1.1.11

In being true to mine own self, I just learned the first day of our new year had the numbers 1.1.11. I think it is a sign of good things to come this year (or so, I hope). The end of a year always makes one reminisce about the year past...this past year has been...amazing to watch the babies grow and learn; this year has been...hard to figure out and continue to juggle work and kids and home; this year has been...sad to see the passing of a dear friend's mother; this year has been...humbling to know we ARE now becoming THAT age; this year has been...fun to spend so many great times with my dearest friends. I could go on, but I think the point is....I'm thankful at the end of 2010.

And with 2011 started, here are some pictures of my "grown" babies the other night after their bath. Oh what a difference a year makes!

Davis is WILD, to say the least. Henley is such a girl, loving anything pink and anything to do with babies. They are saying new things every day. Henley loves to try and mimic the "dancydances" on Yo Gabba Gabba and she's starting to try and sing as well. Davis is just running into walls and jumping off of furniture.

We are loving every minute of this age. In fact, Billy said just the other night..."I think this is my favorite age so far." We shall see I suppose...love to all!

A big weekend

We started this weekend with a BIG first. It was Davis's first haircut. I wrestled with the idea, but we wanted to get some good pictures this weekend, so I decided he needed a little "cleaning up." It is very special because one of my best friends is also our family hairdresser! Chris was so excited about the first cut and we made a big production.

As you can see even with Chris's professionalism, Davis was just not sure about all this haircut business. We put him on the booster chair by himself, smock on and Chris started to cut. It didn't take long until Davis went into complete meltdown mode.

Still looking pretty together....BUT this is how we ended up. Pretty devastating, but Oh SO cute! He looks so much better... and thanks to Chris's suggestion -- I have the first lock of hair in an envelope. Thanks Chris for always remembering the little things! The best hairdresser and friend!!!

The next day, we dressed in our Halloween best and left for Dothan and the Peanut Festival. It was my first and of course, the babies' first festival as well. We had planned it with Billy's family back in the summer and the Gant Family was too excited about showing us the very special, near and dear to their heart....Peanut Festival! Apparently, it is BIG time down in Dothan.

Henley was the belle of the ball! She loves a good festival and just kept walking through the rides waving and saying "heeeeey." I believe she thought everyone came to see her. It was so funny and just too cute.

We even got to pet a Brahma bull. I always thought they were inherently mean, but we were informed by our little "guide," that is just a myth. They were actually really pretty animals.

This was again Miss Henley waving to some festival folks... too funny.
The next day, we decided we might get a Christmas card picture, so we dressed the kids and took them to the botanical gardens. FYI: there is just about NO way to get a decent picture of these two. They are always going different directions, in different moods, etc. Ugh! so frustrating...

I did get some good single shots though.

Davis's new thing -- "Throw your hands UP!"


This was about as good as it got for them together! Don't be surprised if you see it on your card this Christmas.

It was such a fun weekend -- we will definitely be back for an annual visit to the Peanut festival each year.

Welcome Back Henley

First of all I have to take a moment and brag on my girl. I mean just look at that skin and hair? I would die for some olive skin and brown hair. Thanks to my Dad and Ashley, my dream came true for Henley. In the hospital, I remember saying -- "Who knew, I would have a brown baby?" Davis is going to be mighty jealous of that skin later in life! This girl loves to brush those mess of teeth she has (now that is another story and compliments of her much-loved pacifier!) yikes. Um, yeah, those are her real eyelashes as well. I mean...really? They touch her eyebrows!

Not only is she gorgeous, she is SUCH a girl in every way. Her mannerisms and everything the child does screams G-I-R-L. It's really fun to see the difference in them because lord knows, they are completely different. The next two poses just go to show the girl in her. These were taken up at the cabin...what a fun family trip (really our first together).

This next one is out of focus but she is too cute when she's tickled. That smile is priceless! Please ignore me (and my bra strap) -- the focus is on the babies! PLEASE!
This is my girl with her "baby" and it's stroller. She is usually toting her cell phone and purse in hand as well. The "witching hour" was upon us at this point and they were having a grand time running through the house. How cute is that face?
As I said before, this is such a fun time with the babies. Henley is hitting all her milestones as well, saying: dog, horse, duck, car, counting the number 2 and also Mama and Dada (I forgot to mention Davis is saying it too!) She loves to visit the neighbors' dogs everyday and generally loves to relax. It's hard to pull her from her books and Yo Gabba Gabba these days.

Like Davis, she is the light of our lives! Love my little girl....

Welcome Back Davis

We have taken an unwanted break from blogging because our laptop was stolen a couple of weeks ago, but I'm glad to announce....We're BACK! I didn't want to upload too many pictures the first time, so I'm focusing on Davis this time.

I feel like I've said this since at least 12 mo, but this is by far, my favorite time with the babies. They are just precious and learning so much, so fast. Davis says many words, but mostly -- "O.K., dog, cookie, cracker, juice, duck, car, truck," etc... He is everywhere, all the time -- ALL boy! There are not many times to get good shots of him except the other day he decided not to take a nap, so it provided me a time with just him to do a photoshoot. He is our precious boy...just look.

Henley is next -- just wait! Goodness is she ever a doll...

A family affair

Billy's friend, Mike, owns a little BBQ place named Saw's. It's in Homewood and if I dare say, the best BBQ I've ever had! Billy has started playing there for a couple of hours every Friday, so I thought this would be a perfect venue for the babies to see him play live for the first time. As you can see, Davis LOVED it!

Billy Gant's biggest fan right there...
This picture was just precious, the two munchkins taking in the "show"
Our friends, the Curtises' met us for dinner and it was a good ole family fun night! Of course, my two hardly ate anything, but what's new? I guess they're not big BBQ fans. They better step it up living in Alabama!

More to come on our Labor Day with the cousins....

Back to School

So, ok, I know they aren't in "real" school yet, BUT I just had to dress them up for their first full day of daycare. I mean they did move up to the next class...isn't that something like growing up? Seriously, they are growing up WAY too fast. It is flying by, but we are soaking in every minute. Just look at this little girl on her way to "school" on Monday. Does is get any cuter?

Davis still had a little bed-head but just look at the precious coordinating outfits? Henley wore the pink pigs and Davis had a tractor pulling a prize, blue pig. I can't even put into words how cute they were.
When I showed him his outfit the night before, he just couldn't stop pointing at the pig and saying "dooog?!" and the tractor and saying "car-car." So we just let him believe it was a "car-car pulling a doooog." He was thrilled to say the least.
The day was great. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE their daycare? The ladies in the next class were waiting all year last year just to get my babies into their class. Needless to say, the teachers were waiting at the door on Monday AND thought the twins were just as precious as we did.
Davis was the mayor apparently...he not only refused to ride in the "bye-bye" cart, but he pushed everyone around 12 times. Non stop this one....whew.

Anyway, we are getting into our groove for the fall and I hoping for a smooth year ahead. My class at school seems good so far. Of course there are challenges, but who doesn't have challenges these days. I love my friends at school and love these babies at home. Life is Good right now.

Now if we could just get a small breeze outside....now, that would be NICE.

Just Because

Just a couple of pictures from a trip to Nonni's house... Again, Davis and his sad, sad face! I mean how can you not feel sorry for the little guy? That lip can go even further than this, if you believe it!

And Miss Henley bug in Nonni's glasses. Such a mess...this girl!!! Oh, how she makes us laugh.

I have started school and made it through the first week! Not to wish my life away, but I am glad it's behind me. Whew. The babies start school on Monday... Stay tuned for some back-to-school blues. I have an outfit all picked out for back to school.

Our Newest Addition

The Gant side of our family has some great news....On July 12th, Billy's sister, Amy, had a precious little girl. Her name is Anne Claire and she just completes their little family. We went this week and spent the day with the Underwoods and felt completely blessed to be surrounded by so many little ones.

Here are her first two, Gant (age 4) and Reid (age 15 mo)

This is about the best we could do for the group photo of the older cousins

I promise my two had a good time even though they look extremely unhappy in this picture! It was the end of the day, but it is great of the Underwoods.

Henley finally got her first GIRL cousin. The girls meet for the first time -- I love the way Anne Claire was looking up at her.
This is Miss Anne Claire Underwood -- pretty and perfect.
This picture doesn't really make sense, but I had to post it. Henley was being shy with the camera and debuted a new smile. So funny...this girl!
Well, the summer is coming to an end...it is sad, but I'm gearing up for another good school year. I have loved being home with the babies and look forward to another relaxing, trip-filled summer next year.

In the Groove

Last summer was spent sitting in the house waiting for Billy to get home so I could go to the grocery or anywhere for that matter. I could NOT figure out how to get out of the house with two small babies. We grew used to our "tag-team" parenting style. But this summer, I'm happy to announce I have figured it out! I will say, it is much easier now that the babies are getting older (easier and harder at the same time). Below is my view as we are headed for our daily outings. Usually it consists of some sort of retail establishment, a friend's house here and there, or maybe a trip to Gadsden. It's so nice to not be banished to the house anymore -- yeah for us!

It's a good thing I'm not a stickler for rules, b/c with twins you have to break one here and there. Like below....I'm sure you have disregarded this one a time or two as well?

It ends up looking a little like this.... I put Henley in the basket because she is much less of a threat to jump. Little Missy is quite happy in the basket and she takes up less space and is usually covered in groceries by the end of the trip. She never complains though -- I think she likes breaking the rules too!

I'm pretty sure the store probably means NONE of "this" when they made the warnings. Oh well, what is a Mom to do when you have two?

Sorry for the lack of pictures. We have been on the road this summer and it's been grand! Billy and I have been on a few adult trips and we have also been with family...mainly all at the beach. I'm so thankful and lucky to be able to have this time in the summer to catch up with friends and family and just renew myself.

I have loved spending "normal" days with my babies too. Thank God for the "normal" day. I'm going to try and stay thankful for my "normal" work days when school starts as well. After all, we are so blessed to have jobs, much less our health and happiness. Here's to Summer.....loving every minute of it!

Summertime in the City

One of my favorite things last summer was taking the twins on walks. We all loved it, BUT it seems like last summer was a lot cooler as well. We have not been out as much in our stroller this year, but the times we have, have been great. Oh how this view has changed in a year!

And OH how the fighting has begun between these two. If one baby is interested in something (a toy, bottle, parent, etc...) it gets the other one's attention and.....the fight begins! And yes, you heard me right, we are still on the bottle. I have taken it away except for one in the morning and one at night. Henley just loves that bottle -- I know I need to give it up, but it might be next week's battle.

This was just bothering for the sake of bothering. Davis LOVES to get a handful of Henley's hair and PULL, HARD! It is just not fair -- a) because he is bigger and b) because it HURTS! We have tried pulling his hair after he pulls hers and he's starting to get it, but wow these two are so different.

Oh but look at those faces! They are so fun and watching those different personalities grow together is something special. Even though we struggle with having two, I also can't imagine not having either one. They are dear souls....dear, but so different.

This is Davis waiting on some waffles. I love being able to relax and eat breakfast with them. It's so nice not to be putting on makeup, packing lunches all while throwing b'fast down their throats. ahhhh, summer.

Henley is always very intense when watching her "stories." The girl will stop in her tracks for an episode of Backyardagains. We try and limit her story intake some days, but the girl just lives for it. Maybe she'll have a great attention span? I know better, but what do you do?

We had our annual summer trip to my friend Kelli's house/pool. I have learned we need an outing everyday and this was a good one! It wore them out. Of course, we also wore Kelli out but she was a good sport. Have I mentioned how HOT it is this summer? Please ignore the sweat sheen only 5 min out of the pool. Ridiculous!

We have a few more trips on the horizon before the dreaded month of August. Boooo! But no need to think about that now....Summer is HERE!