Thursday, September 30, 2010

Happy FIRST Birthday, Kate and Lily!

It is so hard to imagine that one year ago today Devin and I were in the hospital and I was being induced. We woke up at 5am that morning knowing that we would be meeting our two precious girls sometime that day.

I remember being very anxious, very excited and a lot terrified. Everything went very smoothly and at 2:33 pm we got to meet Kate Elizabeth. Shortly after at 3:03pm we got to meet Lily Elise. Lily gave us a little scare by not cooperating and not wanting to come out (almost leading to a c-section), but she came out on her own time and I have a feeling Lily will always be doing things when she wants, and when she's ready.




We have our one year appointment tomorrow so we'll be able to go over our stats then, but for now I just want to note (shortly) how this first year has been. It has been the longest and shortest year of my life.

I've never felt so happy, so exhausted and so blessed. Kate and Lily are big, strong healthy babies, and smart too! And I'm so happy they have each other.

I know they will forever be close and I'm so thankful my girls will always have a very best friend. Happy Birthday, Kate and Lily!!!
 Side note- I am so glad I've decided not to take these chair pictures after 12 months. You have no idea how hard it's been the last few months to take their picture!!!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Friday, September 17, 2010

One year pictures at the Arboretum

We took the girls to the Arboretum Wednesday morning to have their one year pictures taken by Suzi Neely.
The girls were truly on their best behavior and it was still next to impossible to get a good picture of both of them at the same time. They just move too fast! I feel confident though that Suzi got some great shots. Here's a picture Devin took on his iphone so you can see what a beautiful place the Dallas Arboretum is. It's magical and I can't wait to see what Suzi captured!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Lily takes her first steps!

Lily took three steps Tuesday and then five steps today. She is very close to walking and it's so much fun to watch her!
Lily in stride
And we're down

Before and After

We had draperies installed in our living room and dining room last Friday and they look AMAZING! I am so happy with them and am very thankful that Karen helped make everything perfect. She even helped me hang a few mirrors around the house that have been sitting on the floor for months. Truth be told, my husband and I are not very handy and would rather put off an argument over how to hang the darn things rather than get it done. So, not only did Karen help make our house more of a home, she also helped save our marriage!
Here are some before and after pictures. I borrowed all these pictures from Karen because hers were better than mine. Thank you, Karen for everything!
Living room before
Living room after
Close up of the fabric. I chose this bright blue to add color and Karen suggested adding the brown trim. Genius!
Dining room before
Dining room after
Close up of the dining room fabric

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

11 months, the best I can do!

I am WAY late on this post and it was extremely challenging to get a picture of both girls looking at the camera, much less smiling at the same time.
Both girls have been very sick with some bug that they caught who knows where. We've spent the last two weeks changing sheets two and three times a night, giving multiple baths throughout the day and trying to shove pedialyte down their throats. Guess I'm going to have to get used to it taking a full month for everyone to get well when the girls catch something. One has it one week, the other has it the next.
Here's what the girls are up to at 11 months:
Both girls currently weigh around 18-19 pounds. I think this number would be much higher had they not been so sick the last few weeks. They're still wearing size 12 month clothes and I'm sure will shortly be moving into size 18 month. I can't imagine though because the next size looks SO big! Both girls are "cruising" from furniture to furniture around the house and Lily is very close to walking. She took her first two steps this month. I'm sure Kate will follow right behind her as she's a little more cautious. Their little knees are no longer red because they're spending the majority of their time now standing.

Bath time is our favorite time of the day. Ever since we got back from the beach, they are obsessed with splashing in the water and crawling around the tub. They're no longer in the infant bath tub and I can usually bathe them at the same time. I love watching them play in the bath tub together.
As you can see from the picture above, the girls are getting a little more aggressive with one another. Here Kate is trying to grab Lily's bow and immediately after, Lily bit Kate for pulling on her face. They steal each others toys and they're starting to realize that that hurts their feelings. I can't imagine how this will all be when they're two.
Kate is really starting to turn into a little ham. She loves music and she loves to dance!
Lily is quite the dare devil and truly has no fear when it comes to trying new things.
Here's the best picture I could get for 11 months. Weak, right? The girls have started Mother's Day Out. Lily went last Monday while Kate was sick and then it was canceled this Monday because of the holiday. It will be so nice to have that free time to go to the grocery store, run errands and work out. I'm so thankful for the time and hope we can stay well and take advantage of it. Plus, it will be good for the girls to get out of the house and interact with the other babies in their class.

Our first birthday is coming up. I can't wait for Kate and Lily to spend their birthdays with friends and family and I can't believe my little girls are about to be one!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Playdate with Mommy's Friends

Two good friends came over yesterday to play with the girls and hang out with me while Devin was out of town for work. It was so nice to see Courtney and Lindsey and the girls really enjoyed all the extra attention. We've been sick with our first ever stomach bug this last week so it was also really nice to have extra help with them. They've been pretty pathetic but things are starting to look up and I got some cute pictures!

Lindsey rocking the girls
Kate showing Lindsey her favorite book
Courtney and Lily