interviews & a new baby!

Don't worry, only the interview part has to do with our immediate family! We went to Charleston last week for Alan to have several job interviews and I am happy to say that he has accepted a position at MUSC for this summer! We are really excited to be moving back in a few months and as you all know, I will keep you updated! On the way home, we swung by Columbia to see our new niece Kate. I wish I could have spent more time with her but a certain someone (Meredith) did not want me to hold another baby! She freaked out and so I had to forfeit getting to hold the new baby this time. We will see her again at Christmas and maybe Meredith will warm up a little to the idea of sharing me with more than just Hannah for at least a few minutes! Hannah found a best friend in her Granddaddy Phil and didn't seem to care about anyone else!

Here is Kate resting quite comfortably on her Dad!

It doesn't get much cuter than this!
Well, Mommy time is pretty cute, too! This is Kate and her Mom (who is Alan's sister) Sara.

This is the bird that the girls were obssessed with at the beach!

Here is Meredith pointing frantically at the bird ... like she is saying ... Hannah ... LOOK ... it is a BIRD!

In the process of chasing the bird ...

... diverted by a cool seashell

I just liked this photo of Meredith and my Mom ...

Hannah

Meredith (even though I really thought this was Hannah until I found a picture of Hannah in the brown and I could tell it was her for sure by a scratch she had on her nose for a while ...) ... it is funny how much more they depend on "bee bee" than they do when we are at home. Even though they may be bad habits and may be hard to break one day, I am glad that they have something to turn to when they are stressed and there is only one me and two of them. They are very emotional little girls and I am glad that they find comfort in that way.

Christmas Card Photo Rejects ...

Well, we have all seen the Santa photo by now ... and though, for comical reasons, it was a contender ... I have not chosen it for my Christmas Card. Here are some others that I thought were cute and/or showed my girls' true "colors."

The girls have become shamelessly addicted to their blankets ... and pacifiers, but mainly the blanket ... they call them both by the name "bee bee." Sometimes they very much prefer bee bee over Mommy. Well, case in point, today I made them leave bee bee in the car while we were at the park. Later on, for a reason unknown by me, Meredith decided to have an Oscar Worthy tantrum and in the middle of it was screaming "BEEEEEE BEEEEE, BEEEEEE BEEEEEEE!" like her life depended on it. All the while, wanting NOTHING to do with me. I was trying to ignore her as all the books say to do but I felt so bad ... and it was so public that I, at least, wanted to hold her while she threw her tantrum and she just kept pushing me and saying "NO, Ma!" "NO, Ma!" Anyway, they are very sweet with the blanket when the situation calls for it. When one is crying, the other will, quite often, present her with her blanket and binky ... it is very sweet to see. I don't think that Hannah was crying here, but Meredith must have thought she needed bee bee anyway.

'Nah, stop screaming already (usually still Nah, though sometimes, now, it is 'NahNah)! This is how most any outing ends, but I keep trying to do fun things with them. I was trying to get a cute one of the two together in front of the Christmas tree ... which usually requires containment ... however, Hannah wasn't digging the containment, or much of anything else that day.
Cute family photo taken at little Abby's (from previous post) birthday party ...

I was hoping for some close-ups of the girls and this one turned out cute of Meredith ... I, however, did not end up getting a "matching" one from Hannah.

... and the final runner-up, I love this picture and it really captured their playfulness and love for each other but I could not get over the shadow on Hannah's face ... there are no perfect pictures of toddlers unless you are a trained professional or darn lucky and when you get the card you will see that it was not perfect either but I hope I captured them well and I can't wait to see all of yours!

Christmas Cheer!

I am trying to start teaching the girls about Christmas as it is my favorite time of the year! I think one of my favorite things about having kids will be making their holidays really special. My parents always made it a magical time for us. My Grandma and my Mom love Christmas and I hope that one day the girls will enjoy picking out the tree, sipping hot chocolate and hanging tinsel ... because Alan sure doesn't! I guess, though, what guy does like doing those things? We have a busy few weeks ahead with a trip to Charleston then Sumter (to see baby Kate ... our new niece ... yay!) and then a trip to Sumter then Spartanburg for the Christmas celebrations with our families! Whew! It will be great and I am looking forward to a fun December ... in January, I may just move in with my parents as Alan will be in the ICU and from what I understand ... that means we pretty much won't see him all month!

I took the girls to Atlantic Station today to see the Christmas Tree. At first they just stared at it like what in the heck is that and I'm not quite sure they were ever too into it ... Hannah was more interested in fussing (poor baby is getting two more teeth and having lots of trouble with them) and Meredith was more interested in throwing her raisins on the ground ... maybe next year! Here is Meredith just roaming around. I am lucky in that, so far, they aren't the type to run full speed away from me. They will roam around but stay pretty close. I guess that is one great benefit of the separation anxiety phase!

Here is Hannah with those furrowed brows again ... this is the only photo I have of her from today without her screaming!
Here is Meredith playing with her little friend Abby who will be one on the 5th. Her Dad works with Alan and her Mom is one of the women who keep me sane here in ATL! Isn't she a cutie!

Look at how big this thing is! The girls look like you could hang them as ornaments in comparision. I'll bet at night, it is GORGEOUS!

Here the girls are at Leapin' Lizards. It had been a VERY rainy weekend and we were all VERY ready to be out of the house so my friend Abby (another sanity saver) and I took our kids to play. Here is a pile of adorable baby! Her Braden is only a few weeks younger than the girls and H is in stripes and M is the one in purple doing a faceplant!

Relaxing morning at home, hangin' with Mr. Cooper ...

like Father, like Daughter ...

Here is M trying to put on her Granddaddy's shoes ...

Snuggle time ... I am trying to teach them what everything "says" and I am trying to teach them that Mommy says "love you" ... and I guess when I ask them to love me ... when they lean into me I must say "Ahhhhhh ... love Mommy" because when I ask them what Mommy says they say "Ahhhhh ..." It is too cute. "Love you" is a little advanced for them right now. They only say very few words that are two different syllables. They are very huggy girls though and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that about them!

... they aren't really lovin' Santa though ... poor Santa ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great time hosting Thanksgiving for the Wright Clan this year! After a great dinner we took all the kiddos to the park to run around while poor Alan and my Dad were stuck cleaning up. It was great to be with family and I couldn't think of a better way to spend the day! If only we could have seen the Finley side, too, then the day would have been perfect! Happy Thanksgiving to you all and I am thankful for each and every one of my friends and family!

The big boys (Ryan (my brother), Grayson (my nephew), & Lee (my BIL))

My nephews Landon & Brayden ... a little blurry ... as are most of my photos of the kids ... including mine ... always on the go!
Hannah playing in the leaves

Meredith giving us a silly grin and showing off all her teeth!

My girls LOVE to hold your hand and drag you all around (especially if it involves walking up some stairs like a big girl) ... here Meredith is guiding her Aunt Sarah through the park ...

Now Hannah is guiding Aunt Sarah and Uncle Ryan through the park ...

On the see-saw with Mommy and Aunt Kristi

Hannah, look at my super cool stick!

The girls with Mommy and Aunt Sarah

I was sad I missed the moment here, but Hannah was lifting that little dress to show her belly ... and I think it is so cute when little girls do that! She, again, was on the move ... sorry for the blurred photo!

My brother's wife, Sarah, is the next 'Baby Whisperer' ... all kids LOVE Sarah!!! Here she is with all the babies of the family!

Meredith woke from her nap before Hannah and I took her downstairs to face the masses alone ... and I think she was a bit overwhelmed for a while with all the people and without her sister there. She hid behind my legs for a good 15 minutes.

Just cute photos from a few days ago ... this is Meredith ... she insisted on wearing that hat!

It looks like Hannah is reading to Cooper (or 'Poo as they call him)

MD's, firsts, & favorites ...

The girls had their 16 month appointment today and they did so well! They freaked out a little over the shots, but so do I so what can I say about that? They recovered quickly which has not always been the case (actually has probably never been the case before!) They were 17 pounds, 8 ounces for Hannah and 17 pounds and 13 ounces for Meredith ... yay! No further testing at this point! They each gained a pound and a half over the last few months ... they are still a good 2 pounds away from being on the growth curve for weight but they are now 5% for height (29 inches) and 30% for head circumference (18 inches). All in all, they did well and the doc was impressed with their speaking abilities and they are QUITE mobile (running ... everywhere!) so all is well!

Meredith in her new winter coat and hat and sporting a goofy grin!

Meredith again ... reminding me of the kid on A Christmas Story ... "I can't move my arms!"
Hannah

I couldn't tell what Hannah was saying ... but she MEANT it! Check out the furrowed eyebrows!

Two of my toddler favorites ... the "toddler squat" ... as if it would just take too much time to sit all the way down! She needs to be able to jump and run in an instant!

The silly peeking between the legs ... or getting "stuck" this way on the way to a standing position ... either way this pose happens, I just love it!

Meredith's first "fat lip" ... she took a header into my knee!

Their first experience with coloring ... they enjoyed tasting the markers and running off with them so I got some crayons the next day ... much less messy!

Playing hard ...

We have had a nice few weeks just laying low around the house and neighborhood parks. Meredith has a new favorite word ... "more." Whenever she wants something she points and says "more, more, more" ... they have both also very much learned to say "no, no" and Meredith loves to tell Hannah (or 'Na as she sometimes calls her), Cooper (or Poo), and Me "no, no" all the time! Even if she is doing something she knows is a no, no ... she will just do it anyway and just say "no, no" as if that makes it OK! It is so darned cute that I usually let her get away with whatever she is doing =) Hannah has become a HUGE snuggle bug! She loves to "love Mommy" or whoever ... and she especially loves to "love Sissy" ... she is in a really great snuggle phase where she loves to sit in your lap or lay on you! It is really nice! Hannah also sometimes tries to say Meredith's name but it comes out as Mimi ... I am curious what they will end up calling each other! They have their names spelled out on their walls and if you ask Meredith where her name is, she will point and say "name" and if you ask her where Sissy's name is, she will point to her sister's wall and say "sis." It is really cool to watch them figure it all out! Hannah loves to "read" books to you ... she will turn the pages and jibber jabber just like we do to her! Hannah also LOVES to feed us! She is quite the little Mommy! We have a weigh in on Monday and I feel sure they will be significantly bigger! Here's to hoping so that we don't have to do any testing!

Here is Meredith pushing her friend Braden in her push car ...

Here is Hannah "reading" a book to me (upside down, no less) ...
Apparently, Meredith wanted to watch old re-runs of Saved By The Bell instead of The Today Show ...

Here is Hannah "loving Sissy" ...

Ahhh ... the shaggy mullet stage ... Alan has threatened to put them on mullets.com but I am not ready to cut their hair yet!

Face to face with the hissing Goose ...

Re-emergence of the adorable hats! They sort-of still fit! They are a bit small so I bought them some new ones today! They aren't as sweet and handmade but they will stay on their growing noggins ...

one little monkey jumping on the bed ... (M)

the other little monkey jumping on the bed ...

I think wrestling in the bed is their FAVORITE thing to do ... good thing it is so cute to watch!