Onion Carry (all rights reserved)

Freya got into the onions. We call it Onion Carry, and don't get any bright ideas stealing our amazing new toddler game.

With her stash

So satisfied with her reds

Oh but wait, there's yellows to be had (we really like onions in this house you can see)

Signe tries biting one

Carried to the living room

Investigating

Freya tries one

Oh and Signe's got a yellow to sample

Onion abandoned in the laundry pulled out of the basket

Pot-sitting (see another onion under the drawer)

She loves to put the monkey around her neck

Freya sitting in the basket playing

Closer

Aunt Kerry!

Reading time on the couch

Freya can't believe Signe's trying to get her out of her comfy Daddy lap

Ray's in my basket!!

Playing

Signe still playing, Freya tries another basket

Whoops

Very interested in Ray (close supervision by Daddy to make sure they don't get scratched)

Signe has a ribbon and is using it to play with Ray

Daddy, will he like the doggie?

More ribbon play

He got the ribbon!

Love the expression on her face. This is her "running to Mom/Dad to get a cuddle" face

Posing

A nice cuddle with Nana

Cool umbrella toy courtesy of Papa (she enjoyed watching him open it, Freya got scared)

Pedersen Christmas and One Year Appointment

It's been a year since the girls' last Pedersen Christmas. Obviously they changed so much from being 2.5 weeks old to a year. But it's fun to have a milestone and really observe the differences. And THANK GOD they're not 2.5 weeks old anymore :-) Here's my post from last Christmas: http://pedersentwins.blogspot.com/2011/12/nearly-three-weeks.html. I was impressed they lasted an hour and a half. Which actually was impressive at the time. So thankful to be where we are now - NOW they can play for more than an hour and a half on their own, without me. Love it.

We're switching from the diaper service to self-cloth diapering tomorrow. I'm a little scared, a little excited, and mostly know it's good to save the family money. Wish us luck!

Also today was their 1 year doctor appointment. It was a doozy...4 shots, one of them the nurse said burned when it went in, AND a blood draw. It was just me alone and it was rough. But it's done and of course I would take that over them getting sick any day. Stats:

Freya: 19lbs 12 oz (47%), 30 in (71%)
Signe: 20lbs 3 oz (53%), 31 in (93%) --> but she was screaming and flailing while being measured, I really don't think she's in the 93rd percentile. She's taller than Freya but she's not especially tall compared to other kids.

Closet fun

Warming up after an expedition outside

Last Christmas

At Pedersen Christmas - they don't stay still for cuddles very long!

Signe had stranger danger for quite awhile, but found ways to have fun

One was the Christmas tree and ceramic Santas

Baby doll and stroller was a hit

Teaching her to give Mommy a back massage

Carrying around a Barbie kind of dressed like her

And running to the next thing

First experience with a piano - they loved banging on it!

Laundry basket ride courtesy of Nana

Behind-the-couch fun. The downside to them typically travelling around together - they'll both get into a small space, then the inner kid will get upset because the outer one won't move. Signe was getting upset here

Sitting in the Olivia box

Pretty happy about the box

There's this famous story of when Kurt was a toddler, his mom left him in the kitchen briefly, and when she came back an entire bunch of bananas was gone, with just a couple peels left. Well, I was letting them play in the kitchen and they got into the box of Clementines. I saw Signe was kind of mouthing them but just let her. Then I realize, she's biting through the peel. And no, I haven't found the little pieces of peel that are gone...She has done this with a number of Clementines now.

Just a sweet couch/jammies picture

Basket-with-puppy-sitting, tongue-sticking-out, ignore-the-filthy-shirt-she's-wearing

Yogurt Pants

So many adventures. I've got lots of blurry cell phones pictures to prove it.

Recent fun things: they both love crawling under the cribs in their room and popping up on another side.  Climbing is always popular. Nobody can get onto either couch by herself but Signe can reliably get down from them safely. Lounging is also popular. I'm not sure what it is but when I catch someone lounging, just chilling and looking into space, leaning against a pillow or in a box, it makes me think they're so old. They used to just lay around and look at things all day long when they were little babies, but I guess now they're choosing to do it and that's what makes it seem so mature.

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At the Mothers of Multiples holiday party. It was held at the Legacy Academy, basically an awesome fun zone with toys, swings, gymnastics and climbing apparatus, slides, etc. There was LOTS going on, as you might expect from a party with at least two children in every family. They had fun, though of course found the metal bars and Christmas lights more fun than any number of actual toys.

Signe had fun riding around with Daddy at the party

Bedtime in Texas Longhorn jammies...thanks Lara and Pablo :-)

Climbing under the crib. You can see Signe's leg all the way underneath, Freya is in the foreground.

Freya crawled in the Rubbermaid box at La Leche League

Ready, 1, 2, 3, JUMP! (She didn't jump)

And here we come to Yogurt Pants. Kerry had a big thing of yogurt she brought for herself. But she wanted to share some with the babies. I told her they go crazy for yogurt and are also big beggars. She proceeded anyway. Here's Signe eating some.

Signe begging for more, Freya with yogurt face

Yogurt face up close

More more more!

Then they started grabbing the yogurt and painting Kerry's pants

Sometimes, to be a good aunt you end up with yogurt pants

Reading their baby books with Nana and Papa

A rare instance of "it's too quiet in here", checking up on them, and finding them NOT getting into trouble (and in fact being super cute)

Scaling the pillow

Couch fun

Mid-fall

Daddy couch time

Excited for presents from Cynthia (thanks!)

My Certificate of Excellence from La Leche League for breastfeeding the girls for a year! I was pretty excited to get it. I'm not sure you can read it but I was telling Kurt on the phone that it said I was a superior mother. As I was saying that, I was walking by the living room, and realized and said to him: "Ahh, Signe doesn't have any pants on, I forgot!". So superior.