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!

long time, no post!

WOW! It has been a busy few weeks! The girls and I did a week-long trek to Charleston (for Alan's cousin's wedding), through Spartanburg (to see my parents on the way) and I am ashamed to say that I hardly took any pictures! Even when they were all dressed up in rehearsal dinner & wedding attire! I am hoping to steal some from their Grammy & Aunt Tricia's camera as they were much more on top of things than I was! The girls did great and it was so fun to introduce their extended family to them! Here are a few photos from the past few weeks! As for Halloween, they wore their little Halloween outfits (no costumes this year) and we just strolled the neighborhood to check out all the kids and all the decorations! Let me tell you, this neighborhood goes ALL OUT for Halloween ... it was one street party after the next and the decorations were impressive! The girls are talking a lot now and making at least 15 animal sounds! If we are out at the store or somewhere, I can ask them if they want to go "home" or go to the "park" and they will tell me. They will tell me if they are ready to go "nigh, nigh" or if they want to "eeeee" (eat). It is getting to be a lot of fun communicating with them! They love to give their Daddy kisses (they will lean in and put their mouth on his ... for some reason, they aren't too keen on giving Mommy kisses?!) and to give us both hugs and snuggles. For every tantrum there are more than enough sweet moments to make up for them! Here they are playing at a great, local toddler park ...

is this a mirror?

Meredith's messy face smile ... sometimes, she will taste the dirt to make sure it is still "yucky", which, by the way, they think is a HILARIOUS word! And again, nope, she is not standing in front of a mirror!
here she is waving at someone and saying "bye, bye!"

Big smile from Hannah! You can almost see all 8 teeth!

Meredith won ... I think Hannah got distracted by a squirrel (or "gurl" as they call them) and spent the next 15 minutes chasing it around the park ...

... about to have a "baby throw down"

We took a day trip to a pumpkin patch an hour north of Atlanta and they had a great little petting zoo. Here are the girls checking out the goats. They also had all kinds of farm animals and they had a few jump castles ... it was a fun little outing with some friends and their kids.

Here, Barbara and I were trying to get a good photo of the girls but, as always, it was hard to get both of their attention at the same time ... this is the best we could do! Their random outfits are the funniest thing about the photo ... PJ's, jacket, Halloween slippers, and the "ba" of "nack"!

Meredith

Hannah

Being such good car sleepers is a blessing and a curse! When you want them to sleep (long car trips) it is great, but when you don't (on the way home from the park so they can eat lunch then take a nap) then it is not so great! I always love to get a good sleeping picture though!

Baby Wrestling (for you, Lauren McDonald!) on the couch cusions!!

At the Stone Mountain pumpkin patch ... Hannah tests out her strength on a pumpkin that may weigh almost what she does!

... I want this one ... no, I want THIS one ...

We were visited by "Flat Stanley" and I thought this was a cute picture of the girls and Flat Stanley at the park!