December

This has been a busy month.  The first weekend of the month we baked cookies with Dee and Dude, went to a Christmas party and went to book club at baby Tessie's house.  The second weekend we didn't have anything planned, so my mom came up and watched the girls and Ben and I got a date day/night!  Throw in sickness for the girls and you have a pretty crazy month!

The afternoon after book club Paige and Virginia started getting sick.  They were both snotty and started coughing.  Monday they were miserable.  They slept late and didn't have much energy.  We had to go out because I needed to mail a package.  When we got home we watched "The Lion King" while cuddling on the couch.  Then they took a short nap.  When I got them out of their cribs at the end of their short nap I carried them downstairs and put them on the couches.  That's where they stayed for hours.  Poor Paige and Virginia.

Virginia really didn't feel well, as is pretty obvious from this picture.

Monday night they both spiked fevers.  They were just miserable.  I was starting to fear that we had something more than a cold, like possibly the flu.  Tuesday I stayed home with them and they were a little bit better, but still didn't have much energy in the afternoon.  Tuesday about 4 Virginia told me her ear hurt.  She reached up and touched it and started crying.  I called the pediatrician's office and got her an appointment for 6pm that night.  Good thing we went as it turned out she had a double ear infection, bronchitis and a touch of walking pneumonia.  She was put on an antibiotic and I was told to watch her closely and if she got worse to take her back.  Thankfully the antibiotic worked.

Paige was pretty pitiful, too, but not as bad as Virginia.  She stayed out of the doctor's office until Friday.  Really, by Friday they were both doing better, but I had noticed some dried blood in Paige's ear, so I wanted to get that checked.  She had a severe ear infection with a perforated ear drum.  Paige got antibiotics and ear drops.  Thankfully Paige and Virginia are really good about taking medicine and Paige even did well with her ear drops.

We took is easy that weekend and did a little Christmas decorating in our house.  Paige and Virginia enjoyed wearing the UVA Santa hats.

Virginia and Paige hung up the stockings.  And then kept asking why the stockings were hanging in the living room.

Paige had fun playing in the box that are diapers were in when they were delivered.

That Saturday night my mom watched the girls and Ben and I went out on a date.  We saw the new Harry Potter movie and had a nice dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  Yum!

Monday I had a dentist appointment and had been told to bring the girls to introduce them to the idea of going to the dentist.  They were great during my appointment, but when the hygienist put them in the chair and tried to look at their teeth they wanted nothing to do with her.  They would not open their mouths.  But Dr. Ackerman was nice to them and made she they got balloons.  Virginia had fun playing with her balloon and using the static to make it stick to her head.

Daddy with his girls, Virginia and Paige.

Wednesday is Mimi's day with the girls.  A couple of weeks before Christmas Mimi decided to do a Christmas craft day with Paige and Virginia.  Paige loved showing off her Christmas tree to her daddy.

Some of their artwork from craft day with Mimi.

Friday Paige had to go back to the doctor to get her ear rechecked.  The nurse practitioner wanted to make sure her ear drum had healed.  She was nice enough to check Virginia out while we were there and we left with clean bills of health for both girls.  Paige and Virginia enjoyed reading books in the room while we waited.

That weekend we had two Christmas parties to go to in the same night and we helped Mimi and Pops decorate their Christmas tree.  Paige and Virginia had a great time decorating Mimi and Pops' Christmas tree.  Mimi and Pops made sure they only had unbreakable ornaments out for Paige and Virginia to put on the tree.  The girls wanted to hang all of the ornaments on the lights instead of the tree.  I think they were confused about why anyone would put decorations on a tree, nevermind have a tree in their living room.

Virginia and Pops trying to decide which ornament to put on the tree next.

Paige found a good one.

Mimi helping Paige find the perfect spot for her ornament.

Saturday night we went to a Christmas party at my friend Mollie's house, aka baby Tessie house.  This was Ben's second time seeing Tessie and the first time he got to hold her (he had a cold the first time, so he stayed away from her).  Doesn't he look cute holding a baby?!

Paige wearing her dress that Mollie and Steve got her for Christmas last year, and a vest that is now too small, but fit last winter.

Virginia in her dress from Mollie and Steve, playing with one of Tessie's baby dolls.

One night I was in the kitchen washing dishes and Ben was upstairs.  I heard the girls talking to each other so I went to see what they were doing.  This is what I found.  Virginia and Paige sitting on the couch together reading a book.  How sweet is that?!

The Monday before Christmas we had a playdate with my friend Liza and her sons, Franklin and Patrick.  The children played in Franklin's room for a little bit and then they went to the kitchen and had craft time.  They had fun coloring, painting with water and playing with stickers.

Then when we were waiting for lunch to come Virginia, Paige and Franklin played with play food and real pots in the kitchen.

And I got to hold Patrick.

This is what happens when I let Paige dress herself after her nap.

The night of the playdate Paige was so exhausted from not napping (she napped in the car on the way home and that was it) that she fell asleep on the couch before 7:30.  She made sure to not let go of her milk, though.

So that was the middle of our hectic December.  I'll try to work on a Christmas post soon.  We had a wonderful Christmas!