Whirlin' Waters

We finally made our first trip to the water park this summer.

Last summer the girls were too small to do much more than wade around, but today there was no stopping them.

There aren't many pictures because they were having so much fun splashing, "swimming," playing in the water fountains, going down the slide, and pushing "floaties" around the wave pool.

Can't wait to go back!

Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

It was H~O~T in the mountains. So much for escaping the heat. The mornings were cool, but things warmed up quickly. So, what did we do in the evenings? We built a fire and made smores! Lip smackin' good...

The cousins...

This girl is going to be a veterinarian. I had to drag her away from this baby goat at the petting zoo.

When you only take one small bin of toys and books you have to get creative. The girls "decorated" the swing with painter's tape.

Uh~oh. Are we in trouble?

Two~may~toes from Granny's garden. Yummy!

Hiking up the mountain...

Can you see Dylan? He pushed that truck all the way up the mountain and back down!

We had fun and the girls did great in the car {I was worried about the five-hour drive}, but Mallory had a tummy bug while we were there which made things a little uncomfortable for her some of the time. The three of us also slept in the same room because I was afraid if I slept in my own room the girls might wake up in the middle of the night and not remember where they were...which they both did. All in all, this was great practice for the beach next week...Edisto, here we come!

Two-Year Well-Baby Visit

The girls had their check-up last Tuesday and things are looking A-OK!

Anna Claire was such a big girl. She talked off Dr. Tillman's ear and didn't cry one tear or put up a single fuss until she got her shot. I have to say I was totally shocked and so proud of her. Mallory got upset as usual the minute we walked into the exam room, fell asleep shortly thereafter, and stayed asleep through most of her examination ~ a blessing, for sure!

In a nutshell...

Anna Claire ~
27 lbs. 1 oz.
34 3/4 inches

Mallory ~
27 lbs. 8 oz.
36 inches {There is no way she is taller than Anna Claire. She was fussing on the examination table, so I think the nurse mis-measured.}

Some questions answered...

Mallory has a skin condition called keritosis pilaris {also known as chicken skin, poor thing} which is not a huge deal, but I still hate it for her. I was almost hoping it was eczema so we could treat it.

Anna Claire will be headed to the dentist soon; seems some baby teeth may be missing {thought so}.

We'll continue as usual with Mallory's temper tantrums {ignoring them as best we can} and our bedtime routine {super nanny-style}. The girls napped for almost two hours today and were asleep tonight in under :30. Maybe things are getting back on track.

Those are the highlights. I still can't believe they are two years old, and while I am so grateful we made it to two, what will be most impressive is if we make it to three. Two. Is. Hard. So far.

Beating the Heat

We are headed to the mountains for a few days to beat this heat! But, in the meantime, we have been trying our hardest to beat the heat by making {and eating} lots of yummy yogurt & fruit popsicles.

Filling the blender with yogurt, blueberries, and raspberries... Headed to the freezer...

Look what we made...

Sweet!...

See you when we get back...lots of pictures, I hope, and our two-year well-baby visit update!

Thinking Inside the Box

I found Anna Claire sitting inside one of her toy bins this morning. Wow, Wow!

Happy, Happy,...

It was a happy birthday for Grandmom and a happy Father's Day for Walter as we spent Saturday at the river and the girls went on their very first boat ride...

Despite the pictures, they really did love it and it's too bad we had to head back to the dock early because of the rain {which is also the reason I didn't get many pictures}. We can't wait for another "cruise."

And happy Father's Day to Papa, too!

Potty Training 101

This class has been cancelled.

What. A. Day.

Is There a Hurricane Coming?

I just went to Publix and stockpiled the fridge and pantry. It made me feel like a hurricane was coming. The girls start potty training tomorrow and we'll be home bound for at least three days{oh, please, not longer}, so we needed lots of provisions.

Oh, Lord, be with us! We may just have our own hurricanes brewing ~ Hurricane Anna Claire and Hurricane Mallory!

{Did you know, by the way, that this year the "L" storm will be named Lisa and the "W" storm will be named Walter ? Ha!}

The Three Musketeers

We had Dylan again today so Connor and Michelle could go to Bible school. After 4 1/2 hours with three two~year~olds, I am exhausted ~ how does my mom do this every day?

Say, "Cheese!" Connor and Cody...

Sister Kisses

Tonight Mallory {!!!} pee~peed on the potty on purpose {like it wasn't an accident} for the first time. Before bath time I asked her if she needed to go and she said yes. And she sure was telling the truth! This makes me think she can "hold it" and that's huge!

Did I just buy my last box of diapers from Target yesterday?

Hip, Hop

Dylan came over to play today so Michelle could take Connor to a birthday party and she brought one of the girls' new favorites ~ hopscotch!

They don't quite get the point {and I can't say I ever did, either}, but they sure do love hopping and running back and forth...a great way to wear out the little ones!

Croak!

I almost croaked when I sat down outside today and looked over to see a huge toad peeking out of the grass! I am not fond of critters in case you didn't know.After I stopped screaming {and realized I had my camera beside me}, I called Mallory and Anna Claire over to look at it. It took them both a while to find it because I wasn't getting too close to point it out. When Mallory saw it, she did the same thing I did ~ jumped a mile high then went the opposite direction. Anna Claire TOUCHED IT! again, and again, and again until I made her leave it alone.
She does love frogs ~ or toads. What is the difference?

Summer is Here!

Today marked my first day of summer vacation. What better way to celebrate than with popsicles? I survived on these sugar-free fruit popsicles when I had gestational diabetes and the weather started getting hot, so it's no surprise Anna Claire and Mallory love them, too!

Sitting in the shade of the umbrella of their new picnic table could not stop the melting of the girls' popsicles in this heat no matter how fast they licked them. What a sticky mess ~ but so yummy!

Memorial Day Weekend

These pictures are long overdue...party plans got in the way of a write up about our amazing weekend. Please pardon the collages. It's so much faster sometimes than uploading many individual pictures.

The pool... The river...

One day we'll take a family picture when the wind isn't blowing, the sun isn't in our eyes, and everyone is looking at the camera...one day...

Monkey See, Monkey Do...

Anna Claire and Mallory celebrated their second birthday Saturday with a monkey party! They were the cutest and most well-behaved little monkeys ever!

Family and friends all had a blast monkey-ing around with the girls despite temperatures in the upper 90’s! The girls loved their party and for weeks had been telling everyone they were having a monkey party with a monkey cake {two, actually}, balloons, and presents! As a matter of fact, the morning of the girls’ actual birthday, Anna Claire got a little confused and thought her party was going to be that day, Thursday.

I think the party turned out so cute, and Walter and I could not have done it without the help of our parents. THANK YOU SO MUCH for all your help with cooking, cleaning, painting, entertaining the girls, setting up, and errand running. We love you!

By the way, do you know how hard it is to throw a monkey party for little girls? I didn’t. Let me tell you…there is not a lot out there for twin girls {or girls, period} in the monkey genre. As a matter of fact, there isn’t an invitation on this planet that has two cute girl monkeys on it. I know. I’ve looked. In the end, though, I really liked our invitations even though I couldn’t get the bows to work out on the monkeys’ heads before I had to give up and get the invitations in the mail…and where’s the pink? These little monkeys are wearing orange {you know I like orange, but…}.

That’s when I found the dresses. Oh, my. Things were starting to come together ~ suddenly we had a theme and a color scheme! There is no more orange checked ribbon in Charleston, all the orange and green balloons are gone, too, and don’t even think about buying a lime green barrel of monkeys. {I bought out two Wal-marts and a Target!}

The girls were so excited when I showed them their monkey dresses. I saw these dresses at Gingersnaps before we made a final decision on our monkey theme {when I was still searching for invitations} and couldn’t believe they still had two dresses in the girls’ size when I went back almost two weeks later! Anna Claire and Mallory got all kinds of wonderful birthday gifts. Thank you, everyone! You were all way too generous. Anna Claire hung with me as we opened every last present. Mallory was outta there after the first few…she was ready to play!

They each got a new “scooter” as they call them, but the only picture I have so far is of Connor riding it. Lots of great puzzles and books… Silly new monkeys, Lollie and Clementine, for both girls…
Their first fishing rods… A big barrel of monkeys… And so much more!

After a wrestling match with a huge inflatable monkey from Connor and Dylan, it was time for the “Happy Birth-Cake” {as Mallory likes to call it}. My mom made each of the girls their own monkey cakes ~ so cute. We sang Happy Birthday and the girls blew out their candles with the help of their cousins. Then we all ate cake and ice cream. YUM!I was determined there would not be a trace of Curious George at the party, but what do you do when that’s the only piñata in town? You hand-draw eyelashes on his eyes and glue a bow to his head! Meet Georgia…
All the children left with their own barrel of monkeys as a “thank you” from Anna Claire and Mallory for celebrating their birthday with them.
Two years old…can you believe it??
A special thank you to our official party photographers: videographer Aunt Michelle and photographer Cousin Brandon. The girls watched the video three times yesterday and were fascinated, and Brandon took more than 100 photos, some of which are right here. I wish I had the patience to upload more. Thank you!!