Before you were conceived I wanted you,

Before you were born I loved you, Before you were here an hour I would die for

you.This is the miracle of life.






Thursday, January 31, 2008

Snow Day


We haven't seen much snow here in Arkansas this winter. This was really the first day we have been able to play in it. Daddy made a snow baby complete with Tar Heel gear, and then the girls felt the cold snow for the first time. We originally thought Emily would hate it and Abigail would love it, but they both seemed somewhat indifferent about it.

Monday, January 28, 2008

New Toys


Abigail is perfecting her newly developed climbing skill on their new Dora chair. Emily also enjoys this chair, but uses it to sit proudly in.

Peekaboo!! Emily is checking out their new Learning House. They love this toy, and it goes perfectly with their Learning Kitchen they received for Christmas.

We use their new Dora lounge chair for reading. They love to sit and listen to Mommy read their favorite books.
The girls use the lounge chair on their own, too. They will often climb up on it and look at their their books together.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

A Day In The Life Of Emily and Abigail


5:30 AM: Good Morning!!! Our internal clocks tell us that this is time we are supposed to wake up. We spend the first 15 minutes of our day held in our Daddy's arms watching Oobi and trying to wake up while Mommy "prepares" our milk for breakfast.

6:00 AM: This morning for breakfast we are having whole grain blueberry muffins that we helped Mommy make yesterday, apple sauce with rice cereal, and EB milk. We also like to have whole wheat pancakes, egg yolks, french toast, bananas, and Cheerio's.




7:15 AM: After breakfast, we like to play with our toys. This morning we are playing in our bedroom instead of the living room where Mommy and Daddy have a play area set up for us. I, Abigail, like to play with the bead maze my Momo and Pa gave us for Christmas. Emily likes to play with me some, but usually likes to find toys she can play with by herself, like the tiger basketball goal Aunt Tracie bought us.





7:45-9:30 AM: Nap Time. It's already time for our first nap. We are both really good about getting ourselves to sleep. I, Emily, just need my pacifier and Taggie blanket, and Abigail just needs her pacifier and Honey. Mommy lays us down, we play for a bit, and then go to sleep.



9:35 AM: It's playtime after our nap and before lunch. Abigail is trying to play peekaboo with me, but I just really want to sit here and play with my bear.




10:00 AM: Lunch- Yeah, we know it is an early lunch, but when breakfast is at 6:00 AM, we get hungry. I, Abigail, really, really like pushing my finger through my food and then taking it to my mouth. These penne noodles are perfect for that. Other foods just seem to crumble. On the menu for today was baked sweet potato, whole grain penne noodles, and EB milk. Other foods we like for lunch are avacados, baked potato with cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, broccoli, chicken, green beans, carrots, and mangos.



I'm really getting the hang of drinking from a straw.




I'm practicing feeding myself with a spoon. Mommy has to help me get the food on the spoon, but after that, I can manage on my own. I'm not sure what Abigail is screaming about. Maybe it is because she is trying to eat with the wrong end of the spoon.




10:40 AM: Story Time. After a change of clothes, a massage, and sponge bath, Mommy reads us one of our favorite stories,"Playtime Peekaboo". We are both very good at finding the toys under the flaps. We love it when Mommy makes noises to go with the story. It makes us want to dance. Other books we like are the whole "Peekaboo" series, "Ten Wriggly, Wiggly Caterpillares", Up the Water Spout", and "Daddies are for Catching Fireflies".


11:00 AM: Our guilty pleasure-watching "Dora The Explorer". We can't help ourselves. She has the best music. Mommy and Daddy even bought us the CD so we could dance to it whenever we want.


11:40 AM: We decided to help Mommy clean the windows. While she works on the outside, we think we need to go over the work she has already done on the inside.



12:00-1:25 PM: Time for our 2nd nap. We take our time getting into the perfect position for sleep. That's me, Emily, peeking through my crib. And, that's me, Abigail, with my hiney sticking up in the air.



1:45 PM: Snack Time- Today for our snack we are having Lil' Crunchies, Mild Cheddard and EB milk. We also like to eat Cheerio's, Puffs, and grahram crackers for snacks. We are still trying to get used to having our milk in a cup instead of a bottle. We are working on getting weaned, so now we only get a bottle at breakfast and before bed at night. We have to admit, we are doing very well with this.

2:10 PM: While playing this afternoon, I decide to really try out walking by pushing the blocks' bucket around. I've seen Abigail doing this before, but I would like to try it out myself. I still need support to stand on my own, but I've been practicing hard. We both spend the next hour and a half playing with our toys.

3:15 PM: I'm ready for another nap, but Abigail doesn't seem like she wants to go to sleep.

4:30 PM: Daddy's home!!!! We play with him while Mommy tutors.

5:30 PM: Dinner tonight consists of steamed green beans, rice, and apple juice. Mommy and Daddy are trying to teach us not to throw our cups onto the floor. We are making progress;)

6:00 PM: We get to play with Daddy for the next hour. I like to mimic actions, like raising my arms, twiddling my fingers, and of course, spitting. Abigail, uses this time to practice her walking.

7:00 PM: Time for the "March of the Hineys". We get undressed in the living room and follow Daddy into the bathroom ready for our bath. We love to play this chasing game every night.


7:05 PM: Bath time is always fun. After washing our hair, faces, ears, and body, Mommy and Daddy give us plenty of time to play. We love to chew on the wash cloths, pour water out of the cup, and chase the toys around the tub. One thing we know not to do is stand up. Sometimes we forget and Mommy or Daddy reminds us to "Sit down, please", we always mind Mommy and Daddy.


7:30 PM: Mommy and Daddy always read us "Goodnight Moon" after we have our nightly massage, get our nighties on, and brush our hair. After we read, it is bottle time, and then off to bed.

Good Night!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Hitting the Target

The girls have a little dog-like toy that has its mouth open for them to put balls in and watch go down. Both girls have done really well learning how to hit the target. Daddy worked really hard with them to accomplish this.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Emily Being Emily...Adorable

Emily has stared making this face very frequently. It is so cute. Her Aunt Tracie used to make the exact face, but with her, it usually meant that she was up to something.

If you listen carefully, you can also hear her squeal. She makes this noise when she gets excited about something, and it is usually a little longer. This time she was excited that Mommy had the camera and she was getting ready to grab the lens cap that was dangling within her reach.

We Have Climbers



Today both girls decided they would begin trying to climb on top of things. First, it was Emily trying to climb on their learning table in their room. Then, Abigail tried to climb on the bus beside her bed. Finally, they both had success with something a little lower to the ground...their suitcase, packed and ready to go to Nana and Momo's houses for the weekend.



Our World Just Got Noisier

The girls found the pots and pans this morning. When baby proofing the house months ago, I puposely left this cabinet unlocked and filled with things they could play with. At first, the loud noises scared Emily, but she soon came to really like creating it herself.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Abigail's New Smile

Abigail has a new smile. She likes to wrinkle her nose, wink her right eye, throw her head back, and smile.

Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Our Family