Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! So since I last wrote, the girls celebrated Thanksgiving by starting solids foods. Natalie started off like a pro, it took Kate a little while to figure out she wasn't supposed to spit it out. So far they've tried apples, pears, carrots, avocado, bananas, peaches, & green beans. So far green beans are by far their favorite, which grosses daddy out because he HATES green beans.

My mom just got me a food processor so I have been starting to make my own baby food. Its SO easy and is actually kinda fun. So far I have tried avocados and carrots. I think that will be my big project next weekend, pureeing and freezing all kinds of goodies for the girls!

The girls also celebrated their first Christmas by flying for the first time. I was pretty nervous about the thought of flying with two babies, but it went great! I even changed a diaper in mid-flight. It was so easy that I don't think we'll ever put ourselves through the torture of driving for 14 hours again!!



It was so great to be home for a week and see all of our family and friends that we have not had a chance to see in such a long time! The girls got LOTS of great presents from the family, but Natalie got an extra special present......her first tooth!! One of her bottom teeth has poked through and the one right next to it just started to poke through today. No teeth for Kate yet. I assumed that with identical twins that everything would happen at the exact same time for both, but that appears not to be the case.

Besides all these fun firsts, the girls are just growing so fast and getting more fun each day that goes by. They are scootching all over the place and are probably a week or two from crawling! YIKES! Kate appears to be the trouble maker as she likes to get into anything she shouldn't and has more than once stole Nat's pacifier right out of her mouth and put it in hers. Natalie is my ticklish one, she just laughs and laughs and laughs. The girls are also beginning to really notice each other and will often stare at each other and just start laughing. Its so funny! I feel so lucky to get to experience the joys of twins! I can't imagine our lives any other way.

Our nanny started on Monday. I LOVE not having to take the girls to daycare any more and we get to spend so much more time with them in the morning and at night. I think they are taking much better naps here at home so they aren't crabby as early. It has made such a huge difference!!!! Its so nice to come home to two happy babies everyday!

Here are some pics of all the Auburn babies! There are 3 sets of twins in these pics!!!! Enjoy!

Happy Halloween

I bet you thought I gave up on my Blog updates.... I thought I'd take 2 minutes and write a quick update. I am on my third week back to work now, and I am surviving but its very tough. I have a new level of respect for working moms with infants. WOW!!! It's much harder than I anticipated! And to make it even harder, I am not a fan of daycare! After only 3 days the girls come down with their first cold (and I got sick as well)!! And after their cold, they caught a nasty stomach virus, that's on its 5th day now. And they passed that on to mom as well. Ugh! So after all this and three weeks of packing up the kids to go out in the cold, I'm on a frantic search for a nanny. I already have a few interviews lined up for this weekend, so wish me luck that we find one that will be a good fit. We can't find one soon enough!

The girls will be 5 months old tomorrow! Wow, I don't know where the time has gone! Besides being sick, the girls are doing great. They are rolling around everywhere, its just a matter of time before they start crawling. They are also starting to notice each other and will just stare and smile at one another. And today I got Kate to laugh for the first time! :)

I've attached pic's below of the girls in thier Halloween costumes...they are going to be pink bunnies! I just love the costumes!

Here's some other random photos that I thought I would post...Enjoy!

It’s Fall already!?!?

Where did Spring go? Oh yeah, I spent it being very pregnant and laying on the couch! How about Summer? Oh yeah, I spent it learning how to be a mommy of twins! I will never forget the past two seasons…even with the scary bedrest and unpleasant heartburn, I loved being pregnant with my girls. And this has been the best Summer ever – I have been so happy getting to spend everyday (and most nights) with Kate and Natalie.

So what’s new around our house? Well both girls are rolling over now, and Kate is talking (babbling) non-stop now. She especially loves to chit-chat with her daddy!! Both girls love to play on their activity mat and swat at their toys….it’s just a matter of time before they start putting everything in their mouth. It’s so amazing to watch them change from week to week!

We had a little photo shoot with the girls this weekend……I have to thank my friend JZ for these adorable hats!! I absolutely LOVE them!!!

Rolling Around

We had a very exciting Saturday here in the Barron household - not only did Michigan State win yet another game, but Natalie rolled over for the first time!! It was very unexpected as the girls HATE tummy time, but out of no where Natalie rolled right over! We pulled out the video camera and captured her rolling over for the second time. She proceeded to do it like 10 more times in a row...mom and dad are very proud.

Go State!

The girls enjoyed their first Spartan football game last weekend (we couldn’t get the Cal game so they had to wait a week). Kate and Natalie are doing great!! Kate smiles non-stop and loves to be talked to and is starting to talk back. Natalie is my little thinker and likes to look at things so intensely and wrinkles up her forehead when she is checking stuff. Daddy can always get a smile out her when he smacks his lips at her. Kate is my sleepy head and on a good night can sleep 12 hours with only one quick diaper change and snack in the night. Natalie is my early bird – she doesn’t like to sleep in and ALWAYS wants to hang out at 3 or 4 am. I’m loving every minute that I get to be home with them!! I just have time for a quick update and to be honest their isn’t much else new around here.

Happy Anniversary!

I can't believe its been 4 years already since that wonderful day in East Lansing!! Well we sure have done quite a bit over the last couple years from honeymooning in Hawaii, living in Puerto Rico, getting our puppy, finishing our MBAs, moving to Minnesota, and having two beautiful baby girls!

Wedding Day

Maui

Christmas Day in Puerto Rico

Surviving Bela's love of shredding paper as a puppy

Road Trip

It was such a beautiful weekend here so we decided to take a road trip on Sunday. We drove to Stillwater, MN – no particular reason for going there other than it was within a 2 hour radius of the house. It’s a little town on the St. Croix river, which makes up the Minnesota and Wisconsin border. We laid out a blanket in the shade along the river so we could feed the girls and watch the boats. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.

The girls are doing great. Last week they had a doctor appointment and were both over 10 lbs! They also had their first round of vaccinations and actually did very well – hardly any tears! Natalie’s hematocrit (iron levels) also checked out okay at this appointment . So I have two healthy little girls! I will say Kate was a little stinker this past weekend though… Lets just say I hit the trifecta of surprises (I was pee’d on, pooped on, and puked on).

Other than that, I’m just trying to get Bela (our golden retriever) back into shape. I took her to the vet a couple weeks ago and was embarrassed to find out that she was up to 95lbs!!! She gained 10 lbs just since April….an obvious sign of her neglect during my bedrest and the arrival of the twins. So I decided to take her running with me the other day and it was the most pathetic thing I have ever seen. After about 1 mile she was walking BEHIND me as I ran… I practically had to drag her the rest of the way home. I can’t believe how out of shape we’ve let her get!! It will be good for her once the girls are big enough to chase her around the house.

Here’s some updated photos of the girls. The first set of pics start with Natalie and Kate is the one with the ‘strawberry’ on her chest in the bath photos.