Simply a Good Day!

Today was a good day with the babies. Not that everyday isn't good, it's just that today they seemed super sweet. We started the day by visiting my former coworkers at the Brody School of Medicine. It's reviving to me to get to be back at my old stomping ground and see the sweet friendly faces of the folks I worked with. It's also fun to watch people's faces as I walk the hospital halls with the twins. Meredith and Berkley just have a way about them...they light up everyone around them. I love to bring a few smiles to people's faces just by putting them in the stroller and going visiting. I saw the magic of their mere presence again when I took Meredith and Berkley to Target this afternoon. I buckle Berkley in the front of the cart and let Meredith sit inside the cart...boy do they love being in a shopping cart! Meredith says hey to everyone who walks by and Berkley tries his best to swipe things off of the shelves. I like to think that Meredith and Berkley bring a little bit of sunshine into people's lives who may not have had another reason to smile that day...maybe they do for you too!

Secondly, the babies REALLY enjoyed their visit with Grandma (my mom) and Nana (my grandmother) today. I walked downstairs with Berkley after he woke up from his morning nap and he went straight to my Nana, which THRILLED her! Not only did Berkley go to Nana, he sat with her for about 30 seconds cheek to cheek and then he sat in her lap, just lounging around for about 5 minutes. It was a special moment with Great-grandmother and great-grandson. I'm so thankful that God has allowed my Nana to see and enjoy my twins, it's a true blessing! I managed to snap a sweet picture before Berkley got out of the cuddling mood.

Finally, have I told you how excited my babies get when their daddy gets home? Well they do! They get so happy when they hear the keys jingle in the door and the door opens to reveal that their daddy is home. Tonight we were eatting dinner when Steven got home, so they couldn't see him when he walked in, but boy did they hear him. Their eyes started sparkling the instant they heard the door shut and they awaited seeing their dad pop into the kitchen. I didn't get that moment on film, but I did manage to caputre this precious moment of daddy and babies playing after dinner. Enjoy!

15 month dr visit

The twins had their 15 month doctor's visit today, which meant 3 shots and a blood draw for Berkley to recheck his iron, which was a little low at his 12 month visit. Berkley was Mr. Chill today, he let the doctor check him out with no problems whatsoever. His little sister on the other hand, made up the difference...she wasn't a happy camper to say the least. We survived though and were comforted to again be reassured that our sweet babies are doing great! Berkley now weighs 23 lbs 2 oz and is 32 1/2 inches tall. Meredith is 20lbs 13oz and 31 3/4 inches tall. Berkley has gained a 1 lbs and grown 2 1/2 inches in 3 months! Meredith has gained nearly 2 lbs and grown 2 3/4 inches in 3 months! No wonder neither one of them have any baby fat anymore, they've shot up in 3 months time. It's crazy that Meredith is less than an inch shorter than Berkley, she looks so much smaller, but she's really not that far behind him at all. I don't know the results of Berkley's iron yet, but I'm confident that it will be normal; he eats well and I try to give them iron rich foods.

Hmm, I'm trying to think what's new with the babies lately. They're in this phase where they want to make everything with wheels a riding toy, even if it's a tiny truck that's meant to carry blocks and not people. Berkley said baby for the 1st time yesterday and he can also say shoe. Their favorite word right now is Papa. Berkley says it every morning when I put him in his high chair and of course when Meredith hears Berkley say it, she starts saying it to...they love their Papa (that's Steven's dad). They spent two whole days with Mima and Papa this past weekend, it's the longest I've ever been without them. Having them gone for so long reaffirmed how much I love them. They had a great time with Mima and Papa though. They enjoyed seeing their horses, riding the Gator, playing in the front yard, visiting Reddicks Grove Church and seeing family. Have I mentioned that Berkley has become a pacifier guy? Meredith's always had her thumb and Berkley was never interested in pacis for the longest time. Then around 14 months he started getting fussy so I gave him a paci just to see if it would help...it did and now I'm afraid I've started something that's going to be difficult to break later. He doesn't need his paci to sleep at night, just during his two naps during the day. Here are a couple of pictures I took this morning, enjoy!

15 month update

Meredith and Berkley's new favorite game is taking the cushions off of the love seat and crawling up and down the seat.

The twins have been changing and growing so much and yet I've allowed myself to lag in keeping track of everything. They turned 15 months old on July 28th. They've been completely weaned from the bottle for a few months now and are enjoying their sippy cups. Meredith started walking backwards this week and they can both walk so fast you might dare say they're running. They jibber jabber a lot, currently their favorite phrase is "hey," but they can also say Mima, Papa, for Larry Meredith says Ya-Ya, Meredith says Mama all the time now, Berkley can say more and can also sign it, Meredith has learned to sign all done and tried to say kiwi tonight at dinner, which came out as wiki. They have both started to say uh-oh as well. When Meredith wants me to sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat, she says "Ro, Ro." And they both love to say "Ei, Ei" for Old McDonald. They can climb furniture, and just the other night while I was cleaning up after dinner I peaked in the living room where the babies were playing and Berkley had climbed on top of his push toy lion trying to get onto the love seat. They can both stack blocks, Berkley especially loves to build and he also likes making car noises with any toy that he's pushing on the floor. Meredith gives real kisses when asked, which melts your heart. Berkley will give a kiss occasionally, but not as often as his little sister. Meredith has started this thing of telling me bye bye and waving to me when I lay her down in her crib for a nap. The babies are still napping twice a day, but it's just a matter of time before we switch to one nap a day. I'm going to miss that down time in the morning, but lots of moms tell me it's great when your kids sleep 2-3 hours in the afternoons, we'll see if Meredith and Berkley will do that. Meredith will roar when she picks up her little people lion and they will both bark for the dog sound. When you read Meredith letters she will point to them and try to say them back to you. They love playing with one another; sometimes they'll play peek-a-boo together or chase one another, which makes them both erupt into laughter. They play well with other kids their age as well, which is so much fun to watch! Their favorite foods of the summer would have to be strawberries and kiwi, but I hear from Mima and Papa that they can tear up some watermelon when they are staying the night in Williamston. They both love to wear hats, but Meredith in particular loves ball caps. They also love walking around the house in their shoes; Berkley will dance when you put his shoes on. Berkley's my musical baby, he loves dancing whenever he hears music. Meredith is finally getting her 3rd tooth in, it's her first top tooth. Teething has been difficult for her, she has woken up often during the night while this tooth was breaking through. I'm sure we'll have a lot of sleeplessness once they are both working on their molars. Berkley is still holding steady at 7 teeth. Oh, and we've just moved up to the next diaper size; they're in size 5 now. There are probably a million other little things to share with you, but I can't remember them all.

Steven and I are doing well, but poor Steven is super busy with his final year of residency. We're in the home stretch and beginning to think about where we'll be settling down for Steven's practice. So many decisions to make, so much to think about. Please pray for wisdom as we work through what would be best for our family. We will be celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary at the end of the month. Wow, 8 years! Please enjoy a few sweet pics of the twins, hope they brighten your day:)

Sweet time with Mima!


Here's Meredith's new cute thing, standing with hands behind her back.


And here's Berkley with his cool hat:)