It was a very good year

As 2008 comes to an end I'm looking back on it with fond and very trying memories. It was a year that tested our marriage and faith in many ways. With that said, I feel that we have thrived through the tests put in our path.

The girls are so much older in many ways. Their vocabulary far surpasses anything that I could imagine at almost two years old. They are starting to show us their will which has been a challenge but is also a sign of being comfortable enough with our love for them. They know that they can start to express themselves without the fear or being rejected by us. They love going to their gym class and are getting very good at jumping and rolling around. Books and coloring are a favorite with them. They also have a great love of all their stuffed animals. They are showing sympathetic feelings when one of us are hurt or to something that they see on TV that is sad. Overall I can say that they are well on their way to being well rounded, expressive little girls.

As for Mark and I we are working hard every day to over come issues that come up with our family. I can say that the two losses that we suffered over the past year has helped us grow closer in our marriage and in our faith in God. As for me, I am coming to terms with the fact that I cannot possibly control all that is in my life. I am working with the reality that these two children were given to us by God to shape into the best humans they can be. I am starting to slowly put their lives into God's hands and to trust in Him. This is not an easy task but I am well up to the challenge.

Finally, I can say that 2008 was not the best year of our lives but it was defiantly one of self realisation. One without control at times and one where I was put in place a lot. Overall, it was a very good year.

First Hair Cuts

Well after much debating over how they would be we have two new hair cuts. They came not a moment too soon because our first family photo session is next weekend.


Here are some before and after shots

Belle Before ( I know its bad )


Belle After

Sophie Before

Sophie After

What pretty little girls

Finally posting again

Well after a really long summer we are finally heading into fall with new hopes and aspirations. Mark is back at school and has started working towards getting his Masters degree. He has class on Tuesday nights from 4-6:45 which makes for a really long day for us all. I have started my full time work as mom and its going very well. I am also tutoring on Mondays and am on the sub list at Stang.

The girls are doing very well and they are working on new things all the time. They really enjoy writing with colored pencils and Elmo has taken over our lives. Sophie can say her name and is always saying Thank You whenever she can. Isabelle loves her new Elmo shoes and is talking up a storm.

They are getting their first hair cut today (hopefully. Keep your fingers crossed) so maybe I will get some good pictures to post later.

Changes...... Changes

Its been a while since I have updated but things have been crazy around here. Where to begin. I officially said good-bye to Stang after 5 years and started a CNA ( Certified Nurses Assistant)class in June. Its been hard because I am gone most nights from 5-8 leaving Mark with dinner, baths and bedtime. Thank God we have help. The class will be done at the end of July and I am more than half way there. I also worked at Stang for the past two weeks in the mornings teaching a class to incoming Freshmen which took up time also.

The girls are officially one and a half years old and their tantrums have begun. It was hard for them to transition from having us home at night to having us home all the time. But they are doing so much. They have a play house outside which they love. We also have a bigger pool this summer and Isabelle goes in it with Mark (Soph and I just put our feet in the baby pool :)). We finally have a kitchen table where we can all sit down to eat at. The girls have been on a hunger strike for about a month now so having us at the table will hopefully encourage them to eat. Their vocabulary is really taking off also. Here are some of the words they say on a regular basis: Night Night, Mama, Dada, Yaya, Ciocia Dot, Baby Belle, Bot Bot, Bath, More, Cup, Keys, Ice, Pen.

Beach, Part II...Father's Day '08

Hello all.

Last weekend was really hot, so on Saturday we took the girls to the beach for the second time. It went much better. Instead of Horseneck, we took them to Gooseberry and they had a great time walking the beach, with little fear. I stayed mainly with Sophie and it was fun to watch the waves catch her little toesies. The water was really cold, and she didn't really know what the heck was going on. She gravitated toward the large rocks because she likes to be in corners and confined. It's a security thing I guess. The girls are starting to learn more words which is fun. They now know "baseball," which makes my day. All sports on TV are baseball though, so they can't really discern what it is. Isabelle is now going through her stuffed animals reprimanding them, saying "No! No!" like we do to them when they are misbehaving. Sometimes she bonks them with her plastic bat. (We don't do that)! The girls are also telling us "no" sometimes as well. Yikes...the terrible twos are on their way. Looking forward to summer and Father's Day. This is my second one, and everyday is a blessing to be with my beautiful girls and my lovely wife.

Until next time....

Nudy time gone to #%&*

We usually let the girls run around for a while each night nude before their bath. We figure they have been in a diaper all day might as well let them air out. I also feel that it will help promote a healthy body image (plus its wicked cute to watch). Any way there have been on occasion the accidental pee pee on the floor. That's fine and very easy to clean.

Tonight, however, was a whole different ballgame. Isabelle has been taking and evening poop lately (sorry for too much info everyone but it is important to the story) but it comes usually after her bath. Well it was nudy time today and Mark took Izzy's clothes off and no sooner had he turned away from her she squatted down and took a huge dump on the kitchen floor. Then she continued to run into our room and fling poop on the bedroom floor. So after a laugh and a photo opt it was cleaned. Isabelle however was not done. I went to look for her in our room after the mess was cleaned and she had urinated all over our floor.

Needless to say she went straight into the bath.

Pictures from this weekend

Mark downloaded the pictures from this week end. Here are my favorites.

Sophie Rose being intellectual


Isabelle Grace being .................... Isabelle Grace



Playing in the ball pit.

Having fun at the beach...sort of

Well it was another wonderfully warm and sunny weekend here in Massachusetts. A sure sign that summer is on the way.

We had a lot going on this weekend. Mark and I attended Stang's Senior prom on Friday night at Bel Mer in Newport. We had a great time and the kids as always were very well behaved. There was a bit of drama with the songs selection (not on the student's part) but what do you expect from a Catholic school. The DJ was a former student of Mark and I's. He graduated last year and was one of those very immature kids that you never expected to grow up. Seeing him on Friday did my heart a world of good. He has matured into a very professional and kindhearted young man, in what seems like overnight. It was such a treat to see him and a lot of my other first year students.

Saturday was our BJ's day and the girls were of course on their best behavior.

Sunday marked our very first time to the beach with the girls. We did go once last year but it was so windy that we stayed for maybe 15 minutes. We took them to Horseneck and they were really excited on the walk down to the shore. When they first saw the ocean they were signing the sign for bath which I thought was very appropriate because the only time they see water now is for their bath. When we hit the sand is when the drama ensued. Sophie Rose was not happy on the sand. It was too unsteady for her and she got nervous when it got on her feet. I had bought them some water sandals for them a few months back and thank God we brought them for her. Isabelle was unsure as well but at least she was able to be by herself on the towel for a bit. Sophie ended up walking around on the concrete up near the snack bar but eventually got the courage to sit on the towel.

Today we went to a Memorial Day party at our co-workers home in Lakeville. They have a 12 month old so they had a lot of toys there. There were older kids there and Isabelle Grace preferred to play with them over the other toddlers. It was getting a bit rough with the big kids and I wanted to remove her from that area but she was having such a good time. So Mama kept a close watch on her but let her play where she was happy. Yeah Mom!!!!!!! I reached a milestone myself today and kept with my moto of not putting your own fears on your children.

I guess they are not the only ones growing up fast these days.

Weekend Update

We have had a great weekend here at the Chekares home. There has been great weather for the past few days and we have been outside a lot. Here is a picture from Saturday afternoon of the girls in their spring time outfits. They looked really cute and Dada dressed them.


After spending last weekend in the house Mark and I went to the 4 pm Red Sox game on Saturday afternoon. It was really great to get out of the house and of course we met some characters while there. There were a lot of Brewers fans out and about and we of course sat in front of the fat guy who took his shirt off 5 minutes into the game.



Today we headed to Buttonwood park Zoo after the girl's first nap. We had taken them before but they were too young to really get into it. They wanted to walk around on their own and thank God it was not that crowded there today. They loved the farm part of the zoo with the horses and cows. The roosters kept crowing and scared Isabelle when she was right in front of them. They have a train there that takes you around the zoo and that was the highlight of Sophie's day.

Here is Isabelle standing near a metal pig.


Daddy and Sophie on a bear. I did not get the bear in the picture because the train was coming.

Overall it was a productive and fun filled weekend. I finally finished all my finals and am glad to be done with it. The fence went up this weekend and looks great. It's nice now not to have to worry about the girls running for the street in the back yard. It also cozies up the yard a bit. It's nice to have our own private area for the girls to play without worrying about the whole of Fall River looking on.

The three day headache.

I am in the midst of breaking down from the amount of stuff piling up. Its May and the Seniors are in full chaotic mode at school. Everyone is wondering what, where, when, and how they will pull off their Senior prank this year. There is a heightened alert this year since last years class hit the assistant principle in the face with about three water balloons as their prank. What started as a harmless prank went down as the worst one ever. I will miss this Senior class though. Even though last years Seniors were my first class at Stang, this year's I am a lot closer to. I coached the girls in field hockey and taught most of then through their high school career. They have three more days with us and I have made it a point to spend as much time with them as I can. Most of the kids that I will miss are graduating so it makes the transition out of Stang easier.

Its almost finals time for the under class men and I have three revisions of finals to do. I don't know why but I am behind this year in all of my curriculum's. I am catching up but it is at a snails pace.

This getting into a nursing program thing is also part of the problem. So far I have signed up for a class that I may or may not have to retake and have gotten no where with finding a resource to guide me through. I have decided to just apply for the Spring semester and start then if I get accepted. I have to be CPR certified by the American Red Cross and take some type of academic aptitude test to even apply to the program.

On top of all this, the allergies this spring have been kicking me in the behind. I have never had them this bad. This is the physical part of my three day headache.

I also just found out that I can be reimbursed for the education classes that I took while at Stang. The lady who is in charge of all this gave me a hard time today because I took the classes in 2004, 05, and 06. She said that she can only reimburse me for classes taken in 2007. Seriously, I have a family of four at home give me the 80% please.

So that's it. I am trying to tie up loose ends for the end of the school year and trying to make new ones for the future. This is the main source of my headache.

Mom's day update

Alas it is 5 pm and the girls are asleep for the night. I knew it was going to be this way. They did not have dinner or baths. Isabelle threw a fit in her chair at dinner and my mother kindly offered to change her for the night. That in and of itself was my mother's mothers day gift to me.



Below is a picture from my first mothers day with the girls.

Here is Sophie Rose from a few weeks ago. I can't get over how much she looks like a little girl in this picture.

And my Baby Belle looking very thoughtful

My how time has flown. Enjoy your mothers day Moms.

Happy Mother's Day

There are several people today that are celebrating their first Mother's Day. So to Rachel, Abby, and Erin I'd like to say happy mom's day. It will always be one of the most stressful and chaotic days of the year.

It is 11 am and so far we have been to church, breakfast, and my mother in law's house. We went to church in Westport today to meet all of Yaya's church friends. The girls were being normal 16 month olds and not standing to be unable to walk around for one minute. We went to Ellie's restaurant for breakfast and had to wait 10 minutes for a reserved table only to find out that the two highchairs that they had were being used ( one by a boy that had to be four. I mean come on get a booster seat). But we made it through and the girls sat and ate their breakfast without complain. They got milk in special cups with straws and that was a big hit. So finally we are home and heading to my grandmother's after a nap. They have been taking two naps this week so we may be heading for disaster today with just one.

Songs

I have added a song list to our blog. These songs are special to us and we love them.

Both Beach Boys songs I use to sing to Sophie as I rocked her before bed.

The Rob Thomas song Small Wonders is a great addition and it fits us perfectly.

Real Love was Mark's pick and is fitting as well.

Mellow Mood by Bod Marley is something that I aspire for each day.

Take A Bow from Madonna is one of my favorite songs of all time. I remember listening to it with Michael on our April vacation from school the year before he got sick. It was a really warm week and we played baseball outside almost everyday.

I recently rediscovered 311. Amber is a wonderfully fun song and is for Isabelle Grace and Love Song is for my husband.

Girls just wanna have fun well that is the theme in our house and it was the first song that played on the radio after I found out that the babies were both girls.

By Your Side by Sade is a great love song. It sums up how I feel for Mark and I hope and pray that my girls will find this type of love one day.

Till Here Was You was our wedding song.

I hope that you enjoy these songs. They are very special to me.

Back to two naps

So after 4 months of one nap at 11, the girls are back on two naps. They are sleeping at 9 am and then again at 1pm. Its funny because this was the schedule that I was trying to get them on when they were taking two naps. Whatever I guess.

Things have been going okay (though I don't even want to say anything for fear of regression). Isabelle's swollen glands are better and I learned that reactions to the MMR vaccine can last up to three weeks after the initial shot. She also was probably having joint pain from the shot which goes hand in hand with the inflamed lymph gland, so that must have been fun for her.

For those of you who don't know I have decided not to return to Stang next year. I am going to try to get into the nursing program at BCC which is down the street from us. The main reason for the move is because of the girls. I figured that I have always wanted children so why not be with them while they are young. I can't believe that they have been around for 16 months already. Time has flown by. So as I start on these new adventures I ask for your prayers and support. It will be a long two years and I have no idea what will come our way.

Well it has been quite a few weeks over in the Chekares household. Two weeks ago was April vacation for Mark and I. It started out well with a lazy Saturday and church and breakfast with Pra Dziadziu on Sunday. Mark and I went to the Marathon Monday Red Sox game on Monday so by Tuesday we were a bit tired. Mark went to get NahNah Linda at the airport on Tuesday night and that's when it started. Isabelle threw a fit when we brought her home for the play ground on Tuesday afternoon and she has not stopped since. Wednesday was their 15 month appointment with Dr.Tartel in which they received their MMR (Mumps Measles and Rubella) vaccine. Originally I wanted to delay the girls getting this shot because it is the one that has been linked to autism and it is just really hard for them to get over. You would have thought that I was the worst mother in the world when I told this to our doctor. She went on and on about measles outbreaks and how in every town there are clusters of parents not vaccinating their children. Did I say that I did not want them vaccinated? NO!!!!!! I just wanted them delayed. So after making me feel about two inches tall we vaccinated the girls.

Over the next few days they were cranky and rightfully so. The fits continued for Miss. Belle and Sophie Rose was equally crabby. Things were getting better until last Friday when I received a call from Mark saying the Isabelle had spiked a temp of 102.7,which is not high but for a girl that never once spiked a temp at all with all the ear infections that have come her way it was cause for concern. I knew that it was from the vaccine and her brought her into the doctors that afternoon. Her lymph nodes on the back of her neck were very inflamed and for anyone who knows my history with Michael I was freaking out. The doctor said that it was a reaction from the MMR and that if they did not go down within 48-72 hours we needed to bring her back. Needless to say I was fuming mad.

So after a looooong two weeks and many sleepless nights the girls are on the mend and are trying all sorts of new things out every day. Unfortunately Miss. Belle's fits have seemed to have lingered which means that she is getting older and wants more control of things. Unfortunately for her she does not know her Mommy that well yet to realize that throwing fits are not an option in my house.

For those of you who celebrated Cinco de Mayo yesterday, here are some pictures of the girls in their very festive Mexican outfits compliments of Papouli

Wow What a week

Okay since things have showed sings of calming down, I can update everyone. Of course given all of the sickness that seems to be every where these days the girls got colds. They started with them right after Easter.

Last Sunday night I noticed that Soph was warm so I took her temp and it was 103.7. Trying to be as cool, calm, and collected as I could I gave her Motrin and a bath and sent her to bed. I called into work for the next day to take her to the docs. 8:30 rolled around and she was up vomiting all over the kitchen and play room floor. Mama lost her cool; I begged Mark to take her to the ER and 3 and a half hours later she was home with an ear infection diagnosis.

Mark and I had planned an overnight in Boston for Saturday so I decided to bring both girls to the docs on Wednesday to get checked by our ped. 45 minutes later Soph had no ear infection and Isabelle had a double infection that were pretty bad.

So....... two different types of antibiotics and 5 days later we are all on the mend.

Isabelle has been showing so much affection towards Sophie lately. When Soph was really sick and I had taken her out of the bath to get chained Isabelle came into the bathroom and kissed Soph on the head. Then the next day when ever Sophie would start crying Izzy would go get her blankie for her. Of course Soph can not be bothered with these sudden shows of affection from the sister that does on occasion run her down. But it does my heart good to see the budding empathy in my 15 month old baby girl.

St.Patty's Day

We took some pictures of the girls in thier St.Patricks day shirts. Mark and I were looking at the pictures from last St. Patricks day and you can see how much the gilrs have grown

Our wild child

This picture of Isabelle fits her personality to a tee

Mama's Birthday

Today I turned 29. My husband has reminded me that this is my last year of my 20's. I say that's fine. Over the last year I have realized that it does not matter what age you are, it matters who you are surrounded by to make you feel young. By that motto I am the youngest I have ever been.
Being in our house lately would make even the sourest of sourpusses smile. My girls are learning new things everyday. Every new word or action they experience makes it feel like your first time too. Until now the word ball has meant little; now it is the sweetest word I have ever heard (hopefully I used the semicolon properly. Thanks MTEL) They are also putting their sign language skills to use. They sign ball and milk and we discovered that the sign that Miss. Belle has been using for months but no one could figure out has been for more. They can point to different animals and make the noise they make. I was looking at an animal book with them one day and when we turned to a page with a horse on it Isabelle made a horse sound (I almost cried). There are new songs that they hum and cheers that they chant. Sophie Rose's blankie goes almost everywhere with her now. Mom had to cut the two that we had in half because she was tripping over them.
My girls love Malkin and always try to pet him. Miss.Belle has even given him a kiss or two on his back. They also can follow simple directions. Every day before I leave for work I'll get them a snack after their milk. As I prepare it for them I tell them to go sit on their mat for the snack and they do. They go get balls and bottles in the other room if you tell to and of course Sophie will go get her blankie without hesitation. They have done very well with the time change; they are staying up later at night and getting up later in the morning. I give them a dose of fish oil every day in their milk and they drink it down without a word of protest.
Lately I have been questioning what job I am suppose to have and what I am suppose to be in this life. I am definitely at a crossroads within my professional life. Thank God for Mark who deals with all I indecisiveness and doubt. I realized the other day that my most favorite place in the world is home with my family. There is so much life and innocence. No matter what crap you've dealt with during the day the greeting you get when you walk through that door everyday at 3 is mind blowing.
This is my calling; my passion in life. Everyday this makes me feel youngest I've ever been.

A milestone for Miss.Belle

Miss Belle climbed the stairs today for the first time. They both like to stand at the stairs and bang on them but today she got adventurous. She climbed all the way to the top twice. I was so proud of her

February vacation

Mark and I are on vacation this week and we are trying to get the girls out to do something fun everyday. So far its been great.

Sunday we went to lunch at Ruby Tuesday's and then walked around the mall for a little while. The girls had mac and chesse for lunch and most of it ended up on the floor or in Miss. Belle's hair. She had so much chesse sauce in her hair that it looked like we had put gel in it. Walking around the mall was fun. YaYa had gotten leashes for the the girls so we had Isabelle on that for a while. I thought that people would give us dirty looks for the leash but they were actually laughing when they saw her walking around.

Monday was rainy so we went to Baby's R us and then to the children's museum in Providence. The girls had a great time. Sophie Rose loved this one room that was set up to look like a pilgrim's house. There was a kitchen and a yard with a huge wooden Ox in it. She looked like she had died and gone to heaven when she saw that room. She kept walking in circles and saying "Wow Wow Wow" in her little high pitched voice. Mark tried to get her to go into another room but she always found her way back to that one.

Today we went to Home Depot and then played outside with their car. They took turns walking back and forth pushing the car along the driveway. They were very tired tonight and we put them down at 5pm. We could be in for a long night but then again what night is not long anymore.

Tommorrow is our play date with Cooper and on Thursday with Ben and Alex. Friday we are off to the Aquarium in Boston and then Saturday and Sunday Mom and Dad are going to rest.

Thank God for Vacations

New Valentines Day pictures

Katie took these pictures of the girls in their Valentines Day outfits from YaYa. They are really cute.

Freefallin'

As my wife stated in her previous blog, Belle fell out of her crib today, or as I like to call it, "The Prison Break." I was in the shower and heard a large "thud." I thought she had thrown her bottle over the side, so no big deal. When I got out of the shower it was quiet, which, when you have kids is actually a bad thing because they're either dead, or they're about to die because they found something deliciously poisoned to drink. Anyway, I rushed in there was Belle, standing in the middle of her room, stunned...as was her sister who was like, "how the heck did you do that?" I can't imagine how she landed, but it freaks me out. On another note, there is nothing in this world I enjoy more than dealing with the babies' cribs (we lowered them today) which are the poorest designed contraptions in the history of Western Civilization. Also, congrats to Burke and Jamie Doherty, who are expecting their second child in August. Way to go. Sophie walking is a trip. I love watching her because she is soooooo cautious when she walks, unlike the human freight train that is Baby Belle. Sophie is a very sensitive little girl, and she loves lining up her toys...once again, unlike the human wrecking machine that is Baby Belle. I wonder if anyone was worried about Belle because she was smaller. Well, she's fearless that's for sure.

Miss.Belle's Fall

Isabelle fell out of her crib today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mark gave them thire bottles before gettiung in the shower this morning and they got really quiet. I usually go and get them out of the cribs at 6 but I fell back to sleep today. When I woke up it was very quiet in thier room and I thought that they might have fallen back to sleep. Mark went in to check and Isabelle was standing up near her crib.

Sophie was staring at her and she looked very startled. She was fine in the few minutes but she gave me quiet a scare.

Needless to say we lowered thier cribs today.

Birthday fun at Gymboree

The girls were invited to one of Mark's co-worker's son's ( that was a mouthful ) second birthday party at Gymboree yesterday. We were looking forward to it all week because we knew that the girls were going to have fun.
They had a great time. There were so many activites for the girls to do and the lady running the party made sure that she involved them as much as possible. Miss. Belle, of course, was running around with the big kids while Sophie was chasing after every ball that they had.
It was absolute mayham all afternoon. They had alot fun with the other kids and it was a great day for us all.

We're in for it now.........

Well Sophie Rose is walking officially today. These are the days that I hate being a working mom. I left the house this morning and she was holding on the furniture for dear life then I come home and she is cruising around the living room. I have to admit though that she does look a little like Frankenstein when she walks :).

We got another piece of good news today. Baby Belle's ears seem to be fluid and infection free. I had Mark take her to her appointment today because I just did not want to deal with more bad ear news but all is well.

The girls did really well today with Katie. They napped from 11:30-1:30 which made dinner and baths a piece of cake compared to last week. Sophie is really in to sorting things lately which makes me think that she will be very organized as an adult. She goes into the office and takes all of her bath things off the shelf and puts them into piles. The whole time babbling away to herself and to Isabelle.

The more time I spend with my girls the more I realize that they are in no way shape or form identical twins But their personalities complement each other in so many ways. Isabelle has such a zest for life and is very fast paced most of the time where Sophie has the same zest but is more careful in how she expresses herself. It seems that she wants to make sure that she has the most perfect emotion for every situation.

They defiantly are fun to be around and I can't imagine my life without both of them.

Obi Belle Kenobi

Katie took a picture of Isabelle in her brown Jedi dress and Mark doctored it a bit. Check it out

Sophie Rose and Isabelle Grace 1 day old
Sophie Rose and Isabelle Grace 1 year old

Yeah!!!!!!!! A snow day

Mark and I had the day off today because of the storm. We had a great (but long) day with the girls. Isabelle is getting into everything. She seems to be drawn to everything that is out except for her toys. Today she ate a paper towel, some diaper cream, and a baby wipe. Sophie Rose has been displaying her temper lately. She gets very upset when it is not her turn and then waiting for her turn. I have to say I am glad that she is showing some aggression towards situations. For a while there I thought that Isabelle was going to be very aggressive where Sophie would be very passive. My how they change everyday.

Sister Chanting About Sister

Dada Reporting:

Sophie has taken it upon herself to start chanting her sister's name, or more accurately, our nickname for Isabelle.

"Bay-bee Belle"

She does this very eloquently, and it is funny beyond words because it's like that Peyton Manning Commercial ("Cut that meat!").

Isabelle usually responds by coming near Sophie like, "what? What do you want."

Today I came home and the girls were all over me, giving mucho huggies, and at that particular moment there is no question in my mind that I was the luckiest person on the face of the earth for about 45 seconds while both babes were vying for hugs from Daddy.

Incredible feeling.

First Birthday Party

We had the girls first birthday party today at my mom's house. It was a great time and the girls did very well in spite of only having one nap. The cake was great and they got lots of nice gifts. It was such a milestone for Mark and I in so many ways: we made it through the first year with two babies, they are healthy and very happy, and they are thriving everyday. I thank God everyday for my new family and for all of the blessings that He has given my life.

We made it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Sophie Rose and Isabelle Grace. I can't believe that our girls are one year old. Here are some pictures to celebrate our day.

Our year in review

Happy New Year
Since 2007 was so eventful for us I thought I would take a few minutes to recap the year.

January 1, 2007
Water broke at 9:30 pm and we went to the hospital.

January 2, 2007
Sophie Rose was born at 7:11 am and Isabelle Grace at 7:14 am after 7 hours of labor and 1 hour of pushing.

January 5, 2007
We bring the girls home and the madness begins.

January 2007
Mark finally finds the root of his ear infection and spends a hairy night with Miss.Belle.

February 2007 The Battle with GERD
Isabelle showers mama and Ciocia Val with spit up all month long (I guess she likes us the best).
After a month of formula changes, crying all the time, and long feedings with burps in between each ounce we get the answer we need. PREVACID!!!!!!!!!! God's answer to our prayers

March 2007 Rotavirus
We had a stomach bug run through the house. We all had a taste as well as family members coming in to help. What a nasty virus.

April-May 2007 Go Somerset JV Baseball
Mark starts coaching which means long days with alot of people in and out of the house. Saturday practices kept Dada away for 6 days a week.

April 2007 Rich, Sophie Rose's First Crush
Sophie starts physical therapy with Rich for her torticollis. We spent 2 days a week with Rich and she was discharged in June. She was quite taken with Rich at times and loved to go see him.

April 2007
The girls were baptized at Holy Saturday mass on April 7. Miss.Belle cried through the whole mass (which lasted 2 and a half hours) and Sophie slept through it all. Our girls are definitely not identical.

June 2007 Schools out for summer
Mark was home for summer vacation and the girls were getting on a nap schedule finally. We had a great summer together filled with long walks and cool downs in the pool. Sophie and Isabelle could sit up on their own and could roll over both ways.

July 2007 We found our Mary Poppins
Mark and I started interviewing potential nannies to watch the girls when school started again. Katie came into our lives and has been a God sent for our family.

August 2007 Mama is back
I started taking my vitamins again and wow what a difference. I finally feel like myself again and just in time for school to start.

September 2007 Sophie and Isabelle can crawl
They started crawling a different times during this month. Now baby proofing the house was a must except that they disasembled all of the proofing that we did.

October 2007 Ear aches for our spider and cat
We got our first ear infections this month and Halloween was really fun. Sophie was a spider (with a baby head because she would not keep the hat on), and Isabelle was a cat.

November 2007 Thank God for Ear Aches
Thanksgiving was at Yaya's house and they both got ear infections the next day. At least Mark and I were on vacation so that we could spend the whole time with our sick and cranky girls.

December 2007 Santa brought Ear Aches
Do we see a trend here? Christmas vacation brought another ear infection for Miss. Belle but it also brought her walking around. She is the shortest person walking around ever. Santa brought the ball popper and the sit and spin Zebra.

Overall 2007 was the best and most trying year ever. Our lives changed so much in a matter of one day. I can't wait for 2008 and to watch the girls grow and change every day.