Family Photos

A couple of weeks ago, Brett's cousin Rachel took some pictures of our family.  She did an amazing job and I just wanted to share some of the pictures with you all.

Sweet Summertime

I figured this would happen at some point... it's been nearly 2 months now since I have updated our family's blog.  A LOT has happened and I will not be able to catch you up on everything, but I will do my best.

I have been off of work since the first week in June and I have been enjoying my time with my peanuts.  I'm not going to lie, it's hard work, VERY hard work.  I've told people that watching the girls is actually harder and more stressful than my teaching job.  So I wouldn't say that I'm on summer "break/vacation" but I am blessed with time, and time with my girls is more precious than anything!  My mom is a saint and still helps me out during the day some.

So let's see... the girls have been making huge strides developmentally.  Long gone are the days when we could set the girls somewhere (couch, bed, ottoman, etc.) and not worry about them going anywhere.  They are on the move!  They roll, squirm, sit, and scoot their little buts all over the place.  They are also much more interested in EVERYTHING around them.  They want to touch and grab anything they can, so that also makes life a bit more challenging.  I used to be the queen of doing things with one hand, well now I'm the queen of doing things with one hand while keeping two other little hands off of what I'm trying to do (get their bottles ready, eat, clean up, etc). :)

We have the girls' developmental assessment this week and will find out how they are doing and if they are on track with where they need to be.  When babies are born early, they get an adjusted age, which goes off of their due date, not their birth date.  They say by age 2, they are able to get rid of the adjusted age.  I'm hoping the girls can "catch up" sooner, but we are so happy with whatever they are doing.  I am reminded daily when I see them what miracles they are!

This summer we have had the opportunity to see and spend time with our families.  We spent a weekend up in Rice Lake with Brett's family, where we celebrated Brett's grandma's 80th birthday, and have also spent a few weekends at my family's cabin.  Traveling with the girls is hard, and it's hard for their schedule, but it's so worth it once we get to where we are going.  I'll leave you with some pictures from our summer so far.  We hope you are all enjoying yours and staying cool in this horrible heat!

 Grandma Swan

With the girls & William

 Uncle Evan & Uncle Nate visiting the girls

 Swimming in the backyard

4th of July at the lake

Mother's Day

This Mother's Day was a very special day for me that brought with it a lot of raw emotions.  First of all, it was my first Mother's Day as a mom, and second of all, I am so blessed to have the mother that I do.  I know I am biased, but I have the best mom in the entire world!  She has been by my side through the good and the bad.

This past year and half have been the most challenging of my life.  From our house getting broken into, to all of the complications with the girls, my surgery, bedrest, hospital stay, c-section, NICU, and having the girls home, we have definitely had a long and crazy journey.  But as I went through all of these challenges, my mom was and continues to be right by my side.  She was in Ohio with me during my surgery and hospital stay, she came a few days a week, EACH week of my bedrest at home, and spent most of the week with me at the hospital, so I wouldn't have to be alone.  She did all of this, while going through some really tough stuff on her own... but no matter what, she was always there for me.

She is one of the strongest people I know.. which I believe to be her best and worst quality. :)  Sometimes the strong turns in to stubborn, but I suppose she takes after my Nana that way.  Who knows, maybe I'll be like that someday, too.  With all of that said, I hope to give my girls what she has given me!  I want them to grow up knowing that I will be there for them no matter what... because life can sure get messy sometimes, and even though mom's can't fix everything, they sure do make us feel better while we go through the mess!

So many people have told me how "strong" I was or how proud of me they were for all that I went through for the girls, but as I thought about it last week on Mother's Day, I realized something.  I believe that God gives women strength and courage to do whatever it takes for their children.  We don't do it because WE are strong, but because God is strong, and he give us strength to do what we HAVE to do.  Any loving mom would have done the exact same thing I had to do put in that situation.  Throughout life we are all challenged in different ways, and as moms, we just do it and make it through because of the strength God has given us.  To all you moms out there, keep fighting and staying strong for your kiddos.  You are making a difference! :)

Here are a couple of pictures from my first Mother's Day!

With my girls! :)

Happy Birthday, Daddy! (Brett turns 30)

This post has been a long time coming, but better now than never, right?  I mean we do have two babies that keep us pretty busy.. so I kind of have an excuse! :)

Well, April 22nd, was Brett's 30th birthday, so I wanted to dedicate this post to him.  It was his first birthday as a daddy.  I have been SO blessed to have such a wonderful, supportive, and helpful husband.  I would be a completely crazy woman without him.  He has totally stepped up and has been a great father and partner the last six months!

I am thankful for him and I am thankful to his parents for raising such a great man.  I am realizing how hard and what true dedication it takes to raise children, so I truly appreciate all that they did for him growing up.

On his birthday, we celebrated by having some friends over!  I took a couple of pictures, that I will share. Here's to the next 30 years, my love!

 Tony, Brett,  (Ella) & Michael

Gina, Lindsey, (Eva), & me

Homemade oreo cupcakes and carrot cake

Oreo cupcake recipe:

24 oreo halves, with cream filling attached

2 1/4 all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

8 tbsp. unsalted butter, room temp.

1 2/3 cup sugar

3 large egg whites, room temp.

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup milk

20 oreo cookies, coarsely chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the wells of 2 cupcake pans with liners and then place half an oreo on the bottom, cream side up.  In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Stir together and set aside.  In another bowl, combine the butter, sugar, and beat on medium high until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.  Blend in the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each one.  Blend the vanilla extract.  With the mixer on low speed, beat in half of the dry ingredients.  Add the milk and beat just until combined, then mix in the remaining dry ingredients.  Gently fold in the chopped oreos with a rubber spatula until evenly incorporated.  Be careful not to over mix!

2. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cupcake liners.  Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.  Use a toothpick in the center and only take them out when the toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool and then transfer to a wire rack.

Frosting: 

8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.

6 tbsp. butter, room temp.

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

2 tbsp. heavy cream

3. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a bowl and beat on medium high until smooth, about 1 minute.  Blend in the vanilla extract.  Beat the sugar until incorporated and smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Add the heavy cream to the bowl and beat on low until incorporated, then increase the speed to medium-high and whip for 4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping the sides as needed.

4. Frost the cooled cupcakes, sprinkle with oreo crumbs, and refrigerate.  Serve cold.

Weekend getaway!

Last week was my spring break and Easter weekend. What a beautiful week it was!  I got to stay home with my sweet girls (my mom took a well-deserved trip to Florida!), see some friends, and we got to visit family for a four day Easter weekend.  I was a little nervous about taking care of the girls all on my own at first, but I quickly realized I could handle it.  I got a little taste of what my mom does every day.  They were little angels.  So much so, that we even made a trip to Target and had a lunch date with some friends.

On Thursday, we left in the afternoon on our first LONG car ride and headed up to Rice Lake to see Brett's family.  It had been about 9 months since we were there last, due to my bed rest and the girls not being able to travel, so it was nice to finally get up there again.  The car rides, both there and back, were successful!  We only stopped once to feed the girls and they pretty much slept the rest of the time.  It was really nice.  I'm sure car rides won't always go so smoothly, but we will take what we can get for now!

Instead of writing a long paragraph (or two) about our weekend in Rice Lake, I will post pictures and show you.  We are so blessed to have such a great family.  Everyone was so helpful with the girls, especially Brenda, who got up to help us in the middle of the night.  We are looking forward to our next visit!

 Jack and Jill, two of the four baby goats we got to see and play with

 A precious moment with my smiley peanuts

 Beautiful Auntie Gina and Ms. Ella outside

Daddy and Eva

 Just hanging out, they did a lot of smiling over the weekend, don't you feel like you missed the joke??

Alex and Ning with the girls at my baby shower at Aunt Sharon's

 Alexis and Boyd! :)

 4 generations

 Easter Sunday!  "He is risen, He is risen indeed!"

Happy Easter from Eva and (sleepy) Ella

Smiles

Well, a lot has happened since I wrote last!  Where to start?  Things around the Oftedahl house have gotten slightly easier since February.  The girls' colic has been much better and most of the time they are only upset/crabby for a short period in the evening.  We have been putting them to bed around 10 though each night, so that has been MUCH better than staying up until 1-2 am to listen to them scream.  They are still waking up a few times throughout the night, but one night this past week was the first time they slept for about 5 1/2 hours in a row.  It was fantastic!   Hasn't happened again since, but we are hopeful... :)

In addition to a better sleep schedule, the girls are now smiling!!  It's the best.  Some of the time they will smile at random things on the wall or items around the house, but then they will look directly into our eyes and smile.  It's the melt your heart kind of smile, and it came just in time.  After a few months of feeling completely exhausted, their smiles are just what we need to keep on keeping on.

Ms. Abriella Anne

Ms. Ella and Ms. Eva on game day (darn Badgers..)

Since I last wrote, I have also gone back to work.  I started on March 2nd.  So I just finished my third week, and I'm really enjoying it so far.  I am teaching Spanish 2 and 3 at Verona Area High School.  My students and colleagues are all great, so that has made the transition a smooth one.  Also, my mom has been watching the girls for us, and that has truly been a blessing.  It has made leaving easier to do, since we know they are in great hands.

Nana and her girls

We were also so blessed to have Brett's mom (Brenda), sister (MaryBeth) and our niece (Alexis) come down this past week to watch the girls.  They were on their Spring break and also took some time off of work to come help us out and to spend time with the girls.  They did SO much for us and we cannot even begin to say thank you.  Brenda got up with us at every feeding in the middle of the night to help!  She even took them to the doctor with Brett when they got their 4 month shots and dealt with them after they got their shots (which is never easy to do).  MaryBeth gave up her spring break to help us out.  They washed dishes (bottles especially), walked the dog, cleaned the house, went to the store for some groceries, and most importantly hung out with the peanuts. We are so blessed to have them in our lives!  Thank you guys!  It was so nice to spend the week with you.

Ella and Eva in their cute spring dresses from Nana

Other than that, we bought a double stroller last weekend.  I have decided to call it the "baby bus".  It's a front/back stroller that fits both of their car seats right in it.  So that is really nice and convenient.  We initially wanted a side by side, but I think the one we found will do us just fine!   It has allowed us some freedom.  We have been on at least one walk per night, if not more, since we got it.  After being stuck in the house all winter, it has truly been wonderful to get out.  I think Roxy, who just turned 2 this week, appreciates it too.  Pictures of the baby bus to come!

We are loving the spring and are enjoying seeing all of the new life God is bringing with it.  This year I have noticed it especially because of the little lives He has placed into our hands.  They are such miracles.  Every year I am truly amazed at what beauty can come of something that seems dead.  It continually reminds me of God and His grace!  

Ups and downs!

Well another few weeks have gone by and we are hanging in there.  One thing that our doctor said that I am finding to be more and more true is that having twins is not twice the work of having one baby but that it is exponentially more work!  We have been so thankful to our family and friends who have taken the time to help us.  Quick shout out to... my mom who helps me during the week while Brett is at work, my friend Christy who has been a saint too and is always willing to help when I need her, my mom's friends Mollie and Sue who have been here and have given me a chance to get out once in a while, my friend Amy who helped the first week they were both home, and my aunt Laurie and cousin Jenna who let us get our first full night of sleep this past weekend (it was awesome!), and everyone else who has brought us a meal or has been here to help too.  We appreciate all of you!

In the past few weeks, we have discovered that both Ella and Eva have colic and the best part (sarcasm) is that they are colicky between the hours of 7:00 and 2:00 EVERY night.  Both girls during this time, are wide awake and are not happy unless they are being held and walked around.  This is a challenge because most nights I will let Brett go to sleep because he is working and needs to rest.  So it's just me (unless I feel like I'm losing it), trying to calm two colicky, screaming babies.  I will hold and walk one until the other one starts screaming, and then I pick her up and put the other one down.  This continues until they have eventually worn themselves out finally go to sleep sometime after midnight.  It's so hard and so frustrating!  Each night, I contemplate hiring a night nanny to help me get through this stage, but each day I talk myself out of it and tell myself that it isn't that bad and that I can do it.  We will just see how long it takes before I am a completely crazy person! :)  I've heard and read that it should go away by 3 months, so I am hoping we only have another month or two left, and then we will say "adios" to colic for good!  

                                                          Sleepy by day...

                                                      WIDE awake by night!

Ok, done complaining! :)  We are so blessed to have these sweet little babies, and continue to be amazed by how far they have come.  A few weeks ago, they impressed us while they were doing "tummy time" and they rolled over!  My friend Amy was here and we were so impressed that they did this.  We looked up when it is developmentally appropriate for a baby to roll from their tummies to their backs and most places said about 4 months.  The girls were both doing this by their due date!  This past weekend, we couldn't keep them on their bellies long enough to get a good video, but we tried!  I will leave you with a video of the little peanuts rolling.