Beth and Johan's Family Updates

Photos -- Summer 2011

2011-09-25T04:36:00.000-07:00

After much cajoling from the folks across the pond, here are some summer photos of our beautiful babes.

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's COMING!!!!!!

2011-06-05T17:41:00.001-07:00

So before I begin with the family update, I have a funny story about Bella. We continue the endless process of potty training, with my gently encouraging them five thousand times a day, and their stubbornly refusing to consistently go on the potty. However, we do have some success. Bella, in particular, is having success almost every day. The other day, Mia even came running into the room I was in packing things and said "Bella's on the potty!" while pointing wildly to the bathroom. Sure enough, Bella had pulled off her pants and diaper, lifted the lid, put her kid potty on the seat, climbed up, and was going without prompting! So I have real hope this actually may happen!

The funny story is that we were at the camp with Mom and Jenny last weekend (without the fellows), and Bella was stubbornly refusing to go to sleep, as usual. She has taken to peeing every night (almost) before bed, and she had already done it for the evening, but started insisting at the gate that she needed to go "pee pee on the potty" again. I thought she was faking, but brought her to the bathroom anyway. As I skeptically sat by on the bathroom floor, she proceeded to sit on the seat and examine her toes, lean back and giggle, make sunny faces at me... everything but pee. So I said "I think you're faking. That's it. Back to bed!" To which she responded: "No Mommy... iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's COMING!!! Here it comes!!!!!!!!!!! Here it comes!!!!!" as she peered down between her legs over and over again, and up at me, with this huge grin on her face. Well, my stern composure lasted about three seconds, and I dissolved into laughter. So much for stern, serious mommy! I think I laughed for 5 minutes straight!

Anyway. On to the updates: Johan and I spent yesterday and today down in New Jersey (yes, folks... technically, on the "Jersey Shore") looking for housing. After going all over with a real estate agent on Saturday (who was EXCELLENT, by the way!), we felt we finally had a better handle on which areas were decent to live in, and what monthly rent was going to look like. Which, by the way, made me choke a little bit. However, the blow was softened by the fact that our agent showed us this apparently awesome Italian food store and deli, which was great comfort to me, of course. We decided on a place we liked and though was reasonable, but decided we would have a quick look this morning at a few apartment communities, since all of the places we looked at yesterday were independent family homes (condos or townhomes). The very first one we went to was in an ideal location for us... about 15 minutes to work for me, and 5 minutes away from the ferry to NY City (for me and Johan, in case he gets a job in NYC). It's also, (for any of you considering visiting) about 5 minutes from the beeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuutiful beach overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Anyway, thy had a three bedroom, two story apartment available immediately, so we went and looked at it. It was perfect! Well, not perfect, but totally decent, in a nice community, plenty of space for our needs, and for $850 less per month than the cheapest available unit we had seen the day before, or found on the web! YAAAAAAAAAAAAY! So we applied for it. Let's all keep our fingers crossed (since years of on-and-off unemployment isn't great for one's credit score) that we get approved. They also wanted to see 2 months of pay stubs, which we don't have, but at least I had brought my offer letter with me showing salary and start date. So here's hoping!

A few pictures are below... they're not great, but decent enough:

m

On our way! Tentative move-in date (if all goes well) June 22nd!

Hugs in the Bathtub

2011-04-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

This video's going to be played at weddings, folks. I love that they love each other so much! They quite frequently just run up and hug one another, and say: "I love you!" Lately, they're into kissing too. Everyone gets kisses... even the computer, when we're talking to someone on skype!

It amazes me so much how sensitive they are, and yet also how impervious they are to the turmoil around them. They get very concerned if I'm having a bad day (handling Johan being out of work), but are also quick to understand that all it takes is one big smile from them, and I'll stop crying or cheer up or otherwise abandon my wallowing. They just keep smiling and bounding around playing "I'm gonna get you..." or start splashing wildly and hugging each other in the bathtub like in this video. Kids are THE BEST thing in the whole world!

Ring around the Rosey

2011-04-06T11:23:00.000-07:00

So the girls have definitely picked up on the nursery rhyme thing. I walked into their bedroom to them doing "Ring Around The Rosey" this morning. Soooooooo funny!!!

Mia's glasses... YAY!

2011-02-11T04:40:00.000-08:00

Here's our beautiful little family, with Mia FINALLY in her glasses! YAY! She seems to be tolerating them wonderfully. I tried to look through them, and HOLY COW. Our poor little one couldn't have been seeing much of anything without them! Last night after she got them, she kept pulling them off her nose and then sliding them back up, comparing how things looked with and without them. It was such a grown-up thing to do! She still puts her face right up to books when she wants to see something, but seems to quickly realize she doesn't need to do that anymore and pulls back. I'm sure it's just habit to her, so it will be interesting to see if that fades with time. She also seemed to be INSTANTLY more steady on her feet (which is a relief for those of us always waiting to catch her!). We're so happy for her!

The Adventures of Mia continue...

2011-02-09T13:31:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone.

Today we had an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist, and found another indication that she has Marfan's Syndrome, which the doctors already suspected. The National Marfan Foundation says that with monitoring and interventions where necessary, people with the syndrome can have a lifespan similar to that of an average person. Also, there are varying degrees of symptoms. Lots of atheletes have this syndrome, since it results in extreme flexibility and height, including long slender limbs (although competitive sports are not recommended for people with the syndrome). Most recently in the news, Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps has this syndrome, apparently.

It's been a really hard few weeks, but we're hoping for the best on all fronts. Please keep us in your prayers, that Johan can find a new job quickly and Mia can continue receiving the "self-healing" miracles we've seen in her in her first two years of life!

No glasses today.

2011-02-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

BOO. Just spoke with the opticians, and they don't have the glasses. Gonna have to wait another week.

Long overdue update

2011-02-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

Hello, everyone!

After a swift reminder from my "other mother" Deanne, I realized it's been way too long since our last update on the blog. All's okay here... we've been buried in snow this winter in Syracuse. I've loved it, but I think Johan has missed the Virginia/DC area. So we'll see where we end up this time next year.

Our excitement today is that Mia is getting glasses, finally! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! We're all very excited for her to finally see us (and everything else)! We went to the eye doctor a few weeks back, and it turn out that she has gone from a -4 on the nearsightedness scale a year-and-a-quarter ago to a -17 now (-20 is legally blind, mind you). Her lenses in both eyes have shifted significantly off to the sides, so she's not really getting the benefit of their use, and the doctor thinks there is definitely an underlying genetic problem to boot. That said, at least the glasses will help her see, and he thinks that as of now, there is probably only about a 1% chance she will need surgery at the moment. We're going to a pediatric cardiologist to have hear heart worked up next week (they have concerns because of the genetic condition they think she has), and then we're off the the geneticist as soon as we can get an appointment. She's our ongoing project! But of course, Mia is oblivious to all this, and is the happiest little snuggle-bug you've ever met. As we always say, she's just happy to be alive, that one!

Bella is on the verge of potty-training, I think. I hope! She's our stubborn little spirit, so I think most of the time she knows how to do things, just doesn't want anyone telling her how or when to do them! She cracks us up! She continues to be such a generous spirit, though, and is always watching out for Mia. The other day she announced "Mia's the best sister!" and gave her a huge hug. It melted my heart! The girls love to play together and generally are good at sharing things, and are both always quick to bring the other sister a blanket or toy if either one is crying. The love to read books, jump on the beds, run laps around the apartment, climb up on the back of the couch and launch themselves onto the cushions, and throw anything ball-like around the apartment. They're absolutely obsessed with Santa Clause and Christmas trees (every pine tree we pass is a "CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!" to them) since Christmas, and I keep reminding them it's a long wait to next Christmas and seeing Santa again. They love to go swimming in the pool, although we may not be able to do that with them much longer, and they charm the pants off everyone they meet. They are our own special little angels here on earth.

Will post pictures of them later, particularly Mia with her new fancy pink glasses!

Bella Belly Dancing

2011-02-03T14:13:00.000-08:00

Well, here we have our lovely and adorable Bella "hamming it up" again... thank goodness I had the video camera nearby! Hee hee hee... it speaks for itself!

Mia fell down the stairs... OHMYGOSH!!

2010-10-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Poor, poor Mia! Horrible parenting skills by me today. Johan and I were packing for this weekend (when we are heading to the Adirondack Mountains for our big family weekend), and had the gate at the top of the stairs down as we were bringing things down to the car. Looked away for two seconds (the dreaded "two seconds"), and Mia went head-first down the entire flight of stairs! OHMYGOSH!!! I am mortified, and feel like a terrible mother! Mostly, she has some seriously NASTY rug burns on her nose, but she also has a big bump on the top of her forehead (see picture, above). Have to wake her up every few hours tonight and tomorrow night to make sure she's okay. S-C-A-R-Y stuff. Yet again, our miracle baby continues to be a miracle. She has one heck of a hard-working guardian angel! Thanks Heaven for that!

Bella's Potty Training (sort of)!!

2010-10-04T17:43:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I know those of you who don't have kids yet don't really get why this is sooooooooo, uber-exciting (beacuse I honestly didn't before the girls!), but Bella TOLD ME she wanted to "poot" this morning, so I ran her into the bathroom, and sure enough, she DID IT!!!! ON THE POTTY!! Promptly followed by an accident on her bedroom rug. But nevermind... she pooped on the toilet! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! Topped only by the fact that she then PEED on the toilet later in the day! BOTH IN ONE DAY, FOLKS! THAT'S RIGHT!!! She's on her way!!!!

So we spent the whole day on and off the phone with my mom and with Johan (who was out of town) with Bella proudly announcing what she had done. As we were brushing teeth tonight once Johan was home, I said "Bella, tell Pappa what you did today on the potty." And she said "I peed." and I said, "What else did you do?" and she said "I poot!" It was so cute!

Speaking of which, both their communication skills have taken a flying leap into the future over the past week. They're actually telling me what they want to eat, what they want to do, and how they feel about things. It's so amazing. I am in HEAVEN!!!!!!!!

Family get-together in Letchworth Park 2010

2010-09-30T09:31:00.001-07:00

FYI, I have no idea why this is underlining. Anyway, this past weekend, we went to Letchworth State Park near Rochester (NY) for an annual family get-together. Here are some pictures of the family. The girls are getting so big!!

Another day in paradise

2010-09-21T17:16:00.000-07:00

Word of the day? "BROCK.... (pause pause pause) oleeeeey!!!!!" Guess what we had for dinner?

Bella has also taken to announcing when she has "poot." As in, "I poot." Over and over rather ashamedly until I change her diaper. It's SO CUTE!!!! She's all upset and I can't stop laughing! Also, when she's crying, she no longer just wails. Now it's "wuh wuh wuh wuh wuh!!" (deep breath) "wuh wuh wuh wuh wuh!!!!" as tears are pouring out of her eyes. And again, I can't stop laughing!

FAVORITE Pictures!!!!

2010-09-16T11:03:00.003-07:00

These are just hanging around the house... some of my favorites!!!!

Goofy girls!!

Mia and Bella take after Mom... they both LOVE raw corn!

They both do this.. reading on the toilet at a year-and-a-half! HA!

This is typical Isabella pose right now... having a meltdown!

Visit to "Animal Land"

2010-09-16T10:29:00.001-07:00

Last month, we went to "Animal Land," which is near the Camp at Sacandaga Lake. The girls had a ball seeing and feeding all the animals, sitting in the old stagecoach, and even feeding crackers to giraffe's! It was a wonderful family outing!

July/August at the camp

2010-09-16T09:43:00.000-07:00

It was a fantastic summer. The girls loved hanging out at the camp, and Bella's big moves were: (1) starting to sleep in a "big girl" (toddler) bed (which she started doing a week after we moved here), and (2) pooping and peeing on the toilet (but only once each, and only at the camp. She still won't do it here at home!). Mia continues to just be her delightful little self, and loves to hold Bella's hand or the tail of her backpack (they each have animal backpacks with tails that have a loop on the end so mom can keep a handle on them).

Bella's toddler mattress at the camp is next to our Ikea bed. It's one of the lower-set beds, which about 10 inches between the bottom of the bed and the floor. One of the pictures is of Bella curled up against the far wall underneath our bed. She managed to roll off her bed, and roll all the way under ours (in her sleep!), and crammed herself in the corner of the far wall. There's no space in the room to move the bed, and once we discovered her, we also realized that I couldn't get under the bed to reach her (due to some upper-body restrictions to wiggling into tight spaces), nor could mom. I didn't want to wake her up, since she would realize quickly she was trapped and get scared and panic, but we couldn't figure out how to get her out! Finally, I went on top of the bed, reached my arm down between the wall and the bed, and pushed her (in her sleep still!) as far back toward the opening as possible, and mom managed to get ahold of her and pull her out the rest of the way. Now we pad the opening under the bed with pillows, so she can't EVER do that again!

The girls also love trying on hats, and Bella also loves to try on everyone's shoes, and attempt to walk around in them. Which is hysterical! They both love kayaking with Mormor and me on the lake, and just splashing around in the water. But their FAVORITE thing to do is play in the sand! Bella grabs handfulls and throws it up in the air, rolls around in it, stuffs it down her bathing suit and in her hair, eats handfulls of it... typical Bella! Mia, of the other hand, sits quietly with a big smile and relocates it from one pile to another. And eats it too, I must admit. They're so fun!

July pics of the girls

2010-07-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I know it's been a while, but you absolutely can't pay for pictures like these! Took them this morning!

Mia started walking (finally!) about a month ago, and both girls have molars now. The really great news around here other than that the girls are healthy and happy is that Johan got a new job in Syracuse, so we'll be almost exactly half way between Buffalo (and Jenny) and Albany (the 'rents!). Now we just need to get into an apartment so Johan can get started! We went up the other day and drove around for ages, saw a million places. Now we're just waiting to get approved at the place we selected, so cross your fingers!

Okay, pics of the girls!

Sippin' through straws

2010-05-22T04:02:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while since my last post, but yesterday we had another breakthrough. We're in Rochester right now for my cousin Mark's wedding shower (it's "Jack-and-Jill" style, where both men and women come/are invited). Got here last night, and went to dinner, where we ordered Root Beer to drink. Bella and Mia promptly decided that Root Beer was worth sucking through a straw for, so they got their first taste of soda! Oops! But it's so great they can sip through straws now. Will make life soooooooooooo much easier! Bring on the juice boxes!

Other girls news... Bella is apparently getting two molars, says Johan (I can't get her to open her mouth wide enough long enough to see! Mia's still trucking along, little blondie that she is. She's such a good eater. At our recent doctor's visit, sh weighed in at 20lbs, 12 oz... a full 12 oz. MORE than her sister, and she' taller still too. The doc said that's amazing for the second twin, but then, we knew she's just amazing all-around. Last week, she also unwittingly managed to walk clear across the family room run (about 7 steps) all on her own, before she realized she was doing it and decided not to do that any more (for fear no one will pick her up and carry her around anymore, I bet!). She's refused to walk on her own since, but is a champion at walking while holding your hand (something Bella has staunchly refused to do since the day she could get up into a standing position! She's SO independent!).

Anyway, will have new pics to post after this weekend. Left my computer cord at home, so can't do it while I'm here. Love to you all!

The latest and greatest

2010-05-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Bella's cutie-pie dress shots

Here are some updated pictures of the girls. They're getting so big!! Bella has turned out to be SUCH a girly-girl! If she sees a dress hanging within a one-mile radius, she'll DEMAND to have it, and then carry it around looking at it and showing it to everyone, before trying to put it on herself. Hee hee! Bella is also a really good helper around the house...helps me clean up, give me things I ask her to get. For a kid who's not really saying anything comprehensible, she sure understand a lot! And she loves to give "pussar" on command. As in, "Bella, puss Mia!" And she runs over with a big grin and forehead-kisses (her way of kissing is to lean her forehead against you repeatedly... no idea where she got that from!) her sister!

Nakenfis Mia, Mia with Mormor, Mia utterly enjoying her strawberry smoothie.

Mia continues to refuse to walk on her own, but loves to walk around holding onto your hands (even just one hand). She eats like a champion, and is growing like a weed. And she's in full-on separation anxiety mode... can't stand to be without me. Which I must admit, I kind-of love, as annoying as it can also be. I hope she never stops wanting to hug me all the time! She also seems to have picked up on the concept of "blowing a kiss." Which is... yet again... ADORABLE!

The girls hanging out in their chairs

2010-04-08T04:51:00.000-07:00

Here are our growing beauties! Mia decided to strip down for this meal... and then wanted to hang out of her chair! Thank goodness she was strapped in! Bella was delighted as always in her blue dress. She's quite the girly-girl now, and loves to prance around in dresses holding her hem out and dipping her head to her shoulder bashfully while looking up at people. Hee hee hee! So cute!

Little ladies out shopping in the "car"

2010-02-25T04:23:00.000-08:00

On a recent diaper run, I put the girls in the "fun" cart (car). I just tried not to obsess about how many germs they were acquiring, since they were having so much fun!!

Bella spinning... maybe an ice skater in the making?

2010-02-24T06:22:00.000-08:00

We were at dinner one night at Uncle Dave's, and someone started spinning Bella in a chair. She loved it! Absolutely delighted! Maybe we have a figure skater in the making? ;o)

Babies in the bathtub.... really

2010-02-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

Here are the babies in the bathtub in Rochester, at Uncle Dave's. Just thought I'd get some video, since they're SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOO CUTE in the bathtub!

Babies in the bathtub... in the family room

2010-02-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

A few cute photos of the girls. They're big enough now that they're bathing in the real bathtub (no more baby bathtub!), so I brought the baby bathtub downstairs to put it in the basement. Then I got the stomach flu very suddenly, and so the baby bathtub sat in the family room today. The girls loved it, as you can see! Mia climbed right in and "bathed" her little, delighted heart out!

The picture of Mia with the baby doll is from Christmas, but I couldn't resist posting it. They're both so precious with those baby dolls!

Nonno singing to the girls

2010-01-30T15:42:00.000-08:00

Here we have Nonno Angerosa singing another one of his songs to the girls. Where does he get these little songs? They're so cute!

Bella drinks from a cup!

2010-01-30T14:10:00.000-08:00

Here's our gal, who refuses to use a "sippy cup," but wants to drink from a real glass, of course. FYI, I gave her a glass of milk yesterday, and she was not nearly as careful and dainty as in this video. She dumped the entire thing on her face and down her front in one go!

Bella walking across the kitchen

2010-01-27T10:38:00.000-08:00

More of Bella walking... this time, she went clear across the kitchen!!

Look who's WALKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-01-27T10:12:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, our little one-year-old Bella took her first steps all on her own. By Today (Wednesday), she's really onto this walking thing... it's amazing how quickly they learn! From their first wobbles to walking clear across the kitchen inside of a week! She and Mia are having a ball chasing after each other on all fours still, too. My next video goal is to catch them chasing each other around the dining room table. It's so cute!

Their first birthday!!!!

2010-01-20T07:48:00.000-08:00

tet
Yesterday was Bella's first birthday, and today is Mia's. Despite our best intentions to celebrate their birthdays separately, Mia has been pathetically sick with the flu for a week now, and still isn't better. Now Bella is sick too, poor soul. But they managed to rally remarkably when a big, sugary pile of cake was put before each of them last night!

The day began beautifully, and just as it had one year ago... with a lovely, light snow. I remember the morning before they were born (we were still in Virginia), I looked out the window and said "This must be the day... look! It's snowing!" And sure enough, it was! So snow on their first birthday felt a little like a present for me!

Both girls loved all their presents, and Mia seems to have figured out how to open presents since a month ago at Christmas, when neither of them were interested in the paper. Mia was ripping away last night, and quite delighted! Their favorite present by far seems to be the play cell phone we got them. I think we may need to get another one, since they both love pressing the buttons and hearing the sounds so much!

We're having a big family celebration on Saturday, so hopefully, they'll both feel better by then!

TOYLAND!!!!

2010-01-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

The girls loooooove the musical toys!

"Where's Mia?" game

2010-01-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

Here we have Mia copying a game Bella invented. This is the first time Mia did it, and now it's become a constant game. She's always up for a good round of "Where's Mia?" Kind-a cute, don't you think? ;o)

The girls discover Christmas decorations!

2009-12-24T07:34:00.000-08:00

Here we have the lovely ladies discovering the Christmas Tree, presents (or as Mia seems to think about them: "PRESENTS!!!!!!!!!") and decorations. Mia is FINALLY crawling, as of last week or so, and doing an admirable job of getting around and getting up on things (she can get herself standing up at the baby gate with Bella, for instance). They're both such curious cuties!

Mia with Nonno playing Christmas carols

2009-12-23T06:56:00.000-08:00

This one speaks for itself, folks.

2009-12-14T05:16:00.000-08:00

So here she is, out little superstar milestone-jumper. Bella decided this weekend to climb the stairs (while I was away in Vegas visiting Johan). Mom and Dad both captured video, and don't worry... they caught her! No harm done!

2009-12-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

Well, this morning was a shocking one for me! I get the "bad mommy" award, folks. Mia hasn't been very good at pulling herself up until recently, and still isn't pulling herself up into a stand... or so I thought! This morning, little Miss Mia somehow managed to get herself pulled up enough to launch herself over the railing of her crib, and landed head-first on the floor about 4 feet below. I was downstairs after just having put them both to bed for their naps, and head a loud *thud* which could only have been one thing. Mia started screaming bloody murder, and I took the stairs three-at-a-time. Nonno Angerosa was only 5 minutes away, thank goodness, so he came rushing back and checked her out. It seems she's okay, but for the huge purple, swollen welt on her forehead. Yet again, we seem to have dodged a bullet with Mia. She's borrowing her sister's crib to take her nap now, though (since Bella's is already a few pegs lower than Mia's was). The plan this afternoon is to lower BOTH their cribs, since now I'm paranoid about Bella doing to same thing (Bella is standing up in her crib and can get her head and shoulders above the crib wall). Poor Johan's missing all the fun around here, being stuck out there in Vegas (HA)!

Mia trying to walk, Bella hogging the spotlight

2009-11-18T14:50:00.000-08:00

Ohmygosh, Mia is not crawling, but is trying to walk. Why crawl when you can just skip a step?! And Bella, of course, needs to be in the spotlight... hee hee hee....

Halloween pictures, at last!

2009-11-14T05:19:00.001-08:00

November.... so soon?!

2009-11-05T17:08:00.000-08:00

The girls had a wonderful Halloween. And don't worry, I AM going to post those adorable pictures of them in their costumes, as soon as I can figure out how to get them off Mom's camera (ours inconveniently died for the photo shoot).

Mia, as you can see, continues to crack us up. I put her in her high chair today, looked away to get her jar of food, and when I came back, she was pawing her way through the sports section of the newspaper. The funniest thing was that it really looked like she was reading it... she stares so intently at things, like they're sooooooooooooooooooooooooo interesting!

Bella had a rough day all day today. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with her all day, since she wouldn't stop crying and whimpering, even in her sleep during her naps. She also couldn't get comfortable, so I spent most of the day just hugging her and stroking her head as she cried. Finally, around 4/5pm, I started rocking her side to side in my lap, which quieted her way down... she was so exhausted by then. It just broke my heart! Around 7:30pm, we noticed some pinkish drainage coming from her ear... seems Dad suspects that her eardrum may have ruptured, poor thing. She was just in his office on Tuesday, and after checking her ears (she pulls on them a lot), he noticed there was fluid in her ears. Ahhhh... she is a daddy's girl after all, it seems! Anyway, she's finally sleeping... for now. Have to run to the pharmacy to pick up her prescription! If you're inclined, she could use a few "get well" prayers (and so could I, so we don't have a repeat day tomorrow! ;o)).

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

2009-10-31T05:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone! Last night after the girls went to sleep, Mom and I carved pumpkins and baked the seeds (yummy!). We also indulged in testing out the Halloween candy before we give it to the neighborhood kids tomorrow (must make sure it's not poisoned, after all). Later, we're dressing the girls up in their costumes and taking them around the neighborhood for their FIRST HALLOWEEN EXTRAVAGANZA! We're dressing them like their crib themes.... Bella is going to be a ladybug, and Mia is going to be a bumble bee. I will add pictures to this post tomorrow, when I have them. This is so exciting!

I can't believe that last year at this time, I had just been put on bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy, and was stuck in a condo in Virginia where there were no kids trick-or-treating for candy. This year will be so much better... it's just nicer to be in a neighborhood for Halloween, since it's really a family event. The holidays this year will be so completely thrilling for me. I always get really excited about the holiday season (Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Years), but this year will be extra-special because of our additional two celebratory participants! They love to tear up paper already, so by Christmas they should positively be ripping into their presents! And they're eating some things, so they can partake in the Thanksgiving feast as well (mmmmm... mashed potatoes and butternut squash.... DELICIOUS!).

Also, am posting a big CONGRATULATIONS to my cousin Mark... he recently became engaged to the lovely Alexa, who is wonderful and beautiful and fun and a fantastic catch for the whole family! Mark and Alexa live in Virginia, as last year they came over to the apartment and spent the whole day cooking a huge Thanksgiving dinner for Johan and I (and the girls, in utero, of course). They are two of our very favorite people, and we love them to pieces!

NYC trip

2009-10-31T05:08:00.001-07:00

Had SUCH a great time in New York City a few weekends ago with my friends Shelby (from Idaho) and DeAnne (from Carlsbad, NM)! We stayed at the Windsor Hotel in Times Square, and pretty-much ate our way through New York. We also saw Broadway shows while we were there... we all went to Mary Poppins and The 39 Steps together.

One of the coolest things we did was go to the Museum of Natural History. We saw a show in their planetarium, and also went to a Butterfly conservatory exhibit (where you go into a room with butterflies flying all around you, and they can land on you.... it's AMAZING!!!). Loads of fun!

Ahhhh... the lovely Adirondacks

2009-10-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

The year was so gorgeous! I can't believe the pictures Karen got. The hiking was stunning. We were so lucky, because peak weekend happened to fall on Columbus Day weekend, when we were there. The very best part was spending time with the family, as always. We even had MC from Minnesota and Mark and Alexa from DC, both of which were a real treat. And the usual crew was so fun... we played Mexican Train and cards. I'm so sad it's over for this year... it my favorite vacation!

Bella in the mountains

2009-10-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

Bella was equally beguiling in the mountains! She loved to play with everyone, and wanted to eat what everyone else was eating and drinking. Also, they both looked adorable in their winter gear, and it was cooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooold!

Mia in the mountains

2009-10-23T05:20:00.001-07:00

Here are some more pictures of the lovely Mia in the mountains. It was so lovely there this year, and I could actually go hiking as well! Everyone played with the girls, and the ladies had SUCH a great time. As you can see, Mia read books, hung out with everyone, "flapped her wings" (she flaps her arms like wings when she's happy now), and made lots and LOTS of cute faces! These pictures were actually taken by my cousin Karen, who is quite the photographer! I think I'm going to frame the last three!

Mia's sitting up, Bella has a tooth!

2009-10-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

Update of the week.... so on Tuesday morning, we had our "9 month" appointment with the pediatrician. As he's asking whether they are sitting up yet, we begrudgingly had to admit that Bella was up and around, but Mia still wouldn't sit up on her own. As I said it, I put Mia on the scale to weigh her. And the doctor's secretary, who was in the room, said, "You mean, like that?" And Mia was sitting up!!! Yesterday morning, she sat up all day and played with toys, and she's at it again this morning. So... guess she proved us wrong! Also, we have an appointment with a world-class eye doctor on Tuesday, which we're very much looking forward to. Dr. Kumar (her pediatrician) seems to think she may need glasses, but we'll see what the verdict is from the
specialist. Little bitty glasses.... wouldn't she just be even cuter than ever (if that's possible)?!

Bella also continues to do everything first. Despite all appearances that Mia would get her tooth first (you can see this big white ball just waiting to push through any second), Bella was biting on my finger yesterday, and *ouch*! She has a real tooth, broken through the bottom gums and everything. It's amazing! I can't get a look at it though, since every time I try to open her mouth, she sticks her tongue in the way. Hee hee! They're both amazing!

Tomorrow, we're off to the Adirondack mountains for our annual Kunz reunion weekend. I think everyone might be coming this year, but for Nina (cousin Dan's partner). There are rumors that Dan and the boys might be flying in from California for it, but no one seems to be able to get a straight answer on that. So we're all hoping, and keeping our fingers crossed! I'm ignoring the weathermen regarding the state of the skies this weekend. What do they know, anyway? Everyone knows meteorology is just a guessing game!

Off to the races.... the girls are up!

Aunt Lu

2009-10-04T18:51:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to also make a note to say that we said fond farewells to one of our Kunz family's favorite people (and matriarch), Lucile Kunz (Aunt Lu). She finally passed away a week from last Saturday, at the ripe old age of 96. Considering she's been praying for this for years, her wake and funeral ended up being more of a celebration of her life than a sorrowful event. I actually got to meet family members I haven't ever met before, or seen in years. It was wonderful to see pictures from her life, smile at memories, and just genegally enjoy what a generous, kind, thoughtful and loving person she was. We'll miss you, Aunt Lu!

Bella's standing up!!

2009-10-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

Ohmygosh, Bella is on a roll now!!! She's been crawling for a few weeks, but now she's rapidly progressed to trying to stand and walk. She doesn't quite have enough strength to stand on her own, but she's figured out that if she grabs onto things and hauls, she can hoist herself up and use the object for balance. Thus far, she's managed to tip over a laundry basket, spill the vibrating bouncer on top of herself, and climb up the jumperoo. Tonight, she was holding onto my bent leg (I was sitting on the floor with my knees bent, and she was standing next to me holding onto my knee), and she even let go and stood on her own for a few seconds before she fell on her cute little rump! She's so determined....I love it!

He other favorite pastimes: (1) opening every cabinet she can get her hands on, and pulling everything out. And eating it all, of course; (2) crawling over to the family room plant, pulling the leaves off, and trying to eat them (no picture, since every time she does it we're running to get the leaves out of her hands; and (3) grabbing on to the vibrating bouncer when Mia is in it, and shaking it like crazy. Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig smiles all around when she does that (although Mia always looks a bit surprised at first)!

Oh, and one more thing... I put Bella to bed two nights ago, and went downstairs to get Mia. When I got back upstairs two minutes later, she had pulled herself up on the handrails, and was smiling from ear to ear as though to say "Look what I did!!!!" Needless to say, Mom generously lowered the crib setting for us after that...safe again for now!

Apple picking and the lake is going down...

2009-09-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

The girls have started playing together... officially. Their favorite game (usually instigated by Bella) is "pull the pacifier out of the other one's mouth." Originally it was just Bella taking Mia's pacifier, but she never seemed to mind and would just giggle, and has now started taking it back. They'll go back and forth, back and forth. It's hysterical!

Saturday morning, the girls and I went on our first apple-picking adventure! Mormor, Mrs. Carol (our family friend) and the girls and I went to Bowman's Orchard, where we picked bags full of Cortland apples, Macintosh apples, Honeycrisp apples, and... raspberries! Pints and pints of fresh red raspberries, which we discovered at the end of the Macintosh apple section. Mia tucked into her first real apple, sucking away on the apple she and I shared, while Bella (as you can see) was busy figuring out where we should go next on the map. We also got fresh apple cider donuts, and yes, we pigged out. And didn't feel the least bit guilty! That means fresh apple pie, fresh raspberries with vanilla ice cream, apple cake, apple crisp, apples dipped in caramel... mmmmmmmmmm.... the world of possibilties!

Saturday afternoon, we went up to Sacandaga Lake, and it was GLORIOUS. Just perfect... the weather has turned, so it has that lovely Autumnal feeling. We were even able to light our first fire of the season in the wood stove. As it turns out, a nice side-effect of having someone in the cabin who gets up every few hours with babies in the middle of the night is that the fire gets stoked/re-lit every few hours, so it never gets overly chilly at night! It smelled just magnificent.... smoky and woodsy and like the mountains. The trees are just starting to turn as well, so the tops had flaming red tips to the leaves, bleeding down into a lovely gold and then the green of summer. The bugs have gone away somewhat as well, and it was fun to walk on the beach amongst the rock foundations left from when the lake was a town.

Eating pickles

2009-09-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

Eating pickles...yum!

More pictures (as requested!)

2009-09-14T17:11:00.000-07:00

Am getting stick from some friends (Jillian!) that I don't blog enough, which is actually true. The girls are sleeping, so... daily update: Bella sat in a high chair in a restaurant today for the first time! Mom and I went to Chinese, and Bella of course wanted to sit in somebody's lap, but when you put her in your lap, she just grabs onto everything REMOTELY within reach. And a lot that you wouldn't think is in reach, but suddenly becomes within reach when she launches herself left or right toward the desired object. Hee hee hee! So she got her own high chair, and was thrilled beyond belief. Until the point where we refused to share our soda with her (she has decided that everything we eat and drink is actually hers), at which point she started screaming. I think that's the first time she's done that in a restaurant... not a good first! Mormor (grandma Angerosa) gave her the slice of lemon from her soda, and Bella sucked on that lemon like it was candy! Strange sense of taste... she loves lemons and pickles and come to think of it, anything else we give her (except baby food).

Bella has also decided that it is the MOST fun thing to sit on the couch (in the corner or just next to someone else). She'll sit next to you and read a book (look at the pictures and turn the pages), or watch TV (am flooding them with educational stuff, don't worry... thank you makers of Planet Earth!). And yes, we are corrupting her early with politics. Hence, the photos of Bella sitting with Nonno Angerosa, watching politics. She seems to understand the brevity of civic responsibility already... very serious little baby!

And about Mia... she just continues to be the cutest little thing ever. She's such a darling little sweetheart. Everywhere we go, she smiles and laughs at people (and does this deep growl as she smiles sometimes, or a high pitched scream descending into a deep growl (which I call the bomb noise) which makes people laugh hysterically). She's rolling over like crazy now, moving straight across the floor like Bella did a few months ago. And she's still our little cuddle-bunny too. Delightful... that's the word!

Life going on

2009-09-10T04:51:00.000-07:00

Everyone here is doing well, still recovering from the excitement of Jenny's wedding. The weather has finally turned here, and it is feeling like Fall now... lovely 60s and low 70s weather. My favorite! You wake up in the morning, and it is chilly outside. Hot chocolate weather! Hooray!!

Bella continues to get up on all fours and rock herself forward incrementally. No crawling yet, but she is on to the scent of it. Mia has become our bouncing queen... she bounces in the jumperoo all day long, with a big smile on her face. This week we had some more milestones. On Saturday, Mom and I went out shopping with the girls, and Bella sat in the seat of the shopping cart unassisted! Mia was still in her car seat in the bucket of the basket, and they kept looking at each other and smiling. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute! One of our neighbors gave us a high chair yesterday, and Bella sat in it for breakfast for the first time this morning. Both girls want to feed themselves with their spoons, but do not quite understand that you do not grab the spoon at its base, where the food is. So we end up with food-hands every time. Mia is also grabbing onto bottles, although she refuses to hold her own for feedings. However, every time I am drinking a water, she will grab the bottle right off the table or out of my hand, and hold it with ONE of her hands! Strong little piano fingers! Mia also had our first official illness yesterday, which shall go undescribed but to say we went through about 40 diapers for her yesterday. Poor baby. Of course, she was smiling through the whole thing.

I am getting really excited about going to the mountains in a month for our annual family (Kunz) get-together. It is my favorite event of the year. I am in the process of trying to acquire some second-hand baby backpack carriers (metal frame, since they are heavy now!) so we can go hiking with them. I better start working out if I am going to haul a 20 pound baby up a mountain, come to think of it! I can usually barely haul myself these days!

The other exciting thing is that Mom and Johan and I are going to a concert of Ingrid Michaelson this weekend in Albany. She is my favorite artist, and I have learned a few of her songs on my ukulele. I cannot wait!

Copeland Covered Bridge

2009-08-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

We also made a trip recently to the Copeland Covered Bridge, one of the only covered bridges left in the Adirondack region. The waterfalls were really flowing, since we've had quite a bit of rain recently. When I was little, Mom and Jenny and I would hike up the falls and the stream bed all day. It's quite beautiful, and so peaceful. And only about 20 minutes from the camp!

The girls on vacation

2009-08-24T13:55:00.000-07:00

This past week, we were on vacation with mom and dad at the camp. Our little girls went in the lake in their swimmy floats, and we finally got a picture of Mia's famous pout!

Other big news... Mia is getting her first tooth! She has to do SOMETHING before Bella, after all! Also, Bella FINALLY slept in her crib for the first time Saturday night. It seems well overdue... she sleeps much better, it seems! I'm actually getting 3 full hours of sleep at a time (well, almost predictably). It's so fun... I wake up in the morning, and go into their room, and they usually are both awake and just playing quietly in their cribs with their toes or their toys or their blanket (in Bella's case). When I peek over their crib and say good morning, I'm greeted with the biggest smiles you can imagine. It's a funny thing to be the sunshine in someone else's world! It's so magical!

Johan is off to Vegas for a boy's weekend this coming weekend. We had a free flight on Southwest, but it has to be used by October, so Johan is going to go visit one of his best friends, Dawson. I'm so jealous!

More wedding photos

2009-08-15T17:04:00.001-07:00

This is me with my cousin Mark at Jenny's wedding. Mark and his girlfriend Alexa are awesome, and were especially amazing when we lived in DC... they took such good care of us (and the babies before they were born), even canceling plans to make a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner for us last November! We just love them to bits, and I love this photo!
Mia looks a bit "deer in the headlights" in this one, but she's still cute! And of course, her dad is always looking good!
I love this picture of Bella and me. She's starting to get soooooooooooooo much hair down this stripe on the top of her head. It's looking a bit like a mohawk.

Jenny's wedding

2009-08-11T05:42:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Jenny's wedding, and it couldn't have been a more gorgeous day! The sun was shining, the temperature was warm but not hot... Everyone looked lovely, and no one more than Jenny herself. Above, Jenny is with her flower girl, our cousin Laura (also Jenny's Godchild).
The flowers were magnificent!!!!!!!

Jenny and Mom and I got ready in her honeymoon suite at the Desmond Americana, a luxury hotel in Albany. They had a two-story room, complete with chocolates on the pillows. It was so fun!
Mia and Isabella made an appearance, but weren't there for much of the wedding. After a long night up at the rehersal dinner on Friday, they fell asleep pretty quickly at the reception. They had the prettiest dresses (other than they bride's, of course!). Johan was looking smashing and dashing as always!

First day "swimming" in the lake!

2009-07-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, the girls had their first foray into the fun times that will dominate their childhood on the beach and in Sacandaga Lake! Mom bought these adorable floats (a crab with a shell and a car with a wheel and beeping horn), and the girls went wild on the water. Mia took over the crab, and Bella hung out in the car (but wasn't into the wheel or horn yet). They had a blast!

Pictures from Jenny's bridal shower

2009-07-30T07:31:00.000-07:00

Here are the Kunz ladies with Jenny (Mom, Aunt Kathy and Aunt Mary Ellen).
Here's our beautiful Bella with her mom!
And beautiful Bella with Aunt Mary Ellen.
Here's our lovely fist-chewing Mia with cousin Paula.
And one more lovely picture of our big-eyed darling, Mia.

Adventures on the Lake

2009-07-17T06:54:00.000-07:00

Don't worry... it's only root beer! We were out at dinner at a local dive on the lake the other day (hence, the chicken wings), and both Mia and Bella decided they HAD to try our IBC root beer. They're so funny... neither of them mind carbonated things! They really just lick them right now, though. Anyway, so funny!
This is just one more "action shot" of Bella, rolling around on the floor at Jenny's bridal shower.
Both girls had their first boat ride the other day! As you can see, they're absolutely swimming in their life jackets, but Mia seemed to think it was the bee's knees! Bella was less sure about the wind effect, but held it together just fine too. I think Mia has a distinct Grandpa Angerosa (my grandpa, so her great-grandpa) look here. We had a ball!

The lake, July 2009

2009-07-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

The lake is just lovely this year, although it hasn't really been warm enough to go in swimming just yet. I have high hopes for tomorrow! I might just have to brave the breezy weather and go in anyway, if it doesn't look like it's going to warm up, since the week is almost over and we're heading to Buffalo this weekend to have a "hen night" with Jenny.

Mom and Dad have decided not to expand the camp just yet, since the economy is so bad and the Hudson River authority (which controls the land between the lake and the camp) has been doing some really screwy moves lately (like trying to make everyone's land a public park). The exciting news resulting from this decision, though, is that some updates are being made to the camp (with the as-is structure). Mom and Dad recently purchased a pop-up camper which can sleep 5 and is located now outside by the shed, and today we're having a new, bigger refrigerator installed! Everyone is excited about that, since we NEVER have enough room for just basic food stores if we're spending a week at the camp. The old fridge is going out to the garage, but will still work, so we're more than DOUBLING our fridge and freezer space! Mom and I were also talking about some small updates to the bathroom which would make it look spectacular. Small changes can make a big difference!

Vacation week at the camp

2009-07-15T08:51:00.000-07:00

As you can see, Bella has mastered rolling across the floor. At least, rolling across the floor to the left! I took this video about a week ago, and she's now rolling even faster... it's not even worth sitting down once I put her down on the blanket, since I'm just going to have to get up to pick her up and replace her at the left side of the blanket in a few moments. She has also learned how to pivot herself so when she hits a barrier she can sometimes shift herself 45 degrees to keep rolling, and has also been able to roll to her right (but she doesn't like having to do this). Mia is trying like crazy to roll, and has managed to get herself onto her belly a few times, but is at that stage where she then can't roll back again and just gets frustrated. Most of the time, she just rolls onto her side and watches Bella. They'll both be crawling before we can blink, I think!

Miles of Smiles Mia

2009-07-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Bella Bella Bella

2009-07-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

Stockholm

2009-06-25T01:33:00.001-07:00

Stockholm is so beautiful. We've walked all over the city and it's just amazing. Yesterday we went on a boat tour (2 hours) of Stockholm... it was a magnificent day... sunny and probably about 85 degrees with a beautiful breeze blowing off the Baltic. Interesting facts I learned include that everyone is allowed to fish in the sea around Stockholm, hoping to catch one of the salmon they release into the archipellago every year. The water is actually clean enough to swim in and fish in, which they are very proud of (Sweden is CRAZY about their environmentalism!). We saw an area where they're building residential housing like crazy, all of which is very contemporary/modern and stunning. Apparently they were planning to build the olympic village in this area, if they had won their bid for the 2004 olympic games. It used to be an area where some king centuries ago banished the lepars and insane people, and we passed a building that used to be an asylum (which is still standing and in perfect condition!). The Volvo Ocean Race is going on downtown right now, so we also passed a ton of racing boats. Sailing in the archipellago looks like heaven!

Bella's eating ice cream

2009-06-25T01:27:00.001-07:00

Here we have more of Bella... the other day, we were in Stockholm touring the city with Hampus and Ellen and Rob, and of course, decided to eat some of the AMAZING Swedish ice cream they have on offer here. I'm standing in front of the stroller eating my ice cream, and Bella was fascinated. She kept following my cone everywhere it went, so I jokingly said "Oh, you want some, then?" and held it in front of her mouth. Doesn't that little stinker open her mouth, stick out her tongue and LICK the ice cream cone several times! And then she wanted more! Who says you're not born with the need for ice cream?! I thik we just disproved THAT!

Bella can roll over (but not back!)!!

2009-06-19T02:52:00.000-07:00

This one's for you, Mom... Mom (grandma Angerosa) gave Bella this bunny just before we left. Bella's IN LOVE with it. She sits and stares at it and hugs it and plays with it all the time. And it's like the magic potion (well, one part blanket, one part bunny, one part pacifier) to get her to go to sleep.

Bella's really good at getting onto her stomach now, but still can't quite roll back every time! Anyway, I caputred this really cute photo of her yesterday!

SWEDEN!!! Soooooooooooo beautiful!

2009-06-19T02:46:00.000-07:00

Here we have Farfar Klarin, rocking little Mia to sleep on their glider on their back porch. Below are several landscape pictures of Sweden. The path you see is the path I've been running down, and the woods are the woods I've been running through. Talk about picturesque!

Just one more cute photo of our joyful babies!

2009-06-16T01:41:00.000-07:00

Just another cute photo of the girls. The baby gym they are on has characters from a famous Swedish children's book on it.

Visit to Madlen's grave

2009-06-16T01:35:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took advantage of the one brief second of no rain to walk to a nearby cemetery where Madlen (Johan's cousin, and Mia's middle- name namesake) is buried. She died just before our wedding, at the age of 39, from cancer. The whole family says she was just a beacon of hope and love and joy her whole life. Her grave is lovely, and in a sweet and charming Swedish cemetery just near the Temple here in Stockholm. Her name is even on the gravestone in her signature.

Mia stuff (from Sweden)

2009-06-16T01:27:00.000-07:00

Here we have Pappa Johan, Uncle (Farbror) Hampus, and Mia. Hmmmm... is somebody making fun of somebody?? (ha ha)

We had a great day out with Johan's brother Hampus and his wife Camilla on Saturday. One highlight was going to a Swedish pizza parlor, where Mis stole the show by deciding that since we were all eating anyway, it was a great time to eat her hands. Again.

Both Mia and Bella have started eating rice cereal, and are hysterical to watch when they do! Mis sits there are coos like a baby bird before and after each bite (more!more!more!), while Bella continuously tries to stuff both gobs of food and her foot in her mouth at once. As usual, Mia is all manners and Bella is just all-out for fun with it. I've had to lay a blanket down under Bella before she eats, so her whole car seat doesn't get coated in mush, while Mia very daintily barely even gets it on more than her chin. The above picture of her is about as messy as she gets with it. They are so funny!

Here are Farfar and Farmor Klarin at home. As you can see, our baby stuff is already encroaching heavily on their living space!

Our Swedish Adventure!

2009-06-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so these pictures aren't actually from Sweden, but they are part of the adventure. Just before we left, we realized we needed passports for both the girls. Since we only had about a week between finding out we were going to Sweden and actually leaving, that caused a bit of excitement! So we had our first "family vacation." We went up to Boston to apply for the passports (must be done at a regional passport agency when it's a rush like that), and stayed overnight. While there, we took the girls to the New England Acquarium. Bella slept through almost the whole thing, but Mia was up (for once!) and loved all the colors in the fish tanks. It was smaller than I remember it, but then, I was smaller the last time I went! It was still amazing!

Now we have our shots on the airplane. SAS was great about the kids, and allowed us to bring the car seats on the plane. They also gave us bassinets for the girls, which hooked into the wall in front of our (bulk row) seats. I was able to bring the detachable toy bar from one of their baby gyms, which I hooked onto the bassinet. Mia spent almost the whole trip in the bassinet, sleeping and watching the toys. Bella stayed in her car seat and played with Pappa. Neither of them cried a lick until landing. Mia slept through the landing (of course!), while poor little Bella had a horrible time with the depressurizing cabin. Even though she was drinking juice the whole way down, she kept screaming and grabbing her ears every time the cabin pressure would drop. I felt so badly for her... and everyone else! People were very nice about it, though, thank goodness! Once we landed, she was back to her normal happy self, though. Such good babies! Now if we can only manage for things to go as well on the way back!

At home with Farfar and Farmor

2009-06-09T02:38:00.000-07:00

Here we are at home with Mamma and Pappa (Farmor and Farfar) Klarin, in Sweden. The girls have had a bit of a hard time adjusting to the time change... we've actually been trying to keep them on their U.S. schedue, but when it's light here, they want to be up, so they've been a bit "off." We borrowed a second playmat from Aunt Camilla's sister, though, which is nice for them, since they can't both fit on the travel mat I brought with us.

Let's see... excitement thus far: We got to see a number of the relatives, including Christopher and Johanna and Jacqueline and Joachim, and their respective (now so grown up) kids. The kids are the best measure of how much time has gone by, since the adults all look about the same as last time. But the kids! I simply can't believe how big they are!

I've also started running (just every other or every third day or so, so I don't kill my knees). There is a BEAUTIFUL path through the woods and around farmland just near here, so I ran down it for 1/2 hour or so. It was so lovely! Sweden has the most beautiful rolling meadows and tree-filled glens. I went past a whole field of lilly-of-the-valley's, which smelled amazing! Also, there are lilac bushes in bloom everywhere right now. So all in, the whole area just smells like heaven to me right now!

We've also been fillling ourselves with Swedish pickles, Swedish cheese, Swedish beets, Swedish yogurt, Swedish bread... all the local delicacies! Which also explains why I need to run while I'm here (ha-ha... sort of!).

Keep checking back... I'll keep taking pictures and videos, and uploading them as I can!

Fun weekend at the camp

2009-05-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was memorial day weekend, and we had a blast at the camp. It was a full house -- In addition to our 4, Mom and Dad were there of course, plus Jenny came down from Buffalo and our friends Sarah and James also came for the babies' blessing. As it turned out, we only blessed Isabella this weekend, since we're planning to go to Sweden in a week, and decided to bless Mia there (one here, one there... aren't twins convenient?!). It was a beautiful weekend interspersed with a bit of rain, but all in all, it was spectacular. Sarah, James and I even braved a quick underwater splash in the Lake, although it was a bit less than warm. The babies even had their first beach adventure... I brought down a sun umbrella and set it up over them on the sand. They loved the colors!

Bella has also started eating (a very little) rice cereal, although Mia is having none of it thus far. Aunt Jenny and I bought them "bumbo" chairs, which you can see Isabella eating cereal in above. Also of note... Isbella finally turned all the way over again all on her own this morning, and I actually saw it this time! Yay!

One final thing to report: both girls had their 4-month checkup at the doctor's the other day (along with their second set of vaccinations), and are doing wonderfully. He said they both have the strength and dexterity of 6 month old babies, and they've doubled their birth weight to about 12 lbs each. Mia does apparently have a mild chest deformity which is apparently very common, and which the doctor said usually doesn't cause any problems. But we're keeping an eye on it. That girl does like to keep us worried!

On to Sweden in less than a week! We're off to Boston on Thursday to get the girls passports, and CAN'T WAIT to see the Klarins in Sweden soon! They're going to go bananas over these babies.. it's hard not to! ;o)

Our first picnic, and trip to Buffalo

2009-05-15T12:13:00.000-07:00

Today the girls had their first picnic, at Central Park in Schenectady. They certainly did enjoy staring up at the trees and grabbing their toes! I tried it briefly myself, and must admit... very calming!

Bella was positively captured by the dandelion. Who says they're weeds?! They're so pretty!
Mia in her dainty "Oh my, isn't that delightful!" pose.
"I can stand, folks! Just TRY and tell me I can't!"
Bella, in her new favorite pose... playing with her toes.
Mia, in her new favorite pose, with as many fingers as can fit in her mouth. She tries to jam her whole fist in there, sometimes! We suspect she might be starting teething, since she's also a drool factory these days. But oh so cute anyway!
Just another cute photo in a sea of cute photos!
Both girls, in their dainty "Oh my, isn't that delightful!" pose.
To our left... we have grandma Angerosa with the girls, at our picnic in the park.

The girls and I also took a trip to Buffalo about a month ago, and had the chance to meet up with a few of our many friends there. Below are three of our favorite people... Sarah and James, and of course, our Jenny!

These photos were also taken on our long-awaited trip to Buffalo. The handsome guy and gorgeous gal in the photo with me are two of my favorite people -- Lance, my boss at Hodgson Russ (my old law firm), and Cindi, who took care of all the secretarial details and kept me on-schedule and in my right mind when I worked at Hodgson Russ. I love and miss them both all the time, along with everyone else at Hodgson! What a magnificent time in my life that was!

It's alllllllllllllllllllll MINE!!!!

2009-05-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here we have little Mia. Just took this last week. We call this the "It's alllllllll mine!!!!!" picture. I was transporting her to the car, and needed to also transport the bottles, so I just had her hold them on the way. She looked so pleased I couldn't resist taking a picture! She's just SO CUTE!!!

Both girls have been doing great. Yesterday, Bella rolled over all on her own for the first time! She must have heard us talking... earlier that morning, Johan and I had been saying that we thought Mia was going to be the first to roll over, since she's been rolling onto her side a lot for the past week or so. Bella must have inherited our competitive natures... no sooner did we say it, that she rolled over! That'll show us! ;o)

They're also drinking a lot more now... about half a (8-10oz) bottle at a time, most of the time. Growing babies! Johan was playing with Bella on his lap the other day, and she was standing (with his help) on his lap, and it struck me how TALL she is! They're both really tall, actually. Guess the prenatal doctors were right!

Bella also has started grabbing for things. We have a play mat with hanging things on it and a vibrating baby chair for them with a frog hanging above them that if you pull on him, he plays music. She's been grabbing at the rings of anything which plays music, and actually making it, every once in a while! Yesterday morning, Mom and I were each holding a baby, and turned them toward each other to say hello, and doesn't Bella go and reach out for Mia. She grabbed her hand over and over again, and kept reaching out and touching her shoulder and face. Although Mia has been very interested in Bella since the second she was born, Bella has not quite been as interested in Mia, until now. It was just so sweet. They really are both amazingly sweet babies!

Last thing to report... Mia has officially "found her lungs," as Johan put it this morning. Oh joy. Hee hee hee. No really -- it's a good thing, I know, but also... MAN, can that kid scream! Think I need ear plugs to hold her when she's crying... it's not a pretty sound. Pathetic, really. You just feel awful for her.

In other news, plans keep moving forward on Jenny's wedding. She's tasked us with picking a wedding cake, so we went to Villa Italia -- this delicious bakery in our area -- yesterday for a cake tasting. IT WAS SO FUN!!!! They brought out this huge round platter with cracker-sized rounds of 5 different kinds of cake, surrounded by little cups of all their fillings and frostings. So, for instance, you could take a round of vanilla sponge cake and put lemon cream filling on it with whipped cream frosting, or chocolate cake with cannoli cream filling, or carrot cake with cream cheese filling and whipped cream frosting... which were our three picks, by the way. YUM! So much for my Weight Watchers weigh-in this week! I felt kind-of sick the rest of the day from sugar overload, but ah well... it was so worth it! Mom and I are heading to the gym this afternoon to sign me up, so I can keep losing weight and bump-up my weight loss so I look great by Jenny's wedding! We're going to go together a few nights a week.

That's the news from here! I'll try to be better about posting pictures and such... with the move, I've misplaced all the cords connecting to the video and normal cameras, so I know I've been slacking. Maybe Johan can find them.

Love you all!

Mia playing footsie with Mom

2009-04-07T15:36:00.000-07:00

Here we have Mia playing footsie with her Mom. Johan says we'll have to play this one at her wedding!

Mia being cute April 2009

2009-04-07T05:09:00.000-07:00

SUPERBABY!

2009-04-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

Video of the family

2009-04-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

Here we all are, after a walk a few weeks ago.

The girls in pink!

2009-04-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

Here we have another great photo of Mia, showing one of her cute little expressions. She's definitely becoming more expressive, awake and aware. What a cutie!
Here is Mia amongst the cherry trees in DC.
Here we have Isabella in a cherry tree... not quite awake yet!
A slightly more awake Isabella in a cherry tree and being admired by Mom and Aunt Camilla.

Family at the Cherry Blossom Festival

2009-04-05T11:51:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the Jefferson Memorial and Cherry Blossom Festival with Hampus and Camilla. I LOVE this photo of the brothers! It is simply a gorgeous day, and perfect temperature for strolling along under the trees.
Here is the US Klarin family in front of the Washington Memorial. You can see the line of pink blossoms from the cherry trees along the river in the background.
Here we are again under the trees. It was a massive explosion of pink blossoms everywhere!
Johan is quite the photographer. This shows the Jefferson Memorial in the background, surrounded by a sea of cherry blossoms.
Here, you can see a taste of the HUGE crowd at the festival. It was bumper to bumper Luckily, people like to get out of the way for big double strollers and cute little babies!!

Visit from Uncle Hampus and Aunt Camilla

2009-04-04T09:38:00.001-07:00

This week we've been blessed by a wonderful visit from Uncle Hampus and Aunt Camilla. Don't they just look oh so natural at this parenting thing? Isabella got comfy really easily in her Aunt's arms, and we've been having a blast hanging out at the apartment and even visiting the major monuments and memorials (Lincoln Monument, Vietnam Memorial, WWII Memorial, Washington Monument, and Korean War Memorial) the other day. Right now they're out shopping with Johan... uh-oh! ;o)

More Adorable Photos

2009-04-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

And... more cute photos! This top one is of Mia in her "going for a walk" getup, surrounded by her "visual stimulation" toys and all snuggled in her car seat sleeping bag.
This one is of Isabella, of course. We went and visited Commander and Mrs. Carol down the street from Mom and Dad when we were home visiting them last week, and Isabella loved them... she was all smiles!
Here we have Isabella in her matching "going for a walk" getup. Filling it out slightly better!
And finally... a photo of the two of them in the pack-n-play at Mom and Dad's, in dresses Mom got them. Soooooooooooooooooooo cute!

2009-03-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

Finally, we have the "money shot." This is the pose the girls are in most of the day... parked contentedly in their car seats at my feet. The crib is a bit unpredictable... while they're sleeping well in it at night most nights, they may or may not enjoy hanging out in it for any length of time during the day. If I'm not holding them, this is usually where they are. That way, I can make funny faces and gaze adoringly at both of them at the same time!

2009-03-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

And here is our little baby Mia, who has filled out nicely and now officially has rolls on her legs and plump little cheeks to match! Mia was (as in the womb) perfectly comfortable with our little photo shoot... the kid loves being photographed, heaven help us! I couldn't choose just one, so am uploading several photos of her. I could just be imagining it, but I think Mia is focusing better on things now. She doesn't open her eyes quite as wide and throw her gaze around the same way. She still loves to look around, but will also gaze at you when she's eating (if only momentarily) and seems to have discovered the hanging toys I've attached to her car seat handle above her head. Hopefully these are good signs! Mia's mostly still just eating and sleeping, although she will sit quietly awake in her swing for hours just rocking away happily. She continues to try to pee on us when we change her (she'll wait until we've finally given up and pulled the diaper away to change it, and then start shooting like a champion! No folks... boys aren't the only ones who can be little fountains!).

This last photo of her sort-of shows one of our favorite poses... we call this the "pirate eye." She squints one eye shut and opens the other one really wide, usually accompanied by a sideways grin or scream that looks like she's saying "Arrrrrrrgh!" This isn't the best demonstration of it (the times she does it when she's not crying are more distinct), but at least I caught it on camera!

2009-03-11T11:14:00.000-07:00

Here we have the lovely Isabella, who obligingly gave me this one great shot before devolving into fits of crying because Mommy was no longer holding her. Isabella is hysterical now... she's figured out the ancient female art of manipulation for certain. She adorably pushes out her lower lip when she cries now, looking entirely too pathetic not to pick up, and as soon as you do pick her up, she kind-of hugs you and snuggles in under your chin, so you can't bear to put her down. Her hair is so soft and snuggly too! Yesterday, Bella had her first taste of "the good stuff"... apple juice! I can't believe she's big enough for juice already. Holy cow. Also, we have a verdict on the eye color, folks... she has big, beautiful BROWN eyes, like the rest of the girls in the family (but for Grandma Angerosa)!!

More Pictures of the Girls

2009-02-15T06:02:00.000-08:00

Happy almost 1 month birthday to our girls! I can't believe that as of tomorrow, it will be 4 weeks since our girls arrived. How is it possible that time has flown by so quickly?! They're doing great... I am SO IN LOVE! Isabella is fascinated by her crib mobile, and Mia has discovered she has lungs (and can get her way by using them!). Isabella is acting more like and infant than a newborn now... looking around, staring right at yo, making funny little faces. Mia is still in the newborn phase, but is starting to look right at us more, and eating like I don't feed her every 1-2 hours! We have an appointment with the pediatrician's office tomorrow, and I can't wait to see how much weight they've gained.

I put them both in their crib the other day, and didn't Mia once again reach over and take Isabella's hand! It was the CUTEST darned thing! I managed to get a picture of it, which I've posted above with the others. Aunt Jenny is coming to meet them this coming Saturday, and I'm so excited I could burst! We've also had the very exciting news that Uncle Hampus and Aunt Camilla will be coming to meet them in early April, and all of us (especially Johan, I think!) are so very excited we're just beside ourselves. We had such a great time with Ellen and Rob when they were here before the babies were born, and are really looking forward to getting to spend significant time (6 whole days!) with Hampus and Camilla. Now if only we can get Anja and Mikael to come visit on their honeymoon (hint, hint!)... I'm assuming it's only a matter of time before FarFar (Pappa Klarin) can't hold back any more and comes to meet his granddaughters too! Or hopefully, Johan's job situation will resolve itself or we'll win the lottery and be able to fly to Sweden later this year!

PERFECT, BEAUTIFUL BABY GIRLS!!!

2009-02-02T15:29:00.000-08:00

(Mia is the lighter-skinner, fairer-haired one, and Isabella is the one with dark hair)

Here they are, folks! Our two girls decided to arrive early (well, the doctor decided they should arrive early) on January 19th and 20th... yes, we're confusing everyone by having had baby Isabella Marie Klarin at 11:56pm on January 19th, while baby Mia Madlen Klarin was born at 12:10am on January 20th. Pretty cool that they'll have different birthdays, considering they are already so different! Isabella weighed 6lbs 13oz, and Mia weighed 5lbs 5oz. No C-section, either, which was AWESOME for me! Basically my doctor said if I was a "wussy pusher" we'd have to go to C-section... the woman knew how to press my "oh yeah?!" button!

We went to the hospital after a call from my doctor saying I was preeclamptic, and needed to deliver them right away. Johan was an angel through the whole thing... a real champ! Mom hopped on a plane the second I called about heading to the hospital, and made it in time for the delivery, so I had a whole team holding my hands and cheering away through the whole thing. Once I started pushing, both babies were out within probably 45 minutes.

We did have quite a scare with baby Mia early on. She was born with a small spot on the back of her scalp (the size of a pea) where the skin had not quite grown together. Although this particular thing can mean nothing at all, it can also be a sign of a really awful syndrome called Trisomy 13, which is a much more severe form of Down Syndrome. Our doctor told us the day after she was born that if she has it, she would not survive infancy (80% of babies born with the syndrome die within 10 days of birth). They sent a DNA sample to the Mayo clinic for chromosomal analysis, so we were on pins and needles for a full week until we got the results back... all clear, thank goodness (she does not have it). So thank you to everyone who prayed and fasted for our little one. God certainly was looking out for her, and for us all! Mia did end up spending a few days in the NICU, but was able to come home just one day after her big sister, which was an added blessing since there were other people with twins in the NICU who had been waiting to bring their babies home for weeks and weeks. The spot on Mia's head has healed over perfectly now, and she is such a little angel. These babies were always our miracle... but what a terrifying reminder of just what miracles they really are! I'm so in love with them both!

I can't say enough how magical the experience of giving birth to our babies was. It was just the most precious moment of my life. Pappa Johan was instantly in love too, walking around speaking Swedish to baby Isabella while they were working on Mia, and then the same with Mia while they were finishing up with me. There's nothing better than seeing a father falling in love with his baby girls! He's been amazing, getting up at night when needed to help out and we're both just so happy to have them around. They are a handful, but SUCH good babies! I really can't complain one bit... quite the contrary! No one could ever have adequately told me how much I would love motherhood... I've never been so happy in my whole life! They're just such a dream come true! Times two!

WOAH BABIES! They're biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig now!

2009-01-12T07:41:00.001-08:00

Things are heating up on the baby front... went for my 35.5 week ultrasound this morning, and the verdict is that little (ha!) Mia is still right on schedule at 6lbs (a month ago she was 4lbs 5oz) even, while overachiever Isabella is now 2.5 weeks ahead of schedule at 7lbs 4oz (a month ago she was 5lbs 1oz)!!!!! Isabella now weighs what I did when I was born, and is still 2.5 weeks ahead of schedule, and a full 4.5 weeks ahead of her due date! YIKES!!! The technician was laughing saying it's good for them, not necessarily so good for me in terms of delivery! ;o)

It will be interesting to see what my doctor says on Wednesday. The doctors at the hospital didn't seem concerned about the weight discrepancy between the two girls. although I have heard that a weigh discordance of more than a pound between multiples worries some doctors. We'll see on Wednesday! Stay tuned!

6th Anniversary Today!!

2009-01-11T05:58:00.000-08:00

Well, who can believe it's been SIX years since we were married?! In some ways it feels a lot longer; in some ways it feels like just yesterday. It's a fun anniversary, since I've been in wedding-mode once again helping Jenny to plan her wedding. It's such a reminder of the excitement, hope, and anticipation which accompanied our own commitment!

So if I don't go into labor today, Johan will be so disappointed (ha ha ha)! It would be fun to have another ultrasound tomorrow, though, so I'm looking on the bright side of not going into labor today. I just keep thinking that it's very reassuring that they've been in me so long, as they stand a really strong chance of not having to spend any time in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) at this point.

We're having a lovely seafood ravioli for dinner today, to celebrate our big event. Maybe I'll break the rules just a little and make a boxed cake as well... I know it's cheating, but it's really quick (so I sort-of follow the rules about staying off my feet) and let's admit it... those things are TASTY!!

Still waiting...

2009-01-08T06:16:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 2009!!!

Well, here we are at 35 weeks, and still no personal appearance by the babies. I have my next ultrasound on Monday, although Johan's dearly hoping they make an appearance on Sunday, since it's our 6-year anniversary. Fewer "important dates" to remember if you package them together!!

Keep checking... they should be along any time now!

SUPER BABIES!!!!

2008-12-31T07:44:00.000-08:00

Ohmygosh! Well, just had my 34 week appointment with my doctor, and my belly has grown 5 centimeters in the past 2 weeks, for a grand total of 43 cm of baby belly now. WOAH!! Slow down, there, girlfriends! My doctor said that these may be the biggest twin babies she has ever seen. While most twin babies end up in the 30th-40th percentile in terms of growth (because of less room to grow, shared blood supply, etc.), our little vikings are ABOVE THE 90TH PERCENTILE!! Dr. Ferrier said that up until now she's been praying I would stay pregnant, but now she's going to start praying HARD that I deliver these girls (for my sake!). She also said she can't see me going much past 36 weeks, if that... so hopefully, our girls will be arriving in the next 2 weeks! Keep your cell phones handy, folks!

2008-12-29T09:24:00.000-08:00

Photos of the baby's room. Mom (Angerosa) made the crib bumpers and mobile!

Christmas at the Klarin's in Arlington, VA. Dad and Johan actually picked out the tree!

Hi everyone!

Well, we had a wonderful Christmas with Mom and Dad here in Virginia. Dad and Johan went out on Christmas Eve on the big Christmas tree hunt... several places were sold out, but they found perhaps the prettiest Christmas tree ever! We celebrated Swedish-style with Swedish Christmas ham, and opened presents on Christmas Eve since Dad had to fly home on Christmas. All the same, it was lovely to have both Mom and Dad for three whole days, and Mom for the entire week. Both Johan and I felt utterly spoiled!

Mia and Isabella were badly spoiled this Christmas as well, with the new crib set up in their bedroom and looking lovely with the crib bumpers Mom sewed for them, and curtains on the window and the car seats even installed and ready to go whenever they arrive. And they received more of the cutest little dresses and outfits one could imagine, and they (and I) even received a rocking chair for those long nights ahead! As I said... utterly, completely spoiled!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! For once, January will be anything but dull around here!

It's going to be a banner year!!

2008-12-23T05:10:00.000-08:00

Oh my gosh! Jenny's engaged! Charlie proposed to her at her house on Sunday night. I was so excited I made Johan nervous... he kept saying "Watch your blood pressure! Calm down... you're going to go into labor!!!" Charlie texted me a picture of the ring about 5 minutes before he proposed, and it's gorgeous. Jenny's over-the-moon, needless to say. We all are! Yea for one more addition to the Angerosa clan!

2008-12-19T12:56:00.000-08:00

Early Merry Christmas, everyone!!

Well, we received an early Christmas present this morning, and the best we could have asked for... a clean bill of health for our girls! Not only that, but they're doing better than just well... the doctor doing the ultrasound this morning estimates Isabella's weight at 5.1lbs, while Mia is not far behind at 4.5lbs! He said that both these weights are well above average, and everything else looks perfect as well, so even if I went into labor today, "the babies would likely be born perfectly healthy and fine at this point." WOW!!!! Could I have asked for any better news than that?!

But that's not all... this entire pregnancy, Isabella (baby "A") has been breech, which would mean a definite C-section unless something changed. This morning, I found out that both Isabella and Mia are head-down and "in position" (side by side). So I guess there may be a possibility of a normal, non-C-section delivery after all! Of course, they could always flip around again, but let's be optimistic, shall we?! :o) Good girls! Following directions already! God bless those majority Swedish/Germanic genes!

Needless to say, I've been over-the-moon all day about all this! Confession time... my friend Jaime came over with her little 5-month-old daughter Grace, and we celebrated with McDonald's. Mmmmmm... french fries!

It's raining here, but my family and friends in Buffalo have been texting me pictures all day of the massive snowstorm they've been having all day there. Last I spoke with Jenny, they were getting 2 inches an hour! A ton of law firms and local businesses have closed along with all the schools, and down here we're just getting boring old rain. I'm so jealous! I would love to have some beautiful white snow for Christmas as well! Ah well... maybe next year. I'll just pretend we have snow outside, since I'm not allowed outside to find out otherwise anyway. It still feels warm and Christmasy inside, though... I just sip mint hot chocolate in front of the fire, and enjoy looking at my Christmas cards hanging over the dining room entry, the table top Christmas Tree Jenny sent me on the table, and my home-made garland of popcorn and cranberries strung over the mantle. Can't wait to get the stockings out and the rest of the decorations when Mom and Dad get here, and get a proper Christmas tree up!

Thank you to everyone for all your prayers and well-wishes thus far... seems to be working! Let's keep it up!

Beth and Babies at 32 weeks!!

2008-12-17T04:38:00.000-08:00

Hey! So we made it to 32 weeks!!!! HOORAY!!!!

The girls are doing great, as far as we know. I have my next ultrasound the day after tomorrow, and can't wait to see how big they've become! They certainly feel huge!

Mom and Dad arrive in less than a week for Christmas, and we're very excited. Yesterday, I strung a garland of cranberries and popcorn... something I've always wanted to do, but have never had time to. I strung it over the fireplace, so I can at least feel like it's a little festive around here (Johan's been so busy at work that he hasn't had time to pull out the Christmas decorations, and we're waiting for Mom and Dad to get here to get the tree). Apparently, they don't do that in Sweden. Johan arrived home and said "Is that popcorn on our wall???" It was so funny! One more good ol' American tradition! Other than that, things are rather un-Christmasy around here. The town of Alexandria didn't even put lights up in the park across the street, like they do in all the parks in NY, and it was 74 degrees here the day before yesterday (so no snow, obviously). It's alright... I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll get to see lots of Christmas decorations on my way there.

More updates to come later this week!

30 weeks! Made it this far!!

2008-12-04T11:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm officially 30 weeks along now (* big sigh of relief*). It feels good to be out of the 20s without any more contractions or complications! 4 more weeks to go, minimum, in order to try to avoid significant NICU time for my girls.

Mia and Isabella are cracking me up all the time now. Isabella is relatively well-positioned now, so although I feel her moving around, she's pretty "quiet" compared to poor Mia, who is smooshed up under my diaphragm and rib cage. At least I don't go through the roof each time Isabella kicks now, so I'll be really interested to see whether she's moved from her vertical, feet-down position at my next ultrasound. One can always hope she's shifting around, and won't be breach when we get to labor and delivery! When Mia rolls back and forth now, she seems to be trying to come right out from my belly... a huge mountain will roll up off my "bump," and roll around like a tidal wave. It looks really funny, and feels even stranger! I keep telling her she can't get out that way, but she doesn't seem to agree! ;o)

We had my virtual baby shower last weekend, after Thanksgiving. Mom hooked up her computer in the family room downstairs, and everyone came over to their house and I joined them via Skype (live Internet video conferencing). It actually worked amazingly well! I almost felt like I was really there, visiting with all my friends and family who could make it. Technology is just amazing... for anyone who hasn't used Skype, you should check it out... it's free to download and use, and you just need to purchase a video camera and microphone to use it (if your computer doesn't have them built-in, which many do now).

Other than that, I have hot plans to start my online course in beginning Swedish language training as soon as I receive the headset I need to use the interactive software. Better get moving! I can't wait for Mom and Dad to arrive for Christmas is just over 2 weeks! I can't believe how close we are to Christmas! YEA!!! The really exciting thing this year is that usually, life is a bit of a let-down after Christmas... so much buildup and good cheer and excitement over presents and the tree and the feast and seeing family, and then it's all over and there's nothing big to look forward to for a while. Not this year! The excitement's just going to keep coming for us!

Love to you all, and please keep praying our girls and their incubator continue to remain healthy! That's truly all I want for Christmas!

Isabella and Mia are doing great!

2008-11-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Life in DC continues to be great and gratefully uneventful. I'm setting in to bed rest just fine, and have been keeping busy making individual baby announcements. It's a great creative outlet, and also an outlet for all my excitement about having the girls join us shortly. I went for my 7-month ultrasound this morning, and guess what... Isabella (our bottom baby) is TWO WEEKS ahead of schedule! She's a whopping 3lbz 6oz already... at 7 months today! Go baby girl, go! Mia's precisely "on schedule" at 2lbs 8oz, which is also great. Seems we named them appropriately... the Swedish-named baby is following all the rules of development to the letter, and our Italian-named baby is busting out and doing her own thing already, "schedule" be darned! It's fun to see traits from both Johan and me already. I was 2 weeks early too!

I also got the results back from my 3-hour gestational diabetes test, and thank goodness again, I don't have it, despite my first test results. So it's been good news and more good news this week.

I am equally proud to announce that Johan actually got our gas fireplace working last night! He's come a long way from not knowing how to change a light bulb when we first got married! It's such a comfort to have a lit fire around the holidays... it makes me feel at least a little bit like being home for the holidays. And it's so exciting to know we'll be able to have a fire AND a tree for Christmas!

Mark (my cousin who lives in DC) an his girlfriend Alexa are coming over to our place for Thanksgiving (and making dinner for us!). It will be really fun... we've planned a menu of all our family favorites, and we love spending time with them. It's quite the luxury, since we formerly only got to see Mark once or twice a year!

Next ultrasound is in a month, on December 19th. If you're not family and would like a baby announcement when the girls arrive, drop your address as a comment to this posting, or email me directly with your address at eklarin02@gmail.com. Also, we're taking bets on when they will arrive... relevant info is: 34 weeks will be December 31st, and if I haven't gone into labor by January 28th, they will deliver the babies on the 28th. So post your bets as a comment to this posting, or e-mail them directly to me, if you want to venture a guess. There will be a prize (but NOT naming one of them after you, as has been suggested by several very funny friends and family members)! Please send date AND estimated time, in case more than one person picks the same day.

Post-Move (to DC) Update

2008-11-07T03:56:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

It's been a while I know, but thing have become much more exciting (for the babies) and much less exciting (for me) in the past few weeks. While busily in the process of still unpacking and preparing for the upcoming holidays, we've hit a snag. On October 25th, I started to feel a bit "funny." Hard to describe... no pain, just a bit of discomfort and a feeling that something had changed, or was "off." This continued through Sunday, and the on-call doctor I got through to that day said to just call my doctor's office in the morning. After dropping Johan off at the train station to fly off for appointments for work (he was to be gone all week), I called my doctor. She told me to go straight to Labor & Delivery at our local hospital. "What overkill," I thought. But apparently, by the time I got to the hospital and they hooked me up to the monitors, I was having contractions 2-3 minutes apart! They kept saying "Do you feel that?" to which I would say, "Feel what?" Finally the nurse said "On a scale of 0-10, what's your pain level right now?" Zero, I said. They eventually gave me a few shots of something which stopped the contractions, thank goodness. They kept me at the hospital all day, but eventually did send me home with orders for STRICT bedrest. Which my doctor informed me the other day, I am officially on until the babies arrive. I guess ending up in the hospital with contractions at 24.5 weeks really spooked more than just me! May we all hope that this was an indication that I also won't feel anything during ACTUAL labor, though! (haha)

The sunny side is that my mom came straight dow that week and we got to spend a whole week together. She cooked up a storm, and we played games and she ran errands. And I got to practice sitting still (NOT easy for me!). I think I needed the policewoman for the first week, just until I was used to it. Every time the babies moved, I panicked. So it was nice having mom there to keep me sane and take care of the three of us. I've told the girls now that if they want grandma around, they really don't need to do anything so dramatic as try to be born, though!

The girls are moving all over the place now, keeping me up at night and making me giggle, though. Now that I'm not moving tons, they definitely are making up for my lack of exercise! It's so funny to be lying on the couch, and watch my whole belly roll and jiggle one way, and then roll and jiggle another. They're starting to coordinate their movements... either that, or one moves and the other says "Hey! That's my space! Move it!" and pushes back. I'm so grateful for every day that goes by... I really need to make it to at least 32/34 weeks, so I'm following the rules pretty strictly. I'm bored to tears, so if anyone has any ideas for bedrest-friendly activities, pass 'em on! The only real restriction (which is a REAL restriction) is that I only have access to a computer when Johan brings his work laptop home from work, since our conputer is not a laptop and is upstairs (also a no-no, according to the doc). Also, anyone have ideas of how we can make Thanksgiving somewhat fun? We were supposed to go home to my parent's place for the big annual family reunion and feast, but can't do that either (apparently even a bump in the road can set me back into contractions, so outdoor activities are also limited to driving to and from the hospital for ultrasounds or my doctor's office for checkups). So I'm a bit bummed about Thanksgiving, and looking for ideas.

Finally, I have a new phone number. It's (703) 229-2745. It's my verizon cell phone, so if anyone has verizon "in-calling," it will be free. And I love to get phone calls from the outside world! It's a bit dull being glued to a couch, as you can imagine! But the most important thing is that the babies are healthy and not here yet, so that continues to be great news. I just keep reminding myself how lucky I am to have them at all!!

Loads of love to everyone,

Beth

We Have A Verdict!!!

2008-09-12T05:45:00.000-07:00

WELL, WE HAVE A VERDICT, FOLKS!! It seems that despite early predictions (by everyone!), Johan and I are having TWO baby girls!! The 18-week ultrasound was the coolest one yet... they have gotten SO big!!! The technician said that this will probably be the last time we'll be able to see both of them in one frame, since they are now apparently about 9 oz (approx. 255 grams) and about 5 inches long each (about 13 cm). And my goodness, they're both active now! Granted, that could have been caused by the glass of Coke-a-Cola I drank just before the ultrasound... I've been very good about caffeine, but thought maybe just this once, so Johan could see them moving around! They were already elbowing each other and kicking the membrane between their "pouches" back and forth. And we saw 3-D video of them too! I think 3-D photos are only cute to the parents, since the kids looks very squishy and mushed up, and it really is hard to get any idea of what they really look like from them. But still... it was so amazing to see our little baby girls for the first time as more than just black-and-white skeletons! They have booming, strong heartbeats, apparently their brains have all the right lobes and sections and whatever, and they appear to have all limbs and facial features in the right places (no third eye in the middle of their heads, apparently). Everything looks great, they say! Thank goodness for that!

Today is also my last day at work. WOW. It's really exciting, but scary too. I've been so fortunate to love what I do and who I do it for, from the clients to each and every person I've worked with at Hodgson Russ. What an enormous blessing all of this has been. And what an even greater blessing to finally be able to be pregnant WITH my husband, finally! It will be great to be able to plan meals again and organize things (and have space to put things!), and to finally be able to prepare the living space for the babies. Exciting times, folks!

Evening at Niagara Falls!

2008-09-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

Johan arrived in town yesterday, since today is the day we're going to our 18 week ultrasound, and hopefully (if they cooperate) finding out the genders of our babies. It will be the first time Johan has seen an ultrasound of the kids, heard their heartbeats, etc... and I'm so excited! I would barely have slept last night, but for the fact that Johan took me to a hotel in Niagara Falls (overlooking the Falls, from the Canadian side) last evening as a treat, and the bed was soooooooooooooo comfortable! It was nice to get a good night's sleep! The room was amazing too, and had a veranda overlooking downtown Niagara Falls. We loved it! I'll upload pictures later, once Johan sends them to me. And keep checking for an update on the babies later today!

Beth

Something different... Sacandaga Lake after-effects of Hurricane Gustav

2008-09-09T06:07:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I went home to the camp to visit Mom and Dad one more time before I move to DC. Now be honest... can you imagine anywhere more heavenly? The colors in this picture are real... if anything, it doesn't do the colors in the sky justice. There were also pinks and deep lavenders... it was just stunning down by the beach! This sunset was one of the best ones I've ever seen, anywhere. It was a really fun weekend, and made me think even more how much I'm going to miss seeing as much of Mom and Dad as we've been able to over the past 7 years. Ah well... you never know where life will take you. We'll still make it a priority!