Our "Parrot" Twins... and Teething Evie

Some more updates.... we'll start with the house. It is done... yep, done. Now before you get too excited (myself included) we are not all situated yet. At this point I would be happy if we were by March 2010 :) We even got the living room done/remodelled ..... I packed up the kids and went to stay with my mom for almost 2 weeks while it got gutted and re-sheet rocked. It looks like a completely new room with the new windows, new entertainment center, steamed carpets (they look like new again)... AND our new 55" LED TV and blue ray player we have streaming Netflix movies instantly. LOVE IT. And just today we had a cleaning service come through and do a thorough cleaning for us to catch us up (we hadn't cleaned since we started the remodel - what was the point?) and to clean up all the construction "dust" and residue. Next we'll do some more touch ups (paint etc) and put up the closet organization in our master suite and we MIGHT be ready to move in after that :). By move in, I mean move our stuff into the new master suite, then get our old master suite ready for the boys to move into and move them.... then FINALLY get Evie into her own room (the boys' old room). Whew :) Always SOMETHING going on at the Hoglund household, I tell ya :) And somewhere in there I even found the time to make/order up Xmas cards that also double as Evie's baby announcement. Those should be going out soon - so keep your eye out for them.

Let's start with Evie this time. Evie is now almost 4 1/2 months old and has been teething for the last month or so. She crams that little fist of hers fully into her mouth and chews on her fingers to no end. And she's got those red rosy cheeks that usually are a good clue a tooth is about to emerge. All in all she is handling it quite well and still pretty laid back as far as babies go. She rolled over from belly to back for the first time shortly after turning 4 months (actually during her photo shoot the other weekend).... and today she found her feet while waiting for me to get her morning bottle ready. She had found her hands a month or so back - amazing how those can entertain them so well (the way they look in amazement at them). She is a little chatterbox too. Giggling at us... gurgling ..... and her newest, squealing and screeching with excitement. She's getting big too. At her 4 month appt she was 14 lbs 3 oz... almost double her birth weight which puts her in the 75+ percentile. And she's already busting out of her 3-6 month clothes - darn it, I haven't even gotten her wearing half of the cute outfits I have in that size. They grow too fast.

The boys.... wow, I don't even know where to begin with them. They are little apes and parrots... meaning they copy EVERYTHING we do and say. And I have to admit... I did hear a slight "swear" (GDI) out of one of them the other day, copying me. Shame on me..... am watching myself closely now. But they will repeat almost ANY word you throw at them now and actually know and understand so many as it is. They can put together sentences and are quite understandable... to us, anyway, and love to ask questions then answer their own questions. "Where Daddy Go? Daddy Work." They are big into jumping now (the trampoline at ECFE is a big hit for them lately), and play hide and seek - they laugh SO hard when I find them. They also have full range of the house (vs being gated in the living room) ...... well almost full range - we close all the bedroom doors to make sure they don't get into things they shouldn't. But they are enjoying their new found freedom. They are obsessed with the vacuum and going into the closet to get that out - wish they knew how to use it :) And they love making their little sister smile and laugh.... Oscar especially who just can't give her enough kisses and hugs throughout the day.

Well, there is tons more to note, but not enough room on this page (or enough strength in my fingers to type it out)...... so let's just get onto the picture portion y'all are scrolling straight down to anyway.

First off just had to share these pictures of Evie. I had taken them before their photo shoot the other weekend to see if that adorable little tutu would work for pictures. Guess it did :)

BTW - if these bigger pictures keep getting cut off for you (what I keep hearing from some), click on them and you will be directed to the original picture on our picasa.com site

MacKay and Oscar playing in their new living room. Oscar loves running after and kicking the ball as hard as he can ... and MacKay loves his Tonka dump truck and speeding around the house with it.

MacKay and Oscar watching themselves on video (from earlier this year). Also, a glimpse of our new TV, entertainment center, painted (vs panelled) wall, and pine ceiling. Also, threw in a picture of Evie enjoying the show during some tummy time as well.

It might not happen often, but it DOES happen.... the boys playing nice with each other. Reading a book together, and working together to empty all the shoes out of our front hall closet.

Rough-housing with Daddy. The boys love horsie back rides - they sit on Chris's back while he is lying on the floor relaxing and shoot "Uppie... Uppie.... UPPIE" until he finally gives in and gives them a ride.

MacKay our line-backer: Lately MacKay loves to tackle Oscar anytime he sits on Chris while he is lying on the floor. He'll come from no where and just tackle Oscar to the ground which usually results in Oscar whining or crying, and MacKay feeling pretty proud of himself.

Had to put these pictures in of Evie in her "Little Lady" Ladybug out fit from my Aunt Claudia, Uncle Greg and cousins Sarah and Becky. She also has a little lady bug dress from them that I hope to capture on film to share at a later date too.

Evie's first encounter with the exersaucer. She really loved all the noises it made - the boys immediately recognized their old toy and "showed" her how to fully utilize it over and over and over again. Her eyes were wide with amazement over all the flashing lights and noises. Note: check out the rosy (teething) cheeks too :)

MacKay with one of his favorite all time books (which has seen it's better days and has been taped up many times) "The Roly Poly Spider". Oscar playing with Daddy's drill and helping him hang some blinds in our new bedroom.

Lastly, a picture of Evie from today where she had found her feet.

Check back in a couple weeks. Hope to post fun Xmas pictures - maybe even a picture with Santa (and my kids crying of course). Have a very Merry Christmas everyone.