SURPRISE GRANDPA!!

One of the reasons we've been absent from the blogging world lately is because we made a secret trip to MN. We had to organize our plans and take our trip without a word on the blog so we could pull off a HUGE surprise for our Grandpa's 60th birthday!! We planned a covert operation with our Grandma and we surprised him for his big birthday bash. When we walked into the restaurant, he didn't even know what to think because he was just so surprised! Here's his face of shock when we walked into the room:Mommy made these cute shirts for us. One said "Surprise Grandpa!" and the other said "Happy 60th Birthday!" Our little outfits added to the spectacular surprise!

Here's the gang from the Saturday surprise party. We had a second party on Sunday with our cousins and other Aunt and Uncle. It was so much fun!

Not only was part of the surprise to arrive at the party, but we also surprised Grandpa with a week-long stay in MN. Here we are enjoying time with the birthday boy:

We love our grandpa so much and feel so lucky we got to celebrate the big 6-0 with him! Happy Birthday Grandpa!

We'd also like to extend a special THANK-YOU to all of our sweet friends and family who helped pull off all of the details of the surprise. Particularly, we'd like to send a hug and some love to our Mommy's bestest friend (and our friend too!) for all of her help picking us up from the airport and being so great!

15 Months of Twingenuity

Can you believe we are already 15 months old? How quickly time flies when you're having fun (and have a very full social calendar!). Here are the statistics on how we're doing from our doctor's visit today:

Elyse:
Weight: 20 lbs. 11.5 oz (25th percentile)
Length: 30'' (60th percentile)
Felicity:
Weight: 20 lbs 9.5 oz (25th percentile)
Length: 30 inches (60th percentile)

By all accounts we're doing well and very healthy! What wonderful news!

And remember, it's not double trouble, it's Twingenuity! :0)

It's Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

This past weekend we had the pleasure of a visit from our Grandpa and Grandma who come from Behind the Cheddar Curtain. We had a great time playing with them and enjoying the HOT weather! Since last Friday it's been humid and in the upper 80s, low 90s and we've been outside nonstop soaking up the warmth (although the 90 degrees in April is a little extreme for us!).

Here we are enjoying Sunday brunch at our favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory. Yum, yum!
We are so excited to get to wear some of our summer sundresses already! We were even a bit hot in these dresses. Whew! What's it going to be like in July?!!We took Grandpa and Grandma to the park and soaked up some rays:Elyse: Just so you all know, I've been walking for quite some time now, but it's still a secret because I just refuse to do it all the time. I much prefer the standing-knee-crawl to walking around, even though I can walk while holding someone's hand as evidenced below. Don't be fooled, I know what I'm doing, I just like to pretend I don't so Mommy has to pick me up more often! I am making huge strides, though, and should be up and running after my sis in no time!

With the hot weather we've been very good at keeping our wide-brimmed hats on because our eyes are so sensitive to the sun. It's a good thing, too, because we don't have much hair to protect our heads!

"Life is a highway...I'm going drive it all night long..." or maybe just until nap time!

We had tons of fun this weekend showing Grandpa and Grandma how we are getting so good at riding on our toys:

Come this way, Grandma, I'll show you the way:

On one of the hottest days of the weekend, Mom and Dad pulled out our new blow-up froggy-kiddie pool. We, however, were NOT interested! Seriously, the frog must have been possessed because he was completely frightening! Even though it was as scorcher of a day, we were not interested one bit in playing in the pool. We just sat in Dad and Grandma's lap watching the crazy frog from afar. No amount of coercion could trick us to take a dip!

And there is no photographic evidence of said froggy pool here because it is just too traumatizing to relive the unfortunate experience.

Despite our run-in with the crazed amphibian, we had a great time with our Grandpa and Grandma!

Spring has Sprung

"Spring Quiet"
Christina Rossetti (1847)

Gone were but the Winter,
Come were but the Spring,
I would go to a covert
Where the birds sing.
Where in the whitethom
Singeth a thrush,
And a robin sings
In the holly-bush.

Full of fresh scents
Are the budding boughs
Arching high over
A cool green house:

Full of sweet scents,
And whispering air

Which sayeth softly:
“We spread no snare;

“Here dwell in safety,
Here dwell alone,

With a clear stream
And a mossy stone.

“Here the sun shineth
Most shadily;

Here is heard an echo
Of the far sea,

Though far off it be.”

We hope you enjoyed this beautiful poem of Spring by a brilliant poet (courtesy of our Mom's love of literature). Oh what fun and beauty there is to experience in the Spring!
(Don't you just love the cherry trees in full bloom in front of our house?! We do! They're pink...enough said!)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

"The Easter Bunny is okay,
And Easter eggs are fun.
But Easter's not about that stuff...
It's all about God's son!"
~Excerpt from What is Easter?

After church we made a short stop at our DC relatives' house because they weren't able to go to church to celebrate Easter. We were hoping to bring them some Easter cheer.

Elyse: It was such a beautiful day outside and the sun made our dresses kind of blinding. If you can't tell, they were white satin with big pastel polka dots and lots of puffy tulle. We loved them! We all have kind of squinty eyes because it was very bright, but you get the idea--our Sunday best for a very special day!

Happy Easter, Peter!

Felicity: Come on, Dad! We've got to go give Aunt Evelyne and Uncle Roy big Easter hugs! Mission Bringing Easter Joy is very important! I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to see them and you can just follow me. I know the way...

Peeps, Baskets, and Frills!

After church and celebrating that Jesus lives, we played at home until our lunch guests arrived. We discovered Easter baskets with all kinds of treats and toys, sampled a Peep or two (oh my! yum, yum!), and enjoyed our frilly dresses!

Felicity: Watch out Elyse! Don't even think about coming near my Peep! I'm holding on to it for dear life!Seriously, Daddy, do you know how tasty these gooey Peeps are? De-li-cious!

Bows, polka dots, and tulle...the perfect storm of Easter attire!

Felicity: Mommy couldn't get any pictures with the two of us together in our dresses because I am ALWAYS on the move!

Exploring our baskets of treats and toys:

Look at my new ducky, Dad!

Elyse: A whole package of Peeps? I am in shock and awe...what's that? We don't get to eat the whole package right now? It was really just for show? That's low, very low.

What fun! I found Elmo inside of this egg!

We had such a fun Easter and we hope you did too!

Post-Party Playtime

We just had the best Easter we could've asked for this year (minus a little rain)! Last year, Elyse had just finished her second stay at the hospital and only Felicity could go to church on Easter-- a real bummer of a weekend. This year however, we had an action packed weekend of fun, celebrating, playing, and family time. It was so great!

Elyse: After all of our egg hunting festivities were over, we were so lucky to play and relax with Mom and Dad. Dad didn't even have to work this weekend, so we had so much fun with the whole family. I told Mom that one good thing about the rain on Saturday was that we got to wear pretty dresses instead of outside clothes. She also thought this was a very bright spot in the day!

Eggstravaganza!

We had the most fabulous Easter party this weekend! The bad news: it rained. Wouldn't you know that the only day ALL week that it rained was Saturday (and then it stopped by about 3 pm...just after our party ended)...but that didn't stop us, no siree! We had to modify the party plans, but our mom, she's a tricky one she is, and she had a multi-part back-up plan all set to go. The good news: we had a great crowd in spite of the rain--14 adults and 13 littles!

The Greats sent us this beautiful flower arrangement and it looked just beautiful on the brunch table:This is the brunch table post-mass consumption. (Mom was too busy to snap a pic during the party).

Here we are eating some yummy brunch food with Daddy. Mmm, mmm, good!

We had such a splendid time celebrating with our friends! We played a game, hunted for eggs, ate delicious food, played with lots of toys, and had a great time celebrating that Jesus lives!

Felicity: Let me tell you a quick little story. You might be wondering why it looks like a sabre tooth tiger stuck its teeth in my forehead. Well, it all started on the playground. I tripped and before you knew it, I was dropping it like it was hot, meeting the sidewalk with my head. No fun, but really it's just two scratches. I am fine, it just looks worse than it is! And that folks, is the end of my story.

This is my sweet friend and she was sharing her eggs with me. I just love her!

Elyse: To help with the small (or HUGE) rain problem, Mom had all of the kiddos play downstairs, do a game, and read an Easter story while lots of our dads hid the eggs around the main floor of the house. Although it wasn't our nice fenced-in back yard, it worked! Here I am gathering eggs (there were about 300 eggs around our house!!):

Hmmm...what is inside of this egg? Candy? Yes!! It's candy!! Wait, do I know what candy is? Can I eat candy? Who cares! I'm going to taste it anyways!

The big kids (big meaning over age 1 1/2) found lots of eggs and thoroughly enjoyed the hunt. Mom stuffed all of the eggs with candy and stickers and our kitchen and living room were a treasure trove of sweet and sticky treats! Everyone left with a bounty of eggs galore!

Although the weather wasn't ideal, we made do with what we had and what we had was a splendid time with many new friends. Who needs nice weather for that? Not us!