7 Month Studio Photos

We decided to take the kids to a portrait studio this past weekend for their 7 month photos. It was a challenging session, since they didn't want to smile at the same time! It has been almost impossible for us to get good photos of them BOTH smiling at the same time, and the photographer didn't have much better luck. But we did get some good photos out of the session, and we decided to purchase the CD of the photos so we could share them with everyone. So below are several photos from Cameron and Isabel's first modeling session. Any inquiries for future modeling work should be sent to the twins' agent.

Big Changes Come Fast!

Over the past several weeks, the kids have been growing up fast. We had gotten used to hitting the fastballs they were throwing at us, but recently they have been throwing lots of changeups and curveballs (and even the occasional screwball!). And we are expecting lots more changes as they continue to grow up very fast!

We started them on solids in mid-February, and so far they have had the opportunity to try rice cereal, avocado, sweet potato, carrots, peas, and green beans. Next on the menu is Butternut Squash...hmmm...butternut squash. After that, we will have hopefully gotten them used to eating vegetables and will start them on fruits. One thing we have noticed is that solid food poops are much smellier than breast milk poops. Fun times.

Some of the curveballs they have thrown in the past several weeks include:
- Cameron deciding he no longer wanted to go to sleep quietly
- Cameron deciding waking up at midnight was a fun thing to do
- Isabel having fun blowing raspberries while eating, spraying food all over the place
- Both of them discovering how to roll over...a lot. Mobility is just around the corner.
- Cameron discovering his toes and sticking them in his mouth every chance he gets
- Isabel getting her first teeth. The bottom two teeth are now barely visible.
- Cameron learning that kicking his feet in the tub makes a nice splash

Luckily we have been able to keep our eye on the ball and hit most of these curveballs. Sorry for the baseball analogy. We are restless for Spring to finally arrive in Boston, and baseball signals spring...

Below are some miscellaneous photos of the twins.

Cameron in his snowman outfit, ready for a walk in the "raw" Boston weather.


Isabel sporting her snowman outfit, also ready for a walk.

Cameron flashing his winning smile :-)

Isabel smiling widely, probably laughing at one of her daddy's jokes.

Isabel discovering the joy of playing on her stomach. She has become an expert at rolling over.

Cameron learning the meaning of the phrase "Open mouth, insert foot."

Cameron and Meghan both saying "cheese!"

Isabel showing off her bright blue eyes and her flirtatious smile.

Another big smile from Isabel.

Cameron enjoying some tummy time on the floor mat. Isabel is intently focusing on getting a toy in her mouth.

Cameron and Isabel playing in their Bumbo seats...a toy we would recommend for any new parent!

Isabel enjoying a gourmet meal of sweet potatoes. Yummy! She usually gets about 1/4 of her food on her face and bib.

Baptism

On March 1, Cameron and Isabel were baptized into the Catholic Church. The ceremony took place at St. Agnes church in Arlington, MA. Father Flatley (like Michael Flatley, the "Lord" of the dance) was the presiding priest. Meghan's mom and dad fulfilled the role of Godparents for the twins. It was a special day for the twins, but there were also a few things that made it kind of comical. The first was their outfits. They had little bonnets that made them look like members of a religious cult in Texas, and Isabel's dress was so long she looked like a ghost flying through the air! See the pictures below :-) The second comical part of the day was the number of people at the ceremony. There was another baby being baptized at the same time, and this baby was clearly from a family that was born and raised in Boston. Every brother, sister, mom, dad, aunt, grandmother, grandfather, cousin, friend, co-worker and neighbor for the baby's family was in attendance at the baptism and seated on their side of the church. Meanwhile, due to bad travel weather, distance from family, and the fact that we don't know many Catholic people in Boston, we had four people on our side - Meghan's mom and dad, her sister Chele, and our friend Jess! The priest joked that it looked like a wedding where the bride's family shows up and the groom's family doesn't! But we think our side was more than sufficient! Below are some pictures from the day.

Cameron in his little Baptism outfit with the bonnet that makes him look ridiculous (the bonnet did not stay on very long).

Isabel in her baptism dress, which was very very very long! This picture makes her look like a little ghost floating away. Also notice her funny bonnet (which was removed shortly after the photo!).

The Darlings right after the kids' were baptized into the church.

A picture with Father Flatley, the Lord's Keeper of the Baptismal Font. Not to be confused with Michael Flatley, the Lord of the Dance.

A picture with the Godfather (Meghan's Dad, not Don Corleone) and Godmother (Meghan's Mom).

Auntie Chele with our little cult members??? Take those ridiculous looking bonnets off!!!

Historic Moment...

So in addition to all of the "historic firsts" that we are witnessing with the twins - first laughs, first rollover, first projectile poop - the twins got to witness their own historic first...the inauguration of President Obama. See the photo below, along with other photos from the month of January.

Cameron and Isabel watching the swearing in of President Obama. They seem very captivated by Obama!


Cameron enjoying time in the activity bouncer...this has quickly become his favorite toy!


Isabel giving her full mouth smile :-)


Cameron with his typical grin.

Isabel looking peaceful in her cute "court jester" hat.

Isabel giving her flirtatious smile while practicing her sitting position.

Best friends forever :-)

Babies' First Christmas

On Thursday December 18, we were watching the weather forecast in Boston and a series of snow storms were in the forecast for the weekend, starting on the morning of Friday December 19. This was a problem, since we were planning to drive to North Carolina overnight on Friday, December 19!! So we made a quick decision and after Jason got home from work on Thursday, we packed up our things, loaded everything in the car (including kids and dogs!), and got on the road just after midnight on Thursday night. It was an exhausting drive, but we were able to beat all of the snowstorms and arrived in North Carolina around 2:30 pm on Friday, December 19. Another successful overnight drive!

The weather in North Carolina was a welcome change from the frigid, brisk, raw Boston weather. Jason was able to play a couple of rounds of golf in the week leading up to Christmas, and we enjoyed several runs outside in the warm weather.

Cameron and Isabel enjoyed all of the attention they received during the week, and were spoiled silly with gifts on Christmas day. Unfortunately, they were too young to really enjoy the Christmas day...in fact, they slept through most of the present opening!

With Christmas over, it was time to return to Boston and the impending start of work for Meghan. :-( So sadly, we made another overnight drive back to Boston, arriving at home on Sunday, December 28. Only 9 more days until Meghan returns to work.

Below are some photos from the Christmas holiday.

Isabel and Cameron in their 1st Christmas outfit. They wore this on Christmas Eve day. Isabel likes to flash her flirtatious smile and Cameron like to give his serious look to the camera.


Aunt Chele cuddling with Isabel just before...

...Grandpa Bahler soothed her to sleep.

Cameron and Isabel in their Christmas Eve church outfits! (Christmas Outfit #2)

Cameron acting like "Cam the Ham" as he shows off his rock hard abs.

Cousin Maddie holding Cameron and Cousin Jordan holding Isabel on Christmas Eve in front of the Christmas tree.

Cousin Jordan holding Isabel on Christmas Eve.

Jason holding Cameron and Meghan holding Isabel on Christmas Eve in front of the Christmas tree.

Cameron and Isabel in their 3rd Christmas outfit, this one for Christmas Day. Cameron is sporting a dapper red and white overall outfit with a reindeer motif. Isabel is wearing a trim looking red one piece with a Christmas tree image on the front :-)

Another photo of the kids in their Christmas Day outfits, this time complete with antler hat (for Cameron) and matching red headband (for Isabel).

Isabel looking like the prettiest girl in the world in her stylish Christmas outfit complete with matching head band :-)

Aunt Christi holding Cameron.

Grandma Bahler holding Isabel on her first Christmas!

Dixie and Duchess on Christmas Day...the pups have started to become best friends and stick together!