Your Wish Is My Command

As I've posted before - Kennedy loves to suck her pinkie and ring finger whenever she's tired. She's learned that she can hold this hand in with her other arm so most of the time she goes around looking like she just stepped out of "I Dream of Jeannie". Cracks me up!

The I Believe Bunny by Tish Rabe, Illustrated by Frank Endersby

My sister told me about this great opportunity to review books for Thomas Nelson publishing. What a great way to build your child's library with Christian books for free! This is my first book.

The I Believe Bunny

The I Believe Bunny is a children's book about a funny and kind bunny whose experience in helping a struggling mouse teaches him that prayer works and faith is real! Bunny overcomes a challenging situation by calling out to God. The message is that with God's help nothing is impossible! The message of perseverance, the power of prayer, and faith are portrayed well in just a few short pages which I certainly think is a feat. The example of strong friendships and helping others in need is also touched on in this book. All in all - a lot of great points to take from in a short, simple children's book.

This book was captivating for my 6 month old girls and I believe they'll be reading it for years to come. I love the large illustrations which make the book fun for those still unable to read. The rhyming verses are also perfect for keeping a young child's attention. I look forward to reading more from this series.

Lake Trip

We were invited to the Carr's lake house for the day so that we could catch up and enjoy each other's children since we usually reunite on adult-only vacations. We haven't seen Jack since the girls were born - so we were due for some Jack time! It has been so HOT we didn't even brave the pier or the water - just enjoyed each other's company. Already missing them!

The view

Nap time for MM
Just like his Daddy...Mr. Clean
The closest thing to everyone smiling at one

Get back, Jack!

Uh oh...

Trouble!

Those blue eyes get me every time!

Family Time

This week my sisters, nieces, and nephews kept the girls a couple of days to give Nana and Papa a break. The girls loved it and they were absolutely exhausted at bedtime from all the entertainment. They have never seen so many silly faces, dancing, sweet talk, or been cuddled this much all in one day!

Canoe Trip II

This weekend was the second edition of our crew's Canoe Trip. The first canoe trip we all drove to Ft. Payne, AL and rented some cabins - but vetoed canoeing and instead spent $300 on slip-n-slides and water toys and played in the yard instead. So, this time, we decided to be classier and we rented a lake house at Smith Lake in AL. It's a good central location for all of us since we're spread out from Nashville, Destin, Memphis, Atlanta, and Jackson. Smith Lake is SOOO nice! The water is super clear - unlike any lake I've ever been to. We had such a great time just floating in the water and catching up. I am utterly fried since I feel like I haven't seen this much sunlight in 2 summers. Somehow I skipped sunscreen on my left hand so that's probably the most burnt part of my body. It was wonderful to get away with friends and feel like a kid again! Lots of laughs and good times to be the topic of conversation at Canoe Trip III! The water isn't the best place to drag your camera - so not as many pics as I'd hoped - but here's a few.

The View

Ha Ha The guys
MH and Angelia
Me and Laura
For some reason Taylor wanted to prom pose with EVERYONE...ha!

Heartache

Tomorrow is the fourth funeral this month for a family member, friend, or friend of the family. The death of children, a young adult, a middle aged adult, and an aging adult have affected our lives and the lives of many that have a very special place in our heart in recent weeks. It has me thinking about how life is never certain. It makes me want to grab everyone close to me and just hold on tightly while I still have them.

Perspective changes on everything once you become a parent. Everyone always told me this - but it's something you just don't understand until you have children of your own. The sting of death is so painful. I look forward to so many things in my girl's future - chocolately smiles at birthday parties, sticking that cartwheel on beam, scoring the winning goal, graduations, weddings, granchildren....But today I just want to stop time to save them from the inevitable heartaches life has to bring. It breaks my heart now to hear them protest cry because they don't want to sleep - I won't even imagine how much pain I will feel when I see REAL tears in their eyes from true heartbreak. I'd do ANYTHING to keep them from ever having to feel that pain.

This month has certainly made me contemplate my own mortality. I won't live forever - even though sometimes I feel like I will. I can't contemplate death without contemplating my faith. Praise God He has conquered the grave! The only comfort in death is knowing about the life Christ has bridged for us in heaven. But as I thought about how exciting heaven will be on the way home today and how the hope in Him has carried us through this past month - it dawned on me how important my children's salvation is to me. Of course, I've always known it is important to me to raise my children in church and to teach them about God. But, today I REALLY realized how important it is that when I do make it there one day, that my children follow me. So, I'm writing this down, in case something happens and I don't wake up tomorrow either, that my children will always know how important their faith in God was to me. How important it should be to all of us to make sure our loved ones are there with us on the other side.

This song played on the way home...I'm so thankful that I can fall into the hands of God. And I'll spend all my days making sure my girls know about the Great Comforter, too...

Gag Me With a Spoon

This is how our evenings go...

A little dinner (in our new seats)

Gag ourselves either with a spoon or with peas
Play time!

Get sleepy...

Take baths


ZZZZZZ.......ZZZZZZZ......

I would have some peaceful sleeping pics but last night certainly wasn't your typical night. MM threw up her night bottle TWICE. And I'm not talking spit up - I'm talking she and I both changed clothes twice, covered the chair and the floor type throw up. Then she was wide awake, of course, except she was really tired and I ended up holding her down while she screamed until she passed out. Phew! I was exhausted, too. After that I played with a cool new website I found - www.paperbackswap.com. You can post all the books you've already read and don't want to have for a keepsake to this website and swap with others to get new books to read - FREE! Cool, huh? If you sign up put me as your reference - I'll get a credit for a swap!

Sunday Afternoons

We love Sunday afternoons at Lanie and Pop's house. They always entertain us with new toys, their whole house is covered in tile so our walkers really move, and they never let us cry! They also cook good food for Mom & Dad (yum!). We hope family Sunday afternoons will always be a tradition.

More Pool Fun!

Our friends Matthew and Mandy were nice enough to invite us to hang out at their neighborhood pool today. They're feeding my obsession with getting a swimming pool! The girls were fantastic. MM loves the water - I think she could have spent all day in there. Their son Windham was born just 2 days after our girls. Friends forever!

Chillin out with some juice before our swim

Happy as can be
Windham making his move

See how easy it is with two, Matthew?

Cat nap

This is what I'm talking about...

MM

Kennedy & Taylor

The Squeal

Taylor finally captured the squeal on video by setting up a candid camera on the end table. Cracks me up!

Pool Party

Saturday we attended our first pool party in celebration of cousin Landry's 1st birthday. The weather was perfect - made me want to get in and swim around! The water was COLD and I thought the girls were going to scream their heads off - but they did great! MM loved the water and was even brave enough to get in her floaty all by herself. Kennedy was a little overwhelmed by all the jumping and splashing but she enjoyed relaxing on my legs and splashing around a little herself. We had a great time and it was a great party. Made me want a pool of my own, though!

Half Birthday Party

Yesterday we went to a catfish fry with my co-workers. Here is of a pic of the girls in their summer bubbles. They did amazingly well for it to have been their bedtime. MM showed off her pout, though! She was a little overwhelmed by all the new faces but she warmed up over time. Kennedy was our little socialite - she had a great time being held by everyone!

Half Birthday

Today is LK and MM's half birthday! They are officially 6 months old. Where does the time go? In honor of their half birthday I thought I'd update the list of random things to know about them at this age. They do something new every day! I want to be sure and jot down what cute things they are doing so I'll always remember. I've added photos where I can.

1. Bye Bye Passies. Neither of the girls will take a passy these days. Just one day they really stopped wanting to suck on them. Instead, Kennedy likes to suck her ring and pinkie finger of her left hand upside down! It's a definite sign of when she's tired - those fingers pop right in her mouth.

2. MM is wanting to start crawling! She is already pulling her knees up underneath her and can really scoot. That child! No lack in motor skills for sure!

3. Kennedy LOVES Dora the Explorer. I don't know what it is but you can put her in her jumperoo with Dora on and she just laughs and laughs! She also already loves to watch sports with her Daddy. Put it on soccer, basketball, or baseball and she's enamored. She'll fuss during commercials! Here she is watching TV.

4. MM loves to squeal - or growl - whichever you want to call it. She's so funny! She has really learned to love the sound of her own voice. Their personalities have really swapped since birth. We used to think that MM was going to be this little laid back introvert - WRONG! She has also really start talking - she has a low voice and sounds like a hoot owl!

5. MM loves food and hates milk. Kennedy loves milk and hates food! MM hasn't met a food yet that she didn't like. Kennedy really only likes yellow vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes so far - but she does pretty good trying things. You can just tell she'd rather have that bottle!

6. Still no teeth! They have been drooling and chewing for 3 months now and still no teeth. You can just see those little buds in their gums but those suckers just won't pop on through. I'm not rushing it, though, I don't want them to lose their little baby look!

7. Kennedy is pretty much sitting up by herself. You have to place some pillows around her just in case - but it won't be but a few more weeks and she'll be on her own. MM is doing great sitting up, too. She doesn't have quite as much body control (aka weight) but it won't be long for her, either!

8. Both girls say Mama! Well...it actually comes from them putting their gums together from teething and then just making noise - but we'll take what we can get! MM has also said Da-Da outright to Nana and Papa!

9. Kennedy is wearing 6-9 month old clothes now and MM is still in 3-6 month clothes. I can't keep a pair of shoes on them, though! Kennedy is in size 3 diapers and MM is in size 2 diapers.

10. We love it outside! No matter how fussy we are - just take us outside to sit on the porch or to swing on the swing and we're instantly in a better mood.

For our half birthday we are getting our first sippy cup. Can't wait to see how that turns out! The girls share their half birthday with their cousin Todd's birthday...Happy Birthday Todd!

Bye Bye Sleep Positioner

We have been debating taking Kennedy off of her sleep positioner for a little while now. She has gotten so big that the little wedges don't phase her. She just throws herself over them and will even roll entirely off the wedge at night. One night we woke up and there was no more baby on the video monitor! We ran in there and she had just flipped off the positioner and was still snoozing. So, last night we put her in her own crib with no positioner. She slept from 7:30 pm until I had to wake her up at 6:30 am! To that I say - good riddance sleep positioner!