Allie in the South of Spain

Last Friday we made it back to Spain without any major problems. The only issue we had was being the last people off the plane in Madrid and being left on the tarmac for a while in the heat and sun while a bus came took a load of passengers to the terminal and came back for us. At least we got some cool pictures outside the plane. As exhausted as we were, we had our niece Eva's baptism the next day in the afternoon. I may have mentioned this before but baptisms tend to be a pretty big deal here in Spain. It was nice to see all of Jose's family again and I know they liked seeing the girls. We went to the mass and then all had dinner together. Since then we have been working on unpacking our suitcases (we brought back four!!) and getting our lives reorganized. The girls are on a different schedule so we are trying to adjust but more on that in their six month update. You can check out other nursery posts here and here .  We bought a few new things for their nurser...

My family likes a theme, I mean we take it seriously. Our family weekend getaway would be no different as you might imagine. This year we took GAGME (the Garber annual gathering: Michigan edition) on the road but not very far. We just drove up to Grand Rapids after having considered Mackinaw and the Upper Peninsula (not exactly baby friendly as we decided). You can read about our original GAGME vacation to Washington D.C. here . Our first day was a camouflage  themed. Everyone wore something with camo and the grand-girlies were matching with outfits that could only be found at Walmart. It was adorable and gross at the same time, pink and camo. We all drove up to Grand Rapids and met at Founder's brewery where we had lunch. We then headed over to our hotel and went to the pool before going out to eat together downtown for dinner. On day two, Saturday, we went to the Grand Rapids Public museum which was right by our hotel. I thought it was ...

You guys! It's already been five months since Vera and Laura were born. And they have already become international travelers! Below you can find their other monthly updates if you are curious to see how things have changed. One month update Two month update Three month update Four month update We spent the first half of the month back in Spain basically saying goodbye to friends and family and getting prepared both physically and mentally for our trip. We finally flew out on the 19th of July and the girls did great (which was a pleasant surprise for me since I had been dreading our trip). We arrived without any big problems and I wrote a blog about traveling with twin infants that you can check out here . Before we left Spain we were able to spend a weekend in Jose's family's hometown where we attended his cousin's baptism. Baptisms are a big deal in Spain as they are an important right of passage. We are planning the babies' baptism for September...

We arrived in Michigan one week ago and have been having a great time! I hate to admit this but we have gotten almost all of the food we had been craving already. In the first few days we hit up Dairy Queen for Reese's peanut butter cup blizzards, got Taco Bell and ordered Jet's pizza. We have definitely not been following a very healthy diet but when we are here we have to take advantage. Poppa Walrus has also been grilling for us quite a bit. Yum! We spent our first few days at my parents' house at the lake but I can't believe how hot it has been. I feel like we have been inside most of the time since I don't want to take the babies out in the heat. We got to go on their new pontoon boat, dubbed the Garbarge and have been swimming a few times. I am hoping it cools down soon so that we can be outside more. Why did the heat have to follow us from Spain? I thought we were escaping dammit. Last weekend we headed to my sister Chrissie's new house for a f...

Jose, Laura, Vera and I  just arrived yesterday in Michigan after almost 24 hours of travel from Spain. I am exhausted still but am so thankful that our long journey with our two babies went well, with only one hiccup at the beginning. I was having a lot of anxiety about flying with our girls for weeks before we headed out and I am happy to say that they behaved wonderfully on all three flights. We left our apartment early on Monday morning and were driven to the airport by my father-in-law. When we walked up to the ticket counter we were told that Vera and Laura did not have tickets and would not be allowed to fly unless we got it figured out. Remember that this was at 5:00 a.m. and I tried to remain calm as I immediately got on the phone with American Airlines. It took a while and quite a bit of extra money but we finally got all four tickets. Tip number one for flying with infants: make sure when you book your flights that the children show up on the reservation. Chances a...

Laura and Vera just recently turned four months old! We went to the pediatrician today and Laura actually weighs slightly more than her sister for the first time ever (even in the womb). She has been eating a ton lately and has gotten quite chunky with chubbier cheeks and a double chin. It's adorable. Both girls are healthy though small (they have moved up to the 15th percentile from the 2nd when they were born) and also got their latest vaccines. They are all ready for our trip to the U.S. which we will be taking shortly. Wish us luck for our flights. Any advice for traveling with little ones would be appreciated! We have been trying to get out and about as much as possible this past month which has helped keep me sane after I went through a bit of a rough patch. I found that the repetitive routine of bottles, changes and naps was making me a bit stir crazy. Now our days have a routine to them but I do try to take the girls out for a walk with Cooper, have a coffee at the...