Happy Fall!

We have been busy bees lately! We were all sick and stuck at home for 2 weeks so have been making up for lost time the past week or two! The girls are both FINALLY OK with going to school and seem to be even enjoying it! They sing tons of little songs and can both recite nursery rhymes that I don't even know all the words to! It is funny to see a little kid get a song stuck in her head ... all weekend, Hannah sung "doo, dah ... doo, dah ... doo, dah, day!" ... which, in turn, got Camptown Races in my head all weekend, too =) The photos are in reverse order but when I am doing this, I never take the time to think backwards when I put them in! The new baby is doing well ... we have decided to name her Caroline Avery. We are getting to the home stretch and have her furniture ordered and we are going to look at cars soon ... I am starting to feel anxious to get everything ready ... Unless something changes, I am scheduled for her delivery on January 27th. She kicks a LOT and keeps me up at night kicking ... wakes me up early kicking ... Alan is thinking we will have yet another fiesty little girl! We will see! The girls seem to be excited (though I know this may change when she is a reality to them) but love to talk about her and how she will live in her room and how we need to get another car so Caroline can fit and how we can play with her and once M said that when Baby Caroline gets here she will "be so happy" (she was saying that Caroline would be happy, not that Meredith would be happy) ... I asked why she would be "so happy" and she said "be so happy to get her Mommy back!" ... ?? I think that has to do with when I come and get them from school ... who knows ... but they do love to talk about her, feel my tummy (when she kicks, Hannah gets really into it and says "Mommy! I hear the baby kicking you!" ... too funny), "look for her" they will pull up my shirt and say "want to see her, want to see Baby Caroline," so I hope it will be as smooth a transition as is possible with this kind of family change. Well, I could go on and on ... but I will stop here and get on with the photos ...

Today, I helped with a little "Fall Party" at the girls' school. I snapped only 3 photos before my camera battery died =( Here, they are singing and doing the motions with their teacher, Miss Linda. They are the two in the back with the white sweaters. It is a cute little class of 2 year olds! The teacher said that today they fought with each other for the first time so I know they MUST be feeling comfortable now! They fight all the time at our house! They seem to always be either fighting or hugging! Very moody, these two ... wonder where they got that from?? Today their teacher was marveling at how "connected" they are (her word) and said that they try and try but can't tell them apart and that even their personalities are so similar that it is impossible for them to figure out a system for who is who! So funny to me because I think they are so different!

We went to the zoo in Columbia this past weekend. It rained a bit on us and the girls were fussy at the start but it ended up being a good little day trip! We pushed them a little too far and Meredith had a massive fit to get back in the car (overtired, anyone?) but all's well that ends well ... as you see here ...

Here is their cousin, Kate, who has to be the most photogenic baby in the history of babies! She always seems to be willing to flash a big smile ... and those blue, blue eyes are to die for! Alan's sister and BIL live in Cola and it was nice to see Sara and Kate for a few hours on Saturday!

The girls were very grumpy until after we ate ... here, they are getting treats from Daddy for behaving at the restaurant! Alan jokes that you can get Hannah (pink) to do just about anything for candy! Man, that girl has a sweet tooth! The second half of our trip was much more fun!

The girls are still very much Mommy's girls and I always lament at how they will "let" Alan pretty much do anything while he is alone with them ... watch football, check his email ... and when they are with me and I try to do anything other than be with them 100% it is a no-go (or I do it holding one with the other crying at my feet) ... well, this made me feel better the other day ;) The minute he sat down with the laptop they were on top of him to play (or snuggle)!

We had a playdate with some of the girls from MMO the other day and the hostess has this GREAT little jump castle! Perfect for 2 year olds! The girls loved it and have wanted to go "jump, jump" several times since then. It was really nice to get out and socialize and watch the girls interact with other kids that they "know." Thanks, Connie! This is Hannah ...

Meredith ...

with a friend ...

what a great backyard ... the girls have really gotten into swinging! They used to be scared on the swing (even the little baby swing) but now they love to either swing "like a big girl" or get in the baby swing and swing "higher and faster, higher and faster, higher and faster!"

On one of the recent very chilly days, we went to feed the ducks in Hampton Park. The girls looked so young in these little sweatsuits and their hats. I couldn't resist snapping a few pics ... I can't believe that in a few short months they will be my big girls and there will be a new baby in the family ... this is Hannah ...

Meredith ...

lovin' the lollipop ... and they think the words "tootsie roll pop" are about the funniest thing a person can say ...

A few weekends ago we went to the Aquarium ... it was so nice because Alan was there, too, and one girl wanted to do one thing and the other wanted something else (happens a LOT lately!!!) and so we went our separate ways and I had a nice time being able to cater to one child without feeling torn between the two ... we met up outside at closing time and walked around the harbor for a bit ... thought this was a cute photo op!

This photo was taken first and I think Hannah's expression was too funny ... she was not too sure about the huge frog ... in the next photo she was hightailing it off the bench ;)

The weekend prior, my parents were here for a few days. My Mom and I took the girls to the Pumpkin Patch at Boone Hall. My Mom took more photos and I plan to save them (thanks for sending them, Mom!) and post some, too ... but just haven't gotten around to it yet (I know, I know ... what else do I have to do?!) ... Here, the girls are picking their pumpkin ... needless to say, the ones we actually took home were a bit smaller ;) They have expensive taste, just like Mommy =) She was trying to pick it up and making the "Ughhhhh" noise you make when you lift something heavy and saying "is it too heaby" ... they still switch up the "it is" with "is it" and "v's" are still a little tough for them to say ... but other than that, they can pretty much say anything ... they even use "me, my, mine, ours, they, theirs, his, hers ..." those kinds of words the right way ... it amazes me how fast 2 year olds learn! I think I will be a bit sad when it all comes out perfectly! I think the little mistakes are so cute!

just some cute photos taken in the yard ... the girls love to be outside and they have definately gotten comfortable in our new house ... we play all over the place! We play in their room, the play room, on the guest bed, on "Mommy and Daddy's" bed, in "Baby Caroline's room," in the family room, on the porches, in the yard ... I feel like for about an hour after they go to bed, I am putting the house all back together! They certainly own the house at this point!

Two looking at the camera at once! That never happens!

Warning: creepy crawly picture ahead ... and some cute ones!

We have been busy with starting Mother's Morning Out (MMO), hanging around Charleston and going to visit my parents in Spartanburg. It has been a bit of a rough few weeks with the girls having a really hard time with the transistion to being with me all the time, to going to MMO two mornings a week. It has transferred over a bit to every day and I think the girls fear that anytime I get them dressed then I must be taking them to school so it has been hard to get them out of the house! Here are some of our goings on ...

Anyone who knows me knows that I did NOT like what I saw when I looked out the front door (thank goodness I LOOKED before I opened as I was on my way out the door) ... at least, this finally prompted Alan that it was time to suck it up and spend the $ on an exterminator! They are coming Thursday and I hope to no longer have a spider problem (apparently, our front porches offer a sweet living for the local spiders ... we must have at least 100!) Nothing like a free Halloween decoration though!

At a local playground ... Hannah

Meredith

at the Aquarium ... two people out of three ... oh, well, almost a good one!

Hannah and Alan checking out the penguins ... they were swimming around and would come right up to the glass ... the girls loved it!

Meredith and Alan ...

These are a little out of order ... here is Meredith, well, rather Meredith's feet ... she was quite traumatized by her first day of "school" ... they are not allowed to have "bee bee and blanky" which is good but quite tough for them ... They have gone from crying the whole 3 hours to doing a little better everyday. It seems to be that either one or the other has a bad day and they feed off of each other. M has been doing well but today they called me to come get her early because she was so upset. They said H did well today (which was a first) but would occasionally get upset because Meredith was so upset. Here, Meredith was rubbing her little tag on her blanky between her toes! She is so funny with that tag ... rubs it on her face, in her ear, on her teddy bear's face ...

Poor M, so sad that Mommy left her at school!

Meredith, first day of "school" ... looking pretty skeptical!

Hannah, first day of "school" ... looking a little ticked off!

I think we will be working hard on potty training soon! Hannah spent a lot of time yesterday sitting on the potty (and here she is putting cow on the potty.) We have yet to have any action but she sure does love to sit on it (especially if it is time to go to bed ... smart little thing ... I sense some serious stalling in our future ... yes, Mom, I know, I deserve it! =)

Ultrasound photos just fascinate me! Here is our new baby's little hand ...

... and little legs crossed at the ankles

... and her GIRL parts ... yep, yep ... another girl!!

Here is my darling new niece, Sylvia ... I was so glad to get to spend some time with her (and her parents, my brother and SIL) a few weekends ago in Spartanburg.

Love that smile!

Here's Ry ... a GREAT Dad! Sylvia is lucky to have such great parents!
Next time I need to get a photo with her Mommy ... sorry Sarah!!

I finally took the time to go through most of the photos from the week with the Holl family (Alan's Mom's side.) We had such a fun week and everyone was so sweet and patient with the girls! They still are very Mommy clingy and stranger anxious. There were so many good pics but I limited it to a few ...

The girls get so excited to see their "big boy cousins" and the boys were an amazing help and so, so sweet with the girls! Here are the girls with Nick and Jackson Thurman (Alan's oldest sister's boys.)

Here are the cousins (minus Baby Kate) playing Ring Around the Rosey
(one of the girls favorite games.)
Here, they are all pretending to "go night, night" ... another game the girls love ... they lay down and say "night, night ... want you go away, Mommy" ...

Alan's Uncle Jim and Aunt Suzanne have much better skills and patience than I ever will with a camera and they got several really cute pics of the girls ... here, they are playing in a big hole on the beach ... THANKS Jim and Suzanne for the great pics ... we miss you guys!

someone ... =)

someone else??

Giving Baby Kate a kiss goodbye since she was leaving the next day. We talk about Baby Kate a lot in this house! I hope they are as interested in their new baby sibling in a few months!

Trying, with the help of the MacBook and Baby Einstein, to have a peaceful dinner at Coast

a little of this ... a little of that

We have been super busy lately with family in town and exploring so I will have to post this in two parts. First, last week, Alan's Mom's side of the family had a family reunion. As soon as I gather everyone's photos (as I didn't take nearly enough =) I will post some photos of that fun time! These are mostly of this past weekend and this week. We have been doing a lot of hanging at the "new house" as the girls call it since we were gone a lot last week. We have had a few outings, though, to keep us all happy! The girls are doing great and talking more than ever. We had a Pediatrician appointment at 25 months old and they were not too happy with the weights since they are still waaaay below the 5%, but that has always been the case, so I am not too worried. Meredith now carries the title of peanut as she only weighed in at 20 pounds 12 ounces and Hannah outweighed her by almost a pound at 21 pounds 8 ounces. They were both around 10% for height though! I wish I were tall and skinny! The baby is doing well, too. It "measured" right where it should at 14 weeks gestation and had a strong heartbeat. I have another appointment a week from today (I will be 18+ weeks by then) and I would looooove to find out the gender ... though I don't know if she will do another US then or not. I may have to wait for my 20 week one. I, of course, will keep you posted!

having fun with Daddy's camping equipment (M was saying 'Hannah funny!' because she thought she looked darn hilarious in the doo-rag ... which, she did)

Hannah
Meredith's turn =)

I've never met any two kids who love to hug as much as these girls do! Hannah loves to "catch sissy" at the bottom of the slide and give her a hug/tackle. Good thing Meredith is a good sport about it!

Dora daze again ... I have figured out one thing that seems to always be the case ... when they are relaxing, Meredith almost always sucks in her bottom lip like this and Hannah does not. An expression I have noticed Alan do sometimes, too.

A tip for those looking for a difference =) There is a great indoor play area called No Limits about a mile from our house. They love to wrestle in the ball pit! In fact, they love to wrestle just about anywhere. It is all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right?! =)

Hannah running like a crazy person

Meredith's turn

is it naptime yet?

playing peek-a-boo in the tent

at the neighborhood playground ... what do ya know ... hugging at the bottom of the slide again ...

playing with a worm ... gross

We went to the Aquarium this morning where they had a blast! Here is Meredith in "Camp Carolina" where they had the most fun! My sister made these adorable dresses so I was trying to get a good photo for her!

Checking out the fish in the "stream"

My gosh do these girls love a slide?!?!? We have a slide in their playroom at home but they still spent at least 15 minutes on this slide at the Aquarium. Here is Hannah in her "Kristi Whitaker Original" =)

Mmmmmm ... chip break ... we love to go to the Aquarium because of the cool animals but also because they have really good pizza and when we go the girls have figured out that Mommy will let them eat junk food for lunch so that she can have a few minutes to snarf a piece of pizza ;)

This little bridge moves around when you walk on it ... at first, they gripped my hands like vice and would only walk on it with me, then they crawled over it a few times, then got brave enough to tackle it 'on foot' ... I am glad they are cautious and smart!

The Aquarium is full of cool things like real live penguins, bald eagles, sea turtles ... but they had JUST as much fun with this darned rubber chicken that someone had left on a bench ... go figure?!

... speaking of ...

Looking in the great ocean tank ... there were divers in there working with the fish and one came and waved at the girls and I think Hannah just about jumped out of her skin! I didn't think that something so normal as a person would freak them out ... but I guess, to them, a person with all that equipment on is just some other kind of "animal" that they have never seen before!