6 months old!

It's hard to believe that the boys are 6 months old already! Time sure does fly when you're having twins, graduating from seminary, selling and buying a house, moving, starting a new job, etc... The boys have continued to grow and the doctor was pleased with how they looked! They continue to be long and lean, but Dr. Duff says that's just fine! Here are their recent heights and weights:

Caleb: 26 3/4 inches, 14 lbs 4 oz
Joshua: 27 1/4 inches, 15 lbs 12 3/4 oz

Caleb is now rolling over from his back to his stomach and Joshua continues to be very close. Alison, Caleb, and Joshua all had the stomach flu for the past couple of days, so it has been a little interesting around our house! Everyone is on the way to getting better... now we just have to get back into our normal routine again! We are off to Oklahoma City the day after Christmas to visit some of Alison's family, so I'm sure we'll have pictures from that adventure soon. In the meantime, we wish you all a very blessed Christmas.

#3 Green

#2 with some Sound!

This one was about 117 frames I think.

The First, Hopefully of Many and Better to Come

So I finally found a way to do some cool effects, a free program called LS Maker. Some day when I figure out how to render videos properly there will not be any logos on the middle of the screen. There is only about 3 seconds of footage to watch, which you can do over and over if you like to make it seem longer. Those 3 seconds are comprised of about 104 frames, each which have to have effects applied. So the short is that it takes a long time to put together a whole bunch of video. Watch out Vader, here comes Jedi Master Soppe!

GO CARDS!!!!

Now, we know that baseball season is still a long ways away, but Alison has already been talking to the boys about the Cardinals and how they're the best team (and only team) to root for! Alison and the boys had a fun time one day dressing up in Cardinal gear and taking a few pictures. Beyond a doubt, Caleb and Joshua will be ready for spring training when it comes... and you know it will be here sooner than you think! In the meantime... GO CARDS!!!!!!!

We are growing up SO fast

It is hard to believe that the boys are 5 1/2 months old already. Over the past week they have really started to interact more with their surroundings... reaching out for toys and manipulating things on their exersaucers (sliding beads back and forth, turning the steering wheel, tumbling the parts that rattle). They were looking like they were going to roll over at any minute for a while, but now it appears that they have no interest or have forgotten that was a skill they had almost acquired! I'm sure that one day we will leave the room and come back a few minutes later to find them in a completely different position than how we left them. They have become very proficient at pivoting in circles on their backs both in bed while they are supposed to be sleeping and as they play. Both of them chatter up a storm and love to have their hands in their mouths. Joshua has also discovered that he can stick out his tongue and prefers to do so much of the time. We will be going to the doctor for their 6 month check up in a couple of weeks and it will be interesting to see how much they have grown... pants and onesies continue to be plenty wide but become too short in a hurry! Alison is really enjoying being at home with the boys and Russell is thankful that he gets to work full time, but always enjoys coming home to see the family! Enjoy the pictures of our ever changing, ever growing boys!

Funny Photo Tag

The rules…

Find the 6th folder in your picture directory and post the 6th photo in it.



This is a picture from when I was pregnant with the boys. Russ had been looking for an object that was about the same size that they were at the time and this was it!

I tag Erin and Brian West, Nora Witbrodt, Becky Andrysczyk, Jon and Kelly Jo Flaa, and Jeff and Kristen Ballard.

Here are the instructions:

* Go to your sixth picture folder then pick your sixth picture.
* Pray that you remember the details.
* Post it on your blog.
* Tag 5 others, leave a comment to let them know they’ve been tagged.

I look forward to seeing what you find!

The hog has arrived!

For those of you who don't know, a family in the congregation has been generous enough to donate a whole hog to us. It has been butchered and we purchased a deep freeze to store the meat. We have been eagerly anticipating its arrival and here it is - our hog! We have already tried some bacon, ground pork in the form of tacos, and bar-b-que pulled pork, all of which were very good. Next on the list - pork chops!

Five months old and a trip to St. Louis...

It is hard to believe that the boys are already 5 months old! Where has the time gone? Thanksgiving is almost here and Christmas is just around the corner! Alison's sister, Erin, had planned a trip to St. Louis with her husband Brian and their daughter Micaiah. Micaiah is 4 months older than the boys and we still had not had an opportunity to see her. SO... off went Alison and the boys to St. Louis! Russell was not able to come along, so Alison braved the 6 hour drive by herself with the boys. All in all it went well as she only had to stop one time each direction. Alison and the boys had a great time visiting with family. Russell was very glad to have them back when they returned! Here are some pictures of their time there - enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!!

Today is Halloween as all of you know and we had the pleasure of "trick or treating" at the doctor's office today! Today was our first visit with Dr. Duff here in Manhattan and we had a great visit! The boys continue to be growing well and are healthy as can be. Here are their official 4 month statistics:

Caleb: 25 1/4 inches long, 12 lbs 14 1/2 oz
Joshua: 25 1/4 inches long, 13 lbs 12 1/4 oz

As you can see, Joshua has been very busy eating as much as possible (up to 9 ounces in one sitting) and has surpassed his brother in weight. They continue to be equal in length and are progressing well with their milestones. It wouldn't surprise me if they started rolling over soon... the days of mobility are just around the corner! We went on a hike with the dogs and the boys today and just had a great time. Enjoy the pictures!!!

Four months old...

It is has been a very busy month this past month with moving and starting life in Manhattan, KS! We are still working on getting settled into our new home and Russ is really enjoying his new job. The people here have all been very friendly and I (Alison) even went on a play date with the boys! Of course, the boys continue to grow and change all the time. They are smiling more and sleeping through the night better now (we can expect them to go for 10 hours minus one wake up call to reswaddle them.) I am really enjoying being at home with boys and am so thankful I have the opportunity to do so. Our 4 month check up is later this month, so we're not quite sure how big they are, but I wanted to get some new pictures up for all of you! Hope you enjoy!!!

Baby Andrysczyk has arrived!

We have all been waiting for quite some time for Russell's sister Becky to have her little boy. Well the wait is over! Ayden Michael Andrysczyk has finally arrived!!! He was born late October 17th and is 8 lbs 10 oz and 20 inches long. We are so happy to have a new member of the family!!! You can check out pictures as they are posted on their blog (see Blogs we visit in the right hand column and click on "Kyle Becky and Ayden"). Welcome Ayden!!!

Three months old

Here we are at three months old already! The boys are growing and changing all the time... They are now talking and laughing up a storm and like to be awake and play after they eat. They have found their fists and love to suck on them - sometimes at the expense of their bottle! They are working at lifting their heads up off the floor and they even roll over from their stomachs to their backs from time to time. It continues to be tons of fun to watch them. We are looking forward to getting into our new home soon so we can all be together again! In the meantime, we're having a great time in St. Louis hanging out with my family.

The Fabulous Five

We have shared a special bond with the Ballards because of Russell and Jeff's seminary experience, Alison and Kristen's work together in the physical therapy department at Lake Forest Hospital, and of course the unique journey of a pregnancy with multiples. Of course we couldn't leave Chicago without a trip to meet Benjamin, Luke, and Abigail and see their parents one last time! It was hard for Russell and I to believe that our boys were that small when they came home from the hospital! How time does fly... Here are some pictures of all FIVE kids...

A Night of Goodbyes

For those of you who may not know, we have recieved a call to serve in a church in Manhattan, Kansas. We are so excited to see what God has in store for us there! A couple of nights before we left Chicago, many of our friends and family came to visit and say a final goodbye. We had a blast! (14 kids age 5 and under sure makes things interesting!) Thanks to everyone for all your prayers and support during our time in Chicago. It has really meant a lot to us. We look forward to hearing how God continues to work in your life in the coming years.

The triplets have arrived!!!!!

For those of you who don't know, good friends of ours, Jeff and Kristen Ballard, have been expecting triplets. Well, the wait is over because Luke James, Benjamin Erik, and Abigail Paige were born today!!!!! For more info and pictures you can check out their blog at:

http://jeffandkristenballard.blogspot.com/

Congratulations Ballards!

We're 2 months old!

Well, we have been busy growing and trying to sleep a little more at night over the past month. Mom and Dad are enjoying spending more awake time with us. We have decided to start blessing them with smiles and we keep our eyes open a lot more now too! We're also working on holding up our heads on our own. We had our two month check up today and wanted to give you an update on our official statistics:

Caleb 22 inches, 10 lbs 2 ounces
Joshua 22 inches, 9 lbs 15 1/2 ounces

As you can see, we have been eating as much as Mom and Dad will give us and it shows! Mom said she was putting up some of our latest photos for you as well... hope you enjoy our cute little faces.

One month old!!!

Here are some long awaited pictures of us. We apologize for Mom and Dad - they've had their hands full taking care of us and haven't had time to blog for awhile. We're trying to let them get a little more sleep though - we gave them a five hour stretch last night! So here are our one month statistics:

Caleb: 7 lbs 2 1/2 ounces, 19 3/4 inches long
Joshua: 6 lbs 11 ounces, 20 inches long

As you can see, we've been busy growing and trying to put on a little more weight. We're actually growing out of the preemie clothes Aunt Nora bought us and working our way into the newborn things... although everything is still a little wide on us. Hope you enjoy the pictures of our cute little faces!

P.S. In case you can't tell us apart yet, Caleb is in brown and Joshua is in blue!

Hanging with the Family!

Home Coming!

Do you know who I am?

Our First Day and Some Visitors Too

Caleb and Joshua Theme Song!

Caleb Matthew Soppe and Joshua Andrew Soppe 6/16/08!