Who are these big kids?

.. and what did they do with my babies?!?

Saturday night we went out to eat as a family for the first time since the babies were two months old (that time they just slept). This time it was so. much. fun! I was shocked at how good they were, just patiently sitting in their high chairs looking around at everything and everyone. We fed them sweet potatoes while we waited for our fajitas, and when they were done, they watched us eat while they munched on some puffs (yes, I wiped down the table and high chairs!!). They also tried some little pieces of tortillas, refried beans, and rice. The rice was a hit with Nate but Lilly wasn't sure. As we were leaving, Nate spilled Brian's drink all over his jeans, but other that that- no drama whatsoever! It was awesome, just to know that we can get out as a family in a public restaurant and survive. I know, I know.. it won't be this nice every time! Of course, I just happened to have my camera with me so I snapped a few.

We went to a Mexican place we love called El Arroyo.. Best Fajitas I've ever had. I know it looks like we are the only people there, but there were lots of people- just not right next to us. Hmm..

I would have gotten better pictures, but I was trying not to embarrass Brian too much!

And one more thing.. this was our last outing in the infant car seats. OF COURSE, since I knew the next day we would be putting in big kid car seats, I commemorated the occasion with more picture taking.

Now, just for comparison.. here is the night we brought them home from the hospital

Sorry they were asleep and still in the car- you can't see faces!

Sweet baby Nate

Sweet Lilly Kate
They were about 5 days old here-first doctor appointment.

At least we know he isn't allergic to dog hair..

In an effort to keep our dog Mattie from laying (and shedding) all over everything, I folded up an old pink blanket and put it in the living room to the side so she could have her spot to lay down and still see what's going on. She loves her dog bed in our bedroom, so I figured this would be an easy way to teach her to stay in one area.

I don't think it is working exactly the way I wanted it to.I went to the kitchen to do something for a minute, and this is what I found when I came back..

I shouldn't have picked such a soft blanket. Why did I think Nate would not want to crawl all over this? Oh well. Lesson learned!

Lilly stayed on her blanket and free of dog hair.. smart girl.

10 Months!

Okay, I'm saying it.. WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE? I don't know, but we waited for these babies for what seemed to be a life time, and now they are TEN months old?!? Wow. After reading many very sad post recently about sickness and tragedy on different blogs I keep up with, I am so humbled and extremely grateful to be talking about our healthy ten month old twins. I continue to pray for all sick babies that I read about (those born and those who have yet to be born) and their families. The miracle of every precious life, beginning at conception, is not lost on this gal!

So what has Nate been up to the past month? The biggest accomplishment that comes to mind.. crawling!! Well, sort of! He army crawls on his belly and is able to get from one side of the room to the other fairly quickly (watch out Mattie)! No more leaving drinks and cell phones on the floor while we are playing!! He can spot them from a mile away and there he goes! He is starting to wave bye-bye with his hands and every once in a while when we do "How big is Naaaate?" He will raise his hands up high in anticipation of "SOOO BIG!!" Nate sleeps great but is our early riser. He wakes up around 5am, wanting to go play, afraid he is missing something good! He is VERY sweet and cuddly at times, but definitely wants to be on the move. He is pulling up on stuff and loves to stand up in the crib. He is still whiny and will definitely let you know when something is bothering him. He can be very skittish at times, like when loud noises come out of my husband's body (I'll keep it at that) and he starts screaming and crying (I mean TEARS) because he is so shaken up! Oh goodness, that was funny. Nobody tell Brian I talked about that, ok? Ok!

Little Lilly has also learned how to move around a little more, but she does so while still sitting upright. Somehow she knows how to hop and scoot her little hiney. Don't ask me, but I put her down in one spot and find her in another spot-still sitting up in the same position. Granted, this isn't as efficient as crawling and she is going to figure it out soon! She tried to pull up a little and can stand up in her crib too but isn't quite as strong as her brother. She talks up a storm and loves meeting new people (still the social butterfly- no "stranger danger" like Nate has). She loves to take the paci out of Nate's mouth even though she doesn't like to suck on them anymore. She still has her fingers! Sometimes she will just chew on the paci for a while (still no teeth, but all the signs are there)! Lilly is our deeper sleeper, but still occasionally has random outbursts shortly after we put her down, and Nate hasn't done that in a very long time. Lilly always sleeps later though!

They are both great eaters, but have become less interested in the bottle. They don't want to be still long enough to drink the whole thing, so we have started giving them less bottle and more food, which I guess is the natural progression of things. In addition to baby food, they have been eating a lot of table food like bread, cheese, peas, diced carrots, mandarin oranges, green beans, to name a few. Of course they are still in love with their puffs! That is their dessert every night after dinner! They are fitting into some 12 month clothes, but still wear some 6-9 month stuff. I have them in size 3 diapers during the day and size 4 at night. They were leaking so much I didn't know what else to do! They are generally really happy, smiley, excitable babies with so much personality. Their favorite things to do right now are playing with toys on the floor, reading books, watching Mattie run around in the back yard (Lilly gets hysterical), going for walks around the park in the stroller, jumping in their jumperoo, taking baths, and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!! THEY. LOVE. MICKEY. MOUSE. When Mickey walks up in the beginning of every show, as soon as he starts talking heads turn and eyes are LOCKED on the TV! It is so funny. Lilly gets the biggest grin on her face.

Here are some pictures from today and the last month!

Today-officially ten months old!

We were still a little tired this morning!

Not sure how he ended up half way under the couch!

Lilly is trying to get to my "Friends" DVD collection.. :)going for something he shouldn't be on the shelf
I thought this was funny because it looks like a cheerleader pose or something. I think she balances better like this.

Daddy and Nate in his big boy pajamas

Lilly in her big girl princess pj's

Look what I can do!

The next five pictures show the "I got your paci" gameLilly got it..

I gave it back to Nate..
Lilly gets it again..

Victory is sweet

Isn't she.. pretty in pink?!
To cool for school

Being silly Irresistible

Ditto

Please pray for Stellan

If you are not already one of the millions of blog readers who are praying for this sweet little guy, please pray for him today. He is undergoing a surgery on his heart and we need to pray that the surgery goes well and for strength for his parents and family. You can click on the link below to get more of his story.

http://http://www.mycharmingkids.net/

Brynley's birthday party!

Saturday morning Lilly and I headed up to Allen for my girlfriend Jenn's daughter Brynley's second birthday party. Since I knew it was going to be mostly ladies and Nate was barfing all morning I decided it would be better if Lilly and I made it a girl's day and let Nate and Daddy have some bonding time at home. Jenn did a great job planning a fun birthday party. There was a table set up with all kinds of play-dough and after that all the kids got in a circle and did some sing-alongs, complete with hand motions and even some with props! Jenn is an elementary teacher- can you tell? She's great with little ones. Lilly clapped to "If you're happy and you know it, clap you're hands", but other than that the songs were a little advanced for her just yet! I was so proud of the way she acted like such a big girl. She didn't get fussy and was her normal social, easy going self (after she warmed up of course!). After the songs, Brynley opened presents and then.. the bubble machine! The kids loved it, and Lilly was just in awe! Then tons of tiny beach balls were released and the kids had a blast bouncing them around while dancing int he bubbles. Lilly's first girlfriend birthday party- what a great time!! Happy Birthday Brynley!

Jenn and Brynley singing along

Lilly and mommy
This little girl was so sweet and played with Lilly a lot!
Opening presents! Look at my big girl over there on the right!!
Dancing to "Aint No Mountain High Enough!!!"