We like to smile!!!

Jack & Maggie love to smile now! This past weekend they met Angela, Corey, Christina and Kyle. It was great getting to introduce the babies to more family. Monday our good friends Sarah and Chris stopped by to meet the babies. They gave them books for Christmas and had a nice visit. They are expecting their first baby in March! :)

This morning we got dressed up to head to Grandma & Grandma's house, later tonight they will be meeting Aunt Katie & Aunt Patty.

Maggie & Angela


Jack & Christina


Maggie in her new dress


Jack in his new overalls...notice his sister passed out next to him while he was getting changed

A Very Merry Christmas 2009

Jack and Maggie's first Christmas is over, and it was a great Christmas! We are so fortunate to have two healthy, happy babies at home with us this holiday season! The babies were quite spoiled, with tons of clothes, toys and books. Brian and I did pretty good this year too. We spent Christmas Eve with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Dan and Aunt Anne-Marie. We opened presents together this morning, just the 4 of us. Then we spent the rest of the day again with the grandparents, aunt and uncle. Tomorrow the babies will meet our cousins, and even more exciting Brian is home through Monday, so he gets to spend tons of time with the kiddos.

Maggie & Mommy


Jack & Uncle Dan


Christmas Eve presents


Maggie was more interested in munching on her present than seeing what was inside


Family tradition, Christmas pajamas!


While the kids were all snug in their beds...




Santa came!






Merry Christmas!


Presents!




Jumperoo!




In their Christmas best


Maggie & Mommy


Maggie checking out her new toy


They crashed after all the presents and a bottle


Then they awoke for more fun!






To all of our family and friends, we wish you a very Merry Christmas! We are so blessed this year with our two miracles, and we are also grateful for the wonderful people we have in our lives that have helped make this year one we will always remember!
Happy Holidays from the Kellers!

Thank you Grandma Russell for our buntings!

Jack thought the snow was pretty interesting while Maggie was more interested in figuring out where her hands had disappeared to.

5 Months Old!

Today the babies are 5 months old! Where has the time gone?

Little lady Maggie is 21" long and 10lbs 10oz. She is starting to show her very unique personality more and more, especially when she "talks" to us. She loves to babble in the morning and when her Daddy comes home she gets super excited to see him. She has quite the fiery temper, man when she gets mad she gets super angry! The big question we had for the doctor was a confirmation of a tooth. Well...she is NOT teething. She did have one of her crazy meltdowns while we were at the doctor's office and the doctor said it is, what else, colic! Apparently colic gets worse before it gets better, so I hope we are heading toward being done with her. Maggie still doesn't love tummy time, but is learning to tolerate it at different times of the day. She loves to bounce, which makes me excited for her Christmas present, a jumperoo. When she isn't bouncing or trying to stand, she loves to simply lie on the floor and kick her legs all around. She smiles all the time, sometimes for no apparent reason and sleeps like an angel.

Big man Jack is just over 21" long and 12lbs 7oz. He is a snuggle bug, and will smile and laugh forever! When he wakes up in the morning he will have bright happy eyes and a huge smile on his face. Then he will roll with laughter just at our voices. I love it! We never thought it would be possible, but when he gets mad...wow, he gets mad too! He is still struggling with the nighttime fussy, but we are learning to manage. Bed time is sometimes a challenge as he loves his pacifier to fall asleep with now, and when he wakes hungry in the middle of the night he is starving and wants to eat RIGHT then! He loves tummy time, his fists to gnaw on and any soft toy. He will sit in the (pretty pink) bouncer on the kitchen island and watch me make breakfast, formula, bottles or whatever else I'm doing.

Both babies are starting to recognize each other, which is fun. They are also starting to play with toys, especially learning to pull them into their mouths. Right now they just love lying in the middle of the floor and kicking away, staring at whoever is looking below at them. We watched a "Baby Einstein" DVD with them the other night as an attempt to avoid the nighttime struggle, and it seemed to work. Maggie wasn't nearly as interested as Jack. He really sat in my lap and seemed to watch for a good 15 minutes. I think we are going to start putting that in with our nighttime routine of a bath and night bottle, to try to help ease them into a happy bedtime.

It's amazing these little guys are already 5 months old. It feels like just yesterday that they were both home with us. I can't wait to see what they do next.

5 Months Old


Helping Mommy make weekend breakfast


Tummy time!


Sister you are SO funny trying to shove your whole hand in your mouth!


Babies' first ornament...we actually found a boy/girl twin ornament!

A tooth, seriously?!

Someone once told me "God doesn't give you more than you can handle." And while I'm not an overly religious person, I do believe in God. So today I'm relying that He knows what He is doing. Today was a good day, but the night was hard. The babies slept well, woke up happy and tolerated their baths, bottles, play time, tummy time and naps very well all day long. Then that bewitching hour hit and they both got fussy. So we each took a baby and settled in for some standing and bouncing to keep them calm. Jack was his normal fussy self, easily calmed. Maggie...another story. A few days ago Charlotte thought she saw a tooth coming in and figured it explained her fussy nights including drooling (she's been really blowing spit bubbles lately), munching on her hand and pacifier, refusing bottles and restlessness. I was in doubt, but tonight...I really think she may be right! Seriously, Maggie might be teething?! Tonight she refused a bottle, pacifier, couldn't be soothed at all. Finally I laid her under her mobile, in hopes it would help her calm down. In a last ditch effort I put my finger in her mouth and rubbed her top gum where the possible tooth was coming in. Not only did she stop screaming and started gnawing and sucking on my finger, but in the very spot was a small, hard "something"! We see the high risk doctors at Children's Tuesday, so we'll get a final confirmation. If she is teething hopefully we can be OK giving her baby Orajel to help ease her pain. Unfortunately she still isn't holding things yet, so we'll have to hold teething rings in her mouth for her. After discovering her calm with my finger I gave her some baby Tylenol and she finally took a bottle. She played for a while and now is peacefully sleeping in her swing. Jack needed some extra love in the glider and is snoozing in his crib. I'm exhausted, but I know it not only will get better...but that a month ago it was harder. I'm fortunate to have two healthy babies at home with me. I just have to remind myself of that the next time God decides to give me more than I think I can handle.

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas..."

We're decorated and are almost ready for Christmas at the Keller home! All we have left is to get the babies' Christmas stockings and ornaments, finish up some Christmas gift shopping and mail out the Christmas cards. Fa la la la la, la la la, la!

Christmas tree


Christmas Village


Jack got in the holiday spirit a little early

Thanksgiving Revisited

We spent a nice family Thanksgiving at Jeff & Charlotte's house this year. The babies got tons of attention, and since they are smiling and playing so much more, it was a lot of fun. We didn't have any major meltdowns for most of the day and they were even interested in our goofy holiday pictures. We're getting ready for Christmas around the house and the babies are continuing to grow and change every day! Lately Maggie has been almost gnawing on her hands and last night she briefly discovered her feet. She's also starting to babble when we talk to her. Jack loves to suck on his wrist and roll around on the floor smiling. He enjoys tummy time and has started rolling onto his side to check out what is going on next to him. He has the cutest dimples ever and his new hair growing in seems to have a touch of red when the light shines on it just right. We're still working on their sleeping patterns. The other night Jack slept 7 hours, took a quick bottle and then slept another 5 hours. Maggie is following behind him with two 5 hour stretches. We'll get there someday...maybe by 2010. ;)

Love the smiles!


In their Thanksgiving best, ready for the feast



First family pictures since the babies were in the hospital...we took plenty and these are the best



So what's for dinner?


Mmmmm, turkey!!

6pm scream fest

The babies are definitely getting older! It is now becoming manageable to take care of them by myself, though I still treasure the help from their grandparents. They are starting to stay awake a lot longer during the day. They play, giggle, smile a LOT and are even able to entertain themselves under their play mat or just on a blanket in the middle of the room. Maggie may start laughing soon, she has some giggles coming out and I'm just waiting for the day she lets out a big laugh. Jack is starting to "talk" a lot more, he cracks me up when his whole face lights up and he silent laughs. They are sleeping much, much better. The past week they've both slept 6 hours through the night. I'm trying to decide if I want to start waking them for their first night bottle, to try to get them to sleep through their middle of the night bottle feed. I was going to try it last night, but I was tired and decided to just let them and myself sleep. They still aren't on a continuous routine during the day, but I'm certainly starting to learn to read their needs better, which has made things a lot easier. We are still struggling with their night fussy time. I swear something happens at around 6pm, and they both just decide to scream and cry and fuss! We have learned they like to go on stroller rides during this time. So in our attempt to keep sanity we've been putting them in the side-by-side double stroller and turning them around in loops in the dining room. It's insane, but it works and we get them to stop screaming for a little while. Maggie is easier calmed, especially once she realizes she can play with her mobile. Jack gets so worked up he can't calm down and ends up just bashing his head against our chest until he exhausts himself. What is it with that time of night?! All in all things are getting a lot easier and they are good babies. I can't wait to see what new thing they will be doing next week. :)