Two Little Shoppers

My girls love shopping.  Well.....they love shopping at places that give them cookies.  Today I took the girls to Publix and in their gigantic buggy that feels like driving a bus, strolled them past the bakery where they each received their free cookie.  Ever since we ordered their birthday cake through them, we have gotten to know the ladies working the bakery and get so excited about taking the girls by the counter to get their "treats" that keep them occupied all through the aisles.  This is how they started out:

Looks innocent and clean enough, right?  Well, this is how they ended up:

Oh it gets better:

Oh silly girls...you are little ladies after your momma's heart.  So glad that at such a young age we already have the chocolate lover bond thing going on!

Strawberries

Finally!  My little picky eater Savannah LOVES - I mean LOVES - chopped up strawberries!!  Usually Madeline is the one who will chow down anything I put in front of her, but this morning it was Savannah.  This makes me so happy!  Madeline actually kept handing her strawberries over to Savannah - which is unbelievably adorable, by the way.  But, for once, we have found a food that Savannah cannot get enough of!  Yeah for strawberries.  And yeah for two little girls that really can't get enough fruit and veggies over anything else....that's my kind of girls!!

Sunny Days Are Ahead

Finally the weather is warming up and the sun is coming out! Thank goodness!!! For the last two days we were able to take the girls out for a ride in their little red wagon.  They love it!  You would think they were riding in their own parade...just waving to the neighbors, laughing, having a big time.  Here's a few pics of our little angels on their ride yesterday!

Fourteen Month Olds!

Dear Madeline and Savannah,

Happy 14 Months Old my sweet growing girls! Yesterday marked the first 24 hour period away from you since 4 days after you were born when mommy got really sick and had a 24 hour period of not seeing you.  Thankfully, this time was not as physically painful as that time, but emotionally, it was tough!  I realize that you girls are so much a part of me that no matter how exhausting our days together may be, there is a love behind that exhaustion that fuels any tiring feeling away.  I love spending my days with you and I miss you on the days we're not together.

Your Grammy watched you while I was gone (which I know she loved more than you will know!) and the funniest thing she said to me when she left was "All I kept thinking was 'how does Bridgett get a thing done?!''  Yep, you girls are my world.  My days revolve around you two, and nope, not a lot gets done....I'm not sure of the last time I actually got mommy and daddy's room picked up.  But no matter what, you bring me such joy, such happiness, that I can't even begin to describe it.  Your laughter lights me up and your hugs and kisses warm my heart.

We've spent 14 months together now - on the outside.  :-) And each month I love your new stages even better than the month before! How is that even possible?  At 14 months, you're still not sure about the whole walking thing, but you both are walking from couch to couch, chair to chair.  You will walk from the living room to the bathroom - with a little assistance of course, but you're starting to get the hang of it!  I've also now realized that at 14 months, you're completely eating what we eat.  We haven't bought baby food for quite a while now...and I haven't pureed food in months.  You now want what we eat, and you also like letting Bailey eat what we eat...a.k.a. you throw everything on the floor! Meal time continues to be a bit chaotic, but if I just keep reminding myself that you are experimenting and learning all about textures and tastes and cause and effect (throw the food down, what happens next) it makes it ok.  You girls are definitely exploring your world!


You are such good sleepers.  You still take 2 naps a day, and get 12 hours of sleep at night. Well...accept for that early morning wake up for milk you won't quite let go of just yet. It will come soon enough, and then I'll miss our snuggly early morning hours together.

And, you are just about up to size 9-12 month clothes!  They are still a bit big on you, but it won't be long.  I've noticed your little feet are starting to get to the very bottom of your 9 month jammies now...and your pants are getting a little short.  I love the speed of your growth...keep growing at this rate.  I like having you as my tiny girls for as long as possible!

Madeline, you survived 3 molars coming in at one time.  And now, Savannah, you're getting three of yours.  Bless your little heart.  I have not gotten this much snuggle time with you since you were just a tiny baby!  I want to take your pain away...but since I can't, I am happy to snuggle with you and do all I can to make my girl happy.  I wish growing up weren't so painful at times.

I love you both with every ounce of my momma heart.  I know your daddy sure does too.  He's having a blast with you girls at this stage...just playing on the floor with you, helping you learn to walk, and playing so much with you that your laughter becomes incredibly contagious.

Happy 14th Month girls.....can't wait to see what you'll learn to do next in this month!!!!!  Keep warming our hearts as we hope and pray we're warming yours with more love than you know what to do with.

Love,
Mommy

Motherhood from Miles Away

Motherhood sure is a crazy thing.  My very first night away from my girls since bringing them home from the hospital almost 14 months ago and I literally feel like I left a part of myself behind. When I drove off and jumped onto the interstate, I kept thinking that I needed to turn the radio down because surely the girls were asleep since it was so quiet in the backseat.  And even knowing they weren't in the backseat, it was as if a part of my brain couldn't accept that and just would not let me turn the radio up too loud. What a strange, strange feeling.

In the meantime, I enjoyed a great night out with dear friends here in Nashville.  We had dinner and I kept wanting to wipe the table down with a sanitizer wipe.  Tomorrow it's a full day of meetings, then I'll be heading back home to my sweet angels knowing I survived my first overnight trip away from them.  And the funniest part is, I doubt they'll even notice I was gone.

Thanks, Grammy for keeping the girls....it sure does help put a mama's mind at ease knowing they are in  GREAT hands.

   

Happy Valentine's Day

Oh I used to hate Valentine's Day.  I mean I just despised it!  Of course this was before I met Chris....so obviously the day is likely detested by all single's out there.  But even after I met Chris, it was this awkward holiday of what do you really do?  What do you really buy?  Or, when you're just starting to date someone, do I get them a card or not?  Serious or funny?  Everything says "I love you"...that's entirely too serious!  What to do....

Now here I am, with a wonderful husband and 2 amazing daughters.  And I can now confidently say, I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY!!! And this is why:

Happy Valentine's Day to the most amazing husband and father a girl could ever ask for, and to two of the sweetest Valentine's that could ever warm a momma's heart.  I love you three more than you will ever, ever know.

Shot of the Week

Wow is the toddler age crazy.  This week the girls have been exploring their world in so many ways.  Here was the best shot of the week, I must say.  Savannah has a love for the toilet.  She thinks it is the coolest thing that was ever placed in her life sized play house. I have to watch her closely when I see her heading that way, and have often had to wash her sweet little hands after being just a few seconds too late. This was one of those "a little too late moments" that thankfully, I caught on my phone's camera:

Yes, she had snuck her way into the bathroom, tried her best to lift the toilet seat, and got her hand stuck in it.  Unfortunately you can't see Madeline in this pic, but she was sitting next to Savannah with this look as if to say "OH NO! Mom is coming!! Hurry!!!"  And oh how hard Savannah was trying to pull that hand out as I was rounding the corner!!  She was so stuck.  And so busted.

Oh my do I love my little toddler girls.  And oh how full my hands are really getting now. 

Just a quick P.S.  As soon as I posted this blog, one of those google ads popped up on my blog editing page and it said:

Easy Toilet Cleaning
Keep Your Toilet Bowl Clean And Fresh
With Practically Zero Effort


Oh Google....you make me laugh.

Family Time

This past weekend I had the chance to spend it with my sister and my mom and step-dad in Chattanooga for my sister's 29th birthday.  Yes, Robin, we are sticking with 29.  Unfortunately, Chris couldn't come because of obvious church obligations, so the girls and I made the short trip without him.  They had a big time.  We took them to my mom's church where they had the best time in Cradle Roll with lots of other kids!  When they brought the little rattle instruments out for the kids to play during the song "Praise Him Praise Him" Savannah just about fell out of her chair waving her hands and gasping for air as she waited for her turn to pick her "instruments"!  Too precious!! 

The rest of the weekend was filled with lots of time at mom's house just playing with the girls.  I'm sure Bob felt outnumbered with 5 ladies in the house and just him, but I know he had a good time too.  

At the end of our trip, we came home to the girls second Super Bowl party.  It is so amazing to think of how tiny the girls were just a year ago when we had youth from the Academy over to watch the game.  This year, those youth had also moved on and were now in college at Southern, but many of them came over again this year to watch the game.  They too commented on how unbelievable it was to think of those tiny little 6 week olds sleeping in their bassinet through the game are now up and cruising all over the house.

Here's a few more pics from the last week and weekend - minus Super Bowl pics.  How did I not get any Super Bowl pics?  

Watch Savannah....

"I have got to touch that fire!!"

Madeline having her first real taste of chocolate.  She is SO my daughter.

Savannah is worn out after tearing into her first real taste of chocolate!!

Helping Aunt Robin open her presents

This is why the girls don't wear hair barrettes or bows.  

Sitting in the crib my grandfather made many, many years ago.

They thought it was hysterical!!

  Get these shoes off me! I've had enough!