First Snow of 2013

We had about an hours worth of snow this afternoon and boy did my twins think it was magical. I intentionally didn't put them down for their nap because I had heard it was already snowing in Greenville, so when I saw that first snowflake fall we excitedly put our coats on and I'm pretty sure the twins were out of the door before I could get myself ready. They wanted to make a snowman of course. It was tough to explain to my nearly 4 year olds that a snowman wouldn't be possible today. They didn't let that stop them from having enjoying every minute though. It was a blast sharing in the excitement and beauty of the snow with my babies! As you can see from the pictures, no real accumulation of snow, but we had an accumulation of fun!

Happy Birthday to Chauntert & Medina

Berkley has been asking to make a strawberry cake for days and when I told him today that we were going to make one he was so excited. And as my children typically do, this cake became something about their imaginary friends. First, Berkley exclaimed with joy that today was Chauntert's birthday and he wanted to know if we could sing and have candles. I thought "why not" and said sure. Boy did that make my little man happy! Meredith chimed in and added that today was also her friend Medina's birthday, so we ended up having a double party. Fun times tonight in the Manning home. Sadly, Chauntert couldn't make it to the party b/c he got sick so Berkley got lucky and got to eat Chauntert's cake for him.

I also wanted to add how my Little Miss is growing up. Meredith can now zip up her own coat, swing herself without any help from mommy, and she recognizes most capital letters of the alphabet. I didn't realize how well she knew her letters until today. I had gotten them juice packs, Meredith had a Thomas the Train juice box. She started talking to me and said "that's the name of my juice" and I was like "what?" She again said, "that's the name of my juice" and proceeded to spell T-H-O-M-A-S. I couldn't believe it. My girl is so smart and I am so proud! But she doesn't like for me to get all giddy about how proud I am of her, I have to stay calm or she gets upset, yet another crazy thing I love about her.

One last story about Berkley. When picking him up from school today his teacher noted that Berkley hadn't listened well today during group time, that he'd wanted to do his own thing. Then the teacher announced that all the kids who had behaved well could get their coats to go outside, to which Berkley approached her, held her face in his hands, looked her in the eye and said "I be good tomorrow." My sweet boy, he's hilarious, I love him!

30 Weeks

Yep, 30 weeks is here. I bought Miss Elizabeth diapers and wipes today. We've almost got all of the basics for her arrival. I feel well, just out of breath and waddling like a penguin already. I'm in the nesting mode, feel like I need to get everything done now in case she comes early. This pregnancy is so different from the twins, I guess it's the age difference. Elizabeth moves all the time, she's very active. I feel her rolling and it feels so weirdly amazing, I even jump sometimes because she kicks me so hard. I don't remember feeling the twins roll, just kicks, probably b/c they never had room.

Christmas 2012

Well, I guess it's about time that I gave a Christmas update for 2012. What a wonderful holiday season we shared as a family this year! The twins were the perfect age to enjoy the magic of the holidays. I have to admit, Mommy and Daddy had a lot of fun making Christmas special for our babies as well:) All the fun began on the Sunday before Christmas with the Gurkin family Christmas. Each year the family competes to find a single pickle ornament wrapped with a $10 bill that Grandma Penny has hidden. This year Steven was the lucky one to find it...Go Daddy! We also had a $5 gift exchange that the twins were old enough to be included in this year. Berkley and Meredith were so proud to go up and pick out their gifts and who knew Berkley would be so happy with a travel coffee mug, which I must tell you he actually uses everyday to drink his milk from. What a blast we had with the Gurkins, it's always filled with laughter at Pen-Pen's home! Christmas Eve was spent celebrating with my mom and brother and again, our home was filled with laughter. One of my brother's best friends sent a bunch of small gifts for the twins to open and who would have known that Meredith's favorite gift (probably of the entire holiday) would be a guitar ornament with a photo of Johnny Cash on it that plays "Ring of Fire." I tell you, I have heard that song so many times since Christmas Eve and Meredith has memorized the words already. You want to try something difficult, try explaining what the words of "Ring of Fire" mean to two three year old toddlers. Berkley's favorite gift of the day was his very own grill. He's really fallen in love with helping daddy grill outside, so it was a given that he needed his own grill this holiday season, so Grandma and Joe-Joe hit the nail on the head with this gift. Christmas Eve evening was memorable because the twins loaded up into Papa's jingle bell laden wagon and rode the horse-drawn carriage to Reddick's Grove Church for the Christmas Eve service. I always look forward to this candlelight service. It makes you stop and reflect on the greatest gift mankind has ever received and why we even have Christmas, Christ.

Christmas morning I decorated with some paper snowflakes and garland because Berkley absolutely loves Christmas decorations. Sure enough, he noticed and was sad when we finally had to take them down after the holidays. I was happy that the twins weren't overly-excited, rip right into your presents kind of kids. They patiently took in the sight of the gifts that they had received and told us thank you for everything. Meredith's favorite Christmas morning gifts were a violin and a microphone on a stand. The two of them have had many a concert already with their microphone and they love to rock and roll! Berkley's favorite was a set of construction trucks that he received; he turned to me and said, "my construction trucks, thank you mommy, I really wanted these!" It melted my heart to see his sense of gratefulness at such a young age:) We followed up the gift giving fun with a simple breakfast with Grandma and Joe-Joe as well as a visit from Mima and Papa - talk about a lot of love in one household!

Meredith enjoying her new mic and Berkley admiring his new, very own Bible (which he'd been asking for for quite some time).

Meredith's look of surprise when she could actually play her violin.

Berkley looking over his new stash of construction vehicles. On Christmas afternoon we went to Mima and Papa's to spend some time with them, as well as with Steven's brother and his family. Our niece and nephew, Hutch and McKinley are now 8 and 10 and were so appreciative of every gift they received. The twins got "big bikes," tricycles and have already showed us they don't need any help riding...I can't believe how much my babies have grown! Our time at Mima and Papa's was followed by time at G-Dot's, Steven's paternal grandmother's home. Let's see, I believe there ended up being around 26 people total there and boy was it a blast! We are so grateful to have such a large extended family to share such a special season with. I voice recorded a few things on phone that I wanted to be sure not to forget from this Christmas and here they are: Berkley's face looking into the candlelight during the Christmas Eve service - oh the wonderment that could be seen. The view of Berkley holding his Papa's hand as they walked up to receive communion. Meredith asking to hold Grandma's hand when walking down the aisle at Piney Grove for their Christmas Eve service. The constant sound of Ring of Fire playing all throughout Christmas thanks to Meredith's new obsession. When asked what gifts they would give baby Jesus if they could give him anything, Meredith's response was a new lamp and Berkley's was a race car. These may not seem significant, but they are both precious gifts to the twins:) Berkley's face opening his grill, you would have thought it was an actual gas grill. The twins having their own sock puppet show at G-Dot's house.

Tents for the Imagination

Steven's mom and dad, Mima and Papa, gave the twins an awesome gift this Christmas; they each got their own personalized tent for their rooms. These tents are absolutely adorable and have completely transformed their rooms into their own personal, imagination filled space. Up until this point, I have to admit that I have never put a lot of effort into their rooms; I've just been in survival mode. When Steven’s mom showed me the photos of the tents it got the creative juices flowing and got me super excited about making their rooms their own for the first time. We finally got the finishing touches to Berkley’s room today and put everything together. Here are photos of the finished products. Great thanks to Mima and Papa for seeking out such imaginative gifts☺

As you can see, our little man loves construction trucks and tools. He is over the moon about his room. They've both been napping in their tents, but today after he saw everything come together with his "big bed" he asked if he could nap in his bed. Yay for good naps! And here are photos of Meredith's room.

And when given all the choices of room designs, our "Little Miss" chose cupcakes. I had told her if she could have any new room (i.e. Princess, Fairy, cupcake, etc.) what would she want and cupcake is what she chose. I was thrilled with the cupcake lamp and bedspread that I found to compliment the tent design. These are handmade tents and if you want more information visit www.playtentsforkids.com and click the "Play Tents" link.