Magnolia trees in bloom...

Not little Robin Redbreast. Not the red-winged blackbird. Not even the various shades of yellow and orange jonquils that are blossoming in my garden. For me, it is the blooms of the magnolia trees that signify spring-time in Iowa.

I love Iowa's transitional seasons. We didn't have them in New Mexico. Not really. Not like we have them in Iowa. Around October and November, Autumn is my favorite season. But when April rolls around, nothing beats spring. Spring, with the hints of warmth on the lightly floral-scented breeze; with the first open windows airing out a stuffy house; with the sight of the giant pink-and-white magnolia blossoms. For me, magnolia blossoms mean: Lagomarcino Hall, lilac bushes and flowering trees on the walk to class, rounding up girls to help build the VEISHEA float - or hold a balloon in the VEISHEA parade, bedracing and tug-of-war, sunning on the front walk, frisbee in the lawn...and all of those other wonderful things that mean April at Iowa State. My first real spring that I ever experienced was in college...and so, for me, springtime will always mean those memories. I love those memories. And so, I love spring.

This year, spring means a bit more. It means scrambling to find time to work in the yard when every weekend it rains and baby girls (still, at five and half months) don't like to nap. It also means that summer is right around the corner...a summer where I will get to go to the splashpad on a Tuesday morning to miss the crowds that Saturday will bring, a summer where we just might hang up a swing to play with the girls outside, a summer where girls will go from laying to scooting to crawling (and then all heck will break loose), a summer where I will train these babies to sleep, a summer where we will take long walks as a family, a summer where I will have vegetable garden with ripe tomatoes and zucchini, a summer for which I cannot wait. And spring means that the wait is almost over. And so, I love spring.

Here are some pictures of the girls' baptism...first, the four of us with Reverend Hohmann.


the whole crowd of family that helped us celebrate...


Cora with her great-grandma Petersen


the girls in their baptism outfits


This is the dress that I wore for my first Easter. Since we were all November babies, I thought it would neat to see how the girls looked in the same garb...




A couple comparison pics. The first was taken on November 19 - the girls' first trip out of the house to their 1-week doctor's appointments.


Next up, this photo was taken on April 11th...WOW what a difference!


And then, a few more pics...just for fun:


Both the girls found their toes this week...but Evaline is the only one who will provide evidence for the camera.

Happy Easter, part deux

A few pictures to commemorate the past week...including some rare family photos (from Easter when other people were around to take them!). The girls are getting baptised in a little over an hour...so expect more pics soon!

For starters, the girls turned 5 months on Easter Day! (Funnily enough, Easter morning of last year we found out about them...or, rather, we found out about one of them!) For comparison pics, click HERE.


A "Four Generations" picture!


The girls and me...Cora's (in the background, I'm holding Evaline) eyes look a little green here (figuratively, of course).


Trying to get all of four of us to look decent is quite the challenge...

But, notice, I only chose to post the pics where I looked alright....ah, the power of the "poster"...

This girl takes after her daddy...much to my chagrin...

If you can't make it out in this picture...their shirts really do say "Future Reader" (Thanks to their auntie-auntie Carol!)

Happy Easter!

Have a great holiday!!

The latest and greatest...

And so it ends…spring break, that is. In theory, a week off of work would have allowed me numerous opportunities to post another update. But, in theory, communism works. We had a super-long list of things that needed to get done around the house and have almost everything crossed off that list. The only thing we didn’t get to was yard work. The best thing about having a really, really big backyard is having a really, really big backyard. But the worst thing about having a really, really big backyard is….also having a really, really big backyard (with enormous hundred-year-old-plus trees that drop sticks like its going out of style). In our defense, the weather this week didn’t cooperate (rainy all week….and a couple of inches of SNOW on the ground this morning!!). The only nice day (and it was a really nice day) was the very first day of break. And who wants to do yard work on the first day of break? Not this girl!

So what kinds of fun stuff did happen this week…???

We had our four-month doctor’s appointment on Wednesday. I know, the girls are now about four and a half months…but working around three schedules (Ian’s, mine, and the doctor’s) proves a daunting task. Ian and I preferred to wait for our spring break (which fortunately coincided this year – we teach in different school districts), and twin appointments (two appointments back-to-back) are more difficult to come by than ones for singletons (which is how people in the world of multiples refer to one baby…I’m still not sold on the term). The girls are healthy and GROWING...Cora is 24 in., 14 lb. 2 oz, which puts her in about the 50th percentile for each. Evaline’s stats: 23.5 in, 12 lb, 8 oz; which puts her in about the 20-25th percentile. A BIG gain on where they started! (Cora has a little over doubled her birth weight, and with a measly 4 more ounces Evaline will have TRIPLED hers!)

We started night-time sleep training this week. The girls have reached a point where they are becoming more aware of “sleep.” I guess at this point, if they fall asleep with a pacifier and wake up without it, they get all freaked-out and won’t go back to sleep. (Our doctor equated it to us falling asleep in our beds and waking up in the car.) So…we’ve had to start putting them down without any sort of prop. The rule: if its not going to be there when they wake up, it can’t be there when they go to sleep. The first night consisted of 40 minutes of crying at bedtime, and about an hour during the midnight hours. The second night was 8 minutes of crying at bedtime, and sound sleep all through the night. Last night? No crying. At all. Down to bed at 8:00pm, up with talking/babbling (not crying) at 6:45 am. A quick bottle then down again until 8:30/9:00. Yes!!! Let’s all hope that last night becomes our new normal!!!

We also started solids this week! I think its fun; Ian thinks its too much work. Cora is taking to it a bit better than Evaline. Last night I had to make a second helping for Cora because she gobbled so much of it up…quite truly: She will grab my hands and bring them to her mouth and can’t wait for another bite of the horrid tasting stuff. Evaline has started to do the same, but while Cora will do it for an entire bowl, 4 or 5 small bites is quite enough for Evaline (she’s so dainty).

The newest “skills” update: Evaline: can sit for several seconds without support! Cora: searches for and picks up toys off the floor that she wants to play with and…rolled over from back to tummy today!!!

And finally, we took lots (and lots, and lots) of pictures this week. I had a hard time narrowing it down to just a couple, so here we go:


Cora, on her way to rolling over...and with her newest favorite toy: the bag of wet-wipes!


Evaline: sitting like a big-girl!


Cora...here she can't quite decide what she thinks of this stuff...

Best-friends (in lamb-shirts)

Best friends, again...but this time without the lamb-shirts

A close-up of those adorable little hands

Evaline likes to put everything in her mouth, things like: Mom's finger...

a teeting ring...(appropriate)

and Dad's knuckles...

They are starting to notice each other more and more. When doing tummy-time, they like to check each other out. Once, they even took turns babbling...it was like a really baby-conversation!

Cora likes to feel and explore everything...from the wet-wipes (above) to her daddy's face.

Four months (plus a few days)

In that strange sensation that is "time," November 12 seems both days and years ago. These two little darlings are no longer the itty-bitty creatures we met at the hospital. (Although, I never really thought of them as "itty-bitty" babies, they were just my babies...this might be because I'd only seen a newborn in real life maybe once since the birth of my sister when I was five and didn't have a comparison.)

They are growing by leaps and bounds - both physically and mentally. According to my bathroom scale (we still have issues, the scale and I, by the way), Cora is floating around the 14.5 lb mark and Evaline is nearing 13 lbs! (For growth comparison pics, click here.) According to the babycenter.com's "growth chart calculator" this would put Cora somewhere between the 50-70th percentile (up from, I think, around 10% at two months!); and Evaline is holding steady in the 5 - 10 percentile range. (This is still an improvement, however, her birthweight was under the 3rd percentile.) Our 4-month doctor's appointment is on the 25th, so official stats will be available at that time.

I think there are probably many advantages to having your kids one at a time. But one area where I think that we parents-of-twins get an upperhand is in watching these girls develop. Instead of trying to remember back a few years, we get to see it happen. And it happens so differently: It is much, much fun to watch Cora lie on her side, trying to roll from back to tummy (she's really close), talking and babbling up a storm. She has so much to say - to everyone and to everything; she loves to talk. She can pick things up and hold them, but is a little slow and deliberate about the process. Meanwhile, her smile is more of a smirk (which Ian - a smirker himself - finds quite endearing). Evaline, on the other hand, can talk. She's done it before, and will do it occasionally. But she prefers to smile (with her entire body), and shriek whether out of pleasure and glee or sadness and pain. She also loves to hold things and will put everything she touches into her mouth. There are also a few signs that a tooth may be in our near future (but...that may be mere speculation, we'll have to wait and see on that one).

Overall, "fun" is starting to really outweigh the "work" here. Whether that will stay the same once we have two crawling, walking, grabbing, and wandering one-year-olds, we're not sure. But they're at a pretty good stage right now and time with them is at a premium.

One week 'til spring break. Then 10 until summer.

The "Four-month Picture"

Cora - enjoying the doorway-jumper

Cora - you can't hear it, but she's talking (and talking and talking)...

Evaline - what a doll!

The girls with their cousin Isabel

Super Cute (...but of course I'd think so...)

Here are some of the cutest pictures that have been taken recently (thanks mom and dad!). I had to share because these pictures really capture what they actually look like, and their personalities as well...

A few of their favorite things...

Three and a half months, and they are beginning to show distinct preferences for certain toys. And not only do they seem so old when playing in this mature way, but they are quite cute (of course). The most adorable are the way they interact with their preferred stuffed animals. When given her lion, Cora loves to run her fingers along its mane, and to gently feel its fur (it also does wonders to help her get to sleep). If you hold the bunny in front of Evaline, she'll bring both of her arms up and encircle it and bring it in for a hug (as with Cora and her lion, this bunny is a great sleep/comfort tool).

It's been fun to watch them begin to interact with the "outside" world. The green and red ball (pictured below) seems to be a particularly great toy (thanks Steph!!) - its super easy to grasp, and they've begun to switch hands with it and pick it up off the floor independently of us!

Here's the evidence:

Cora with her lion:


Evaline with her bunny:


Cora with her rattle:


Evaline with her keys:


And the girls with the aforementioned ball (Cora first, then Evaline):

And if the title of this post is "favorite things," we should probably include one of our favorite things...some bellies, just for fun: