Christmas Memories

Olivia and Juliana- 8 Months

This was an amazing Christmas for our girls. We made the travels to Michigan this year to see Grandma and Grandpa Lawnicki and the girls' aunts, uncle, and cousins. The girls were on their best behavior and had a blast with Aunt Amanda and Aunt Nicole feeding them. Grandma and Grandpa fed them too. It was great to be able to share our little ones with family. On the Thursday before Christmas we went to the extended family Christmas. The girls were a hit. They got to see their Great Aunt Ruthie and 2nd cousins Wendi and Heather. All of which could not put them down the whole time we were there. It was great that Juliana and Olivia had a chance to meet their other relatives.

 Great Aunt Ruthie and Juliana

 2nd Cousins Heather and Wendi

 Olivia and Juliana

Christmas day we went to Oakwood SDA Church in Taylor, MI. This is where I grew up. We were able to see old friends and meet new people. After church we met back for a family Christmas. Since the girls were really tired, they opened their gifts first. They received cute clothes, fun toys, and lots of lovin. We are all truly blessed to have family that loves and cares for us and our children. What more could you ask for over the holiday.

 The girls playing with Grandpa.

 Olivia and Juliana

 Olivia and Austin

 Steven and Juliana

Grandma and Grandpa

This new year is going to bring so much fun and happiness, we are very excited to begin it with Juliana and Olivia.

Olivia and Juliana

Holiday Memories

This is the first Christmas that the girls will experience. We have been blessed to have such amazing girls and make such beautiful memories with them. This year I decided I was going to make cookies with the girls' help. I know they are a little small to put their hands in the mix, but I wanted them to help somehow. So I traced their hands and used the prints as stencils to make hand shaped cookies, so in a sense they helped me.

Yesterday, I was making breakfast and I heard something tear. I ran into the living room to find Olivia in all of my gift bags and tissue paper. Since she is crawling she is into everything. :) Once I moved Olivia to the other side of the room and picked up the bags, I went back into the kitchen. No later than a few minutes Juliana was in the same bag and this time had all the gift bags spread across the floor. I had to laugh and take a picture. Such sweet little explorers. I love it.

 

Olivia in the tissue paper.

 

Juliana in the gift bags.

So, if I don't get to this blog soon, our family wishes you a very Merry Christmas.

WE'RE CRAWLING!!!

Tonight we had some friends over for the evening and we tried to put our girls down but they were refusing to sleep, so instead of fighting with them we decided to let them enjoy a late evening with the adults. We put them on the floor to play Juliana enjoyed playing with a friend's cell phone and Precious brought over her ball to play with Olivia. She dropped the ball a few inches from her face. Next thing we know, our baby Olivia is up and moving. She crawled for the first time tonight! She picked up her body on all fours and pushed forward to reach a ball. We are so excited that she is mobile. Juliana is not far behind. She is picking her self up and turning in circles. It is kind of funny to watch.

I am so proud of my little girls they are growing up so fast and I am enjoying every bit of it. They are now 8 months and 1 week. I am so thankful for them in my life. They make us very happy. This is the best Christmas present ever.

 Juliana excited about the phone.

 Olivia and Precious playing hide and seek.

 Olivia Crawling!

 Olivia crawling again.

 Beautiful Olivia.

 Precious giving Juliana a kiss.

Juliana telling us about the features on the phone.

Puppy Love and Army Crawls!

Recently Olivia and Precious have been connecting in a special way. In the morning when I have the girls on the floor, she will walk up to them and lick each girl on the face. After that, she looks for her ball and brings it to Olivia every time. Once in awhile she attempts to play with Juliana, but she usually doesn't want to play with her. Just laugh at her.

Precious will take her ball or squeeky toy and put it in front of Olivia. Olivia will then shake the item and send it flying in the air. Precious will chase it and bring it back to Olivia. Precious will lay next to her and share toys and kiss her often. It is so cute. They have found puppy love.

 

So, the girls are 8 months and are progressing with their movements. They should be crawling soon. Olivia is pushing up on her knees but can't seem to lift them yet. Both Juliana and Olivia are army crawling and rolling. They should be cruising in no time at all. I think this will be the last Christmas that we don't have to worry about the tree.

 Olivia

Juliana

Juliana and Olivia's First Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, we decided to go to Uncle Doug's and Aunt Anika's home in Catalua, GA. The trip for us would be a total of 6 1/2 hours one way. We started off at about 3:00PM on Tuesday and arrived at our location at 11:30PM. We ended up stopping for a bit to visit with a friend and pick up an item we left at their home the last time we visited. We arriving at J+O's uncle's home (Mike's brother), the girls were wide awake. We ended up staying up letting them play for about another hour.

The next morning, Wednesday, we spent the day relaxing and getting settled. Mama went for a 4 mile run without the girls while daddy entertained them for awhile. When the evening came around, Juliana and Olivia's cousins, McMillen (10) and McKinnon (8), spent the time holding the girls and feeding them. The rest of the family arrived shortly after putting the girls to bed. Oma and Opa, Uncle Dave and Aunt Marlene and Elliott. There was quite a houseful and a lot of noise. Mike and I were really surprised on how good our girls were. We knew they could sleep through noise, but it was definitely proven on this trip. We were very proud of them.

 

McKinnon with Olivia

 

McMillen with Juliana

 

Cousin Elliott

On Thanksgiving day, Aunt Nik and Mama ran 2 miles in the morning. It was so nice to get out in the fresh air and prepare for the day ahead of us. Lots of food! The girls were spread out on a blanket with a toy. They actually did really well with sitting up. We have been trying to practice this for several weeks, but the girls would refuse to sit up. They wanted to lay down. Not on Thanksgiving! They wanted to sit. That is a huge step for our little ones. As the girls played on the floor, Uncle Doug was giving motorcycle rides to Oma, Uncle Dave, and the boys. When Uncle Dave got back from his ride, he tossed a football around with Daddy and cousin McMillen. Oh what fun everyone had!

 

Olivia

 

Uncle Doug with Cousin Kinnon

Uncle Doug and Oma

When Friday came around everyone had their fill of excitement and it was time to wind down. Some went shopping, others stayed behind doing homework, kitchen work, or taking a nap. That evening the family gathered in the living room to practice for the church service that we were putting on. This is when it became rough for Juliana and Olivia. They wanted to stay up but they were so tired. They were completely off schedule and were crying. We felt so bad for them, but eventually they gave up and let us put them to bed.

Saturday was nice, we went to Sabbath School, which consisted of mostly the Colburn kids. Juliana, Olivia, and Elliott (2). We had a fun time singing songs, but it wasn't long before the girls were taking a cat nap. After performing the church service, we went back to Doug and Anika's for lunch. The girls went down right away and slept for 2 1/2 hours. I think they were really tired and needed the sleep. That evening, we celebrated Christmas. Juliana and Olivia had to go first since we were putting them to bed right away. They received so many precious gifts. They were very excited to receive their very own cell phones. No, not real ones, but the toy kind. Juliana and Olivia have been playing with them for about 3 days straight. They love that they can be like Mama and talk on the phone.

 Olivia in Sabbath School

 Juliana in Sabbath School

Mama and Olivia

 Olivia

 Olivia and Juliana

Great things come in small packages!

Sunday came in a flash and it was time to go home. We ended up getting home around 8:30PM. We changed the girls into their PJs and fed them a bottle. They went to sleep really fast and slept really well. Overall, it was a really good trip and the girls did an excellent job traveling. Our next big trip is to Michigan for Christmas. It will take us 10 1/2 hours. This will be interesting, but the girls look forward to meeting their Grandpa and Grandma for the first time. It will be fun.

A Special Sabbath with Daddy

What a wonderful day we had Saturday at church. Since we had Adventist Education Week at school Mike was able to preach at Kingsport SDA Church on Adventist Education. What an amazing job he did. It was a great message. We are very proud of daddy. Juliana and Olivia were great little girls. They were held by some friends and didn't cry or make very many sounds at all, which is great since we were near the front row. I have been so amazed, along with many others on how well behaved my children are. I only pray that this will continue as they grow up.

 

After the service we had a Thanksgiving feast at the church. There were so many amazing things to eat. Olivia and I had a good time eating sweet potatoes. Right now, both girls take after their Mama with liking sweet potatoes and squash. Daddy is not one for it. :) Olivia sat there and let me feed her but the moment I turned my head, she had both hands in the sweet potatoes and smearing it all over the table. I only had to laugh and try to wipe her clean. I actually love watching my girls experience new textures. Exploring is part of learning in my mind. I can see that my girls are going to be kinesthetic learners, I hope they will develop other learning skills as well.

In the evening, we decided to relax as a family. I was actually trying to get rid of tonsillitis. While we lay on the couch, we had the girls watch a "Baby Einstein" dvd. I was really impressed with this video on "First Sounds". It used several different languages describing objects. I loved the exposure. It even uses classical music through the whole dvd and many colors. I was really impressed. After our dvd, it was time for the girls to go to bed. So, bed, bottle, and snuggle time (Mama's favorite time). Sometimes our girls won't fall asleep with their last bottle, so after they finish we lay them in their beds and hand them a little toy. They quietly play and fall asleep in no time. We usually have to give them something to play with otherwise they will cry and keep each other up. Which is not fun for their parents. :)

Not much has gone on in these past couple weeks, but we look forward to our Thanksgiving at Uncle Doug's and Aunt Nik's house. We will be traveling in a car for 6 hours one way....this should be fun.

Our family wishes you a very Happy Thanksgiving. We are thankful for you.

7 Month Check Up and More

On November 5, the girls went to the doctor for their 7 month check up. When we got there, I undressed Olivia first and took her to the scale. Baby girl weighed in at 16 pounds even and 26 inches long. Juliana was then weighed in and she was 16 pounds also and 25 3/4 inches long. As the doctor's visit progressed I was told that my baby girls were really healthy and growing well. I decided to ask the doctor about feeding solids to the girls. He told me that the schedule I had them on was really good, as long as they were getting a least 32 ounces a day. It is sad to say that I have quit breast-feeding the girls as of a week and a half ago. I was not producing very much and it became more work then benefit. I will be honest to everyone and say I took it hard. It was the one thing I felt that connected me to my children that no other woman or man could do. I have now, since then, come to realize that there are more things in my girls' lives that I will be able to do that no one else can. I breast fed them for their first 6 months and am proud I made it that far. I love my girls very much and will do everything in my power to be there for them when they need me.

On the topic of movement, Juliana and Olivia have been progressing very well. Juliana still stays in one place but will roll over often. Olivia on the other hand has discovered she can roll to any toy that is out of her reach. I placed her on the floor this morning while I gave Juliana her bath. When I came out to the living room, she had rolled off her boppy and made her way off the carpet and on to the wood floor where she laid there kicking her feet holding a toy. I don't think it will be long before she is crawling and then we will start having fun.

Olivia

Mama and Juliana

 




This past weekend Juli and Livi experienced their first snow. We woke up Saturday morning to giant snowflakes falling from the sky. We put hats on the girls and took them briefly out in the snow. Juliana tried to touch them and Olivia didn't like how cold they were. We hope that someday soon they will get to put their hands and feet in it and make a snowman. (Well, I guess the snowman will come later when they can walk.) Well, life as you have seen as been good and the girls are healthy. As I have mentioned many times before, we are blessed to have these little packages of joy.

Olivia not enjoying the cold.

Olivia not sure about the snowflakes.

Juliana in the snow.

Juliana clinging to Mama.

Family Outings

Last weekend we were able to see Mike's parents over our fall break. What a blast we had. The girls had their first outing to a sorghum mill. They got to see how it was made and watched as the big horses turned the mill. Even though they may never remember this adventure, it was sure great to see their eyes get big watching the horses go around the circle.

Opa and Oma holding the girls as they watch the horses.

 Juliana watching the horses.

    

Sorghum cooking

 

 

Opa and Olivia

While on our adventure we stopped at a Mennonite country store. It was quite amazing. We even found little hats that fit Juliana and Olivia. It was adorable. Even daddy got in on the fun.

 Juliana in her hat.

                                                      Olivia in her hat.

 Daddy and Olivia having some fun.

 Mama and Olivia

 Daddy and Juliana

The girls also had a chance to visit their Great Grandma Grace. She is 95 years old and what an honor it was to have her hold our little ones. This is the Great Grandma Juliana is named after...Juliana Grace Colburn.

On Sunday of that same weekend I had a 5K race I was participating in.  The whole family packed up and we met some friends there. This race was the biggest race "mama" has ever been in. There were a total of 5200 people racing. It was really hot and really noisy. Surprisingly the girls did great. People would walk up to the girls and say how cute they were. It is quite funny to see that our girls are an icon everywhere we go. While Mama raced, Mike took care of the girls, feeding them and strolling them. He even managed to take pictures! What a champ! It is great to be able to work so well together in raising our children. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

 I am actually in this picture! Next to the two men in red! Can you find me? LOL

 Olivia my little bird!

 My friends Greg and Robin

 My supportive family! I love them. 

Chillin in the stroller.

After the race, we went out with some friends to eat and headed home to put the girls to bed. It was a very long day and they were little troopers around all those people.

Now, they are 30 weeks old! We are approaching our 7 month mark on November 3. I can't believe my babies are growing so quickly. Olivia sprouted her first tooth on my race day and she seems to be doing as well as Juliana. She is even taking solids! Well, not cereal. She really does not like it. I think we may surpass the cereal and continue with the food. We still have not introduced fruits to them. Although, they had applesauce for the first time and loved it. We have chosen to hold off a little while longer with fruit, making sure we adjust to the vegetables, since they are more bland. No need to rush the sugar.

 Our family.

 Olivia playing with daddy.

Our lives have definitely changed in such a great way. We are blessed to "own" these little ones. I can't express how great it is to hear them laugh and see them smile. We are now to the stage where they scream (in a good way) when we walk into their view. With all the work that it has been, no one had ever told me the real joy and happiness I would have when I became a Mama. What a pleasure to have such wonderful little girls.