Blog Update

We are excited you are checking out the Perry Twins blog again. We apologize for the delay in getting updated information posted. But we believe we are back up and running with regular monthly updates. We will continue to update the photo album as pictures are taken. Please check back regularly to see what antics Evan and Nolette have been up to.

August 2006 (2 Years 5 Months)

August has been another month of many firsts…

• We thought Nolette may be ready to potty train as she decided to sit on the toilet several times and poop. But this was apparently just a quick lived phase as the next week she wanted NOTHING to do with the toilet.
• Evan and Nolette have started recognizing people’s voices on the phone and having real conversations with them. Now if only the person on the other end of the phone could understand what the kids were saying.
• Great Grandpa Hoover (Opa’s Daddy) came to visit from Evansville, IN. He was surprised how far in the “country” we actually lived. But we believe he was more impressed with Evan & Nolette’s microwaveable french fries.
• We went to our first baseball game with Oma, Opa, and Great Grandpa Hoover, the Fisher Cats vs. the Mets. Go Fisher Cats!
• Oma and Mommy took Evan and Nolette to the Children’s Museum in Boston. We are not sure if they enjoyed playing with all the toys or people watching more.

July 2006 (2 Years 4 Months)
We have been enjoying the summer. We celebrated the fourth of July with the Witt family. We visited with the Freund Family in Vermont. Mommy and Daddy asked, “where oh where have the years gone?” because the kids out numbered the adults (7 kids under age 5 and only 6 adults). Be sure to check out the photos. But we are happy to report we all survived. We also spent a week at “Camp Hoover”, Oma & Opa’s House. (Check out our handmade T-shirts.) The preschool requires posting of vacations early in the season so Mom allowed us to skip school for a whole week, but Mommy & Daddy had to work.

June 2006 (2 Years 3 Months)
Yeah, Daddy’s work schedule has started to normalize and we are able to spend more time with him. We are getting more and more active, and have more and more energy to use up each day. Mommy has been trying to find new things for us to do and go. This month we rode the Merry Go Round at the Mall – “ Getty up horsey”. We also learned to play games at Chucky Cheese – we love people watching and eating pizza more than the games.

May 2006 (2 Years 2 Months)

“Swimming is fun!” or at least that is what Oma keeps telling us. And luckily with summer in full swing, we are going to the pool or Greenfield Lake a couple times a week. Evan is more interested in playing on the side of the pool or in the sand and watching all of the people, but Nolette is a little fish. We are spending a lot of time at the park. We love playing outside! And Mom and Dad love it also because it makes us tired and ready for bed.

April 2006 (2 Years 1 Month)
Spring is in the air! We are looking forward to the nice weather and being able to spend more time outside. We had a lot of fun preparing for the Easter Bunny; we dyed Easter eggs and helped make the Hoover Easter Bunny Cake. Now it is time to go find those eggs. Cold Stone is finally OPEN!!!! Grammy’s, Grampy’s & Daddy’s ice cream store finally opened. Good thing is that we get LOTS of ice cream, but unfortunately we do not get to spend a lot of time with Daddy. Kristen, one of our school teachers, has been helping Mommy and Daddy out by babysitting us on Saturdays.

March 2006 (2 Years Old)
Happy Birthday to Us, Happy Birthday to Us, Happy Birthday to Us! Happy Birthday to Us! We hope Mommy and Daddy are ready for the terrible twos times two!!! Really all it means to us is we have an excuse to cause trouble and to be bad. Watch Out, here we come.

February 2006 (1 Year 11 Months)
We have graduated from our cribs to our big kids beds, or at least we finally got the rails down as we were able to climb in and out of the cribs on our own. We love our new beds and have adjusted well to the new toddler bed. Although, now we can have “sleep overs” behind our door – the joys of freedom. Daddy’s new store is getting ready to open. He spent two weeks in sunny Phoenix, AZ attending the Ice Cream University.

January 2006 (1 Year 10 Months)

We love winter and playing in the snow. We are saying more and more words everyday. Mommy & Daddy can not keep up with everything we are saying.

December 2005 (1 Year 9 Months)
Happy Holidays! Have you been naughty or nice? According to St. Nick we have been very nice and are looking forward to Santa bringing LOTS and LOTS of gifts. But first we all have to get healthy; we both had ear infections, colds, and a stomach bug for most of the month. Not to worry we felt well enough to have fun exploring Grammy’s & Grampy’s new house in Milford. We received more presents than we could ever imagine…a few included: Sleds from Nan, a kitchen and train table from Oma & Opa, and big wheels from Grammy & Grampy. We celebrated New Year’s Eve with Mike, Karin, and Natalie.

November 2005 (1 Year 8 Months)
It is time to start collecting the Evan & Nolette Translation Dictionary. A few of the new words are:

“Autm, Autm” – Nolette (translation “Autumn, Autumn”)
“Wher Rah, Rah?” – Evan (translation “Where’s Sarah”, the kids’ teacher)
“Mne” – Evan (translation “MINE”)

In addition to the kids rapidly expanding vocabulary, Daddy hosted a Dads & Kids day with Josh, Johna, Jeremy, Olivia, Delhia, Mike, Natalie and us. We had fun walking on the trails behind the house. Evan and Nolette started their first swimming class on Mondays with Mommy and Oma -- and Great Grandpa directing.

October 2005 (1 Year 7 Months)
Happy Halloween! October was safety month at school; the Nashua Fire Department came with their fire trucks. Nolette loved climbing on the trucks…shh, don’t tell but Evan was scared. As we believe there is “No Place Like Home”, Evan was the Cowardly Lion for Halloween and Nolette Dorothy. We got lots of good loot as we went trick or treating at the Mason Fire Department, Mommy’s work, Grammy and Grampy’s, Nan’s and the Witt’s.

September 2005 (1 Year 6 Months)
Evan and Nolette are growing so quickly. September has been a month of many firsts and the kids really showing us their own personalities.

Evan – Weights 24.8 lbs & is 32.8”tall;
- Has a mouth full of teeth;
- Started saying “uh oo” when he drops items (and actually all the time);
- Came home from school with blue hair after finger painting.

Nolette - Weights 22.4 lbs & is 32.4” tall;
- Started saying “what’s that”;
- Barking at dogs to get their attention;
- Took one of the new girls at school around and showed her the way things are done.

Other joint accomplishments this month include:
- Moving to booster chairs at daycare (instead of high chairs);
- Blowing kisses to people;
- Trying to climb out of their cribs;
- Eating for spoons and forks;
- Coloring on their chalk board.

We are really enjoying watching them change everyday!

August 2005 (1 Year 5 Months)

August has been a month of lots of babbling! Both Evan and Nolette are trying so hard to speak but very little is coming out. We have been able to distinguish the following words from Nolette: Ball, Duck, Daddy, Pretty – only heard her say it once. Evan has mastered Daddad but does care on full conversations with us in his own words.

A special thanks to all of the grandparents for assisting with all of our babysitting needs this month; enabling Christopher and Kirsten to go to a Fisher Cats Baseball Game, spend a day Kayaking and just enjoy some quiet time!

July 2005 (1 Year 4 Months)
It is amazing how busy this month has been…or is it just the fact that Evan and Nolette have more and more energy that we are trying, by whatever means possible, to use up!

A few of July’s highlights include:
*Meeting some of Mommy and Daddy’s old friends (Susan, Sarah & Chip);
*Spending time with Nan, Nana, Great Aunt Laurie, and Cousins - Alexandra and Vanessa;
*Spending time with Mike, Karin and Natalie as they now live so close;
*Enjoying the playground and interacting with other kids at daycare;
*Being sent home from daycare sick for a week;
*New landscaping was installed which included a stone retaining wall to level out the yard and grass, that we hope will grow quickly so we will have a nice area to play.
*Having Grammy & Grampy over for dinner; and
*Oma & Opa taking care of us while Mommy, Daddy, Mike and Karin took and adult vacation to Williamsburg, VA.

These are just the highlights for this month, so I am sure you all can imagine how busy we all have been!

June 2005 (1 Year 3 Months)
In June, we started going to day care three days a week. We still are really enjoying ourselves and often can not get to class early enough. Mommy and Daddy say they have seen a real difference in us over the last month. We are walking everywhere and have starting to test our boundaries – not quite sure what that means, but we do hear “No!” all the time.

We celebrated Father’s Day with a Barbeque at our house with Daddy, Opa, Grampy and Great Uncle Bill (Mommy’s Uncle).

We also had out of town guests come visit us: Great Uncle Bill and Great Aunt Julie (Mommy’s Aunt & Uncle) came for a visit from Evansville, IN and Mrs. Parcover, Laurie, Antonio, and Mike came from Baltimore, MD to come play in our new playroom.

We also have survived our first round of ear infections – it is going to be a long summer!

May 2005 (1 Year 2 Months)
The big news this month is that Mommy went back to work! Therefore, we have been passed around for child care….Oma and Nan each took care of us for one day a week and then we went to day care for two days a week. We really enjoyed spending the time with Oma and Nan – it sure is nice to get so many hugs and kisses! Daycare is the coolest! We are the babies of our 10 student class. We spend lots of time playing outside, going to music class and making art work for mommy’s and daddy’s office.

We celebrated Mother’s Day this year by hosting a brunch at our house for Mommy, Oma, Nan and Nana -- we are great cooks with Daddy’s help!

April 2005 (1 Year 1 Month)
Wow – What a difference in Evan and Nolette in a single month! Evan and Nolette are starting to eat us out of house and home and what they do not like the dogs love. Some highlights for the month include:
• Celebrating Mackenzie’s 2nd Birthday;
• Nolette “getting permission” from her GI Doctor to drink whole milk. We are now buying 5 gallons of milk a week;
• Having our year photos taken (see Photo Album – Professional Photos);
• Nolette taking off on her own and walking everywhere;
• Spending the night at Oma & Opa Hoover’s house;
• An unexpected visit from family friends - Jeremy, Amy, Olivia & Dehlia;
• Cousins Alexandra & Vanessa completing a Baby Sitting Course especially with Evan & Nolette in mind;
• Enjoying Grampy Perry’s free time;
• Starting to enjoy the spring weather with a lot of afternoon walks.

Blog Change
As Evan and Nolette are now a year old and will not be accomplishing milestones on a daily basis, we will update the Blog once a month. We will continue to update the photo album as pictures are taken. Please check back regularly to see what Evan and Nolette have been up to.

March 23 – March 31, 2005 (1 Year 1 Week)
This week we switched to “big boy/girl” car seats. We are finally old enough and weigh enough to sit in forward facing car seats. It has been a weird experience to see what is ahead of us instead of where we have been. The first day we were in our car seats we got sick all over Mommy’s car. Mommy and Daddy were nervous that we were getting car sick but we really just had a nasty stomach bug --- YUCK! We also celebrated our second Easter with the McNiff family on Saturday and Perry family on Sunday. Aunt Andrea flew in from Denver to visit for the holidays; we enjoyed spending the weekend with her. Once we started feeling better we started eating “real” food and we are looking forward to experiencing Daddy’s great cooking.

March 16 – March 22, 2005 (1 Year Old)

Happy Birthday to Us!

Happy Birthday to Us!

Happy Birthday to USSSS!

Happy Birthday Us!

We are happy to say we are now 1 year old. We are not quite sure what the big deal is but are enjoying the extra attention. To celebrate our birthday, Mommy & Daddy throw us a Winnie the Pooh party. We would like to thank everyone who stopped by the party to celebrate with us and to all those who called or sent us notes with their best wishes. Please check out a few of the pictures from our party under the March 2005 Photo Album – Page 2. Stay toned to see what new things we are up to over the next year and how we adjust to “real” food, walking and our other many new adventures to come.

March 9 – March 15, 2005 (11 Months Three Weeks)
Evan and Nolette have just realized that their birthday is a week away and have been busy hitting milestones. This week Nolette has started:
*Barking at the dogs;
*Walking extremely well with the hippo walker;
*Taking two steps at a time unassisted; and
*Clapping her hands.
Evan does not want Nolette to pass him, so he has been busy doing the following:
*Walking with the hippo walker;
*Clapping his hands;
*Getting his top left front tooth; and
*Eating “adult” food.
Additionally, this week both kids went to Grammy Perry’s beauty salon for their first haircut.

March 2 – March 8, 2005 (11 Months Two Weeks)

Evan and Nolette were excited to welcome Grammy & Grampy Perry back from their Florida vacation and show off their new achievements during lunch at dad’s office. Nolette has been busy shaking her head no and perfecting her “bah, bah, bah’s.” Evan has started to torment his sister by dangling her favorite puppy outside the crib and then dropping it while maintaining a devilish smile. We believe Nolette took her first independent step this week between the laundry basket and her dresser – we are certainly not ready for the kids to be walking!

February 23 – March 1, 2005 (11 Months One Week)

A busy and yet pretty uneventful week. We had dinner with Oma and Opa on Thursday evening and Dawn and Mackenzie on Friday. Oma and Opa babysat Evan and Nolette on Sunday so Kirsten and Christopher could enjoy dinner out to celebrate their 6^th Wedding Anniversary. Evan has been busy getting into as much trouble as he can find and Nolette has started to say “Bah, Bah, Bah”.

February 16 – 22, 2005 (11 Months)

Happy 11 Month Birthday! Evan and Nolette spent a night at Oma and Opa Hoover’s so we could paint our living room. The living room now has a “warm feel” and is more “kid friendly” with a new TV cabinet. Nana, Nan, Aunt Laurie, Alexandra and Vanessa came over to play with the kids and to see how much they are crawling – but no one was crawling that day. Nolette has finally started to pull herself up on her own and she is already working on standing unassisted. Evan is still crawling all over the place and seeing how many places/things he can get into.

February 9 – 15, 2005 (10 Months Three Weeks)
It has been a busy week visiting friends and family. Wednesday - Kirsten’s best friends from Germany came over to visit and meet Evan and Nolette for the first time. Saturday – We drove to Connecticut to help Jonah celebrate his 1st Birthday. Sunday – We spent the day playing with Mike, Karin and Natalie. Sunday/Monday – Evan and Nolette spent the night at Nan McNiff’s and then went to work with her on Monday. In between all of our visits, Evan learned how to climb the stairs and unroll the toilet paper and Nolette got her first tooth.

February 2 – February 8, 2005 (10 Months Two Weeks)

We took a family trip to Ft. Myers, Florida to visit Grammy & Grampy Perry. It was a trip filled with “firsts”: it was Christopher’s 1^st flight with the kids and Evan & Nolette’s 1^st time swimming. Luckily the kids were pretty good on the flights (even with all the delays) so we all survived the 5 hour plane ride in one piece. Evan and Nolette loved the swimming pool. It took them a little time to warm up to the idea but we soon could not get them out of the water.

January 26 – February 1, 2005 (10 Months One Week)

This has been an extremely long, sleepless week! Nolette is trying some new formula to see if we can decrease her spit up. We have quickly decided that this one does not work as she has been up almost all night every night this week. Many thanks to Oma Hoover and Mycala (Kirsten’s mother’s helper) who came over to watch Evan & Nolette; enabling Kirsten to catch up on her sleep.

January 19 – 25, 2005 (10 Months)
Evan and Nolette are 10 months old and constantly on the move! Evan really enjoys doing laps around the house and has learned to pull up to his feet. He is also starting to walk with his “Hippo Walker”, but still needs parental guidance. Nolette has perfected crawling forward, however, is not quiet as adventurous as Evan yet. Debbie, a family friend of Kirsten’s, visited and was amazed at how big Evan and Nolette were and how happy they are. The kids also enjoyed playing in the 2 feet of snow we received during the “Blizzard of 2005”.

January 12 – 18, 2005 (9 Months 4 Weeks)

Evan & Nolette spent an evening exploring Nan’s house (see January 2005 photo album). We are quickly realizing how much the duo can really get into. Over the weekend, we made a last minute trip down to Connecticut to visit with Mike, Karin & Natalie. Evan continues to explore our house and is starting to venture further and further everyday. Nolette is still working on her crawling and appears to be getting closer everyday; however, her new favorite pass time is falling over and then setting herself back up.

January 5 – 11, 2005 (9 Months 3 Weeks)
The kids are starting to interact with each other and looking for each other to play. Evan is crawling all over the house and Nolette has no problem keeping up by rolling around. They have both been practicing their standing. We are sure they will be running after the dogs before we know it. Evan and Nolette also had their 9 month doctors appoint this week. The doctor is still amazed at how well they are doing. Evan weighs 19 lbs 1 oz and is 27.5” tall. Nolette weighs 18 lbs 14 oz and is also 27.5” tall.

December 29, 2004 – January 4, 2005 (9 Months 2 Weeks)
Happy New Year! Kirsten & Christopher celebrated the New Year holiday in New Jersey visiting with their old neighbors from Colorado. Kirsten’s mom and Christopher’s mom each spent a night with Evan & Nolette. Evan, Nolette & Nan (Christopher’s mom) celebrated the New Year early with a toast of formula.

December 22 – 28, 2004 (9 Months 1 Week)
Merry Christmas! We had the opportunity to celebrate for three days. On Christmas Eve, we celebrated Christmas with Kirsten’s parents. After opening presents with Kirsten’s parents we hosted a holiday open house. At the open house, Evan and Nolette learned the joy of balloons and Evan experienced fudge for the first time. Christmas Day was spent with Christopher’s mom and the entire McNiff family. Evan and Nolette once again enjoyed sugar as their Great Aunts and Uncles were attempting to give them cookies. On the Sunday after Christmas we hosted a brunch for Kirsten’s college roommate (Dawn) and her parents and then headed to Christopher’s fathers house. We enjoyed celebrating the holiday season with everyone!

December 15 – 21, 2004 (9 Months)
It has been a busy week of Christmas shopping. The kids have learned to shop until they drop (literally). Evan and Nolette went to see Santa Claus for the first time. They really liked his long white beard. We had to take Nolette to the doctor for a high fever. While at the doctor’s office, we believe Nolette took her first deliberate step. Luckily, no other steps have followed yet!

December 8 – December 14, 2004 (8 Months 3 Weeks)
We are happy to report (scared….but happy) that Evan is officially on the move. Evan has finally realized he can crawl forward. It has been fun to watch as Evan explores anything and everything in his path. Nolette is still only crawling backwards; however, she can follow Evan almost anywhere he goes by rolling. They both have started to terrorize Martha and Autumn. Luckily both dogs have taken to the kids new found mobility well and have even started to bring Evan and Nolette their dog toys to play with – little do the dogs know the kids will be stealing their toys and not sharing shortly.

December 1 – December 7, 2004 (8 Months 2 Weeks)

This has been a long week of sleepless nights, Evan and Nolette have been sick with colds (stuffy noses and coughs). Mom and Dad did get a night off as Evan and Nolette spent their first night away from home by themselves. They enjoyed an evening and play day with Oma and Opa Hoover as Mom and Dad enjoyed a nice dinner out and a good night sleep.

November 24 – November 30, 2004 (8 Months 1 Week)
Happy Thanksgiving! We split our Thanksgiving – we had dinner with Grammy and Grampy Perry and their extended family and then had dessert with Nan McNiff and her extended family. It was really great to see everyone and show off all our new skills. Evan and Nolette have both mastered the skill of sitting up. They are still working on crawling, however, Evan has started to shake his head “no” and Nolette is busy trying to learn how to get into the sitting position on her own. On Friday, we went to get Evan and Nolette’s first Christmas tree; they do not understand all the Holiday decorations but are enjoying all the lights. Saturday, Mike, Karin and Natalie Witt came up to visit. We celebrated Mommy and Daddy’s traditional “Thanksgiving With Friends”. On Sunday, we drove to the seacoast area and visited with Pat, Angela and Alex Closson. Also this week, we saw Oma and Opa Hoover. Oma just returned from a long stay in Evansville, IN. Oma could not wait to play with us and see how much we had changed in the short time she was gone.

November 17 – November 23, 2004 (8 Months)
We spent several days with our grandparents this week. Grammy and Grampy Perry came over to assist with Evan and Nolette’s feedings and to play with the kids. Opa Hoover came over to play with us, but don’t tell our Oma as Opa was suppose to be busy painting their new house. We saw Nan and our Aunt Andrea as well. Aunt Andrea flew in for Thanksgiving. It was great to see her as we have not seen her since our baptism. She was amazed at how big we were getting. Michaela, Mommy’s little helper, started this week. Michaela comes over on Monday’s after school and reads and plays with us so Mommy can attempt to do something productive without us distracting her.

November 10 – November 16, 2004 (7 Months 3 Weeks)
Evan and Nolette getting closer to crawling everyday, Kirsten has been busy trying to child proof the house before they are on the move. The next big task is training Kirsten and Christopher to use the locks and not to leave the cabinets open instead. Grammy and Grampy Perry came to visit the kids on Veteran’s Day and were amazed at how well the kids are sitting up on n their own. Christopher had an EMT refresher over the weekend, so Nan McNiff came over to baby sit on Saturday so Kirsten could do some errands without the kids. While she was babysitting, Nana, Laurie, Alexandra & Vanessa came over to play.

November 3 – November 9, 2004 (7 Months 2 Weeks)
We saw another doctor this week for Evan’s crooked feet. The conclusion is that he will grow out of it. We have been instructed to continue doing the daily physical therapy we have already been doing, buy a pair of high top shoes and wait it out. Kirsten, the kids, and her mom traveled to Maryland to celebrate the birth of a son, Antonio, to close family friends. Evan and Nolette were once again great on the flight and seem to adapt well to sleeping in new places. We all really enjoyed the brief visit and welcoming Antonio to the world!

October 27 – November 2, 2004 (7 Months 1 Week)

Happy Halloween! We celebrated the kids first Halloween by going trick-or-treating at the Mason Fire Department, Nan McNiff’s and Oma & Opa Hoovers. Evan was a bumble bee and really enjoyed flying around. Nolette was a lady bug and was a real “lady” all night long. Evan and Nolette are trying to crawl – but luckily have only managed to go backwards, practicing their sitting up and love their new “jolly jumpers.” They are experimenting with solid foods twice a day – fruit and oatmeal for lunch and vegetables and rice cereal for dinner.

October 20 – October 26, 2004 (7 Months)
This was a long week for the Perry household! Evan, Nolette, Kirsten & Christopher all had horrible colds. So needless to say, we were all up all night for most of the week. Kirsten's celebrated her 32nd birthday on Saturday, October 23rd. Christopher planned a fondue party for Kirsten and some friends. Alexandra, Vanessa & Sara came over to baby sit Evan, Nolette & Mackenzie - allowing the parents to all enjoy the evening.

October 13 – October 19, 2004 (6 Months 3 Weeks)
Evan and Nolette have finally started to interact with each other. They are sharing smiles, hand holding, coo’s and rolling over to play closer to the other. We are excited that they have stopped beating each other up – at least for a few weeks. Nolette has finally decided that spending time on her belly is not so bad and Evan has started to crawl/inch worm backwards. On Saturday we took the kids to pick out their first pumpkin. Nolette had a great time and was really strutting her stuff; Evan, on the other hand, hated it.

October 6 – October 12, 2004 (6 Months 2 Weeks)

The twins are becoming world travelers – well at least US travelers! Kirsten, her mom, Evan and Nolette traveled to Evansville, IN to meet their Great Grandparents and other relatives from Kirsten’s side. While in Indiana we saw: Great Grandma Seavers, Great Grandpa Seavers, Great Grandma Hoover, Great Grandpa Hoover, Great Great Aunt Marylee (Kirsten’s God Mother), Great Great Uncle Jul (Kirsten’s God Father), Great Aunt Julie, Great Uncle Bill, Cousins: Chris, Amanda, Matt, Olivia and Zackary and many other family friends. The kids were GREAT and handled all the hugs, limited naps, eating on the run and sleeping in a funny place with a smile.

September 29 - October 5, 2004 (6 Months 1 Week)
A busy week:
* Evan, Nolette and Kirsten went to Portsmouth, NH for a play date with Alex and Angela (Kirsten’s college friend and her son).
* Evan and Nolette had their 6 month doctor appointment. The kids are healthy, growing and FINALLY on the growth charts: Evan weights 15 lbs 7 oz and is 24.5” tall (12th percentile on growth chart), Nolette weights 12 lbs 13 oz and is 25.5” tall (3rd percentile on growth chart).
* After the doctor’s appointment, we went to the Wallis’ for dinner. The Wallis’ were friends of Kirsten’s in Gaithersburg, MD and they now live about 45 minutes from us. The Wallis’ enjoyed meeting Christopher, Evan and Nolette and catching up on what all Kirsten had been up to for the last 10 years.
* On Sunday, Evan and Nolette enjoyed their first baby food meal – Apple Sauce. Grammy and Grampy Perry were here for the big occasion and were happy to help feed. Evan and Nolette appear to really like the apple sauce and want to help with the feedings. We are not sure if they are eating that much of the food but they do enjoy wearing it.

September 22 – September 28, 2004 (6 Months – 26 Weeks)
Evan and Nolette had a busy week celebrating birthdays; Nan came over and brought the twins some books for their half birthday, they went to Sara’s 10th birthday party with Nan, and then we celebrated Oma Hoover’s birthday. Nolette hit another milestone - she has started to switch hands with her toys and pacifiers. She also really likes stealing Evan’s pacifier right out of his mouth. Evan has been busy rolling all over the living room and dinning room floors. The kids are starting to get more and more active, therefore, it is time for Kirsten and Christopher to start thinking about child proofing the house!

September 21, 2004 (Day 185)
Happy Six Month Birthday to us! Happy Six Month Birthday to us! Happy Six Month Birthday to usssss! Happy Six Month Birthday to us! Christopher, Kirsten, Evan and Nolette went to Oma and Opa’s house to celebrate Opa’s birthday and Evan and Nolette’s half birthday.

September 20, 2004 (Day 184)
Oma Hoover baby sat while Kirsten took Martha and Autumn to the vet for their bi-annual shots. Evan and Nolette are starting to play in their “hop-n-pop” and entertainer saucer. We really like the new toys as Evan and Nolette are always exhausted after playing in them.

September 19, 2004 (Day 183)
Christopher had fire training today. So, Kirsten, Evan and Nolette went to church with Oma (Kirsten’s Mom). After church we all had lunch with some old friends of Kirsten’s that recently moved close to her mom. The kids also started having cereal via a spoon. They did well – they did not make too much of a mess.

September 17 – September 18, 2004 (Days 181 – 182)
These were pretty quiet days. Nolette has started to sleep on her stomach. This has really surprised us as she hates spending time on her belly when she is awake.

September 16, 2004 (Day 180)
Kirsten, Evan and Nolette spent the day doing errands. While we were out, we stopped at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center’s NICU (the hospital Evan and Nolette were born at) and donated all of their preemie clothes. The nurses were very grateful to get the clothing and were impressed at how much they had grown.

September 15, 2004 (Day 179)
A quiet day at home. We lowered Evan and Nolette’s cribs as they are starting to reach for their mobiles. Christopher and Kirsten never thought they would get that big.

September 14, 2004 (Day 178)
Kirsten, Evan and Nolette went to lunch with Oma and Opa Hoover. After lunch we stopped by Dad’s office to say Good Bye to Grampy Perry, who was leaving on vacation. Grammy and Grampy Perry deserve/need to recover from taking care of Evan and Nolette for a few days.

September 13, 2004 (Day 177)
Evan and Nolette were so excited to have us home that they were up most of the night. It is a good thing that we got a lot of sleep in Hawaii. In preparation for the kids six month doctor’s visit (approval to eat real baby food); we started feeding Evan and Nolette their evening meal in their highchairs (see the September Photo Album).

September 12, 2004 (Day 176)
Mom and Dad are home! We were very excited to see them. They were surprised to see how much we had grown in the short time they were gone. A BIG THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR GRANDPARENTS! We really appreciate all the love, care and support our grandparents gave us. We had a great time and look forward to Mom and Dad’s next vacation – Hee, Hee, Hee!

September 11, 2004 (Day 175)
Our Nan, Dad’s Mom, came to play with us next. Shhh…don’t tell mom and dad, but we had a party while they were gone: Nana, Aunt Laurie, Alexandra and Vanessa came over to entertain us. We have started to move around in our cribs so much that we got “stuck” a few times; therefore, Nan put the bumpers on our cribs.

September 7 – September 10, 2004 (Days 171 – 174)
Oma Hoover came to stay/play with us for a few days. We saw our Opa Hoover a few times; however, he spent the night at his house as he was dog sitting for our puppies – Autumn and Martha. We took daily walks with Oma and enjoyed watching the horses that live across the street.

September 5 – September 6, 2004 (Days 169 – 170)
Mom and Dad left for Hawaii EARLY Sunday morning. Grammy and Grampy Perry stayed with us for two days. On Monday we went to Grammy and Grampy Perry’s house and went for a long walk in their neighborhood. We were on our best behavior; although we were still up to our daily antics…dirty diapers, playing, and more dirty diapers!

September 2 – September 4, 2004 (Days 166 – 168)
Kirsten, Evan and Nolette organized the house and did some errands for Kirsten and Christopher’s up coming vacation – Hawaii – without the kids. Evan and Nolette are looking forward to their week with all of the Grandparents!

September 1, 2004 (Day 165)
As follow up for Nolette’s spitting up, today she had a Barium Swallow test done. The good news is that the test did not show anything unusual. The bad news is we are still trying to keep food in her so she can continue to grow big and strong. We are thickening her bottles with cereal (1 ½ teaspoons per ounce). Grammy Perry came over early in the morning to watch Evan while Christopher, Kirsten and Nolette went to the hospital. Evan and Grammy enjoyed the one-on-one time.

August 29 – August 31, 2004 (Days 162 – 164)
Kirsten, Evan and Nolette spent time at home. Evan and Nolette played all day long. They do not understand the concept of naps. It defiantly keeps Kirsten on her toes trying to keep them entertained!

August 28, 2004 (Day 161)
Another Saturday of great family help! The hill supporting our new driveway and garage has started to fall, so we have decided to do an emergency fix…lots and lots of loam and sod. Therefore, we spent Friday evening and all day Saturday spreading 20 yards of dirt and 1,000 SF of sod. Christopher’s father, Bob, came over to help with the spreading of dirt and sod. Kirsten’s parents came over to entertain Evan and Nolette. Sandy stopped by after work to check on our progress and to see Evan and Nolette.

There has been no change on Nolette. We have switched back to giving Nolette regular formula but are adding cereal to all of her meals. We are hoping that the extra weight of the cereal will help her keep her food down.

August 27, 2004 (Day 160)
We are still struggling with Nolette and spitting up most of her bottles. Her doctor decided to have an ultra sound done on her stomach to “make sure it was all working”. Unfortunately (or we guess fortunately), the test results did not show anything – however, we did take our own Ultra Sound Tech, Christopher’s mom Valerie, with us so we could have instant results.

August 26, 2004 (Day 159)
Kirsten and Nolette had a very late night as Nolette woke up screaming and inconsolable. Today, Nolette also starts her first day of Soy Formula; she has been spitting up most of her bottles for the last week and the doctor wants us to try the Soy Formula for a week to see if she does any better. Keep your fingers crossed!

August 25, 2004 (Day 158)
Evan and Nolette had their 5 month doctor’s appointment today. They are continuing to grow big and strong. Evan is 24” tall and weighs 12 lbs and 7 oz. Nolette is 24.25” tall and weighs 10 lbs. and 15 oz. The doctor is pleased to hear that they appear to be meeting or exceeding all of their milestones (rolling over, sleeping through the night, entertaining themselves, etc.).

August 23 – August 24, 2004 (Days 156 - 157)
Evan, Nolette and Kirsten did some errands. But most of the days were spent playing. Evan and Nolette are really enjoying their “Hop and Pop,” practicing their rolling over and attempting to copy our words and actions.

August 22, 2004 (Day 155)
Kirsten and Christopher continued to work on painting the house trim. Evan and Nolette were entertained by watching Baby Einstein, playing with Grandma and Grandpa Hoover and a visit from Grammy and Grampy Perry.

August 21, 2004 (Day 154)
Evan and Nolette are 5 months old! To celebrate their 5 month birthday we went and had their photos taken. Be sure to check them out under the Photo Album Link “Professional Photos – August 21, 2005 (5 Months Old).”

August 20, 2004 (Day 153)
Grandpa Hoover must be feeling better, as Evan and Nolette spent the entire day at Grandma and Grandpa Hoover’s while mom did some errands.

August 19, 2004 (Day 152)
Unfortunately, Grandpa Hoover fell and hurt his arm. To help cheer up his day, Evan, Nolette and Kirsten spent most of the day at the hospital visiting with him.

August 17 – August 18, 2004 (Days 150 – 151)
Christopher had to head back to work and Kirsten, Evan and Nolette had a few quiet days at home and unpacked from our brief trip. We are pleased to announce that Evan and Nolette have started to sleep through the night (approx. 10 hours – 9pm to 7am).

August 16, 2004 (Day 149)
It was a rainy day on the Island, but we spent the morning and early afternoon with the Witt’s before heading back home. Luckily the boat ride home was a lot smoother.

August 15, 2004 (Day 148)
It was a gorgeous day on the Island. We all took a long walk along the shore and saw the southern side of the Island. Due to some mix up with our accommodations, we spent the evening at one of the local hotels. After being outside for most of the day, both Evan and Nolette were up all night.

August 14, 2004 (Day 147)
Today was the kids’ first boat ride. We headed to Block Island, RI for a long weekend at the beach with the Witt’s (Mike, Karin, Natalie and Tom – Mike’s Father). After a very rough boat ride, Kirsten and Karin walked with the kids to our weekend home (approx. 1 mile); while the guys coordinated getting all of our luggage to the house.

August 13, 2004 (Day 146)
Both kids started to roll from their backs to their bellies today. Watch out they will be crawling before we know it!! We started our first “Family Vacation” today. To begin our trip we drove down to Connecticut and visited with the extended Freund Family (Josh, Jen, Jonah, Jeremy, Amy, Olivia, Dahlia and Nancy). It was great to see everyone and see how much our individual families have changed/expanded over the last 5 years.

August 12, 2004 (Day 145)
Grandma Hoover came over to baby sit while Kirsten went to the dentist and to do some last minute errand before the family vacation to Block Island, RI. Kirsten had forgotten how quickly and how many stores she could stop at when she did not have to load and unload the kids. When Kirsten got home it was time to start packing – boy do you have to take a lot of stuff when traveling with infants!

August 11, 2004 (Day 144)
Angela (a friend of Kirsten’s from college) and her son, Alex (6 months old), came over for lunch and a play date. The kids all had a great time rolling around on the floor together; while, Kirsten and Angela enjoyed catching up, bragging about their kids and most of all have an ADULT conversation. We all hope to be able to get together again soon!

August 10, 2004 (Day 143)
Evan and Nolette went to the doctor this morning as they have been fighting a stomach virus for a few days. After the doctors visit, we went Grandma and Grandpa Hoover’s house to see Grandpa (Grandpa had been out of town for a few days after their move to New Hampshire) and wish him luck on his first day of work.

August 9, 2004 (Day 142)
Evan and Nolette accompanied Kirsten to her doctor’s appointment. The nurses and doctor were all amazed at how good the kids were – boy do they have them fooled! Just kidding Evan and Nolette are generally very good when out and about.

August 8, 2004 (Day 141)
Evan, Nolette and Kirsten spent the day doing errands. We than met Christopher at Grandma Hoover's house to help set up their electronics.

August 7, 2004 (Day 140)
Another day of painting the garage – thanks to a lot of family help! * Grampy Perry came over to assist in the final painting of the garage trim. * Grandma Hoover came over to play with Evan and Nolette.* Grammy Perry brought pizza for lunch.The garage trim is finally done; now time to start painting the rest of the house’s trim work!

August 6, 2004 (Day 139)
Kirsten, Evan and Nolette spent the day at Grandma Hoover’s house. Our job was to help direct the movers as they unloaded all of Grandma and Grandpa’s stuff, but instead Evan and Nolette had fun playing with Grandma’s two puppies (1 year old Old English Sheepdogs). Christopher met us after work for dinner in Manchester.

August 5, 2004 (Day 138)
Grandma and Grandpa Hoover closed on their new New Hampshire home today. To celebrate their big move Evan, Nolette and Kirsten took Grandma and Grandpa dinner at their new home.

August 4, 2004 (Day 137)
The first night with an early bed time went well. Evan and Nolette are sleeping 6 to 7 hours, so we had to get up around 4am for a “quick” feed and than the kids slept until almost 9am. We hope that as they grow they will start to sleep a little longer!

August 3, 2004 (Day 136)
As Evan and Nolette continue to be doing well with their large evening meal and then sleeping for 6 – 7 hours we have decided to start experimenting with establishing a bed time. Today we put the kids down after their 7:00pm feeding. It was nice for Kirsten and Christopher to be able to eat a quiet dinner – but at the same time it was a little too quiet for both of us.

August 2, 2004 (Day 135)
Kirsten, Evan and Nolette went out to do some errands today on their own. While out we ate lunch at Applebee’s. Kirsten takes the kids out on her own all the time, but this is the first time that she has attempted to eat out alone with Evan and Nolette. The kids were great at the restaurant and kept Kirsten company by talking up a storm!

August 1, 2004 (Day 134)
Bob and Sandy came over to assist with the garage trim painting. Sandy played with Evan and Nolette and assisted with laundry and dinner; while Bob, Christopher and Kirsten taped and primed the trim work on the garage. Thanks to their help we were able to get all of the wood work primed and ready for paint. We hope to start painting this week after work but realistically know we will not get anything done until next weekend.

July 31, 2004 (Day 133)
The “have kids will travel” philosophy continued today as we made our first long car trip to Connecticut. Our first stop was at Mike, Karin and Natalie’s house to assist Mike in celebrating his birthday. In the afternoon we went to Connor’s (Christopher’s Nephew) 2nd Birthday Party. It was a long day for Evan and Nolette, but overall they were good.

July 30, 3004 (Day 132)
As the kids continue to grow and are eating more and more, we have decided to start giving them formula for one meal a day. Evan and Nolette did not seem to mind and appear to be tolerating the formula better than expected. The experience was more difficult for Kirsten than for the twins.

July 28 – July 29, 2004 (Days 130 – 131)
Evan and Nolette continue to amaze us each and every day. Their individual personalities are really starting to show as they are staying awake more and more each day.

July 27, 2004 (Day 129)
Grammy Perry (Sandy) came to baby sit for Evan and Nolette as Kirsten attended a funeral. Sandy had a good day – even though Evan was having a bad day!

July 26, 2004 (Day 128)
Kirsten, Christopher, Evan and Nolette traveled to southern Massachusetts to see Brady, Kirsten’s roommate from Disney University. It was great to finally introduce the twins to Brady. The trip was a quick visit but we hope to spend more time with Brady soon.

July 25, 2004 (Day 127)
Nan (Valerie) came over today to watch Evan and Nolette as Kirsten and Christopher stained the new garage.

July 22 – 24, 2004 (Days 124 – 126)
We have attempted to let Evan and Nolette sleep “through the night”. They are doing pretty well – for the last few nights they have slept for about 5 ½ - 6 hours (7 hours between their feedings). Kirsten and Christopher are excited to have the extra sleep but are still hoping Evan and Nolette will sleep an additional hour to hour and half.

July 21, 2004 (Day 123)
Evan and Nolette are 4 months old today!!!! To celebrate their birthday the kids went to the doctor for their 4 month check up and shots. The kids are still just below the growth charts but are healthy; Evan weighs 10 lbs. 9 oz and is 22.24 inches tall and Nolette weighs 9 lbs 9 oz. and is 22 inches tall. We have increased their food in take to 30 oz a day and are starting to introduce cereal to their diets.

July 20, 2004 (Day 122)
We spent a quiet day at home recovering from all of the excitement from the weekend. It was great to see all of our friends and family, but Evan and Nolette were exhausted were ready for a long day of sleep!

July 19, 2004 (Day 121)
Kirsten’s great Aunt, June, godmother, Marylee, grandfather and mom came over and spent the day with kids. June and Marylee flew in from St. Louis and Indiana for Evan and Nolette’s baptism. They enjoyed holding, feeding and playing with Evan and Nolette for the day.

July 18, 2004 (Day 120)
Evan and Nolette were baptized today. We are honored that Mike and Karin Witt will be Nolette’s godparents and that Cory and Lisa Pacheck will be Evan’s godparents. After the service we had a very nice barbeque at the Holden Farm Community Center and enjoyed spending time with a lot of our friends and family.

July 17, 2004 (Day 119)
Today we hosted an open house for our friends and family. It was an informally opportunity for us to show off our new New Hampshire home and for people to spend some time with Evan and Nolette. It was great to see everyone who stopped by!

July 14 - July 16, 2004 (Days 116 - 118)
We have enjoyed a few restful days at home before Evan and Nolette's big baptism weekend! Evan and Nolette have been busy practicing their social smiles, rolling over and "cooing," so they can show off over the weekend.

July 13, 2004 (Day 115)
Today was Kirsten’s last day of physical therapy. She now supposedly has strong enough knees to keep up with the kids – if only knee strength is all she needed to keep up! Evan and Nolette spent the afternoon with Dad, Grampy and Grammy Perry at the office.

July 12, 2004 (Day 114)
Nan and Nick came to borrow Christopher’s bike for an upcoming vacation. We all gave Valerie (Nan) a hard time that she was just using Christopher’s bike as an excuse to see her grandkids; as soon as she walked in the door she picked one up and did not put them down until they had to leave.

July 7 – July 11, 2004 (Days 109 – 113)
We finally had some days at home to recover from the last few busy weeks. Evan and Nolette are starting to drive Mom and Dad crazy as they are becoming very talkative. Evan has learned to roll from his stomach to his back but gets very frustrated that he can not roll back over. Nolette is starting to spend more time on her tummy but has not mastered the rolling over thing; she does not understand what the big deal is. Nolette is also already taking after her father and getting her second wind at about 11:00pm. She believes that when we lay her down for bed for the evening it is “Dancing Time” and dances herself to sleep.

July 6, 2004 (Day 108)
Kirsten, Evan and Nolette venture out early to have lunch with Daddy and Grampy Perry and than to spend a few hours at Daddy’s office as Kirsten once again had physical therapy. If this continues Daddy is going to expect the twins to start answering phones soon!

July 5, 2004 (Day 107)
For those who have not heard yet, Kirsten’s parents have decide to move to New Hampshire to be closer to their new grandchildren - so we spent they afternoon house hunting with Grandma Hoover. Luckily she found a house in only two days! Grammy and Grampy Perry came to visit in the afternoon and to hear all about the big trip to DC.

July 4, 2004 (Day 106)
Happy 4th of July! We celebrated the holiday by spending the morning with Nan (Christopher’s Mom) and then going to Sarah and Eric’s, Karin Witt’s sister and brother in-law's, house for a picnic.

July 3, 2004 (Day 105)
Kirsten, Evan, Nolette and Grandma Hoover flew back to New Hampshire. Kirsten really appreciated her mom’s help with the kids during the flight. Evan and Nolette were once again great on the flight and amazed several of the other passengers and flight attendants on how quiet they were. Looks like they will be great world travelers – but they were very happy to be home and to see Daddy!

July 2, 2004 (Day 104)
Grandpa Hoover and Great Grandpa Seavers baby sat Evan and Nolette as Kirsten went out for some “Mommy Time”. Evan and Nolette enjoyed spending time with the guys and being spoiled with hugs!

July 1, 2004 (Day 103)
Another day out showing Evan and Nolette to Kirsten’s parents friends. Today we went to Grandma Hoover’s work – the American Red Cross National Headquarters. Everyone was happy to finally meet Evan and Nolette as pictures of them have been used in several of Grandma Hoover’s presentations as “future volunteers”.

June 30, 2004 (Day 102)
Kirsten, Evan and Nolette went to Grandpa Hoover’s work to meet all of his co-workers. It was great to see the people that Grandpa Hoover spends so much time with.

June 29, 2004 (Day 101)
The Parcovers, close family friends of Kirsten’s, came to visit. Evan and Nolette were introduced to Logan Parcover, Greg and Amy’s son who is 3 weeks younger than Evan and Nolette (see the photo under the June 2004 Photo Album).

June 28, 2004 (Day 100)
Evan and Nolette had their first plane ride! The major garage construction and noise is expected to take place this week, therefore, Kirsten took Evan and Nolette to Grandma and Grandpa Hoover’s house. Evan and Nolette were great in the airport and on the plane and hardly made a peep the entire trip. Once we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Hoover’s we visited with Ms. Debbie, Kirsten’s Mom’s best friend.

June 27, 2004 (Day 99)
Happy Birthday to Great Nana McNiff! We went to Nan’s house to celebrate Great Nana’s birthday with most of our Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. It was great to see everyone and they were all amazed at how big Evan and Nolette are getting; something that Kirsten and Christopher take for granted as we see them everyday.

June 26, 2004 (Day 98)
Another typical Saturday at the Perry household. We all enjoyed sleeping in until the 11:00am feeding and then headed out for some errands. As usual the kids were good and seem to enjoy being out of the house.

June 25, 2004 (Day 97)
Kirsten dropped Evan and Nolette off at Christopher’s office for a few hours while she had Christopher’s father’s day present (the XM radio system) installed in his car. While out, Kirsten also enjoyed some lunch and shopping on her own.

June 24, 2004 (Day 96)
Kirsten, Evan and Nolette met Christopher at Wal-Mart after work for some shopping. We have finally learned how to “fly under the twins radar” by each taking one kid in a separate shopping cart and not walking too close together. Sounds silly but it helps us get through the store quicker when we are not stopped every other row to answer questions on if Evan and Nolette are twins.

June 23, 2004 (Day 95)
Evan and Nolette had their three month check up today. They are both healthy and growing well. Unfortunately they are still NOT on the growth chart, but are getting close. Evan currently weighs 9 lbs. 4 oz. and is 21.25 inches tall. Nolette weighs 8 lbs 6 oz. and is 21.5 inches long.

June 22, 2004 (Day 94)
Another day at Dad’s office! Evan and Nolette should certainly know the family business by now…. They spent the afternoon with Daddy while Mommy when to physical therapy.

June 21, 2004 (Day 93)
HAPPY THREE MONTH BIRTHDAY to us, Happy Three Month Birthday to us! Happy Three Month Birthday to usssssss! Happy Three Month Birthday to us! Our big present was the start of the new garage so Mom and Dad do not have to drag us out to their cars in the rain and snow. We have also FINALLY out grown our preemie cloths and are now swimming in our 0-3 month outfits. Nothing like being 3 months behind in baby styles.

June 20, 2004 (Day 92)
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY! Christopher received a XM radio system for his new car and a “twins on board” sign from Evan and Nolette and drill bits from Kirsten. Grammy and Grampy Perry joined us for dinner to continue our father’s day celebration.

June 19, 2004 (Day 91)
Kirsten and Christopher had their first full day away from the kids! We went to Portsmouth, NH to have an adult day out with Mike and Karin. On the way to Portsmouth we stopped in Dover to visit briefly with Angela and Alex. Nan, Christopher’s Mom, baby sat for Evan and Nolette and had special help from Alexandra and Vanessa. Everyone luckily survived the day!

June 18, 2004 (Day 90)
The family went to dinner at Evan and Nolette’s favorite restaurant, The Riverside (they recognize Evan and Nolette as “the twins” and seat them right away). Dawn, Jason, and Mackenzie joined us for dinner.

June 17, 2004 (Day 89)
Kirsten took Evan and Nolette shopping for their first father’s day gift. What should we buy? While we were out, we ran into our cousin Sarah and her mom, Debbie.

June 16, 2004 (Day 88)
Evan and Nolette spent the entire day at home playing. Mom attempted to get us to sleep but we preferred PLAYING!

June 15, 2004 (Day 87)
Evan and Nolette spent the afternoon at Christopher’s office while Kirsten went to her physical therapy appointment. Nolette slept the entire afternoon at the office. Evan, on the other hand, wanted to make sure that Dad, Grampy Perry and all of their clients knew he was visiting.

June 14, 2004 (Day 86)
A quiet (if you don’t mind baby cries) of Kirsten getting use to being back on her own during the day. Overall, Evan and Nolette were good and put big smiles on Kirsten and Christopher’s face when they smile and giggle.

June 13, 2004 (Day 85)
Kirsten's mom and grandfather left this morning. It was great to have the extra set of hands to hold Evan and Nolette. Now comes the long process of getting Evan and Nolette use to not be held all the time; which translates to long nights for Kirsten and Christopher. In the afternoon the entire Perry family went to a picnic at one of Christopher's friends from the fire house. Evan and Nolette were good during the picnic and seemed to enjoy the fresh air.

June 10 - June 12, 2004 (Days 82 - 84)
Evan and Nolette are starting to become more and more interactive. Evan is building upper body strength by pushing up when on his stomach and can hold his head up on his own for several minutes. Nolette has started to giggle and “coo”. Both are starting to reach for things and are holding on tight once they grab hold of it! Evan and Nolette have continued to spit-up significant amounts of their bottles, even after going back to the 22 calorie in take. Therefore, we have decided to try giving Evan and Nolette straight breast milk. The both seem to be tolerating the straight breast milk better; the true test will be how they "weigh in" during their next doctor visit on June 23rd.

June 9, 2004 (Day 81)
Today we had dinner with friends from Colorado who have relocated to the northern Boston area, Doyle & Diane. Doyle and Diane's daughter, son-in-law and 11 month old grandson were in town for a visit. We were brave and took six adults, one toddler and two infants out to a restaurant for dinner and some socialization. Their grandson, Miles, loved looking and talking to Evan and Nolette. It was great to see everyone and to witness what we have to look forward to as Evan and Nolette grow up.

June 6 - June 8, 2004 (Days 78 - 80)
Kirsten's mom and grandfather arrived for vacation. Kirsten's mother is surprised at how much the kids have "opened up" since her last visit. She was here the week after Evan and Nolette got out of the hospital and both of the twins spent most of their time still curled up like they were in the womb. Kirsten's grandfather is so happy to be a great grandfather and does not want to put Evan and Nolette down. We have tried to take the kids out every day for a few hours and have been out to lunch at Parker's Maple Barn and to the Mall.

June 5, 2004 (Day 77)
Luckily, Evan did not cause enough trouble on Friday evening to keep Grampy Perry away. Grampy Perry came over to help Christopher finally finish our new deck. The deck looks great and is made of the new plastic decking and should be kid friendly as it is splinter free. Dawn (Kirsten's college roommate) and her daughter, Mackenzie, came over for dinner. Mackenzie enjoyed watching Evan and Nolette.

June 4, 2004 (Day 76)
Evan and Nolette had their first official baby sitters! Grammy and Grampy Perry watched the kids for the evening at their house while Kirsten and Christopher attended Christopher's cousins wedding. Kirsten and Christopher had a very nice evening out and only called to check on the twins once...and it was really more of a call to say we were running late (at least that is what we like to tell ourselves). Grammy and Grampy took the kids out for a walk around their neighborhood to show off the new grandchildren. We are told that Nolette was a perfect little angle all night, while Evan wanted to be held and cried until he was held. We hope they will baby sit for us again soon!

June 2 - June 3, 2003 (Days 74 - 75)
Thursday evening Nan (Christopher's mom) came over to visit Evan and Nolette and assist with the 7:00pm feeding. They enjoyed visiting with their Nan and being feed by someone else than mom & dad!

June 1, 2004 (Day 73)
Evan and Nolette spent the afternoon at Christopher’s office learning the family plastics business and playing with Christopher and Grampy Perry while Kirsten went to her doctor’s appointment

May 31, 2004 (Day 72)
Happy Memorial Day! We all slept in (including Evan and Nolette) until 11am. Sleeping in at the Perry household means getting up for the 7am feeding and going back to bed. Either way it was sleep well needed! Once we were rested, it was out to lunch at Parker's Maple Barn and the weekly errands (Wal-Mart and Sam's). We had a nice holiday!

May 30, 2004 (Day 71)
Our back deck construction continues….Grampy Perry came over to assist Christopher with railing system and Grammy Perry assisted Kirsten in playing with Evan and Nolette.

May 29, 2004 (Day 70)
Have babies will travel – at least for the day! Today, Evan and Nolette attended their friend Alex’s (one of Kirsten’s college friend’s son) baptism. Grampy Perry was put on “baby sitting alert” just in case the kids got fussy during the baptism. Evan and Nolette did great and Grampy was not needed, however, we stopped by his house to visit with Grampy and Grammy after Alex’s big party was over. Before heading home, the family made one more stop – ice cream at King Cone, a spot Christopher frequented as a child.

May 26 - May 28, 2004 (Days 67 - 69)
Evan, Nolette and Kirsten spent time at home playing with Evan and Nolette's play mats and singing piano. The kids are becoming more interactive everyday. On the 27th, we met Christopher and Grampy Perry for lunch at a regional chain restaurant, The 99.

May 25, 2004 (Day 66)
As a thank you for the great care Evan and Nolette received in the hospital, we have purchased two rocking chairs for the Southern New Hampshire Medical Center NICU in Evan and Nolette's name. In order to facilitate the delivery of the chairs to the hospital, Evan and Nolette spent lunch at Christopher's office with their Grammy & Grampy Perry. The kids were good for Grammy and Grampy and slept almost the entire time we were gone. The rest of the day they decided to see how many diapers they could go through in one night and be fussy for the rest of the evening for mom and dad!

May 24, 2004 (Day 65)
Evan and Nolette had their first shots today! The doctor was happy with their growth progress from the last visit. Evan weights 7lbs 8oz and is 20.25" tall and Nolette weighed 7lbs 3oz and is 20.5" tall. Due to their strong weight gain, we are cutting their calorie in take back down to 22 calories (from the 24 calorie they have been eating). We really hope this helps them keep their food down better.

May 23, 2004 (Day 64)
More company...Kirsten's best friend, Wendy, was in from California and came by to see the new home and meet Evan and Nolette. It is a good thing that Wendy likes kids as Evan and Nolette were spitting-up a lot as they are still adjusting to the increase in food volume (120cc's).

May 22, 2004 (Day 63)
A busy day for Evan & Nolette...company, a trip to the mall and out to dinner again! Christopher's mom brought nana and Christopher's three cousins (Alexandra, Vanessa & Sara) over to play with the twins. Alexandra, Vanessa & Sara all helped with the kids’ feedings and Alexandra even changed a diaper! Everyone enjoyed the visit. After the visit it was off to do our afternoon errands...we stopped at several different stores and ended up doing the 7:00pm feeding at the Mall. We have just increased Evan and Nolette's food volume to 120 cc/ml (4 oz) per feeding. Since Evan and Nolette had full stomachs it was time for Mom and Dad to get full stomachs as well...we took the twins to an area Mexican Restaurant. Evan and Nolette were great all day. Hopefully they will sleep well after a full day of activities!

May 21, 2004 (Day 62)
Happy two month birthday to Evan and Nolette!! Christopher's best friend, Josh, came for a visit. Josh has a new son (3.5 months) of his own, but was amazed at how small Evan and Nolette are. We are hoping to introduce Jonah (Josh's son) and the twins soon. We took the twins out to dinner (or at least the adults out to dinner) to celebrate their two month birthday. We went to a local restaurant that already knows us as the family with the twins and sat us right away! The kids were great during dinner.

May 17 - May 20, 2004 (Days 58 - 61)
Evan and Nolette have their first colds. This translates to less sleep for mom and dad, even more crankiness and even MORE spit-up! We hope they feel better soon!

May 16, 2004 (Day 57)
Today was the first day that the entire family ventured out to do the "routine" errands. We took Evan and Nolette to SAM's and Wal-Mart. The kids were great during the outing! Kirsten and Christopher were impressed that the trip did not take much longer than normal. However, we are learning that twins attract a lot of attention and strange questions...."Wow, a boy and a girl, are the identical?", "Are they twins?", “They look like siblings, are they twins?” etc.

May 15, 2004 (Day 56)
Grandpa Hoover left this morning after the 7:00am feeding. We have appreciated all of his help and support for the last two weeks and will certainly miss him! Although, Evan and Nolette have won his heart during his trip and we are sure he will be back to visit again soon. Grampy Perry came over to further assist Christopher with the new deck we are adding to the back of the house. During work breaks he enjoyed playing with Evan and Nolette. Grammy Perry also stopped by on her way home from work to help with the 3:00pm feeding. It was nice to have everyone's help in the transition of Grandpa Hoover leaving. Dawn, Jason and Mackenzie (Kirsten’s college roommate and family) came over for dinner and to visit with the twins. Evan and Nolette, unfortunately, were fussy throughout the entire evening – however, we did have a nice visit. We have increased Evan and Nolette's food consumption to 100 ml (a little over 3 oz) per feeding.

May 14, 2004 (Day 55)
It was a quiet day at the Perry house. Evan and Nolette were wide awake and ready to play. We (the 5 of us) went out for dinner to a local restaurant in Brookline, NH. The twins were a perfect angels and got admiring looks from all that passed by. Grandpa Hoover will be heading back to DC tomorrow morning so tonight will be Kirsten and Christopher's first night in two weeks that they need to get up for the 3:00am feeding. Mike will be able get a good night sleep for an uneventful trip back to DC!

May 13, 2004 (Day 54)
Kirsten, Evan and Nolette took Grandpa Hoover out to eat for lunch. We went to Parkers Maple Barn (a local Mason restaurant). The food was good and the kids were great and did not make a peep.

May 11 - May 12 (Days 52 - 53)
Evan and Nolette have been sleeping a little better at night. Grandpa Hoover is very happy with this -- so he can get some sleep as well! Evan and Nolette have made a few trips out of the house with Kirsten and her father as they pick up some supplies to finish the many home improvement projects that Kirsten's father has been working on. They were very good kids when out and received a lot of "ohhs and ahhhhs" from people in the stores. Two babies in a stroller are a certainly a spectacle!

May 10, 2004 (Day 51)
Grandpa Hoover got to experience Evan and Nolette in all of their glory last night. Apparently Evan and Nolette were up and crying/screaming all night long. Grandpa Hoover says he got about half and hour of sleep from 12:30am to 7:00am. Since it was Mother's Day night, Kirsten and Christopher got to sleep through the entire thing.

May 9, 2004 (Day 50)
Happy Mother's Day! For Mother's Day Evan and Nolette took their mommy to church. It was Evan and Nolette's first trip to church. They were very good and slept through the entire service. The rest of the day was a lazy and relaxing day. Evan and Nolette bought mommy a 3 set of earrings and Christopher gave Kirsten a 3 set of children’s CD - which should be very useful since she claims she does not remember any of the children’s nursery rhymes or songs.

May 8, 2004 (Day 49)
As proof of the twins continued growth, we increased their food in-take today. They are now eating 90 ml (3 oz.) of fortified breast milk per feeding (six times a day). Grampy, Christopher's father Bob, came to help Christopher build the new deck (outside play area for the kids). Grammy (Sandy) then came by after work for Chinese food and to spend time with Evan and Nolette.

May 7, 2004 (Day 48)
Evan and Nolette had their first professional photos taken today. Kirsten and her father took the twins to Sears for their photo session (see the pictures under the photo album). The photos came out nicely; however, Evan and Nolette were NOT real corporative during the process and screamed the entire time. After the photo session, Evan and Nolette had dinner at their Nan's house (Christopher's Mom, Valerie) in celebration of daddy's birthday.

May 5 - May 6, 2004 (Days 46 - 47)
Evan and Nolette are enjoying their time with Grandpa Hoover. He has been a great help with feedings (especially the 3:00am and 7:00am feedings)! He has really gotten the hang of all the diaper changes, bottle cleaning and laundry. It has been nice to have an extra set of arms around for holding and cuddling of the twins! Grampy & Grammy Perry stopped by to say hello on their way home.

May 4, 2004 (Day 45)
YEAHHHH -- Nolette found her THUMB!!! Nolette has been attached to a pacifier since she was in the NICU and is hardly ever found without it. She has a horrible scream when she drops the pacifier so we have been working on getting her to find her thumb for some time. Now we just have to get her to find her thumb on a regular basis. Evan on the other hand is not as attached to his pacifier and take it or leave it.

May 3, 2004 (Day 44)
This is Evan and Nolette's official due day! We are happy to report that they are doing well and that we have really enjoyed the last 44 days (even if they were early).

May 2, 2004 (Day 43)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!! Today Evan and Nolette attended their first birthday party - Christopher's. They made him birthday cake, cried happy birthday to him and give him book of New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine hikes to take with kids. They are eagerly awaiting when they are old enough to go on their first hike (or at least old enough to hold their head up in back backs to be taken on a hike).

Days 41 - 42
Grandpa Hoover, Kirsten's father, arrived for a two week visit to help take care/play with Evan and Nolette and to assist with some misc. projects around the house. With Grandpa here Kirsten and Christopher will hopefully be able to catch up on some well needed sleep! Grandpa is planning on getting up and doing the 3:00am and 7:00am feedings. Grampy & Grammy Perry came for dinner and the twins feeding on Friday evening. Nan McNiff came for a quick visit on Saturday.

Days 39 - 40
Overall a quiet days at the Perry household. Evan and Nolette's personalities are starting to develop as they stay awake more during the day time. Unfortunately, them staying awake more during the day does not translate to sleeping better at night! Evan is trying to catch up with his sister in his daily movements and rolled over from his stomach to his back. Evan and Nolette spent an afternoon at daddy's office while mommy went to the mall and had an afternoon out by herself.

Day 38
Evan and Nolette have been eating the increased calorie food for a day and seem to be having a hard time digesting it...so we have lots and lots of spit-up. All the spit up translates to lots and lots of LAUNDRY --- FUN!!! We are keeping our fingers crossed that it gets better, after all it is only the first day. Nolette has always been our wiggle worm and has been very active in her crib, but today Evan made his first trip to the other side of his crib all by himself.

Day 37
Evan and Nolette went back to the doctor today for their 3 week "weigh in". The doctor stated that they look very good and healthy. However, they are a little concerned about the lack of weight gain. Evan weighted in at 6 lbs and 1 oz and Nolette is 5 lbs and 13 oz. Even though they both gained weight the doctor is a little concerned at the lack of overall gain as the doctors were hoping for a minimum weight gain of 1 oz per baby per day (or 14 oz. per child since the last visit on 23). Therefore, we will continue feeding Evan and Nolette fortified breast milk but will be increasing the calorie count to 24 vs. the 22 they are currently getting.

Days 33 - 36
It has been a couple of quiet days for us. Evan and Nolette are doing well! They are still having some sleepless nights but we are getting through them one night at a time. A close friend said it the best "it is a good thing that God made babies so cute because it is difficult to stay frustrated with them". Christopher and Kirsten are constantly surprising us at how interactive they are becoming. We are also really amazed at how different the two are already!

Day 32
Thanks to the aid of a vibrating bouncing chair, Evan slept through the night! Nolette also slept through the night both waking only for their 3:00am and 7:00am feedings. Christopher and Kirsten enjoyed the three hours of consecutive sleep they were able to get as well.

Day 31
When is Kirsten's mom coming again? It was a sleepless night for Christopher and Kirsten as Evan was up from midnight to the 3:00am feeding and Nolette was awake from the 3:00am feeding until the 7:00am feeding. Evan was inconsolable through out the day so Kirsten decided to take Evan to the doctor's after hour’s clinic. Apparently Evan is having some intestinal growing pains and is having some extra gas pressure causing discomfort. We are keeping our fingers crossed for some sleep tonight!!!

Day 30
Kirsten's mom left today so it is back to 3:00am and 7:00am feedings for Christopher and Kirsten! Overall Evan and Nolette are doing well. They are continuing to gain head strength and are starting to respond to their name being called.

Day 29
Evan and Nolette are 4 weeks old today! Where has all the time gone? Today we went to Nan's (Christopher's mom) house for lunch and to introduce the Evan and Nolette to the extended McNiff family. They were very good and slept for much of the visit with all of their cousins, aunts and uncles.

Day 28
Evan and Nolette meet their Aunt Andrea (Christopher's sister) today for the first time. Andrea flew in from Denver, CO to visit with her new niece and nephew. They had a great visit and Andrea was also surprised at how small they really were. Evan and Nolette also had their first trip to Christopher's firehouse today (Mason Fire Department). The fire department had a family fire training today and although Evan and Nolette were too small to participate they did go to say hello to everyone and get their first exposure to where Daddy spends all of his extra time.

Days 24 - 27
Kirsten's mom has been visiting this week. She has been a huge help by doing the 3am and 7am feedings so we could catch up on some well needed sleep and allowing us to run out and do some errands with out Evan and Nolette. In the short time she has been here Evan and Nolette are already tackling new things - Nolette rolled over to her stomach, but has not figure out how to role all they way over yet; Evan is gaining upper body strength and can left his head to look around when laying on his stomach.

Day 23
Today was Evan and Nolette's first Doctors appointment; they received a good "bill of health". Evan weighted in at 5lbs. 5oz. and Nolette was 5lbs. 3 oz. Although they are currently off (below) the growth charts they are meeting the milestones they should at 3 weeks of age: making initial head movements, following voices/noises/toys with their eyes, and dirtying plenty of diapers! Christopher and Kirsten were extremely excited with the good report. Their next doctor appointment is in two weeks.

Day 22
Happy Easter! Today was Evan and Nolette's first day out of the house. We went to Grammy and Grampy Perry's (Sandy and Bob) house for Easter Dinner. The twins were great all day and had plenty of family to hold them and share in their first outing. However, after a long day of being held they were extremely exhausted and a little fussy for Mom and Dad in the evening.

Days 20 and 21
Evan and Nolette's Grandma and Grandpa Hoover (Kirsten's parents - Bev and Mike) flew in from the Washington, DC area to visit them for the weekend. This is the grandparents’ first visit with Evan and Nolette since they were released from the hospital. They are amazed at how well the twins are doing but yet how tiny they are. Grandma and Grandpa have been a BIG help and letting Christopher and Kirsten catch up on some well needed sleep by doing the 3:00am and 7:00am feedings!!! Mike unfortunately only is able to visit until early Sunday morning, however, Bev is going to stay for the week to help Kirsten out during the day - hopefully Kirsten will even be able to get out of the house for a bit on her own.

Days 17 - 19
Whew! Twins can be a challenge! We are all doing well! Kirsten is adjusting to being home with 2 little babies all day long; Christopher is learning to balance feedings with sleep and work. The twins had their first baths at home on Wednesday evening; It was a challenging process for all 4 of us. The twins are eating very well and gaining strength every day. They take 60ml of the breast milk and formula concoction at each feeding. Currently they are at a very respectable 4 hour feeding interval, which seems very manageable. Evan and Nolette sleep much of the time in their cribs or bouncy seats (with vibrations!!!). When they are awake, they are very interactive and curious about this new world. We are enjoying this new experience and wish to thank everyone for their warm words, help, and encouragement.

Day 16
Nolette's HOME COMING!! We are very excited to have both kids finally at home with us. Additionally today was Kirsten's first day at home alone with Evan. They had a good day; the real challenge will be tomorrow when Kirsten is alone with two.

Day 15
Despite the "spring ahead" time change - Evan, Christopher and Kirsten all survived their first night at home. Once fed and diapers changed Evan slept for approx. 3 hour intervals. He appears to be training us well! Nolette is also doing well; she is no longer attached to any monitors. She was in the process of taking her "car seat test" when Kirsten went to the hospital today. Hopefully, Nolette will be joining the rest of the Perry family at home on Monday! Martha and Autumn are quickly learning the smell of Evan and work better than any baby monitor at letting us know that Evan is crying or fussy!

Day 14
Evans BIG HOME COMING!!!!! We are very excited to announce that Evan was discharged from the hospital today. Nolette will be remaining in the NICU for a few more days as she is awaiting an ultrasound on her hips, nothing to be alarmed at, it is a standard test done on babies born breech. We are hoping that Nolette will be joining us at home late Monday or early Tuesday. Poor Evan, he will be the first to test our parenting skills without the help of the nurses -- wish us all luck!

Day 13
Evan and Nolette are making progress by leaps and bounds! Today, Nolette got her feeding tube removed and Evan passed his "car seat test" (a test that is given to preemies before they are discharged from the hospital). Evan is expected to be released from the hospital on Saturday!

Day 12
Evan ate 100% of his feedings by mouth and has been rewarded by having his feeding tube removed -- YEAH! We are keeping our fingers crossed that Nolette's will be removed soon.

Day 10 and Day 11
Both Evan and Nolette had their pulse-ox monitors removed. They are taking approximately 70% to 80% of their feedings by mouth, bringing them one step closer to getting their feeding tubes removed. They are very alert and interactive during feeding times.

Day 9
Evan and Nolette are enjoying their open cribs. Both are feeding from bottles at least 3 times a day and they are staring to spend time in the "family rooms" (away from the nurses) with Kirsten. Christopher is still sick was unable to come to the hospital.

Day 8
Progress continues! Evan and Nolette are able to take an entire (40ml) feeding by bottle and have been moved into the open air cribs in a reclined position. Christopher was unable to visit today because of a cold virus, but Kirsten spent a good portion of the day with them. They continue to gain strength, dirty diapers, and explore this new world.