The Not So Perfect Days!

So most of the time when I post updates, it's of the fun we've had or the memories we've made traveling, but this one is dedicated solely to the mundane task of taking care of two babies, day in and day out, on the not so perfect days! And believe me, there are plenty of them.

Not every day of being a stay-at-home-mom is glamorous or even enjoyable at times, but I do PRAISE God for the incredible privilege even when my days are more like this....

the sound of our high-maintenance baby's shrill cry generally wakes us up for the day...I venture down to the nursery to retrieve said baby and her twin sister and then proceed to carry both babies upstairs. We begin my least favorite part about our days: mealtime! Every, Almost every meal is a battle attempting to get Baby B to eat-more than half usually ends up on the floor (no pics bc I am never in a good mood to document that =) and the other half has been snuck into her mouth via extremely creative ways of distracting her. Then the floor is usually covered in milk from their bottle or sippy cup being strewn, shaken, or turned upside down. At this point, Baby B is completely done "eating" as she frantically signs ALL DONE ALL DONE! I wipe her down, remove her from the high chair and as mealtime comes to a close, hoping a few calories will stick to our little one's belly, the now daunting task of cleaning them, their trays, the floor, etc begins...

But the only problem is we now have a free roaming 15 month old and here is what she comes up with to do while waiting for her sister to finish breakfast! Could not believe what I saw...she had dragged her riding zebra all the way across the floor and parked herself right in front of Maddie Grace to entertain her =) This picture comes nowhere close to capturing how hysterical it was as she is bouncing like crazy to get MG to laugh and boy did she!! Too funny...it's moments like this below that make 

all of this....worth it!

So I regain my composure after going from frustrated to literally laughing out loud and get back to cleaning up their breakfast, but the only problem is while this "cleaning" was going on, this is what the girls have been up to on any given day...

Yes! She is standing from the cart to jump to the pillows to THEN reach the nightstand
to get what she wants and yes she succeeded!!

sitting on toys that can break and collapse (which it later did :( ...) 

standing up in the grocery cart and then throwing hands in the air to demonstrate
her independence :)

So it's now around 9am and today happens to be the day I am hosting a New & Expectant Moms Brunch for the Birmingham Moms of Multiples at our place...so no problem I'm thinking, I did most of the cleaning, preparing, getting organized the night before. All I need to do is a little straightening...well the minute I get this area picked up...

I turn around to see this behind me...

this can speak for itself: not a quick clean up when there are crushed leaves all over the clean
hardwoods from my fall centerpiece!


I promptly re-locate them to a different part of the house to get this swept up and then low and behold, we now have this...

But with 2 minutes to spare, the candles get lit, lamps are turned on, music begins playing in the background...all so I can greet this :)

yes, you're seeing more than double...that would be 4 sets of twins =)

On a side note, I absolutely LOVE hosting these families each month as I know what that first year of raising twins is like and how much support and encouragement you need on a daily basis!

So as soon as everyone has left our place, we begin mealtime again! Remember how I said it wasn't my favorite?? Too bad it has to happen 3 times a day, every day =( Insert not much fun routine from breakfast and then we may make a quick run to Target which entails bringing plenty of snacks to occupy them for the entire grocery trip. We arrive home, have to carry both babies up to the play area, then return to the car to bring in quite a few bags (usually no less than 4 trips back and forth) and as I quickly try to unload the perishable items... I am met with these little helpers :)

unloading all the bags!

riding the cereal box!

as soon as the fridge door opens, I can expect 1 or both to be standing inside!

By now, it's about 2 o'clock in the afternoon and it's officially NAP TIME! My chance to eat my own lunch, clean up THEIR lunch, think about what we could make for dinner and unload the never ending, always full, dishwasher which then produces a mess on the counter that looks like this =)

growing collection of sippy cups, tops and straws!

AND...if there's time, maybe tackle this...

So the hardest part of our day (as if the other part wasn't hard enough!!!) begins when they wake up from their afternoon nap. The incessant whining begins, the tugging on mommy's legs to be held, and the inability to do ANYTHING other than be on the floor playing with them, reading to them, and attempting to make them laugh sets in. Husband gets home to find usually 2 screaming babies and he asks, "Have they been like this ALL day??" Well no, but you should see what they HAVE been up to! =)

Love my girls to death but it sure isn't always a walk in the park taking care of them everyday! Praise the Lord that His mercies are new every morning! That is what sustains me...

Lamentations 3:22,23 “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.”

Summertime Fun

Whew it's been a HOT, HOT summer so far! Which means we've spent a lot of time at the pool and searched for any and all fun kid activities around town that are indoors. We've really enjoyed spending time with all our new friends and while it's not always easy to get two babies out the door, I'm always so glad we did it when we return home! Good for the girls to interact with other children their age and good for mommy to engage in adult conversation. It's a win for everyone! Two at this age is keeping me on my toes more and more and sleeping VERY soundly at night. I am worn out beyond words at the end of the day, but both Kendall and I are cherishing every most minutes we have with them! Life is precious and sweet....

the girls with their buddy Mac-loungin' in the pool, splash pad fun,

but the best party being their first snow cones!

McWane Center fun...x-ray for animals, putting stars into a constellation,

putting flowers into the pot, coins in a piggy bank + jungle gym for babies!

first taste of homemade vanilla ice cream with Mimi and Grandpa in town!

YUM YUM!

just another ordinary day...

Visiting the Birmingham Museum of Art-fantastic children's exhibit!

Mother Goose Story Time-complete with a bubble machine,

bean bag dance, parachutes, and a kid-friendly snack!

actually behaving themselves on our Target grocery trip!

and ACTUALLY able to capture their cuteness of holding hands and swinging

them up and down while giggling incessantly! 

We LOVE when daddy gets home from work! Highlight of our day!

Celebrated Cow Appreciation Day twice-for lunch AND dinner so daddy could join in the fun! =)

Thankful for Freedom! 4th of July 2012

The 4th of July is a great reminder of how thankful we are for freedom. There are so many freedoms that are a blessing from a worldly perspective. But what we really tried to grasp today as a family, was how thankful we are for the freedom to worship. To worship a God who is worthy of ALL praise from ALL peoples and ALL nations! To worship the one TRUE God and for that we are so grateful. We know we will never fully grasp the gravity of that, but it is good for the heart to consider what it would be like to live in a country where you do not possess that freedom.

To continue our tradition from the girls 1st Independence Day, we headed out for an early morning breakfast at Cracker Barrel. What a difference a year makes. Last year we lugged in 2 car seats with itty bitty babes who couldn't sit in a high chair. Fast forward to this year and we toted in 2 little girls-one who could hold our hand and walk in herself and plopped them straight into high chairs to play with the wooden peg game and to color. Wow! Can hardly believe the difference! We had the absolute BEST time together as a family and we definitely will mark this down as one of the girls best behaved restaurant meals to date! They had a blast playing in the rocking chairs and trying to get the pegs in the right hole (nice entertainment-might consider buying one for other meals, ha!) We will definitely, Lord willing, carry on this tradition for years to come!

The rest of the afternoon, we spent time as a family just playing with the girls. We decided to attempt taking the girls to see fireworks, even though it would be WAY past their usual bedtime. The day went perfect as far as eating later breakfasts and lunches and later naps. That helped tremendously and we had such a fun time going with friends to Homewood Park to see the fireworks. We brought some watermelon along with us and the girls absolutely LOVED it! Perfect summertime treat! ALL in ALL, a fun-filled family day and we couldn't have enjoyed it more! Lots of laughter and memories made! Happy 4th of July!!!

15 Months- For Real!?!

THE STATS:

• Height: Mak-28 ½ in (4%) ; MG- 29 in (14%)
• Weight: Mak- 19lbs 11 oz. (7%) MG- 23 lbs 12 oz. (61%)
• Teeth count: 4 for MG, 1 for Mak!
• Diapers: size 3
• Clothes: mostly 12 months; some 9mo for Mak and some 18 mo for MG
• Shoes: size 2 ½ J teeny feet! 

Dear Miss Maddie Grace and Makenzie,

Wow you two are such a joy these days!! Your daddy and I definitely get our fill of laughter each day from the things you two do! Quite entertaining to say the least! We want to bottle up this age and make it last forever-you two are just beyond precious and we thank God for your lives each day! You are also beginning to show us how desperate we are and will be in order to raise you girls up to love and fear the Lord. These are a few of the things we pray are evident in both of your lives in the days ahead. That you come to a knowledge of saving faith in Jesus Christ. That you resist the ways of the world and follow the Lord’s will for your lives. That you find your identity in Christ and Christ alone. That you know you are loved and accepted by God. That you live with eternity in mind, knowing how fleeting this earthly life is. That you use your abilities, talents, and gifts for the Glory of God. That your hearts will overflow with joy from Christ in you. That you will find great delight in serving others and putting others needs before your own. That you will submit to a God who is worthy of all of your affection and praise! That we serve a gracious and compassionate God who abounds in love and mercy. We love you deeply girls. We want you to see how much Christ loves you by the way we love you. Happy 15 months little ones!

Love, Mommy & Daddy

New things you girls are up to these days:

-love playing peek-a-boo with each other under the table, the play house, doors, anywhere you can!

-started copying what the other one is doing

-Not liking the whole “sharing” thing; Getting territorial with things they are playing with, will move to a corner or block their sister out

-press your face into a mirror when you realize its YOU!

-love ice cream and popsicles (a fun treat every now & then!!)

-love riding on your lion push toy

-began mimicking high and low pitch of animal sounds in book

-enjoys “brushing” their teeth and knawing on toothbrush

- can stack 3 blocks high

-will throw hands in the air when you ask “How big is MG or Makenzie!?”; will clap hands and stomp feet to go along with song

-scribbled with a crayon

-becomes frustrated with tasks they have trouble with

-anticipates certain parts in a book; anticipates being chased and will get nervous & run or laugh

-if mommy starts to read a book to one, the other will IMMEDIATELY crawl/walk right over and plop down in my lap too to be a part of it

-moved to your big girl car seats this month! Haven’t minded a bit, but don’t sleep in them nearly as much so far

-very hard to take out to eat now that you are both soo mobile-don’t like sitting in high chair at all!

-1^st international flight to Mexico!

-Makenzie’s 1^st tooth popped through (6/26) and Maddie Grace now has 4 with 2 more on the way

-MG loves to put lids on containers

-MG will rearrange stacking cups to make them fit and will problem solve to make it work if one won’t fit

-MG loves stuffed animals and will talk to them and hug them

-MG LOVES playing with balls of every shape and size; will deliver the ball to you rather than “throw” it

-MG loves to collect & organize things-daddy’s business cards, magnets, anything flat that can stack J

-MG also enjoys ripping paper in half and carrying that around too

-MG has started biting; partially because she has lots of teeth coming in, partly b/c Mak sticks her fingers in her mouth, but a couple times she has done it when she gets mad L

-Mak loves to pick up heavy things or toys and carry them all over the place

-Mak loves to bring you toys and any other item that you can place in your hand and then take back of course

-Mak has started “creeping” around and squatting down on her knees to look at things of for things-it’s adorable!

-Mak walked backwards for the first time a few days ago

-Mak can climb up onto things to get to other things she wants

-Mak will reach up to hold your hand when walking in new places

-MG still SUPER SUPER ticklish; Mak wants & loves to be tickled but really isn’t all that ticklish J

-Both girls are just now at the stage where I can teach them new things such as “Where is your belly button?” “Where does Jesus live?” and they point to their heart with both hands & also how to “Blow kisses!”