Story time

On the days I stay at home with the kids, I'm trying to get some routine established--very funny right? We started this week with storytime. Maddie and Kalee love getting the chairs set up and I let each of them pick a book (not sure how we'll deal with 4 books once the babies get bigger). The babies do well sitting in their Bumbos and we usually end up "sitting still" for about a half hour. Maybe next year we'll let the librarian takeover storytime so I can blog :)

Aunt Kimmy

My Aunt Kim (Poppy's sister) came up to visit for our annual Bechtel family Christmas party. She is so similar to my Grandma Sharron that it's nice to have her here around Christmas since Grandma Sharron loved it so much. She even knits every new baby a blanket that they love! She bought the kids a recordable story book and they listen to it over and over (hands free reading!) Here was our attempt at wrangling the kids for a quick photo.

4 months!

Wow how time flies! I'm slowly becoming an old person by using all the age-old sayings but it's so true! The babies are already 4 months and had a great Doctor's check up today. Chunky Charlie weighs 15 pounds and Chubby Catherine isn't far behind at 13 pounds 5 ounces. They've both nearly doubled their birth weight! Both babies are right on track and very similar developmentally. They smile, giggle and love to grab things with their hands.

 Charlie, aka "Bubba" is a very content baby, although he NEVER misses a meal! We've started him on rice cereal to fill up his tummy and he opens his mouth for more when he sees the spoon. He is fine just laying on the floor with toys but isn't a fan of tummy time since he's got a big head to support. All he wants for Christmas is some boy time!

Catherine or "Cat girl" as I like to call her is my little dainty baby. She is very quiet most of the time, but is particular about her bottle. It has to be just the right temperature or she will fuss. She is also our only thumb sucker so she puts herself to sleep anytime and anywhere. She loves to smile and watch her sisters as well as listen to story time. All she wants for Christmas is more hair so she can wear pigtails.

Doe a Deer...

Well, actually a buck. After Matt's many hunting trips, he finally got what he was in search of...a big 9 point buck. We're still working out the details of exactly how many pair of shoes I get for this big score :) The girls were so glad when Daddy got home they asked to see his deer in the truck, but were soon very terrified of it so they came right back inside.

When I went out to take a picture of Matt and his trophy, I put the girls on the porch swing so I could have some free hands, and this was their reaction:

I think these girls could be the new face of P.E.T.A.

Christmas card Outtakes

Those lovely Passage family Christmas cards you receive in the mail are no small task. It took about 59 pictures, two assistants (Ya Ya and Poppy) and a lot of bribery to get the finished product. I usually need a glass of wine after our annual Christmas card photos since it stresses me out. I thought I would share two outtakes from our photo shoot this year at the Bechtel house.

 Notice the big girls closed eyes...they think this is so funny---not so much at the time!

This was YaYa's idea but I think the babies were done by the time we got this set up.

Goooooooo Bucks!

No, not the deer kind (more on those bucks later). My kiddos have no choice in their favorite college sports team: It's THE Ohio State Buckeyes for football, basketball, equestrian--you name it! We eat, breathe and sleep BUCKEYES! Luckily, the kiddos' rosy cheeks go well with scarlet and gray :)

Photoshoot and Updates

I apologize I haven't been on here to update recently so there will be many blog updates coming! Here is a picture from my Friday photoshoots with just the babies before I returned to work. My twinsies are such great camera babies!