Found the Camera Cord....

These are pics from Memorial Day Weekend in Houston and the week prior at our house (Mother's Day, crawfish boil, etc.). Enjoy!!

How could I forget to write about....

my first Mother's Day???

The day began wonderfully. I was awakened by sweet Abs who gave me her first piece of art! It was a 12x12 stretched canvas where Daddy painted a heart in the center and Abigail "hand painted" around it with bright primary colors. When George the sleepyhead finally awoke, he presented his art too! Matt shared the story of their art time...Abigail was fascinated with the feeling of paint on her hands and was timid in putting it on the canvas, so her hand motions are short and whispy. George loved painting and was aggressive in his technique, smearing and grabbing the canvas with both colorful hands!! The 12x12 canvas have already found their place in our bedroom and I will treasure them daily. Daddy also presented me with 2 hour-long in-home massage sessions from our fabulous-o massage therapist Missy Dodson.

We went to church, received sweet carnations for Mother's Day, and the nursery ladies made "footprint" art with the babies for the mommies. We spent the afternoon shopping for new clothes for me. What relaxation and feelings of being loved! I adore spending time with my hubby and babies!

Wow....so many "firsts"

They say to enjoy this time in your baby's life because it comes and goes so quickly....we have learned that first hand in the past week...where to begin??

George now has his first two teeth and Abigail began crawling (8 1/2 months old). Again, George has a very high pain threshold as he wasn't fussy at all! Within 24 hours of learning to crawl, Abigail began pulling up to her knees, which prompted lowering her crib mattress. She also started "talking" and like her brother, loves to say "dadadada". Both babies began picking up finger food and feeding themselves last week, so they have been eating lots of puffs and mum-mums. Nana and Pop were here to witness those wonderful milestones as they came up for a visit all last week. They brought 80 lbs. of crawfish and we hosted friends for our annual crawfish boil, which was tons of fun!

We spent Memorial Day in Houston with the Morris clan and Brad. Mom, Dad, the twins and I drove down together Thurs/Fri and Matt brought the two dogs (Boomer and Tori) on Saturday. It was the babies' first time to visit Houston and first time to spend the night in Nana and Pop's trailer--of which they will come to love as they get older. George and Abigail loved being toted around by their cousins--I think Evie and Kirby changed every single diaper all weekend! The babies swam in the pool for the first time at Cliff's 13th birthday party and LOVED IT!! They cried for the first 15 seconds but once they got used to the water, they started kicking and splashing! George loved jumping up and down in the water (his new favorite thing to do!) and Abigail kick,kick,kicked! While we were in Houston, Abigail cut her top two front teeth, which was exciting too! Kirby taught Abigail how to blow razzberries and Aunt Laura taught her how to wave. We started baby sign language while we were in H-town and both babies started using the sign for "milk" within three days--so smart!

We drove home through Austin to visit Oma, Matt's Granny. It was wonderful to see her and she loved seeing her great-grandbabies. Her health is stable at this point but prayers are still needed. After 12 1/2 hours on the road we finally returned home and the babies were exhausted all day yesterday! They did great in the car and we have decided to make a habit of picnics and playgrounds along our roadtrip routes!

When I find the camera cord, I will upload recent pics....

Reba Grace's 2nd Birthday!!

Happy birthday, sweet Reebers! Our precious godchild turns two today and we love her so much! In her honor, we have posted a slideshow of random pics highlighting special times we have had together during her second year. George, Abigail, Boomer, Anna and Louise do not know what to do without Reba Grace around....nor do we, you've stolen our heart!
We miss you and send you big smooches!

Afternoon at the park

Today George, Abigail, and I went to hang out with our friend Stephanie and her twin boys Ean and Quinn. We walked a couple of miles and enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine and wonderful friendship. Aren't the twin babies soooooo cute in the bucket swings?

Eight Months Old!!!

George and Abigail are eight months old and wonderful!! On their 8 month birthday, they had two firsts: riding a bicycle (okay, in a trailer pulled by a bike) and bathing in the kitchen sink. They seemed to enjoy the ride, looking around at all the sights in the hood and visiting with the Lanes on their way to the park. Bathing in the kitchen sink was a hit...next time, we'll do them both at the same time!


George weighs 18 lbs. 4 oz. and can sit up on his own. He voluntarily rolls to his belly now without motivation and loves to play with his Leapfrog music toy. He is making great strides in PT (we still go weekly). He loves to squeal with delight and chew on his tongue. His feet are great play toys and he still eats like a champion--though he could care less about carrots and broccoli. He is eating mushed up food now and digs little puffs and rice rusks--no more pureed food--that's for babies!! He is really good at picking things up with his pinchers, but not so skilled yet at getting it off his hands into his mouth. No teeth yet, but we can see them under the skin ready to poke through! He is still our great sleeper and has been sleeping 12 hours at night for the past week. Matt is thrilled because his favorite thing to scream is "dadadadada!"


Abigail weighs 14 lbs. 12 oz. and is definitely mobile and full of energy and spunk! She is not crawling on fours yet, but scoots, rolls, pulls, and crawfishes to wherever she wants to go. She has perfected the yoga position "downward dog". She made her way across the living room floor last week to attempt to chew on Boomer's bone until I grabbed it from her lips--yuck!! She loves the exersaucer, spinning around and pressing all the bells and buttons. Her eating has improved and she eats everything we give her, including broccoli and zucchini! She has a smile with two teeth to melt your heart and loves to laugh. She has become great at playing by herself, especially when she awakes from her naps first. She babbles all the time and likes to make different sounds through her teeth. Her Pop and her daddy can't wait to teach her to paddle!

Unfortunately, we were at the doc AGAIN today and George has ear infections in BOTH ears. We are on Round #4 of antibiotics and will be going to see the ENT to start talking tubes. Poor kiddo. Good news is he is not painful and is happy as a lark. We have learned he has a very high pain threshold.



Other family news:
~Matt's Granny is still not well--she has good and bad days but is still very frail in health. We keep her close in heart and pray for God's comfort to find her.
~We said goodbye to our nanny this week and will have a new babysitter starting Tuesday. We will miss Sonya and wish her well! The babies will begin a Children's Day Out program starting in late August 3 days per week so I may continue to work.
~Matt continues his violin lessons and is making beautiful music. Boomer is still scared of the violin!
~I am still trying to find the balance between being a mom, a wife, a social worker, and a faithful Christian--every day is a new day full of new adventures. It is amazing how one can get up in the morning and suddenly it's three in the afternoon---and it's not because I slept in!

All in all, we are eager to move into summer and look forward to trips to be with family and friends. We hope for lots of BBQs, cold margaritas, growing veggies in our garden, getting back to exercising, and watching our precious twins do simple but amazing things!

You know you're getting old when....

~you are excited about getting a new windshield for your car

~you are elated when your new refrigerator door closes without the assistance of a chair

~you nearly kiss the washer repairman for the good news that your washing machine is resurrected!

Argh, the pains of homeownership and responsibility!