My First Mother's Day

This past weekend, I celebrated my first Mother's Day! Last year, Mother's Day was very rough for me. It was the day after my baby shower (and I was still very swollen from being on my feet during the party), I was almost 32 weeks pregnant, and I was miserable! Of course, it was well worth it!

Our holiday weekend actually started on Friday, with my Dad's birthday (May 6th). He came over in the afternoon to play with the girls. While he was over, each baby took her FIRST STEPS (they went from my dad to me)!!!! I think it's pretty amazing that two babies who spent 12 days (Lily) and 17 days (Madi) in the NICU are doing so great! They really amaze me everyday. Madison is now walking all over the place. Lily will stand alone (without touching anything), and will walk alone occasionally. Both girls love to walk while pushing their Dora push car. I know that once Madison really starts to take off, Lily will be right behind her (it was like that with rolling over, crawling, pulling up, etc.). I think I'm in big trouble!!

On Mother's Day, I woke up to my husband bringing in both my babies to me. What a lovely sight in the morning! When we walked into the living room, I saw my presents from "the girls" (really, my adorable hubby). There was flowers, a card, and a necklace. I love the necklace! It has both the girls' initials and their birthstone (pearl). Lovely :-)

The best part, though, was spending the whole day with my girls! They have changed SO much in the last 11 months that I can't hardly believe it!! It's already time to start planning the big birthday party (yikes!). Let's just say that I have mixed emotions about that one! (tear...)

The day before Mother's Day 2010

Mother's Day 2011

Easter and April 2011

It's been another fun, first holiday at house, with Easter 2011! At the beginning of April, we took the girls to see the Easter Bunny...Madi liked it, but I think Lily was just ready to get away from that crazy rabbit! ;-)

Madi smiling and Lily waving!

April was also the month of our first trip to the park...I wanted to find a park with TWO baby swings, and that is harder than you think. There weren't any by our house, but there was one near my parents (the park I went to in my childhood!). The girls really enjoyed flying through the air!

  

Of course, we can't forget the big day...Easter! We had both of our families over after church for an Easter BBQ (a little non-traditional, but I'm not a bit fan of a ham dinner). We had a great time! The girls got lovely Easter presents, and of course, bunny ears from us! ;-)

 

I can't believe that these little ladies are going to be 1 in June...my babies are getting so big!!

We all had a lovely Easter, and are looking forward to a lovely Friday! :-)

Yummy Cupcakes!

As pathetic as it may sound, before yesterday, I had never baked cupcakes before. Full disclosure, I have only made brownies (and that was only twice). I have decided to try to be more crafty/mom-like (due to my new ETSY obsession!), though....so into the kitchen I went. Also, I better practice now, the girls' 1st Birthday is coming up, and momma has a lot of cupcakes to make!!


Take a look....

Batter ready to pour into the cupcake pan!

Baking away...

Fresh out of the oven!

With icing :-)

Ready to go! (P.S. See a picture of my ladies in the background)

I sampled one of these and they are...delicious! First try at cupcakes was a success :-)

Spring has Sprung @ the Hartig House!

I'm back!! Let's make a long story short, after much work we moved back to KS on 2/26! It was a cold, snowy day, but we made it. We've been working on unpacking since the move...it's been a slow process! Moving with two kids is a lot different than our previous moves.

I have been home for about 4 months, and I am very glad I made that decision. I don't know how long it will last, but I am enjoying every minute of it. Before, I felt like I was missing everything. Their babysitter got to see their first laugh, and I hated it. I know the girls won't remember that I was home with them, but I will (and I will always cherish it!).

Here's a look at two very cute 9 month old babies!!

I also got a picture of me and the little ladies (after my spray tan, I might add)...I know mom's know how it is, we're always the ones taking the pictures, so it was nice to be in one!

Like the title of my post, spring has sprung...sort of. We enjoyed the nice weather, but now it's cold and snowing! Here's a look at the ladies enjoying the nice weather!

 

 

We also went to lunch last weekend, and the girls sat in restaurant highchairs for the first time. Despite what the pictures might say, they really liked the new view!

Ready to go home ;-)

Tired of pics ;-)

I'm also starting to plan the girls' first birthday party....let's just say that it will look like "it's been hosed down with Pepto-Bismol!" (Can you name that movie?) If you have any suggestions, let me know :-)

P.S. I need help with my Blog! How do I get an awesome background, where my gadgets don't look weird??

Enjoy your Monday!

Christmas 2010

I guess I only seem to manage one blog per month...I've got to get better at this! ;-) As many of you know, I am not doing the work-from-home job. Before I started, it turned out that the company lied/mislead me about a lot of aspects of the job, hours, and pay. For right now, I'm a stay-at-home mom. Once we move, I'm going to try to get a part-time job, but it's hard to find one when you're going to be moving soon....

Speaking of moving: Nate, my dad, my father-in-law, brother, and brother-in-law are all hard at work on the house we will be renting. They are fixing the electrical, new garage door, new kitchen, new bathrooms, new paint colors...basically, they gutted the house and are redoing it all! It's a bit of a mess now, but the plan (and hope) is that we will be KS bound at the end of Feb. We're all so excited...KS here we come!

As far as Christmas 2010 goes, it was great...but very busy! On Christmas Eve we saw the Prather bunch...many of whom I hadn't seen in years!!

Here we are on X-Mas Eve (at my parent's house)

Christmas day was spent at the Hartig house. All of Nate's brothers (in addition to my SIL, Amy, and my nephew, Ben) were in town. It was nice to see everyone in one place!

At the end of the day, we were all exhausted! Here's a look at my ladies' first Christmas:






The girls are also started eating veggies and fruit in December. They love it all, except for green beans and peas (but, who can blame them...peas are kinda gross). We haven't moved onto meats yet, but I'm sure that's coming soon. Here the girls are in their highchairs. (We got the space saver ones for Christmas...it would be impossible to have two traditional highchairs...no space!)



I hope everyone had a great holiday!

Getting Ready for Santa Claus...

As we all get ready for Christmas, I can't help but be excited. This is the first Christmas with my little girls, and I can't wait to show them the magic of Christmas...It may sound corny, but I want my girls to believe in magic, love, and the goodness of people.

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas! And, before you get ready to celebrate, please read this letter that a little girl wrote in 1897, and part of the response she received....I think we should all believe in Santa! :-)

DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
-------------------

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished...

...No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

Thanksgiving and Dec. 2010 Recap

It's been a crazy few weeks for us, but that's nothing new! We had a great Thanksgiving with our families. We hosted the holiday dinner for the first time and it was a success...much less stressful than I had thought it would be ;-)

Take a look...






The girls have started going through the dreaded period of teething! Lily has her two bottom, front teeth peeking out from her gums. Madi's teeth aren't visible, but will be here soon. I can't believe it!!

Last Friday, the girls also celebrated their 6-month birthday. It's hard to imagine that my little babies are six months old...time really flies when you have kids!!

On Sunday, we got the girls' pictures taken at The Picture People...after spending a small fortune we walked out with some great pics. My girls could be baby models...they are just SO cute!!

I have really been slacking this year as far as Christmas goes. No shopping is done, no cards are sent, and very few decorations are up...I guess I will be busy with that this weekend!!