2010 - What another great year!

First of all, I am surprised that it is 2011 already. This last year went by far too quickly and our chubby little babies turned into lean happy toddlers. We love seeing both of their little personalities grow and most of all we love all the smiles, hugs, and kisses they give us everyday! In this last year, the girls have grown out of their prematurity and have caught up in development to their peers. We are so proud of our girls and we encourage them to grow and learn more every day.

I want to say congrats to my online friends who got pregnant or had babies in 2010 after years of infertility. We are looking forward to some 2011 babies as well! Congrats girls! Motherhood is one of the best gifts from God and I try to celebrate and remember that every day....even when the girls wake me up at 4am on my days off of work. :)

January

In January Riley got her first tooth and Addison decided to work on her teeth on her own time. These girls are so similar sometimes but so very different other times.

As the girls got bigger and more mobile, we took them to the mall to visit with their 2nd cousins, great-aunts, and great grandma Jean. This was a tradition to do almost every Friday afternoon since I worked half days on Friday. The girls loved interacting with all the other kids and the family. We will have to start going back to mall here soon, especially now that the girls love to go and play.

Addison started showing signs of crawling as she began getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth. She was taking the lead as the older sister.

February

In February the girls personalities really started to show. They were laughing, saying "Dada", and learning to play patty cake all the time. They also began to sit up by themselves and preferred to play sitting up.

The girls graduated out of their baby baths in the sink into the big tub where they could take a bath together using bath rings. They loved taking baths together and the extra time they could play. Mommy and daddy also liked it because it made bath time so much easier.

The girls also celebrated their 1st Valentine's Day by getting balloons, cards, and toys from the family. They had so much fun eating their cards and playing with the toys.

March

In March the girls made us laugh so much. They had this "scrunchy face" they made and we took several videos and pictures. Riley was famous for doing that face and we died laughing every time she did it. Even now Riley makes us laugh with her many different faces.

In the middle of the month we traveled by plane out to Forth Worth TX to meet with my friend Trinity and her family. Trinity and I met on an online message board for women trying to conceive. We went through all the trials of infertility together and ended up getting pregnant within a month of each other. Of course the girls came early and I had them 5 days before she had her sweet daughter Penny. After all the time of talking on the phone and internet we finally met. We had a blast in TX and we also got to meet up with one of our other online friends Jenny. The girls did great on the plane rides both ways and the trip was a big success.

On March 18th Jesse and I celebrated our 4th Wedding Anniversary! And finally the girls started saying mama!

April

In April the girls celebrated their 1st Easter. They had pictures with the Easter Bunny and they screamed all the way through. They enjoyed getting their Easter baskets and playing with all the eggs.

We took the girls to celebrate in the March of Dimes walk for premature babies. This cause is near and dear to our hearts and we plan to participate every year to help raise money for more research and help for premature babies.

On the 26th the girls celebrated their 1st Birthday Party. The 1st birthday bash was a big success. So many family and friends came to celebrate with us and the girls made out like bandits with all the gifts! Just one day shy of a year Addison popped her 1st tooth. She really does things on her own time. We love how similar and different our girls are.

At one year, the girls were weighing in at 18 pounds each!

May

In May we went on our 1st big family vacation to San Diego. Growing up, our family traveled to the Southern California area to vacation with the Haasis family. It was time to take the girls and start some of our own family traditions vacationing in San Diego. The girls were great travelers and they enjoyed staying in the condo and visiting the ocean.

At this time mommy was still pumping milk for the girls too!

June

In June we were waiting for the girls to learn to walk. They were cruising furniture like pros but they were slow to start walking on their own. We got them involved in physical therapy to help them learn the skills to begin walking.

We spent time out in the pool to cool off from the Phoenix heat. Riley loved the pool but Addison was not too fond of the cool water. I think she preferred bath water temperature.

The girls practiced hard and started standing unassisted by the end of June. Walking was just around the corner.

July

In July we celebrated the 4th of July by having a yummy BBQ with family. The girls were still going to bed to early to see the fireworks but we had fun just the same.

On July 5th Riley took her first steps and we were so proud. We thought Addison might be the first to walk since she was the first to crawl but Riley found a way to show off and do it first.

On July 23rd Addison took her first steps! In July we finally had two walkers. What a great month!

At 15 months the girls were weighing in at about 20lbs and mommy decided it was time to stop pumping.

August

In August we had a quiet month at home. We spent time visiting with family, working on walking skills, and staying cool. We prepared for the girls 1st visit to Disneyland.

September

In September we took the girls to Disneyland. Daddy was busy at work so the girls and I traveled to Disneyland with my parents and Sara. We all had a blast and the girls had so much fun playing in Goofy's Garden and seeing all the Characters!!!

Mommy celebrated her 29th Birthday...just one more year of her 20's left!

In September we decided we needed more room and so we put our house on the market

October

In October we got the house ready to sell the best we could while living with messy twin girls. We packed hoped that the house would sell quickly.

The girls had fun actually going Trick Or' Treating on Halloween. They went to a few houses and showed off their cute costumes. They also went to the NICU Halloween reunion party where we visited with other parents of preemie babies. It is amazing to know how far the girls have come in 18 months.

November

In November our house sold and we moved into our big 4 bedroom 3bath 2600 square foot home in Laveen. The girls love their new house and mommy and daddy love all the extra space. We like our new area as it is a little further out and things are less busy out here. We even have dairy farms just right down the road.

Jesse got a new job at Grand Canyon University after losing his job as a teacher. He seems to be happier and has new career goals in mind.

We celebrated Thanksgiving in our new house by hosting the family dinner. Nana Linda cooked most of the meal since we were just in the house a few days. Aunt Sara made some yummy food as well. We enjoyed entertaining in the new house and spending time with family.

At just over 18 months, the girls were weighing in at just over 23 pounds.

December

As the last month in 2010 we enjoyed it to the fullest. We took a 2nd trip back to Disneyland and the girls were able to walk around and enjoy things a little more at a couple of months older. They traveled well and had fun in the park. We learned that Riley hates most rides and Addison is our dare devil and loves to ride on anything.

We celebrated a wonderful Christmas and made new traditions. The girls loved seeing all the Christmas lights and all the Santa's out everywhere we went.

At this point their vocabulary is growing every day. They repeat things we say and are putting two work sentences together often. They are still about 23 pounds each because they are busy toddlers and eating is not always at the top of their list. We love how far they have come and we are looking forward to another great year.

Happy New Year!!!