Picture Fest

Some pictures from the last couple weeks...I've been so busy running after the girls, that I haven't had time to post. They are EVERYWHERE! My daughters are on the move. I'm not sure if they ever hold still. They even sit-up and stand in their cribs. But, we are having SO much fun. They laugh and smile all the time. Their personalities are really blooming. They won't be babies much longer. Sigh.



Lily and Elsa in their birthday-girl party dresses.



Our family on a hike overlooking Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe. (E, L)


On a bridge over a waterfall. The girls like their backpacks.



Elsa and her first dolly.



Lily and Elsa inspect Grandma's earrings.


Lily checks out one the refurbished carebears from the McLaughlin/Angyus clan. My Grandma N made these bears for Meggan and Sara over 20 years ago. They have been much-loved. The McLaughlin girls and Grandma A fixed them up for Lily and Elsa for their first birthday. What a cool present! They even stitched Lily and Elsa's names on the paws.



Lily eats(?) her pasta. The girls now insist on feeding themselves. Jar food is for babies! My kitchen floor is a lost cause.



Lily and Elsa in their new sandbox from Mommy and Daddy. Elsa still thinks sand is tasty.


They spend hours plotting escape attempts and trying to find the cat. (E,L)



They can also get up stairs with no problem.



Playing with their toys. Lily, especially, spends almost all her time standing. If we set her down, she will pull up on something. Elsa likes to go on crawling explorations. This gets us into interesting situations where Elsa will try to crawl between Lily's legs. Chaos!



Elsa on the phone with Grandma.

Let them eat cake!

Lily and Elsa embrace their first taste of sugar.

Thank you to everyone for remembering their birthday! We've received so many packages, cards and well-wishes. Today, we received an extra-special package from the McLaughlin clan. I'll post some pictures soon.

The girls had a wonderful celebration. Both sets of grandparents flew out for a week at scenic Lake Tahoe. We had a fun week of hiking, bike riding and relaxing by the Lake.

Grandma and Grandpa Panning are staying with us this week while Mark is away at a conference. The girls are enjoying the singleton lifestyle with lots of extra attention.

Happy First Birthday

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Blue's on strike

Since the babies have become mobile, our cat has decided to head for the hills. (or as close as she can get in our 5-room flat.


She has taken residence in a crystal bowl sitting in our kitchen greenhouse window. She's been living up there for the past month.


She usually only comes down after the babies have gone to bed. Poor Blue has had a tough time adjusting to the babies. Blue was our only child for 5 long and very spoiled years.



Occasionally, she's brave and finds other places where the babies cannot reach her. This morning she was feeling bold and perched high above the sea of babies and baby toys.



If she gets to ground level, the babies chase after her. The babies think Blue is the most interesting thing in the house. She even distracts them from destroying Mommy's freshly folded laundry. *Note* my girls do not crawl AROUND each other. They crawl OVER each other. Here is Elsa going right over Lily's rear end.