So I'm a little late...Happy 1st Birthday, Emmy Cate!

The girls and I headed to Atlanta last weekend to visit with family and celebrate their cousin, Emmy Cate's 1st Birthday!!  The party was fantastic, and Aunt Lauren pulled out all the stops!  Emmy Cate racked up on gifts, enjoyed every bite of her yummy cake, and did a fantastic job of entertaining her cousins!!  Macy and Makayla loved getting to play with Emmy Cate's toys...but they mostly couldn't take their eyes off of her...and that's not easy to do, with all of her energy!  :)  It was really great hanging out with Emmy, Aunt Lauren, and Uncle Nathan, since we don't get to see them nearly enough, and the girls got to spend time with BOTH sets of grandparents at once...plus Mamaw Eunice! 

We took advantage of the "proximity" of Mimi and Grandpa's house, as well (I say that lightly, since they're still an hour away!), and turned it into a full weekend, getting to visit with Mimi, Grandpa, Uncle Clayton, Aunt Sabrina, and cousin Haley...and, of course, all the "Duhs" and "Guhs"  (Macy calls dogs "Duh", Makayla calls them "Guhs"...or so we think!)  Those poor dogs didn't know what they were in for, and Macy and Makayla weren't quite sure what to think either!  Macy found out that not every dog likes to be tackled and have its hair pulled like Marley!  Thank goodness Slidell no longer has teeth, or Macy would likely be missing a chunck of skin from her arm after this bonding experience!  Unfortunately, we didn't take all that many pictures, but the girls really had fun hanging out, playing, and dancing with Haley, and she did so good letting them climb on her, pull her hair, and share her toys!  At the end, she even let them take home ALL of her pacis...what an awesome BIG cousin she is!!!

It was quite a nice weekend, and we were so glad to get to spend time with everyone.  We made it home Sunday afternoon, and were exhausted from our weekend, but managed to slip in just a little bit of playtime where Makayla somehow found her way into the laundry basket while I had taken Macy upstairs!  Unfortunately, Daddy missed the trip to Atlanta, since he had to hang out at home so that he could work all weekend, and boy did we miss him...he was out of town for a few days when we got back too, but he finally got home on Tuesday, and boy were our girls glad to see him!!!

A Day in the Life...

I just realized that I'm really late posting an update, but since my last post, the girls hit the big 9 month milestone, and I was able to share my first Mother's Day with my little girls!  It was a great day, which started with Daddy letting me sleep in (as much as possible), some QT with the family, a trip to church, and then a visit to Grandma's house to celebrate with her and Mamaw Eunice.  It was cool celebrating the day with 4 generations!!  Of course, Papaw had to sneak in a few photo ops for himself as well!  :)

As I've said before, the girls are now on the move, and they seem to get themselves into anything and everything they can find!  It's quite entertaining just watching them, but we have to keep a close eye, since they seem to be most attracted to dangerous places (i.e. the fireplace), dirty flip flops, and Marley toys!!  They spend their share of time looking at Marley through the window or playing with (or ON) her too...luckily, she's a pretty good sport!  Macy is famous for diving over things and landing on her head or face, and, unfortunately, ends up with plenty of bumps and bruises.  She's already had 2 "incident reports" from school as well!  She's pretty confident that she can stand without holding on to anything...unfortunately, she can't...so she falls doing that too.  Makayla probably moves around more than Macy, but she just seems to be a little more stable...I think she just moves farther, but more cautiously.  It's funny to watch their "styles"!  Fortunately, we haven't had any serious accidents yet, but we both realize that careful supervision is REQUIRED at all times!

We've gone on several adventures in the boat, but, unfortunately, we don't have any new pictures...mommy's hands are always FULL of squirmy babies, and daddy is busy with all of the usual boat "chores".  The girls seem to like it on the water, and, except for sometimes getting HOT, they seem to have fun!  Makayla even took her first LONG nap in the cabin on Saturday, and boy was that nice for all of us...unfortunately, Macy thought there was way too much going on to miss, and was having no part in it!  Thanks to Grandma, Friday, Mom and Dad were able to escape for an "Adult" afternoon on the lake with mom's friends from work as well.  It's fun taking the babies, but it's awfully relaxing to escape for an afternoon every now and then!

The girls both LOVE to listen to music, and it's SO cute to watch them dance.  This isn't the best video (and excuse the MESS!) but it was all I had.  They seem to prefer country or bluegrass, much to Papaw's pleasure, but they also break out into a good jig to the music that their toys make. 

Eating has turned into a sort of battle of wills at the moment, and everything I've read tells me I just need to keep the experience "pleasant" and have plenty of PATIENCE...for those of you who know me well, you know that's NOT my strong-suit, so I've just accepted this as my next challenge.  It complicates matters more since I decided from the start that I was going to provide the girls with fresh, homemade baby food.  I had NO IDEA what I was getting myself into!  It's been a LOT of fun, and I have no regrets, but it's required hours and hours...and hours...of scrapping, chopping, and steaming carrots, steaming peas, stringing, breaking, and cooking green beans, baking sweet potatoes and butternut squash, peeling, chopping and stewing pears, apples, and peaches (when I can get them), and even cooking up some delicious (??) chicken, then grinding and freezing all of it.  I've truly enjoyed doing it, and feel happy that I've been able to provide the girls with such good, wholesome food...however, I think my expectations were a little less than realistic on when this would end!!  I figured by the time teeth started coming in, they'd be eating a variety of finger foods and more solid consistency items...Makayla has proven me WRONG!!!  Ironically enough, the girl LOVES Cheerios, Puffs, and Bananas...but try to even slip her ANYTHING else and out it comes...IF you get it in her closed lips to start with!!  I've tried to give her more solid chunks of the same...carrots, pears, peas, etc...no dice...I've tried to give her new and exciting variety...turkey, cheese, bread, grapes...some days she eats it (but VERY rarely), some days she takes it into her mouth, holds it there for about 30 minutes, then it mysteriously "reappears" on the floor, and then other days she won't have any part.  Macy is much less picky, and has taken on various "true solids" into her daily diet...but you never know when she'll "strike" against a particular item and that will be the end of that...at least for a while.  It is SO frustrating.  I know I should just be happy that they both love the purees and eat those so well...and I am...it's just that both of them are entirely capable of eating the soft, chewy options that I offer...but I also know they'll eat it when THEY'RE ready...NOT when I'm ready.  I do say a regular prayer of thanks for my industrial size food processor provided by Uncle Jason (THANK YOU, JASON!), and am very happy that I didn't turn it away because of the size (Do I REALLY need something that purees 14 cups??)  I've filled that puppy up MANY times, and I never dreamed I'd be making such mass quantities of MUSH!!!  I know it's something I'll proudly look back on...one day.  That's why I decided to take all of the boring pictures of VEGETABLES and FRUIT.  Until then, say a quick prayer that Makayla's "gag reflex" will give me a break and we can move on to chopped, not mashed!!  :)

Mommy's Happy 31st Birthday!

Sunday morning we packed up the car and headed to Myrtle Beach for a few days with Grandma and Papaw.  As usual, after a long car trip, the girls were ecstatic to get out of the car and check out the accomodations.  Coincidentally, the beach trip spanned across my first birthday as a mommy, so we got to spend a fun day at the beach to celebrate...unfortunately, that also means I'm now another year older, and officially "in my 30's", instead of just the big 3-0!  Where do the years go??

Anyway, we started the morning off with the usual breakfast routine for the girls, some playtime, then a trip to one of the famous Myrtle Beach pancake houses for breakfast...after breakfast, it was time to suit up and check out the pool!  This was the girls' first time to try out swimming, and boy did they LOVE IT!!  It was a bit chilly outdoors, so luckily, our hotel has 3 heated pools inside, so we were able to comfortably enjoy the water!

We started with a dip in the baby pool, just to get the girls acclimated and to try out their floats.  This didn't take long, and soon we were on to the lazy river, where we all enjoyed a few laps around the pool.  Finally, we spent some time in the regular pool where we had the girls floating on their backs, dunking their faces, and jumping in the air!  They were little fish, and didn't seem to have a fear in the world!  We are so happy about that, and can't wait for a fun summer in the water!

We realized that nothing is more conducive to a nice long nap than some time in the water, so Gary and I hung out on the balcony while the girls took a nice long snooze, then we headed to the beach for some time in the sand.  We made it a little longer than last time, but it's still something to get used to...until someone invents a way to prevent sand from sticking to sunscreened babies...and to make it taste better :)...it's hard to make the sand a long term event for our pre-walking girls!  We took a final dip in the pool, then headed in for bath time. 

Later that evening, Grandma and Papaw were kind enough to take the girls for a relaxed dinner and let Mommy and Daddy have a calm dinner out.  As much as I love my babies, it's always nice to have a relaxed, peaceful dinner that doesn't require the "invention" of constant entertainment and a steady supply of Puffs!!  We took a quick walk on the beach, and then headed in to get some rest before our usual 6:40 wake-up call!!

Tuesday, the weather was pretty lousy, so we spent some time napping, enjoyed a rainy day lunch, and then managed to sneak in a quick walk on the beach in the drizzle.  Not the ideal beach weather, but considering that Macy and Makayla aren't the biggest fans of the bright sunlight just yet anyway, we all just used the day as a chance to relax and hang out.

Besides the beach, I had a few more pics to post, and realized I needed to catch up on some detail! Since the last post, Macy has taken flight, and is now a certified crawler. She is so much happier now that she's able to get around, and nothing in our house is unreachable with 2 babies going in opposite directions! The girls actually do pretty well keeping out of trouble (with lots of supervision, of course) and are slowly learning their boundaries! It's amazing to see how quickly their little minds work!! They're still loving their "gah" (Marley) and Makayla found a gold mine in the tupperware cabinet that she was eager to share with her sister...They still enjoy watching Baby Einstein as well, but their attention span for it has definitely shortened!

Bath time has also changed to be a little more easy for mom and dad and fun for the girls as well!  We've been reluctant to get rid of the baby tub, since it provides a little bit of extra security against slips and falls, but I decided it was time to give the girls a chance to bathe together...and they think splashing with each other is such a good time!  The general interaction between Macy and Makayla has become so much more frequent and engaged, and it is SO AWESOME to watch them speak their own language and laugh at each other!  All the HARD work of having twins has always felt "worth it", but every day it seems to turn more and more into this amazing thing that is so unique and special that we can't get enough!

Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 19....85!

Gary and I got all fixed up for a hot date night on Saturday...I couldn't help but post a pictures of this one!  :)  No, we don't dress that well every weekend, but you have to make exceptions when there's a rockin' 80's party at our clubhouse!  LOL!)

And, since you stopped by, a couple of smiles from our little cuties...

Yes, Makayla's still obsessed with chewing on carrots, and yes, there are sweet potatoes on her face.  You grab the smiles when you can get them!  :)

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

The girls finally got to take a ride on "The Parrot" last week, and, except for the brief stint with life jackets, they seem to have serious potential for sharing their parents' love of the water!  Makayla even settled into her jacket for a short ride in Daddy's lap, but Macy would have none of that!  We did what we could, but resolved to let her and ourselves enjoy the quick trip, riding close to the cabin (where it's legal) and holding on tight!  We'll see how the summer progresses, but we're optimistic about many days ahead on the lake!

In my last post, I promised some baby stats, so I'll tell you what I know! 

Makayla - We took her to the doctor this week to check out her never-ending cough, and, turns out, it was, as we suspected, the residual from that nasty cold a few weeks back.  She weighed in at 18.5 lbs, and is still going strong!  Obviously we didn't do a full checkout, so I don't know the length, head circ, etc, but we'll report back on that next month.  Makayla has her 2 front bottom teeth, 1/2 of a top front tooth, and another top front tooth breaking through. So, what's she been up to...
CRAWLING, CRAWLING, CRAWLING, and pulling up on EVERYTHING...whether it's stable/safe or not!!  She LOVES to stand, and we've already lowered her crib after catching her standing up and teetering over the side on more than one occasion!  This little girl goes after whatever she can get her hands on, and requires CONSTANT supervision  :)!!  She's definitely grown a bit attached to mom, but we're dealing with that the best we can...and she's said Mama on more than one occassion...when she says it, it seems like she knows what she's talking about, but, unfortunately, it's only when she's crying for me, and never on a happy note.  For the most part, she is a really happy little baby!  She laughs and makes a lot of silly noises (Gi, Ba, Mmm), often responds to "Hi" (a little grunt that we like to think of as her saying "Hi" back), and just enjoys acting silly and smiling.  She thinks her sister is a hoot, but really loves to steal her toys!!  She doesn't want to miss a thing, and it's really hard to put anything past her!  She's DEFINITELY the pickier of our two eaters, but we're trying to deal with that as well.  She LOVES her sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, and PUFFS but we try to pursuade her to like other things every day!  Bath time is enjoyable, and she's starting to bounce and dance to any type of music!

Macy - We haven't had Macy weighed in lately, but I'm guessing she's the same, or maybe a little heavier than her sister.  She sure feels like it, but we always think that, then their weight falls within an ounce or two or each other.  Macy has her 2 bottom front teeth and we keep thinking we feel a trace of something on top, but nothing's made its way through yet.  Macy is putting her heart and soul into crawling right now, but hasn't QUITE made it.  She sees her sister whizzing past, and it's killing her not to catch up.  She mostly ends up working her way backward, but we expect forward motion any day!  She is starting to really like standing as well, but is still getting sturdy with that.  She has started pulling up on things more and more just this week.  She likes to dance, and LOVES to bounce...door bouncer, exersaucer, the lap of anyone gullible enough to hold her and let her bounce...she is in hog-heaven!  Macy has learned to say DADA (whether she understands that one or not is TBD, but Dad likes to think so, and I'll go with it), and makes plenty of other grunts and giggles.  As you know from pictures in previous posts, she's usually very happy and has the biggest smile that can light up your heart...but when she's mad, she can scream loud enough to light up your ears as well!  :)  Sometimes she'll wave Hi and Bye-Bye, but mostly just when she feels like it!  Macy LOVES to eat, and I think straight spinach is the only thing that she's turned away...we're starting to give her all sorts of tastes, and she amazes me with her willingness to test it out!  She loves her sister, especially when she can reach her ears to pull, and she cracks us up mocking her coughs with this crazy little grunt sound.  They both think it's a riot!

Both girls have been eating like champs for the last little bit (as long as we give them plenty of the foods they love), and a typical day consists of 4 7oz bottles, Yogurt, Bananas, Oatmeal, and a few bites of strawberry for breakfast, Fruit and Veggies for lunch, and then more Fruit and Veggies for dinner...plus a taste of anything on mom's plate that might be appropriate. Bed time is 8:30pm, and we get them up to start the day at 7am (yes, they still hope we'll get them up at about 6:30, but have accepted the fact that mom has to get ready herself (sometimes) and get their breakfast ready before they can come down). We've never had good nappers, and nothing's changed there, but some days are better than others...two good naps will do the trick, but some days a 3rd "catnap" is required. The girls are still doing great at "school", and their teachers love them. They LOVE the outdoors, which is a significant blessing for Mom and Dad, since we're outside every second that we can be. The girls spend lots of time in the wagon and the stroller, and they love it when our final destination is the park down the street where they can swing, and, more importantly, watch other kids on the playground. They ADORE Marley, and she serves her purpose for us as a fairly decent vacuum cleaner at the dinner table! :)

I'm sure there's more, but hopefully I've covered some of the basic day to day details from our home.  We're busy, busy, busy, but having a BLAST, and, as impossible as it seems, falling more in love with these crazy babies every day!!   I've included a lot of video in this post since we haven't taken a lot of pics over the past couple of weeks, and I'm pretty bad at pulling out the video camera to see what we've captured when posting my updates.  Hope you enjoy the live footage!

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!!