#34. Three Months and Still Rolling Along!

Clare and Luke turned 3 months old on October 19.  Unfortunately, that morning, we woke up to some very sad news.  My Grandpa Snyder, Clare and Luke's Great Grandpa who they met in Eureka at the end of September, passed away the night before.  Grandpa and Grandma (who left us in 2005) were wonderful people and I will never forget how enriched my childhood was growing up with such amazing grandparents.  I am so happy Grandpa had the chance to meet the twins and that we have photos of my Grandpa with the twins.  Someday, I will tell the twins all about their Great Grandparents. Grandparents are special people and I am so happy that Luke and Clare are growing up with two wonderful, loving sets of grandparents.

Rest in peace Grandpa, we're going to miss you...

We didn't think we'd be back so soon, but another trip to Eureka did mean more love for Luke and Clare from family and friends...

Grandma and Grandpa Knapp with Clare

Clare helps put her Grandpa to sleep

Two of the twins biggest fans...Great Uncle Teats

and Great Aunt Tricia

Aunt Leia finally gets her hands on the twins!

Keira continues to love her twin cousins

Thanks to the Bowmans for babysitting the twins!!

Snyder Great Grandchildren...Sam holds Luke and Keira has Clare

Family photo in the living room where I grew up

I'm still not sure whether the first three months for Luke and Clare have been the longest or shortest in our lives, though they have certainly been the most exciting, stressful, happy, and tired moments. We have experienced so much in the last 100 days.  As I have been scanning through all of the photos and videos since the twins were born, it is absolutely amazing to see how far they have come.  I thought I would use part of this post to show their progression from starting as preemies to the big little boy and girl they are now!

They each have also changed a lot individually, both in appearance (see below) and in personality (come visit to see this for yourself!).  Clare is absolutely precious.  She's becoming more and more happy and adorable (those eyelashes are crazy!) each day.  She's still our little Peanut and we enjoy seeing all of her smiles, listening to all of her coos, and feeling how strong she is when we hold her.

Luke continues to grow exponentially.  He is also becoming one handsome little guy.  His smiles may be less than his sister, but he warms your heart when he grins.  Bubba still loves to have his tongue out while he's looking around, inspecting the world around him.  We love this little guy!!

I dug up videos of Clare and Luke's first week to compare to some more recent videos.  They have grown and changed so much in 3 months!

Clare...in the beginnning

Clare...now

                                          

Luke...in the beginning

Luke...now

                                         

The best part about reaching 3 months has definitely been the beginning of sleeping through the night!  We weren't expecting this to happen with BOTH this soon, but Luke and Clare have been (mostly) consistently making it about seven hours.

I think my brain is coming back!!

Overall, it's been an awesome three months and we are looking forward to watching them grow even more over the next three.  Thanks to everyone who has been a part of this with us and for all of your support!

#33. Bringin' Our Pumpkins to the Pumpkin Patch

I think there are a few rites of passage that all parents must face.  Many of them scare the living crap out of me (like teething, potty training, and, most importantly, do we really have to do Disney?). However, I recently learned that when you are with your kids, these may not be so bad.  It will only get worse (or better, I guess) as the twins get older and I see how exciting and special these events are to them.  So, I guess we owe thanks to Uncles Jim and Michael who invited and treated us to Goebbert's Farm near Barrington.

Yep, that's an enormous pumpkin on a silo

Goebbert's is 'the Disneyland' of pumpkin farms and by Disneyland; I mean bring a fat wallet ($15 a head to enter...thank goodness the twins are free...for now!), and various other expenses incurred if you want to take pony rides, hay rack rides, or feed the animals.  Still, it was a beautiful Saturday in October, and we managed to have a great time.  There are no elephants in Barrington, but the twins were thrilled to see all of the animals on the farm including sheep, goats, giraffes, alpacas, and camels (I was not always comfortable seeing these animals in captivity, but they looked happy).  Before heading inside the big animal tent, Luke warmed up by pretending to be a sheep.

I didn't know sheep stick out their tongues!

Once inside, Uncle Jim raced to the carrot line, and at $4 for a cup of carrot sticks (I'll bring our own next time!), we decided to mooch off him.

Luke feeds the kudu (we saw these in Africa last year!) a carrot stick

What talent...she feeds and poses at the same time

Outside of the animals, there were many other things to do.  We got lost in the corn maze,

Clare and Papa Chris may be lost, but are still smilin' anyway

Luke navigates me successfully to the exit

watched some pig races,

Watching some swine shuffle on a beautiful sundrenched fall day

and performed what many consider an annual ritual (yay, Disney every year!) at the 'How Tall This Fall' wall, entertaining many of the patrons at Goebbert's Farm that were walking by.

Proud of our little pumpkins' growth

Clare is sooooo big!!

Luke's lengthening as well

Of course, a trip to a pumpkin patch is not complete unless one (or two in our case!) poses with the pumpkins. (Thankfully, this was included in the cost of admission.)  So, Luke and Clare did their best to mingle with the oversized gourds.

Luke wasn't so sure what to think...

while Clare looked cozy with the pumpkins

All was going well until we decided to get a twins shot with the pumpkins, but Luke wasn't havin' it.

He did recover nicely, though, and we were able to get a nice family shot.

Well, sort of...

After all the posing, we took a break and watched Uncle Jim and Uncle Michael pick pumpkins.

Picky pumpkin pickers...they love shopping

Luke made a new friend,

Uncle Nick keepin' Luke calm

 

and I fed Clare.

Clare downs 4 oz. and takes a moment to ponder the world

I have a feeling we'll be back again next year.  We will probably also some day end up at Disneyland. Sigh.

#32. Homecoming In Eureka

The last weekend of September, after weeks of being 'cooped up' in Chicago, we decided to head out on our first American roadtrip. Luke, Clare, and I (Papa Chris would come down by train that night) packed up the car early on a Friday morning and headed down I-55 on our way to my hometown, good 'ole Eureka, Illinois!!

This is the sign heading from the east into town...population now a whopping 5300!

Luke and Clare did great for their first long trip in the car.  I don't think I heard much of a stir until I could see the courthouse while driving past the cornfields many miles in the distance.

The iconic Woodford County Courthouse at the center of town

Our original trip to Eureka was planned to see family and attend a baby shower for Clare and Luke, but sadly, the visit ended up being for other reasons as well.  My Uncle Dave passed away earlier in the week and his visitation and funeral were held over the weekend.  Uncle Dave was a happy, charismatic guy and our family will miss him dearly.  While it was sad to attend all of the arrangements, it was nice to see so many family members I haven't seen in awhile.  Rest in peace, Uncle Dave.

Perhaps the one person most excited in seeing the twins was their cousin Keira!  She proved to be a big hit and help to the twins.

Helping Luke with his pacifier

Checking in on the twins with Grandma Knapp

One of the exciting excursions you can take when visiting Eureka is to the Sportsmen's Club, or as my Dad refers to it...'The Club'.  The Club is a place where our family spent many weekends camping with family and friends.  I have many fond memories of summers sitting around the campfire, swimming and fishing in the lake, and walking around the grounds.  While Uncle Jason and Grandpa Knapp went shootin', the rest of us relaxed up at the campsite.

Keira and her cousins at The Club

Clare finds The Club relaxing

Always lending a helping hand

Losing to a 4 (now 5!) year old

Saturday night, we all headed to Goodfield for a 'shindig' at my cousin Matt's.  The twins met many members of the Knapp side of their family, including my cousins, the twins' great aunts and uncles, and Great Grandma Knapp.

Four Generations of Knapps

On Sunday, we had some friends over to watch the Bears play the Packers.  Luke and Clare were dressed in their brand new Bears outfits from Grandma Knapp (that didn't help the situation!).  The twins made some new friends.

Ivy and Amelia with Luke

Ivy's a natural with Clare!

After the game, my mom, Aunt Deb, and Aunt Tricia threw a very nice baby shower to welcome Luke and Clare to Eureka.  Many Knapp and Snyder family members attended.  The party was where all big events tend to occur...in my parents garage!!  There was food, drinks, big delicious cookies,

Clare's Cookie

and presents!!

Quilts for the twins from a longtime family friend

However, the best part was meeting so many family members that welcomed Luke and Clare with open arms (that quickly closed to hold them!).

Great Grandpa Snyder gets his hands on Clare

Great Great Aunt Jean couldn't wait to hold Luke

Great Aunt Barb is a hit with Clare

Of course, Grandma had to have a turn!!

Just as the night before, we were able to get the coveted four generations photo, something very meaningful to me.

Four generations of Snyders

We also got some other great shots with family.

Chris photobombs the 4 generations shot

Dad, Mom, Jason & Keira, Me Luke & Clare, and Grandpa

It goes without saying that a good time was had by all.

Uncle Jason, Cousin Keira, and Clare agree

So does my cousin Clint, posing next to the economy sized container of kitty litter...awesome!

Bigtime thanks go to the many special people that attended the shower celebration and everyone that made this trip 'home' so special.  Clare and Luke will be back in Eureka many more times in the future.