Splish Splash!!!

This past week, Grandma came over and we took the babies out in the yard to try out their super comfy, padded bottom baby pool with sun canopy (Mommy spares no expense when it comes to water sports). Aidan was reluctant at first, but once he got the idea he could splash the water at the rest of us...he came around! He even decided it was a good idea to roll about on the floor of the pool. Maddie loved it from the get go and had no fear. Of course the biggest hit was the special pool toys mommy got. Chewing on them that is (not the squirting feature so much).

4th of July

We had a fabulous first 4th of July with the two babies!! After a slightly rocky start (we should have packed the car the night before) and some proclomations from me that "this day was going to be stressful" - we hit the road. We were on our way to the Hingham parade. Our twin friends Bren & Emory joined us along with their Mom & Dad and the parade seemed to be a hit. Post -parade we headed back to Mimi & Buppy's house and had a yummy BBQ with all of our aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. Even Grandma & Grandpa joined us for the festivities (Kurt & I are very blessed to have families that get along so well). I must say I was proven wrong yet again and the babies were exceptionally well behaved despite minimal napping. We can't wait until next year when they'll hopefully have more interest in the parade itself. This year they were in slight awe of the large crowd and spent most of their time people watching.

We were having so much fun, I didn't take alot of photos though!


Maddie spent the entire parade in Uncle Karl's arms...good thing he is so tall:

Doesn't Aidan look handsome in his "Magnum PI" hawaiian shirt??

Later in the afternoon Aidan decided he preferred playing UNDER the exersaucer, rather than IN it!!

Cute Babes, New Tricks

Maddie and Aidan are acquiring new skills daily it seems. Aidan has mastered the transition from crawling to sitting and vice versa. He is so excited that he can maneuver around so easily. Now if only Maddie would stop using him as a stepstool. Maddie has started waving bye-bye and hi. She holds her hand backwards, which makes it all the more adorable! She also cruises along the couch and can walk as long as she is holding onto something. Now if only she would stop biting mama's toes.

We are trying to transition to table foods these days. There is often alot of gagging which results in the involuntary emptying of one or the other's stomach. But yet we persist (mostly due to dada's insistence as mama is a bit of a wimp when it comes to choking). So far the babes have had cheerios, american cheese, pieces of chicken & beef, apple & peach bits, waffles, nutri-grain bars and the list goes on. Tonight we try pasta & peas...(hmmmm...green puke??).

Maddie has now figured out how to open doors & drawers:

Aidan has mastered "pulling up" and he couldn't be prouder:

Peepa's Birthday!

Due to the croup and some really bad colds, we haven't posted in a bit. But we are all on the mend and ready to catch up! The other weekend Aunt Janet came and stayed with us. She brought Maddie & Aidan some gorgeous piggie banks and a puppet doggie that barks Old MacDonald. The first of the babies' birthday gifts...I can't believe soon they will be a year old.

That same weekend we celebrated Peepa's 62nd (GULP) birthday. Below is a photo of Peepa and all of his grandchildren:

Tooth Fairy Visits Village Rd

Well, we certainly weren't expecting the tooth fairy this soon!!! Maddie took a bit of a tumble (Mommy is kicking herself for leaving that laundry hamper out) and knocked one of her two bottom teeth loose. At first it seemed she was just fine and I picked her up and told her so. A few seconds later Kurt suggested that I "not freak out", but it appeared that Maddie had been cut (I guess the pool of blood on my shoulder was a clue). After a few seconds of panic (mostly me), we called the doctor's office. Our sweet little girl fell asleep on the drive in (it was bedtime after all) and woke up to the doctor ripping her tooth out of her mouth. They said it was so loose that it might fall out and she'd aspirate on it (wasn't sure what that meant, but it sounded scary enough). After some hugs and kisses, she was right back to climbing on everything in sight.

Now that Maddie & Aidan are mobile and showing interest in walking, I guess we had better be prepared for more incidents like this. Of course let's hope she keeps the rest of her teeth...we aren't from Tennessee after all :)

Where was Aidan during this trauma you may ask...in the sink getting a tubby (bath)!

Maddie is apparently sensitive about her looks and wouldn't cooperate, so the best we could do was a picture of the offending tooth:

On a happier note, the babies are playing together so well these days. They often "share" toys and enjoy climbing on each other.



Excuse the lack of trousers:

Kurt is a very hands-on parent when it comes to playtime:

Maddie getting a "huggle" (hug/snuggle):

Poop Deck

It was a busy week for us (all of our helpers were on vacation) and not alot of photos were taken. But I can report that Maddie & Aidan are hitting milestones like gangbusters!! Aidan is now officially crawling, sitting up on his own and says dada (actually he says blah blah da da blah blah da). Maddie taught herself how to climb the stairs (to my utter shock). Kurt is downstairs right now coming up with a gate type solution to keep her off the stairs until Mommy is a little more prepared for it (I thought only toddlers climb stairs)! And I did hear her say ma ma the other day (aw shucks).

We are going through a bit of a heat wave here in Massachusetts, so the babies and I have been housebound quite a bit (hit 100 degrees today here in Mansfield). We occupy ourselves well enough...but are looking forward to getting outdoors again.

Kurt & I hit a bit of a milestone ourselves (well, maybe not really a milestone...but it did bring to light how quickly time passes). As a result of the warmer weather, I dragged out the babies' summer clothing. I came upon the pink and blue rompers Kurt & I had bought last June during our "final alone vacation" to the Cape. We went from store to store trying to find these rompers we saw on a baby at the pool and then we agonized over what was the appropriate size to buy for our babies to be. Well a year later I crammed (and I do mean crammed) my babies into those rompers and reminisced about the time when I was so looking forward to meeting them and had all of these dreams of what they would be like.

I can say we certainly have lucked out...all of our dreams are coming true!!!

The front of the rompers is a pirate with the words "Lil' Pirate" and "Chatham"...just to give you some context:

Twin Adventures

Well it was a rather low key weekend for the Willners. But we did manage to have a few funny moments with the babies. Who knew that a simple laundry basket could provide so much entertainment!

Aidan really enjoys being inside the basket:

Maddie enjoys trying to tip it over when Aidan is inside it:

Of course, once we finally did have an accident, it was Miss Maddie to the rescue!

We tried some new solid foods this weekend. Apparently the babies are not ready for nutri-grain bars and eggo waffles quite yet. But they do love their Gerber puffs!

Aidan had a bit of trouble finding that pesky last puff:

Maddie & Aidan also worked a great deal this week on their mobility. Aidan is so close to crawling and he is so determined! Maddie has now figured out how to climb (have mercy).

Here she is on the fireplace hearth:

She's so very proud of herself too. She'll look back over her shoulder to make sure everyone sees what she is doing. She's a bit of an attention stealer!

All in all we had a fun family weekend!