Happy Thanksgiving!

Today was Piper and Phoebe's very first Thanksgiving.  In honor of the special day Grammie made the girls adorable onesies and matching head bands.  They looked SO cute!!  James and I had a great meal and afternoon with my mom and dad.  The food was amazing as always and so was the company.  This was the first holiday that we had that was so quiet and mellow.  We missed both of my sisters, my brother in law Mikey and of course my grandma.  This was our first holiday without gram.  It was hard/sad not having her at the house with us.  I just keep having to remind myself she is in a much better place.

    

I really enjoy Thanksgiving, not only for the food but because it reminds me to stop and remember how truly blessed I am.  This year in particular I am thankful for my health and the health of my family, the addition of Piper and Phoebe (our two little miracles), for being able to share a contract with an amazing teacher and of course my family, my church family and my friends.

Now that Thanksgiving is over I can officially get into the Christmas spirit which makes James SO very happy.  He has already been begging me to listen to Christmas music.  I love how he loves Christmas!  

6 Month Visit to the Doctor

Today was Phoebe and Piper's 6 month old doctor appointment.  Dr. Ball was booked up for months so we saw Dr. Roberts.  She was great!  Very patient and understanding despite all of our questions.  James and I were excited and nervous for this day.  We were excited to see how much the girls weighed and find out if they could start on solid foods, but nervous/sad about the shots.  No matter how many times we go to the doctor the cry that the babies give when they get their shots still brings tears to my eyes.  Thank goodness for brave James.  He watches the shots and then hands me a baby to comfort when it is all over with.  With flu season approaching we had to decide if we wanted the babies to have the flu shot and also if James and I wanted to get the flu shot.  James and I are total needle wimps but after talking to the doctor we decided that we would get family flu shots today...oh goodie!

On the bright side here is a quick update on Piper and Phoebe:

Piper-- 12 pounds 14.5 ounces, 23 1/4 inches long

Phoebe-- 12 pounds 9.5 ounces, 23 1/4 inches long

Dr. Roberts was very pleased with both girls growth and development.  The most exciting part of the visit was the doctor gave us the ok for Phoebe and Piper to start solid foods.  Just recently both girls will wake up every time James and I eat and want to be around us and our food.  No more peaceful dinners out for James and I where the babies sleep quietly in their stroller.  To get ready for this new milestone I am going to google rice cereal recipes and get to work on making it ASAP.  I am so excited I can hardly stand it.  I promise James and I will try to get some good photos of the babies first food experience and post them on the blog soon.

Happy 1/2 Birthday!

I can hardly believe that my sweet little angels are 6 months old today!!!  They are growing, learning and teaching me so much each and every day.  When James and I think back we can not even imagine our lives with out Piper and Phoebe in them.  Even though they have only been with us for 6 short months it feels like forever.

Piper has become quit the little entertainer like her Daddy.  She loves to smile, laugh and play with her voice.  I swear she thinks she is Tarzan sometimes.  She gets her voice so loud you could probably hear her a mile away! :-)  Piper also loves to roll over.  It is amazing how far she can travel in her crib each night.  I never know what I am going to see when I go into her room in the morning.

Phoebe loves to think and analyze EVERYTHING!  She will grab onto her toys and hold on so tightly.  Most recently Phoebe has just started to play with our faces when we are close to her.  It melts my heart every time.  Phoebe is a hard core thumb sucker and she can not live with out her softie (blanket).  She sucks her thumb and rubs her softie just like I did when I was little.

Phoebe LOVES to blow raspberries

Piper LOVES to stick out her tongue 

Both girls are so different and I love that about them.  I can not wait to celebrate their individuality as they grow!

Here's a photo for Daddy without the hair bows!

Gigi

Today we lost an amazing woman, mom, grandma, great-grandma and yes she was even a great-great grandma.  Clarice June Moersch went to be with Jesus this morning at 12:15 am.  I will miss her deeply and recall of all the fun times we had together over the years.  Despite my sadness and heavy heart I am thrilled for her because I know she is up in heaven right now with papa looking down on us smiling, free of pain and suffering.

My gram was an amazing woman.  She was a mom to 5 beautiful daughters, 13 grandchildren, 12 great - grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.  When I was a little girl my gram watched me when my parents went to work.  I LOVED the time I got to spend with her making Jello, playing with her toes (yes I was an odd child), taking trips to the German market and so many other things that would be too long to list.

My Gram was seriously the strongest woman I have ever encountered.  She survived stage 4 melanoma, bladder cancer, and congestive heart failure.  Thanks to amazing doctors and her iron will to live and survive my gram, a woman who was not supposed to live past the age of 65 (due to her congestive heart failure) lived 94 wonderful years.

I am so very grateful that gram was able to meet and spend quality time with my sweet angels, Piper and Phoebe.  We have wonderful pictures and videos of them together that I can not wait to share with my girls when they are older.  Each time gram held Piper or Phoebe it was a true gift.  She had an amazing way with my babies.  They loved their Gigi and would fall fast asleep in her arms as she was sing, talk to them and tell them stories.

As my gram's health was failing over the past few weeks I was able to bring Piper and Phoebe over to her apartment almost everyday.  Right when gram saw me she would immediately ask, "Where are those babies?"  I loved to hear her say those words and I loved how much joy my girls brought to her.  I will always cherish the memories I have made with gram, my mom, my sisters, my cousins and my aunts over the last few weeks.  What a gift we were all given!!

I know this is not a good-bye gram but a see you later.  My gram will always be in my heart and her namesake will be carried on in our little Phoebe June.

Baby Care Center

Thanks to my friend Holly our weekly visits to Disneyland have become SOOO much nicer.  She clued me in on an awesome service/room that both Disneyland and California Adventure offer to its park guests.  This amazing service/room I am talking about is the Baby Care Center.  Inside the Baby Care Center are HUGE changing tables, a private nursing room for mommies and babies only, a microwave, filtered water, high chairs, toddler potties, a coloring table and a selection of baby items you can purchase such as formula and diapers (mommy must haves).  Apparently, this room has been open in Disneyland from the very first day the park opened.  I personally think Walt was far ahead of his time and a genius for setting up this room.

James and I had to take a picture with baby Walt Disney