shutterfly is really neat-o!

Shutterfly is a really neat photo sharing site! You can create a photo blog, store an unlimited amount of photos for NO CHARGE AT ALL! They offer lots of really cool items for purchase as well! From holiday cards, calendars, and magnets.I think they value what a picture card can capture for families. They make it easy to send greetings and pictures out to families, friends and business associates. Shutterfly is super duper user friendly and they make the most amazing PHOTO BOOKS EVER! I created a book from the girls newborn days and then another book from their first birthday party They are seriously one of my best purchases!You can buy the books in soft or hard back and you can put as many pictures as you want on a page. You can also write words to caption the pictures or tell a story. I hope to make our holiday cards with shutterfly photo cards this year! Their print quality is great you can choose from their pre-designed formats or you can even upload your own!
Here are some really awesome holiday card styles!
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

Or you can create bday party invitations like these!
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birthday-cards-stationery

And you can create cool calendars for your family and friends!
http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars

An almost 15 month update

Well for starters I have sucked at blogging since the girls have been born. I will really try to do better because I love reading and remembering about them.
Secondly we have NO camera..it really sucks..ours was not doing well with rechargeable batteries and now it isn't even holding a charge with regular brand new batteries. So we are in the market for a new one but that doesn't really fit into the budget so we shall see how long it takes to get one.
Julianna and Jacey both
-you like practicing going up and down steps
-you love throwing your whole body down on the coach pillows and just laughing
-you pretend to eat with play spoons and cups
-you go to the back door look out the window and ask to go outside at least once a day
-you love your stuffed animal cat and puppy..you rub them and cuddle them!
-we moved you into big girl car seats! (rear facing still of course)
-you go to a babysitters house (Miss.Megan) and love playing there!
-you love books, you bring them to me all the time and
-you point our noses out all the time (even in the middle of the night)
-you LOVE shoes, you bring me my shoes all the time even if I have another pair on my feet,you ask us to put shoes on you by bringing us a shoe and then lifting up your little foot so high in the air!
-you love BALLS, you carry them around even if they are as big as you are!
-you love picking up a hair bow and holding it up to your hair and daddy's hair too!
-you love the song "If you are Happy and You know it Clap your Hands"
-you understand the TV remote and push all the buttons and then walk up to the TV and point at it
-you love to rock in rocking chairs, especially the chairs that Nana and Auntie BecBec bought for you.

Julianna
-walks for long distances unassisted
-runs for short distances without falling down
-is saying ut-oh ALL the time!
-is a busy-you HIT your sister or mommy when you get upset about sharing a toy or being made to do something you don't want to do body, constantly moving and never interested in one thing for too long
-you have discovered the toilet water on 1 or 2 occasions
-you love going down big slides
-you are really into books you sit and flip through the pages by yourself!
Jacey
-you can walk well but are still figuring out how to do it for long distances
-you still love cats, you will now put the ground and click your tongue and call them
-you will sit in one spot and play with a toy for 7-10 minutes
-you love patting your bare belly and sometime ask us to pull our shirts up too
-if your sister is being mean or takes a toy from you you generally scream and cry!
-you like swimming and you always try to put your face in the water and drink it
-if you are practicing eating with a spoon you do not like help at all, if I try and come near you to help you will always flip out on me..little miss independent

Julianna's words
cat
more
milk
book
go
ball
dada
ut-oh
shoe
mama
outside "oo oww"
all done "ahh uh"
bye bye
hello "ah-o"

Jacey's words
cat
more
milk
book
ball
dada
mama
shoe
cracker
nigh-nigh
please (peez)
paci
baby
bye bye
hello "ah-o"
ut oh

oh yes more stuff at 11months!

Julianna is really pointing all the time..she just points at things..I usually tell her what it is she is pointing at...we shall see where this leads us!

Also today Julianna ate her first piece of cat food! She liked it..I tried hard to get it away from her but she wasn't having that! She then sat on my lap and signed "more" I said NO MAM!

They also both love playing peek a boo! They put their little pink blankets over their own heads and mine and then pull them off! It is adorable!

maracas!

Jacey says BOOK

11months

WOW can you all believe that the babies are going to be 1 VERY soon?!
I know I sure can't!
They are really into everything these days, and they are very quick to find all of the "things" they aren't supposed to!
They love crawling around everywhere!
Julianna loves to stand up but she really isn't sure what to do once she is there. Jacey also enjoys standing too but she doesn't do it as much.
They are both waving "hi" and "bye"
They both know where their "head" is too!
Jacey is saying both BOOK and CAT!
Julianna is just babbling away in her own little lingo but she does say ba,bo,bu and dada
The are both in love with my parents dogs and cats but aren't too sure about other peoples animals!
Julianna loves making a bridge and looking through her legs and Jacey really enjoys shaking her head "no"! They both also really like giving hugs it is soo sweet!
Speaking of "no" we are really trying to teach them that important word, they are either ignoring us or don't really get it yet...we shall see.
They also copy each other ALL THE TIME both vocally and with actions..it is so adorable. Here is a quick video too!

Jacey and Precious!

After bath the kitty came out to see what was going on! Jacey and Precious went back and forth for a while..it was hard to get on video but here is an idea!

Straw sippies

This is the girls 2nd time with straws they are worked really hard at figuring them out and guess what they finally have the hang of it!!!

We can sign!!

I have been working with the girls on just some basic sign language. Babies don't have the ability to vocally communicate with words this early in life,of course they can vocalize with crying but WHO wants to hear that all the time especially times TWO!! BUT they are able to learn and use sign language as evident in this video below!!! YAY!

Kisses or something like that

Sometimes the girls will make the kiss noise, but it isn't predictable and it isn't related with the word "kiss"...Anyway this is us practicing, while eating of course! Julianna does it just a little bit at the end... oh well they are too cute not to share the video!

big bath tub!

Soo bathing twins is not exactly hard but it isn't easy either... I don't like doing one at a time for a few reasons.
1. it makes the routine REALLY long
2. inevitably the baby who isn't getting a bath will be screaming and crying for my attention the whole time the other baby is in the bath
3. when they bathe seperate I feel like I rush the play time and they don't get as much out of it as they deserve.
4. they really have fun together!

Because of all these reasons, I do them together, well they have outgrown their lil baby baths, they have outgrown their laundry basket, so they have officially graduated to the big tub all alone!!! It is fun and exciting and they love it so so much! I think they do great and will soon be swimming around like little fish in no time!! Without further ado...big girls in the big bath!!

9 MONTH PROFESSIONAL PHOTO SHOOT

We made a weekend trip to San Antonio recently! THe first day was professional pic day! I was lucky enough to have Becca with me to help out! The older they get the harder it is to do this! I think they turned out well... ENJOY! (and don't worry those of you who usually get hard copies you will get them soon!)THe following day Ben watched the babies from 530-1130 (with the assistance of Adriana and the girls) He did so well with them, he fed them dinner, gave them bottles and put them to bed! I was out celebrating a good friends birthday!I also got to catch up with Danielle, it was wonderful to see her and parents! Sunday we hung out with my dad (grandpa)and my good friend Jessica came over for a good romp with the babies!Dad made us steak and potatoes for dinner! The girls tried both peaches and french fries on this trip! Jacey loved the peaches and Julianna loves the fries... we will see if this holds true!

9 months old!

For some reason this milestone seems so BIG to me! Maybe it has something to do with the fact that 9 months is the amount of a time a pregnancy generally lasts, or maybe because it is only 3 months away from their FIRST birthday!

The girls are developing so quickly.. as I am typing this I am watching them hold their own bottles! We have a pediatrician appointment on Wednesday,so I will make sure to update their stats then!

Facts!
Jacey
has waved (hi&bye) 3 times!
has clapped her hands 3 times!
can use the pincer grasp to pick up small objects
is feeding herself puffs and yogurt melts!
loves JUMPING in her jumper!
mimics "eh" and "ah" noises for about 10 rounds!
babbles mamama! ( I don't think she knows it is me yet)
loves doing ESKIMO kisses with her daddy

Julianna
tries to clap her hands, but doesn't always get it! she does clap toys together really well!
makes alot of noises (usually screeches)
is a social butterfly she engages and smiles at everyone she notices!
loves when her daddy picks her up really high!
splashing in the bath
pushes up on her feet to stand
can use the pincer grasp to pick up small objects
is feeding herself puffs and yogurt melts
laughs out loud ALOT!

They have both tried peas for their first finger food, and neither of them were big fans, but they love pea baby puree, so I think they just need to get used to the texture. They also both enjoy frozen blueberries in a mesh feeder,they suck those things dry, oh yeah and bang them like crazy on their high chair trays! They are also taking the occasional sip of water from their sippy cups too!

Here are some shots from our 9 month photo shoot!
They are wearing the first article of clothing I ever bought them. They are dresses with little goldfish on them, David and I each chose something the day we found out they were girls! I still cannot believe they are almost not babies anymore..it seems like just yesterday we drove to Downers Grove to check out Buy Buy Baby for the first time! Ahhh these girls amaze me!
Jacey Stella on the Left
Julianna Lilly on the Right

Lots of video!!!

This is the first time they really interacted
Although it isn't much it is adorable!

FEB 2010 a litle over 8months old


BATH TUB FUN
Look at Jacey go!!!!!!


Julianna loving the bath too!


Hanging with daddy!

Jacey has a tooth!

Yes Jacey-girl sprouted her first tooth yesterday (or at least that is when I felt it) she seemed to take it quite well, and that makes me happy! Both girls are now throwing themselves from the sitting position onto their tummies and then squirming around for a few minutes then they get really mad and cry loudly until I sit them back up. I wonder how on earth I am going to teach them to crawl, if I keep sitting them up! They have also started interacting with eachother ALOT more latley, I sit them facing eachother with their legs interlocked, and then they touch each other and steal toys and babble a little bit! I think I got some good video that I can post later on. They are both also shaking their heads back and forth in the "no" motion....can you believe they are starting with the NO this early? I know they really don't realize that is what they are doing, but it is kinda funny. For now I will leave you with this!

Grandparents

We owe ALOT to our grands, we are so lucky to have them..
They have all helped us in so many ways and we are proud to call them ours!

pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

updates

Julianna
has 2 teeth on the bottom!
screaches really high when she is "talking"
definiatly sticks her arms straight out and clenches her fists and shakes them when she is happy and excited just like I did!
reaches for me and daddy
moves her arms up and down like she is doing the monster mash
laughs out loud
love to be hung upside down
will smile at almost anyone anytime

Jacey
has NO teeth
says ba ba and duh duh
blows rasberries
rocks herself back and forth when she is sitting
shakes her head back and forth in the NO direction
reaches up for daddy and I
laughs out loud
enjoys sucking on socks
likes being upsidedown
is very cautious of new poeple and usually won't give a smile out in public but will warm up to people if they are at our house

They both know what the camera is will usually light right up when they see it!
Neither one of them have any interest in being on their tummies so crawling just hasn't happened yet....Julianna will push with herfeet towards an object so that is a start....

oh yeah and they still DO NOT sleep through the night..

G.G.

We are now in full swing of our new life here in Texas. Daddy works VERRRRRRRRRRRy long hours for a local company called COMPUMASTER. He works with both business and residential computers, he is still getting adjusted and we both hope that his hours will become ALOT more predictable and fair! I am of course at home with the babies, but we have now added my grandma the girls great grandma into the mix. I help her with daily living skills. She likes being around the babies and the babies enjoy being with her too! It has been a bit of a change, but not anything crazy. The main thing is that I cannot take all 3 of them out together at the same time..any tips for pushing a double stroller and a wheel chair? Anyway I will leave you with a great pic of Julianna enjoying G.G.'s morning coffee with her!