North Carolina Vacation...Part 1

In the middle of March I went on vacation to Duck, NC with Addison and Caroline, my parents and Linnea, Gwen and Sonja. Scott and Cam had to work and they were missed (as well as Elsa, Matt and Eric!).  It was a great time full of new activities with the girls and time spent with family.

Here we are at a gas station.  This is how I gave them some of their meals.  For the most part, Addison and Caroline did a great job on the road which was around 18 hours one way.  I was very grateful for that because it could have been a really long drive otherwise.

Our first morning there which was a beautiful warm day!  This is from our balcony looking out to the outdoor pool and ocean.

Addison and Caroline have been to the ocean before but when we were there it was so cold and windy, plus they were 3 1/2 months old, that we did not go to the beach.  It was a lot of fun seeing them play in the sand and slowly warm up to it.

Addison ate bit of sand and had a reaction that made me think she didn't like it.  However, she then put a finger full of sand right back in her mouth.  Oh well.  Caroline was smart enough to stay away from eating the sand.  Smart girl.

Something we have not done much of is swimming.  Last summer it just didn't happen since they were still pretty young and I didn't want to go to the pool by myself until they were able to walk.  This was another activity that they warmed up to the more they did it which was almost every day!  This is Addison in her cover-up.

Caroline in her cute swimming suit

Caroline again

Warming up and a snack after swimming

Sonja having fun

Addison has been really into feeding other people lately.  Here she is feeding Caroline a Cheerio :)

Linnea and I have the same taste in cute swimming suits :)

Peek-a-boo

There was this platform in front of the fireplace that became the stage for Gwen, Sonja, Addison and Caroline.  It was a great place for my girls to practice getting down from something and they were pros after just 1 day!

Cousins :)

Addison sitting on her soon-to-be baby cousin...fun time with Aunt Linnea

On one of the rainy days we went to the aquarium.  I have wanted to take them to the Aquarium here in Chicago for a while but due to how far it is and the cost we just have not made it.  Addison and Caroline loved it and really watched the fish.  It makes me look forward to many trips to the zoo this season!

If you have not noticed, the turtle is right there!

Me and my girls!

Gwen and Sonja had a fun time too!

Touching the stingrays

This shark tank was so big!!  It made Addison and Caroline look so small.

Here we are having lunch after the aquarium.

Stay tuned for part 2 of the vacation.....

15 Months

Addison and Caroline will be 15 months this coming Tuesday! They had their check-up yesterday which was the first one I took them to alone. Up until now, Scott has been able to come with me every time which has been great but because of the flooding going on in a few states he needed to stay home and work. It was definitely not the smoothest appointment (which included 3 shots each) but we got through it.

Here are their numbers:

Addison Marie

Weight: 16 pounds, 7 ounces

Length: 28 inches

Caroline Sere

Weight: 17 pounds, 13 ounces

Length: 28 1/2 inches

The Dr says that they are still not on the chart but are following their own curve which is all that matters.  Though small, they are growing just fine!  At this rate, they will not be 20 pounds until they turn 2.  Since pediatricians are now recommending that kids be rear-facing in their car seats until they are 2 and that they at least need to be 20 pounds it is looking like the car sears will not be front facing for another 9 months!!!!!  Argg.....going to NC in a week is going to be a long ride!   18 hours.....well, it has to be better than 24 hours when they were 3.5 months!!!

They are definitely getting older and we are having so much fun.  They are walking now and I learned earlier this week that Addison could care less if she sees me or not before taking off to explore.  So far I have loved their independence but I have a feeling I am not going to enjoy it as much now that they are able to get from point A to point B a little quicker.  We took a stroll to the park the other day and they played on the park for the first time!  Addison could take it or leave it (maybe because it was not super warm out) but Caroline had a lot of fun going up and down the slide and climbing.  I am looking forward to many more trips to the park this spring/summer and doing more than the swings.  They are also talking more these days and imitating us which can be really cute and funny.  Addison says ball and Caroline says ball, hi and bye.  Addison loves to throw balls and then chase after them while Caroline likes to throw them and then kick it. 

Both of them have been in kind of an annoying stage since they turned 1 where they get frustrated about not being able to communicate that well and things like hating putting their coats on as well as getting buckled into their car seats.  At this age this seems to be a pretty common from what I hear from other mothers.  I have also heard that around 18 months is when the real fun begins.  Since I came home from CA I have seen a positive change in them and they just seem older!  Now we just have to continue with teaching them how to share and to tell them why it is not ok to hit their sister in the face!!!  Oh the joys of sisters :)  Their pediatrician actually told me that we can start doing time outs and I ordered a discipline book (123 Magic) that she recommended and has received very high reviews.  I can't believe they are old enough to grasp discipline!  We will see how this goes.  

Here are just a few pictures of what we were up to in February...

We moved them over to the counter to eat!  They seem so much more grown up eating there.

Grandpa Bill stopped over for dinner one night.  Addison LOVED sitting in his lap and was having fun.

Elsa and Matt's friends that they worked with in Bolivia came to visit.  (For more info on their visit you can look at Linnea and Elsa's blogs).  Here was the only picture I got from the visit but it was so nice to finally meet them after hearing so much about them.  I felt like they were my friends.  Here are Lily and Gwen looking a bit concerned for Caroline.

Ha, you can't even tell Linnea is pregnant in there (less than 2 months to go!!!!!!!  woo hoo!!!!!)

Addison and Caroline have been busy feeding their babies and taking them for rides around our condo in their strollers.  They are surprisingly really good at steering the strollers around corners.

And the new activity that they can do is coloring!!!  I am so happy they are able to do this now :)

Unfortunately, they also are still interested in eating the crayons too!

The finished products

Playing dress up at Linnea and Cam's.  Addison looks good as a redhead!

Their new favorite place to play.

Trip to CA

A little over a week ago I was in Santa Barbara, CA for a nice long NPU girls weekend.  This was my first time away from Addison and Caroline and to be honest it was a needed break from them.  Hey, I need a vacation too!!  It was great to be with my college girlfriends again the way we started without boyfriends, husbands or children.  We had a great time!

The Mission of Santa Barbara

It was kind of cold and windy if you can't tell

Here is the group that stayed at the hotel (Bethanie, Annie, Lori, me & Britta)  We are waiting to get picked up by our chauffeurs (Jonny and his friend David) and Stacy and Annie for wine tasting.

Waiting for our lunch to be made before heading out to the first vineyard

I really wish it was not raining and cloudy but it was pretty and fun anyways

First winery

I love this picture

Annie  --  Britta

Second winery

Third winery

Fourth and last winery.  This one was fun because it was really laid back and had a surfer feel.  Different than any other winery I have been to.

This was actually one of the vineyards they used to shoot the movie Sideways

The side view from our hotel room.

The view straight out from our room.  Not too shabby.

A little glimpse of our hotel.  It was actually really long so there was no way I could get the whole hotel in one picture.

The 3rd day I was there it was actually sunny!  Across the street from our hotel were all these tents with people selling things.  It was nice to walk along and look at everything with the sun on us and the ocean right next to us.

It was still a bit chilly but it was nice enough with the sun out to go to the harbor.  We had lunch and then walked down this pier.

At the end of the pier

Still at the end of the pier.  In between the sailboats is our hotel.

Walking to the seals

"Pups of the ocean"  This is what we called the seals so that Lori would get excited about seeing them.  She LOVES dogs.

Mama and her baby to the right

And no trip out here is complete without a celebrity sighting.  We are at LAX and this is Rick Fox's car!  I was too slow to get a picture of him so his car will have to do.