Little Christmas girls (and other baby "news")

The girls were in such a good mood following our family Christmas portrait we got some great photos of just the two of them - and the Christmas bear that lives on our mantle right now, thanks to Marmi! The boys were hungry and had no interest in further photos. :} A huge thank you to Naomi who took the pictures, and to Lynnette and Grandpadad who helped control and contain the chaos before, during and after.

Gracie is on the left and was apparently in a somewhat thoughtful mood. Marcie was a little ham for the camera and for us!

Gracie is actually smiling more than Marcie in this picture!

I had to insert myself into the fun. It's such FUN to have little girls!!! I bought the dresses for them after agonizing over whether or not it was worth the money "just for Christmas," but happily these dresses aren't Christmas-specific, so plan to see them again around Valentine's Day. :) They even have a smocked heart on the bodice! Baby girl clothing sections of stores are too tempting for me.

In other news, Marcie's clinginess has abated dramatically, and she's a very contented, active, happy, talkative little girl who seems comfortable in her surroundings. She loved, loved, loved playing with her baby bowl and spoon yesterday. She must have sat at the table an hour longer than the other babies because she was so interested in learning how to maneuver the spoon and the food in the bowl (it was mushy and sticky, the perfect kind of spoon for first self-feeding). It seemed like she was playing house. She also loves to pick up and comfort her little brown bear, using sympathetic, concerned-sounding intonations in her crooning. It's adorable! 

It's so much fun to watch the kids mimic. Marcie was holding an Elmo phone up to her ear the other day, and today Will and David both wanted to wear my lanyard with name tag around their necks. David had to take it on a walk around the house, of course, whereas Will lost interest when we went outside. When Seth fell down and cried last night, David ran over to pat him gently on the head. David also likes to feed Gracie. He'll come get the food from whoever is giving it out, and take it over to Grace to put directly into her mouth. She happily takes it!

We've had a mild cold for the past couple of weeks, compliments of a bug going around Isaac's school. It only lasts about five days, but of course it takes a while to make its way through the whole family. Will and Seth are the only ones still sick with it now, but a HUGE praise is that Seth has kept his oxygen saturations up in the high 90's despite this viral respiratory infection. It's really almost more encouraging to see Seth get sick and handle it fine than if he never got sick at all. Hopefully it's proof his lungs are getting stronger and more resilient. Granted, this was a very mild cold, for which we are grateful, and we appreciate your continued prayers for good health.

Gavin and Isaac are in CA for a week at beloved Cousin Annelies's wedding. Wish I could be there with all the babies and a huge crew of volunteers to help with them! ;) I'm so grateful this illness mostly passed before Gavin left, and especially that I was well over it. When people hear Gavin is gone again, a lot of them say, "He just got back!" This trip is my fault. :) Gavin wasn't planning on going, but I thought SOMEONE should represent us at this very special occasion, and happily Isaac also had the week off of school. His cousins are all there with him in CA, so this a huge blessing! They won't be together at Christmas, so it's great they get to celebrate Thanksgiving as a family. Isaac is having a blast and is loving entertaining baby Mari at Marmi and Papa's house. He got to play with Siena and Marin yesterday - hooray! - and Ethan and Levi and Lisi arrived today.

Love to you all, and have a blessed Thanksgiving! I know we will, even without Daddy and Isaac (whose name Marcie can say quite well!). It's so special to have my family and friends here, not to mention all the wonderful helpers and babysitters who make the season bright, joyful, and do-able!
Carrie