And the seasons, they go round and round

December is in full swing. Big news: Penny got a job, working at the same agency where I work! Yay Penny! She is an Employment Specialist and will be helping support folks with mental illness in their employment endeavors. The babies start full-time daycare next week. Although, in a few weeks, this may be cut down to just 4 days a week because I am in the process of being approved to work 4 long days, rather than 5 days a week. Very excited about that, especially because it means that the babies will be with us three days a week!

Things here in twin land march on faster and faster each day. The days themselves often feel long, but the months fly by and milestones are happening everyday. We are struggling with colds, and asthma, and trouble sleeping due to stuffy noses. Ah, the first winter! But, we are enjoying the smiles, and the babbling, and the new experiences with food and toys and the whole world all around us.

Our big boy, Jordan, now loves to hold his own bottle. Often, however, he loses his grip and milk sprays all over him. Check out those chubby little hands.

During the time when I was working and Penny was staying home with the kids three days a week, they were always so happy to see me when I got home. Talk about melting your heart. Their little faces would light up as if to say, "It's you! We didn't know whether we would ever see you again, and yet here you are. Hooray!!" Penny snapped this picture of both kids holding my hands one day when I had just gotten home from work. Makes me such a happy mama!

Jordan and Taylor are getting so much more interactive with their environment. They love Bear, Cosmo, and Milo so much. And the animals are unbelievably tolerant. Here's our "killer" dog, Bear, holding court over her babies. She loves to be where they are and she just lets them maul, er pet, her whenever they want to. What a good doggie!

Look at these big babies sitting up and playing with toys. They love their crinkle books! People think they look so much alike, and sometimes I think they look a lot alike, too. But, in this pic, not so much. What do you think? Oh, and you can't imagine how many people ask us everytime we are out whether the kids are indentical or fraternal. If they are a boy and a girl, folks, they cannot be identical!

The conversation usually goes something like this: Person: Oh, a boy and a girl? Me: Yup...(trying to move on without making too much eye contact. Twin survival mode.) Person: Well, you have your hands full. Me: *Smile.* Yup. Person: Are they identical? Me: Nope, a boy and a girl? Person: I know, but are they identical? Me: What I actually say: Nope, they are fraternal. (What I really want to say: DAMMIT PEOPLE! DO YOU KNOW THE MEANING OF THE WORD IDENTICAL? A BOY AND A GIRL HAVE SOME SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN THEIR PARTS. THEREFORE...NOT FREAKIN' IDENTICAL!)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled, non-ranting blog post.

One thing Penny and I often lament is that we do not have the same down time with the babies that we imgaine parents of singletons have the opportunity to experience more often. We are usually busy busy busy with tasky things when the kids are napping. We are trying to slow down and cherish the times we have with these amazing little people while they are still little. This picture of Jordan sleeping on Penny was camera worthy, as these peaceful moments with each individual child are, unfortunately, more rare than we would like.

The obligatory first Santa pic is posted here in all its glory! It took a few tries to get the kids to look forward, stop grabbing Santa's beard, and have semi smiling looks on their faces. They sat with Santa for about 5 minutes or so, no one cried, and we got this pretty great picture. We were thrilled!

Hope the holiday season is treating you all well. We are in a winter wonderland today, with an excess of 18 inches expected. Penny is out shovelling now, and we will try to keep up with the snow throughout the day. Will try to post wintery pics later. We are excited to have a lazy Sunday, all cozy in the house, while it snows and snows and snows outside. I baked muffins for breakfast and we are gonna have some yummy soup for lunch. It's gonna be a greay day!