Thank you for all of your support since the last post! To let you know, we actually heard about the biting incident from the parents of the biter - good friends of ours! And they apologized multiple times, so no retaliation is warranted at this time :)

Abigial's left cheek is sporting an interesting impression today...no it's not Gigi's lipstick and it's not from Sydney (although I wouldn't blame her sometimes). The bite-until-you-get-your-way tactic was utilized on Abigail by a friend's child in the nursery this morning! Not a big deal to us, because we know that this is how kids are - but we hope that this won't be used between our girls anytime soon. Apparently, the boy was attempting to take the jack-in-the-box toy (that Abigail loves so much) away from her, but she stood her ground. The bite phased her only for a few seconds, and she kept the toy for the remainder of the church service!

Other excitement in our household this weekend - Sydney tinkled for the first time in the new training potty (which was more than likely a reflex) and Abigail can roll her tongue! You go girls!

Sorry folks but you'll have to click here to see our little ice skaters. I guess Blogger does not want to sync with the video today.

Sydney and Abigail are showing us new skills everyday. Notice one of the songs, "True Companion," while they attempt to hold hands. A grandparent tear jerker, for sure!

Sleeping is a very popular topic for anyone who has young children. Actually, it is the first thing that I think of when a person asks us, "How are the girls?." My mind immediately traces back to the night before or the past few nights, and Sydney's and/or Abigail's sleep patterns seem to dominate the conversation. Maybe it is because sleep for Mama and Daddy is precious and the loss of it can feel devistating, or maybe it is because it affects so many other things. If the girls sleep well in the night, then they will usually take good nap(s) during the day, be more cheerful, and make our lives so much easier. Early in their lives (like in the one month picture above), we were very apprehensive to go into their room and comfort a crying baby because her sister would awaken and complicate the situation - imagine the 4 of us out of bed at 2:30 in the morning and playing for an hour as if it was the middle of the day! Now the girls will usually sleep through a screaming sister! How are they sleeping now? Good! Other than a this week's cough and cold with Sydney that wakes her up on occasion, the past two nights have been restful.

Another facet of sleeping that can be an issue - going to sleep. I've heard of other families that have had trouble with this, but Sydney and Abigail, for almost every night of their 19 month lives, have gone to sleep easily. Rebekah thinks that they just like their beds that much! Our nighttime routine has not changed much over their lives - pajamas/diaper change, brush teeth, cup of water (or milk bottle early on), read a story and/or prayer time, hugs and kisses, and PACO and LEO! Paco is the fist-sized stuffed dog that Sydney is fond of, and Leo is Abigail's 'liger' (tiger, lion - we don't really know, so we'll go with Napoleon's favorite - the liger). The girls literally run to their room, now, and scream "Paco, Paco, Paco!" because they are so excited! Mama and Daddy have been able to count on the two or three hours after the girls go down as "us" time - how nice.

Mother's Day 'knock' Out - Sydney and Abigail play hard twice a week at a program near our home and will occasionally pass out from exhaustion on the five minute drive home. The pictures are from December and before the girls took to naptime at MDO. We recently figured out that sending their stuffed animals and blankets, which usually stay in their cribs at all times, helps motivate an hour or two of shut-eye after lunch. Drop-off and pick-up times seem to be improving - both Sydney and Abigail are eager to kiss Mama and get to the new books and toys in the mornings, and they run from Daddy in the afternoons!

It is always amazing to see these two little 18 month old humans practicing a concept that many adults have not fully grasped -- sharing. In our household, it is a necessity. Often times, the sharing is motivated from wanting what the other person has - for instance, Abigail will see that she likes the book that Sydney is reading; she will find a toy or book to replace Sydney's book, force the new book into Sydney's lap, and quickly snatch the book that she wants. Most of the time, both sides recognize the game and are happy to oblige - other times we have a tug of war that never has a pretty ending. In the above pictures, Abigail is sacrificing a portion of her precious sweet potatoes for her sister, who had gobbled all of hers up. Of course, they are not perfect - from what we have witnessed, sharing with other kids needs fine tuning.

Since we are all having so much fun with our little family, we don't have time to keep you updated through the blog! As you can see from the pictures, Sydney and Abigail know how to smile on cue. They are becoming less frustrated with daily life and showing it through their fun personalities and their beautiful smiles. Papa and Grandma were in town last weekend and Mama and Daddy were able to have a night alone at a bed-and-breakfast 'retreat'. How refreshing!

Time is precious, but I vow to post more in the coming days! Maybe even every day...since there is so much to say.

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In the middle of our family Christmas morning, the tree at Gigi and Granddaddy's began to blink on and off...Sydney found the foot switch for the lights! Although both Sydney and Abigail had plenty of newly opened toys to play with at the time, they were more excited by the blinking lights and the wrapping paper (as you can see in the video). </p><p>Although we had an in-town Christmas this year and did not have to fight the crowds on the interstates, Christmas day was a marathon! The girls needed their oh-so-precious naps in the afternoon, so we traveled from our house to Franklin, back to our house for naps, and out to Bellevue for more Christmas! 2 hours in the car, 40 miles, and three Christmases - whew. We were able to spend quality time with my immediate family on Christmas Eve night and had fun playing games. And, yes, we all received everything on our wish lists and more. We ushered in the new year with good friends and good food. Everyone in our family is finally healthy and well, and we are looking forward to the adventures of 2007. Happy New Year!