Beginning of the Birthday Celebrations

Whewwwww.... It has been a busy two weeks! Celebrating the twins' big first birthday, that is!!!

It's been a blast, and I finally have time to upload pictures and blog. So get ready for a flood of posts and pictures :)

James and Mattie Rose turned one on May 30. The morning started out with fun FaceTime with Grandpa (my dad) and then with MeMe (my mom). 

{my dad is crazy silly. what i love most about him.}

{catching a chat with meme before she heads to tennis}

Then we played around for a bit in our cute birthday shirts made by Nicole at lil threadz clothing. Check out her Etsy shop if you need some adorable stuff for your kiddos. She was super easy to work with, and I think the shirts turned out great! Incredibly soft and fit them well! 

{big girl}

{my little man was too busy playing to appease his mommy with a picture}

We headed to Cookeville to meet Kyle for a birthday lunch at the always safe Chick-fil-A. I cannot tell y'all enough how much I love this place. Not because of the delicious waffle fries and yummy chicken, but because of the service. It's like they practically tell you, "It's my pleasure to pick your children's food up off the floor." There's no judgement in this place and I like it! Ha! James and Mattie Rose love to meet Daddy in the middle of the day, and even more so on their birthday. We even scored free ice cream. Which ended up in Kyle's belly :)

{my loves}

{my chill little buddy}

{gah, that smile...gets me every time.}

Even though we had planned the birthday party for a couple of weeks after their birthday, there was no way we weren't eating cake! The Siscos and McShans came over for pizza and cupcakes. And boy did the babies love it!

{being ever so delicate}

{smashed}

{sweet girl}

{so silly that boy}

{get pull him away from food long enough to take a picture}

{mmm...mmm...mmm....}

{"excuse me, i'm trying to eat cake here"}

{the sisco men}

{always trying to steal from her brother}

{success...}

{stealing kisses}

{don't know what we would without these special friends of ours}

{my three favorite people}

{dayay and momma mc}

The babies had a sugar crash and were done not too long after this....

Still so hard to believe it's been a whole year! Can't wait to see how much more life will change with each passing year!

Stay tuned for more birthday fun....

Best Mother's Day Yet...

...and that's because it was my first one!!!

And because we gave our babies back to the Lord yesterday. Not that we hadn't already. But our church had the baby dedication ceremony.

I can't think of a better way to say "thank you" to God for our two huge blessings, than by saying "they are Yours, and I will do my best to show You to them and teach them how to follow You." So that's what we did publicly in front our of families, friends, and church body.

Mom and Mike came to visit to celebrate the babies dedication and Mother's day. It was a quick trip, but better than nothing!

{these are my people}

{mom and mike}

{me and my little buddy. and my pretty flowers from kyle.}

{two crazy girls. mattie rose and her meme.}

{praying over these two sweet things. notice how we did not come unprepared. pacis and a bird. anything to prevent a meltdown.}

{pastor roland giving us a few instructions. that's my friend jennifer next to me with her sweet baby anslee kate. anslee kept wanting to smell my flowers ha!} 

{our sweet sisco friends came to celebrate with us. love them so.}

{mamas and their babies. sweet maeve just a'growing inside kayla's belly}

{mattie rose was more interested in meme's necklace than smiling for the camera. james looks over it.}

{grandmothers and their favorite grandchildren}

{the mcshans}

{couldn't navigate life without these two}

{near impossible for everyone to look in the same direction, but i'll take it}

We also had verses that we chose to pray over the two of them. I always want Mattie Rose to know that internal beauty and integrity are for more important to the Lord than external beauty. So for her we chose 1 Peter 3:3-4 which says, "Do not let your adorning be external - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear - but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." And for James, we wanted him to have a verse to carry with him throughout life's challenges and trials that he will face as a boy, teenager, and man. We chose James 1:12 which reads, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him."

Mattie Rose and James, Mommy and Daddy are so proud to call you ours. We pray daily and fervently that you would come to know the Lord at a very early age, and hold on for dear life to Him all your days. We pray that we would always be aware of teachable moments to show you God's love, grace, and glory. And that we would be able to model Christ's love for you and others as we follow Him. We love you so much and cannot wait to continue to see what the Lord has in store for your lives!

11 Months Update

If I could sum up 11 months so far in one word, it would be laughter. James and Mattie Rose are hilarious these days, and they think each other are the funniest person alive. And they are. To me at least. Everything one does makes the other fall over laughing. 

They both are getting more curious and mischievous as the days go by, which brings about much chasing and correcting from this mama! There are times when I have trouble telling them "no" with a serious face as they look at me with such proud smiles of the trouble they are getting themselves into. And then there are times when I have just ruined their world for taking away a phone charger that they could easily wrap around their necks. Battles... Have to pick them I suppose. 

Birthday party planning for the big O-N-E is well underway. We (and by we, I mean me) are going for a fish/under the sea theme. I am not really sure how moms planned birthday parties before the days of Pinterest. However, I am quite sure they didn't spend as much money! 

Not too much has changed in the past month, but here's where we stand:

-We are able to push our walkers all over the house, but are still unable to stand unsupported. 

-We live to climb over any obstacle you put in front of us whether it be pillows, laundry baskets, human bodies... :)

-James has four teeth now, two on top and two on bottom. Mattie Rose still has just the two on the bottom.

-We FINALLY have babies who sleep through the night. Mattie Rose will have an occasional bad night, but for the most part she is sleeping from 7-6:45, and James from 7-7:30, sometimes 8.

-We have been taking two really great naps that last anywhere from an hour and a half to two and a half hours, just depending on how much they want mommy to get housework done :)

-We are working on weaning the bottle. This is so sad to me for some reason, but I am so looking forward to the day when I no longer have a tub of bottles to wash before bed. Sorry Dr. Brown's, but I won't miss you. They haven't been too interested in sippy cups before and knowing we are about to make the switch to regular milk, I have been trying to push the sippies a little more. They are definitely more interested and are finally drinking from them rather than just chewing on the spout. 

-We still love going for walks and swinging at the park, but we really love going to Jumpville! Jumpville is a place in Cookeville that has inflatables, but they also have a toddler area full of vinyl/foam type inclines, blocks, rollers, etc. They have a blast climbing up, over, and under everything! 

-We love to dance. Anytime we hear music, we bounce up and down if we are standing, and sway side to side if we are sitting down.

-Bath time is still our favorite part of the day. But now we have to watch for drowning babies, as they love to tackle each other in the tub.

-We are saying a few more "words." It's no longer just da-da-da-da. We can throw in a "mum mum mum mum" and "ba-ba," though I am not too sure they know what each means. Or maybe they do. Who knows???

Enjoy some pictures from our 11 month shoot! Hard to believe in just two and half weeks these babies will have been in our lives for a year! Can't imagine life without them!

It's a shame they aren't happy babies :)

10 Months...Three Weeks Too Late

One day. One day, I will post monthly updates on time. I'm learning, though, to give myself grace in ALL (okay, most) areas of motherhood. 

This past month was full of growing and changing. And I still cannot get over the fact that we are planning a first birthday party...

Both James and Mattie Rose have two teeth. The bottom front ones. It's so strange to look at them and not see those big gummy smiles, but something about those little pearly whites gets me to :) We now brush our teeth during bath time, and they fight over who gets the toothbrush first. 

Bath time is still our favorite part of the day. Right after dinner, I get them out of their high chairs, and it's like two little ducklings following their mama duck. They know exactly where to go! They could play in the tub for hours if I'd let them and if the water stayed warm :) If you haven't seen the recent bath time video I posted on Facebook, I highly recommend taking a look at it. It's pretty stinkin' cute. 

Both James and Mattie Rose are crawling all over the place. They figured it out and figured it out fast. So much so that we ended up investing in a gate for our living room. The room is really spacious so it's more than enough room for them to play in, but they were wearing me out taking off to other parts of the house in two separate directions. And I say invested, because the entryway into our living room is 70 inches wide, so we had to buy a ridiculous amount of extension pieces. But it's up, they are happy, and mommy is happy!

They both are able to pull to a standing position, but have yet to cruise or let go. It amazes to watch them just figure things out. Mattie Rose is learning to climb. She loves climbing on and off of Jake's dog bed, and today, I caught her trying to climb onto the fireplace. Ay yi yi! They play really well together, but after a while enjoy their own little world within the living room. 

We LOVE to eat! Just like Mommy and Daddy. They are not very picky and will typically eat whatever I put on their high chair tray. Some of our favorites are grilled cheese sandwiches, bananas, carrots, green beans, scrambled eggs, strawberries, string cheese, and chicken. Any Gerber product of any kind is a big hit as well (puffs, cookies, cheese straws, etc.). 

Any time spent outside is time well spent. James and Mattie Rose love to go to the park and swing. And walks around the neighborhood in the BOB are fun too! 

This past month has been a rather healthy one. Though James has his third double ear infection, you'd never know it. Our pediatrician has referred us to an ENT who we will see next week. A little nerve-racking but I know it's for the best for his poor little ears. 

Enjoy a few pictures!

{look at those teeth!}

{such a happy boy}

{our new thing - that tongue is always sticking out of his mouth}

{looking a little concerned}

{what, mom?}

{my best girlfriend}

{little stinker}

{cracking up at her brother i'm sure}

{getting so big}

{mattie rose and her toes}

{daddy was working really hard behind the camera to keep their attention}

{best buds}

{gosh i just love them so...}

{mattie rose practicing her heel stretch}

{and now she's got it}

{does it get any cuter? i think not.}

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!!