The Turner FAMILY'S Blog

Quick Kru update

2010-08-25T21:41:00.000-04:00

This is way overdue. And I know I owe a post on the girls, but I am not keeping a baby book, so this is my record keeping.

CRAWLING: Kru has been "crawling" for a couple of months now. I haven't posted anything about it because he started with an army crawl and then just got REALLY good and REALLY fast at that. He never got off his belly! We joke all the time about the fact that he has a pretty big belly to lift and that we can't really blame him.

I know that counts as "crawling" but I still thought he'd eventually do a normal crawl, but I guess not, I think this is Kru's crawl. Although, we went to a water park the other day and he was sitting in the weather, he went to crawl and realized the ground was rough, he lifted that belly up and crawled without any problem.

FOOD: About 3 weeks ago Kru started to become very aware of our food. He would be content with his baby food but as soon as he caught a glimpse of the other food at the table all he wanted was that! He pretty much gave up baby food cold turkey. I had forgotten how hard it is to come up with finger foods! But he makes it easy, anything I put in front of him, he eats.

WALKING: The real reason for this post. I have to document the fact that Kru took his first steps today! I don't think hes going to start running around the house anytime soon. He is still very shaky and unsure but he was standing on his own and he lifted one foot up and moved it forward. And then, HE DID IT AGAIN! We were at Great-grandmother, Great-grandaddy and Aunt Susan's house so they got to witness it, too. Awesome!!!

TEETH: He has 6!! He has had 3 for quite a while now. Bottom two and one of the teeth outside his front teeth on top (not the middle two, but one of the ones on the side of that) and overnight last night the 2 front teeth and the other side tooth came in. Thats right, 3 at once, and believe me, David and I have paid for it! Phew!! He didn't make it easy on us!

TEMPERMENT: He is an absolute joy!! I know, I'm biased, but anyone will tell you. He is such a charmer, he hasn't met a stranger, he can make anyone and everyone fall in love with him. His smile is magical. And those big, blue eyes.... Oh my goodness! They just make me melt. He is all boy, loves to move, loves to play but he is also one of the cuddliest and most loving children I've ever met. And his sisters... they are CRAZY about him!! They are always cooing to him "Hey, bubby!", "I love you!" and Lyla's new favorite thing is to "teach" Kru. She wants to teach him everything! And they are both so proud of him. They celebrate all of his "firsts" with him and get so excited for him. Its wonderful to watch.

CUTE BABY TRICKS: He can give high five. He claps -- his favorite thing is to clap for himself. So cute! Anytime you say "Yea, Kru!" he just starts clapping. He waves. And he is starting to blow kisses. He brings his hands up to his mouth but thats about it.

VOCABULARY: "Ma!", "Mom!", "Mama!". I think thats about it -- at least those are his favorites and not necessarily because he loves his mommy so much but because he is in that stage where when I walk out of his line of sight he just starts calling for me. So, I hear this about a million times a day. He also says "Dada" and "Nigh, nigh" and "ba-ba" -- for bottle and bye-bye (same sound). I guess thats about all. Not too verbal yet.

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I think thats a fair update. He is one amazing boy and has blessed our family in so many ways. He thank God for him!!!

Kru's first carousel ride

2010-08-24T22:03:00.000-04:00

I think its safe to say he liked it.

2010 House Projects

2010-07-21T14:36:00.001-04:00

I have decided to make a "Project List". These are chores and projects I hope to complete by the end of the year. I'm going to "page" that you can get to at the top of the blog so you can check back to see where I'm at! A few of these projects will cost some money so if I'm not able to complete them by the end of the year you may see fabric and paint on our Christmas lists. These are in no particular order and I will add to it as more things come up.

Clean out the girls closet -- its pretty organized but there are old Dr. Brown and Playtex bottles, sippy cups, receiving blankets that I held onto in case another baby needed and since Kru didn't -- its time for them to go!
Set up the "office" corner in our bedroom
Paint our bedroom
Make/buy curtains for our bedroom
Make a headboard for our bedroom
Paint our bathroom
Pait our cabinets in the bathroom
Put things on the walls in our bathroom and bedroom (can you tell our bathroom/bedroom has always been at the bottom of the list?!?)
Make/but curtains for the den/dining room and kitchen -- all of downstairs.
Paint the powder room and buy a new hand towel
Repaint the picture frames hanging in the den -- they are black now and I'd like to paint them blue or something (a color to match the new curtains!) to add a pop of color to our den.
Put new pictures in the frames in our den -- Kru is not represented AT ALL!
Organize our craft supplies.
Organize the toys in the garage
Make buy some curtains for the playroom
Come up with a creative way to display the girls artwork -- which is multiplying very quickly these days!
Paint the upstairs hallway
Convert the girls to twin beds. They are in toddler beds now and I'd like them to be in twin beds by the end of the year.
Paint all the brass door knobs
Buy some plants! I've always killed plants, but I'd like one or two around the house. I've kept a basil plan alive and thriving for 2 weeks now and that little burst of green life on my kitchen windowsill has brought me a lot of joy and I'd like more.

For now, thats it. There are lots of little things I'd like to do, a picture frame here or there, etc. But this is the bulk of it. Wish me luck!

LOVE this boy!

2010-07-19T21:32:00.003-04:00

Summer fun!

2010-06-17T17:21:00.002-04:00

Click to make it larger.

Kru is learning how to eat Cheerios!

2010-06-17T08:36:00.000-04:00

Clearly he has a long road ahead of him,
but when this is your teacher, what do you expect?

Daddy Daughter Date

2010-06-16T22:20:00.000-04:00

David took the girls on a "date" tonight. They were so excited. They wanted their hair done, they didn't fight me when I got them dressed. It was cute to see them look forward to their date. I was also surprised they seemed to know what a "date" was. They kept asking if they were going to go on a "big boat" like Mommy and Daddy or if they were going to go on a plane like Gaga and Papa (my parents just got back from a trip to France). I guess I use the word "date" more than I thought!

They went to Chick-fil-a for Kids Eat Free night. David got them Sprite which is a very rare treat. He said they didn't enjoy it as much as we thought they would. They might have enjoyed a juice box more. They played in the playground a little bit and then got an ice dream. All 3 of them really enjoyed themselves.

Kru and I stayed home, cleaned up the house a little bit and he went to bed early. I can't wait till hes old enough for us to go on dates, too!

We have a consonant sound!

2010-06-07T16:52:00.000-04:00

Kru started saying the "B" sound yesterday! He says it all the time now and today I think I've heard a few "P" and "G" sounds, too! He is certainly having fun with his sounds.

Getting big so fast! Too fast!!

One of my favorite nights

2010-06-03T21:12:00.001-04:00

This is going to be more like a journal entry than a blog post for me tonight. I just don't ever want to forget this night. David is out of town and I typically HATE putting the kids down when he is away. I'm usually impatient and grouchy. And of course, when I have a bad attitude going into it, my kids feel it and respond unfavorably. Its just a bad cycle all together.

But not tonight.

My mom and dad were here and the girls were loving their time with them. We danced to the songs of Glee for about an hour. It was so fun (who needs the gym?!? Talk about a workout!!)!! We calmed down, the girls were still entertained so I was able to put Kru to bed without them getting impatient and then my parents left and it was their turn.

It was just precious. They had the happiest hearts, obeyed without me having to ask more than once and were just a complete joy! We read stories, cuddled and kissed.

I started reading a Bible book to them last night -- its a Bible story book for Mothers and Daughters that I got from David's mom when the girls were born. I thought they were still a little young but wanted to start the habit of reading Bible stories to them as soon as possible.

Well, I was wrong.

They got it.

They really got it. It was so amazing (Thanks Mother, this book really blessed the 3 of us tonight!). We were reading about how Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree God told her not to. They immediately responded to the word "disobeyed" and said Eve should get a spank-spank or go to time out. It went on to say she was punished and I asked the girls if they get punished when they disobey (I wasn't sure they knew the word) and they said they do. They knew what punishment was. And the book talked about how Eve's punishment was to leave the beautiful garden where all the animals were and the girls were sad for her and said "Disobey is a no-no. She has to go to time out".

I don't know if I'm even coming close to portraying what a beautiful moment this was for us. I think more than anything God is really showing me that he is HERE in our lives. I've prayed every day for almost 3 years (I got pregnant in June 3 years ago) that my children would truly KNOW him and now that they are at an age where they are understanding the world around them I've wondered if I was doing a good job. I'm sure thats something I'll always question, but tonight, I feel at peace. My girls know who God is, they are beginning to understand that we lift our hands to him in praise. That we obey him and his commands and when we don't there is punishment.

Next time you see them ask them "Who is the apple of your eye?". They will be sure to tell you that its Jesus! And I'm beginning to think they actually have an inkling of what that really means.

Thank you, God!

Love this!

2010-06-03T14:45:00.000-04:00

Here is a video of Pressley dancing in church. We attend the 2nd Service at our church and the kids are in nursery. We've started taking them into the beginning of the 3rd service so they can enjoy the singing. We've been teaching them that we are singing to God and tell him how much we love him!! They really enjoy this time and although I'm sure they don't "get" all of it right now, I know those precious seeds are being planted. I can't watch this video with out tearing up. My hearts prayer is to raise my children to know the Lord and have a personal relationship with him. I hope Pressley's heart (and Lyla and Kru's!) always dances for our Heavenly Father.

I love when she stops to lift her hands (like they are doing on stage), I told her later than when she does that she is lifting her hands to God telling him how much she loves him. She lifts her hands during songs we sing at home now! For some reason Lyla was in a cuddly mood this week and was in David's arms but she can really get into it, too. I'll try to capture that another time.

Family Date night

2010-06-02T20:56:00.002-04:00

David and I went on a cruise a few weeks ago. We had a blast (I'm sure I'll post about this more later), we have desperately needed to reconnect. A LOT of things have changed for us in the last 27 months! This was our first time away since becoming parents -- my first night away from my kids other than when I was in the hospital giving birth to Kru! We decided we needed to have more date nights, go away for a night or two a couple of times a year and save the big trips to do with the kids. We did NEED this cruise and wouldn't have traded it for the world but we just kept seeing things we wish we could have shared with the kids. David's family loves to go on cruises so I'm sure we'll go again soon and will get to share it with our kids, I can't wait!

Anyway, as I said, we want to do more date nights. I was planning one for David -- one I knew HE would love -- a LOST series finale date night. I woke up one morning and decided to do it that night, so it was kind of thrown together but come off really well. I got all my ideas from this great website The Dating Divas, they are a bunch of married women that give ideas on how to date your hubby. I love it!

So, our date...

I planned on doing a few theme things for David and I to enjoy after the kids went to bed but as I was getting ready I realized the girls would really enjoy a lot of this, too. So, I decided we would have a family night first, put the kids to bed, and then we'd have our date night time. It was a great night!!

Our "Dharma" stuff. Food, a manual (love notes from all of us), a gift which was a shirt with the Dharma symbol:

Our LOST cake. This could have looked a lot cuter but like I said, last minute.

Here we are in our jammies, eating our LOST cake and watching The Incredibles in our life boat (kiddie pool). This was my favorite part of the night. Playing in the life boat was SO much fun! I blew it up while the kids were napping and it was standing up in the kitchen when the girls woke up. Lyla walked into the kitchen and gasped, she said "Its my big boat!". She has been so hung up on boats lately! She is CRAZY about them. And I thought it was hilarious she knew it was a boat!! Its very similar to the kiddie pool my mom has at her house so I thought I'd have to convince them it was a boat and not a pool but, nope.

Playing in the boat was so fun! They loved to "fall out" and let David and I save them. They loved to swim in the "water". They loved to ride the side of the boat like a horsie. Let me tell you, putting a blow up kiddie pool in your den creates a ton of creative play. We will do this again just for the heck of it!

Then the kids went to bed, we turned on the season finale and drank our Dharma White Wine. :o) Good times.

And now...

2010-05-08T22:28:00.001-04:00

Tooth #2!!

Go Kru!!

Kru News

2010-05-06T15:45:00.000-04:00

First of all....

WE HAVE A TOOTH!!

It must have come through last night because it was not there yesterday. I knew it was coming and told my mom this week that I thought it would be soon, and sure enough! There it is! Its his lower left (if you're looking at him) tooth. And I've tried to get a picture, but its not quite big enough to show up, but I'll get one soon.

And, just to document for myself. I've been making Kru his big boy food, just like I did with the girls. He started on carrots, just like the girls did and he's also eaten homemade pears. I hate to admit this, but he has had 3 jars of Earth's Best. The girls never ate a bite of store bought food but I just wasn't sure I'd have the time this go round, so I bought a few jars. I even started Kru on Earth's Best and he wasn't crazy about it. I thought it was just the new taste and tried again, still not to crazy about it. So I tasted it and it does that that "store bought baby food taste". I know they don't put any junk in there, but it still tastes weird to me. So, I whipped up a huge batch of organic carrots and pears -- it took me all of 30 minutes from start to finish and I now have 4 ice cube trays of each.

The first time I fed him "my" carrots he couldn't get enough! Kept opening his mouth for more. IWe even ended up with a clean bib because he didn't spit them out. It made me so glad I did it. And I had forgotten how fast it can go and how rewarding it is. I remember with the girls thinking I could seriously make baby food for a living. And now I remember why I felt that way! I just love it. So did my girls. And now, so does my boy. Yay!

I love this picture

2010-04-30T22:28:00.002-04:00

Pressley's Owie Eye, Day 2

2010-04-30T10:22:00.003-04:00

Pressley's Owie Eye

2010-04-29T22:21:00.001-04:00

My girl has an owie. She fell off a stool in the kitchen. Every time I look at her it breaks my heart. But she is fine. Playing like she always does. I'm praising God for his protection, it could have been much worse.

Greenville Children's Museum

2010-04-29T16:43:00.001-04:00

A couple of weeks ago the Moms of Multiples Club paid for all the members to go to Greenville's new Children's Museum downtown. I didn't think I was going to be able to make it but in the end we were able to go! My mom watched Kru so I could have a fun morning out with the girls. It was so wonderful! One of the best days I've had in a long time. I just loved being able to explore with my sweet girls. And, they loved it, too. We have been hoping to go soon but were a little put off by the cost but now that we've been I would tell anyone to GO! Its well worth the money.

There was a kid-sized grocery store that the girlies LOVED. This was probably their favorite thing to do. They both loved filling up their grocery carts but all of the pictures I got of Pressley she is looking away from the camera -- at her groceries, apparently she was either too busy to give me a good picture or I just didn't do a good job of getting a good picture of her. But, I did get some good ones of her working the cash register, which she loved. All of the food items had big barcodes that would actually scan at the check out and she thought that was just too cool.

They also had a little cake decorating station -- just like in a real grocery store.

They had this AWESOME play area in the middle of the museum. The girlies were still too young to climb on it (you have to be 3) but enjoyed playing under it and around it. There were also some other little play things around it they enjoyed. Like the mirror steps you could walk on.

They have a fun little construction-site room.

And a light-up tube you could crawl through.

They also had a farm room. It was adorable. It had a little farm house with fully stocked kitchen, fireplace and child-sized lounge chair. It also had farm animals. A hen-house, with eggs that fell into a basket. A cow you could milk and some rows of "dirt" you could plant flowers and veggies in. I loved this room, it was my favorite. The girlies loved it, too.

We can't wait to go back! And hopefully, Daddy and Kru can go with us next time.

Changes...

2010-04-29T15:58:00.000-04:00

We've been making a lot of changes around here. Good ones!

We are eating MUCH healthier. We got rid off all high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. We are eating hormone/antibiotic free meats. Eating more veggies and beans (since the healthier meat is much more expensive). I feel this is the way God designed our bodies to eat. There was no chicken nugget tree in the garden of Eden. These amazing bodies he has given us have adapted very well and we are able to eat the crap thats all around us, but it isn't part of his original design for us. So, we're trying to be a little more natural with our eating habits.

Its been wonderful! I love watching my girls snack on fruit, hummus and edamamme -- all of which they LOVE. Instead of cookies or fruit snacks.

I'm back to making my own granola. Yummy!!

I've started making my own wheat bread. There is nothing like the smell of a fresh baked bread.

We've only been this way a little over a month and I can see a big change in the way I feel. I have more energy and less of that rock-in-my-belly feeling. I'm also losing weight! Yea!

We are doing more organic. I"m trying very hard to at least stick to the "dirty dozen" when buying produce but if I do buy something non-organic am using fruit and veggie wash -- at least that makes me feel better.

I just can't tell you how much better I feel knowing this way of eating is what I"m teaching my children. Not to eat out or buy processed foods -- which we used to eat a lot of.

Now, don't get me wrong, you will still see us eating "bad for you foods" from time to time. But if we abide by this new lifestyle at least 80% of the time, thats a HUGE change, right? Every little bit helps.

Funny Kru

2010-04-24T09:07:00.000-04:00

Well, there is no real "story" for Kru. But he is one funny boy. He loves to be happy, he loves to laugh. The other day I took Pressley to the pediatrician and one of the nurses took Kru and started bouncing him and he just laughed and laughed, she took him all around the office bouncing him in front of other people and he would just erupt in laughter. It was hilarious! And it brought so much joy to my heart to see so many other people enjoy my precious boy.

In other news: Kru rolled over! On Tuesday I put him on his belly for some tummy time, I went in the kitchen to put some dishes away and when I came back he was on his back! I missed it!!!!

He is also sitting very, very well. Can stay on his bottom for several minutes at a time, plays with the toys in his lap and usually falls over because he turns too far on one side (usually to see what his sisters are up to) or because he laughs and throws his body backwards. He's getting soooo big!

And lastly, just in case you didn't know..... this boy LOVES to eat!!! We started feeding him cereal this week. And as you'd expect, the first time or two he wasn't sure what to do, mostly just spit it back out and didn't seem to enjoy it. But the fourth time we tried everything changed. He opened his mouth when I brought the spoon to him, he swallowed it right down and cried every time I had to refill the spoon. I even made him a second bowl and he ate ALL THAT! So right now he eats a BIG bowl (the size the girls used to split) of rice cereal twice a day and he still drinks 40 ounces of formula a day. Unbelievable. Its no wonder this sweet boy weighs 23 pounds. Thats right, not quite 6 months old and already weighs 23 pounds.

Funny Lyla

2010-04-24T08:58:00.000-04:00

We were leaving the gym the other day and as we walk to the car I always try to get the girls to tell me if they had fun, what they did, etc. They hardly answer. They usually just say "had fun" or "play at gym", that sort of thing. So the other day we were walking to the car and Lyla was in front of me. She stopped, turned around and said:

"I go to MY gym. I have fun. I play cars with boys."

Then she turned around and kept walking. I loved it! I love that she told me what she did and I love (for now anyway) that she was playing cars with boys.

Doesn't this look like a girl who would enjoy playing "cars with boys"??

Funny Pressley

2010-04-24T08:55:00.001-04:00

I was having a conversation with Pressley about "my babies". I asked her who my babies were. I said "Is Pressley my baby?" She said yes. I asked "Is Lyla my baby?", she said yes. I asked "Is Kru my baby?", she said yes. I then asked her if we should have more babies. She again said yes. Then I asked if we should have more boy babies or girl babies.

Her answer...

"More Pressley's!"

Ha. I don't know if I could handle that. :)

6 Days of Potty Training under our belt!

2010-04-17T14:41:00.000-04:00

We're doing really well! Lyla even stayed dry all night last night! I was shocked! That girl talks herself to sleep and often talks for an hour and a half or more. I thought getting her to stay dry all night would be impossible since during the day she pees every 45 minutes and takes so long to go to sleep. But, she did it! Pressley hadn't gone all night... yet.

They both stay dry during naps.

Pressy poops on the potty regularly and will tell me every time she needs to go. Yesterday she pooped on the potty 4 times, AT ONCE! You may want to skip these next few sentences but I'm going to "document" this story in all its glory. She came to me and told me she needed to "poopy", I put her on her potty and she filled it up, literally. She stood up so I could get rid of it, and I also cleaned her up. I was ready to let her go play and she said "more poopy", so I sat her back down and she filled it up again! She did this a total of 4 times. It was truly a sight to behold! Ha! I guess any nerves she had about going poopy on the potty are gone.

Both girls are averaging 1-2 accidents a day. Which is pretty good, I think. Pressley is doing better than Lyla so far.

Today we ran errands all morning. We put one of the potties in the car and let them go before we went in or out of stores. They did AWESOME! Not a single accident!!! And, while we were in Whole Foods Pressley told David she needed to go pee pee. So, we went to the potty, there was a line, of course, she held it but I didn't want to push her too hard in her first week so one of the workers checked to see if the boys room was empty. It was, so she guarded the door while I took Pressley in. She went. Lyla was in the stroller and before I could ask her if she had to go she crawled out of her stroller and came over to me and asked to go, too! She did. I was sooooo proud of them!

So, we're doing quite well. Not 100% yet, but we're getting close!

Potty Training..... Day 2

2010-04-13T21:43:00.000-04:00

Well, I saw a LOT of progress today. Both girls woke up wet, but that didn't surprise me since I had pumped them full of liquids just before bed trying to get them to pee pee on the potty one last time before bed. I took them both to the bathroom anyway, Pressley peed, Lyla did not. After that Pressley had 2 more accidents pretty quickly and hasn't had another since about 10am! Woo hoo!! She even stopped playing this evening and said "Poopy!". David and I both dove for her thinking she had already started but she hadn't! We put her on the potty and she pooped. Yea!!

Lyla on the other hand.... will sit and sit and sit. I finally believe she may not have to pee, let her up, put her panties on and then she bends over and catches her pee in her hands. yes. seriously. She has done this twice today. I know the fact that she is "aware" is a good thing, but come on! After those incidents I started making her sit on the potty until she peed. She would sit and sit and sit but I kept pushing. Finally, I got frustrated, stood up, and said "I'm leaving, let me know when you pee." I closed the door and in about 5 seconds she said "Mommy, I peed". And she had. sigh.

This little girl might be tough. She is too stinking smart for her own good. She knows full well what is going on and will give in when she is good and ready. I probably just need to come up with something new and exciting to steal her attention. She'll get bored of potty training and just give in.

I suppose only time will tell....

Potty Training..... Day 1

2010-04-12T21:29:00.002-04:00

Lorren told me a few things to have on hand (since she potty trained Savannah last week!) so I was sure to pick up some juice the girls loved, training panties, and a reward system (stickers that has turned into candy or pretty much whatever else they want). But she forgot to mention a maid, a cook, a nanny for Kru and a well stocked bar for me!

Phew! What a day! It started off ROUGH and was pretty difficult all day long but I did see a lot of progress. Our biggest problem is they really influence each other. At one point they were playing outside and I caught them both hiding behind a table peeing together right through their panties. And when they sit on the potty we will sit and wait for a L-O-N-G time before one goes and as soon as one goes, the other goes. Ugh.

What a day.

I can only hope tomorrow is better.

Easter Weekend

2010-04-09T15:03:00.001-04:00

We spent Easter weekend in Raleigh with all the Kruithofs. It was great! Brent and Katie flew in on Friday night and they got to meet sweet baby Hailey for the first time.

From there is was just constant fun and excitement. Saturday morning we got up and did Easter baskets. We didn't think we'd have time on Sunday since we planned on going to the early service at church, plus the kids all got some outdoor toys we could play with. After that we got dressed and went to the park. It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun! The park Lorren and Cole took us to didn't have a playground and I'm so glad! We had fun just running around, picking flowers, playing with a t-ball stand Savannah got for her Birthday and just exploring. David and Cole went to get some sandwiches from Subway so we ended our trip with a picnic.

Saturday night we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and celebrated Savi's birthday. Oh, and the girls savored some of their Easter candy.

Sunday was also a beautiful day. We went to church as a family to celebrate our risen Lord and then went back to Lorren and Cole's for a wonderful, traditional Easter ham lunch and then we hit the road. It was a wonderful Easter and made many great memories.

My new favorite picture

2010-04-04T21:21:00.000-04:00

I love, love, love this picture!! Those are my sweet girls and they love each other. I praise God for that.

Painting Waffles

2010-03-28T21:59:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday morning we woke up and the girls painted their waffles. It was so fun! They had a blast!!

I toasted their blueberry waffles and they painted them almond milk (what the girls drink in the morning) dyed with food coloring. They used a plain 'ol clean paintbrush.

It really was a fun way to start the day. And very interesting to watch. Their methods are so different. Pressley just goes for it and takes bites along the way. Lyla is more focused, didn't take a single bite while she was busy painting and when she was all done still didn't want to eat it. I love the focus they have in the pictures. They were really into it.

Fun stories

2010-03-27T21:42:00.002-04:00

My girls fully understand we pray before we eat. They are constantly reminding us to pray when we forget. Yesterday my mom and I were at McDonald's and she was trying to entertain the girls while I ordered food, by the time I got back everyone was wiggly and we just began to dig in. In between bites Pressy started saying "Thank you" bite, bite "God" bite, bite "food...." bite, bite. Lyla chimed in "love you, God" bite, bite "Amen".

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My last post was called "Sisterly Love" and I mentioned that the girls are also crazy about their brother. Its true, they love him and are constantly taking care of him, but he does steal some of their attention at times, and that can be frustrating. Yesterday when Pressley woke up from her nap she really wanted me to sit on the floor with her and play with the duplo blocks. I told her I had to feed Kru first but would sit with her as soon as I was done. She started whining and I told her if she whined I wouldn't sit with her at all. So she came over and stood next to Kru and I waiting patiently. I said "I love you, Pressy and I love Kru and I love Lyla" then I asked her if she loved Lyla and she said "yes". I asked her if she loved Kru and she said "no". I said "yes, you do!" and she said "no love Kru. Mommy play blocks!"

Oh well.

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Ok, so here is a story where Lyla shows love to Kru. She is a little mommy -- your typical big sister. Kru was on his playmat a couple of days ago and was starting to fuss. I asked Lyla to give him his pacie. She went over, put his pacie in and he calmed down. She came over to me and said "Kru sad. Kru need bobble" (bottle). I said "no, I don't think so". She said "I think so. Bobble". And walked away, no strutted away, very confident she knew what was best. I love it! I love that she thinks she knows what he needs and better yet, that she cares about him enough to tell me!

--------------------------------------

Heres another cute story. The girls and I were coloring and they began peeling the papers off the crayons (a *fun* game my mom taught them). Lyla had just peeled a pink crayon and I asked her what color she had. She said "pink" (this is the one color they can both get right every time). Then she picked up the paper she peeled off of a black crayon and asked me what color. I wondered if I should say "grey" which is the actual color of the paper or "black" since it came off a black crayon. I decided to go with "grey" since that accurately answers the question she asked so I said "Actually, thats grey". She said "Actually, this Lellow" (yellow). I loved how she used "acutally". It was too cute.

-----------------------------------

Thats all for now... these stories are cute to me and one day when I look back at my blog I know I'll enjoy reading them again. But, hopefully they are entertaining to you, too.

Sisterly love

2010-03-26T21:42:00.000-04:00

We have had a busy week in the Turner house. Pressley spiked a high fever Tuesday afternoon, we rushed to the doctor's office and she was given 2 shots of high-dose antibiotics because her white blood cell count was high. We were sent for a chest x-ray the next morning. The x-ray showed pneumonia. We went back in to meet with the doctor on Wednesday afternoon and another round of the high-dose antibiotic shot was ordered. Pressy knew what was coming and as soon as I started to pull her pants down (she got one shot in each thigh) she started screaming. My mom was with me and she took Lyla and Kru to the lobby so they wouldn't have to be there for the ordeal. Once the shots were done we had to wait around for 10 minutes so they could make sure she didn't have any reaction. While we were waiting she kept crying and asking for Lyla. One of the nurses went to the lobby to get Lyla, as she was coming down the hall Pressy ran out to her and they ran into each others arms. Lyla gave Pressy a big hug and kiss and then said "Here Pressy", she went to the prize box and picked her out a little froggy toy. It all calmed Pressy right down. It was absolutely precious. I'm so thankful my girls love each other!! And, they are crazy about their brother, too.

This would be the perfect place to put a picture of the 2 of them together but its almost impossible to take a good picture of them together! I'm going to have to work on that.

Sweet boy

2010-03-22T22:12:00.000-04:00

Kru is such an easy going, laid back boy. A couple of weeks ago we all sat down to eat dinner and decided to try letting Kru sit in his (the girls old) highchair so he could watch us. We gave him a toy monkey to play with. He pulled the monkey up to him and promptly fell asleep. It was so sweet. He is so sweet. We are so incredibly blessed to share our lives with this little boy.

Christmas 2009. Finally.

2010-03-17T21:32:00.000-04:00

Yea, this is really late. But I was just looking back over my blog and I realized I have NEVER put Christmas photos on here! What a shame!!! So, here are a few from this past Christmas, which was wonderful.

First was Christmas Eve at Grandmother and Grandaddy Turner's house. Reeree and Cuncle (Aunt Regina and Uncle Chris) bought the girls dress up clothes. This was the... best. gift. ever! The girls had a blast, we could hardly get Pressy to take the clothes off and they still one of the most popular toys in the house!

Great-grandmother and great-grandaddy got the girls motorized cars! They haven't played with them much yet... its been a little too cold outside but I'm sure they will be a huge hit!

And of course, Kru was there, too! Usually hanging out on someones lap.

Next up was Christmas morning at Gaga and Papa Kruithof's house. Uncle Cole, Aunt Lolo, Savannah, Uncle Brenty and Aunt Kiki were all in town for Christmas. That always makes it so much more special! All the kids (and adults!) had a blast, of course.

David and I got the girls Radio Flyer trikes for Christmas. Their feet don't really reach the pedals but hopefully by summer they will! They love them anyway. Now we just need to get some helmets.

And here is Kru, he was just hanging out all morning. He got lots of gifts, too. Here you can see him with a little bitty elephant he "got". The girls wanted it to be right next to him. I guess it was only fair since they were enjoying all their new toys.

Some long overdue updates

2010-03-17T20:56:00.000-04:00

Hello friends (if anyone is still around), I know I should have updated our blog a long time ago,

but guess what,

I've been

BUSY!

Hard to believe, right?

So, those updates...

First of all, Kru is already 4 1/2 months old! Where has the time gone?!?
Second of all, he's HUGE! We were at the Dr. earlier this week and he was just a couple ounces shy of 20 lbs! Lyla was only 18 lbs when she was a YEAR old! Keeping this boy in clothes that fir has been a chore, he outgrows things way too quickly!
Kru's first smile was on the day he turned 5 weeks old. Which would have been December 5th.
I kept him in his bassinet in our room way too long. Not age-wise, but size-wise! The poor boy was touching both ends, but I just couldn't bring myself to move him. I mean, come on, this might be my last baby! So, the babysitter did it for us. We were out celebrating my SURPRISE 30th birthday party and the babysitter put him down in his own bed.... he's been there ever since. That was February 20th.
Lyla and Pressley are TWO!! When I got the call from church that they were going to be moved up to the 2 year old room on Sunday nights I sat in the parking lot of Costco and bawled! Again, where has the time gone?!?
Lyla and Pressley are both cutting their two-year molars. Its.... just.... lovely. Lots of motrin, lots of whining, lots of drooling and finger chewing. Pressley now has all 4 showing, 2 of which are all the way through. Lyla is still getting started and I can't see any of them yet.
Lyla and Pressley are talking LIKE CRAZY!! They say full sentences, carry on conversations, its amazing. They are at such a fun age, learning new things all the time!
Lyla and Pressley are in big girl beds. We changed their cribs to toddler beds in January. I had been dreading it for months, but you'd never know anything changed. They handled it perfectly!
We have a new niece! Lorren's little girl, Hailey Claire was born January 21st. I tried my hardest to make in there for her birth but arrived just a couple hours late. When she decided she was done "cooking", she meant it!

Thats all I can think of right now, of course I can think of lots of "little" things that have been going on and I may update you on a few of those. But, for now, I'm done. I will post some pictures though. Enjoy!

I can update from my phone!

2009-12-09T17:28:00.001-05:00

Maybe I'll update more often now.

For now, enjoy this picture of my sweet boy, Kru William Turner. He is amazing!

20 Weeks

2009-06-24T14:25:00.002-04:00

Week and day: 20 weeks, 3 days

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: just took them off. So sad.

Food cravings: Anything sweet! and water... very strange for me.

Food aversions: absolutely nothing

Nausea: nope, haven't had any in a while, hallelujah!

Energy level: up, up, up! Nesting has kicked in and I love it! I never got to enjoy it with the girls, I wanted things to be done but was already quite uncomfortable and wasn't physically able to do everything I want. This time, nothing can stop me! I actually scrubbed my kitchen floor on my hands and knees the other day! I wanted to make sure I got every bit of dirt.

Weight gain: About 16 lbs.

Mood: Cheerful but sensitive. I've cried more in the last few weeks than ever before in my life.

Maternity clothes: Absolutely! Wearing 'em and loving 'em!

Size of baby: length of a banana. I can tell! I feel movement on both sides of my belly now.

Changes of baby: He (yes, I sad HE) is swallowing more these days.
Next appointment: Sometime in July -- ultrasound and check-up.

Other: We're having a BOY! We plan to name him Kru William Turner -- Kru is for my maiden name, Kruithof. William is David's dad's first name and my dad's middle name, so its a solid family name all around. I found out when I went in for my last ultrasound that I have anterior placenta previa. As of right now the placenta is on the back side of my c-section scar so if it doesn't move (which often happens as your uterus grows with the baby), it may make delivery difficult! Please pray it moves as needed.

I feel absolutely great and am loving this pregnancy. We have started cleaning out Kru's room and I'm itching to start decorating! We can't wait to meet this precious little guy, it won't be long now!

By the way, sorry I haven't updated more often one of my little monkeys actually CHEWED our power cable to the laptop and I am dragging my feet about replacing it. I'm loving the technology break! I'm using my moms computer now which is why I'm not posting pictures, but I'll look through her photo album and see if she has any recent pics of the gilies.

15 week belly pic!

2009-05-17T23:19:00.002-04:00

Here it is, the first of many!

15 weeks and strawberry picking

2009-05-17T14:42:00.002-04:00

Week and day: 15 weeks

Belly Button in or out: In

Wedding rings on or off: on for now.

Food cravings: Pickles and hot sauce. I can't belive I want hot sauce! I've never liked hot sauce. I've eaten grilled chicken with hot sauce at Quaker Steak and Lube two days in a row!!

Food aversions: nothing really.

Nausea: yup, still. Its different though. It hits me around 11:30 and its more of an ill feeling than "morning sickness", but its nothing a little hot sauce can't cure.

Energy level: much better! No nap this week (but I hope David doesn't read this -- I don't think he does -- because sometimes he lets me take a nap on the weekend while he plays with the girls and I don't want to give that up!)

Weight gain: About 10 lbs.

Mood: Pretty normal, but I get cranky when that ill feeling hits mid day.

Maternity clothes: Absolutely! Wearing 'em and loving 'em!

Size of baby: apple -- impressive, don't you think?

Changes of baby: Our baby can move all its joints and limbs now!

Next appointment: May 22nd. Blood work only.

Other: Things are going great! I can't wait to find out if I'm having a boy or girl. Its still 5 weeks away!!! That seems like forever! But, we go on vacation in 2 weeks so at least I'll have a little break to take my mind off things.

___________________________________________

Now, the strawberry picking. We went as a family last weekend and it was a BLAST!! We put the girlies in their wagon and pulled them up and down the isles while David and I picked the berries. We gave them fresh berries to eat and they were in heaven! When they would finish their berry they would drop the stem and say "more, more". I actually paid for an extra pound when we left because I felt guilty, they ate SO MANY STRAWBERRIES!! When we got home I was putting the berries away and they stood at my feet still asking for more. They have eaten them with almost every meal and are still loving them!

Laundry Time!

2009-05-14T16:12:00.003-04:00

Ok, heres a confession for you. I ABSOLUTELY HATE AND DESPISE doing laundry!!! So, at any given moment in our house there is at least one pile of dirty laundry, clean and unfolded laundry and/or clean, folded, but not yet put away laundry around our house. I would rather scrub toilets all day than do a load of laundry. I finally did a load of laundry, folded it and planned on putting it all away when the girls woke up. I set the basket of folded laundry on a chair in the dining room and went to get the girls. I brought them down, gave them their juice and then answered my ringing phone. THREE MINUTES later, this is what I found

What really cracks me up is that they each put on two necklaces before they had their way with the laundry! Hmmm, maybe they're on to something.... could laundry be more fun while wearing lots of jewelry? I'll have to try that.

They are really growing up FAST!

2009-05-11T14:17:00.003-04:00

I wanted to show you all some more recent pictures of the girls. These are just some cute ones I took recently. Keep in mind its nearly impossible to get a "good" picture of both girls at the same time!!

This is a picture of the girls playing on the front porch. This is a regular thing for us these days. Whenever we go somewhere I say "lets go outside!" and they run to the front door. I let them walk out themselves and they spend a few minutes playing on the front porch, aka eating the lava rocks in the garden. This works great because it buys me a few minutes to get everything else ready -- putting Tucker in his cage, getting juice cups, diaper bag and my purse, etc.

And here the girls are having a snack at their little table! I lock them in by putting their chair between the table and the wall, we learned this lesson from our cousin, Savannah who fell out of her little chair and broke her wrist! The girls love eating their snacks here, I think they really feel like big girls this way.

14 weeks!

2009-05-08T22:05:00.002-04:00

Week and day: 14 weeks

Belly Button in or out: still in, but even more shallow.

Wedding rings on or off: on for now.

Food cravings: pickles, pickles and more pickles. Oh, and Birthday cake.

Food aversions: nothing really.

Nausea: Yeah, still here. But worse than the nausea are the durn hot flashes!! They are serious!! I will all of a sudden get sweaty and light headed. I asked the dr about it and he said its fairly common. He said if I wasn't as healthy as I am he might be concerned but since everything else looks perfect, he's not worried. He said the fact that I chase 2 14 month olds around might be why I continue to feel that way for hours at a time. Makes sense, huh?

Energy level: getting better. I might take a nap or two a week, but thats about it.

Weight gain: Maybe 5 lbs.

Mood: Happy still! But, I do get frustrated easily, usually because when I started to get worked up one of my "hot flashes" hits and its hard to stay calm, cool and collected when I feel like I could spontaneously combust at any moment!

Maternity clothes: Absolutely! Wearing 'em and loving 'em!

Size of baby: lemon

Changes of baby: My "baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb!". This is from BabyCenter.com. Making faces and sucking its thumb?? Thats pretty substantial, don't you think??

Next appointment: May 22nd. Blood work only.

Other: Into my second trimester! Thank you, God!! I am still amazed there is a baby inside of me!! I can't wait to feel him moving around.

First airplane ride!

2009-05-08T21:59:00.002-04:00

We went to my cousins wedding in PA two weeks ago and the girls had their first plane ride! I was so nervous about how it would go, we took an early flight because they are usually so cheerful in the morning and that turned out to be a good decision. They were happy for the first leg of the flight, got the wiggles out during the layover and slept during the last leg. They did this on the way to PA and on the way home. It couldn't have gone better! Look at those big girls!!!!!

And, Joe and Audrey's wedding was absolutely beautiful!!!!

Intelligender results

2009-04-28T09:54:00.004-04:00

Well, I did take the test, I took it the day I said I would, I just haven't posted the results because I don't want to get my hopes up! I really would be happy with a boy or a girl, both have their pluses. We would love to have 3 girls and David is such an amazing Daddy to his girls! But a boy would round things out and complete my set! So, I would be completely happy either way and don't want one more than the other. I do feel like its a boy though. And, so does Intelligender. I'll know sometime in early June, so, we'll just have to wait till then decide if we should buy stock in Intelligender or not!

11 weeks, 3 days

2009-04-22T20:13:00.004-04:00

Week and day: 11 weeks, 3 days

Belly Button in or out: in, but amazingly shallow! My button didn't pop until I was around 30 weeks with the TWINS and I feel very close already this time!

Wedding rings on or off: on and I plan to keep it that way for as long as possible since I JUST PUT THEM back on after my pregnancy with the girls.

Food cravings: red meat, watermelon and orange soda.

Food aversions: I still can't even think about chicken casserole. It was the last thing I ate before we had the "stomach bug", which turned into the beginning of my morning sickness.

Nausea: Oh yes! Much more than I had with the girls. Although, with the girls I would feel nauseous and then throw up and have some relief. I haven't actually thrown up with this pregnancy (other than the day of the stomach bug). So I never get a break! Its all day sickness and gets really, really bad every 3-4 hours, a snack usually helps it.

Energy level: EXHAUSTED! More so than with the girls. Some days I take 2 naps!!

Weight gain: I don't think any. At least not according to the docs scales.

Mood: Happy! How can you not be happy when there is a miracle growing in your belly?!?

Maternity clothes: Shoo-wee, buddy! I ditched normal clothes as fast as I could! I'm fully embraced my comfy, cozy maternity wardrobe!

Size of baby: fig

Changes of baby: My baby is "now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden. She's already busy kicking and stretching," From babycenter.com -- which is why they referred to the baby as "she".

Next appointment: May 7th. Regular check-up with the doc and we'll hear the baby's heartbeat.

Other: This pregnancy is such a miracle! I praise God every day for his goodness! I am loving every day of this pregnancy. With the girls I was just so anxious to meet them I didn't take the time to truly enjoy every day of the pregnancy. This time, I'm loving and savoring each and every day! I can't wait to feel my little love move around, but I'm not rushing it! Right now I'm FULLY enjoying the nausea!! :)

Our little lovey!

2009-04-22T17:25:00.003-04:00

I had an ultrasound today and David and I saw our little love. Everything looked perfect! He/she had the hiccups and was bouncing all over the screen. It had a strong heartbeat -- 162. I practically begged the tech and doctor to look at the gender, but they refused! I told them I knew at this stage with the girls and they said too bad, they don't like to "guess", they like to wait to 20 weeks and be "correct". I suppose I understand their logic but I'm still disappointed. I did discover the Intelligender. Its an over the counter gender predictor. Its only 82% accurate, but thats good enough for me!! For now anyway. I won't go paint the nursery blue or anything like that but it would still be fun to have an idea. I say blue because I'm 100,000,00% positive its a boy. Of course I said I was that sure one of the girls was a boy, too and obviously I was proven wrong then so I expect nothing less than to be incorrect, but I still have that gut feeling. You take the test with your first morning's urine, so I'll let you know how things turn out tomorrow. :o)

Now, a pic of the little Turner!

Isn't He/she a beauty!! Hopefully you can figure out whats what -- basically you can really only make out the head, which is a profile on the left side of the black sack. The body is the little blur below the head and the feet are below that which you can't see. We saw his/her little hand waving around too, but it wasn't captured on the picture. I also have a DVD of the whole scan. I'll try to figure out how to load that.

And my friend Sue does a little weekly status of her feelings during her pregnancy, I think I'm going to start that because I have loved reading how she is doing each week, it really gives me something to look forward to and I'm going to assume you would enjoy it just as much!

Gotta change the name of my blog!

2009-04-10T16:13:00.003-04:00

Turner TWINS just won't work once we become a family of FIVE!! Which should happen somewhere around November 8th.

Thats right ...

I'M PREGNANT!!

Even after seeing our little love on the ultrasound and hearing its heartbeat I'm still in complete SHOCK! But, we couldn't be happier! We had planned on adopting next and had even begun talking with an agency, but God had other plans! He knows what is best for us.

I PROMISE I will update my blog more regularly now... this baby deserves to have things documented like the girlies did. And of course in documenting this pregnancy, you will also learn all new and exciting things going on in our lives.

The girlies went on their first Easter egg hunt last weekend, and I have some great pictures. I'll work on them and get them posted soon... I PROMISE! Really, hold me to it!

Seems like yesterday...

2009-02-18T22:42:00.003-05:00

I can't believe its been 3 1/2 months since my last post!! It doesn't seem anywhere near that long ago, but I have enjoyed my break.

So much has happened, where do I begin??

We have moved into our home in Simpsonville, SC and are the happiest we've been in a long time. David loves his job and I love my child-proof house!

So, stats... both Lyla and Pressley have 8 teeth; Lyla can say no-no, Mama, Dada, Tucker (that was actually her first real word! She is crazy about Tucker, she even knows how to throw his ball to him -- tooooo cute!) and hi; Pressley can say no-no, Mama, Dada, Lyla, Hey (her favorite word. She loves to come around a corner and say "Heeeeey") and yeah. Lyla can walk!! Actually, she can RUN!! Pressy is actually more stable on her feet but just wont take more than 1 or 2 steps at a time, as soon as she feels unsteady she sits down.

Their personalities have really developed over the last few months, too. Lyla is still very independent and is perfectly happy playing by herself but every now and then she will come running at you laughing for a big hug. Once she's done with the mushy stuff, she goes right back to playing on her own. She has also really embraced her role as big sister and cousin (even though shes smaller than Pressy and Savannah by at least 2 lbs!) by being very bossy! Since she can get around so quickly she goes straight to whatever is interesting and takes over, even if that means taking a toy or sippy cup right out of someones hands. I'm trying to teach her to share, but thats a tough concept for an 11 3/4 month old (I can't bring myself to say ONE year old -- and I still have a week and a half before I have to!)

Pressley has always been a little on the fussy and clingy side, until about a month ago. She is now very happy playing on her own. She is such a silly, goofy girl! She has an infectious laugh that we get to hear all the time, I love it! She is very loving and, unlike her sister, likes to play with someone. She spends most of her day following Lyla around and trying to keep up with her. I love watching them play together, Lyla can get bossy, but they interact so well now. Pressley is HER FATHER'S DAUGHTER! She totally zones out when the TV is on, her favorites are Handy Manny and Sesame Street.

They are such a blessing. I am still amazed at what my life has become. I have a wonderful husband who is wholly devoted to his God and his family and have 2 (TWO!) beautiful daughters that fill my days with joy. God is good!!

Long time, no type!

2008-11-04T07:38:00.002-05:00

Hello everybody! Sorry its been so long!!

We have officially moved to Greenville, SC and are currently staying with my parents. We close on our house on the 13th (I can't wait!!). The other reason for the lack of posts is we sold our desktop Mac and bought a MacBook Pro so we can be even more "connected" (like we weren't before!).

Here are a few pics from Halloween, I'll leave you with these and a promise to rededicate myself to my blog.

An apple a day...

2008-10-18T10:00:00.001-04:00

This picture was just too cute not to share! I was eating an apple and Pressy thought it looked pretty yummy so I let her gnaw on it for a little while. She did NOT want to give it back! But it sure made for a cute fall picture -- especially with her little overalls.

Shoesies!

2008-10-17T11:50:00.000-04:00

Well, I finally bought the girls their first pair of "real" shoes. I picked them up at Target and think they are adorable!

They're cute, right??

Notice Lyla has a bow in the picture above. Somehow she managed to lose it (and I don't even see it in the picture anywhere!) just before she went after Pressley's new shoes. They do think shoes are fascinating -- like built in toys -- which is especially helpfull in the car!

I also got them some Pedipeds. Lorren and I have been drooling over these adorable shoes for a while now! Lorren found them on ebay with free shipping. I bought them and forgot she had said they only had two pairs -- leaving none for Savannah! But, it worked out to my benefit. They only sent me one pair and when I let them know they sent me the second pair for free! So, Lorren was happy for me. And, she got Savannah some from somewhere else. I think we're all good now.
I don't have any pictures of the girls in these shoes yet, but they have worn them several times and they are absolutely darling! I LOVE them!!

I have had a secret...

2008-10-14T09:49:00.003-04:00

I haven't been blogging lately because I have had a secret and its been killing me not to share it!

We are moving back to Greenville!!

We have been praying for the opportunity to move back to Greenville for several months and things have finally worked out! David has taken a wonderful job with Michelin Tire -- one he is very excited about and looking forward to!

We have been going to and from Greenville every weekend for the past few weeks looking for a house and we finally found one that is perfect for us. We made an offer on Saturday and it was accepted last night!

Its a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house with a bonus room. The lower level is my favorite, its completely open, one room flows into the other, which I just love! The yard needs some work and it doesn't have a fence, which we really wanted, but we will fix all that ASAP.

As excited as we are, we are so sad to leave our wonderful friends in the ATL. God has blessed us here in so many ways. Its very clear why he had us here for the past 3 years, to make life-long friendships, get away from "home" for a while and of course, meet the docs that would give us our beautiful baby girls!

But, our house has plenty of room for company, and we are going to get our fence up as soon as possible (so Paul and Erin can bring their dogs!), so.... COME VISIT US!!

Vay-k 2008, Watauga Lake, Baby! Part 1.

2008-10-06T18:40:00.000-04:00

Remember this post describing our amazing trip to the beach with David's family?? Well, obviously I don't know how to be selective and narrow down which pictures to post. I've been avoiding blogging about our amazing trip to the lake with my family because, once again, I don't know how to narrow down the slew of pictures. So, I've decided to post in installments. Keep checking back often, I'll try to get through all these pictures soon.

For this first installment of Vay-K 2008, aka Watauga Lake, baby! I'm going to start at the end and post our annual family picture. We took this just before we left the lake house.

And here we are last year, same house, same fireplace, last day there. I had just found out I was pregnant THAT DAY, of course I had no idea we would be returning with TWINS! And, my sister got pregnant while we were there!! So, although it looks like a photo of 8, there are really 11 in this picture, isn't that awesome?? Isn't GOD AWESOME?!? He has been so good to our family!

Oh yeah, and my mom was so proud she was wearing the same outfit in both pictures. So was Cole (same shirt, anyway), but I think he was just copying my mom. He's such a kiss-up.

Meet Leah!

2008-09-29T11:22:00.003-04:00

This post is LONG overdue! Some of you may know, some may not, but I have been watching my friend Shari's baby, Leah 3 days a week. She is such a doll!
Isn't she??
My girls adore her! The 3 of them play so well together.

Must've been hot!

2008-09-26T23:59:00.000-04:00

Maybe we had the thermostat set a little too high for Lyla's preference. Thankfully, she knew how to handle it.

Trip to NJ

2008-09-23T21:35:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we DROVE to NJ. Well, WE didn't, my dad did. We went to see my grandparents, I wanted them to meet the girlies. It went so well! My dad drove through the night so the girlies could sleep, they did amazing. I was so proud of them. They woke up every once and a while, but usually only for a few minutes. And then, when we arrived in NJ they were cheerful and didn't seem the least bit overtired. Pressy was right in the middle of cutting her upper teeth and growing an ear infection but you'd never know it! She was so cheerful, as was Lyla.

It was so special to see my girlies with my grandparents. It meant the world to me. My grandfather just loved looking at the babies. His memory slips at times, but he watched them the whole time and kept commenting on how adorable and cute they were. And my sweet Gramma kept calling the girls "lover", it was absolutely precious! I don't think I've ever been more proud of my angels. Its such a great feeling to see other people (especially people you love and respect) taking joy in your children. The girlies also got to meet my Aunt Elaine, Uncle Roy and cousins Greg and Matt and Matt's wife Naomi and their girls Jenny and Kirsten.

David really wanted to see one more game at Yankee Stadium but we didn't have enough time. Oh well. It was still one of the most amazing family trips we've been on -- and definitely our farthest destination!

First Boo Boo

2008-09-22T21:12:00.000-04:00

While we were in NJ (pictures to come...), Lyla tumbled over onto a plastic monkey toy and got her first boo-boo, a little bruise on her forehead. It was never very bad, in fact, it showed up more as it was healing then it did right after she fell. You can kinda see it here above her left eye.

And, the book shes chewing on, Rainbow Fish, I bought at a garage sale -- or was given for free when I bought another toy -- it is a fav around here!! They love to chew on it.

And, the hair (my hair), wrapped around her fingers is so typical. Drives me nuts! I find my hair all over the house and always in their hands. And now they have started pulling hair which has only makes it worse.

Camping

2008-09-22T09:48:00.002-04:00

I really want to go camping this year. We don't have much longer before it'll be too cold. Am I crazy to want to go camping with 2 babies only 6 months old? Probably. But, at least my loving hubby is crazy with me, hes all for it!

So, who wants to go with us?? Anyone??

Any suggestions as to where we should go??

My family went camping a few times when we were young and I loved it! I really want to make this a family tradition, even if we only get away for a couple nights each year, I think it'll build strong family relationships and memories. And give us GREAT pictures!

I just saw this post on Brandi's blog about her family going camping and although I'm sure its going to be a challenge with kids at any age, what fun!

So, who's with me? Seriously. We would LOVE company!

Another Pressy update

2008-09-21T14:55:00.003-04:00

She is doing wonderfully! Slept in HER bed ALL NIGHT LAST NIGHT! Praise God!! That means I got a good night sleep, first time in over a week -- and I NEEDED it!! She has been playful, not so clingey, did wonderfully in church this morning, and is eating a little bit more.

Yea!!

We made it through our first ear infection.

I made this!

2008-09-21T14:35:00.005-04:00

As some of you know, I love to cook and bake. I have fallen in love with Ree at The Pioneer Woman and all her wonderful recipes. Everything I've tried has turned out perfectly!! The other night I made Tostadas. I home-made almost every ingredient and it was so fun! I made the refried beans from dry pinto beans. I made th ebrisket and shredded it, I cooked the tortillas (I didn't make them from corn meal like my amazing sister has done, but I did cook them). I made the Pico de Gallo, which means I added lots of Cilantro (mmmmm, Cilantrooooo). And it was delish! I've made other impressive meals, but this one was so colorful (and I had a camera nearby, and I'm now a bloggger!)! And I didn't take any shortcuts. And, I am proud.

Pressley update

2008-09-18T12:57:00.002-04:00

She is kinda up and down right now. She isn't sleeping all day, but she is very clingy and doesn't want to be put down. She is still sleeping in bed with us (ugh!), because of the congestion she isn't able to sleep on her belly like normal. Hopefully she'll be back in her own bed soon, for all our sakes.

She was doing better yesterday than she is today. Please continue to keep her your prayers! Hopefully in another day or two she will be back to her old self!!

Our first ILLNESS!

2008-09-16T18:25:00.005-04:00

We've had little colds, runny noses and rashes, but this is our first biggie. Pressy has an ear infection! It breaks my heart to see her this way. It has gotten pretty bad because she was on an antibiotic already. Let me back up. When I took them in for their 6 month appointment a week and a half ago the dr said she had some fluid on her ear, since David has a nasty history of ear infections, she decided to treat it with an antibiotic right away. When we went to NJ I forgot the rest of her Rx (she had 2 1/2 days left), I called the dr and she said it was probably fine, and didn't call any more in to the pharmacy in NJ.

Since Pressy is teething, I expected her to be a little fussy. Her top teeth are soooo close, there are big white bulges in her gums and I know they are going to pop through any day now. So, since I assumed her fussiness was related to her teething, and she was already on an antibiotic, I didn't do anything. Today she was sooo fussy and her low-grade fever (which I assumed was from the teething), spiked to 102. I called David, he came home from work and took Pressy to the doc (I stayed home with Lyla and Leah). The doc said Pressy's ear infection had ruptured her ear drum! He put her on a stronger antibiotic and gave us drops to help her ear drum heal.

She is sooo pitiful! She has slept almost the whole afternoon, we can't even get her to wake up to drink her bottle. Its like she is so exhausted from the pain and fussing, she has just kinda given up. I think thats a good thing for now, she can rest and let her little body heal.

Please pray for her! It really does just break my heart to see her this way.

This is how she was almost all day, sound asleep (hopefully recovering!) in her swing. We tried to give her a bottle and some food, hence the bib, but she wouldn't eat or drink. In the end I don't think we did too bad, she drank about 16-18oz total, she normally drinks around 28. But all she ate was 1/2 a yogurt first thing in the morning and she is normally a VERY good eater.

Hopefully THIS antibiotic will do the trick and she will be back to her old self in no time!

On a side note, Miss Lyla has decided to get some attention too and has refused to go to bed!! It took us about 3 hours to get her to sleep last night. She goes from not tired at all and raring to go to exhausted and unable to keep her eyes open but figiting to stay awake with all her might! I don't know what thats about, but its just the icing on the cake to two already worn out parents.

6 MONTHS old!!

2008-09-15T20:52:00.005-04:00

I've avoided this post for the obvious reason... I don't want to admit my babies are half of a YEAR old already!! Boo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo. We were at the lake (which I still need to blog about) on the 29th and we had a little celebration. David and I bought the girlies their fist doll and let them open it first thing in the morning. It was really fun and made me ever more excited for Christmas and their first birthday... although those milestones can take their SWEET TIME getting here.

As you've probably noticed, I'm awful at narrowing down my photos to just a select few, I want to share them all! So, here are 12 photos depicting the present opening. Pressy's facial expressions are hilarious! And its obvious Lyla just woke up, humored us for a little while, took a chomp or two of her new dolly, and then was ready to go roll around the floor. Enjoy!

Rub-a-dub-dub, twins in a tub!

2008-09-14T15:59:00.000-04:00

We LOVE bathtime around here!! The girlies are getting so big, so fast. I know I say that all the time, but now they are playing in the tub (gotta get some bath toys!)! It seems like just yesterday we were sponge bathing them in the sink and they were screaming! Now they sit in their bath seats (thanks Shari!!) and splash and play and hate getting out! I love these girlies so much! When I look at their pictures, I can't control my emotions, I'm so overwhelmed with love for them. I have prayed for my children for as long as I can remember and now here they are and they are amazing! More beautiful, fun and precious than I ever could have imagined. I praise God for these girls and pray for them constantly. Sometimes I can't even believe the things I pray for... their future husbands, the rough middle school years, their relationship with David and I, their relationships with their cousins, grandparents, siblings, etc, etc, etc. And I pray that God will always remind me how precious my time is with them, and he is good and faithful to remind me of this in some of the most surprising times, when I'm feeding them their bottle, playing peek-a-boo, changing their diaper, rocking them in the middle of the night. So many wonderful memories, sounds and smells that I don't ever want to forget!

Oh wait... I was supposed to be sharing some fun photos from bath time, right? Well, here they are!

And, of course, a classic...

A glimpse into David's future

2008-09-10T11:30:00.001-04:00

I can totally see David being this dad, and nothing could make me more happy or proud!!

Visit with Abby and John Goff!

2008-09-09T22:04:00.006-04:00

This is way overdue! Abby and John spent a week with us in August, we had so much fun! John did a great job of showing me what I needed to do to child-proof for the girlies. I wish I had more toys that interested him, although he did think kicky-bear was pretty cool!

The last time we spent time with John was in May, he has grown up so much! He was very interested in the girlies and VERY helpful! He loved to help feed them their bottle -- and he really, really loved sneaking a shot of formula from time to time.

Lyla fell head over heels in love with John! He didn't even have to look at her, just in her direction and she broke out in uncontrollable giggles and grins. And when he did pay attention to her, Oh my! She was gone!! (i can't belive I don't have any good pictures of this!)

It was a busy week around here, but I'm so glad I got to spend that time with Abs and John!!

Abby blogged about our swimming adventures here.

This just in....

2008-09-08T13:13:00.004-04:00

Can you tell she is saying "dadadada". She said this to David yesterday for the first time and has said it almost all day long today.

Here she is again, but shes getting a little frustrated (then David called me at the end of my recording so it ends abruptly).

Speaking of eating...

2008-09-05T22:05:00.005-04:00

Since we're on the subject of eating, I'll update you on these big girlies diets!

I've made everything they've eaten (except the rice cereal) and have loved it!! We have come across anything they don't like, but they do have some favorites.

They have eaten rice cereal (plain and flavored), carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, beets, avocado, banana, pears, apples, butternut squash, yogurt and peaches. I think thats everything.

They are now eating 3 times a day, I just added breakfast in this week and I noticed their morning nap lengthen right away! Yea!

Here are some mealtime photos.

Beets!!

For one meal at the lake we fed them their whole dinner through the mesh bags, they enjoyed it and I know its good for them to learn to feed themselves, but WHAT A MESS!! They had peaches, banana and avocado. Then we took them out back and tossed them in the lake! Not really, but they did go straight to the tub!!

Big Girlies eating in restaurants!

2008-09-05T21:54:00.007-04:00

The girlies did great at restaurants their first couple of months (like most babies), then it got old. They had a hard time staying in their carries long enough for us to eat a meal. We had pretty much resigned ourselves to meals at home for a while, until we got these:

They girlies are now fabulous little diners!

Here we are at Tin Drum, one of our favorite Asian restaurants. (i can't believe how filthy the door is behind Lyla!)

And here we are at Taco Mac with Aunt Abby, Uncle Jeff, cousin John and our friends Ashely, Will, Shari and Kidd.

Pressley Miller

2008-09-05T14:17:00.003-04:00

Pressley is our lover, her favorite place to be is in someone's arms. She is a very cheerful, fun-loving girl, and, unlike her sister, is perfectly happy staying in one place!

AKA: Pretzels, Pressy, Pressy-poo, Pretzel-Wetzel

LIKES: Attention! Eating, she would gladly trade in her bottle for food all the time! The Fisher-Price rock and stack (one of our free toys from FP!), the exersaucer, swimming, Tucker, looking and laughing at Lyla

DISLIKES: Mommy walking out of the room, cold food (like yogurt), I guess thats about it

Lyla Adelaide

2008-09-05T14:05:00.003-04:00

Lyla is our adventurer! She is so independent, her favorite way to play is to be put in the middle of the floor and roll. She isn't crawling yet, but has no problem getting all around the house -- she is even able to aim for things now! She will see a toy across the room that she wants and she will roll and wiggle her way over to it. She is truly amazing!

AKA: Lyla-bean, Beanie, Beanie-baby, Beaner

LIKES: Rolling! swimming, being bounced on a seat cousin by her Uncle Brent, eating frozen peaches, having raspberries blown on her belly and having her belly "chewed" on, the Fisher-Price gumball toy (she loves pushing the button and making it light up and sing -- she does it all by herself!), being lifted up in the air

DISLIKES: sitting still -- thats about it, if the girl is moving, she's happy!

So much to post!

2008-09-05T13:52:00.003-04:00

Once again I've delayed posting because I have SO MUCH TO SHARE!! The Turner house has been busy for the past 3 weeks. My cousin, Abby, and her son, John, stayed with us for a week, they even got to spend a night with on vay-k in TN. Our week in TN was wonderful! The weather wasn't the best, but that didn't matter, we had so much fun anyway. My family are big time game playing people, so staying inside was not much of a problem for us. Thankfully we did have a beautiful Friday (end of our week!), and got to spend the day on the lake in a Pontoon boat. Of course, I have TONS of fabulous pictures! I'll be posting them over the next few days.

But first, I'm going to update the girls Bio's. My mom has asked me many, many times to do this, so, here ya go, mom!

Vay-K!

2008-08-22T12:53:00.002-04:00

Yes, that is how the Kruithof's short hand vacation.

We are headed for a week of sun (hopefully!), boating, fishing, cooking, eating, game playing, s'more making, week at the lake. I've been looking forward to this since December, which is when we made our plans.

It should be a fun, fun week! However, there is NO internet access (or cell phone coverage for that matter), and I'm actually looking forward to being unconnected for a few days. I know I'll have lots and lots of pictures and stories for you when we return. Talk to you then!!

Dedicated to Sue's "lil peanut"

2008-08-21T21:19:00.005-04:00

My family moved to South Carolina in 1990, my sister was in the 4th grade and quickly made friends with Sue. Sue became a regular fixture around our house and we are all the better for it! She is such a precious friend!!

She found out in the beginning of July that she was expecting a "lil peanut"! She had a few scares in the beginning but heard the baby's heartbeat around 6 weeks. Apparently shortly after that, the baby's heart stopped beating. When she went in for a check up at 10 weeks, she was given the heartbreaking news. Sue has an amazing attitude about it all and is giving God all the glory! She knows that he is in control of her life and will bless her with a lil peanut when he decides the time is perfect.

Stop by her blog and read what she has to say, and drop her a comment to let her know you're praying for her!!

Pool Time.... FINALLY!!

2008-08-20T20:08:00.006-04:00

We've taken the girls in the tub (of course!) and they LOVE it, we've taken them in the baby pool and they hated it, then tolerated it, but we hadn't done the "big" pool, until Sunday.

In one word, It was a ......

BLAST!!!

The girlies adored the pool!! They both took turns riding in cousin Johns pool float and they were totally chill! Completely relaxed just enjoying themselves. It was so precious! I have some pics of Pressy in the float and Lyla in Daddy's arms, but then the memory card was full, so I don't have any of Lyla in the float, but she did the same thing, just laid back and enjoyed herself.

How could you not relax when you have a pacie in your mouth and a pacie in your lap, just in case??

And yes, we now have floats very similar to this of our very own! How could we not buy some?!? Aren't they adorable??

And, as I mentioned, cousin John -- my cousin, Abby's son (and Abby) are here visiting. It has been such a wonderful week! We've had so much fun with them!! And, Abby has been a big help, taking care of my regular 3 has been a breeze with Abby around, and although John is all boy and very curious right now, he has been a joy to have around, too!

And one more of my little pool babe...

Pressley made 2 new friends today!

2008-08-14T15:29:00.003-04:00

Yes, Pressley finally found her feet today. Since she discovered them, she hasn't let them go! She is trying her darnedest to get her big toe in her mouth.

(see my other big girl sitting up in the background!)

Johnny Jump-up

2008-08-13T22:53:00.003-04:00

I don't really know what these things are called, but Lorren bought us a door jumpey thingey at a consignment sale (and I forgot to pay her back!) and the girlies have LOVED it!! We hung Savi's up in the same door jamb so we could get a pic of both of the girlies in it at the same time.

I love how Pressy is showing us she has 2 pacies!! How wonderfully exciting for her, its like a dream come true!!

You gotta check this out...

2008-08-13T22:37:00.001-04:00

My precious sister has dedicated some posts to my beauties! She has some darling pictures of them on her blog. Take a look and comment on my babes!

We have a SITTER!

2008-08-13T22:29:00.004-04:00

Lyla can sit up!! It literally happened over night. All of a sudden, today, she can sit up for minutes at a time. I'm amazed at how quickly we are reaching these milestones! Each one thrills me and fills me with pride and yet makes me bawl like a baby, too.

Miss Lyla's looking a little rough in this picture. Her hair finally lays down but its flat and lifeless. How do you add body and bounce to an infants hair??? Should I cut it???

***Ugh, I just reread this post. I can't cut my babies hair! Are you crazy?!? She's just perfect the way she is!!***

Well, lookey there!

2008-08-13T22:26:00.001-04:00

Pressy now has TWO toofers!

Can you believe it?!? What a big, big, big girl!

At least she didin't fall out... again!

2008-08-13T22:24:00.003-04:00

Well, I have started puttling Lyla in the pink bouncy seat, which is a little more bowl-like and I didn't think she would be able to wiggle out of it. So far I'm right, but I didn't think she would do this!

She completely turned over, onto her belly, while still in the boucy seat. Impressive, no?

Have you seen these things?!?

2008-08-13T22:17:00.003-04:00

They are little mesh bags that you can put food in for babies to eat. I put frozen peaches in them for the girlies. They LOVE them!!!! Especially Lyla, I think she is working HARD to catch up to her sister and sprout some teeth and these frozen peaches feel good to her gums. Pressy enjoys it as well, but usually leaves some peach behind which Lyla is more than happy to take care of for her.

Here are the girlies enjoying their frozen peaches and watching Baby Einstein. This has become our post-lunch routine. I roll the high chairs into the living room, give them their frozen peaches and let them watch Baby Einstein. It would be the perfect time for me to put their laundry away -- which I never seem to have time to do because when I could put it away (when they are awake and NOT sleeping in their room), I'm too busy playing with them -- but, they are so darn cute sucking on their peaches I don't get as much accomplished as I would like.

Another great "grass discovery" photo

2008-08-12T14:58:00.001-04:00

Naked sunbathing and grass discovery!

2008-08-12T14:05:00.002-04:00

The girlies did a bit of some naked sunbathing with their cousin Savannah this weekend. We put the 3 of them down on a blanket for a little photo shoot, but Savi didn't last long and I could barely get my girls to look at the camera because they were so fascinated by the grass!

If you look closely at this picture, you can see Pressy actually has her arm around Lyla as they study the grass together. Isn't the most precious photo you've ever seen?!?

American Baby magazine is doing a photo contest of babies discovering something for the first time. I think I'm going to send this photo in, what do you think?!? 5 winners gets an all expense paid trip to NYC for a photo shoot, the ultimate winner will be on the cover of their December issue.

Daddy's first dance

2008-08-12T13:00:00.002-04:00

We went to our friend, Abbey's wedding this past weekend and David had his first dance with the girls. This photo just makes my heart melt!!

More big news

2008-08-06T22:15:00.004-04:00

Remember the Fisher-Price House Party I mentioned a few weeks ago?? Well, I was chosen to host one!! That means lots of FREE toys for the girlies! I'm so excited!! And, I registered Lorren (she was out of town and away from a computer) and she was chosen too! Lots of wonderful, adorable, FUN Fisher-Price toys for all 3 girlies!! Yea!!

I *think* these are the toys we will get for (say it with me) FREE!

Each toy looks like so much fun! Fisher-Price really does make cute toys. Thats where Kickey Bear came from, the girls first favorite toy.

Big, Giant, HUGE news!!!

2008-08-06T22:10:00.003-04:00

Pressley has a TOOTH!!!
Can you believe it?!? I can't!!! My babies are growing up! I didn't suspect the tooth at all, she hadn't been fussy or irritable, but on Monday she wouldn't take her nap, I got her out of the crib while on the phone with Lorren and jokingly said "maybe shes cutting a tooth!", I put my finger in, felt the tooth and burst into tears. I was so unprepared to feel such a BIG GIRL thing!

I hope to get a picture to share soon, but as you can imagine, photographing a baby tooth in a baby mouth isn't very easy.

Sharing

2008-08-01T23:33:00.001-04:00

Its never too early to learn how to share!

Leg Wrestling with Daddy

2008-08-01T23:08:00.004-04:00

Pressy is determined to beat her daddy one of these days! I think her legs may need to grow a little...

Nakey play time.

2008-08-01T23:06:00.002-04:00

Soooo cute.

TOYS, toys, toys!

2008-08-01T22:35:00.011-04:00

We were given so many wonderful gifts for the girls, we have a closet full of clothes and were given all of our "big" gifts (high chairs -- which I absolutely LOVE, our cribs, glider, car seats -- all of which I love, but the high chairs are new to us!), but we didn't get many toys. So, that left David and I the wonderful job of SHOPPING for toys! It has been sooooo much fun, and I have done many hours of research trying to decide which toys my girlies needed. There are still several more that I want to get them, but we took advantage of Babies R Us Super Friday sale and got several great deals.

Since the girlies are learning to sit up, we went for mostly lap and sitting toys. Hopefully they will enjoy them!

Here are some of the toys I still want to get them -- they have great ratings and reviews! If anyone has advice or suggestions of toys to get or avoid, please weigh in!

Movers and Shakers: cow and mouse. This is a simple (and cheap) toy that I think the girls will love, they love shaky toys. I looked all over BRU for them tonight but couldn't find them!

LeapFrog Learn and Groove Musical table.

Chicco Baby Activity Walker (or something like this -- this would be a good Christmas gift for us to give them!)

I really want to get them this Parent Mirror Pound-A-Ball -- David and I watched what toys the kids in nursery enjoyed the most and this one was HUGELY popular!

I think Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Home is just a cute toy for little girls. It should definitely wait until Christmas (or when we have more space!!).

The Fisher-Price Go, Baby, Go! Crawl and Cruise Musical Jungle is adorable! Lorren and I spent some time online together today and picked out several of Fisher-Price's new toys that are just too cute! They will be released on August 18th.

The Fisher-Price Go, Baby, Go! Sit-to-crawl Polar Coaster is also adorable... and also not available until the 18th.

And or course there are more, but this will give you an idea of the fun I've had shopping for and researching toys lately! Its so much fun watching my girlies grow and develop new skills. We have so much fun playing with them! Last night they were only happy if they were standing. Tonight they loved sitting (supported by a boppy pillow or bumbo) and playing with their new toys.

I owe you lots of posts

2008-08-01T22:30:00.002-04:00

For some reason I've been slack in posting lately. Could it be because we've started solid foods and I am now doing about 2 extra loads of laundry and 3 more runs of the dishwasher per week? Or the fact that Pressy has decided she never wants to let me out of her sight? Which, by the way, is terribly flattering, but its difficult to get anything done!

Did anyone notice I never posted 4 month pictures or stats from their 4 month dr visit? I have the stats, but I didn't take any pictures!! I still feel horrible about that. But we traveled to Greenville for the 4th of July on their birthday and I didn't manage to get any pictures taken.

Well, I am going to catch up. I have several cute photos I've been wanting to share and I'll post the stats and a solid food update and a few other things over the next couple days so check back often (and leave lots of comments, you know I love 'em!).

I'm going to enter...

2008-07-29T08:16:00.002-04:00

I never win anything! I used to enter contests but nothing ever came of them, so I stopped. But, there is a Chicco double stroller up for grabs and I would LOVE to win it!! Regina, give me some luck -- or, maybe you should enter, you win EVERYTHING!

Silly Lyla!

2008-07-25T20:04:00.003-04:00

I was following my morning routine... Got Lyla out of her crib, put her in her bouncy seat, went back to get Pressley (who is usually still sleeping), to bring her to her bouncy, then I go make the bottles. This morning, when I came back with Pressy I found Lyla almost out of her bouncy! I know I should be buckling them in by now, they are almost 5 months old after all, but neither of my girls "play" in their bouncy seat. I think they see it as a feeding chair and not a fun chair -- the bouncies are where I have always fed them, its been the easiest thing for me, it allows me to feed them both at the same time. Anyway, here is Lyla almost out of her chair! If it hadn't been for the coffee table, I guess she would have toppled right over onto the floor. Her arm got wedged between the coffee table and the bouncy seat. We have been using the buckle ever since!!

Mmmmm, Carrots!

2008-07-24T09:21:00.005-04:00

The girls tried carrots for the first time last night. It was so exciting and fun! I put the high chairs together just for the occasion. They are still a little short for the high chairs, but that made it even cuter!

The girlies really seemed to like carrots! Lyla ate well just like she has been doing with the cereal, and even Pressy was opening her mouth and keeping the carrots in and swallowing! And after their feeding time was done they sat in their high chairs and played with toys while David and I ate our dinner, it was our first FAMILY MEAL!! I am so proud of my big girls!

David quickly put together a short little 30 second clip of our feeding time -- which I imagine was a big job since we had the camera on record for about an hour!

And, here are some pictures I took. As you can tell, Lyla was sleepy -- she woke up from her nap early and had already been awake for about 30 min when we started eating, Pressy pretty much got out of the crib (actually the swing this time) and into her high chair so she was a little more perky.

Here are the girlies playing while David and I ate. Such good girls!

I'm in love...

2008-07-22T23:03:00.004-04:00

I started making baby food last night. And, I LOVE IT! I love it, love it, love it! I could do this for a living -- is there a way to do that?? If anyone wants home-made, organic baby food, I'm your girl!! I'll make the flavors of your choice, freeze them and you can pick them up (or maybe I can ship them!) anytime. I think I may have something here.... Joelliekins baby food!

The girlies have just started eating cereal this week -- they pretty much demanded it. They went from drinking about 28 oz of formula a day to about 34, they have been waking up in the middle of their naps begging for more food. So, we decided to give cereal a try. Lyla has done wonderful! She takes it in her mouth, makes a funny face and then swallows it -- perfect. Pressy on the other hand.... I can't get her to stop laughing and smiling long enough to give it a try! As soon as I put the food in she grins and giggles and it slides right back out -- perfect -- in Pressy's own way.

So, back to the baby food making. I've always wanted to make my own baby food. I always assumed I would love it. I love cooking, I love babies -- ideal blend of my two favs, right? Well, its more than ideal, its more than a hobby, it is now a passion! In the last 24 hours I've made carrot puree, green been puree, banana whip, pear puree and sweet potato cream (ok, so its sweet potato puree but I thought I'd said "puree" too much). If I had more organic fruits or veggies in the house, they would be baby food by now. I've only stopped because I ran out of foods to turn into baby food.

I am seriously taking orders now... just "comment" with your order! :o) If only it were that easy!!

Ok, enough rambling. Here are some pictures of the process:

First, I steamed my veggie/fruit. In this case, carrots.

Here are the pears cooking... you can't steam them as they are so tender they will turn to mush in the steamer. So, I cooked them in apple juice, for a flavor the girlies are already used to (Lyla has had some constipation problems -- and Pressy too on occasion -- and a little apple juice does the trick!).

Freeze them in ice cube trays. These are the ice cube trays I got as a wedding gift from Sue. I was telling David tonight, how funny it is... I've never used these before because all of our fridges have had built in ice cube makers, but yet I've kept them around all this time and now they are responsible for making my babies food! Kinda cool, huh?

Here is a bowl of carrot ready to eat! Look at that color!! Isn't it brilliant?!?

And here is how I will store the food. Actually, I bought new zip lock baggies tonight, I wrote the name of the food, the date I made it and the date I need to discard it. Frozen baby food only lasts about 6 weeks.

I haven't taken any pictures of the green beans yet, but I will. The green is so lovely! I'm crazy about all these colors. In fact, I want to eat what they are eating, it looks so appetizing! Hey, that might be a new diet idea....

Remind you of something...???

2008-07-21T09:59:00.002-04:00

How about this???

David noticed she resembled The Dancing Baby yesterday, it was a funny thought to us. Sorry the video of Pressy isn't any better.... once again, video from my cell phone (its easiest for me, even though we have a nice video camera).

Have you heard of House party??

2008-07-21T08:21:00.003-04:00

go to House Party now and register to host a Fisher Price house party. If you are chosen you will get, FOR FREE:

* 1 Laugh & Learn™ Smart Bounce & Spin Pony™
* 1 Laugh & Learn™ Fun with Friends™ Musical Table
* 1 Amazing Animals™ Spinnin’Around Musical Zoo
* 1 Go Baby Go Crawl & Cruise Musical Jungle™
* 10 Fisher-Price toys to share with your guests, including Poppity Pop™, Rock-A-Stack®, and Friendly Flip Phone™
* 10 Infant Product Guides
* 10 coupons for the Fisher-Price online store

I have registered for other parties before and never been chosen but I REALLY hope I get chosen to host this party!!!

Thanks Sue, for telling me about House party -- I'm going to be REALLY THANKFUL if this one works out, keep your fingers crossed!!

Just had to share...

2008-07-13T23:42:00.005-04:00

I love this picture of Pressley. When we were at my parents house, my mom was holding Pressley and saw that Paula Dean was on TV so she brought Pressy in and propped her up on a boppy to watch because she thought Pressy would "enjoy it". And if she's anything like her mom, she would! The funny part here is that my mom didn't think the boppy alone would give her a good enough angle to view the tv, so she propped her up with a stack of diapers!

She really was into the TV show, totally mesmerized! If you enlarge the picture (by clicking on it) you can see she was saying "Hmmmm, that really does look good, I'm going to have to try that!"

And, yes, I do think my girlies are too young for tv, and they don't watch it at home (other than the occasional glimpses throughout the day), but I've told both of the girls grandparents that they can spoil the girls when they visit -- thats what grandparents are for, right??

Lyla shreiking

2008-07-13T23:11:00.002-04:00

Here is Lyla showing off her new found talent... shreiking! She can do it over and over during her whole "wake time" which is sometimes 2 hours long! Its so adorable. And, good news, it doesn't scare Pressley anymore!!

I took the video on my cell phone and didn't know when to end the recording so she stops about half way through but the video continues. David could edit it for me, of course, but I was too impatient, I wanted to post it right away!

Uncle Brent!

2008-07-13T22:48:00.007-04:00

As I mentioned, the girls finally got to meet Uncle Brent. It was so wonderful to get to see my brother with my daughters -- at last!! He was so good to them!

He walked around down town Greenville wearing them.

He let them drool on him (drool and spit up happened several times! I think he even had to do laundry... what a great Uncle!)

He read to them.

He played with them.

He swam with them.

And for some reason it seems we only had the camera out when Brent was spending time with Lyla. I know he did more with Pressley than just swim with her!! (and, he swam with Lyla too, which I have a picture of, but she was featured enough in this post!)

Oh, and yes, Lyla has a silly ribbon tied in her hair in most of these pictures. My mom and I tied it in her hair after lunch -- the festive, 4th of July ribbons held our flatware together.

My beautiful niece!!

2008-07-09T16:13:00.001-04:00

Isn't Savannah gorgeous??