Summer

Ok, so it's been a really long time since I've posted. I will try to get you all caught up on what is going on with us. Carli, Jillian and I stayed home a lot this summer and enjoyed being outside. They "swam" in their little pool a lot and finally seemed to get used to the water. Since they were born, neither one of them have really enjoyed getting wet, so this was a big summer for them. In June, the girls were able to participate in Vacation Bible School for a week. They were pretty young to actually be involved in everything, but since I volunteered in one of the classes, they were able to attend the activities. They had a blast! It was awesome to see them so excited to go to bible school. In July, we were able to go to Mexico for a week with Matt's family and had a wonderful time. The girls loved swimming in the pools, but were pretty scared of the ocean and all of the loud noises the waves made. It's amazing to see things through a child's eyes. Those are the things we don't typically notice. At the end of July-beginning of August, we traveled to Minneola, KS to spend a weekend with my family. Everyone was able to be there and we enjoyed swimming in my parent's pool, relaxing, and getting to know my new nephew, Michael Jr. I just can't believe how cute he is! Gabrielle is so big that I forgot how fun it is to be an aunt to a newborn! It's a long trip to my parent's house with two little ones, but worth every second. We celebrated our 7 year anniversary at a family cabin in Glen Haven, CO and enjoyed our time together. The girls stayed with Nana and Papa Casseday for the weekend and had a fantastic time. They didn't even seem to care that we were back!

I started back to work full-time in September and it has been a huge blessing. Carli and Jillian are in pre pre-school at Kingdom Kids Academy here in Littleton. They are learning so much and love it there. It was really hard at first to put them in school after being home with them for 2 1/2 years, but it is so gratifying to know that your kids are safe and loved when you are at work. We enjoy our weekends as a family so much more now that both Matt and I are at work full-time.

Now we are ready for fall!

Photos of our summer are located here: http://www.picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/summer2010#

Easter

Carli at Easter

Jillian at Easter

We went to Greeley to celebrate Easter with the Casseday side and had a great time. The weather was perfect. We went to church with Matt's parents on Easter morning, then headed over to Matt's brother's house for lunch and an Easter egg hunt. The girls really enjoyed the egg hunt this year and were so fun to watch. Jillian is so particular with everything. She made sure the eggs stayed put together and no candy was falling out. Carli was excited about running around. They are so different!

Both of the girls are doing very well with potty training and we do not have a diaper in sight. We got rid of them completely a couple of weekends ago and it was such a relief! They look so cute in their little panties, even though they are a little big. :-) They are talking all of the time and some of the things they say are just amazing. They both do a nice job of saying please and thank you, so we are very happy about that, and every time we hear it, we are reminded that they can pretty much repeat anything we say now.

We hope you all had a blessed Easter!

Children's Museum

The girls got to go to the Children's Museum the other day with their friend Connor. Connor's mom, Lindsay, and I went Monday morning and it was perfect because it wasn't too busy. Carli was a little clingy and seemed to be sort of scared of everything, but she eventually warmed up to it. Jillian absolutely had a blast. She was such a big girl! She listened to me and stuck by me. I thought that with two toddlers going to such a hands-on place, one of them would run off, but they were very good. That place is awesome! It was our first time and we will definitely be going back when Matt can come too. Above is a picture of them playing in the "tree."

Link to more photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/ChildrenSMuseum#

Thanksgiving and Plans for Christmas

Hi everyone! We were able to drive to my parent's house in Kansas for Thanksgiving and stayed for 3 days. The girls did wonderful for the 6.5 hour trip one way. Thank God for a dvd player. We didn't know if it would make a difference because they have never sit still enough to enjoy television, but they were really into it! Whew!! What a livesaver. The girls had a great time with my niece Gabrielle and it was so nice for them to play together. Nana and Papa were a huge help as well. We got to sleep in a little each morning while my parents fed Cari and Jillian breakfast. It was so sweet to hear the girls giggling and having such a great time while we just layed in bed! Carli and Jillian started doing a little tumbling too while we were in Kansas.



We are now getting ready for Christmas in Greeley with Matt's family and are really looking forward to it. The girls should enjoy it more this year and may actually be interested in their gifts. Last year they were just excited about all of the wrapping paper as most 1 year olds are I'm sure. The girls love all of the pretty lights that we have up at our house and in all of the stores. They say, "Oooh, pretty!" They also like Santa, but we don't think they will sit on his lap. We have yet to try it this year. They can't really say Santa and insist that his name is, "Salsa". So cute!! Our neighbors have one of those inflatable Santas in their yard that seems to fall down everyday and the girls say, "Uh oh, Salsa fall." They are so worried about "Salsa" being hurt. It is too precious!

Here is a link to an updated album: http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/Winter2009#

Marathon Matt and Pumpkins!

Matt after the race. He didn't even look tired!

Matt ran a marathon a couple of weeks ago! He even did it with an injury. I was so proud of him. The amount of dedication that goes into running a race that long is incredible. He did great! I ran the final stretch with him...not really planning on it, but I was so proud of him that I wanted to get out there and give him that final "push." Matt's family came up to Denver to watch him run and provided a lot of support and he also had a couple of friends that road their bikes and cheered him on. They also gave him some Advil, which he was in desparate need of by the middle of the race. That was awesome! Here's the link to more pics of the marathon. Most of these were provided by Matt's brother, Bryan. Thanks Bryan! http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/MarathonMatt#


Happy Halloween! We carved a couple of pumpkins the other night. We wanted the girls to be a part of it, but they were pretty scared and I think we got started too late at night because they were pretty tired. Here are some pictures:


Jillian is not happy

Poor Carli. :-(

Matt carved the skull and I carved the bats.

More fall pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/Fall2009#

Big Update

I can't believe it's almost fall! The summer has really flown by. The girls are so big now and are an absolute blast. They take care of each other all of the time and are so helpful. We went to my grandma's house in Kansas for Labor Day weekend and Jillian was trying to climb up onto a chair. Carli went behind her and pushed her little bottom up to help her. It was so cute! They do little things like this all of the time. They hold hands, kiss and always get things for each other. When one is crying, the other either gets her blanket or rubs her back. It makes me want to cry sometimes because it is so sweet. Even when they are in a room with a lot of kids, they are always right next to each other. They are able to say all of these words: mommy, daddy, shoe, owie (this may not even be a word), sticker, cookie, doggie, ball, nannie or nonnie (what they call their blankets and not quite sure where this came from), eyes, ears, nose, mouth, toes, cracker, bye bye, hi, more, mine, bottle, night night, baby, sissy. Sissy is a big one because they say it all day, every day when they are trying to find their sister. Here are some videos:

Jillian on the left, Carli on right.

Carli Dancing to a Car's Radio Driving By

Also, here is a link to some photos. The new ones are towards the end of the folder: http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/Summer2009#

Zoo!

There were lots of fingerprints on the glass, so it was hard to get a good photo of this guy, but he was huge!

We went to the zoo over the July 4th weekend with my parents and man, was it a hot one! This was the girls' first time there. Jillian fell asleep halfway through the little excursion, but Carli got to see it all. She loved the little monkeys. Because it was such a busy day at the zoo, it was a little difficult to push the stroller up close to all of the exhibits, but we had a great time and it was nice to have the help from my parents.

We also got a little swimming pool for the girls to play in during the day. We didn't know how they would do since they both hate to get their hair washed in the bathtub and generally just don't like to get wet, but Jillian loves it. Carli doesn't quite know what to think yet. She doesn't like to be in the pool when Jillian is, so she just kind of goes in and out. We are going to a public pool today and I'll let you know how that goes!

Matt also got a video of Carli using a regular fork. When I saw the video I was worried that she was going to poke herself in the eye, but I guess he was watching her. Scary stuff though!

Here's some more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/Summer2009#

Aloha!

We just got back from a week in Hawaii and had an amazing, relaxing time. We decided that if it weren't for family living on the mainland, we would move there. The girls stayed in Greeley with nana and papa Casseday this time, so we could have a stress-free vacation. Thank God for them!! We were tempted to call nana and papa and ask them to just ship the girls to us because we were staying! :-) We missed the girls a lot, but we had a wonderful time alone. We actually enjoyed some quiet meals together! We stayed on the island of Oahu and were able to do quite a few things. We had a rental car for three days, so we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, hiking at Diamond Head, drove up the coast to several beaches, visited Matt's old college (University of Hawaii), went to a luau, and much more. Our resort was so nice and had so many fun things to do. Matt went sufing on Waikiki a couple of times and went scuba diving once. He's scuba certified, but i'm not and don't plan on it. I'm terrified of that pressure on my ears and I don't really like big fish. They could swallow me whole! The Hawaiian shaved ice is sooo good! They put ice cream at the bottom. We also enjoyed some chicken katsu a couple of times with their "plate lunch" which consists of some sort of meat, rice and macaroni salad. It was so delicious! We had a lot of "favorites" when we were on the island, but dining at Duke's Restaurant right on the beach was definitely at the top of our list. Here's a link to our photos and make sure you read the captions:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/HawaiiVacationSummer2009#

Can Two People Be On the Toilet At the Same Time?

Carli on left, Jillian on right
Jillian on left, Carli on right

The other day, it was so quiet for way too long in our household, so I went to check on the girls and found them both on the toilet. They were standing on the top of the lid! They are little monkeys. This is now one of their favorite things to do, along with climbing up and down on the bay window and going in and out of the patio door. They also LOVE to draw and carry a piece of paper and pen everywhere. They went from coloring books and crayons a couple of weeks ago to plain paper and pens. Carli especially loves the marks the pens leave on her little body, so I think we'll have to go back to crayons. :-)

Carli had pink eye last week, but it wasn't too bad at all and cleared up the next day. Then Jillian got it and hers went from one eye to the other. We have prescription eye drops, but it seems to be viral since Carli's went away so fast and Jillian's is on its way out too. As a result of the pink eye, Carli got ANOTHER ear infection. Poor girl! Matt and I just hope that we don't get pink eye for our Hawaii vacation...beginning this Friday! We will update you when we return. Have a wonderful couple of weeks.

For more pics, including a few of Jillian's pink eye, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/Summer2009#

Turkeys and Chickens and Goats, Oh My!

We took the girls to Belleview Park here in Denver Saturday because we heard that they have a barn area where kids can actually get up close and personal with the animals and we had a blast! The girls got to see turkeys, chickens, a miniature horse, a pig, bunnies, birds, sheep and goats. It was so much fun since they are walking now. Jillian went right up to the animals, but Carli was more interested in playing with the dirt! We took video of Jillian next to the turkey that had to have weighed a lot more than her. That girl has no fear! Jillian and Carli both had so much fun that they didn't want to leave and started "running" back to the barn. So cute!



To see more pictures of our day at the petting zoo, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/PettingZoo#

Carli is a Walker!

Carli started walking last week! She definitely took her time with this little milestone, but we got to really enjoy her time crawling. She is so funny when she walks because she has to have the widest base possible. Jillian doesn't quite understand that Carli is still pretty unbalanced and walks around her all of the time. Carli gets nervous and sits down, but gets right back up and starts over. It is so neat to see them both walking! They are so little that it doesn't seem like they should be able to walk, but they're sure doing it! I'm going to be one busy mom.

Matt ran a half marathon a couple weeks ago and I was able to go watch him while Matt's parents watched the girls. He did great and would like to train for a full marathon now. We got a double jogger stroller for him to take the girls with him every once in a while on his runs since he is gone for so long. The girls love to be outside, so they shouldn't mind. I will be able to get some work done around the house too.


Matt and me after his half marathon

Spring!

We have had a great time so far this Spring with the girls. They love to be outside and get so upset when it is time to go back inside. Matt and I were able to get a little yard work done this past weekend and the girls played on the patio and the grass. Carli climbs up onto things, but hasn't figured out walking yet. She's our little monkey. Jillian has mastered walking and hardly ever crawls. Carli "talks" all day, every day, especially when we go on walks. Jillian's hair is really growing and we are growing out her bangs, so I have to put little rubber bands in her hair to keep her bangs out of her eyes. I have tried using barrettes, but since she has a sister who is very interested in them, we have to use rubber bands instead. She still looks really cute. We go to the gym every week day after breakfast. The girls in the child care center love the girls and the girls love them, so it is a nice break for me. When the girls can walk really well, it will be much easier because I won't have to take the stroller in, but for now, I take their stroller in with me and hope that someone can help hold the doors. :-) I am still working a couple of hours a day from home and love it. I am able to go into the office for a full day every once in a while and am thankful for that as well. Matt is still very busy at work and is able to help with the girls on his Fridays that he has off. We are really looking forward to a vacation to Hawaii in June. The girls will stay home with their Nana and Papa, so we will miss them a lot!

Guess They're Too Big For These

The girls have started climbing on their toys lately instead of pushing the buttons. Carli started it because she is a little monkey and Jillian now does it. They can also climb off of the couch the right way--by turning around and slowly sliding off with their bellies on the couch. They can't quite get up onto the couch on their own yet, but they know how to get off. Jillian is just cruisin' around by walking now and Carli doesn't seem interested yet. It's so cute to see Jillian walking though. She just seems too small to walk, but she does great! Every time we go to the store now Carli says, "Ball!" We always give her a little ball to hold when we are shopping because it distracts her and now she expects us to buy her one every time. Jillian is usually pretty content with just being in the stroller and looking around, but not our ornery Carli. She wants to get into everything.

Cleaning Ladies

Yesterday I was cleaning the floors and I noticed that the girls were "cleaning" the floors with their little blankets. It was so cute, so I gave them both some wet cloths and they went to town cleaning everything in sight! I am so excited that I will have two little helpers when they are older! I'm sure they won't enjoy it as much then, but at least I have this video to show them that back in the day, they actually did help mom with no complaints. :-)

Walking!

Jillian walked all over the place the other day and seems to be much more comfortable with the whole walking concept now. Carli stands all of the time, but doesn't take many steps yet. She is so small that I think it might make her look really fragile if she walked right now anyway. We got a lot of snow the other day and hopefully, that will be it for this winter. We are so ready for the nice weather. I am really excited to take the girls for our daily walks again! I was able to take them for a few walks before it started snowing last week and they were like different babies than they were this time last year. They made so many noises when they saw squirrels and ducks. It was so cute.

Carli is definitely going to be our ornery one. She doesn't seem to understand the word "no" at all. Every time she gets into something she isn't supposed to, we tell her "no" and take her away from the area, but then she goes right back to it and smiles. She is such a stinker!

They both are getting a lot more hair. We try to put a barrette in Jillian's hair to keep her bangs from getting in her eyes, but if she doesn't take it out within 30 seconds, Carli takes it out for her.

They are also learning to share their toys and give each other kisses. It is so precious. They have been giving other people kisses for a while now, but just started to kiss each other. I am hoping to have my camera the next time they do it because it is so sweet.

Here is a link to Jillian walking:

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit2?ns=1&video_id=pdURtBuBDKM&next=%2Fmy_videos2%3Fpi%3D0%26ps%3D20%26sf%3Dadded%26sa%3D0%26sq%3D%26dm%3D1

It's Been Too Long

Since I posted last, we have all been sick with colds, I went to Las Vegas with a friend, my sister and her family came to visit, another round of colds hit our household and Jillian took her first steps by herself. I had a great time in Vegas and it was nice to get a little break. I missed the girls a lot, but surprisingly, I did okay without them. I brought back onesies for them that say, "Potty Like a Rockstar-Las Vegas" and they look really cute in them. When my sister was here, we were able to relax quite a bit with our 4 year-old niece Gabrielle and for one of our little outings, we went to the park. The girls went on the swings for the first time and weren't very happy about it. It was also a chilly day, even though the sun was shining, so we decided to cut our park time short. Jillian walked by herself today and was very excited about it. We were too, but it was bittersweet because it just means that she is getting so much older. What a huge milestone it is!

So many new things

The girls both blow kisses now and give high fives! We also have this sesame street book that has buttons to push that make noise and one of the buttons says, "Oh brother!" Carli says "Brother" now. It is so cute. Yesterday, I said, "Jillian, where's sissy" and she pointed at Carli and said, "Sissy!" I couldn't believe it. They are learning so fast!

What a Mess

The other day I needed something in the back of the pantry, so I set some of the things on the floor to get to the back and within seconds, I looked back and the girls had dumped out all of the oatmeal and had made a mess! They were loving it. I, however, was not too thrilled. Does Carli look guilty, or what!

1 Year Pictures

We got 1 year pictures taken of the girls and our little family. It is so difficult to have two babies that have to be looking at the camera at the same time. When one was happy, the other one was upset, but we got through it and are so happy with how they turned out. Above is one of them and the rest are located here: http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/1YearPictures#

12 Month Checkup

The girls had their 1 year checkup this past Friday and well, let's just say that if we used a bag of trail mix as an example, they are definitely not the cashews or the almonds in the bag, but rather, the peanuts. Man are they tiny! Here are their stats:

Jillian

• 19 pounds, 10.3 ounces
• 29 1/2 inches tall

Carli

• 17 pounds, 9.5 ounces
• 28 3/4 inches tall
  

They got 4 vaccinations and, as usual, they acted like they didn't even get them. They are tough little cookies, thank God! I think if they both ran fevers and had a rough time after their shots, I might go a little crazy.

They eat pretty much everything we eat now and stay hydrated by drinking whole milk and juice and the best part--no more bottle! They have gotten used to their sippy cups and suprisingly, it only took a few days for them to realize that their milk was coming from a cup and no longer the bottle. We started giving them juice in their cups a few months ago, so that made the transition a little smoother.

Carli said "ball" the other day and "car". Oh, and the other day, out of nowhere, Jillian said her name! I think that if Matt hadn't been here when it happened, he wouldn't have believed me. They continue to say "uh-oh" every time something drops and drop things on purpose so that they can say it. They both do little squats, clap their hands and squeal when they hear music. It's so cute! They know which buttons to push on their toys to get the music to play and they want to see our reaction to their little dance.

They both cruise around the house with dish towels on their heads playing "peek-a-boo" and already seem to be scheming against me as to which one of them can get the most bruises on their foreheads these days as they are learning how to walk.

Each day is more fun than the day before.

Here is a link to more recent pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mkcasseday/JustSomeFunPics#