grew out of new clothes in that two-week time. Sometimes you look at these babies from day to day and swear they are bigger one day than the next. They are literally growing right in front of our eyes. They are both good eaters, and it shows--just look at these round cheeks! Another thing they've started doing is smacking their lips when they're about to eat--it's pretty cute.




And they just keep on getting more and more fun--we love them so much!