Gobble, Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving from our two little turkeys!

Stats

O & S are 4 months old today - wow! 

Here is a rundown of stats for each of the babes:

Oliver

Weight: 15 pounds 13 ounces (75th percentile)

Height: 24 7/8 inches (75th percentile)

He continues to be our happy, smiley, goofy boy!

Stella

Weight: 15 pounds (90th percentile)

Height: 25 1/2 inches (90th percentile)

She is still a girl always on the move & her chubby cheeks keep getting bigger!

Both obviously have no issues with eating well. In fact, the doctor walked into the room after looking at Stella's chart in the hallway and said "Jeez, take the lead weight off of Stella's wrist and we'll re-weigh her". She went from the 5th percentile at birth to the 90th!

As you can see in the pictures, they're both owners of big blue eyes.  They enjoy babbling, tummy time, and are now starting to show signs that they actually know each other exist (demonstrated by the fact that Stella likes to grab Oliver's ear and pull)!

A New Way of Life: Multitasking

There really is no such thing as doing one thing at a time in this house anymore. A friend asked that I do a "day in the life" post which I will get to someday, but in the meantime here is a glimpse into some of the things that we do very often around here......

To keep O & S on the same schedule (and so we aren't feeding around the clock) we feed them at the same time. Since I am home alone with them during the week, 4 of their 6 feedings each day are done in bouncy seats. Chop also pitches in and feeds them on his own so I can get things done around the house.

And no, we aren't a household that doesn't watch TV in front of our kids!

I often wish I had an extra arm or two......or just a neighborhood high school student to come over and just hold a baby! Trying to figure out how to hold both of them at once is not an easy task but we have mastered the double decker hold.

When I have the energy to, I retreat to the basement at night for a little workout on the trainer.......and also to catch up on emails, internet stuff, etc. Someday when this darn stress fracture heals, I will return to running!

And just for fun I tried getting a cute new picture of the two of them for you all. This is what I got (best of 15 shots) - I think it is just the beginning of uncooperative posing for pictures so I better get used to it!

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

We asked Stella and she had a few answers......

1. A Runner.......or maybe Molly Shannon's Cheerleader character from SNL

2. Circus Balancing Act (something she has fun doing with dad everyday!)

3. A Rock Star w/ Oliver

It's Been A Zoo Around Here

Our little zoo animals only had one costume each, but they both played many characters for Halloween!

Happy Zebra

Innocent Lion

 

Chill Zebra

Grumpy Lion

Angry Zebra

Sleepy Lion

A lion sizing up his prey. Roar!

Visitors

We have had a great time with lots of visitors in the last week! It all started last weekend with (note: I started this post this past week and just never got around to finishing!): 

Grandma & Grandpa Krueger and Aunt Sharon & Uncle Kurt

On Saturday, everyone got a chance to do something they enjoy. Grandma and Aunt Sharon were nice enough to watch O &  S, who were spoiled with lots of hugs and kisses all day. Grandpa and Kurt got busy in the yard and fixing a wall in the kitchen. Dad was able to head to TCF Stadium to see the Gophers. And mom ventured out for a swim workout and lunch with a friend. A great day for everyone!

Lena & Ansel

On Monday, O & S's friends Lena and Ansel came over for a play date. Is it possible that Stella is already on the hunt for a boyfriend?

The Christensen Clan

Aunt Elizabeth and cousins Anna, Lydia, and Owen visited us for a few hours this week. It was fun to see them as well as get a taste for what our house will be like once O & S are on the move. Owen decided to relive his days as a little baby and spent a little time in the bouncy seat!

Three Is A Magic Number

Since O & S were born 3 months ago today, everything has pretty much been a blur. The time has flown by and we have loved every minute of getting to know these two little babes. Looking back we aren't sure what we did before they arrived! One thing is certain, there is never a dull moment in this house. The days are filled with feeding, diapering, walks, playing, tummy time, smiles, crying, and bouncing on the balance ball to keep the peace!

3 month old babies aren't very cooperative in smiling for pictures!

And only at 2:00am in the morning while up with the twins would we start the conversation of "What kind of dog would Oliver and Stella be?". So came the idea for this blog post. We thought O & S's personalities at 3 months could best be described by this fun little list we came up with. Enjoy!

What kind of dog?

O: Shar-Pei - cute & cuddly

S: Labradoodle - strong & peppy like a lab, but dainty like a poodle

What kind of shoe?

O: Moccasin - laid back & comfortable

S: Slipper - she likes her sleep!

What cartoon character?

O: Charlie Brown - a boy with many faces

S: Smurfette - girly girl

What kind of car?

O: Durango - big and solid

S: Mustang - sporty with horsepower (she may be smaller, but she is showing up her "big" brother below during tummy time!)

What holiday? 

O: Christmas - he's as jolly as Santa Claus

S: 4th of July - she's a little firecracker

Cheers to surviving the first three months - every day with O & S is a blessing and we can't wait for what each day brings!

Grandma Love

Oliver & Stella said good-bye to Grandma & Grandpa Christensen yesterday for a few weeks. Grandma will be having back surgery and we are sure going to miss having them around. But we are happy she will be feeling better for years to come after the surgery! Over the last three months Grandma & Grandpa have changed their fair share of dirty diapers, fed babies, made meals, vacuumed, walked Maizy, snuggled with O & S, and the list goes on. We are wishing Grandma Christensen all the best and a fast recovery from her back surgery! 

Oliver & Stella will be missing Grandma Christensen but are excited for a special visit from Grandma Krueger this weekend!

Little Chopper

Chad or Chop? That is the question. Many of you know him by Chad, but most of you probably know him by Chop. In order to clear any confusion for those of you that know him by Chad, I thought I would do this post. 

The nickname Chop came about before he made his arrival into this world. The story goes that Chad's mom was pregnant with him and they were worried about possible complications. A friend of the family flew helicopters would check in on them and ask "How is my little chopper?". And so the nickname was born and is still carried on to this day.

I must admit when I met him I thought it was the strangest thing. I mean who has a name like Chop. So the first time I called to talk with him on the phone, I asked to speak with Chad. Well immediately his roommates/friends had something to say about this. I was told that if I didn't call him by Chop, I wasn't allowed to date him.  So I went with it. 

Still to this day it can be confusing to me. Of course I call him Chop around family and good friends, but there are many casual acquaintances, co-workers, etc. that know him by Chad. I always have to think who I am talking to before I go with one or the other! And trust me, I get strange looks when I call him Chop to someone who only knows him by Chad.

Now that we have a little boy, will he carry on the nickname? I doubt it. But Grandma Christensen LONG before the twins were born picked up this little pair of pants with hopes that someday she would be able to give them to us for a little baby boy to wear. Here is our new little Chopper! 

And there is no doubt that he charms his mom with this grin just like his dad does!

What We've Been Up To

This last week hasn't been super eventful, but here are a few things that we have been up to:

Hanging out with 9 sets of other twins

Looking cute in the shirts mom made us

Being jolly

Spending time outside

Exposing Oliver to the pain of Gopher football

Visiting Minnetonka Orchards

Picking out pumpkins

Sharing our cribs with 3 other babies during a play date at our house (Yes, there were 5 sleeping babies in one room for naps. No, they didn't all stay sleeping but we tried. Poor picture quality due to lack of flash!)