Happy Easter

Our first Easter

Ella wore tights for the first time

Ella got tired from all the Easter excitement

Big smile

Nathan sleeps while dad reads the paper

Here we are showing off our cloth diapers and covers

Ella in her "fuzzi bunz" diaper

We like to nap on the couch

Nathan sleeps with his elephant blanket

We are like to look at our toys

Nathan is so tired

Ella is getting big

Happy Easter to everyone! What a wonderful day to celebrate that the tomb is empty and we are saved from our sins through Christ's death and resurrection! This past week, I went back to work and thus we had"daddy daycare." I of course was nervous about how things would go with Tim taking care of the babies by himself and also how I would do going back to work after being off for almost 5 months since pregnancy and then maternity leave. I left Tim in charge at 6am and no, I didn't cry, but I did have a weird feeling as I left the house without Nathan and Ella. Thankfully, everything came back to me at work. I easily fell back into the routine and it did feel good to be using my mind in a different way again. Tim did absolutely wonderful with the twins. Not to say, that they didn't give him a run for his money, but he is calm and patient and just did what he could with only two arms and no breastfeeding capabilities!!!!! I wish they would take the bottles a little better for him. It can be a challenge, especially if their both hungry at the same time. I asked him if it was too much for him, but he said it is fine. I truly think he loves spending time with them, even when they are screaming and not wanting to eat. I am so proud and happy that he has such an active role in our children's life this far. It is so nice to share in the day to day duties of raising twins. I love to watch the bonding between him and them and it definitely makes it easier for me to go back to work. Nathan and Ella continue to grow and become more active and content. Nathan is our more vocal baby. He loves to coo and will mimic your sounds. Ella loves to smile and is our more spirited baby. We like to call her "Jekle and Hyde" because she can cry relentlessly and then the next moment she is smiling at you. They are doing good at night. Usually one of them will sleep for more than 6-7 hours. We are just waiting for them both to sleep that long. It still is great because if one does wake up during the night, it is a quick feed and change and then they go right back down to sleep. We had some true signs of spring and we had taken the babies for walks, but now as I write this note, we have snow on the ground and the forecast shows it will snow more this week. Yuck, I cannot wait for good weather. Well, I think that is all the updates we have for now. I'll try blog a little more often, but it can be a challenge to find a moment to type without a baby in my arms.

Thought I would get a couple pictures of Ella and Nathan smiling. Their smiles are so adorable, but hard to get on camera. Yesterday, Tim took care of the babies by himself while I went to work to do some paperwork. They are taking their bottles "OK." They will wiggle it around in their mouths and it was challenging for Tim to feed them at the same time. We will continue to do more bottle feeding to help them get more used to it. I go back to work next Tuesday. Not much else going on here. We were excited because 2 nights ago, Ella slept from 12am to 7:30am. Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!! Last night they both woke up at 4:30am. When I went in their room to get them, I found them lying horizontal in the bed, head to head, shoved up against the side rail. I probably would wake up too.

New Outfits

We are having so much fun picking out new outfits to wear each day. We are blessed by all the people who gave us baby gifts. Ella and Nathan are the best dressed babies around the block.

Random moments with the twins

This is what is looks like when we have a busy day and don't get to the cloth diapers!

Hi Ella, "bright eyes!"

Becca one of our #1 babysitters

Annette our other #1 babysitter

Mom and Ella

Look how Nathan likes to lie on Ella

This is mom's attempt at getting Nathan's smile on camera

Look at those blue eyes!

Ella looks bigger than Nathan

Tim's small group guys came to visit

Aaron and Ella and Nathan and Mike

This is how we survive in the evenings when dad is gone!

Look how they find each other in their sleep-we had them
separated to begin with.

Nathan asleep

Nathan awake....Laura does this outfit look familiar!

Nathan relaxing in his car seat

Nathan froggy and Ella ducky

More bonding in bed...how sweet!

Megan and Ashley are great babysitters

Here is a recap on the happenings at the Stuive's. We are all recovering from our colds. Ella and Nathan are still congested in the mornings and occasionally at night. I think we have spent several early mornings (3 or 4 am) in the a hot shower trying to declog their noses. They still sneeze now and then, but they are not as snotty as before. We cannot wait till they are completely done with their colds because we think they will sleep longer at night. Right now they go anywhere from 3-5 hours at a time. We would love a consistent 4-5 hours out of both of them, especially since I will be going back to work (night shift) soon and daddy will have them by himself. They are getting bigger. At their 2 month appointment, Ella weighed 11lbs and 10 oz and Nathan weighed 11lbs and 2 oz. Ella has a little over Nathan and you can definitely see it in her cute chubby thighs and butt! They are really hamming it up with smiles and cooing. They know mamma's voice (to my absolute delight) and get all excited when I talk to them-----maybe it is because they know they can get the good stuff from me! This past Saturday night 2 friends from our couple's small group came and babysat for us. Tim and I walked around the mall a little and then went out to eat. It was great to get away, just the 2 of us. Tim's parents left for Florida this past week and so we will be missing them until April. Tim's mom is worried they're going to grow up too fast while she is gone. I said this is how my mom feels all the time! Good thing for blogs right!!!!! We are so anticipating good weather so we can get outside. I feel cooped up with this weather and cannot wait to try out our new jogger stroller. Which also means I will have to try get back in shape to run again. Otherwise life is pretty much the same. I start back to work on March 18. I am really not looking forward to leaving my babies, but I feel better knowing Tim will be taking care of them and not a stranger. Please pray that this transition goes well, not only for me, but also for Tim.

First Colds

Nathan and Ella are recovering from their first colds. I think they and myself might have picked something on trip to Minnesota. My parents also have colds. They are started out with some sneezing and congestion and then got some small coughs. It was so hard to see them congested and we had to use the bulb syringes to help clear their noses. Now everytime they sneeze, Tim goes running to see if they need anything sucked out. They are doing much better, but still are just a bit fussy (and were hoping that passes with them feeling better). I on the other hand have also been very sick. I had the aches and chills and sinus headache. Now it has moved to my nose being totally full and I think I blow it every 2 minutes. Last night I think I got 2 hours of total sleep between feeding the babies and being up with my cold. I cannot wait till we all feel better.

First Trip to Minnesota

The "Vis" clan decided to join the Beckerings for a picture

"Cousinly" love!

Dan, Laura, and family

Darin, Tricia, and family

Ella is 5 weeks older than Breanna

Breanna is so tired

The morning routine for Darin...Brayden rubbing his ear

Dad and Ella resting after a big Sunday meal

Grandpa and Nathan

Dan and Nathan

Grandma bonding with Breanna

Our two little energizers.. Brayden and Kylie

Meeting Caleb, Bennet, and Kylie for the first time

Spencer, Cassidy, and Trevor came to meet Ella and Nathan

Grandpa with his "other love" Peaches

We got together with the Van Dyke family

Great Grandpa Lance and Ella

Great Grandma Trena and Nathan

Nathan and Ella made their first trip to Minnesota last week. They actually did great on the 12 hour car ride. Thank goodness they love their car seats and the motion of the car. Of course, it was not without some humor. On the way to Minnesota, we got caught up in traffic right outside of Chicago and the babies woke up and were of course starving. We couldn't get to an off ramp, so I pumped in the car (probably gave some trucker above me a good laugh) and then climbed in the back seat and fed them bottles. Now just remember, we have a small car and so their isn't much room for me to sit between them. Luckily they took the bottles well and we eventually made it to an Oasis stop and were able to get them out to change them and feed them more. We spent four days in Leota and had a chance to spend some quality time with both the VanDyke and the Beckering relatives. Great Grandpa and Grandma VanDyke couldn't get enough of them and Grandpa was trying to get us to buy a very nice vacant house in Leota that was right next to them so they could see them more often! My mom's sisters came for a day to visit and then we all the Van Dyke's got together for a visit. It was so great to see everyone again. Some of my cousins are getting so old and talking about college and such. I still remember changing some of their diapers (Kara!) We also got together with the Beckering clan and that was great, especially since we were unable to be at Grandma Sophie's funeral. Spencer, Cassidy, and Trevor loved holding them and they took turns holding the boy cousin and the girl cousin. We then headed up to Minneapolis with my parents to spend time with my brothers and their family. You can about imagine the chaos of 7 grandchildren under the age of 4. The weekend was all about kids, kids, and kids. Most of the time was just spent holding the babies, being entertained by Caleb and Bennet, or watching Brayden and Kylie find mischief about anywhere! It was so cold out, that we didn't do too many things other than just hang around. The guys did a little planning for their upcoming fishing trip to Canada in June and Tim helped Dan paint a bedroom. The last night Grandpa and Grandma volunteered to babysit all the grand kids so that we could go out for supper with Dan and Laura and Darin and Tricia. It was great to have some adult conversation and catch up without being interrupted by children or babies crying. When we got back, Grandpa and Grandma had some good stories of how the night went while we were gone. Just after we left, Nathan had some projectile spit up and needed to be changed. Just as they were finishing that up, my dad noticed that Kylie and Brayden were giggling underneath the kitchen table. When he got closer he realized they were playing in poop. Kylie had a pull up on and the poop must have escaped from her pull up and was on the floor and on the steps. So they got that cleaned up too and so when we got home Grandpa had the babies downstairs and Grandma was entertaining the others upstairs. We all had to laugh, but I know they loved every minute of it. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone as it always is. These trips are cherished.