Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. I have to admit I am a bit of a scrooge. This is NOT my most favorite time of the year, running around like a mad woman fighting traffic trying to find the perfect gifts that will turn out not to be perfect. Add that with 3 members of our household with the stomach virus. Yes, I know I am holding my breath that I don't make the fourth. But I know the girls will really enjoy the big day & more importantly everyone will enjoy seeing their beautiful faces. Love to you all!
Outtakes from our Christmas photoshoot

18 months

Sitting still (just for a second), on Great Aunt Martha's lap



Geneva playing the piano with Great Aunt, Nita. The child LOVES music.

The girls turned 1 1/2 years old on Thanksgiving day. I can't believe my little babies are so big. They are at such a cute age, learning something new everyday. They really are like sponges soaking up everything in sight. Words they can say: momma, dadda, sista (sister), Jesus, stinky, hi, bye-bye, ball, book, puppy, kitty cat, Corkie, Pop, nanna (banana), cheese, twokey (turkey), jew (juice), cup, bowl, baby, apple, cracker, egg, tree, no, nose, mouth, belly button, diaper, shoe, sock, all gone, bippie (pacifier). They are starting to put two words together, mainly "hi __" or "bye-bye ____." They can point to all their body parts, hold up 1 finger when asked "how old are you", & bring things when asked (bring mommy your shirt, bring mommy your shoe, etc.). They raise their hands & say "whoo" when asked to call the Hogs. They love to be outside & to encounter any new adventure. They had a great Thanksgiving visiting family & being the center of attention. Lexa is really coming out of her shell. She has such a sweet disposition. Daddy calls her an old soul. She still enjoys reading her books, flipping threw each page whispering as she goes. She loves Whiskey, hugging him frequently. She loves to study me, copying what I do, especially when I am cooking. Still quite the momma's girl. Geneva is 100% the performer. She has such a funny personality & loves to entertain, will do anything for a laugh. She loves to dance, loves music. She loves her "sista" kissing her many times throughout the day. If Lexa cries or is upset, Geneva runs to her aid. Still Daddy's girl.

STATS from the doctor:

Geneva: 21 lbs., 9 oz.

31.89 inches

Lexa: 24 lbs., 11 oz.

32.68 inches

Happy Halloween 2010

Our pumpkins on Halloween 2009, 5 months old. And now...
Happy Halloween from our little angel & devil 2010, 17 months old. My how they have changed.
It wasn't hard thinking of their costumes. They fit their personalities perfectly! What was hard was getting them both still long enough to take their picture. We finally gave up on a standing picture & settled for the couch.
Geneva loved every minute of being dressed up. She knew it was a special day.
Showing off her tail
The devil looking mischievous
Lexa not so sure about this dressing up thing
As you can see the halo didn't last long. At least she couldn't reach her wings in the back.

Pumpkin Patch

We had a wonderful fall Sunday at a pumpkin

patch in Missouri. The girls rode the hay rides with mom & dad along with a horse drawn carriage (Geneva called the horses kitty cats the entire ride). They went through the miniature hay maze, saw lots of farm animals, & pumpkins of course. It is such a joy to be with our children.

Wish every day could be Sunday!!

Carrots, anyone?

Big girls sitting in their front-facing car seats for the first time! They giggled the whole ride & Lexa said her favorite word "WOW" a million times.

I read somewhere to give a teething baby a carrot to relieve pain & it works!! Tonight Geneva was chewing on everything in site including our coffee table (which has recently made its way back to our living room). I remembered I had some left over carrots from my homemade chicken noodle soup. Of course when you give one of the girls something, you have to give the other the same thing...

While Mommy Is Away

This is what happens when Mommy works late & Daddy lets the girls play in their room. They discover how to pull out all the blankets stored in the "hidden drawer" under the crib...

Time for the Coats

These aren't great pictures, but I thought better than none. I swear Lexa has had 2 haircuts recently even though it looks like scissors have never touched her. Her hair grows like her dad's-super fast. The girls tried out their Hello Kitty coats tonight. Our low is 35! I can't believe it is already October. We had a very stressful September, can't really go into all details (nor do I wish to relive it). I quit what I thought would be my dream job--let's just say the grass is NOT always greener & people are NOT always what they seem. I started a new job Sept. 7th. Celebrated my 30th birthday on the 20th which made me feel super old. And since about the second week of September, Lexa has decided to not sleep through the night, waking up at 1:00 or 2:00 a.m. screaming at the top of her lungs, taking over an hour to settle back down. This has happened about 6 nights a week since & needless to say we are extremely tired & stressed. Lexa has slept through the night since I think 3 months old & we cannot figure out what is wrong. The doctor attributes it to teething as she has cut 3 of her molars recently. I think it is more related to separation anxiety. She is quite the mommy's girl & is beginning to cry anytime I leave the room. We have tried every method in the world (tylenol, motrin, oragel, gas drops, trying to let her cry it out, sleeping on the floor in her room, extra bottle, the 10 minute rule, a noise machine, extra light), & the only thing that quiets her is the swing which we reluctantly got out of the attic in the middle of the night during one of her screaming fests. It looks crazy having a 25 pound big girl in the swing, but whatever works. Now that it is a new month, & hopefully a better one, I will update more frequently.