Twice As Nice!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words...

Unfortunately, I don't have any actual pictures to post. Perhaps a thousand words will have to suffice.

Sooo much has happened since our last family post that I almost don't know where to start. I suppose that a person by person profile may be the most effective way to break things down:

FINNI

• Grandma Sue and Jim came out to visit a couple of weeks before Finni's first birthday. They brought some cool gifts and hung out for a couple of days before heading back to Colorado.
• First birthday party was a success. It had a "Way Down Deep in the Deep Blue Sea" theme (after one of Finleigh's favorite books) and we had lots of fun. Finni's favorite present was a bouncing zebra ride-on toy that swivels and bounces up and down. (Way to go, Mom!)
• Lots more words! This little one-year old is a talking fool! She has been a little stubborn about the whole walking thing (more on that later), but she loves to "talk". Along with her sign language vocabulary, she has made up her own little language to talk in which is always fun to listen to. Since mid November she has been trying to say "thank you" and "down" and is getting pretty good at both of those words. When she can't say a word, she mimics the tone of the way Mom and Dad say the word or phrase which is really adorable.
• Bye-bye, bottles! In late November Finni said goodbye to her bottles and made the full transition from bottles/formula to sippy cups/milk and "big girl food". She had no problems at all with the switch and seems to be liking milk just fine. Her favorite foods are still cheese, crackers, and fresh fruit (especially oranges lately).
  
• These booties were made for walking! Finni took her first three "real" steps on Thanksgiving Day and then kind of went on break for a while. By early December she was up to five steps...and then went on break for a while. On Sunday, Dec. 16, though, she had a breakthrough and basically just took off across the family room. Her strategy? A drumstick in each hand for balance. Her motivation? A giant window that she desperately wanted to bang on. :) Priceless.

MORG-O-SAURUS

• Proud Papa. Along with loving husband and miraculous multi-tasker, proud papa is certainly Morgan's favorite title. He dotes on little Finni and loves to get her into little tickle fights that are adorable. He has learned, however, that being the "silly, fun one" comes with the price of also being the one that Finni doesn't always take too seriously. For some reason, when Mommy says "no thank you, Finni" we get results, but when Daddy says it...well, let's just say there is a distinct delayed reaction from our little darling.
• Workaholic. In an effort to get some extra savings tucked away for upcoming expenditures (more on that later!), Morgan has been working quite a bit. He is certainly tired and sometimes one day runs into the next, but he is still a family man at heart and is most comfortable at home relaxing with the family.
• Holiday Spirit. Morgan, Nicole and Finni recently picked up the family holiday tree. We usually do a small tree and put it up on a plant stand, but Morgan thought that we may want to get a "big tree" this year since Finni will be more able to open presents and things. In the end, we decided to stick with a small, live tree up on a plant stand to keep precocious little Finni out of the pine needles. It is very cute and the same size as last year so we are happy with our selection.
  

NIC

• School's Out! Well, not all school, but at least grad school is done for a few weeks. Nicole finished up the Fall semester with a 4.0 in a rather daunting class on the topic of "Inquiry and Educational Research". It was tough, but she made in through and can see the light at the end of the graduate school tunnel. If all goes well, she will be done with the program in May/June of 2008!
• Surprise Visit. Well, kind of a surprise...Janece and Josh came out to Michigan for a few days for Josh's holiday party at work. We only got to see them for a few hours, but it was nice to just hang out and watch a movie like old times.
  
• Other things have been keeping Nicole busy as well, but you can read about that exciting development below...
  

FAMILY NEWS

Well, if you haven't heard yet then you truly must be living under a rock, but...

WE'RE HAVING TWINS!!

That's right! I said it - you read it - TWINS!! Needless to say, we are extremely excited about this surprising news. As twins do not run in Nicole's family it was a real shocker to find out that we are going to be fortunate enough to have two more little darlings joining us this Spring.

As we are hoping to have a big family (that's right people, we are just getting started) getting a twin pregnancy has been great news for us. Even the nurses at the doctor's office commented on how surprisingly well we took the news and told us that we should run a class and set the example for how to be happy about such an unexpected surprise!

So, on to the usual questions...

• When are the babies due?
• Kind of a tricky question. Our due date for a "singleton" would have been May 16, but since we have two little stinkers in there it will probably be closer to sometime in mid-April. We'll know more as we have more ultrasounds and get more diagnostic information.
• How is Nicole feeling? Do twins run in her family? Did she take fertility drugs?
  
• Nicole has pretty much been feeling fine and has not noticed many differences between her pregnancy with Finni and this "twinkie" pregnancy. She is tired, but managing things well and does her best to rest as much as possible.
• Twins do not run in Nicole's family at all. Morgan has twin uncles, but the doctor has told us that it has nothing to do with the papa and everything to do with the mama.
• No fertility drugs of any type (trust me, we don't need them)...these are naturally occurring twins!
  
• Are they identical or fraternal twins?
• Another tricky question. Each baby has his/her own amniotic sack and placenta (so there is literally two of everything in there). Though some people think that this automatically means that the babies cannot be identical, the doctors have told us at each appointment that it all depends on a couple of key factors. If the twins were caused by one fertilized egg that split into two embryos very early on in the pregnancy then they could be a identical and each have their own sack/placenta (about 1/3 of identical twins develop this way). If the twins are the result of two separate eggs being fertilized then the babies will be fraternal (non-identical).
• Long story short, we will not know if they babies are identical or fraternal twins until after they are born and we are able to do a test or two on them, unless we find out that one is a boy and one is a girl (then we will know for sure that they are not identical). Which leads us to the next question...
  
• Are you going to find out their if the babies are boys or girls?
• YES!?! We are definitely going to find out. Actually, just this past week we found out the gender of Baby A, but Baby B was not in the mood for sharing at that particular moment. Much to the dismay of others, we are holding all information until we know the genders of both babies so that we can share all of the news at once. Very exciting times!
• How old will Finn be when they are born? Did you intend to have kids so close together? How are you going to do it?
  
• Finni will be eighteen months or so when the babies arrive.
• YES we have always intended to have children who are close in age. Finni is a very happy, easy-going baby and is going to make a great big sister for these two new additions.
• As far as how we are going to "manage" the answer is really quite simple: with love, patience, and a great sense of humor. :) It's the same way we get through every day right now.
  

Soooo, how about that for a post!?! Pictures will follow as soon as we get our memory card problems figured out.

Love to all!
Nicole, Morgan and Finn

The Fam'

This is the closest we've been able to get to a "family photo". Not the greatest (hey, we are using the auto-timer and working with a baby!), but it works.

Finni is eleven months old now! Here's a snapshot of some recent developments

• Verbal communication has increased significantly. We are doing the baby sign language dealie too, but she is a very verbal child. Her current vocabulary includes mama, dada, yeah, mom and....uh-oh. Super cute!
• Soooo close to walking. She is an awesome assisted walker and navigates the house without any problems with the help of coffee tables and couches.
• Growing, growing, growing. She is wearing size eighteen months clothes. She still fits in the twelve month size, but they are getting tighter by the day. She has a lot more room and seems more comfy in the bigger sizes.
• A distinctly "Finn" laugh. A real, genuine "I thought that was funny" laugh that is out of this world. We will try to post it soon.
• Lots of new foods...far to many to list. She is mostly interested in whatever mom and dad are eating so that keeps us entertained to say the least.

Other than that, just the usual fun. We have picked out her Halloween costume. No, we're not telling. You'll have to wait!

Love to all,
Nicole, Morgan and Finn

Ten Months Old!

Finni turned ten months old today! She is as brilliant as ever and we are soooo happy to have her in our lives as we continue to love her, and one another, more with each day that passes.

Ten Month Milestones

• New Foods - Diced carrots and green beans, crackers, rice cakes, lil' crunchies, milk-soaked Cheerios. The most exciting development, though, is that she is doing a phenomenal job of feeding herself these days. Utensils don't seem to be a priority at all, but we'll get there eventually...
  
• Mobility - Crawling is still the main mode of transportation, but assisted walking is certainly the preferred method. She gets braver by the day and it is very interesting to watch her calculate which risks she is willing to take.
• Teeth - There are two teeth on the top just waiting to bust on through. Of course, we will post pictures when they do. :)
  
• Favorite Activities
• Drums - Finleigh's theme song right now might as well be "I don't want to work! I just want to bang on the drum all day!" She is completely enamored with her drum sets and is rarely seen around the living room without her precious drumsticks.
• Stories - Morgan does a fantastic job reading to Finn and she just loves it. She just relaxes completely and listens to his oh-so-animated voice. Adorable!
• Bath Time - Although she wasn't a huge fan of the bath tub right away, Finn loves taking baths now. She is very curious and loves playing with her toys in the suds and water.

That's it for the update for now! We'll post again soon!

If She's Happy And She Knows It...

That's right! She can clap all by herself as of today! :)

Born With Her Foot In Her Mouth

You saw it here first, folks. Little Finni has been working on her flexibility. Of all of the weird ways she twists and bends, this one is by far the most entertaining.

Life has been pretty busy for us lately...

• Morgan has been working quite a bit and has lots of projects. He is looking at taking some more classes this Fall, but wants to keep balance with work, family, and school and is sensitive to the fact that Nicole is in the home stretch of her graduate work.
  
• Nicole has enjoyed a short break from grad school and is gearing up for another year at Black River. Although the state of Michigan has mandated that all schools must have a post-Labor Day start (to encourage an extended summer for tourism), Black River has a waiver due to the college-prep curriculum and test schedules so school will be starting on *gasp* August 23. Between now and then, Nicole will be facilitating orientation for new faculty and students and getting things ready for the new year. So many discipline referrals, so little time.
• Finleigh has been trying new foods and enjoying a few new toys - a phone and two drum sets. She likes the phone, but she LOVES the drum sets. To date she has: baby bongos, a snare drum with sticks, a xylophone, bells, and a rattle/shaker. The child certainly has musical aptitude. Hmmmmm, I wonder where she got that from... :)

That's it for now! We will try to post again sooooon! Love to all!

Nine months and counting...

Finn turned nine months old today!

She is such a happy-go-lucky baby and she certainly spoils us as much as we spoil her. This month was a full of fun for Finn:

• After lots of practice in months seven and eight, she mastered crawling and is now a "speed crawler" who is just itching for her chance at her first steps. She easily navigates the living room as a bi-ped simply by grabbing end tables, couches, and whatever else she can get her hands on. It is both amusing and amazing to watch her explore her environment.
  
• New foods this month included lots of organic fruits and veggies such as honeyrock melon, tomatoes, and strawberries (her favorite).
• First "independent stand" happened this week. Morgan squealed with excitement which, in turn, scared/surprised Finn and caused her to fall down. Ah, well. It was fun while it lasted.
• First trip to a golf course. Granted, she didn't do a whole lot besides watch her lame-o parents swing at and miss balls on the driving range (we did better on the putting green), but she loves being outside so she didn't mind a bit. Her Uncle Jay picked up the tab for the balls so that made it an even better family event!
  

And so, as we move on and look forward to her next milestone and all the joys that the future will bring, we pause to celebrate our baby girl and all that she has brought to our lives. :)

Stories and Pictures and Updates! Oh, My!

This family oriented blog will feature life stories about the ups, downs, ins, and outs of our little family unit. We won't be able to update it daily, but we will do our best to update it regularly. Sooo, bookmark us, visit often, and don't be afraid to post comments!