Brooke Rolls

Our little Brookie rolls!! I caught her first roll on my iphone ( amazing thechnology). The girls aren't even 4 months old yet so we were surprised that she has been rolling on her sides and so close but before this roll she was getting more momentum built up so I started video taping. Ignore Claire screaming in the background I was trying to calm her down but had to video Brooke when I saw this happening!

She was so proud of herself!!

Pumpkin Patch

Here are some of the pics from the pumpkin patch!

Holding Poppy's hand...so excited to be at the pumpkin patch

He loved the wagon
And wanted the biggest pumpkins

He loved running into the corn maze
He had so much fun

Slacker!!

I have been awful with the blog!! Mainly because I always want pictures to accompany my posts (but you will have to wait till tomorrow for pics). It has been a busy couple of months. Nothing can prepare you to handle 3 kids under 2!! But it does get easier each day, here are my updates on each baby:

Ethan - He is as handsome as can be (and he looks like his father) so he is a lucky boy!! I have mentioned before that he had a hard time adjusting to his sisters. But we have come to discover that he has a speech delay and possibly a sensory disorder. He knows how to tell us what he wants without words but can't communicate with words. It looks like he'll qualify for the state funded therapy program . Which mean he has to rank 33% below his developmental age. So it is heartbreaking news that he so behind but it is also a blessing that we caught it early and he will receive the help he needs!

Claire- She has been smiling for a few weeks now and she started to giggle last week. Now she will full laugh when I kiss her. She is such a cuddler and loves her mom! She has great head control but hates tummy time, we have to work on rolling over...she's gotta beat her sis and that will take lots of work!! As of today she weighed in at 11lbs 11oz.

Brooke- She is soooo social. If you even walk past her she will smile and "talk to you" she loves people and playing with anyone who will give her attention. She just laughed for the 1st time today! She is soooo close to rolling over, we just need to work on that neck strength. And she weighted in at 10lbs 14.5 oz

Ok pics of the pumpkin patch to come tomorrow....I promise!!

We're alive....

....but everything is a blur!! I couldn't tell you what happened yesterday! Okay well maybe I could since Jeff got sick (either food or salmonella poisoning) and Hot Grammy had to come to the rescue....but for the most part I don't know what day it is!

The girls are 2 months old. They are smiling at us and they are starting to "play" on their own. They are amazing sleepers (nothing like Ethan ever was). They go to bed around 8, then we wake them to eat when we go to bed around 11 and they sleep to 5 or 6 then get up again around 8. It works out well and gives us some alone time with Ethan before the girls get up.

Claire

Brooke
The Girls


Ethan is slooooowwwwllyyy.....very slowly adjusting to his sisters. For the 1st month they were here after each nap he would run downstairs so excited until he saw that the babies were still here and then he would have a complete meltdown. But those are in the past now, he realizes the girls are here to stay.

His age right is hard because he can't really talk to us yet but he is starting to understand us and will take our hand and pull us to what he wants. I can't wait for him to start talking and communicating with us (I know once he does start talking I will wonder if he'll ever stop). The funniest is when we have a baby and he wants to be held he'll pull us to the swing and grab the babies leg while yelling "down." We make sure to give him 1 on 1 time with us each day. I take him somewhere in the morning and Jeff does something with him in the afternoon. He definitely gets lots of love from us but we still feel beyond guilty when he's watching TV again cause were feeding the babies. I just keep imaging how awesome next summer will be when the the kids are all friends and can play together. I am living a dream here (not thinking of the fights and tantrums)...so don't burst my bubble here!!
And last but not least here is a picture of my handsome baby boy

Ethan

They're here!!

Our baby girls are here!!
They were both born June 28, 2010 at 7:48am

Claire Addison
6 pounds 7ounces
and

Brooke Riley
5 pounds 1 ounce

The girls beautiful and they are doing great. They are in the NICU and we are not sure when they will be coming home with us, but they are very healthy for twins and just need some help with eating and breathing.

Here are some pictures of the little ones
http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffstarkel/StarkelTwins

Baby Showers

We have been blessed with 2 wonderful baby showers!! The girls have been so spoiled by our family and friends.

The 1st one my parents and sister put together in the Bay Area. Ethan was still trying to get over his awful cold and we were so close to having to cancel but we pulled through. It was a little rough because Ethan just wasn't happy, but Jeff and I had a great time!!

The 2nd baby shower a few of my friends put together. It was just the girls and my Mom and sister came up to hang out with us too!! It was nice to have a morning away from kids and just chat with my friends!!

We are so lucky to have such wonderful family and friends!! Thank you all!!

3 Car Seats

The car seats are installed and there is no room for anyone but the babies!!

31 Week Belly Pics

We had a doctor appointment at 30 weeks and the doctor said I was measuring the size of someone 40 weeks pregnant with 1 baby!! Wow...no wonder it is impossible to do anything and its only going to get worse.
But I have still been able to take Ethan to the park and doing all our normal errands. We get lots of stares, some questions and plenty of comments. And I love when someone makes a rude comment like "you sure didn't want long to have another...when are you due?" and I will say July and keep walking. I keep the twin information to a minimum as it brings on another set of questions and comments. Today Ethan dropped one of the groceries he was playing with while I was loading the car and I went to get it but this guy said "let me get that for you, I'm affraid you would topple over if you tried!" And its almost true, I am a little front heavy.