Crying...appears to be a choice on the girls noise machine from the sounds of it!

As I sit here typing this, my dear husband is taking his shift in attempting to console one of our very sick babies. This isn't the first night this has been going on either so this is wearing on us greatly. All night (between 6-10 times at a minimum) we are awakened to the sound of a high-pitched scream coming from the nursery :( This alerts us to the fact that, once again, this illness (bronchiolitis/RSV) has taken over our little one's body and is causing her great discomfort. We've tried patting, rocking, feeding, singing, you name it just to get her sweet body to rest. And then she will fall asleep-just not for long before the next spouse takes their shift. We pass each other going up and down the stairs and try not to stumble too much. Our other sweet girl is just as sick, if not sicker, but is just one tough cookie and has maintained her 11-12 hour a night sleeping schedule which is unbelievable to us! We're beginning to think that she thinks "crying" is one of the options on her sound machine because her sister is pretty consistent with it =) We pray God heals them both quickly because a week of doing this already is taking its toll on this mommy and daddy. Also, no person can stay locked up in a small house with two extremely fussy babies for too long before you feel like you MUST get out :) Praying for God to continue to sustain us and give us just enough strength to keep going each morning...this too shall pass I know-just hoping it's sooner rather than later!! This is definitely their first "real" sickness and first antibiotics other than a little runny nose which has reminded us of how merciful and gracious the Lord has been in granting them good health these past 9 months!

A Picture Post with Double the Cuteness...

Two babies sure does keep life interesting, busy, fun, and full of joy and laughter! But not every picture can make the cut for a post of its own =) So here's to some that have brought many a smile to our face!

9 Months Old! Can It Really Be True?!

To our two little darlings,

9 Months today!?! We seriously cannot believe that this could be true! It seems like just yesterday the Lord was bringing you into this world and now we are approaching your first birthdays! Oh how we wish we could make time stand still. This age and stage has brought so much laughter as we see you both learning to get yourselves into all kinds of messes =) cute messes! This month was especially special to us because we celebrated your first Christmas! We had the best time with you girls this year and enjoyed seeing you attempt to open presents and insert any piece of bow, wrapping paper, ribbon or fuzz into your mouth-just so long as it was in your mouth. =) We tried to start some family traditions that hopefully will last a lifetime, but the one thing we want to emphasize to you girls from the earliest year possible is the true reason we are celebrating. We want your precious hearts to know that this day is for praising God for sending His son in the form of a baby to become our Savior who would later die on the cross to pay for our sins. What a love that is so difficult to grasp. A baby! That has gripped my heart so many times this holiday season as I cradle your precious little bodies in my arms that my Savior came to the world, in flesh, as a baby. What a good God we serve! We hope and pray we love you well and in so doing so, model and point you to the reason you are alive-to give God glory! As your daddy and I say, this is our “spring” time as life has been filled with ease, joy, laughter, good health, and essentially no suffering or pain. We know that time is coming and we pray our hearts and yours too will rest in His arms and depend on His grace, but for now, we will live life to the fullest and enjoy each morning we awake to a new day with you girls! Makenzie, your little spunk for life has not diminished in the slightest. You are one high-energy little girl! You are a complete mess and we love you and think you are just hilarious!!! You hit the ground running every morning with a high-pitched scream to alert us that you are no longer content being alone. In fact, you hate the fact that you were even alone sleeping to start with. =) You are a mover-you scooch across the floor to get to any place you want and you are pretty fast. You are into EVERYTHING! You laugh uncontrollably and inhale, making a noise I think is etched in my mind forever! You are still a tiny petite thing and are as light as a feather to carry around. Good thing because you sure do like to be carried =) Maddie Grace, you are still just as content of a baby as ever. You have the absolute sweetest disposition and are steady and easy going like your daddy. You are so calm and patient 99.9% of the time and don’t mind waiting for just about anything while we tend to your sister (just so long as you get your food in a timely manner =) You are such a sweet baby and can be such a cuddle bug. The only time you cry is when your bib is removed from meal time or you are being laid down to sleep. You let out a mad cry that sends us into laughing mode immediately and then you are done. You have the most adorable chubby cheeks and your smile lights up the room. You have to warm up to the idea of giving those precious smiles out, though. You girls are as different and unique as night and day and that is evidenced to us on a daily basis. We love it and our heart’s desire is to meet each of your needs in a way that shows you we value you for who you are. We praise God for blessing our lives each day with you girls and putting more joy in our hearts than we could have ever fathomed! You keep us on our toes, you keep us busy, but you keep us FULL. Full indeed. We love you both so, so much!! We love being your parents!! Love, Mommy and Daddy

Things you girls are up to: (I'm doing the best I can to remember to document all these milestones with two babies!!)
-playing peek a boo (especially Makenzie)
-love grabbing books to put in mouth
-obsessed with any cord, ribbon, strap that can be sucked on until no drool is left =)
-scooting around the room mostly on their tummies-Makenzie does a little army crawl on her tummy while MG still only knows how to move in reverse or in a 360 degree circle around the room which is quite hilarious because she gets stuck behind furniture or with her legs straddling something keeping her from going anywhere else =)
-definitely know when Mommy and Daddy are not around and when we come back into a room
-pulling up on things to standing position (just Makenzie)- pulled up in her crib today! And also started crawling TODAY!
-getting better at picking up small food items & enjoyed your first finger foods
-will watch things as they fall and love knocking things over
-still sleeping on your tummies most of the time
-love splashing in the tub (when you are lucky enough to get a bath, ha =)
-love being a part of things at meal time-sit in their hook-on high chairs and they work great for mommy and daddy, too!
-both girls love to be sung to as we do that quite often throughout the day-love I’ve got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart, where? Down in my heart! And The Wheels on the Bus is a close 2nd favorite!
-love reading stories but it’s hard to turn the page with two babies grabbing to eat the whole book =)
-super ticklish babies!!! Maddie Grace will scrunch up her whole neck when you try to get her!
-Makenzie is our momma’s girl and Maddie Grace so far is a daddy’s girl =)
-still not a single tooth spotted yet!
-Still as different as night and day-MG is a fantastic sleeper (11-12 hrs every night unless sick) while Makenzie still wakes up frequently during the night (anywhere from 2-3 times which is a good night to 6-8 times =(
-Great little nappers and also sleep well in their car seats on trips
-Moved to a 4 hour feeding schedule (yahoo!!!!) so now it is typically 8, 12, 4 and 8 with solids after the first and third feedings; Maddie Grace is precious while she eats-loves to play with her ear, scratch/tickle mommy's back, or rub her head-usually puts her fast to sleep at night; Makenzie likes to be flat on her back either on the floor or in her crib to eat while she rubs her blankie and lovey across her face-she likes to have something in both hands to keep her occupied while eating; As we say MG lives to eat while Makenzie eats to live =)

Tis the Season-Christmas 2011

Taking time to celebrate the birth of our Savior each season is such a special time of year! This year was no different as we tried to fathom what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph. It seems having two babies helped bring that story to life more this year than ever for us. We are eternally grateful that God, in His sweet mercy, sent His one and only Son, in the form of a baby to fulfill His ultimate plan of reedeming people unto Himself. Praise God for His love for His people!We feel so fortunate to have two families who love the Lord and who love us! Much enjoyment and memories were made visiting each side of the family and we left each stop cherishing the time with family and thankful that our girls are loved immensely. Babies add so much to the season and really made things a lot of fun this year! At house #1, they weren't sure exactly what to do with the presents so they just played/chewed on the ribbons and bows which was more than enough excitement for them. Then at house #2 they seemed to think to themselves, "Hey, we know what to do now!" =) Maddie Grace tore into a present before we had even begun unwrapping which was hysterical and proceeded (without us knowing) to swallow some wrapping paper. A long coughing spell later and the finger sweep by mommy sent Maddie Grace into throw up mode and out came the paper! Good first Christmas memory :)We hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas as well!

Christmas in Clayton

Christmas in Atlanta