Photo Shoot
A few weeks ago, just before the boys’ due date (August 1), our friend Jessica came to our home and took some photos for us. The boys weren’t super cooperative, but she did get some good shots.
As you might be able to tell, Elias and Jude are quickly putting on some baby fat. They had their two month check up this week and are over 9 and a half pounds, and still only one ounce apart. They apparently grew over three pounds in just four and a half weeks. Yikes! We’re so thankful for our healthy, growing baby boys.
Our favorite photos are below (click on one to be able to see larger, more complete versions of the photos). Thank you again, Jess!
-
- Elias, Jude
-
- Elias, Jude
-
- Elias
-
- Family!
-
- Elias, Jude
-
- Jude, Elias
-
- Jude’s sleepy smile
-
- Anna, Elias, Jude, and Josie
-
- Anna, Elias, Jude, Josie
-
- Jude, Elias
Winter ’13-’14
When I say “winter,” I mean the time of year when there is snow on the ground here. And this year that lasted quite a long time. I may be starting a bit early with a Thanksgiving picture (I can’t remember now), but it definitely lasted past Easter.
These are just a few of the events from our lives this past winter, and I wanted to make sure I hit most of the highlights. Unfortunately I’m sure we’re missing a lot, but still, it was a pretty fun winter… even if we did have to stay indoors almost the entire time.
-
- Thanksgiving with John’s parents: Anna helps prep the turkey.
-
- Fireplace, Christmas music, and decorating for Advent and Christmas – one of the highlights of the year!
-
- Christmas morning
-
- A new Christmas tradition: new mugs and flavored hot chocolate!
-
- Inside on one of the (many) bitterly cold days of winter.
-
- Feeding the birds in 3′ drifts of snow. Grandma Sherry and Daddy had some trouble getting to the feeders!
-
- 🙂
-
- Wings and Brew Fest in Red Wing with my siblings. I love this photo!
-
- Three cute little cousins.
-
- Anna posing before a dance party.
-
- Josie would only smile for one photo before the dancing started again.
-
- Happy Easter!
Josephine is Two!
Since we haven’t posted on our blog for many, many months, and since I have at least a little more free time than normal, here I am – finally! – putting up some info and pictures about our growing family.
At the start of April, our little Josie turned two years old. Since I was on bed rest and recovering from a procedure and two-day hospital stay, we weren’t able to prepare much, but family stepped in and saved the day. Auntie Beth made all the vegetarian pizzas for us (seriously – who plans a kid’s birthday party on a Friday in Lent?) and also made some great decorations with a Finding Nemo theme. My mom made a beautiful cake, and Grandma Kay helped with other food as well as keeping our girls occupied until party time.
Josie blew out her candles like a champ, enjoyed her cake and presents, and all in all seemed to like the attention from everyone who came to celebrate the life of our littlest girl. Thank you all for your help and your presence!
Josephine, you are such a joy to us! You are full of smiles (see the photos!) and snuggles. We call you the “nuggler-in-chief.” You can keep up with your sister when she wants to play fishies with you, and she loves you for it. You love your baby doll and take such good care of her that we are sure you will be a wonderful big sister, just as you already are a sweet younger sister. We love you!
A Saturday Morning in Advent
It seems we have skipped right over December in Minnesota. Temperatures have plunged into single digits with below zero wind chills, which is usually a feature of late January weather. Nevertheless, our daughters have found ways to stay entertained, even if it is a little too cold to play outside for any length of time.
As Mom and Dad put up Christmas decorations this morning, two little girls played:
Butterfly wings, angel wings.
“The angels say, ‘Oh no, we forgot about the new baby! Sorry Mary. Look at Jesus! He’s so beautiful!'” (Actual quote.)
Meanwhile, Josie thought about going outside…
Sleepy Josie
This was taken almost two months ago by John and I just found it for the first time tonight. So sweet!
The Best Things in Life
Alternate title: Why I don’t blog as often as I’d like
- Josephine’s smooth, soft, warm cheeks when she wakes up from her nap.
- Anna’s slow breathing, angelic face, and arm around Pooh Bear as she sleeps through my kisses when I get home from work at night.
- Josie’s squeals of delight and “dah dee!” when she hears our side screen door open, signaling Daddy’s return home.
- Anna’s sweet wording of simple phrases, such as, “I think I would like to sit next by you.”
- Walking onto the sunlit porch and finding Josie giving her baby a bottle and some snuggles and kisses.
- Anna enthusiastically saying “Peace be wif you!” at Mass, then systematically shaking everyone’s – everyone’s – hand.
- Super tight little-girl hugs around my legs and “I love you, Mommy” when I least expect it – and most need it.
- Watching two half-naked toddlers “dance crazy” around the bathroom as we finish up bath time.
- Little fingers intertwined with mine or John’s as we walk down to the park together.
- Shrieks of joy as they bounce and tumble together on Anna’s bed before nap time each day.
- Watching them learn, imagine, question, and explore. Everything.
- Deep belly toddler giggles and laughs while their daddy lets them climb and jump on him. (Really, any time they’re playing with their daddy!)
- Quiet time with my sweet, loving husband at night in our little upstairs “apartment.”
Our baby isn’t our baby anymore
Sprinkler time! Turns out I’m not actually a huge fan of water unless I’m drinking it or having a bath.
Little baby Josephine has entered the toddler stage. She took her first steps right after her birthday and officially began choosing to walk (more than crawl or walk on her knees) around the end of June.
At her 15 month appointment, her weight was 19.4 lbs (5th percentile), her length was in the 25th percentile, and her head slipped back under the 3rd percentile. She has four teeth and just a couple words (hi, bye-bye, nigh-nigh, dada, Anna), but still manages to be very talkative.
Unfortunately, one of her new favorite games is to see how hard she can pull her sister’s hair. Anna puts up with a surprising amount of harassment from Josie lately, and actually tries to play with her instead of the typical hitting or kicking that usually happened if Josie came within 10 feet of her. There have been impromptu hugs, kisses, and cuddles from both sisters to each other, which melts my heart, and I’m glad that Anna seems to be enjoying Josie’s company more and more.
Josie is definitely a little ham and a cuddlebug. She will give you the goofiest grins and faces just to make you laugh! She is also a big fan of hugs and kisses right now. In fact, during dinner a few nights ago she kept patting John’s arm and he couldn’t figure out what she wanted until she leaned forward – she just wanted to give him a kiss! Apparently this has happened a few times to him, but it has yet to happen to Mommy. She does seem to be a “daddy’s girl,” as she loves kissing and hugging him, and gets ridiculously excited when he comes home – or even comes down the stairs!
Our little “blueberry” (Anna’s nickname for her) doesn’t have much hair – still – but she does have the sweetest little curls at the back of her head. I have hope that the rest of it will be curly too… someday.
It’s so fun to watch her grow into her little (big?) personality. She appears to have a lot to say, so once she has a good vocabulary – watch out, world (or maybe, more appropriately, big sister)!
To curl or not to curl? We will wait and see…
Rockets!
John and Anna have taken to flying rockets lately. Filled with just water and pressurized air (from a bike pump), the rocket (pop bottle) flies surprisingly fast and well off John’s homemade PVC launch pad.
These photos are from our first official launching (we don’t count our back yard trials), when our friends Paul and Taryn met us at a park near the Mississippi with their three kids. We had a lot of fun and have since launched a few more times. They have been having so much fun, I expect there to be parachutes and boosters by the end of next summer!
Audrey and Josie enjoyed the excitement (and maybe the snacks had something to do with it, too).
John and Paul fill the rocket with some water.
It’s Max’s turn to pull the (neon pink) string to launch the rocket!
The three older kids would sprint off every time the rocket was launched, just to go pick it up and bring it back. (I’m pretty sure Max always won.)
Anna watches as the boys start to pick up. Time to go home!
A Worm and a Scream
These two things are, surprisingly, not related. Unless you count happy screaming, then, yes, they are very much related. And actually, it’s not really a worm, but… it’s still very entertaining!
Here are two fun videos from yesterday:
For this one, the girls had to be slightly prompted to continue what they were doing before the camera came out, but they jump right back in with enthusiasm.
One Year Milestones
Well, Josephine’s first birthday has come and gone. (*tear!*) As promised, here is all of her “baby book” information:
19.2 pounds (20th percentile)
Miss Josephine at one month old
Josie at six months
One year old!
Our Youngest’s First Story
Josie’s Wonderful, Amazing, Magical Day
by Josephine “Gosie” Immaculata
(Daddy helped)
Hi! My name is Josie. Join me as I recount my wonderful, amazing, magical day!
First I did a magic trick. Tada! No more left hand.
Next I did another magic trick. Tada! No more body…just a left hand.
Then I took a walk. It was so cold, my nose started to run. Because this is April in Minnesota, my boogies froze. Wagh!
Later that afternoon, I went home and ate a small person in a flouncy dress.
My belly full of small person, I lounged in a nice orange chair all afternoon.
After my nap, I woke up, got into my high chair, and shouted, “Hail, Brother Fire! You give us heat and light!”
Later I tried on some clothes.
And late that night I fell asleep on a soft animal.
Thanks for joining me on my wonderful, amazing, magical day. Buh-bye!
One Year Ago Today…
…our little four-pound baby was born! (4 pounds on 4/4 – so easy to remember!)
Today was Josie’s birthday, and we had a lot of fun going on our first spring walk as a family and enjoying some cupcakes for dessert tonight. Her party is this weekend, and her one year check-up is next week, so I’ll save more development-type details for future posts (for those of you who care).
But for now, here are some sweet pictures of our cutie. One year ago, Josephine, you surprised us by coming a bit early, but you showed us how much love is added to a family when another child comes along. God has been so generous to us, and we are thankful. We love you so much, our darling baby girl!
Are you sure this is okay? (That’s half a cupcake, in case you’re wondering.)
Yum! Sugar high!
Our Easter baby
Just pictures
Since we haven’t made the time to create posts lately, I thought I’d at least give you a few photos to view. We are healthy and happy and excitedly waiting for spring to arrive!
It’s a few months old, but hey, there *are* some pictures with all of us in them!
Anna plays with her new train set.
A fort we decided to make one winter day.
Anna happily wears her slippers.
Snuggle time with Daddy!
Girlies in matching jammies!
They show off their pouty lips like pros.
Jump Around
I haven’t made the time to post much lately, but Kay took this cute video of the girls and their cousin Genevieve last week and I just had to share it. (I am sure Mari will be joining the fun in a few short months.) If someone wants to put some music behind it, go right ahead – it looks to me like they’re on stage!
Josie is 3/4 of a Year
Josephine is nine months old and doing well in all respects. She’s 17 pounds which puts her at the 25th percentile for weight, and she’s at the 40th percentile for height (length?) and is barely on the chart at 3rd percentile for head circumference, which continues to amaze me, as Anna’s consistently had… well… a big head. The best part of Josie’s doctor appointment was going to be NO SHOTS! That is, until I realized while talking to my friends that none of us had flu shots yet this year. So instead of NO SHOTS, it was a shot for Josie… and me… and Anna. And lucky us, we get to go in again in a month for round two! But honestly, I’m just happy we’re all (relatively) healthy in our home.
Besides all that boring stuff, Josie is moving like crazy. She crawls everywhere and is starting to climb stairs. She can pull herself up on anything and only gets frustrated when she realizes she’s not sure how to get back down. And still no teeth (yes, I was very wrong way back five months ago!), but we have decided that Josie’s first question in 20 Questions would consistently be, “Can I eat it?” Everything goes in that little mouth. She eats pretty much anything we’re eating at dinner now and in general is still a very smiley, happy, and cuddly little doll. Her toothless grins fill us with such joy! (If you’ve been blessed with a Josie “wake-up smile,” you know what I mean!)
We love you, Miss Josephine!
Josie, one month old – just for comparison!
This is how she can be found most of the day: crawling on anything and everything.
And finally, shots of some great facial expressions caught by John early on Christmas Eve morning (everyone else was still sleeping at my parents’ home). 
December 2012
With the season of Advent last month, our family tried really hard to make it more meaningful and, particularly, to take it at a slower pace than in past years. I have to say, looking back, we were actually – very surprisingly – successful!
With the holiday season, December is full of preparations: putting up a tree and other decorations, buying and wrapping gifts, and making delicious, only-eaten-for-one-month-of-the-year treats. Although that is all fun too, Advent is meant to be a different kind of preparation: getting ourselves ready to meet Jesus someday. Somehow, only by the grace of God, we managed to get most of the typical Christmas to-do’s done by early December, leaving much more time this season for family, friends, and faith. Just a few high points of our joy-filled month:
Anna loved playing with her Nativity set and was visited by St. Nicholas on December 6.
We spent an entire day with John’s family: after attending Mass together for the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the girls (including the four little girls under 2 1/2) baked Christmas goodies while the men brewed beer, then we all dressed up and went out for our yearly dinner at the Oak Grill in downtown Minneapolis. John’s parents started this tradition over 30 years ago, and this year had two new attendees (yay babies!). Also, we’d like to point out that even with all the little ones, we were able to enjoy a nice sit-down dinner: good conversation, great food, and not a single tantrum or even minor meltdown. It was beyond wonderful! Thank you, Rob and Kay!
John and I had a nice date night which included lots of Christmas lights; some of the best we’ve seen in years, actually! We also fit in a few fun, glamorous (for us) Christmas parties and dinners.
And now, the moments when we actually remembered to take pictures:
Josie turned 8 months old…
…and became much, much more mobile. (Please ignore the spit-up on her sleeve… editing photos is not something I made time for last month!)
Anna helped decorate our Christmas tree for the first time.
We had a huge snowstorm and it was just nice enough to go out and play in the snow for the first time this year. She loves it, like a true Minnesotan!
After playing outside, we decided we needed something to warm us up, so we devoured a cup of hot chocolate together.
Josie really wanted to play outside too, but those mean parents of hers just haven’t gotten around to finding a water-resistant snowsuit yet.
In early December we had the chance to explore the Children’s Museum for free (free parking, even!) as a benefit of being part of the National Children’s Study. It was AMAZING! There were maybe 20 other families there, tops, and Anna could play with whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. We even got to enjoy the night as a little date with just our Sweetest Pea, as Kay and Rob came over to babysit Josie.
As we start the new year, we hope you were able to relax a bit during the busy holiday season and enjoy time with your family and friends as well!
Our 2012 Christmas Letter to You
Seven months and on the move
Our littlest one is now almost eight months old, but I still wanted to post a few cute pictures from her seven month “photo shoot.” She’s growing like a weed and, just this Thanksgiving weekend (seven and a half months), she’s finally gotten the crawling thing down. It’s two months earlier than Anna crawled, and she’s still not sitting super well, so we missed the “golden age” this time around. Still, I’ve been expecting it for over a month now, so I’m ready for it… I think.
“What you looking at?” It was a little difficult to stop Josie from interacting with the props this time…
Maybe I should flip him?
Mmmmm… Monkey hand.
Here is our sweet girl doing her “yoga pose.” You can catch her in this position most of the day. This time she got herself a bit rolled up in her blanket, but she sure is happy!
Josie at Six Months
Our sweet little Josephine had her six month check-up last week. She is at 14.6 pounds, and has surpassed her sister’s growth at the same point (Anna weight 14.5 at her six month check-up). She’s at the 25th percentile for both height and weight, and her head remains small, at less than the third percentile.
However, her cuteness level is off the charts and has increased to the 110th percentile. 🙂
First baby food, about a month ago. She’s much, much messier than Anna’s ever been!
I just had to put this in here. I think Josie just wants the spotlight to herself, so she’s shoving the monkey out of the way.
Josie’s six month photo
Josie, one month old – just for comparison!
Happy Girl
Our little Miss Josephine is a pretty happy baby. She’s also is much more willing to sit for the camera than her big sister. Here are a few pictures we caught during her fifth month of life. A few more weeks and she’ll already be six months old. I know she’s ready for “real” foods and the crib downstairs… but am I?
I had to try to see what the monkey is looking at…
What are you doing, Mommy?
Oh, it’s a camera? I love the camera!
So happy!
Summer Gallery
We had a beautiful summer and are sad to see it end, even if the new school year has brought some fun and exciting changes: a new niece is about to be born, and John started teaching theology classes this fall, which I’m sure will lead to some great dinnertime conversations as he reveals what 17 year old boys think about Christ and His Church. We realized that although we did manage to post a few times this summer, we just couldn’t catch everything. Here are a few things we missed that we’d like to share with you.
-
- We took advantage of John’s time off on his birthday and spent it at the Como Zoo and Conservatory. We had a lot of fun and especially enjoyed our picnic out on the grass later in the day!
-
- Isn’t she beautiful? Oh, to be able to sleep wherever and whenever you please…
-
- Matching cousins! I couldn’t resist the photo op when Genevieve and Anna were dressed so much alike. This was taken back in June when Genna’s parents moved into their beautiful new home.
-
- Me and my girls reading together. This is a very common occurrence at our home.
-
- Anna does her best impression of Audrey Hepburn.
-
- Picnic and tea time!
-
- Tabitha, my best friend from high school, visited us in July. Here we are with our cute little girls. (Amalya was born one month after Josie.)
-
- This is one of Anna’s favorite places to play.
-
- Anna took swimming lessons during the first part of August. She did really well, although she’s still not a fan of going under the water and will avoid it at all costs. She did, however, really enjoy the songs we sang!
-
- She also really liked to kick her feet and blow bubbles in the water, which gives me high hopes for next summer. Hopefully we can get her around water frequently next year!
-
- Our sweet, smiley little girl hanging out on her blanket.
-
- Anna can frequently be found walking around the house in any shoes she can find; this time, Mommy’s sandals.
-
- Grandma Kay took this photo with her iPad, and we LOVE it!
Josie’s Four Month Update
We have been a little slower to post in the past month, in case you haven’t noticed. Life with two little girls is catching up to us, and we are trying to take in every moment we can, instead of spending it connected to some electronic device. We also happen to be moving around everything in our house… at least it feels that way at times. That being said, considering how often we posted news on Anna in her first four months of life, we are probably far behind with Josephine updates.
Her four month appointment went well (although that was already two weeks ago). She is growing and eating really well, with her weight on the charts now. Smiles are a constant feature, and giggles, coos, and shrieks are getting more and more common. She particularly enjoys “dancing” and “chasing” Anna around the living room (with Mom and Dad’s help), and singing “The Grand Old Duke of York.” She has rolled over a few times this week, and I am pretty sure I discovered the start to her first tooth, which actually made me really sad. (Teeth already? What happened to my baby?!)
Stats:
Weight: 11 lbs., 11 oz. (10th percentile)
Length: 23 1/4″ (25th percentile)
Head: 15″ (<3rd percentile – What?!? Definitely the opposite of her sister!)
She is still one of the happiest babies you’ll ever meet. When she cries, she wants something, and it’s usually pretty easy to make her happy again. We have not yet had to rock her for any length of time to get her to sleep, or for that matter, to even really be woken up by her in the middle of the night. She sleeps through the night and her sister wakes up before her, so we get them both up, or Josie would probably lie there and grin at the ceiling fan until fierce hunger made her finally squeak for us to come get her.
Josephine is such a joy to us. I can’t say it enough – we LOVE having two little girls who brighten up our days!
Josie’s “official” four month photo – smiles and all!
Gopher Count
We had our attic re-insulated a few weeks ago (okay… so maybe more like 6 or 7 weeks…), so while the dust was heavy in the air, the girls and I escaped down to my parents’ home near Rochester. We had a great time just hanging out around the house, while Anna of course loved playing with, terrorizing, and giving treats to the puppies. (Both Copper and Sparky were there, as my sister and brother-in-law were living with my parents for a month before moving out of town.) This trip also explains our recent deluge of blog posts; I finally had some downtime to put together the pictures and videos I wanted to share.
The highlight of our trip happened the first morning we were there. Viola Gopher Count is the second oldest continuously running town celebration in the US, and I attended some part of it probably every year until I went to college. I hadn’t been there in oh, about ten years, but this was a great year to go again! The weather was great, and Anna got to really enjoy the parade, while Josie – who already loves to be outside – smiled and cooed for us all afternoon.
Our cute pink and plaid summertime girl.
Anna watching the parade.
Josie enjoying the blanket outside while the rest of us enjoy some yummy, greasy food.
Anna’s first Freezie. (Most of it ended up on the ground…)
I know, creepy photo, right? At least we know the guy in the gopher suit!
We of course had another fun time visiting my family. Thanks for letting us hide out for a few days, Mom and Dad! We love you!
Photo Ops
Foreground: Josie snoozes.
Background: Anna explores in her pith helmet.
“You can’t prove we did anything.”
No longer criminals, but philosophers.
Josie: “Who’s tapping me on the shoulder? I don’t even have the muscle control to check it out.”
Anna: “What happens when I squeeze your toe really hard?”
Josie: “I get mad and punch you in the face!”
Anna: “That tickles…”
Josie: “Curse my tiny baby muscles!”
Josie: “So, did I hurt you?”
Anna: “What? Oh, that’s what you were trying to do?”
Anna kisses and makes up.
Anna: “Well, I tried kissing her, but noooo, she wanted her pacifier.”
