Birthday Babies!

The Presents!

Claire loved playing with the paper. The presents inside weren't as much of a hit (until the next day)
Jacob is learning how to play baseball! First step is how to hold the bat (2nd step is how not to hit your sister).
Nana got the kids a play table and they love it! They play with it very differently, Jacob gets all the sounds going at the same time, Claire waits for the song or noise to finish before trying another one. Dani can now sing every song it plays.

We are noticing that toys are very loud, but they love them! Nana especially liked getting the loud ones for our kids. We're planning on bringing them over every time we visit!

Happy Birthday Jacob and Claire!

You'll have to wait for pictures and details of Jacob and Claire's 1st birthday party Monday. But I will put a few pictures up that are fun to see.

Dani on 4/16/2006:

Dani on 4/11/2007:

She looks so happy (and cute!) to have the kids no longer in her belly! More to come...

Easter

We had a very fun Easter Sunday. Jacob and Claire had very cute coordinating outfits compliments of Grandma Vicki. Jacob was a little too busy for his Easter basket at first (but oh so cute).
Claire eventually discovered the goodies in her basket, she is still a little upset in this picture from having her hair fixed. (Notice the box of Fruity Cheerios in the background, that was their "Easter treat".)
We went to Nana and Papa's house for Easter dinner and Camie and Matt were there with the cousins. It just isn't easy to get a picture of three babies/toddlers.
Jacob loved the plastic eggs, he just couldn't get enough of them.
Claire thought that her Easter gift from Nana was crinkle paper, she would not pay attention to any of the goodies in the basket but emptied the basket of crinkle paper one piece at a time. If I tried to start cleaning up her mess she would pull it out in handfuls.

Jacob's Spotlight

Jacob is a lot of fun. He is full of energy and needs to be moving constantly every waking moment. He is a very busy boy and very intense, but so happy. He is such a fast crawler now; here he is after the camera, I barely got the camera to click before he got to me.
Sometimes if you put a busy boy in a new place you can buy yourself a couple of seconds.
He pulls himself up on everything, and he cruises around all the furniture and even on walls; he will even lunge between furniture to stay standing. He is so brave and really wants to walk, he will pull himself up to standing and can actually stand pretty well on his own, but usually gets too excited to get moving and will try to walk before he ever gets his balance. The next two pictures are right before bathtime (hence the dirty face). Jacob goes nuts in his crib when he is awake, he likes to 'march march' and 'bounce bounce'. He also likes to let us know he is awake in the morning by scratching the wall, which is actually REALLY loud.
Who could resist this face?
He loves to explore in the bathroom. We think that he knows bathtime is almost bedtime because he starts into double-time mode when the bathwater starts running. He also really loves screaming right now (happy or sad) and the bathroom is just about the worst place for that because it just rings off of everything in the room. He is such a fun happy boy. Keeping up with him is unreal!

Claire's spotlight

Claire has developed quite a cute personality. She is quick to respond when you talk to her, and she talks to herself (and makes herself laugh) all day long. It'd be fun to know what exactly she's saying!

One of her favorite things to do is to climb into the lowest part of the changing table...
and, one by one, empty every diaper! It's a game she plays daily (if her mom lets her). What a helper!

She's still scooting around on her belly, though she can now pull herself up into a regular crawl. She's also pulling herself up on everything, but she doesn't know how to get herself down (other to have Jacob knock her down).

We're feeling better!

A couple liters of pedialyte, a few nasty diapers (and out of diapers!), and some rough days later, Jacob and Claire are feeling quite a bit better. Jared gets daily updates at work about Jacob and Claire's diapers (which, of course, he loves). We're all glad to be getting past the latest bug!
Claire is learning a few new tricks. One of her favorites is to 'go Craaazy,' which typically involves shaking her head back and often getting her arms going. She loves the attention she gets when she goes crazy!
 

When Grandma and Grandpa Came

The first week of March Grandma and Granpa Streeter came to visit little kiddos. Jacob and Claire were so glad to see their Grandma and Grandpa and to get all of that extra attention. When they were here they got them an early birthday present. Here is a picture of Jacob trying it out (and Uncle Andrew in the background), he thinks he is such big stuff walking behind his new toy. Grandma and Claire had a great time. Claire loved Grandma's attention and Grandma taught Claire all about how to stack her new stacking cups.
Jacob thinks Grandpa is so funny. From the picture I guess I can see why.
Jacob and Claire miss Grandma and Grandpa. Mom just doesn't seem to have enough attention to go around (especially since they are still sick). 

Can't wait to get our happy babies back

Hello all! Sorry it has been so long since the last blog. It is tough since we don't really have a home computer. We currently have to very sick sad babies. Actually I think that Claire is pulling out of it, she seemed much better tonight, but still is only taking about 1/2 or 1/3 the bottle she usually takes. Our sweet babies have the stomach flu (again). Claire has been sick since Wednesday and Jacob since yesterday, but he just can't get the puking under control. Poor kids. Hopefully we can get him rehydrated with pedialyte again tomorrow. Here are some pictures from a couple of weeks ago (before the head colds that preceded the stomach flu).

Jacob loves to climb on us , especially when we have the camera, he thinks it is so fun to pull up on us and then stand on his own as long as possible. He is very daring. Claire loves to laugh, here she is cracking herself up.
Jacob pulling himself up on me again (having his tongue out seems to help with his concentration).
Claire cracking up again. When I am in the kitchen I can always hear her playing with herself in the play room and just laughing and laughing. Apparently she finds herself quite funny.
 

Ice Ice Baby

After a warm December and January, we had an icy (literally) February. The 'white death,' as it is often referred to on radio talk shows, was unleashed on the area on a Tuesday afternoon. I had stayed home, so I was happy to miss the potentially ugly commute. The power went out around 5:00 (ending my workday at home). We fed Jacob and Claire by candlelight and transferred our meatloaf onto the grill (we ran out of gas a few minutes later)
We ended up staying the night at my parents' home that night. The power was restored overnight, but the adventure wasn't done for us. The next night, we were hearing funny noises coming from the house, so I went outside to see if I could see what it was. I ended up smelling gas, so after a call to the gas company, we called our neighbors (at 12:30) and hung out there until 2:00 with Jacob and Claire sleeping on the floor. All this during the middle of my busy season when I am working close to 60 hours. The ice was sure beautiful to look at!
 

New tricks

So, Jacob has a cool new trick, he can pull himself up. Once he figured it out he was so excited and by the next day he pulled himself up on anything that was a couple of inches off the ground (including trying to pull himself up on Claire's head). He is so proud of himself every time he gets up he celebrates. I took all of the following pictures in one day and I missed a few things (like car seats) before he fell. He also is constantly being followed by his best buddy. If you look she is always right at his feet. Maybe she is taking lessons.
 

 

Personalities at birth

Notice in this picture two things about Jacob and Claire's personality that started young. Claire always has her hands up. She hates to have her hands held (unless you are playing a game). Normally, her arms are out, even if she is just hanging out. Notice also Jacob's tongue is out. Since birth, he and his tongue have put on quite a show! He went through a tongue-sucking phase, and whenever he is eating, his tongue is in constant motion. It's pretty funny!Also, Dani had out the outfits Claire and Jacob went home in from the hospital the other day. They were so tiny, and yet the were way too big for little Claire and Jacob.
It's amazing how they change! 

To Busy for Pictures

On Sunday we were trying to get pictures of Jacob and Claire in their matching outfits (thanks Amber) but they were just too busy, we couldn't snap fast enough with them sitting because Jacob needed to be crawling. We resorted to taking pictures of them crawling since everywhere one goes, so goes the other (which usually means Claire follows Jacob since he is faster).

She loves to smile for the camera (she still had some dinner on her face).

Look at those beautiful blue eyes!