8 month old Beach Babies!

I realize that it's time I give a baby update with current stats, abilities, diet, etc, but that'll have to wait. Partly because I wanted to get first beach trip pictures posted, and partly because that requires me to sit down and actually think! With Daddy out of town and babies in bed, my capability to think is lost somewhere in the big glass of wine at my side! (Just kidding, but I think I really am too tired to come up with all of the right details! :)

Macy and Makayla had a wonderful time on their first real beach trip!  We arrived in time for dinner with the family on Sunday night, then off to bed!  The next morning, they started the day off by getting one more round of Easter goodies, which was a ball pit from Mimi and Grandpa, cute shorts outfits, and a set of sand toys from Aunt Melissa and Uncle Whit! Apologies to Mimi and Grandpa, since I didn't take a single picture of their gifts...I'll post some as soon as we find a place to put that thing!  :)

After a quick morning nap, we set out for our first venture into the sand and surf.  Notice our stroller positions...Macy is usually kicked back and chillin' while Ms Nosey Rosey Makayla is on the edge of her seat at all times!  It's funny!

It was a bit chilly, so we did stick our toes in the water, but that's about as far as any of us were willing to go, Mom and Dad included!  We'll try that again later!

After checking out the waves, we plopped down in the sand to start the building.  The toys from the Easter Bunny and Aunt Miss and Whit were perfect, and Melissa made us an awesome castle.  Dad carved our names in the sand, and we spent a few more minutes crawling and digging...and then it hit us...sand is REALLY uncomfortable and boy does it taste bad!!  Macy tolerated for a few minutes longer than Makayla, but it didn't take long for us to decide it was BATH TIME!! 

Mom and Dad ran home, soaped us down, and we headed back to the beach.  By this point, the girls were EXHAUSTED, so we headed down the beach for the grown ups to find some lunch!  After searching far and wide, we found a perfect little grill attached to our neighborhood!  :)  After lunch, the girls took a nap on the beach and Mom, Dad, and Aunt Miss caught a few rays.

We ended the day hanging out at the house with the family, and the next day decided to do some shopping and exploring, as well as lunch, of course, in the Sea Pines area.  After lunch, shopping, and drinks, (and a few naps for these tired little girls) we headed back to the house, packed up our stuff, went to dinner, then headed home...Whew!!!!  What a quick but exciting trip!  

It was so great spending such good, quality time with Mimi, Grandpa, and Aunt Miss!

This weekend, Dad had to go out of town for an unusually long trip, and Mom is doing everything in her power to keep the weekend low key and uneventful.  The lack of routine for the girls has made their nap schedule a nightmare, and the poor daycare teachers have tried their best to keep things consistent this week, so we're all hopeful that a few more days of following "the schedule" will make everyone happier!  It was such a fun day today just hanging out with my girls, since I feel like it's been too crazy to just enjoy each other!  The weather is PERFECT, and the girls seem to just come alive when they're outdoors!  I had an emotional moment today as I walked down a street that I used to literally WADDLE down while I was pregnant, and I was overwhelmed by the fact that EIGHT MONTHS have come and gone so QUICKLY!!  It's been quite a ride already, and I am doing all I can to LOVE EVERY MINUTE!!

Happy Easter!!

Wanted to start out with some Easter pics...the girls started the day with a visit from the Easter Bunny...he left us Easter Baskets filled with sand toys for the beach and eggs filled with our favorite Puff snacks, Dried Fruit, and Dried Yogurt bites...YUMMY!!

then they got all dolled up and headed to church this morning for Easter Service...

then we headed to Grandma and Papaw's for the traditional ham lunch...

and plenty of pics!  :)  We ended up with a lot more shots of Macy, since Makayla was sleeping when we got there and ended up taking a nice nap in the cool breeze in the back of Papaw's truck!

The girls really enjoyed their first Easter, and we even spent some time reading them the Easter Story from their baby Bible.  They loved their baskets, and especially appreciated their cards and money from Grandma and Papaw, as well as their bunnies and CUTE outfits from Aunt Sally!  Makayla even enjoyed the box!  :)

Now we're heading to Hilton Head Island where we'll join Mimi, Grandpa, and Aunt Melissa for additional Easter Celebration and some time at the beach!! What a FULL DAY!!! It's been a great day, and we're sure glad to have digital camera technology so that we could satisfy our obsession with taking plenty of pictures!!!

Yesterday we enjoyed Easter adventures as well when we traveled to Mt Airy to attend our friend Owen's 1st Birthday party!  We made lots of friends, played in our wagon, hunted eggs, and laid in the hammock!  Unfortunately, we didn't get to watch any cake splatters at this party, since poor Owen was sick with an ear infection.  I'm sure he will enjoy his cake soon!

Since I'm going backward, I'll mention the fun we had Friday as well...Papaw's family came over to Grandma and Papaw's house for a cookout, the girls got to ride their first tractor (or at least pose with thier PROUD Papaw), and had fun hanging out with family, including their newly engaged cousin, Erin (Congratulations, Erin and David), and their younger cousin Kensleigh.

Last weekend Mommy and Daddy slipped away for their very first "Mandy and Gary" weekend, and we had a really nice trip!  We took a ride on the boat, and then mostly just hung out and RELAXED!!  We spent some time on the beach, went to the West Palm Beach boat show, ate excellent seafood, and hung out on the boat...it was PERFECT!  The girls hung out at home with Grandma and Papaw, and seemed to have a great time...except for the nasty colds they were fighting AGAIN!!!! 

Mommy and Daddy had a great time, but missed their girls like you can't imagine!  By Sunday, Mom was about to walk home just to get there, and due to weather delays and wonderful airline service, we didn't end up showing up at the house until 2:30 AM!!!  Thank goodness Grandma Pam is patient!

This week we've  been back to our usual daycare routine, and have made sure to spend PLENTY of time in the great outdoors...mostly in our wagon watching Marley chase the Frisbee, which the girls LOVE to do!  The girls sported their new hats that mommy and daddy brought from Florida (yes, they're a little big, but that makes for better sun protection!  ;)).  Now we're headed to the beach until Tuesday, and our little road warriors can't wait to see the adventure that this trip brings!!

March Madness

For those of you expecting me to write something about basketball, you obviously don't know me very well...unless AppState miraculously made it into the big dance, chances are good I'd have little to say!  Anyway, I liked the title, since I feel like we have our own flavor of March madness here in the Ernst household this year!! 

We had a busy 4 day weekend this week, and the weather couldn't have been more PERFECT!!  We're all enjoying the free time both Mom and Dad are having from work, since we know, at least for Dad's schedule, it's sort of the calm before the storm!  We took every possible opportunity to get out and about to enjoy the sunshine and warm temps! 

Starting on Thursday afternoon after coming home from daycare, we went out in the driveway and took our first real test drive in our red wagon.  It was quite a hit with the girls, and they loved how much they could see when they're not "covered up" in their stroller.

Friday mom had to work for a little bit and dad had to fly first thing in the morning, so the girls spent the morning with their friends at Goddard, then mom picked them up just before lunch and took them and Marley to meet daddy out by the lake for lunch. After lunch, we headed to Lake Norman State Park to do a little family hike! We didn't go too far, but felt like the workout was the same with our little 18 lb weights strapped to our chest! The girls LOVED the adventure, and had a blast watching Marley run through the woods ahead of them...until Macy got upset when daddy had to yell at her best bud one too many times!! Poor Marley! :) After our hike, we headed home to hang out with the neighbors and enjoy every minute of the nice weather!

Saturday was another beautiful day, so we headed to the park for a picnic and to try out those swings we keep hearing our cousin Emmy Cate talk about!  The girls enjoyed the picnic...except for their least favorite food, spinach...and LOVED the swings!!  I think they'd have hung their ALL DAY if we hadn't had to get back home for a nap and to get ready for our next event...our friend Taylor's first birthday party!!!  Taylor seemed to have a great time and loved all of her gifts and especially her first cake!!  She was quite the little lady, daintily picking off the polka dots and eating them one at a time! 

After the party, we met up with Grandma and Papaw for dinner, and headed home for them to babysit while Mommy and Daddy headed to the neighbors for a final St Patty's Day celebration at the famous annual Davies celebration.  It was a busy, busy day, and the girls were POOPED, so unfortunately, it probably wasn't the best babysitting experience the grandparents had ever had, but they handled it like pros!

Sunday was yet another busy day as we packed up the car and headed up to Mamaw Eunice's church, Troutman Baptist, for a visit.  Mommy and Daddy wanted to see the pastor, "Preacher Paul", who married them, one more time before he retires next week...it's always great to see old family friends at that church, and Mommy enjoyed showing HER babies off to some of the folks who used to hold her and keep her in the nursery when she was their age!

After church, we went to Grandma Pam's for one of her famous country lunches, ate our fill, played hard with the family, and sang a few songs with Papaw.   It was a lot of fun seeing Uncle Terry, Cousin Shawnna, Aunt Crystal, Mamaw, Papaw, Grandma, and the girls even got to hang out with their momma's cousins uncle and his wife, Diane!  (Ha!  I could just call him Curt, but it was fun trying to piece the relationship together.)

After lunch and a lazy afternoon, we headed home for a quite night at home...maybe not as quite as we would have liked, since the girls were 100% exhausted from the crazy weekend, but after filling their bellies and playing just a LITTLE more, they passed out for a nice long night of sleep!

St. Patty's Day...The Real Deal

Just a couple of quick shots of the girls on their first St Patrick's Day...the girls were happy as they "got ready for school" where they were able to show off their adorable little St Patty tees from Aunt Miss one more time!

No leprechaun visits yet, but they enjoyed coming home from school to visit with Marley instead!

Happy St Patty's To All!

Happy St Patty's Day!

I’m a little late posting the official 7 month update, but we’ve been a busy little family, so I have a lot to talk about! The girls have had chances to spend a lot of good, quality time with their extended family over the last several weeks, and they’ve had a great time and been spoiled rotten!  :)

First, they spent an entire weekend with Grandma and Papaw Childers while Daddy went out of town for work and Mommy took a Yoga instructor class! The class was a unique experience for me, and I'm glad I did it, but boy does yoga give you plenty of time to miss your babies! Luckily, I was able to see the girls in the morning and evening, so it really wasn’t so bad, and their grandma took good care of them!

The following week, they started daycare at Goddard school, and they seem to fit right in and love it there! The current schedule is for the girls to go to “school” Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and mom works those days and hangs out with the girls the rest of the week. Mrs Geneva and Mrs Sharon give Macy and Makayla top notch care and attention, and the girls are always happy to arrive back in their classroom each morning! They seem to be more and more aware and observant of the kids around them as well, so I’m sure they’ll have a room full of best friends before we know it!

Last weekend, we made a trip to Gainesville to meet up with Daddy and see Mimi, Grandpa, Aunt Sabrina, Uncle Clayton, Haley, Aunt Melissa, Uncle Whit, Aunt Sheryl, and Uncle Ryan…and, fortunately, even ended up squeezing in a visit with Uncle Nathan, Aunt Lauren, and Emmy Cate when they came up on Saturday for a cookout!! It was so much fun seeing every one, and the girls had a great time playing with their cousins, watching tv, and reading a few books!  Mom was especially proud to survive her first solo road trip with the babies! Fortunately, the girls aren’t too bad of travelers, and we made it there and back with hardly any drama! My nerves were a little tense, but I found that it wasn’t really necessary, so hopefully I’ll be able to relax a little more next time around!

Again, Papaw and Grandma Childers and Mamaw Eunice met us back at home for a quick lunch and a short visit with the girls on Sunday. My apologies to my parents, since I don’t seem to do a good job of taking pics of the girls hanging out with them at our house!

Monday the weather was beautiful, so Macy, Makayla, and I made a trip to Birkdale for lunch and a little walk on the new Cornelius Greenway…it was so great to get outside, and Dad met us back at home for dinner that night.

After a full week of the new work and daycare routine, Friday morning we packed up the car again and headed to Savannah for a little bit of St Patty’s Day celebration with Uncle Whit, Aunt Melissa, Uncle Clayton, Aunt Sabrina, and Haley! We started the weekend with a quick trip downtown and to the river for lunch on the way in before meeting Aunt Melissa and Uncle Whit for dinner.  On Saturday, we ate out a lot, went to the “mini” St Patrick’s Day parade on Tybee Island (I say “mini” since apparently that parade doesn’t compare to the “real deal” downtown on the 17th), and just hung out and played with everyone.

Aunt Melissa made adorable St Patty’s shirts for all of the girls, and they were able to show up in style for all of the festivities. After the parade, the weather turned pretty windy and chilly, but we still made a quick trip down to the beach to snap a few pics of the girls first trip to the ocean…we look forward to future visits with better weather so that we can show them the real experience! Aunt Melissa got the girls into a little bit of finger painting (brave soul, since Mom’s afraid to go there just yet) and they had a great time playing with their toys and singing with Haley and watching crazy Jake!

As I’m writing this, we’re on our way home…ALMOST there, and the girls have had way too much time in the car, and we’re all ready to settle back in at home!

It’s been a crazy few weeks, and it’s marked a great end to our first 7 months! The girls have grown by leaps and bounds, are so happy and energetic, and seem to get smarter and more personable every single day! It’s so fun to watch them explore and discover the world around them, and we can’t wait for the warm weather and many adventures that spring and summer will bring!

Good Bye, Mrs Bonnie!

The girls had their last day with Mrs Bonnie today, and were sad to say goodbye to her, her family, and their new friends! 

Fortunately they'll still get to see Taylor, and hopefully we'll make it by to visit Mrs Bonnie on occassion!  We truly believe that God put Mrs Bonnie in the right place at the right time for us, and she offered both the girls and I the perfect transition from spending every day at home together to spending days apart, allowing us to all feel confident that the girls would be safe, secure, and loved!

Thank you, Mrs Bonnie!!!

Official Half Year Update

Macy and Makayla have spent 6 days with Mrs. Bonnie and her daughters over the last 2 weeks and seem to have fallen in love!  :)  The first couple of days were hard for mommy, but Bonnie has been awesome to send pictures and texts throughout the day to give me an update and help me to be more comfortable.  The girls get LOTs of attention and have enjoyed time with the other 2 babies and Bonnie's puppies!   Unfortunately, Bonnie's gotten a good chance to see how reluctant our busy babies can be to nap as well, and I think it's compounded there, since they get so much attention and have so much fun!!  Next week is their last week there, and I'm sure things will go perfectly just in time for us to uproot them again to start daycare at Goddard School the following week!  I'm NOT looking forward to the transition, but we've decided it's still best, if, for no other reason than just to save us the time of driving all the way to Mooresville, since it can take up to an hour to go there and back from home!  I have vowed to take a few pictures of the girls with their new friends this week, since I haven't been able to remember my camera before now!

Besides that major transition, the girls are fantastic.  Macy is still very fixated on watching her hands, and, as usual, makes this funny grunting sound whenever she's concentrating on anything, especially her hands!  She still loves her Door Bouncer and Exersaucer, but we also still have to turn her around if she spends too long looking at the Alligator toy that is part of the saucer.  She can't quit figure out how to "work it", so she concentrates for a while, then ends up getting REALLY mad.  It's really funny, but we're sure she'll eventually make peace with it, so we usually let her fumble for a while before we spin her around!  :)  Macy has also figured out how to stick out her tongue, and thinks it's a hoot to do that and smile.  We know it's a habit we'll have to break eventually, but right now it's too darn cute to stop!  Macy LOVES Marley, and we've been surprised at how tolerant Marley has been!  Macy's still just got one tooth (she doesn't really teethe on corn cobs, but we had to take a picture just for old-time's sake!), but I'm pretty sure I can see the gum getting whiter right beside of it, so we expect a new tooth any day.

Makayla still likes to squeal, and sometimes does it with pure delight, and other times out of complete frustration. It's amazing how fast she can switch gears, so it can be tricky!  She is also very fixated on pulling her paci out of her mouth and chewing on the back or sides.  When she's really tired, this can be kind of frustrating, since she'll pull it out just to get mad that it's not back in there...and doesn't seem to get it that all she has to do is spin it around!  She sits up like a champ, and seems so proud of herself because of it!  While we know it will likely be a little while before she crawls (and hope so!) it seems like she'll be mobile any day!  She gets on her tummy and can wiggle much further than you'd ever expect...and is ALWAYS fixated on whatever the next object is that's just outside of her reach!  While it seems like she has ALL of the symptoms, we're still waiting on Makayla's first pearly white to make an appearance.

We've started letting the girls sip water from our cups, as well as to do some experimenting with a sippy cup, and they LOVE this new feat.  I'm not sure if it's just something new and exciting, or if it's the cold water that they're enjoying, but they can't seem to get enough...even when they wet the entire front of their shirts!

We finally went to an opthalmologist last week to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong or that we could do to fix their poor little eyes, and, as expected, the doctor thinks it's blocked tear ducts that will most likely take care of themselves within the next 3 months.  I know the girls are so sick of us cleaning their eyes, and they get so red and sore, so we're really hoping that the issue goes away quickly!

Friday we went for their 6 month checkup and the girls checked out great!  The girls seem to be exactly where they should be on all of their developmental milestones, and we found that we have some big girls!
Here are the stats:
Macy - Weight - 16.7 lbs - 80th percentile
             Height - 27 inches - 90th percentile
             Head - 43 cm - 65th percentile
Makayla - Weight - 16.4 lbs - 60th percentile
                 Height - 27.5 inches - 95th percentile
                 Head - 44 cm - 75th percentile

Unfortunately, between this round of shots (including H1N1) and teething, something has really taken a toll on the poor babies and they had a couple of rough days between Friday evening and Saturday.  They've never had any problems with shots before, so we were surprised when they seemed so fussy and lathargic, and, unfortunately, it seemed to last just long enough for Grandpa and Mimi's visit.  Saturday night they started getting back to normal, and they were completely back to their happy little selves when they woke up this morning!

We had an awesome little Sunday, having the unusual luxury of having Daddy home!  We went to church, then headed to Davidson to have lunch on Main Street at our favorite little spot, the Soda Shop.  After a quick escape attempt by Macy, we took a nice long walk on the greenway.  The weather was beautiful, so it was nice getting the whole family out for some fresh air! (even Marley!)