Week: 5/22-5/28

5/22 - Happy Birthday, Aunt Chelsea! Even though we weren't the first to wish her happy birthday this year we did make sure to send her a text bright and early!

Off to church we go... and this time only 10 minutes late. Still not on time but we're making progress. Both girls were good throughout church and we enjoyed a great service :). After church we took the girls with us for a quick lunch at Old Chicago and then they made their first trip to the mall. After returning from the mall Kevin and Janet came over to formally meet Malia and McKenna.

5/23 - I enjoyed another lazy day at home with the girls while Mardell was at work. In the evening we decided to get out and enjoy the nice weather with Malia, McKenna, Mya and Ellie. I still am not sure how much the girls like walks since they seem to sleep the entire time but Mya and Ellie sure do LOVE them!

5/24 - Stormy Day! Even though Mardell thinks I am ridiculous I love storms and tend to get a little too excited. It would appear that I hate storms since the minute we are in a watch I run around like crazy getting things ready... but I think that's part of the fun. While the babies were enjoying tummy time I got everything ready under the stairs just in case we needed to take cover. While my husband may laugh at me, he always seems to appreciate my preparations when we actually have to use them. Luckily all we had was a really good thunder storm but since I was the only one home I wasn't able to go out on the porch to fully enjoy it :)

5/25 - Nana and Charlie came to town to get their hair cut. We met them at the salon and cousin Charlie showed the girls how to behave while getting his hair cut. While it was Nana's turn he was a big help watching the girls. He let me know when they would make noises, move, or were just sleeping. When we left the salon Jake and Lesley were in town and stopped by to meet McKenna and Malia. It was great catching up!

After Jake and Lesley left we all piled into our vehicle and ran errands around town. The best stop was probably at Menards where Charlie enjoyed playing on the playground and riding around in the car shopping cart!

5/26 - The early bird gets the worm... or in our case amazing pictures! A friend of a friend was wanting to get baby pictures and since we happen to have a couple of those we were able to meet up. We had tried to meet up last week but both days were rained out so even though it was a bit cold we decided not to risk putting it off any longer. After about an hour the girls were both fussy and cold and we left feeling like we had wasted an hour of this girls life. However she is truly an amazing photographer because she was able to turn what we thought was a waste into something pretty great!

After Mardell got off of work we loaded up the girls and hit to road for a trip to Waterville. On our drive up McKenna and Malia "saw" their first deer {even though Mardell pointed out they did not actually SEE them I still thought it was worth documenting!} Mardell was planning on attending the NASCAR races and all of the men were getting together to plan their adventure. While the men "planned" mom, Dava and I took all of the kiddos on a walk. We first stopped by the community center to visit Great Grandma Lydia at her card party. After saying hello to everyone there we went up by the park and ran into a bunch of great Watervillians. While we were chatting away we got a call from the guys back home that the girls had more visitors at the house. Neighbor Dave, Dana, Izzie & Kalleigh had come over and Izzie was VERY excited to see the babies. Izzie could not wait to hold the girls and even passed up eating cookies so that she could hold them right away. When it came time to give Malia and McKenna their bottles she was even able to help!

5/27 - Marvin & Daphne came to town to do a little shopping and stopped by to see the girls. After they left to go run their errands Mardell and I took the girls out to do our own shopping. I was on the hunt for picture frames so that I could get started on one of my projects for the nursery {post to follow}. Grand-D & Grandpa Marvin spoiled Mardell and I with dinner from Olive Garden before they left town.

5/28 - Since this post is long enough here is a snapshot of today: I got to sleep in until 10:30 {THANKS MARDELL!}. Marvin & Daphne stopped by shortly. We ran errands {Target, Pet Co, Bed Bath Beyond, Wal-Mart, Blueville Nursery}. Finished the evening on a walk with pups.

Week: 5/15-5/21

5/15 - Mardell and I decided it was finally okay to take the girls around a group of people. We both had been trying to keep the girls germ free for as long as possible since they were so small when we brought them home. Since it had been too long since we had been to church due to me being on bed rest prior to the girls arriving we planned on getting up in time to get them ready and make the early service. We got up as planned, got the girls ready and thought we planned to feed them early enough to get to church on time... but the ladies are in charge and decided to take their time eating. We still made it to church we were just a little *cough* 15 minutes late. It felt great to be back at church and both girls were great!

After church cousins Charlie and Emma came by to meet Malia and McKenna. The first thing Charlie said when he walked in the door was, "I want to hold them!" Papa Dave helped while Charlie took turns holding both girls. Mardell and I had not seen Emma or Charlie for over a month and it was amazing how much they both had grown. Baby Emma is getting SO big - well at least next to her cousins she looked BIG! :)

Around noon we left our house to go celebrate cousin Zach's first birthday. It was great getting to watch him play with his cake and open his gifts. Great Grandma and Grandpa Whitesell gave him a ball pit that was a huge hit. It only took him about two minutes to learn how to throw the balls OUT of the pit! Before we left we made sure to get a picture of Malia and McKenna with Great Grandma and Grandpa Whitesell since I forgot to get one at the hospital.

5/16 - Just another Lazy Day while Mardell was at work.

5/17 - MALIA IS 1 MONTH OLD!

Dr Appt #2: The little ladies had their one month appointment. Both girls are GROWING and doing well. Malia was 6 lb 11 oz and McKenna was 7 lb 9 oz.

5/18 - MCKENNA IS 1 MONTH OLD!

5/19 - After lounging around the house all day I took the girls with me to Junction City to meet my class after their 5th Grade Promotion. McKenna and Malia hid in Graham's classroom during the promotion and after it was over my students were finally able to meet them. My students were looking forward to meeting the girls throughout the entire year and called several times while I was on bed rest to check on me. Before we left the school we had to make sure to get pictures with Aunt Jenn and Ressa.

5/20 - While Mardell was at work we girls just hung out around the house and played dress up. I decided that in order to wear all of their clothes it would take several outfits each day so we sent these pictures to show Mardell what he was missing out on!

5/21 - Great Aunt Rhonda and cousin Sienna were in Waterville so they came to town with Great Grandma Lydia to see Malia and McKenna. Sienna is usually a very chatty girl but she wasn't sure about the babies when they first got here. Nana, Aunt Dava and cousin Emma also came by. It was really neat getting to see all of the next generation of Lindquist girls together - we even got Sienna to hold McKenna before the left!

Week: 5/8-5/14

5/8 & 5/9 - McKenna and Malia got some good cuddle time with Mardell and I on these two days... nothing else really happened.

5/10 - Stef & Allie came over to meet the little ladies. McKenna and Malia enjoyed soaking up the attention and got to check out Stef's new set of wheels.

5/11 - SHOPPING!!!!! Mardell and I needed to make a few stops around town and decided for their first shopping trip we needed to introduce the girls to each of our favorite shopping spots! While at Target I made sure to show McKenna and Malia my favorite sections: shoes, purses, and of course the baby clothes. Mardell shared his love of technology with his daughters at Best Buy. He made sure to show them all of the flats screens and mac computers (yes, we're raising the next generation of mac lovers!).

5/12 - We spent the morning hanging out on the mat that the girls got from Aunt Dava, Chelsea and Mandy. Both girls actually stayed awake - on most days at least one of the girls is asleep on the mat!

5/13 - I had to go into the school so Nana came by for a little bit to spend time with Malia and McKenna. The girls got in a lot of tummy time and cuddle time while I was gone.

5/14 - Papa Dave came to town to pick up some things for work and luckily the parts weren't in so he was able to get in some quick snuggle time. Gran-D came over a little later in the morning and then went with Mardell to check out the food trucks for Food Networks the Great Food Truck Race. Mardell and I were really looking forward to trying their food but it turns out the girls and I were too tired to leave the house... which turned out to be a good thing since we would have ended up being in line for a couple of hours!

Week: 5/1-5/7

5/1 - Nothing too special happened this day. I have about 15 random pictures of the girls throughout the house but most of this day the girls spent eating and sleeping... and of course they got in some good cuddle time!

5/2 - Off to the Doctor's we go! McKenna and Malia had their first Doctors appointment. This was the first time we took the girls out of the house since we had been home from the hospital. I strongly considered taking Lysol Disinfectant Spray with us as well as Clorox Wipes and Germ-X but my wise husband convinced me that they would survive their short encounter with the outside world. Both girls were doing great: Malia was right at 5 lb (came home from the hospital 4 lb 6 oz) and McKenna was 5 lb 10 oz (came home from the hospital 4 lb 13 oz).

After leaving the doctors office we dropped off the girls vitamin prescription, stopped for a quick lunch and ran by my doctors. Both girls were great on their first outing and we had NO meltdown. We even were able to make it home before it was time to eat again - yes, we did all of that within 2 1/2 hours!

5/3 - While Mardell was at work I spent the morning on the floor with Malia, McKenna, Mya & Ellie. It turns out that all four girls LOVE tummy time! Mya & Ellie love to try to lick the girls and supervise nicely!

Later in the evening Malia and McKenna had visitors stop by. Joe & Michelle came to town to meet the little ladies. Both girls seemed very happy to meet more family while I simply enjoyed having several adults in the house to converse with!

5/4 & 5/5 - Nothing really happened on these days. The girls were looking very adorable though so I have about 25 pictures of them just being cute!

5/6 - Reesa came to visit! After school was out Reesa came by to meet McKenna and Malia and brought some YUMMY homemade mac & cheese. Yay for meeting more of the Westwood family!

After she left we decided to bust out the stroller and take our first family walk. It was great getting fresh air and the dogs loved finally being outside for more than just a few minutes. Malia and McKenna enjoyed it so much that they slept the entire time! :)

5/7 - Aunt Dava and Uncle Dusty came down for the morning. Aunt Dava had not seen the girls since she visited them in the hospital and this was the first time Uncle Dusty got to meet them. Children under 12 were not allowed to visit in the hospital so when they came down he stayed outside with cousins Charlie and Emma.

After Aunt Dava and Uncle Dusty left Laura came by to take some newborn pictures of Malia and McKenna. We were very excited that she was able to fit us in her busy schedule and she took some GREAT photos!

While getting ready to take pictures Malia decided to be SUPER BABY and rolled onto her tummy and then BACK onto her back. Was this a complete accident? Probably. But still cool? Yes! McKenna decided to stay awake throughout the entire photoshoot (even though she had just eaten and was suppose to be sleeping) and made very adorable faces for Laura to capture.

Week: 4/24-4/30

4/24 - Our first Easter (see post below)

4/25 - Great Grandma Lydia was sweet enough to come spend the morning with the girls. Mardell went back to work part time so I gladly welcomed an extra pair of arms. She arrived just in time for the first feeding of the day and then spoiled Malia and McKenna with three hours of being held, I'm not sure who was happier.

4/26 - BATH NIGHT! Both girls enjoyed their bath and there was very little fussing. This was the one event I was putting off after returning from the hospital but it turns out that dogs are great practice and we pulled it off smoothly. Here are the girls all snuggled up after getting on their pj's and off in dreamland!

4/27 - Uncle Nick came by to visit. Malia and McKenna enjoyed the extra loving that they got while Mardell and Nick caught up! Later that afternoon Charli stopped by to visit. I had a great time hearing stories about my students.

4/28 - LAZY DAY. We didn't have any visitors and just hung out around the house all day. Mardell did get in some good bonding time with the girls and introduced them to their first NFL draft!

4/29 - Thank goodness we got a little off of our schedule and were able to watch the Royal Wedding! This was the first time I was excited to get up at 4 a.m.!

The girls FINALLY were able to meet Aunt Sissy. She was in Manhattan and decided to stop by. McKenna and Malia were sleeping but we needed to document the moment on camera so I made her hold them (yep, they slept through it)!

Graham and Stuck came after school to drop off a delicious meal and were able to feed the girls! I was very surprised that Jenn was able to wait as long as she did before coming to see the little ladies. Malia and McKenna were able to spend some quality time with some of their favorite teachers at Westwood!

4/30 - We spent a peaceful day at home just the 6 of us (if you're confused by the extra two than you forgot our dogs!).

More to follow...

I am not sure where I thought I would find the time to update this thing regularly but between diaper changes, feeding the girls, washing bottles, doing laundry, taking out the dogs... it looks like I let the blog slip off of the map again! It's hard enough finding time to eat 3 meals a day (I actually don't remember the last time this happened). However, I have decided that from this point on I will put up a post AT LEAST once a week!

In order to get caught up on the first month of past posts I have decided to just put up one post for each past week with a summary of the people we met, places we went and things we did (yes, being a few weeks old IS that exciting). My intentions are to have this done by the end of the night but don't get your hopes up... fingers crossed I have this checked off of the to do list by Friday!

Stay posted :)