Two Rowlands at a Time

Christmas Fun

2011-12-28T19:48:00.000-06:00

Yes, I am seriously about to put all of this in one post! Christmas has been a whirlwind, but it's been a fun ride. The girls were really pumped about everything Christmas this year. They love looking at Christmas lights, playing with nativities, singing Christmas songs, and of course, presents!

We had a busy Christmas week which started out with me and MM getting the stomach bug - doesn't really put you in the Christmas spirit! But, we recovered and soon things were in full swing. The girls had their Christmas program at school, we went to the lights in Canton with Lanie and Pop (pics coming soon), we spent two days and Nana and Papa's, had Christmas Eve lunch at Mammaw Sue's, and Christmas Eve dinner at Mammaw Conerly's. Christmas morning we destroyed the house and then went to church followed by lunch at Lanie and Pop's. I am still full from all of the good food, I think. Don't worry - I'll work it all off cleaning up the never ending trail of toys that my kids keep dragging out!

This year Santa brought the girls the purple jump ropes that they've been asking for, a really cool train set, and a swing set. We've haven't been able to get on the swing set much because it's been pouring rain for days on end, but hopefully soon! They also got a mountain of other things - cash registers, a dollhouse and baby doll accessories, luggage, lots of fun games, CANDY, and much, much more.

I adore this pic - this nativity set has had many adventures at the hands of many children!

My little choir angels!

Santa came!!!

Gymnastics Birthday Party

2011-12-05T21:34:00.001-06:00

This year the girls had their birthday party at Gymsouth gymnastics. We had an absolute blast. What isn't there to love about free play time in the gym? Even the adults had a good time. Kennedy wanted a chocolate cake and MM wanted strawberry cake. We had marshmallows and Starbust, too, which are favorites. We had a great turnout of friends and family. Sadie even traveled all the way from Tupelo and spent the night with us. What a fun birthday!

3 Years Old

2011-12-05T21:19:00.001-06:00

I can't believe it's been three years since these girls have entered our lives. In some ways it seems like life didn't begin until that moment. These past three years have certainly been an adventure! The girls have been so excited about their upcoming birthday. They are always asking when they are going to be three and they pretend singing "Happy Birthday" to their baby dolls all the time. We woke up on their birthday morning and I showed them their birthday tiaras that I bought for them to wear around town. We set off for a fun morning at the children's museum. It was nice to not be in a rush and to just be able to let the girls play as long as they wanted at each station. After that we met T and Lanie at Chuck-E-Cheese for even more fun! The object of every game is just to put as many coins in a row in the game as possible. ha! We had a great day celebrating their birth and looking at old pictures of when they were in my belly and going through my first year blog book. They love to hear about when they were babies - they'll always be my babies!

The day before their birthday they had a tea party at Nana's and went out to eat at McDonald's. Then their birthday night they played at Lanie's and got new birthday scooters which they LOVE. They are so blessed with family that treats them like royalty!

Santa, Santa - I know him!

2011-12-05T21:00:00.001-06:00

Can you believe it? Santa came to my work! How nice of him to give us personal attention so we don't have to brave the long lines at the mall or Bass Pro. The girls were a little unsure of him at first, but eventually they told him that they wanted a purple jump rope this year for Christmas. Buddy the Elf has come to visit now to keep an eye on how well behaved the girls are being and report back to the North Pole each night. We are excited for the Christmas season!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-26T10:46:00.001-06:00

We are so blessed to have both sides of our family just a few miles apart from each other. It makes it so easy to be able to see everyone and celebrate holidays together. The girls were so excited about Thanksgiving this year. We started out with lunch at Mamaw and Papaw's. The girls had a blast playing with Lydia - thankful for cousins! No matter the time of year we always have to have popsicles.

After lunch we headed to Nana and Papa's. This year DitDee and crew were in the mountains so we were a little short staffed. Aunt Wilma just got out of the hospital so she and Randy and Freddy joined us for dinner. Two Thanksgiving meals in one day will do you in! We tried to counteract with a walk in the woods, but I don't think it did much good. After dinner we played games and ~~burned~~ roasted marshmallows in the fire pit. This year I am thankful for so many things - family, friends, health, jobs, faith - too many blessings to count!

Down on the Farm

2011-11-11T21:15:00.001-06:00

Layton had a farm birthday party complete with goats and horses! The girls had a great time studying the animals and jumping in the bouncy house. We love a party!

Frick or Freating

2011-11-11T20:59:00.001-06:00

MM puts an F at the beginning of most of her words (so stinkin' cute) so this year we went Frick-or-Freating at church and also had a little party at school. Kennedy was Minnie Mouse and MM was a butterfly/ballerina. We are still rationing our way through the candy two weeks later. It's a great form of bribery!

State Fair

2011-10-30T16:04:00.001-05:00

This year we went to the State Fair on Columbus Day. The girls rode the carousel, Dumbo, and fast cars. They thought it was the coolest thing ever! We also went to the petting zoo and saw the goats and such. Afterwards we had Penn's catfish and cotton candy - all the musts from the fair!

Best Work Trip Ever

2011-10-30T15:55:00.000-05:00

In September I was so lucky to be able to take the girls and Nana and Papa on a work trip with me to Huntsville because Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Alton live there! It was so great to be with family and to get to spend some time with them since we don't get to see each other nearly enough. That was the best week of eating I've ever had on a work trip - we were spoiled rotten. The girls loved seeing the big "wockets" all around town and couldn't stop talking about them - they would fight over whose window it would be out of every time we got in the car. We also got to take them to the Huntsville Children's Museum and they also went to an apple orchard one day. Fun times - I hope Huntsville pops up on the work trip list again soon!

Bulldog Football 2011

2011-10-29T08:36:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged since we went to the beach! We have been SO busy since then. First things first - it's football season! We have season tickets again this year and we are in full force pulling for the Bulldogs. The girls love cheering their team on and love ringing their cowbells. Kennedy looked at me when we got inside the game and said, "Mom, I love this!". MM then fell asleep - that makes 2 years in a row the cowbells have lulled her to sleep - ha! We made sure they were awake to see Jonna performing in the color guard, though. They were so excited to see her on the field - a celebrity!

Beach Trip 2011

2011-09-07T21:34:00.000-05:00

We waited until school started and then took a beach trip this year. I love not being tied to a school schedule yet! We debated even going back to the beach this year since the girls were such a fan of the sand last year, but I'm really glad we did. It's amazing the difference a year makes. We headed to Panama City Beach and stayed at the very kid friendly Splash resort (VERY kid friendly). It has a water park (which the girls were scared of because it dumped a huge bucket of water on the park every 2 minutes - and was also the main reason we booked this condo), swimming pool, lazy river, splash pad, and easy beach access. We really did enjoy it. Our days consisted of coffee and breakfast on the balcony overlooking the Gulf while listening to college football buzz, hitting the beach by 9 and then heading to the pool when the girls had enough of the sand. We would go up for lunch and the naps (and I'd head back to the pool with a book), then we'd all go back to the pool when the girls woke up until dinner time. It was great! The Carrs came for fajitas one night and we all went out to watch State play Memphis the last night we were there, but other than that we were very low key and enjoyed early nights and no makeup days. We timed it perfectly because Tropical Storm Lee came in the day we were leaving and it poured all through the Labor Day weekend.

The girls did great swimming. Kennedy braved swimming all around in just her floaties and MM loved her ring. They loved making friends in the pool and we loved watching them. We even saw a little boy's bucket full of crabs on the elevator one night. Kennedy said she doesn't like crabs because they have crazy arms. We had such a great time I'm already wanting to go back!

Sunday School

2011-09-07T21:09:00.000-05:00

The girls have started Sunday School! They are no longer babies in the nursery - they now have their very own class. I have been so proud of them. They go to big church with us and we sit in the balcony. This works out pretty well except for one Sunday when they dropped their donut hole on some elderly woman's head during the service. They love to be able to see everyone and have a good view of service. They love going down front for the children's sermon and then going off to Children's Church. We love church!

August Birthday Fun

2011-09-07T21:02:00.000-05:00

August is a string of birthday extravaganzas for us! We already had Anne Bailey's birthday party, next we had Isabella's and Jack's parties and we had to miss Addison's party because we were at the beach. Not real sure what our friends were doing 9 months before August, but there are a lot of kids born this month!

Isabella had a pool party and it's a good thing because it was HOT. The girls had a great time swimming. Right after this picture was taken MM fell off the front of the float! Taylor was behind the float and I was out of the pool with the camera. I thought for sure by the time we got her out of the water she would by hysterical, but she said, "Mommy - I DID IT"! Ha.

Next up was Jack's 3rd birthday in Florida. We were so excited to finally make one of his parties. He had a garbage truck party! Jack lives in a world of all boys so we brought a little femininity to the party. They had a real live appearance from the garbage truck which was a big hit. We had a blast!

New School Year

2011-08-14T21:31:00.000-05:00

It's that time again - time for school! Today we had open house at First Pres. The girls are so lucky - their Nana Teri is moving up with them to be their teacher again this year! They will be going Tuesday through Friday for half days. They had a blast checking out their new room at school today with all the new toys, old friends, and new friends. We're looking forward to a fantastic new school year!

Anne Bailey's Party

2011-08-14T21:26:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we went to Tupelo for Anne Bailey's first birthday party! It was HOT but the kids didn't seem to mind a bit. They played tennis, rode bicycles, ate cupcakes, and ran laps around the tennis court until they just dropped. What a celebration! AB is the sweetest little girl and we had a great time. This is the first time we've had all the kids together - I hope it won't be long before we do it again!

Dog Days of Summer

2011-08-14T21:06:00.000-05:00

It has been 100 degrees since June and this has been a very long summer! The girls have kept busy at Nana and Papa's swimming, reading, playing and living it up. On Tuesdays the girls went to the library for story time and went to gymnastics in the afternoon. Every other day of the week was spent swimming at the pool. They have the cutest little brown legs and tan lines! Here are some of my favorite pics that Nana and Papa passed along of their fun summer times with the girls.

August Favorites

2011-08-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

I started thinking how sad it is that once you pass the 12 month mark you really stop posting about all the little details - what they eat, how the sleep, the day to day routine. I was inspired by my friend Erin who has made a monthly post documenting the changes in her pregnancy, so I'm going to try and do the same for the girls. They are still changing so much every day - saying something new that I swear I will never forget, but I know I will if I don't write it down - and other little details that I want to be able to remember someday. So, here goes.

Favorite Sayings these days:

MM: "What you talking?" She usually asks me this when I'm on the phone.

K: "Kinda really". Everything is kinda really hot, cold, too hard, etc.
"No, It's Not". The child contests everything we say!

Favorite foods:

MM loves everything fruit and veggie and hardly eats any meat. The child can eat her weight in cherry tomatoes and canteloupe. K loves meat and has a limited veggie list - she loves green beans and melon. Of course, they love your typical kid fare - pizza, chicken nuggets and french fries always topping the list.

Favorite Entertainment:

It's summer so a lot of outside activities - as much as the heat allows. I certainly got my love for activities from my parents - they take the girls to the pool each afternoon. When they're not at the pool they are at the library for story time. When they're at home they are stark naked in the baby pool on the patio - good thing we invested in that fence! They are also in love with Dora the Explorer, Wonder Pets, and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We're just very glad that Caillou has been fully replaced. We have also been reading our way through the Toddler Bible at night. Yesterday MM told me she was hiding her baby in the river which startled me until I remembered we read about Moses the night before! MM also loves to cook - she is constantly whipping something up in her kitchen and serving us.

Sleep:

Kennedy has a new found fear of the dark. She won't let us turn the light off to go to bed. Last night she even got up twice in the night to tell us that she was afraid of the dark. Not too afraid to walk entirely across the house in the dark, though! Taylor went in there the second time and I woke up a little while later and found him asleep on the floor in their room. Ha!

Typically the girls go to bed about 8:30 pm and sleep until 6:30 am. MM has been sleeping later on occasion - sometimes to even 8 am! Usually they nap from a good 2 hours in the afternoon, but we're getting to the point where skipping their nap doesn't turn their whole world upside down.

Potty Training:

The girls only wear diapers to take naps and sleep at night. Kennedy has even been waking up from all of her naps and even in the morning with a dry diaper for weeks now! A couple of nights she woke us up in the middle of the night to tell us she needed to potty, but now she is holding it all night! MM wakes up from her naps dry, too! I am completely impressed by them. We have conquered the public bathrooms, but we're still loving our travel potty. It's great when even a public bathroom isn't convenient - but we do get strange looks sometimes!

Miscellaneous:

We have also been working pretty hard on table manners. After taking Papa out to eat for his birthday and the girls climbing like monkeys all over our laps the entire dinner, we decided it was time to start eating as a family at the dinner table. The girls now eat at the table and have to ask to be excused. It has certainly been a process - and I'm proud to say that restaurant visits are much more enjoyable and the girls now ask to be excused from the table.

My Lil Bulldog Cheerleader!

2011-07-28T22:20:00.000-05:00

We're ready for football season in this household!! Go Bulldogs!

My Precious

2011-07-28T22:10:00.000-05:00

My Precious. Oh how I have dreaded writing this blog post. I just about talked myself out of it. But, I'm in the middle of this Revelations study by Beth Moore. BEWARE - do not pray for Christ to reveal himself to you unless you really mean it! Because when you do, in the light of His glory and holiness, you may not like how you see yourself in His reflection. You may see yourself like I did and it pretty much looked like this picture above. My Precious - this thing that I'm holding on to and letting become my identity. For me, right now, it is work. It's been other things in my life in the past - boys, cheerleading, etc. Other things that I got wrapped up into that eventually became what I thought was my identity. Oh how I was headed down that path again. Why does it take us so many times to learn the same lesson? How silly I am to find my identity in anything else other than being a child of God!

I started this Revelations study expecting to learn "signs of the time" and wanting to make sure that I had on my full armor of God so that I would not be deceived in the end times. But, this study has turned into SO much more. We started the first week praying for personal Revelations of Christ weekly because that's what Revelations is - the ultimate revealing of Christ to the world. Oh how my eyes have been opened. Oh how the tears of conviction have flown. I began to see all the pride and selfish ambition that have been building inside of me. Little tidbits of revelations shown to me throughout this study - like one Christian artist on KLOVE talking about how he met Billy Graham and asked how he managed to stay dedicated in his personal time with God. Billy Graham said - my paraphrase - that the Devil knows how important our quiet time with God is. That he uses everything in our lives to distract us from being quiet and still and focused on Him. Oh how work has become a distraction for me! I've always felt that the Lord has had his hand on my career and I think I've used that as an excuse to completely wrap myself up in work. To dwell on my To Do list and think of the next project and to take something that was once good and to turn it into something out of control. I praise God that "the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are." (Hebrews 4:12) Praise God that we serve a living God that can always reach the inner depths of our souls and continually transform us! Praise God for Christian co-workers that He has placed in our lives that we can shut the door and cry cleansing tears for the work that He is doing in us!

On my last trip to DC I picked up my Crazy Love book by Frances Chan. We had referenced it several times in Bible study and I'm sad to say that even though I recommended the book to the group I never finished it myself! God has always used the right books to speak to me in the past and I just felt compelled to pick this book back up. This just carried my conviction even further. I have been convicted of a total denial of self. "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me." (Matthew 16:24) This means in all aspects of your life - time, money - especially money. I've been so convicted of where we're placing our money - giving til it hurts. One of my favorite quotes from this book that jumped off the page to me was "Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter." Am I succeeding in things that matter? I'm pretty sure that God isn't calling me to have the most secure firewall, but I am pretty sure that He's calling me to succeed in attitude and humility at work. Do I still see glimpses of the ugly creature above? Sure - I'm a work in progress. But, I'm so grateful for the Holy Spirit that works in our lives to make us aware when my self rears its ugly head.

I really debated on writing this blog post. It pains me to share personal details sometimes. I come from a private family. Plus, once it's out there you have to own up to it! But, in true God fashion He gave me this verse last week to prod me along. "And they have defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony." (Revelations 12:11) We can't be quiet about the things the Lord is doing in us! This is how we defeat our accuser. This is how we help each other along in our journey. This is how I let my children know of my faith journey one day when they read this printed blog book.

Is God through in me? No way! I am loving every minute of this milestone. It has put me face down in front of the One who created me. It has been painful and emotional and glorious. I pray that Christ reveals Himself to you in an equally glorious way this week, too!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-03T22:20:00.001-05:00

What a fun Fourth of July we've had as a family! Our church handed out watermelon and water at our little hometown's fireworks celebration so we joined in the fun. It was a scorcher, but that didn't stop us. We set up camp and played with our friends from Sunday School. We rode the little train (which the girls thought was the coolest ever even though we just rode circles in a parking lot), jumped in the bouncy house, ate corn dogs and watermelon, played soccer, and most fun of all - played in the triplets' wagon! If events like this don't make you feel like you live in America - I don't know what will! The fireworks didn't come on until 9:30, but the girls liked them even though MM fell asleep toward the end (she is SO my child and can sleep anywhere).

After hours in the high temps we headed home only to find out that our air conditioner died while we were gone! Thank goodness Lanie and Pop are so close - we took the girls to spend the night at their house in the cool air. Luckily we were able to get someone to come fix the air this morning - the temp was 100 today so it was much needed! The girls and I went to SS while Daddy met the A/C man and then we went to Lanie and Pop's for lunch. We ate entirely too much and then watched the girls play in the pool. K really took to Pappaw today and wanted him to help her in and out of the pool - if anyone else tried she said, "No - he'll do it!"

After naps we headed over to Dit-Dee's with Aunt Shera's clan for games and more great food. The girls had a great time blowing up balloons and doing booty-drops on the trampoline. They drew on dry erase boards while we played games and laughed. Silly me - I didn't take one pic! I was too busy having fun (and eating). MM was tired and kept asking when she could go take a nap - she even crawled up in Dit-Dee's bed a few times. Hopefully they'll sleep past 7 in the morning - it's been a fun-filled weekend!

My sweet watermelon

K is studying a fly - the girl hates a bug!

MM's first soccer lesson on these fields - many more to come!

Brooke striking a pose!

Don't they look like a cute couple?

Mrs. Anna toting the girls in the wagon

Me & my girls

Getting silly - it's late!

This is the funniest face ever on MM - she looks like a Dr. Seuss character!

So silly it's hard to even take a picture at this point!

My little American beauty

Mmmmm...watermelon!

Pappaw loving K's attention

Ms. Ann opening her birthday present and K telling her what everything is

Before...

After...

Sweet grandparents...

Yogi's Jellystone

2011-07-03T20:38:00.002-05:00

Last weekend AG and Ryan joined us on an excursion to Yogi's Jellystone park. AG's Mama was out of town so they came over to hang out and enjoy the water park with us. This place is heaven for toddlers! The slides and the water events are perfect for younger children. The girls had a blast and if they're happy - we're happy (except Daddy was a little grossed out by it all - but he'll have to get it over it because MM keeps asking when we can go back). It was HOT and we didn't stay all day - just long enough to get worn out for a good nap. The water is shallow so AG can crawl around and the girls can run around. Loved it! The girls personality differences really come out when we do things like this. MM really has an adventurous spirit - she really has no desire to stick close to us and wants to observe the older kids. She stood at the bottom of the slide watching the big kids when this girl snatched her up and carried her to the stop of the slide and took her down the slide! We had our eye on her the whole time and were waiting at the bottom of the slide (this place is really small people - we were just watching and laughing). The girl was much bigger than MM so when she hit the bottom it caused a tidal wave over MM's head - she hates water in her face! She started crying and that girls said - "I just wanted her to have a good time!" Haha - we thought it was funny and really sweet of this girl to care so much about MM's adventure. Our girls love to make friends wherever they go.

Out of the mouths of babes - while we were sitting at the dinner table that night and Ryan was feeding AG, MM looked at AG and said, "You look just like your Mama!". HAHA. Still cracks me up.

Mammaw Conerly's 80th Birthday

2011-06-28T21:00:00.000-05:00

Mammaw just celebrated her 80th birthday! What a fabulous family they have created together. I'm so blessed that my girls are getting to grow up in such a tight knit family. They have tons of cousins to share all the ups and downs of life with. We spent a Sunday afternoon out at Uncle Johnny and Aunt Teri's in the dog days of summer, but we stayed cool with water toys and big fans in true Southern style. The girls took good naps after all that heated play!

The Conerly crew

BFFs

2011-06-20T08:48:00.000-05:00

Some of our best friends were in town this weekend for a wedding. We were so excited to have them visiting! I love friends that don't require entertaining - just backyard pools will do! The girls absolutely LOVED having Jack to play with. He's a typical boy and was diving face first into the pool and they thought he was hilarious! Silly boys! They were also fascinated by the fact that he can stand up to pee - oh my! Can't wait for those questions. We all had a blast and can't wait until next time!

This may be the cutest pic ever!

Landry Man's 3rd Birthday

2011-06-11T19:07:00.000-05:00

Today we celebrated Landry's 3rd birthday at the MSChildren's Museum. To say we had a blast would be an understatement! We ate cupcakes and pizza, milked a cow, fueled up a car with gas, played with water, and went down slides. Too much fun! Sorry if the pics are a little crazy. Taylor was watching MSU beat Florida in Super Regionals (Go Dawgs!!) so I was holding two bubble wands with balloons, a purse, and a camera gear while watching two kids run in opposite directions.

First Day of Gymnastics

2011-06-07T21:45:00.000-05:00

I can't believe this day has finally arrived! I have been dreaming of taking my daughters to gymnastics for years. I competed myself for years and then spent several years coaching team at this very same gym. I cannot believe they are old enough to do something like this! I was a little worried because the class is really for 3 to 5 year olds and they are only 2.5, but they did GREAT. They loved every minute of it! I think we have naturals on our hands. They are pretty much the cutest things I've ever seen in their little leotards.

Memorial Day Weekend 2011

2011-06-01T21:41:00.000-05:00

It's officially summer here and it feels like it outside - high 90 temps and holiday weekends. This weekend we attended Audrey Grace's first birthday party and Anne Bailey came to visit. We had such a great time visiting with friends. MM was so funny - she kept saying "I hot, I need to go in". She just wanted to go play in the air-conditioning. They loved jumping on the big trampoline and playing with all the babies. AG was too cute digging into her cake. After the party, the Thomases stayed the weekend with us. We had a big time in our blow up pools in the backyard. AB is such a cutie pie - she is really finding her voice and squealing. My girls thought it was hilarious! We relaxed in the sun and cooked on the grill all day. A great weekend with friends!

Papa's 70th Birthday

2011-05-21T19:51:00.000-05:00

Monday is my Daddy (Papa's) birthday. He's going to be 70! It's so hard to believe because he still has the heart and humor of a teenager. He's the best Dad and Papa any gal could ever hope for. I know I still think he's the funniest and smartest guy ever and I'm pretty sure my girls are smitten with him, too. Today we went to Roosevelt State Park as a family to celebrate this milestone birthday. My girls cried for Papa when we left. They can't stand to be away from him! I'm sure it doesn't hurt that he spoils them to pieces - but that's his job!

We spent the day fishing, cooking out, playing on the playground, splashing in the baby pool, and throwing water balloons. The weather was fantastic and I had such a great time!

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-21T18:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day to me! I have to be the luckiest Mom on Earth because I have the sweetest, cutest girls on the planet. They were really in the spirit of the holiday after watching Wonder Pets Mother's Day special. They kept telling me Happy Birthday! I'm also lucky to have the best Mom in the world, too. She really is my best friend and I'm so thankful that she's such an integral part of my family's life. To celebrate the weekend we went to the annual banquet at Mom's church. The food is always so good and the men do all the cooking and serving. MM wanted to follow her Papa all around the church. Here's a great pic of the women in my family:

2011 is a historic year so far. We're facing the biggest flood ever recorded after just facing one of the deadliest tornado months ever recorded. Not the kind of history I like to experience! Taylor's father and grandparents have had to evacuate their homes in anticipation of the flood. So, the Conerly Sunday afternoon hangout had to be moved to Lanie and Pop's. We enjoyed having everyone in our town, though! We had a Mother's Day feast after church and enjoyed the great weather. Macy, Bo, Brooks, and Lydia came over to play and we had a blast. I couldn't be more lucky to have such a great mother-in-law, too. I am SO thankful that she's just right across town. She loves my children to pieces and I can't even begin to express how much support she provides for my family. Lanie, you're the best!

The girls playing with Brooks

Mammaw Conerly's expression in this pic cracks me UP!

Fun at the Ballpark

2011-05-07T14:57:00.000-05:00

We spent the morning at the ballpark watching Tanner play baseball. He did great playing outfield and batting. MM and K had a blast. Tanner's friend was even kind enough to let MM wear her glove and field some balls with her. I know both girls will love to play softball one day if their Daddy has anything to say about it. The weather couldn't have been nicer and we enjoyed being outside and seeing Tanner show off his skills!

Easter Sunday

2011-04-24T18:30:00.001-05:00

We are lucky to have all of our family come eat lunch with us on Easter Sunday. We had a beautiful service at church followed by yummy food at lunch. The weather couldn't have been better and we were able to eat on the patio in the breeze and hunt eggs in the yard. The girls are MAXed out on chocolate and sugar. Such a beautful Sunday - He is risen!

Side note: K has been slight obsessed with her DitDee this weekend. Every time we pull up in the driveway she cries if DitDee isn't at our house. So you'll see that in most of her pics she is glued to DitDee's side!

Eggstravaganza

2011-04-23T20:29:00.000-05:00

Today was the Easter egg hunt at our church. It is so well put together! Before starting, we watched a video on the Resurrection eggs. Then we hit the grounds and found a TON of eggs filled with all kinds of goodies. We found our prize eggs, ate lunch, played in a ball pit and jumped in a bouncy house. We had a blast! Lanie joined us in the fun and that was just icing on the cake!

School Easter Party

2011-04-22T18:02:00.000-05:00

This week I helped out with the girls' Easter party at school. It was so fun to get to see them interact with their school friends and to see a little bit of their school routine. We had an egg hunt on the playground and then had snack time. Nana Teri had music time so I could figure out some of the songs that they're singing at home - some pony song where they slap their knees now makes a lot more sense! What a great class and great teachers! We sure have enjoyed this year.

Beau Rivage

2011-04-20T11:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend our friend Angelia turned 30! The Carrs and Newmans met us at the Beau Rivage to surprise her. She had no idea we were coming! We ate a nice steakhouse on Friday night and then laid out by the pool ALL day Saturday and then ate sushi Saturday night. It was so much fun to hang out with no kid distractions and to catch up on everything going on in each other's lives.

To our surprise the entire MSU coaching staff was there, too. Taylor chatted up Coach Mullen by the pool and Angelia got her pic made with him! Such a nice guy - and I saw where we're preseason ranked #21 on College Football Live's poll - can't wait for August! At the McDonald's in Gulfport I saw this guy, too! D-list celeb sighting weekend!

Sweet Cousins

2011-04-20T10:45:00.000-05:00

These past few weeks have been pretty crazy - hence the lack of posts! T completed his first year of banking school at, dare I say it, Ole Miss. So, he was out of town for seven days and in that time I had a business trip to Dallas of my own. The girls had a great time with Nana and Papa and they even had a visit from DitDee, Todd, and Tanner. They were worn out when they got home! The boys sure know how to entertain! Here are some cute pics from their visit.

Big Mode

2011-03-27T14:25:00.001-05:00

This weekend we made the transition from portable potty to the "Big Mode" as the girls say. We bought them a little stepstool and a potty insert so that they can use the Big Mode anytime they want. I feel like we have been potty training for-ev-er. Probably because we have! Nana started last summer with the girls getting them initiated to the potty and we've had a lot of ups and downs since then. The girls have taken turns with interest in the potty and we took a little break in the winter because it's hard for little hands to take off lots of layers and too cold to walk around naked. But here we are at 28 months and we're pretty much there! Potty training is by far the hardest parenting challenge so far - maybe with the exception of not sleeping for the first four months. We still have the hurdle of tackling being outside of the house so any tips you experienced parents have in this area are greatly appreciated. I think I'm going to buy one of those little travel potties with bags that you can tie up and throw away to keep in the back of the car. I know we'll look pretty redneck, but I'd rather look redneck and not have to deal with public toilets and little hands that touch everything! You never know what the other one is doing while you're helping the other with the potty - eew. We're also still sleeping in diapers - anyone know when it's reasonable to attempt that? Thanks for your potty pointers!

St. Paddy's Day Parade

2011-03-19T19:00:00.000-05:00

The most fun event in Jackson! We were lucky that the Carrs were in town for a wedding and we all got to go together. The weather was perfect and the girls loved being outside and watching all of the chaos. Our friends were camped out under the best shade tree and watched the parade - perfection! A much better experience than our first attempt!

Sunday Funday

2011-03-19T18:46:00.000-05:00

This past Sunday I had Children's Church so we decided to let the girls go to big church with us. They did really well and were also pretty hilarious. They love singing and after the choir finished their special MM decided to chime in with her out loud rendition of Jingle Bells. During prayer T told the girls to close their eyes and bow their heads so MM loudly said "God is great, God is good, AMEN". Whenever they start talking if we put our hand over MM's mouth then she starts giggling hysterically - the opposite reaction we were hoping for! It requires a lot of patience for a two year old - but I know they'll get better and better the more familiar they get with worship.

After church we went to Mammaw and Pappaw Conerly's and had a yummy lunch and visited with cousins. I didn't get any pics because the girls played while we ran to the hospital to visit Pappaw Don after his quadruple bypass surgery. We forgot to get blankie out of our car so MM was having withdrawls and Lanie and Pop let the girls ride back home with them. Sundays always mean time with Lanie and Pop so we played in their backyard for a little while. What a fun Sunday!

Favorite Sayings

2011-03-12T20:42:00.001-06:00

Lately the girls have been full of conversation...everyday is a new saying that gives us a little more insight into what is going on inside their cute little heads. I absolutely love hearing what they're thinking and some things that come out of their mouth just crack me up! Here are some of my favorites:

- Of course my absolute fave is "I lub you Momma" but they have also been saying "I lub it" about a lot of things

- "It's too heaby", "It not workin", "Help me"

- Kennedy is such a little Mommy. She really does retain all of the correction we give her and spits it right back out to her sister. She loves to say "Don't tell me NO Sissy" and "Don't by uggy". She also likes to give out spankings when MM steps out of line - we're working on that.

- "What that is" or "What that sound is"

- As soon as MM sits on the potty she asks "What sissy doin"? I have no idea why it matters but she's always concerned about where Sissy is when mother nature hits!

- The other day when we were driving down the road Kennedy said "I can't find my eyebrows" - haha! She was feeling all over her face for them.

- MM says "Otay". Hilarious! I've been teaching her to say Otay Buckwheat, but it comes out as "Otay Buckey"

- MM also says OH when you explain things to her - like if you say, you can't put that battery in your mouth because you'll choke on it - she says "OH!" like - well if you would have just told me that in the first place!

- K says "mmmm...nummy".

- "Titty Tat" for kitty cat.

The girls also love to sing and are constantly singing songs that they've learned from school, Nana or at our house. Right now they sing "Hi ho, hi ho it's off to work we go", "The ants go marching one by one Hoorah, Hoorah", "Jesus loves me", "Twinkle twinkle little star", the alphabet song, the Veggie Tales theme song, and others. They can count to 20 almost - pretty much after 10 things get out of order but they try. They know their shapes and colors and they are masters at puzzles. They have pretty much mastered tee'ing in the potty - we stay in big girl panties unless they are sleeping or in the car.

MM is obsessed with blankie and its soothing powers. She takes it with her EVERYWHERE and its a disaster if we're without it. She even brings it to us to and rubs it on our bo-bos. She's also obsessed with pajamas and her sparkle shoes. She puts up a fight anytime she doesn't get to wear those items. If we do talk her out of the pajamas then she carries them with her like a blankie!

This is such a fun age!

Saturday Dress-up

2011-03-12T20:19:00.000-06:00

Saturday mornings are my favorite. Sleeping late, making waffles, opening all the windows up and playing a little dress up. My little fairy princesses sure are enjoying this weather and our new fence. They've been in and out of the house all day. I mean - how cute is the rain boot and fairy princess combo?! We've had a great lazy Saturday with long naps for the whole family - much needed! Pappaw Don has been in the hospital this week with quadruple bypass surgery and the girls are learning that they can't come sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed at 2:45 am every night - so we were all pretty tired. We're thankful for a sunny, breezy Saturday to relax and recover from a long week.

They're trying to touch the moon! Keep saying "I can't touch it!"

Notice their new plush Woody and Buzz dolls from Lanie and Pop!

Kennedy trying to imitate MM's pout

MM's pout

Sweet fairy princesses

Puzzle obsessed princesses

Big Girl Beds!

2011-03-06T17:47:00.000-06:00

MM and K are sleeping in big girl beds! They've actually been in toddler beds at Nana and Papa's since December, and this weekend Lanie and Pop put twin beds in their room at their house, too. So, we decided it was time to upgrade at our house. We had gotten used to being kind of hands off for bedtime and this is really more of a new adjustment for us more than them. They love being big girls and are so proud of their new beds. Aunt Shera and Jonna came by on Saturday and they just had to show them off!

First trip to NOLA

2011-02-20T19:31:00.001-06:00

This weekend we took our first family trip to New Orleans. Our besties, the Carrs, met us down there for a weekend of festivities. On Friday, we grabbed some lunch and walked to the Audobon Aquarium where we saw Nemo! Or at least the kids thought pretty much every fish they saw was Nemo. After the aquarium we sat outside in the best weather I'm sure February has ever seen - 75 degrees and beautiful! The kids climbed all over these statues and had a ball. For dinner we learned that there are not a lot of kid-friendly places with live music so we ended up at this steak house with a "jazz band" that consisted of one man and his keyboard and flute. The kids still loved it and we got some pretty good laughs out of it - but the rest of the guests probably hated us.

Saturday morning we rode the trolley to Audobon Park and walked to the zoo. Again - so thankful for the weather. It was "Get Yah Praise On" day so we had background music for our stroll. The kids had a blast looking at all the animals - that zoo really is impressive as far as zoos go! They've talked the most about the sleeping white Bengal tiger and how his ear twitched. ha! Kennedy was deathly afraid of the yellow jackets that kept following her sucker. We rode the trolley back home and it was PACKED. After nap time we met friends at this restaurant with an awesome outdoor patio where the kids could run around crazy and we could relax and enjoy being outside. Loved it!

We had such a great time - we really enjoyed being with great friends in a "new" city!

MM, Jack, and Kennedy

Sea otter fur! Kennedy eventually touched it.

Taylor making MM touch it!

True pic - MM fell asleep as soon as got to the zoo and K constantly has her finger in her nose.

Jack is so cool in his shades!

Trolley before it got slam packed!

One Day You're In...The Next You're Out

2011-02-06T21:56:00.000-06:00

Yes, I'm overdue for some pics on here. All the sickness in this household has not been very conducive to photo opportunities. I'll work on it. The biggest thing going on in our household right now outside of sickness is we're dealing with a new obsession. Caillou is on his way out. He's been replaced by none other than the characters of Toy Story. Morning, noon, and night all the girls want to do is watch Toy Story. I'm pretty sure they dream about Toy Story. I'm usually covered head to toe in Toy Story stickers. We have a vintage Buzz handed down from my nephews and miniature Buzzs, Woody, and Baby that we have all been crawling around on the floor looking for at some point. The girls put together Toy Story puzzles. It's just never ending! I'm seriously amazed at how mesmerized they are every time they watch it. MM has the most sensitive little heart and still gets upset at the same "scary" parts every time. We recently joined the Disney movie club in hopes that some other interests will form. Who knows what will be next. As Heidi Klum says...one day you're in and the next you're out!

Health Books

2011-02-04T22:08:00.000-06:00

So...back on my health kick. I thought I'd share two books that have also been influential to changing my habits. My diet changes have always been driven by weight loss more than health, because let's face it that's what we're taught - skinny is healthy. I picked up this first book in hopes it was going to be the typical eat less, eat chicken and greens diet book - stuff I already knew. But, it was all about the chemicals in our food and how they affect our hormones and metabolism. Being a woman who had just birthed twins I already knew how strong hormones affect everything. She totally had my attention. Tell me it's going to kill me and I'll ignore it, but tell me it'll make me fat and I'm yours. This is when I began to learn the importance of eating organic foods. It was really eye opening. From that point forward we have been buying organic dairy and meats and as much else as we could.

It's been over a year since I read Jillian's book. Since then I've been learning all I can about organics and healthy eating. After many documentaries I recently picked up this book that I'd come across before but never read. Who knows better how to feed and heal our bodies than our Heavenly Father? My motivations have totally changed from just being skinny to being truly healthy. I've learned though that by trying to eat truly healthy - not eating skinny - has helped me achieve my weight goals, too. Since reading this book I'm trying to kick diet drinks and pork, and to start introducing probiotics into my diet for a healthy digestive system and immune system.

I just bought the girls Primal Defense for kids which has probiotics to boost immunity. I also bought some natural vitamins with probiotics for the adults in this family, too. Garden of Life is a great site for natural supplements and probiotics. I wish I could buy everything on here!

Anyway - these are both a good read if you get a chance!

Workin' the system

2011-02-04T21:11:00.000-06:00

You know how they say kids learn how to work the system? Well MM and K have definitely learned how to work our system. MM has honed in our weakness. She knows that the crying isn't our weakness - it's the vomit.

If you live in Central MS chances are you've either had the flu or pneumonia - it feels that way anyway. I can't count the number of people I've known with horrible cases of each. I thought we had escaped it - but last week the girls started off with a cough. I took them in on Monday but Dr. Smith said that she didn't think it was really in their chest but really just a lot of nasal congestion. We went home with an antibiotic and antihistamine. MM has been running fever ever since. Thursday morning MM woke up with 103.6 fever and scared us to death. She was just pitiful so we took her in to the doctor as soon as they opened. Dr. Smith did an x-ray and flu test. Luckily, flu was negative but x-ray confirmed it was pneumonia. Poor baby got two rocephin shots and came home and clung to her Daddy. I mean seriously - words can not even express how much of a Daddy's girl she is. He can not even leave her sight! Nana calls MM a "man-lover" because she's so attached to her Daddy and Papa. After her follow-up shot today she said "I want Papa!". She has them wrapped right around her little finger.

Back to working the system - MM HATES her medicine. She hates it so much that she has learned that she can make herself throw up. I know you're thinking to give that poor sick baby a break - but I know the two stubborn parents that this little baby came from and I know the difference between an honest and a fake barf coming from this child - she's barfed enough in her lifetime to give us plenty of evidence. She has learned to stand there and cough/gag herself until she yaks up all that medicine and send her parents in a tizzy in hopes they'll never give it to her again. Pray for us all some serious patience! ha. We're holding our ground because it's either nasty medicine or a hospital stay.

Kennedy has also gotten in trouble for saying her first bad word. Every one of us claims innocence, but I'm pretty sure one of us guilty. She has been saying "Dad-Gumit"! I really cracked up the first time I heard her say it, but now she's been getting time-out for saying it. She is really something - so aware of her surroundings and smart as a whip!

Hopefully we'll all be on the road to healing soon - but for now we're locking up in the house with our new arrivals from the Disney Movie Club, hot soup, and warm fireplace.

Night on the Town

2011-02-04T20:44:00.000-06:00

Last weekend we got a chance to hang out with our youngin' friends for Tommy's 30h birthday celebration. His awesome wife Rachel planned a great surprise where we gathered at their house in Tupelo and then took a limo ride to Oxford for a special dinner at The Snack Bar. We had such a great time getting all dressed up and being fancy for the night - something we definitely haven't gotten a chance to do since college probably!

Quest for Healthy Food

2011-01-22T12:19:00.000-06:00

It must run in the family - gullibility. Last weekend Taylor went hunting and Aunt Shera came to spend the day with me and the girls. I recently sent her the link to one of the latest food documentaries that I'd watched - each one has changed my life - ha. Food, Inc., Food Matters, The Future of Food - all have pushed me a little farther toward my quest for healthy food. Little did I know that I've now pulled my sis to the dark side with me - yay! We talked about health food all day long and she is even crazier than I am - kale, seaweed sandwiches and quinoa! We both agreed that we can watch an infomercial and be totally sold (probably why I have every exercise video known to man). It was really great to have someone to share health nut recipes with. So, why am I blogging about this? Well, because finding people who are crazy about organic stuff is tough and maybe there are few of you out there who just might like to hear about my success finds in this world of health food. Luckily, I have two food mentors in my life to help guide me. Shari is the queen of organic! I thought she was crazy when we first starting traveling together for work. Now she has enlightened me and her dedication to her family's health is inspiring. The woman knows everything there is to know about organic foods and she's never even seen my life changing food documentaries - ha! My other mentor is Tammy and we're always exchanging natural health remedies, food suggestions and she even just switched me to all natural deodorant - if only the walls in my office could talk - ha! So, even if only Shera reads these posts - I plan on including a few of my finds periodically as I go.

I shared that one of my resolutions for 2011 was to work on cooking more for my family and buying better food. I've held up to that - but my experiments haven't all been successful so far. I spent all day last Saturday baking to watch it all go straight in the trash. Some oatmeal on the go bars and some applesauce oatmeal muffins that even the dog wouldn't eat! Then I tried pan-frying some catfish for the family this week that pretty much turned into one of the worst nights in this house since projectile vomit ruled the night. Not that anyone projective vomited on my catfish - but it wasn't as much of a hit as I had hoped. Today though - success! First, Shari brought me a Zevia to work yesterday. My husband has corrupted me and I drink WAY too many Diet Cokes. Zevia is an all natural, ZERO calorie, cola! I'm drinking it now - I'm sold!
Secondly - a recipe that didn't have to hit the trash! Here you go:

Lundberg's organic brown rice couscous
cucumber
red bell pepper
Zesty Italian dressing

Cook couscous according to package and toss with cucumber, red bell pepper, and dressing. Yum! It was that easy. Here's me practicing my food photography tips from the Pioneer Woman...that's a whole other quest! ha.

First Haircut

2011-01-22T11:45:00.000-06:00

Two years and no haircut! It was time. We went to see Aunt Rhonda because the girls couldn't see through their bangs without a ponytail in place and let's face it - I'm too lazy on Saturdays to do ponytails. Kennedy went first and was a little unsure about what was going to happen so she sat in my lap. She was so serious! MM was a big girl and sat in the chair all by herself. She loves to look at herself in the mirror. We didn't get a major 'do - not even enough to really save a lock of hair. Just trimmed up all the way around so we look a little less ragamuffin. Thanks Rhonda!

2 Year Checkup

2011-01-18T11:27:00.000-06:00

Last week the girls had their two year old "well baby" visit. Of course, the morning of their visit the school calls and says that MM threw up and is running fever. Good thing we already have the doc on the schedule! Papa and I took the girls to see Dr. Smith and get everything checked out. I scheduled these appts when they were 18 months old and this appt was right in the middle of their nap - nice! Poor MM didn't feel well and was tired so she would cry even when other people's name was called because she knew her turn was coming soon. First, here are their stats:

MM weighs 20.6 lbs and is 33 inches long. K weighs 26.5 lbs and is 34 inches long.

Kennedy went first and she was such a big girl! She did not whine or fuss one single time. She let Dr. Smith mash on her belly, look in her ears and throat, listen to her heart and everything and she was a perfect angel. I was SO proud of her! She is the picture of perfect health. She played with her stickers and ate her sucker for the rest of the visit and was so sweet. I can't brag on her enough.

MM wasn't quite so thrilled to be there. She did cry but she survived. She must have been running a little fever from an inflamed ear because everything else looked great. Dr. Smith does want us to concentrate on her protein intake and try giving her some supplement shakes to get some meat on her bones. She's not concerned because all know she is going to be petite, but we do want to fatten her up a bit. She gave us an antihistamine that can increase appetite and it is working! MM is eating us out of house and home lately. So, hopefully she'll be able to hold up 12 month pants soon. ha!

We are so lucky to have two beautiful, smart, and healthy girls. Thank you, Lord, for your blessings of health!

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

2011-01-01T08:47:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year! We had a pretty eventful and fun New Year's Eve! Taylor took a half day off of work and we ate lunch at the new tapas place, Babalu's - yummy! Then we visited the brand new MS Children's Museum. Wow! There was so much fun stuff for the girls to explore. We bought a membership so we'll be going back a LOT. After lunch was naptime and chill time. Then things got really lively with tornado warnings galore! Not quite the excitement I prefer for New Year's Eve! Luckily it didn't get too bad at our house and we didn't lose power like the 20,000+ others in the area. We let the girls stay up and play until they got grumpy (9:30). Taylor cooked yummy steaks and we streamed Phish from the comfort of our living room - that's the way to do it! I can't think of a better way of ringing in the new year than hugging and kissing on my sweet family.

Today we're meeting friends to watch the Dawgs play in the Gator Bowl against Michigan! Go State!! I love being a part of New Year's Day bowl game excitement!! I hope this is a new tradition!

New Year's Resolutions

2010-12-30T12:10:00.000-06:00

This year I am staying away from the typical resolution to lose weight. I am seriously not motivated to tackle that one right now. So here is what I'm wanting to get better at in 2010:

- Grow in the Word. In 2010 a dear friend of mine, Tyanne, started a Thursday night Bible study and it greatly increased my appetite for studying the Bible again. There are two new Bible studies on the slate for 2011 and I'm really looking forward to them. One is in Revelations and I'm pumped!

- Give Back. I really want to become involved with the jail ministry that I gave up when I was pregnant. I also want to look for more ways to become involved in the community of our church and its mission projects.

- Better meal planning! I really want to grocery shop on Sundays and cook for the week on Mondays. We'll see how this works out. I really would love to pack lunches for the whole family. In theory I'm really kind of a crazy about eating healthy but my execution is really pretty terrible. I have lofty ideas of healthy eating for my kids, though. So, I want to make a concious effort of better meal planning so that we'll all start eating better.

- Increase exercise. Seriously - any kind of regular routine would be a better improvement than what I'm doing now. I'm shooting for 3 days a week.

Phew! That's a lot of work to be done. Wish me luck!

Learning about Christmas

2010-12-30T10:42:00.000-06:00

This year we worked very hard on teaching the girls all about the nativity and the story of Christmas. We have a fabulous DitDee that has blessed us with some great learning tools. The girls very quickly learned all about Mary, Jopheph (Joseph), the angel, shepherds, wise men, and most importantly baby Jesus!

First, we have this great wooden nativity set. I love that it is durable and the girls can play with it as much as they want and I don't have to worry about any pieces getting broken. We would read the Christmas story and bring out each person as they appeared in the story. The girls had the most fun making Mary ride the donkey and the wise men ride the camel.

We also have this awesome set where every day the girls get to open a new box and discover a new person from the nativity. On the last day the box has a mirror where we learn that what God wants most for Christmas is us! This set isn't quite as durable as the angel now has lost her wings and is headless. Kennedy says "Oh no! Her head fell off". Well, baby, that's what happens when angels lose their wings and fall on tile floors. Nana and Papa also have a plastic nativity yard set that the girls have carried around with them at their house. MM calls them Mommy and Daddy and makes them kiss and makes them kiss baby Jesus. Mary and Joseph take naps with them and they love caring for baby Jesus.

We also introduced a new visitor to our home this year. Meet Buddy the Elf! He came to stay with us after the girls birthday and goes back to the North Pole each night to report to Santa on how the girls are doing. The first thing out of the girls mouth this morning is "Where's Buddy Elf?". You see, he moves to a different location each morning upon return and they are so excited to see where he'll be next. He has returned to the North Pole until next year's Christmas but the girls still ask about him daily. We miss you Buddy!

Christmas Day

2010-12-27T20:00:00.000-06:00

Joy to the World! The Lord has come! What a great and wonderful day to celebrate!

As soon as the girls woke up (6:30 am) we went into the living room to see what Santa brought the girls. He left some serious loot! They were so overwhelmed they didn't know what to do! We had so much fun watching them play with their toys and enjoying Christmas morning together. We had monkey muffins and cheese grits and destroyed the house with toys and laughter. I think the biggest hits were the grocery buggy and the ring pops!

Later we headed over to Lanie and Pop's for Christmas lunch. Wow - the yummy food we ate there! We exchanged gifts and visited while the girls played. Can't think of a better way to spend Christmas Day!

Santa's display

This expression says it all - I don't know what's going on but I like it!

Still asleep

Christmas mantel

Say cheese!

So you can fully appreciate the disaster that was created

Daddy testing out the trampoline

Reading her new seek and find book

Breakfast on their new trays

Mmmm...ring pop!

haha - snowglobe, sucker, and M&Ms! She was in heaven.

Mrs. Ann gave the girls a kitty that purrs and a puppy that barks - they opened those first and were ready to stop there! They love them.

Watching Caillou and chilling out for a few

Love this expression - she was getting her baby doll - loves a baby!

One baby jumps up and down and you can feed the other one. My two little mamas!

Taylor got a new lens for our camera. Can we say AH-mazing? You can totally see the difference in this next string of pics. Can't WAIT to have a day to dress the girls up and take pics of them - we're going to get some great pics out of this lens.

Yum...and this was just the appetizers!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-27T15:01:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve has arrived! We had lunch at Mammaw Sue's with Pappaw Don and the rest of the Rowland clan. She has all kinds of singing and dancing Christmas statues that the girls were enamored with. We ate a big lunch and opened presents. The girls were the center of attention and provided plenty of entertainment for everyone!

After a quick nap we headed down to Mammaw and Pappaw Conerly's for the big Conerly party! We always love seeing our cousins and eating all the yummy food. It's very lively - it's a big family! Unfortunately, Taylor wasn't feeling that great and we didn't want to spread our germs too much so we left before we really wanted to - and Santa Claus was coming, too so everyone needed to get to bed! It was a great day filled with lots of family that went by way too quickly!

the singing snowman!

looking for trouble!

Ashley and Becky watching the entertainment of my children

Pappaw Don and Becky

Sweet angels looking at each other

Kennedy trying to figure out why her teacher is there

Hugs from Addison

Lydia

Southall clan - expecting a new addition!

Macy, Addison, and Bo

I thought this was a funny pic - everyone taping and snapping pics!

Warnock Family Christmas

2010-12-19T21:10:00.012-06:00

This weekend was the Warnock family Christmas at Nana and Papa's house. Friday we all gathered and chowed down on some BBQ and commenced with our favorite family activity - board games! The girls were all wound up since the house was full and the energy was high. Bedtime was difficult since their beds there are already converted to toddler beds but we all did eventually settle down.

Saturday morning we woke up early and had yummy breakfast and listened while Papa read the Christmas story - my favorite family tradition. Then we opened presents! woohoo! K and MM have very different styles. K was tearing into everything and wanted to open everything and see everything - just like she attacks life! MM was meticulous and opened tiny strip by tiny strip and was content with whatever gift she had - we had to urge her to move on to the next thing. They got new cribs for their American Girl Bitty Babies, a toaster, magnetic dress-up dolls, and LeapFrog Tag Jrs. and books! Unfortunately, Saturday morning the girls also woke up with a horrendous cough and we spent the rest of the morning in the doctor's office getting treated for the croup. They got steroid shots and antibiotics and we headed back to the party. We spent the rest of the day eating lots of yummy food and playing more games and watching Christmas movies. These girls love their family and just can't get enough of showing everyone all their toys and books. Saturday night we went to see the house in town that has their Christmas lights programmed to music - really fancy production! It was awesome! Thankfully it wasn't too cold and we could get out and enjoy it for a little while - but the girls were more interested in honking the horn and changing the radio station. Oh the attention span of a 2 year old!

Sunday we went to Nana and Papa's church to watch Papa sing in their Christmas program. It was like he was a celebrity on stage! They kept pointing and calling out to him - they just light up when they see their Nana and Papa. The feeling is mutual, I think! After church and lunch we headed over to Lanie and Pop's - they were having a party, too! The girls had a blast playing with all their toys and meeting everyone who works in Pop's store. They even got into the candy canes and got their sugar fix for the day!

My absolute favorite pic from the weekend!

Sweet as pie
My little angels! Thanks DitDee for the halos!

Treasured pic of K listening to the Christmas story

Daddy and MM

Presents!

Fancy new raincoats

Coloring with Uncle Don

Sweet cousins Todd and Tanner - aren't they handsome?

Nana and MM checking out the tree

Family game time!

Silly Jonna and Aunt Shera - slyly grinning as they kill us at Trivial Pursuit!

Family pic before church

Look at those sweet baby smiles!

They ran to Papa after service was over!

K during church

Lanie taking care of her girls

Sweet angelic face

HAHA - this cracks me up. Not sure what she's pouting about.

Daddy, Lanie and K

Hey Mrs. Claus!

Mmmmm...candy canes!

Christmas Fest

2010-12-19T20:05:00.013-06:00

Last year we started the tradition of going to see Santa and Christmas lights with Lanie and Pop. This year we heard that Santa was going to be at Christmas Fest at the museum of natural science. Unlike last year we were blessed with unusually warm weather - woohoo! There were carolers outside, a nativity, Santa, and decorated trees. We started out visiting Santa and the girls were thrilled to see him - from afar. They had no interest in getting close to him or sitting in his lap - at all. Oh well! Good thing that we have Buddy the Elf at our house to let Santa know what the girls are interested in so if they are on the nice list they'll get fun gifts.

After visiting Santa we headed inside to explore the museum. We've been meaning to go here for so long - I just didn't know it'd be at Christmas! The girls had a fantastic time looking at all the fish, turtles, snakes, deer, and bears. There was a preschool room with a slide even! They are so independent and just led us all over that museum like they'd been there 100 times. It was a fun night filled with memories!

Not having it! The closest thing we got to a Santa pic.

Sweet Daddy viewing the nativity with his girls...

Peep-a-boo!

HAHAHA! This dorky guy did a puppet show but we were laughing so hard we had to leave.

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-17T11:40:00.000-06:00

Nana and Papa always have fun planned at their house! On this day Nana let the girls help make her famous sugar cookies. Their favorite part was rolling out the dough. They enjoyed decorating the cookies, too! Funny girls - they wouldn't eat a single cookie! They don't know what they're missing. Oh well - more for me! I'm pretty sure you can see my hand in the first pic getting ready to shovel some of the dough in my mouth :) We also don't require bibs for cookie decorating - they just thought they were fun to "dress up" in at the time.

I absolutely love this last pic of MM reading a Christmas book with her Papa. It's so rare to capture her true belly laugh on camera! She is such a silly little ham but so serious for photos! But, if anyone knows how to make her crack up it's definitely Papa!

First Pres Christmas Program

2010-12-10T12:48:00.000-06:00

Today was K and MM's debut! They had their very first Christmas program with their First Pres preschool class. They did such a good job! They sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and Jingle Bells with their class. Look at their precious little reindeer shirts that Nana Teri made! We thought for sure that once they spotted all of us in the the crowd that they would cry until they got to us but they were perfect litttle performers. Once Kennedy spotted us she pointed us out to MM the rest of the time. MM was her usual serious self when in the spotlight. We are so lucky that they are surrounded by family at school. Not only is Taylor's aunt their teacher, but cousins Lydia, Landry, and Addison all go to school here, too!

Salvation Birthday

2010-12-04T13:55:00.000-06:00

Today is my Salvation Birthday! I really don't know why more Christians don't celebrate this monumental day in their lives more formally - maybe everyone doesn't remember the exact date like I do. But, this day is engrained in my soul. As I was driving along the other day, this Third Day song came on the radio and I started thinking about my upcoming Salvation Birthday and the upcoming Christmas season and that's when I decided I needed to do a blog post to commemorate this special day. How lucky we are to be born again! I hope you'll watch this video and listen to its message. It truly expresses my sentiments about my Salvation Birthday and hope it will make you reflect on your own. What better way to celebrate Christmas than to thank the Lord for his gift of salvation to the world!

Happy Birthday My Loves

2010-12-02T20:30:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girls. It's hard to believe that it's been two years since you came into our lives, yet I can hardly remember life before you existed. You have brought so much joy and happiness to us and it's hard to explain how much fun it is to see life through your eyes. Today we celebrated your birthday by taking a cookie cake to your classroom at school where you played with your friends. Then we went to Nana and Papa's where you had a tea party with your new tea set. When we headed home your Daddy ordered pizza and Lanie brought over balloons! We've also looked at pictures of you on the day you were born and told you the story of your entry into this world. You are the most special thing in the world to us!

To my little M&M: I am incredibly amazed at how such great things come in small packages. You are my petite little punkin and I love you so much. You are so full of creativity. You love to sing and dance and you love to color and draw. You are incredibly silly and have the best giggle in the world. I love how with just a look the both of us can die in laughter for long periods of time over no particular reason at all. You are already very nurturing and are the sweetest little Mommy to your babies. You kiss them and feed them and rock them. You are the biggest Daddy's girl and I love that we both think he's so awesome. You have such a tender little heart and I love everything about you. I am so lucky to be your Mom!

To my baby girl K: You can turn the world upside down with that smile of yours! Your Papa always talks about how he loves your smile and I agree it seems to be infectious. You love, love, love to sing and will sing even in the middle of the night in our bed while we try to sleep! Speaking of, you are the best cuddler and I treasure that you get up an extra 30 minutes early each day and cuddle with me and only me. You have such an inquisitive mind and just have to know how things work. You are a master of puzzles and putting things together. You are my little helper and you love to help pass on correction to your sister. You have such a passion and excitement for life and make each and every day so much fun for all of us. I love everything about you! I am so lucky to be your Mom!

Happy 2nd birthday sweet girls!

100 Prayers God Loves to Hear by Stephen Elkins

2010-12-02T10:52:00.001-06:00

This book is a children's book which is a great aid for getting children comfortable talking to God and singing praise to Him. It comes with 2 CDs full of kid praise music! Who doesn't love a little freebie with their book? Each prayer is outlined with a kid-friendly devotional, an easy, often rhyming prayer, illustration, and quote to serve as a prayer reminder. It also references a praise song on the CD. This is a great tool for establishing a daily prayer time with your child. I love that it includes prayers of people throughout the Bible such as David, Moses, Jeremiah, Nehemiah, and more. What a great way to teach children to pray - by praying Scripture!

The book is most appropriate for ages 4+, but can easily be read and incorporated into my 2 year olds' lives - and don't we all appreciate a family prayer time tool? I love the daily application of the subject matter to a child's life. I look forward to working through these prayers with my children so that they'll be hidden in their heart and lifted up to the Lord throughout their life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Booksneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2010-11-30T21:33:00.007-06:00

We have been busy getting ready for the holiday season around here. It is so much fun watching Christmas being revealed in the eyes of my girls. While at Nana's we carried on the tradition the grandkids have had for year's - decorating gingerbread houses! The girls loved that there was candy spread everywhere and we weren't stopping them from eating it! We've been watching Christmas classics on TV, reading our Christmas books, and we've gotten out the nativity set.

Saturday we put up the Christmas tree! Breakable is a new term we're learning. I've put all my sentimental ornaments up high but the girls have enjoyed rearranging all the less delicate ornaments on the lower branches. They've also been helping me wrap presents - they are excellent tapers.

Saturday night we hosted our Sunday School class for the Egg Bowl. Good news - MSU victory! Before-hand Miss Ainsley came to visit us from Nashville, too. What a cutie pie! Of course the girls always love meeting a new friend and Mommy was glad to see an old friend, too!

The masterpiece!

Yay ornaments!

Dress up!

Caught red handed!

Our tree so far!

Dressing up like beach bums during the Egg Bowl!

Keeping It Real

2010-11-28T19:44:00.002-06:00

My friend Erin has a blog called Keeping It Real. Here is my blog post addressing keeping it real. Today when we came home from church Kennedy gagged from sinus drainage and threw up all over the living room and the kitchen - right after lunch. Yummy. Then not even 10 minutes later I heard the girls calling for me saying "Momma - I'm dirty"! Huh? Yeah - when I turned the corner MM is covered in dog poop. Apparently the dog pooped all in the playroom while we were at church. Nice. Then we decided it would be a nice family effort to go to the Hanging of the Green at church so we did the hourly routine of getting the entire family dressed for church tonight. We lasted about ten minutes in service because the girls wanted to point out the ownership of every item in the sanctuary (Mommy's book! Daddy's book! Mine) during the handbell performance and readings. I was really hoping to make it to the congregational singing but I conceded because I could see Taylor's eyes about to bug out of his head. So instead we decided to go for a fun stroll through Wal-Mart (yep that's what small town folks do for fun). Of course as we're headed for the check-out line MM does a full front flip out of the buggy on to her head. I didn't witness this acrobatic trick but apparently it was pretty bad and now my poor little baby is walking with a limp and doesn't want to put any weight on her foot. So, that's our story for keeping it real as a day in the life with twin 2-year olds.

Turkey Day

2010-11-28T13:35:00.009-06:00

What a great Turkey Day we had! I am certainly thankful for my little family - my wonderful husband and these sweet little faces. My family cozied up at Nana and Papa's starting the day before Thanksgiving. As you can tell from the pics we had really warm weather - perfect for playing in the woods and leaves. Since we live so close to so much family we are lucky enough to enjoy two big Thanksgiving dinners - one at Nana and Papa's and one at Mammaw and Pappaw Conerly's. Yum!

The leaves were beautiful so we had a little photo shoot in the woods. Although it was right after nap time so the girls pigtails look like ram horns - ha!

My favorite smile!

Andrew is a hoot!

They've learned to say "naa-naa-boo-boo". I did not teach them that.

Sweetest little pout

Who's the monkey in the family?

Our tour guide - Nana

Porch observers

Ready for some turkey and dressing

We love leaves!

Love this pic of Lanie, Pop and girls!

T and tractor

Lydia and my girls

Ring around the rosie!

We all fall down!

Pre-Thanksgiving Fun

2010-11-26T21:45:00.001-06:00

While we were off gallavanting in Mexico, the girls split their time between Nana and Papa and Lanie and Pop. Nana and Papa took the girls to their Thanksiving dinner at church where they played with all the other children and had a great time. I think Kennedy even enjoyed eating Nana's dressing - who doesn't? They also had their Thanksiving party at school. I have no idea what they did at this party but I bet it was fun! On Friday they headed to Lanie and Pop's and they gave the girls their new playhouse and see-saw and the girls had a great time playing with their new presents. They also spent the day in Vicksburg on Sunday and visited with Mammaw and Pappaw which is always fun. We were so glad to get back to them Sunday night. I love teleworking on Mondays after being gone! I have the whole day with my girls to catch up on their weekend and they are getting old enough to tell me the fun things they did and who they saw. They are so precious and I hate being away from them for one minute! Here are some pics of them dressed up for the festivities.

Fun Times in Mexico

2010-11-26T20:52:00.001-06:00

This past weekend the hubby and I headed off for a long weekend with a group of friends to the Royal resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It was so nice to get away just the two of us and have some time to reconnect. The resort was really great and the weather was, too. I highly recommend Mexico in November! Friday the group chartered a party boat and we set sail early that morning. The boat had an entertainment crew and cooking crew. Of course, as they were doing their introductions, guess who they summoned to swing dance with the chef at 9 am? Oh yeah - I definitely have that kind of luck. I will not be posting pics of that. At lunch we docked at the Isla Mujeres (Island of Women) and rented golf carts and rode around the island with another couple. After lunch we went on a snorkeling adventure which was straight out of the Survivor's playbook. It was an extremely windy day and we anchored in the middle of the ocean in three foot swells with an entirely Mexican crew and no instructions. There's about forty of us and we're just told to hold on to this rope - little did we know that while we were holding on that we'd be drug at 30mph in the huge waves for who knows how long. Lucky me - I'm one of the closest to the little boat dragging us so I'm getting all of the wake water straight up my nose and in my snorkel. Not kidding you - it was survival of the fittest. I drop off and then try to grab back on somewhere in the middle of the pack and take out about 10 people with me. Craziness! I saw one tiny school of fish. Seriously. My jaw and teeth killed me the next day from biting on my snorkel so hard and trying not to drown. Funny to talk about now - but probably ruined me on snorkeling for a while!

We spent the rest of the time sleeping in and enjoying the pool and beach. Of course, we found a place in Playa to catch the MSU vs. Arkansas game - heartbreaker! Double OT loss! We had a fantastic time and really enjoyed the time together...we talked about our girls the whole time! We scoped out plenty of resorts with fun slides and family friendliness to bring the girls back to when theyr'e a few years older. Our hope is that Cancun will be boring to them by the time they're seniors and they'll want to go somewhere fully clothed - haha!

Happy Birthday to You!

2010-11-15T20:05:00.012-06:00

This weekend we celebrated MM & K's second birthday! Yep - count it - 2 years! I do not know where this past year has gone. It sure doesn't feel like it's been a whole year since their last birthday. Although, I am completely amazed at how much they have grown and how many things they have learned in just one year. Last year we still hadn't completely transitioned off of baby food and now my girls are talking in sentences and have turned into little girls right in front of my eyes.

Because the weather this time of year is so predictable and the holidays can be a little busy for everyone, we decided to have their party a couple of weeks early. Of course, if you plan an outdoor party then the weathermen will tell you all week that it's going to rain! We lucked out and it was a beautiful day for a day at the playground. We had the party at Brighton Park playground and also had a mini-bouncy house for extra entertainment. There were crafts, yummy cake, and lots of fun. We were so blessed to have such a great turnout by friends and family - we even had the Thomases visit us all the way from Tupelo! We really appreciate everyone helping us celebrate this birthday with the girls. Today the girls were telling me everyone they saw at the party and all the fun things they did. That's what I'm loving so much about this age - real conversation! It's amazing to hear all the little things going through their sharp little brains.

The girls got 4-wheelers for their birthday present and they're enjoying exploring new parts of our yard on them.

Yummy birthday cake

MM loves to swing!
Papa helping K swing on her belly

Precious little face

My little "montey"

Angelia, Anne Bailey, Laura, and Audrey Grace - party girls!

Falling down in the jumper was her favorite part!

Papa, Pappaw Conerly, Pappaw Don, Don Jr., Rhonda, and Taylor

Addison knows how to entertain!

Landry and the girls jumping!

Mamaw Conerly

Sweet Tanner and K

Shera and Andrew

Zack and Jonna came all the way from college to party with us!

Carley, Zoe, and Chris

They were loving having everyone sing to them!

They sing the Happy Birthday song all the time!

Sweet excited little eyes and static playground hair!

Daddy showing off the new ride!

Pop and Papa supervising Sweet Daddy and daughter pic!

Mrs. Ann, Lanie, and K loving some ice cream!

Tori and MM - all the kids loved letting the balloons go at the end of the party!

Landry and MM going for a drive

Sweet cousins

After the party we had a big slumber party with the Thomases, Newmans, and Jones...nothing like having a house full of your best friends! This is the morning after bed head pic! These girls are definitely future roommmates at Miss State - just like their mamas!

Fall Fun

2010-11-06T21:42:00.007-05:00

What a fun week of fall festivities! Wednesday our church had a Trunk-or-Treat event that was so much fun. The girls dressed - not really sure as exactly what, a cross between a cupcake chef and a fairy - but they were cute - and we headed over to church after work. There were games inside the gym which we loved - MM kept trying to keep the balls for each game in her bucket instead of candy :) They had no idea about the trick-or-treat concept but really enjoyed being around all of the other children and in the middle of fun. We ate hamburgers and hot dogs, jumped in the bouncy house, and stocked up on loot. It really was a blast! Thank goodness Nana and Papa took pics before we left Vburg because our camera was dead when we got to the church!

Friday night our Sunday School class had a party, too. There was another bouncy house and even the adults dressed up this time. We went as a soccer player and soccer referee. We went on our first hayride as a family and some goons jumped out of the woods and I jumped plum across the trailer! ha. We had a great time again! I think MM even found her a new little flame...apparently one of the triplets developed a little crush on her. Craig and Anna won best costumes by far!

Beach Bums

2010-10-22T21:50:00.007-05:00

Pictures can be so deceiving. Yes, if you browsed this post you might actually believe that we were beach bums for our entire week in Florida. Ha! In reality, our girls really could not hate the sand more. MM would rather put her feet behind her ears - and oh does she try - than put one single toe in the sand. She clings to her Daddy like a spider monkey. If we spread out towels and blankets they stand perfectly still on them and don't move an inch. We have glimpses of freedom where they will play with sand toys - but if a grain of sand ends up on their finger or leg they call it to our attention immediately and persistently until it is removed. Oh my prissy girls! Our best beach time was when we went fully clothed with tennis shoes and socks. Kennedy actually roamed off the towel and followed her Daddy down to the water. MM at least played with her shovel for a while - then climbed in my lap and took in the scenery. They are the cutest things on the beach, though! I know they'll warm up all in good time.

I'm fwying!

So sweet - she knows Daddy will keep her safe!

Glam girl

MM's pose here is the cutest! Straight chillin' as long as he doesn't put her down.

Pool and Playground

2010-10-22T21:29:00.005-05:00

The girls love swimming! Luckily, the smaller pool by the beach was "heated" or at least a few degrees warmer than the big pool. We spent as much time as we could there letting the girls swim and play on the steps. Kennedy is such a little fish and daredevil. She would walk on the bottom step with the water just under her chin and tell everyone to look and say "I float!". MM loved for her Lanie to drag her around the pool and to jump off the side. They both love the water.

But, since the water was kind of chilly some days we sought out some other activities to keep us entertained. MH suggested this great playground toward Rosemary Beach. The girls rode the see-saw for the first time and climbed this hill which I'm sure must have seemed like a mountain to them. MM couldn't take the path - she had to climb straight up the side!

Tickle, tickle sissy!

Best Friends

2010-10-22T21:14:00.004-05:00

One of the other great things about our week in Florida is that our best friends live there, too! We had such a great time hanging out with the Carrs each night. Thanks to some help we even managed to escape for a fabulous dinner at Paradis to celebrate Taylor and MH's birthdays and one more night to the Red Bar which is always fantastic. It's amazing how much the kids have grown since we got together in Dauphin Island last year. The Carrs just bought an amazingly beautiful new house and the kids just roamed free from backyard to Jack's upstairs room. They really enjoyed each other's company, too, and played great together. Jack enjoyed playing with their strollers and baby dolls and the girls enjoyed playing with all of his backyard gear - especially the sit-n-spin! Too bad we don't get to play together like this all of the time - what amazing friends!

MH, Jack, and cousin James

Lanie and Pop Stowaways

2010-10-22T21:01:00.003-05:00

One of the greatest things about this trip is that Lanie and Pop stowed away with us for the first part of the week! I do not know how in the world I didn't manage to capture a single picture of Pop during the week, but he was there I promise. He did his fair share of reading "I Spy" books which are the girls latest obsession. The girls absolutely LOVED having them there and continued to wake up each morning and run to their room even after they went home. We shopped and swam and romped on the beach - a perfect time!

First Family Vacation

2010-10-22T20:32:00.008-05:00

Finally - a family vacation! Yes, I know we're gone a LOT and do a lot of weekend getaways - but this was our first getaway for a full week as a family. A whole week - yahoo! We headed down to Florida and stayed at the Adagio in Santa Rosa Beach for a week of play. I'll have several posts to cover our fun week -but here is a look at the girls enjoying the complex. The weather was absolutely perfect but the water was a little chilly. We made the best of it! We loved the oversize pool, being on 30-A, and being so close to the gulf - perfect location! The girls had bunk beds in their room and had a blast climbing on the bottom bunks and playing in their own room. They had free reign of the condo and loved every minute!