This is

THE END

of

"Double the Fun"

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Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page to view this blog in the proper sequence. Also click on each photo to enlarge it for better viewing. If you enjoyed this blog, click on the phrase shown in green at right called "View my complete profile" to access a list of all of my photo blogs.

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Thanks for looking!

In this shot, the moving van has packed everything up at Troy and Connie's and are gone. We are all safely and warmly at Todd and Stephanie's. In these photos, Bob and I are preparing to get in our cab to take us to the airport after our seven days with Troy and Connie. Although it is peaceful here, the minute the cab arrived, Connie was giving Lauren a bottle and Justine began to scream. We hated to leave her in that position, but had no choice. What a way to say good-bye!

Both babies would smile, coo and sometimes even giggle out loud, but it was hard to get a picture of them doing any of those things. I was delighted to find that I caught Justine in a darling smile for this shot.

Well, who could possibly resist this little doll? I unbundled Lauren after a trip in the cold car and this was her expression when she saw me. Note the little bear clip on her car seat strap - I tried to duplicate it on the lay-out.

We had a routine every morning - this time it was about "piggies".

Another yellow-goldish picture, but much too cute to discard! Is that the Gerber baby or what?

Another adorable picture of Lauren after her bath - she's a future model, for sure!

Getting ready for the moving van was hectic, to say the least. Furniture that was being discarded was topsy-turvy and there was stuff and boxes everywhere. You can hardly see little Justine in the midst of all this chaos on December 10, 2005!

A very talkative Lauren: Sometimes we'd have to move her if Justine was sleeping because she was "talking" so loudly - so funny and so cute!

This is Justine's very own photograph album - and her picture is on the cover!

The girls were still intrigued by their Baby Einstein toy. The flashing lights in that star above them was fascinating - they'd talk to it and kick. Surprisingly, they didn't recognize that another baby was lying right beside them.

Not sure why some of our photos turned yellow, but Lauren is so cute sitting in the Bumbo chair that I couldn't delete it just because it was yellowish! Look at those little hands!

Another milestone for Justine - she discovered that when she kicked her right leg, her bouncy chair would rock. Once she got it down, she could rock and bounce for a long time!

Todd and Stephanie were so generous with their beautiful home while the movers were at Troy and Connie's house. In this shot, Lauren is comfortable at Todd and Stephanie's, out of the cold and snow.

Justine liked to be carried around so she could look over your shoulder. But she weighed about 15 lbs and got heavy after a while - she didn't want to sit down, though.

Justine was a hit in her little reindoor outfit - especially when we turned her around!

Christmas was just 2 1/2 weeks away when we were in Chicago, so Connie had some darling Christmas outfits for the babies. Lauren was a tired little elf.

You look at one baby and think she is too cute for words - then you see the other baby! How could anything be cuter than Justine in her hooded towel!!

I loved bathtime. It's fun to watch the babies in their little tub. They enjoy their baths - it's the getting dressed afterwards that's not so popular. Here's Lauren peeking out of her little bath towel with the ears on the hood - how cute is that!!

Who does little Justine look like - a remarkable resemblance to baby pictures of Connie.

Boy, it's tiring packing and carrying boxes from one level to another. Grandpa Bob and the babies take a little nap to regain their strength.

Sweet baby Lauren: In the photo in the lower right hand corner, you can see that she has her right arm extended. She discovered her arm and fisted hand some time ago, frequently moves her arm back and forth, and watches it with fascination!

I had so much fun with these babies! After their morning bottle, they were ready to play and I kept their attention for quite a while with little songs and handplays I remembered from teaching Kindergarten 40 years ago! Some things never grow old - except me, of course!

A Bumbo chair is a little seat designed to help a baby sit up straight and develop their neck and upper back muscles. It's a neat little thing and Justine usually enjoyed sitting in it - especially to watch TV, of all things!

This photo of Lauren is definitely a winner!

Precious babies in their bouncy chairs - very alert, very animated.

Our adorable Justine is growing and doing well too. In fact, in this photo she is raising her head, trying to sit straight up instead of lying back. This was a milestone - once her neck supported her head and she could sit straight up, her world changed and she never wanted to lie back again!

Our adorable little Lauren who now weighs about 12 lbs - up from 1 lb 9 oz at her lowest in May, 2005, seven months ago.

Bob wore his Nebraska shirt - an attempt we believe to influence these babies about their future college. It'll never happen, say Troy and Connie, who are Purdue graduates and are very loyal alumni.

We very nearly had to sleep at O'Hare because we were told there were no cabs. Troy was stranded in Atlanta and there was no way we were asking Connie to bundle these babies up on a night like it was to pick us up - ditto Todd and Stephanie, who had work the next morning. We finally got a cab and arrived at Connie's at around 1 AM.

This photo blog is entitled :

"Double the Fun",

but I probably should have entitled it

"Snowstorm in Chicago".

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Bob and I flew to Chicago from Columbia, SC on Thursday, December 8, 2005 to help Troy and Connie pack for their move to their new house in a suburb of Minneapolis and to help take care of the babies, Justine and Lauren, who were 7 months old.

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We took a lot of pictures while we were there and I have documented a few of them here.

Click on each photo to enlarge it for a better view.