Attack of the Twins

Our "Adventure" to St. Marks

2012-02-04T21:00:00.000-05:00

We have been taking the girls on "adventures" recently. I mean isn't it an adventure in itself with the two of them??? For this adventure we went down to St. Marks. Neither mommy nor daddy had been there so it was fun for us as well.

we're ready for our adventure!

The hour drive down wasn't bad at all thanks to the new dvd players that the girls got for Christmas (thanks nana and papa!). There happened to be a Wildlife and Heritage Festival going on so it was a little busy. We headed to the lighthouse first, and it was very cool.

Because of the Festival, the lighthouse keepers house was open and they had a re-enactment tour that you could do. We didn't last very long, but we did get to see some of the house and the stairs up to the lighthouse. We couldn't go up because they are repairing the staircase and I'm not sure the girls would have liked it. Maybe in a few years.

the lighthouse stairs

After the house tour, the girls found some birds and were chasing them and laughing hysterically. The coast guard men who where there for the festival got a kick out of them and were laughing as well.

We then went on a short walk down one of the trails.

we saw ducks

and cactus

he makes it look so easy :-)

minor meltdown

and a monarch butterfly

a sandcrane

an alligator

the girls ran to the end

getting a lift on the way back

After our walk we were hungry and we went into St. Marks to eat some lunch. After lunch we headed home and the girls were asleep within 5 minutes. This is such a fun "adventure" and I can't wait to see what other "adventures" await us!

Alien Day

2012-01-27T13:07:00.000-05:00

Today was dress like and alien day at school. One thing that I love about this preschool is all the fun activities and the way they incorporate the concepts into fun events for the kids. Em was still under the weather, so she did not get to go to school, but she did get to wear part of her costume.

Presenting "Lily the Multi-Colored, Mis-Matched Hot Mess Alien"

Here are my alien girls:

And here's cutie pie sick alien Emma.

First Lollipop

2012-01-26T21:13:00.000-05:00

So Em is a bit under the weather and you went to go visit Dr. Koeppel today. After the poking, prodding, and swabbing we decided that you deserved a lollipop. There has been no real reason why you haven't had one, it just never came up.

What I did not expect is that you would not know what to do with it. You looked at it, I told you to lick it, you did so with trepidation.

I showed you that you can put it into your mouth and just suck on it. You were very cautious in doing that as well. After about a minute you decided...hey I kinda like this lollipop thing and it was smooth sailing from there.

Believe it or not this was a very cool experience for mommy. I know that you learn new things everyday, but getting to see the gears in your mind turn as you try to figure out how to eat a lollipop was pretty darn cute!

Just Another Saturday

2012-01-21T20:46:00.000-05:00

After the girls nap we decided to get out and enjoy some fresh air. We ventured over to Tom Brown Park and it was packed. There had to be around 150 moms, dads, and kids at the playground. Daddy said "well this is good training for us and keeping an eye on both of them". You ladies love the playground so much. It is so much fun watching you play and figure things out.

deciding what to do first

sliding is a hair raising experience

I'm the king of the world!

this playground stuff is exhausting

playing in the mister

a rainbow

After all the playing we went over to the field to watch the people flying kites. The girls were fascinated. Daddy said that we are going to get some kites soon!

family photo

watching the kites

family photo taken by a nice kite flier

What I Love

2012-01-17T22:00:00.000-05:00

I love when daddy lets me stay in bed over the weekend and he gets the girls up and changed and then they come into my room and jump on my bed. I love even more when one of them stays in bed and cuddles with me for 20 minutes. Thanks Emma
I love milk time at our house. It's a time for snuggles and just peace and quiet. This happens in the morning and the evening. I love even more when both girls are sitting with me...sorry daddy.
I love the way the the interact with each other (most of the time). They are so sweet and are really affected by what the other does. They are truly best friends.
I love the concern the have for each other. When one is crying the other comes over and pats her back. My heart melts.
I love how polite they are with everyone. Saying please and thank you really warms my heart. "Tank you mommy" is my favorite phrase.
I love how they light up when we get home and see daddy. I also love when I am gone and they see me.
I love how we march around the house every night before the girls go to bed. It's the little wind down before bed.
I love that Emma has 8 stuffed animals and 4 blankets in her bed at all times.
I love when I drop them off at school that they come and say "kiss and hug mommy".
I love that I am their mommy!

Nerd Alert

2012-01-17T20:30:00.000-05:00

I found this shirts at Target the other day and fell in love with them. They were very cute and quirky...just like the girls. The best part about them was when daddy told them what the back said and they were walking around saying "nerd alert nerd alert" so so cute!

Playground Fun

2012-01-07T14:02:00.001-05:00

After a week of very cold temperatures, Saturday arrived with a very pleasant day. Grandma came over and we decided to go to the neighborhood playground. A lot of other families had the same idea. Em and Lil have their preferences at the playground and they headed to their favorite playground equipment, the slide for Lily and the swing for Emma.

Lily could have gone up and down the slide all day long. She was also acting very cheesy for the camera, so mommy was able to get a lot a great pictures of lilybug today.

silly girl

We then went over a played on the swings with Emma. Emma loves the swing, she could literally swing all day long.

in a state of zen

After the swing, we went back over to the slides and played a little while longer.

What a great visit to the playground!

Book for Artwork

2012-01-05T10:43:00.001-05:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a variety of layouts and cover options to choose from.

The girls have tons of artwork that they bring home from school and we would hang it up in the playroom, but there are only so many walls and after a year or so of artwork the room became very full. I decided to take pictures of the artwork and turn it into a book. I will do one for each year so that we still have the art to look back on. Here is the first one :-)

Happy New Year: Family Photos

2012-01-02T12:48:00.004-05:00

I have several New Year's Resolutions with one of them trying to make sure that we do regular family pictures. I have a lot of pictures of the girls, and with daddy and the girls, not so many with mommy and even fewer with all of us. I want to be able to look back at this and see our amazing little family and all the changes that are going on with us.

Emma wasn't quite ready for her picture

First family photo of 2012

First Pictures of the Girls in 2012

2012-01-01T20:50:00.000-05:00

My favorite ladies on the first day of the year.

Emma loves her new dress up shoes

I guess I should wash the windows :-)

Bye Bye 2011

2012-01-01T20:49:00.000-05:00

Another year down. Where did the time go. It was such an incredible year with a few dips into the not so fun. Hopefully 2012 will bring a few less of those dips. The girls are 2 and daddy and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary and 14 years together. I hope that you ladies will find someone like daddy when you get a lot older :-). Here are some of my favorite moments from the past year. I can't wait to see what 2012 will bring us.

A Conversation with Emma and Lily

2011-12-28T10:45:00.000-05:00

During snack time after school today this is what happened:

Emma: Uncle Jimmy drive big fire truck.
Mommy: Yes, Uncle Jimmy does drive the big fire truck.
Emma: Emma drive fire truck.
Mommy: Yes Emma did drive the fire truck.
Emma: No helmet!
Mommy: That's right, Emma did not like the helmet.
Lily: No helmet mommy.
Mommy: That's right Lily, you did not like the helmet either.
Emma: Uncle Jimmy cookie.
Mommy: That's right Emma, Uncle Jimmy gave you a cookie.
Lily: Uncle Jimmy cookie yummy in my tummy.

As this was going on I just sat on the couch dumbfounded. We visited uncle jimmy almost a week ago at this point and they still remembered everything that occurred! WOW!!!!!! I am constantly amazed but what they do and say. This year is going to be so much fun!

Christmas 2011 Part 2...Tallahassee

2011-12-25T19:31:00.000-05:00

We got home late last night from our visit with Nana and Papa. Santa knew that we were in Sebastian, so he visited our house as well.

The girls gave us a great Christmas present and slept until 9am! I could not have imagined what would have occurred in the morning. It truly was MAGICAL. Christmas as a parent has a whole new meaning. This was the girls 3rd Christmas, but really the first one that where they knew what was going on.

Daddy got the girls ready and I was downstairs with the video camera. It was going well until we mentioned Santa. See Lily is fine with saying Santa and seeing pictures of Santa, but the idea that Santa was downstairs was a bit too much for her. She did not want to come downstairs. We tried telling her that was was not there, that he left her some stuff, but she was not having anything to do with that. So daddy had to carry her down the stairs. Once Emma got a view of the downstairs she kept saying "toys toys" in the cutest little British accent ever. I'm glad we got it on video.

The girls loved their shopping carts and drove them around the house all morning. They also got to have some of the traditional cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Lily did not like hers, hopefully next year :-)

We had a full day ahead of us. Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Steve, Aunt Nita and Trace were all coming over to celebrate Christmas. While we were waiting for everyone to arrive we had a apple snack and played tickle monster with Uncle Steve!

The girls starting with their stockings and Aunt Nita and Trace's gifts

Uncle Steve went to Austria over the summer and brought the girls some traditional Austrian dresses, they are amazing.

We then moved on to the mountain of presents from Santa.

Lunch/Dinner was great, grandma did all the food since we got back to late.

After dinner the girls did a mini fashion show with their dresses from Uncle Steve.

It was such a great day. It is so nice to spend the holidays with family. We all went to bed early....it was a very fun and exhausting several days. Merry Christmas!

Christmas 2011 Part 1...Sebastian

2011-12-24T19:31:00.000-05:00

Our Christmas vacation started on Wednesday as we drove to Sebastian. We picked the ladies up from school and went on our way. The drive wasn't too bad and the girls slept most of the way. We had a jam packed several days planned. We visited Uncle Jimmy at work and we went to the zoo. Since we were leaving on Saturday night and Uncle Jimmy had to work on Sunday...today was our Christmas.

Last night we did the few traditions that we have started since you ladies were born. We opened your new Christmas jammies.

We danced around the living room to Dominic the Donkey and we started a new tradition of reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" since you love to read. Papa was given the honor of the first annual reading. Which we now compare to an extreme sport. You ladies love to point out everything that is on the page and say what it is. Needless to say it takes a lot longer to read stories these days, but it is also so much more fun. Papa did a fantastic job and we have a great video of him reading to you.

We also wrote our letter to Santa and left him cookies and a carrot for the reindeer's.

And then off to bed you went, with visions of sugar plums in your head.

The next morning "Christmas" Nana was up with you ladies so mommy and daddy could sleep in for a while. You helped her empty the silverware from the dishwasher and organize the container.

We took some pictures of you in front of the trees while we waited for Uncle Jimmy, Auntie Nicole and Madelyn to come over.

Madelyn got a new seat for her daddy's bike and they rode the bikes over. Madelyn looked so cute in her bike seat.

We asked Lily if she wanted to go for a ride and she said No (no surprise there :-). So Emma hoped on and off she went. She had so much fun and was smiling from ear to ear when they got back.

We hung out with Uncle Jimmy and Auntie Nicole and the girls played with Madelyn. It was so great to see them interacting.

no more christmas!

After the girls woke up from their nap the festivities began. The dresses were from Ms. Ginger, she bought them last year. They were a little big, but they looked beautiful. We were able to get some great shots of all the girls.

We opened the stockings and the gift from Uncle Jimmy and Auntie Nicole.

We decided this year to do a secret santa exchange for the adults. It was a lot of fun. Mommy had Uncle Jimmy; Daddy had Nana; Nana had Auntie Nicole; Papa had Mommy; Auntie Nicole had Daddy and Uncle Jimmy had Papa.

After the great meal we did the gifts for the girls. It was so much fun to watch them tear into the presents and for Madelyn to play with all her stuff. I think that they adults had more fun than the kids. It truly was magical.

so excited!

WOW

this christmas stuff is fun!

more shoes to play with

After the gifts we had to pack up and head back to Tallahassee. The ride was so much nicer given the gifts that Nana and Papa gave the girls (well they were really for mommy and daddy).

Our time is always too short when we visit, but the memories keep getting better. I can't wait to see what happens the next time we travel south!

We Went to the Zoo

2011-12-23T19:30:00.000-05:00

One of the things that I wanted to do while we were on our Christmas vacation was to take the girls to the Brevard Zoo. It was amazing and much more fun than I thought it would be. The girls did great and had a blast. I was so glad that Uncle Jimmy, Auntie Nicole and Madelyn could join us. We so all kinds of animals, we fed a sweet deer and some giant Giraffes. Some of my favorite shots from the day.

on the way to the zoo

lily is ready for the zoo

cousins at the zoo

flamingos

lily making fish face

feeding the fish

uncle jimmy helping em feed the fish

cheetah


another cheetah

baby monkey


my little monkey's

tiber

alligator

the deer

mommy feeding the deer

em feeding the deer

lily feeding the deer

madelyn feeding the deer

the deer giving lily kisses

mommy and lily

the holiday hawk

wolf

emma and the kangaroo


kangaroos

going into the bird house

emma trying to pat the bird

uncle jimmy feeding the bird

lily feeding the bird

birds attacking daddy

the girls feeding the birds

emma feeding the bird

mommy feeding the bird

lily feeding the bird

emu

hi emu


scary emu

silly em

rhino

lily and the rhino

giraffes

lily and the giraffes

emma and the giraffes

hi giraffe

uncle jimmy feeding the giraffe

madelyn rocking silly glasses

emma rocking silly glasses

wiped out from the zoo

the zoo...

is...

exhausting!

A Visit to the Firehouse

2011-12-22T19:30:00.000-05:00

One of the things that I wanted to do while we were visiting south for Christmas was to take the girls to see Uncle Jimmy at work. The girls got a fire truck for their birthday and I tell them all the time that Uncle Jimmy is a firefighter and we works on the big red truck. Luckily Uncle Jimmy was working today and he tried his hardest to arrange the calls so that he would be there. As soon as we arrived he got a call and had to get on the ladder truck. The girls got to see him gear up and get on the truck.

So we were waiting in the car and Uncle Jimmy's chief came out to the car and told us we could hang out in the firehouse. It was really nice to talk to him and to see the girls play around the fire house. About 15 minutes later the ladder truck pulled back into the house and we got to see uncle jimmy.

Uncle Jimmy hoped into the back to see if the girls would go back their with him...that was a no-go.

We did get them to go up front and "drive" the truck. Emma was much more willing than Lily, but she did warm up to it.

emma did not like the hat!

lily kinda liked the hat


cute picture of mommy and lily

The front of the truck had a wreath on it and I thought it would make really cute pictures.

It was a great visit with Uncle Jimmy. Maybe next time the girls will want to go into the truck. Thanks Uncle Jimmy for a great time.

Thank You Santa Clause

2011-12-22T10:37:00.000-05:00

Santa Clause knew just what I wanted for Christmas and had it delivered to my parents house so I could use it once we arrived. He got me a new camera!!!! I was so excited to have it down there with all that we were doing and I could not wait to try it out on two of the cutest subjects I know!

silly face

silly face times two!

love this one~

adorable!

The Lights at Dorothy B. Oven

2011-12-17T12:37:00.000-05:00

The PRSM Christmas Party was right next door to one of our favorite parks in Tallahassee. We do a lot of the girls pictures at this park. At Christmas time they have lights everywhere and it is just magical to walk through, and listen to the chrismas music playing. The girls loved looking at lights this year so it was a neat experience for everyone.

PRSM Christmas Party

2011-12-17T10:38:00.000-05:00

"Nother Baby....Nother Baby...Nother Baby" This is what Lil and Em kept saying over and over as we were at the PRSM (parents raising sensational multiples) Christmas Party. It was such a fun event and great to see all the multiples. We were in a large room so the kids got to run around and the parents were able to socialize a bit. Although, Emma was fascinated with the wooden bench that was behind the stage and near a door, so mommy didn't get to chat to much :-)

having some milk before the party starts

Flynn and Malone

three of the Lunsford quads

Flynn or Malone?? ( I can never tell) and Drew from the Lunsford quads

Two of the quads and the Brooks girls

Lily chatting with Ashley

the big kids opening their presents

future family photographer

Visit with Santa 2011

2011-12-11T10:38:00.000-05:00

I was optimistic about the Santa visit this year. The girls have been talking a lot about Santa. They point out his picture everywhere we go.We had a mini photo-shoot before we left the house. I can't get over how adorable you ladies are!!!!

a pose off

interpretative dance

So we decided to bit the bullet and go see him. I mean it couldn't be any worse than last year right?

So we patiently (and not so patiently waited) for an hour in line. The whole time you kept saying "I go see Santa", so we were encouraged. FINALLY it was our turn to go see Santa, you walked up and both stopped dead in your tracks. We encouraged you to go give high fives and to tell him what you wanted for Christmas. We even lifted you both on his lap. What happened next was very similar to last years picture. So the "elves" said "mom and dad why don't you go and sit next to Santa". I will tell you know that mom and dad were not prepared to be photographed with Santa, but we did end up with a very cute "family" picture.

Better luck next year!

Market Street Holiday Open House

2011-12-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

So Daddy had seen signs for the Market Street Holiday Open house while he was getting lunch the other day and it sounded like fun. They were going to have a bounce house, face painting, pony rides, santa, a parade and a band. I will say that the flyer was much more exciting than the actual event, but one really cool thing did happen.....Emma, you rode a pony for the first time. Lily was very happy to stand back and watch.

You looked like you were having so much fun on the pony, that you decided to try out the big horse!

such a big girl!

Snow Day

2011-12-02T12:11:00.000-05:00

So the FSU Women's Basketball team has held an annual Snow Night event for the past 7 years...how did we not know about this. Well anyway we decided that it sounded like fun. There was supposed to be snow, santa and horse and carriage rides. Daddy didn't want to go, so Auntie Peggy hopped along for the ride. It was fun and you ladies did amazing!

Emma, you loved the "snow".

We had fun on the horse and carriage ride.

Afterwards we went to Gordos for dinner and had the most amazing grilled cheese sandwiches and you ladies were up way past your bed time :-) It was a fun event and we will have to try to go again next year.

Turkey Day 2011

2011-11-26T21:25:00.000-05:00

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. Nana and Papa came up from Sebastian, Aunt Nita and Trace' came up from Gainesville, Aunt Judy came with Grandma and Grandpa. I am really upset that I didn't take many pictures, especially a group picture.

We started the day with the girls playing on the back porch, all bundled up playing with their bugs.

At around 9am something really cool happened, the girls started to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I remember when I was little that it was always on, the performers, the giant balloons and of course the surprise ending. They really loved the music and would do their own dances, it was really cute to watch.

It was such a great day, everyone brought something and it was such a great spread of food. It was so nice to have family around and to celebrate the holiday. Lily really didn't seem to like any of the thanksgiving food, well except for the rolls...go figure.

I also decided to recycle the thanksgiving dress from last year. What a big change.

turkey dresses redux 2011

2 Year Pictures

2011-11-20T12:02:00.000-05:00

An up and coming photographer wanted some pictures of twin toddlers for her portfolio. It was a win win for all parties. I am so lucky to have such great people around who want to take pictures of the girls. I love them all so much!!!

The cheese monster arrived at the last minute :-)

Lily's Haircut

2011-11-09T11:51:00.000-05:00

It was that time again...time to cut Lily's hair. This was her third "official" haircut, but the only one that we actually have pictures of. We went to this great kids salon in town. She was hesitant at first and did not want to go in the seat. We bribed her into the seat with toys :-). The next obstacle was getting the cape on her....she was not having that at all. We tried a few times and then Roxy put it on backwards and she was fine and it was smooth sailing from there. She did really great, she watched the video. I love her new and improved hair style.

How cute is the back!

Emma you will get your hair cut soon :-)

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-11-02T13:20:00.000-04:00

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined what Halloween would be like this year. It was simply amazing! The girls soaked in every minute of it and so did mommy and daddy. Several months ago I had decided that the girls would be butterflies for Halloween. They really like them, the point them out and they see them at school (it happens to be the school's mascot). What I didn't take into account was the fact that they could dress up for school. So I had to brainstorm what they could wear to school, because we were going to go trick or treating for the first time, so they need the butterfly costumes to be in working order :-).

I decided to take an orange dress that they had (it's actually their thanksgiving dress from last year) and make a jack-o-lantern/pumpkin on the orange side. The girls are also really into pumpkins right now so I thought that would be a perfect fit.

Here the girls are on Halloween morning before school.

Lily checking out her pumpkin

Happy Pumpkins

I also got some adorable videos of them saying "happy halloween and trick or treat."

They had a Halloween party at school and mommy was able to go. It was the first school party that I have been to. It was so cute to see all the little kids eating and dancing . The girls sat at different tables so getting a group picture what not happening.

After school we went home and let the girls run around the yard so they could burn off some that the sugar they had consumed at the party and they we got ready for Halloween Part 2, aka, Trick or Treating.

We were going trick or treating with my best friend in the whole wide world Toni and her daughter Jennifer. Jennifer is 10 months older than the girls and it is so great when they get together.

The butterflies are ready to go

I got some more adorable videos, including practicing trick or treating with daddy.

Once we got to Toni's we took some mommy and girls pictures.

And then we were off.

We brought the wagon, so we could pull the girls and they could run up to the houses, it worked out really well.

We went up to our first house, but no-one was home. We were afraid that we were too early, but it was close to 630. We knew that Peggy was home so we went over to her house next. The was the girls "first" official trick or treating house.

The three musketeers went up to the house not really knowing what to expect, it went ok, but not great. They all just kinda stood there, and then Peggy gave them some candy and it got a little better.

We did a mini impromptu photo shoot while we were there and the pictures are adorable.

One house down, more to go. It was about the third house that the girls really got the hang of this whole thing. This is where something magical happened, witnessing your child experiencing something for the first time and understanding what was going on. Now I know that these are not long-term memories, but to see the joy in their faces is something we will never forget. To witness the "older" friend waiting for her "younger" friends and the three of them running off to to the door, laughing and smiling the whole way...PRICELESS.

They would get to the door, Jennifer usually in the lead saying "lets get to the door" the girls following behind. They would stand in a three-by-three line in front of the door, waiting for one of us to knock on the door, (they were knocking themselves by the end), saying trick-or-treat until the people opened the door. They would all say thank you (with a little prompting) after they were given candy, and just like on the way up, the three would run back...fairy wings bouncing as they ran. This is an image I will never forget.

What an amazing Halloween, I can't wait for next year!!!!

The Painted Pony

2011-10-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday was "Fun Day Sunday" at The Painted Pony in Monticello, Florida. Auntie peggy found a link to it online and passed it my way. It looked like a lot of fun. Daddy wanted to get some stuff done around the house so I kidnapped auntie peggy with us (it really was not that hard to convince her to come :-). We drove to Monticello, shortly after naptime. The first thing the girls saw were the horses in the pasture and started squealing at the top of their lungs. They then kept saying "horsey...horsey...horsey". We then made our way through the "horse" pasture and tried to avoid the piles :-)

The first thing we did was go on a hayride. It was the girls first hayride and they loved it.

Horse says Lily

Classic Emma look!

HORSEY!

After the hayride we went to look at the different animals. First stop was to visit the mini horse and the baby donkey whose name was Lilly. It was a little surprising to see how the girls reacted to the animals and not what I thought would happen. Emma went right up and started patting the horse and Lily decided to stay back and watch from a distance.

If I keep my hand behind my back then I won't have to touch them.

Emma and Lilly the donkey almost got very close.

Emma was fascinated that Lilly the donkey was eating the grass and she encouraged her to continue doing so.

At this point Lily decided, that maybe it's not so bad to pet the donkey and she jumped right in!

After petting the mini horse and baby donkey we went to go see the "painted" horses.

We were really excited to find out that we could paint one of the horses' ourselves.

getting the paint on our hands

Emma's handprint's

Lily's turn with the paint

Emma and Lily's hand-print's are the blue and yellow ones

After we cleaned our hands we went over to the pumpkin decorating table and decorated some mini pumpkins. Lily decided that she wanted to go back and see the mini horse and baby donkey again.

hi horsey

Then we saw chickens, geese, bunny's and a pig oh my.

Next the girls found the swings and Emma was in heaven. She would have stayed on the swing all day.

After the swing we had a mini photo shoot. We usually do when auntie peggy brings her camera.

Here are my two favorite ones

We headed out and took one last hayride

We thanked the tractor driver and touched the tractor. The tractor driver asked if the girls wanted to "drive" the tractor, so up we went.

It was a great afternoon and we will definitely go to The Painted Pony again.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-22T20:00:00.000-04:00

This is our third year going to a Pumpkin Patch. I see pictures of my friends in the midwest and the north and their Pumpkin Patches and they have huge pumpkins, mazes, hayrides, and train rides. Let's just say that the ones in Tallahassee are not that advanced. They are very nice, have a large selection of pumpkins, areas for photo ops, if your kids are cooperating. There are two main Pumpkin Patches in Tallahassee, and we have been to both of them. We took the girls to the Pumpkin Patch when they were two weeks old, Nana and Papa were here for that visit. Last year we happened to take them two weeks after they turned one and grandma and grandpa went with us then. So this year I figured why not keep the streak up, so here we are, two weeks after they turned two.

It was not our best attempt at pictures, the girls were really not into getting their pictures taken. I guess that is just the age that we are at, some days they love to take pictures and some days not so much.


Headed in with Grandma and Grandpa

Here are a few pictures from prior years for comparison.

1st visit to the Pumpkin Patch (2 weeks old)

2nd visit to the Pumpkin Patch (1 year old)

GO EMMA!

2011-10-20T21:38:00.000-04:00

On October 20, 2010 at approximately 2:15pm, Emma went pee in the potty at school!!!!!!!! Her teacher was so proud of her and couldn't wait for me to find out. Here is the paper that we got from school:

Once we got home I had Em hand daddy the paper and he gave her a huge hug. She tried to take the sticker off of the paper (note to self, buy some reward stickers). I had some letter stickers in the craft box and let her pick one, she chose the "P" which I thought was very fitting.

Showing off her "P" sticker.

Cousins

2011-10-20T12:43:00.001-04:00

Since we had family in town for the girls birthday, we thought it would a great opportunity to get some pictures of the cousins. Madelyn, is Lily and Emma's first cousin. She is 8 months old in the these pictures and the girls were one day away from turning the big 2! We went to our favorite park again (there are just so many great spots in the park that you can go a million times and not get the same spot). Taking pictures of the girls, actually having them look at the same time is difficult, add a third person into the mix...WOW!

I do love all the pictures and I am so glad that we will have these as well as others for the girls to always look back on.

two out of three looking isn't bad :-)

Lily and Madelyn


Lily is teaching Madelyn about leaves.

such a happy girl.


This picture will never grow old!


the serious cousin picture


look at those blue eyes!

acting silly

This is where is started to go downhill. You can't keep the girls away from water :-)

While all that was going on Madelyn was just posing away. She is absolutely adorable!

Since our clothes were all wet, we needed a wardrobe change, but not before the bloomer pictures.

We moved to another area of the park, with dry clothes on and were able to get these great shots.

We ended with this one afraid that someone was about to go back into the water!

Potty Training

2011-10-18T14:45:00.000-04:00

We've had the potties for a while now. For the past 5 months or so the girls will go in to the bathroom, and sit on the potty. It's a very rare occurrence in my house of going to the bathroom alone :-). They come in, we take the diaper off, they sit on the potty, they usually fight with each other (that's what I get for doing them both at the same time), then they ask for "paper", and then they flush the big toilet. This has been going on for a few months...we have the process down, but nothing has made it's way into the potty.

The school has "officially" started to potty train them. They sit on the potty several times a day, but as of today, no go...literally :-)

I've come up with a cute little song. They girls seemed to be musically inclined and we have songs for everything. This will be a number one hit one day, "We go peepee in the potty, we go poopoo in the potty." That's it, very complicated I know. The girls like it and dance to it so we will see. So here's on to another adventure in twinland :-)

Pajama and Pancake Party...Oh My

2011-10-09T20:22:00.000-04:00

Lily and Emma are two!!!!!! How is that even possible???? I've been planning the Pajama and Pancake Party for quite some time and I was so excited that the day was finally here. I found a lot of ideas for the party from Pinterest and created this board for easy reference.

The idea for this party came to me one day while the girls and I were driving around running errands, and Lily was asking for her Bebe (blanket) and it struck me...I should do a pajama party for the girls 2nd birthday and while we are at it have pancakes.

Here is the invitation:

I wanted to start a tradition this year since they would be more aware of what was going on then last year of putting balloons in their room while they were sleeping so they would see them once they woke up. On Friday evening we blew up 24 balloons and quietly placed them in the room while they were sleeping. We did not count on the fan, so in the morning once they woke up all the balloons were in the corner. They still noticed them and were yelling "baloon, baloon".

We then started to throw the balloons into their cribs and they went to town. They were having so much fun, that I didn't think we would get them out of the room. Emma was trying to walk on them, jumping up and down and falling on them. Lily was batting them into Emma's crib all the while laughing hysterically.

The party came together beautifully. We had 15 toddler and babies in pajamas in the house, back porch and playroom and there were NO meltdowns. The girls were excited to wear their new jammies that mommy helped Ms. Ginger make.

The decorations came out well and everything went great with the theme.

you can't have a pajama and pancake party without pancake cupcakes

The guests started to arrive and the consumption of the pancakes began.

We were able to get some family shots.

Papa, Uncle Jimmy and Cousin Madelyn

Grandpa, Grandma and Daddy


Uncle Jimmy and Cousin Madelyn

Auntie Nicole and Cousin Madelyn

Mommy and the girls

I wanted to try to get a group shot of all the kids so we started to "set" the area up to make it look cozy and I decided that it was the perfect chance to add story time in. I mean what is a pajama and pancake party if you do not read If you give a pig a pancake. We gathered all the kids and the story time began. Lily and Emma sat on the table for the entire story and beyond, it was a miracle.

During the story there were two girls that wanted a little closer view.

One the story was over we sang Happy Birthday twice, once to Lily and then to Emma.

Happy Birthday to Lily

Happy Birthday to Emma

We then broke into the cupcakes. Can I say that it was much neater this year than last :-). It was also great because they fed us all some cupcakes.

Lily going in for the kill

we like the "syrup"

Hey Lil do you like the cupcake

this is really yummy!

feeding mommy and daddy

feeding nana

feeding nana and papa

lily loves papa

emma loves nana

feeding grandma

cupcake time with grandma and grandpa

feeding Ms. Ginger

cupcake time with Mr. Ken and Ms. Ginger

After naptime the girls began to open their presents. Nana and Papa got them an amazing kitchen. We had it set up in the living room so they could see it once they came down the stairs.

emma seeing the kitchen for the first time

I love her expression

we love our kitchen

handmade apron from auntie nicole

feeding nana

hanging out with cousin Madelyn

more stuff for our kitchen

We decided to get the girls trikes for their birthday.

the girls waiting for the garage door to open for the suprise

seeing our trikes for the first time

Lily loves her trike

The party was over around noon and it was a great time for everyone involved! I am so glad that everyone turned out amazingly, that the girls were surrounded by friends and family who love them. It was the most amazing day!!!

What a year!

2011-10-03T13:27:00.000-04:00

It can't be...is it really only 5 days until my babies turn 2??? (Well I can't say babies anymore because I tell the girls that mommy doesn't have babies anymore she has big girls). So I really only have 5 more days until my BIG GIRLS are 2????? Where did the time go?

A year ago they were toddling around the house and now the are running laps around the house. Everything about them has changed, their personalities, their voices and vocabulary, their hair.

Lily you are such an amazing little girl. You still look just like mommy. Your hair is longer then last year and it is much lighter. I think blonde is in your future :-). You are so sweet when you want to be and you LOVE your daddy more than anything in this world. You like to antagonize your sister in the car and at the house, but she is starting to retaliate, so watch out. You love to wear mommy's high heels and you walk amazingly well in them. You take after nana and mommy in that respect. You love to read and will bring mommy and daddy books to read all day if we let you. You like to be where the action is at. You love to have your hair brushed and back rubbed. You sit on daddy's lap in the morning, so he will rub your back before school. You will repeat any word we say to you. I love the way you say people's names. You are such a joy and we are so happy to have you in our lives.

Emma you are such an amazing little girl. You still look like daddy and you have so much more hair than last year! You hair is curly and it's so thick. You have the biggest blue eyes and you already know how to use them to your advantage. You LOVE mommy more than anything in this world and are such a cuddler...when you want to be. You like to have your quiet time and will sit in the playroom by yourself playing or reading. You love to antagonize your sister and you get an evil smirk on your face when you are doing it. You love to read books, and play with your puzzles. You also love to have a doll, or stuffed animal with you. I think there are five in your bed right now :-) Your vocabulary is amazing and you love to count and sing songs. You are such a joy and I can't imagine our lives without out you.

We have a big party planned this weekend. Here are some pictures of the past year.

Go Noles

2011-09-10T11:59:00.000-04:00

It's football season here again in Tallahassee and what a difference a year makes!

First Game Day Picture


2011 Downtown Getdown Picture

We decided to take the girls to their first downtown getdown. We went for the second game, so it would be a little slower and not as busy as the upcoming Oklahoma game. The girls had a blast. We walked around,

they got to pose with the Kia Hampster

we had our picture taken for the local paper

We saw men with very long legs

We had some food and ran around with daddy afterwards

All in all we had a great time. We might go again when it gets a little cooler.

21-22 Month Photo Shoot

2011-09-01T11:51:00.000-04:00

Up until this point we had tried to take the girls pictures every three months, but time got the best of us. Instead of 21 month pictures, we actually have 22 (almost 23) month pictures. We again went to our favorite park and well, the pictures will speak for themselves.

Wonder what she is thinking about?

Here we go to save the day!

That's a wrap!

Beginning of a New Chapter

2011-08-22T11:31:00.000-04:00

Today is the first official day of school at the girls new school. Although they have been here for three weeks, it was the end of the school year. Today they start with Ms. Virginia, Ms. Serena and Ms. Hannah as their new teachers. We are really excited about this school year, first they are "officially" in preschool K2 as they call it. From what I understand one of their teachers know Spanish so she will be incorporating that into the daily lessons. Here are the girls on their official first day of school!

The Dog Days Are Over

2011-08-20T11:20:00.000-04:00

Where did summer go? It seems like just yesterday that we were wishing for warm weather and now it's gone. Well not the warm weather. The long days will soon be ending, the pool time is all but over. Football season is right around the corner, fall will follow suit and the new school year will start up at a new location. More to come on that.

We didn't do much this summer, no special vacations. We did travel to Sebastian for Memorial Day. We stayed around the house for July 4th. We played, we swam, we made memories and are looking forward to next summer. We also played a lot of dress-up.

We are going to do a family vacation, don't yet know when or where, but it will be fun no matter where we go!

New Artwork

2011-08-19T19:45:00.000-04:00

Last year one of my CB Mamas posted about the great art project where you tape out a name and then have the kids finger paint over it. Once the paint dries, you remove the tape and the name is still there. I've been working up the nerve to do this last weekend. I got the canvas' from Hobby Lobby for $7 and we had the finger paint. It was so much fun and I think they turned out great.

Getting everything ready

Lily was not sure of what was going on.

Emma was ready to go.


Still a little apprehensive, but ready to give it a try.

Waiting for it to dry. I love the handprint.


Emma really really liked to paint.

Finished project


View of them in the playroom

We will definitely do this again. A fun time was had by all. Maybe next time we will get pictures of the actual process.

End of a Chapter

2011-07-30T11:27:00.000-04:00

This week was the girls last week at daycare with Ms. Regina. For the past year Ms. Regina, Ms. Debra and the staff at First Baptist Church have loved the girls and taken them in as their own. It has been such a great year with them and it is amazing how much the girls have changed in just that short year. They started as babies,

and they are leaving as big girls,

Thank you Ms. Regina!

Bye Bye Shuttle

2011-07-10T21:16:00.000-04:00

Growing up in southish Florida, the shuttle launches were a big part of my childhood. We would go out in our backyard to watch them go up. My favorite one was a night launch, we went over to the beach to watch it, it was simply amazing. We had debated trying to go see the last launch, but in the end it didn't work out. Because of what happened earlier in the week, we were home with Emma to watch the last shuttle launch in TV. I really wish that Lily would have been there. It was such a cool moment and to be able to share it with Emma, made it that much more special.


What a great picture and a historic moment.

Emma moved the chair over so that she could watch the TV. Shortly after this she moved over to the TV and started to say "Bye Bye shutdle. Since that day, we have seen the re-runs of the shuttle launch a few times and she has stopped what she was doing and waved and again said bye bye shutdle. Does she really remember that??? Oh how I would love to live in their brains for just a short time.

What a Week

2011-07-10T20:51:00.000-04:00

So this past week started out normal, July 4th was on Monday, I had a mommy day on Tuesday, but when Em woke on on Wednesday I knew something was wrong. She had this lump on the left side of her head that was not there the night before. I instantly knew that something was wrong...I had that mommy feeling. You know that pit in your stomach when something is just not right. I called the Dr.'s office and got her in that morning. We did not see her regular doctor, but he was very nice. He checked her out and sent us to get some further tests done. So we had those tests done and then ended up in the hospital for overnight observation.

I've always had a soft spot for nurses and the pediatric nurses at the hospital were no different. They were so kind and supportive. Daddy brought Lily by and they girls went to the playroom. They had a great playroom at the hospital. Once daddy and Lily left for the evening, it really hit me. This was the first night that the girls were going to be away from each other. Mike said that Lily was asking for Emma in the car and when she went to bed. It is amazing to see the bond that they have and I know that it will only get stronger with time.

We were released late Thursday morning. I learned some very valuable lessons from this week. One, mommy intuition is a real thing. I knew that something was wrong and I am so glad that I acted on it. Two, as much as I want to protect the girls from the world, I know that I can't control everything. I wish that Em did not get hurt, I wish that I could have done something to halt it. Three, I want to put the girls in a bubble so I can protect them. Does anyone have a spare bubble that I can use??

We did end the week on a good note, we are all back together. The girls were...well the girls were themselves and we love that. Here's hoping that this week is much better than last week. :-)

Playing with Mommy's Shoes

2011-07-04T22:51:00.000-04:00

It's a known fact in our household that the girls love to wear our shoes. They love daddy's flip flops, mommy flats and flip flops. I have made an effort to keep my heels off the ground, because the last thing we need is a broken ankle. Well the other day, I left my 3" black patent heels on the floor and the next thing I saw was Lily walking around in the heels. She was a natural, she must have inherited the heel gene from nana and mommy.

July 4th Weekend

2011-07-04T22:43:00.000-04:00

We had a low key, but fantastic Independence Day Weekend. We stayed in town and played around the house. The girls are amazing to watch. They are growing and learning everyday. My favorite thing right now is that they are interacting, playing and constantly looking for each other. It is very common to hear "EMMMMMMMMMA or "LILLLLLLLLLLY" from the girls as they are looking for each other.

I downloaded the Retro Camera application for my phone and I had a lot of fun with this this weekend.

Grandma and Grandpa came over on Monday so that Mommy and Daddy could run some errands. Once they woke up from their nap we played with our new waterpiller on the back porch and took a dip in the pool. Maybe in a few years we will take the girls to see some fireworks. So for now, mommy will just watch them on the tv. A side note, the girls wore these rompers for last 4th of July.

Sisters

2011-06-25T20:28:00.001-04:00

There are no words to explain my love for this picture and these two amazing little ladies.

Happy Dada/Dade, Papa, and Grandpa's Day

2011-06-19T20:12:00.001-04:00

We had a low key dada/dade day yesterday. The girls (with a little prompting from me) said "appy Dada/Dade Day". It was so cute. We called Papa and they told him "appy papa day". He was very happy to hear that. Grandma and Grandpa came over and they girls with the same prompting said "appy grpa day". We went to lunch and it was very good and the girls had fun. They took a long nap and we relaxed.

The girls are so lucky to have Mike as their dad. He is patient, lovingly reads their books in funny voices, plays on the ground with them, he is a natural in every sense of the word. I look forward to seeing their relationship grow over the years. He is truly smitten with his girls :-)

Speaking of girls who are lucky with their dads, I feel like the luckiest girl to have my dad as my dad. He is caring, fun to be around and would do anything in the world for me. I have fond memories of my dad braiding my hair when I was younger and I can't wait for Mike to do the same with his girls.

Em was playing with dade's feet while he was sleeping

Silly Lily

I also want to include my brother in this post as he just celebrated his first Father's Day. It is so amazing to see him interact with his daughter. Given the relative short tenure of his dad time, he is doing such a great job!

Tallahassee Jr. Museum

2011-06-18T20:27:00.000-04:00

On Saturday we decided to head over the the Tallahassee Jr. Museum. Neither Mike nor I had been there so it was a first for all of us. We were not quite sure what to expect, but we had a lot of fun. We went over to the nature preserve to see the Florida indigenous animals.

Heading into the Jr. Museum

The icky snake

The Turkey Vulcher

The Bald Eagles

The owl (whoo whoo)

Duck Duck

Turkey

deer

the otter

bobcat

Florida Panther

After we did the nature preserve, we went over to the 1880's replica working farm. The girls really enjoyed this area because we could get up close and personnel with the animals. It was funny to ask the girls what sound the different animals made and then to hear the animals make the noise.

cow

emma and the goose

mommy petting the cow

horse

As we were looking at the horse and mommy was petting it's head, Emma started to say and sign "more" over and over again. We were trying to figure out what she wanted more of and then realized that there was another horse in the pasture and that was the "more". Silly girl.

We had a really fun time. It is so much fun to see and experience new things with the girls. It's like seeing it for the first time. I know that this is just the beginning and it will get better and better for each new experience and I can't wait to see what our future holds.


Yes, she put them on this way :-)

Who needs a pool when we have floats!

2011-06-17T20:46:00.000-04:00

This is what happens to the pool floats when their not in the pool :-)

I have no idea

She can almost see over the edge...how is that possible?

Yoga, Gymnastics or the Circus

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

I really think that I need to strike while the irons hot on this topic. I mean, how long will she be able to do this for???? Is 19 3/4 months old to young for the circus????