A Day to Remember

Days like today make me appreciate every other day; or shall I say, any other day. I just hope their crankiness can be chalked up to something I ate that didn’t agree with them, rather than an enduring personality shift. On days like this, it helps to count my blessings and remember all the girls’ endearing quirks. They do so many adorable things, and although I know it’s inevitable with time, I dread forgetting all the details of these early months. So I thought I’d jot down a few darling behaviors that came to mind:

How Susie’s pout looks like a perfect upside-down U, and how she sometimes alternates pouts with smiles, like a little kid who’s trying desperately to maintain a bad mood

How when Becky makes eye contact with you, she stares intently and rarely blinks, as if she’s memorizing your every feature

How Susie growls and sticks both hands straight out in little fists like she’s going to punch you (or like she’s going to start a motorcycle)

How Becky makes a disgusted and annoyed face when I’m trying to give her vitamins

How Susie sometimes falls asleep with her hands suspended in mid-air, fingers splayed

How Becky sometimes tries to hit high notes when she’s talking, but instead her mouth moves and no sound comes out until she gets back to her lower register

How Susie, when she’s sleepy, buries her face into my neck after she finishes eating

How Becky tilts her head back, closes her eyes halfway and parts her lips when she’s preparing to talk

How Susie ever so gently touches the back of her head while she’s eating or sucking her thumb, as if she’s ensuring that her few remaining wisps of hair are still there

How Becky closes her eyes and makes contented sighs while eating

I’m sure I’ll think of many more, but their recent irritable moods are clouding my judgment. Right now, the most wonderful thing I can think of is deep sleep – theirs and mine!

Like Father, Like Daughter

Not only did Susanna inherit her father’s good looks, we now know that she also inherited his love of music and technology. Tonight, she was mesmerized by his “Boom Bucket,” which is a portable speaker system for his IPod. Jim was all too happy to indulge her fascination!

Susie also inherited her dad’s love of relaxation!

Daddy Duty

Jim was kind (and brave) enough to watch the girls last night while I went to my office holiday party. I had such a wonderful time catching up with my co-workers. It’s been seven months since I last worked with them, and I missed everyone so much! It was a treat to be able to relax with good friends while knowing the girls were with their beloved daddy. Jim did a great job keeping the girls entertained. I had expected to be greeted by tear-filled cries upon my return – from both the girls and Jim – but instead, I encountered a household with three serene individuals. In fact, Jim discovered that the girls are enthralled with a “jumperoo” recently given to us by a friend. Susanna was apparently perfectly content to hang out and observe her surroundings for much of the evening, even though she could barely see over the rim of the seat. Jim didn’t even call for back-up; his Dad was given strict orders to promptly come over if Jim sent up distress flares (his Mom was with me at the party, since we work together), but Jim never needed any reinforcements.

Jim snapped these photos of the girls during their evening together. Susanna is on the left, and Rebecca is on the right. You can see that they didn’t miss their mom one bit – and their mom couldn’t have been happier!

The girls were looking especially photogenic today, so I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures while we were lounging around the Christmas tree together. Rebecca is on the left, Susanna on the right.

Nighttime Duties

Well, I don’t think Jim is quite as enamored with the winter snow as he was a mere few hours ago.  I was up feeding the girls around 4 a.m., and noticed that it was very chilly in the house.  After I was done, I tried to adjust the thermostat, and wasn’t noticing any difference.  So I wake up Jim, and he concludes that the power vent must be blocked by drifted snow.  So the poor guy trudges outside in 14 degree weather to shovel out from around the vent.  Fortunately, that seems to have done the trick, and the house is slowly warming up.  I guess both Jim and I had to sacrifice sleep for the good of the family tonight…and boy, am I glad I wasn’t the one outside! 

Let It Snow

There’s just something magical about snow (when I don’t have to drive in it). Everything just seems softer, calmer, as if life is standing still for a few quiet moments. Freshly fallen snow is especially enchanting, giving everything a sense of purity. It brings to mind the words of the Lord, spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18). When we accept the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ for our sins, He washes us white as snow. No matter how dark our stains, we can be clean. The snow outside my window once again reminds me of how thankful I am for salvation.

The girls don’t seem quite as impressed by the winter wonderland as we are. But I think they are in awe of their dad’s snow removal prowess. He would come in from plowing in the freezing temperatures, his raw face peeking out from a ski mask, and the girls’ eyes would widen with amazement. Jim was able to take some time off from scraping snow off the driveway to help decorate the tree. Rebecca also put in her two cents – here’s a picture of her advising her dad on where to place the tree lights:

The snow also enhanced a form of winter fun besides Jim’s love of plowing vehicles – hot tubbing! Jim’s parents came over and enjoyed the snowy outdoors while submersed in 104 degree waters. That’s my kind of outdoor recreation!

Heads Up


(Rebecca’s outfit has the light pink flowers on it, for anyone keeping track!)

Traveling Twins

The Christmas season has certainly put a dent in my blogging frequency. At least I have a good excuse: we have been busy traveling to far-off lands – a.k.a. California! We spent a wonderful week with my family there, and now that we’re back home, it feels as if the whole trip was an exquisite dream from which I awoke far too soon.

Much to our delight, the girls traveled like seasoned pros. I know many of you were on the receiving end of my near-frantic requests for prayer prior to the trip. Thankfully, your prayers were mercifully answered, and the girls behaved like angels. It also helped that the Delta gate agents and flight attendants went to great lengths to accomodate our family. On all four legs of the flights (we had a layover each direction), we had at least one spare seat beside us on which to lay a sleeping child or two. I had worried that our fellow passengers would view our presence with a mix of dread and loathing, but my worst fears were avoided. No cheers of relief greeted our departure off each plane – in fact, we had several people congratulate the girls on how well they traveled.
Jim dubbed our time in California more of a "tour" than a vacation – and indeed, at times I did wonder if I had unwittingly given birth to miniature rock stars, given the crowds of adoring fans we received at get-togethers. I was very flattered by the attention paid to our girls (and very thankful for all the folks that were were willing to hold them for a while!). The girls handled the attention as if they had expected as much – they often fell soundly asleep while they were being admired. At least they were quiet!
Another indication that the girls took well to traveling and touring was that their normal eight hours of nightly sleep suddenly leapt into the realm of the too-good-to-be-true: they started sleeping 11-12 hours at night! My mom is convinced that their extended sleep pattern is an unequivocal indicator that the girls are Californians at heart. While I can’t discount that California is in their blood, I tend to think the girls were simply exhausted by the constant socializing. Perhaps they take after their mom – we are all tuckered out by talking so much!
We celebrated an early Christmas with my family, and this will definitely be a holiday to remember. We were blessed that my grandparents from Washington were able to fly down to celebrate with us and meet the girls. It was amazing and wonderful to have four generations under one roof!
My aunt and uncle drove in to spend time with us (and the girls, of course!). This was the first time my Uncle Bruce had seen them, and I think it was a mutual case of love at first sight.
My Gramma also met the girls for the first time. She has been my most devoted blog reader, so it was a thrill to be able to show her the real thing! Gramma brought out a bunch of pictures of me as an infant, and we concluded that although both girls definitely resemble Jim’s side of the family, Rebecca looks quite a bit like my baby pictures. Gramma even found a handmade cat family that my sister and I had played with as children, and I thought it was marvelously apropos that the mommy cat had two baby kittens attached with velcro! (Now if only I could figure out a way to velcro the girls onto my clothes…that would definitely free up my hands!).
The most unintentionally memorable aspect of this Christmas, however, was a project that my dad started. The simple purchase of a flat-screen TV necessitated a place to hang it. Dad decided the perfect spot would be in his "man room," formerly known as our family room (my dad christened it as such once he realized that my mom was consistently nixing his decorating ideas, and he seized one room in our house for his own in an unprecedented coup that created shock waves still reverberating within the Cole family). Of course, the TV was slightly too large to fit in between the stone columns of the fireplace, so dad enlisted the help of my granddad and my husband to alternatingly saw/chisel/pound/excavate the offending stone away. Their construction efforts resulted in massive amounts of dust that soon blanketed the household. Although I’m sure Dad tried to convince Mom that he was simply creating a white Christmas within our walls, it wasn’t exactly what Mom had in mind. However, Dad was determined, and after many hours of amateur masonry work, vacuum wielding, and heavy-object lifting, the TV was finally in place. And to all of our surprise (well, except Dad – he has an eye for these things), it looked great!
We had a very merry early Christmas, and the girls even got their own stockings. My grandmother had knit each of her children and grandchildren a large stocking personalized with their name and year of birth, and after my grandmother passed away, my aunt Christie took it upon herself to find the pattern and knit stockings for the next generation. It’s a wonderful way to honor Grandmother’s memory and continue the tradition. This year, the girls could almost fit inside their stockings!
A grand time was had by all. The girls had a ball with their Aunt Angie – I think Susanna inherited her infectious smile!
My Dad bonded with his granddaughters, and also kept them entertained by wowing them with his new Nintendo Wii.
My mom was able to snuggle and cuddle with the girls to her heart’s content (although I think her heart would have been content with much, much more!).
Saying goodbye was tough, but we’re praying that we will all be together again soon. We’re thankful for airplanes (oh, I can’t even imagine doing the 3,000 mile trip by car!), and especially for girls who travel so well – at least for now!

Learning Styles

You’ve heard of hands-on learning…well, Rebecca has more of a mouth-on learning style. She’s enjoying a “Taggie” book from her Aunt Julie.
Looks like Becky’s attitude is starting early. This is her “Can’t you see I’m busy?” face!

Blue Jean Babies

The girls have now officially worn their first pairs of blue jeans. They looked so old! In fact, I was so impressed with their maturity, I propped them up in their little chairs so they could have a grown-up conversation. Don’t they look like little bald old men? I started humming Simon and Garfunkel’s song…”Old friends, sat on their park bench like book ends…”

I’m happy to think the girls are already old friends. This morning, I had them both propped up on my knees and they started smiling and cooing at one another. Rebecca was so fascinated by Susanna that she reached out and started petting her sister’s face. Susie didn’t mind one bit; she just smiled and blinked when Becky repeatedly poked her in the eye. They had a blast!
Rebecca is in the yellow chair and Susanna is in the purple chair

Pretty in Pink