"This is the life!"

Brent and I got a hair up our butts on Thursday night to go to Richmond, "Furginia" (as he pronounces it) for Ellie's 5th birthday! We were there only a couple days but we had an absolute blast and the kids were great! Lauren and I dorked around on Friday to get ready for the party. We just goofed off while the boys watched the kids and it was great! We hung out and had pizza for dinner and just sat in their backyard and watched the kids play together. At one point, Sydney (their 9 year old daughter) said, "This is the life!", and it really was! Later on in the night, Brent admitted that he was thinking the exact same thing the moment she said that! So cute. Saturday was the party and Ellie had an awesome day! It was so good to see someone who goes back to the preschool days with me. We have roots that no one else (besides our mothers) would understand. I was nostalgic on the way home today and stopped by the very first house I ever lived in and it pulled on my heartstrings... It was a great weekend!

Then and Now

I know I've been slacking on my blog but I've been so busy with the kids, having peeps in town, and whatever other random crap makes the time go by so fast during the days. This isn't a recent picture of Cal, but it's one I've been meaning to post for awhile...

My Baby Boy...

"The Francinator" and Ansley

So, I miss having good friends close by! Caroline and Christine are friends of mine from highschool and they came to visit us this weekend with their babies. I love those girls so much and really loved catching up with them. It makes me sad that all my friends are so scattered and I don't get to see any one of them enough. We love living here, and being so close to the beach and stuff, but we don't have any roots here and everytime I see an old friend and have a fun time with them, I'm reminded of how much I miss everyone and how far away they all seem to live.

Their daughters Frances AKA "The Francinator" and Ansley, were so freaking cute and so preciously rotten! We took the kids to the beach for a little while on Friday where the only thing they accomplished was getting dirty. Callie took a dump in her little swimmers diaper and since they don't hold jack, she started leaking poo all over Brent's shirt so we stripped her butt naked and had to wash her hiney off in the ocean.

We went to River Street on Saturday morning and it was so unbelieveably hot that it was miserable. The kids were sweaty and cranky and since Caroline is preggo we just decided to eat lunch down there and then bounce. It was the first time ever that Brent and I took the kids to eat at a restaurant and while I was scared as hell that we would get kicked out for causing a scene, the babies actually ended up doing really awesome and never once made a peep. Frances and Ansley are chow hounds and were elbows deep in applesauce and chicken fingers. So cute!

Munchkin Milestones

This week seemed like we had TONS of big kid moments. First of all, BOTH babies are sleeping 12 hours now... from 7 to 7! I mean, you have no idea how long I've dreamed of this day! It's still a little creepy when you wake up at 5 at realize you haven't feed the babies yet. At that moment, your heart stops until you have checked to make sure they are both still breathing. Then, when you realize they are... you savor the living hell out of it and try to go back to sleep as quickly as possible as to not miss out on a second of that precious gift!

Callie has started to hold her bottle by herself! She is super wobbly at it but she can go 1 or 2 minutes before it falls over. That's so huge! Those were two things I was so excited for...holding their own bottles and sleeping! Now, I want them to sit up and after that, I don't want them to do anything else because a sitting up baby who sleeps all night, can hold their bottle, and CAN'T crawl is the perfect baby!

Wyatt is getting so good at standing that he is able to do it by himself for a little bit. Here is a picture of the big boy! Of course, he toppled over after a minute or two, but it was long enough for me to be able to grab the camera and get a couple pictures of him! Also, he said "Hi!" to a stranger at the mall today. The stranger thought he was a little girl but who gives a crap!

Thing 1 & Thing 2

My aunt and uncle came to visit us this weekend. It was pretty fun and the first time that they ever got to see the babies. My aunt cooked some damn good food, we played games, and we went to visit my grandmother on the island. They brought the babies Thing 1 and Thing 2 outfits from The Cat In The Hat. The only thing they were missing were a pair of little blue wigs. Also, they put us up to taking some really rotten pictures of the kids that were super funny. (Please don't call child protective services on us!) :) Revision: Because people have no sense of humor, I had to take down the funniest pictures. Boo to the hiss on political correctness!

My Little Dirt Ball

This past week was pretty good and included two proud parent moments. The first moment came when Wyatt "tripoded" meaning, he kinda sat up but used his arms to support himself. It completely renewed my stay-at-home mom spirit. I would hate to miss little things like that although going back to work would be a vacation compared the work I do now. The other proud moment was on Friday. Wyatt said "HI!" I mean, I had tears and all! Callie said "Hi" a long time ago but it only lasted for 2 days and then she deleted it from her memory. Wyatt has been trying to say it for a really long time but it comes out like "Hhuuuhhh". But on Friday, he got it! I repeated it over and over until he got the 'eye' part of it. "Hhuuueye!", he said and repeated it the rest of the day. He still says the "Hhuuuhh" first until I work with him to correct the 'eye'. So damn cute I can't even handle it. Here's his tripod picture although he looks like a little amputee.

Poo Rules

This is the sign at our pool. I thought the "please don't swim in the water on the other side of the fence or you'll get eaten by alligators" sign next to the rules about poo was pretty funny. We took the kids to play at the pool for the first time today and they seemed to like it more than I was expecting. I thought Wyatt was going to freak out since he always thinks he's drowning when he's taking a bath but he didn't. He got a pretty pissy when I dunked him under the water but the kid better get used to it if he's going to be a gold medalist in the olympics. I dunked Callie too and she was cool with it. She's so happy-go-lucky. It was so freaking hot here today! Almost too miserable to go outside. We did get out a little bit but it would take 15 minutes for the car to finally cool down and the second the doors were opened, you were sweating like a pig in hell. Here are some cute pictures from the pool starting with one of Wyatt in the party boat...

Nothingness...

I got nothing. Nothing really has happened this week. Oh! Except Laira was here last week and I got to hang out with her a bit which was so nice because she can make me laugh until my stomach hurts! She's the greatest ever. Callie started her physical therapy and so far it seems pretty stupid. She just sits there and the lady dangles things above her head so she will look at them. I could do that. Whatever, for now I'm going to assume that this chick knows what she's talking about... at least it can't hurt. Also, Brent was out of town earlier in the week and I hated it because he is usually my relief in the evenings when it comes to taking care of the babies. They are really a handful for one person especially the middle of the night feedings. Pew. Plus, it was lonely without him but I got flowers when he came home. So sweet. So, I'm just going to post a couple of rando pictures that I took this week... LOVE!

I Love You, DAD!

Salty Toes

Callie Girl

This morning we had to take Callie to see a neurologist in Savannah because of a flat spot on the back of her head. We had to make sure that the flat spot was not caused by the bones in the back of her head closing too quickly - and it wasn't... but we did learn that she is a little behind in her motor skills. She's not as far along as they would like her to be in terms of holding her head up properly and rolling over... stuff like that. Basically, she's a little wimpy in her muscle tone so she will be starting physical therapy twice a week to give her a little jumpstart on her exercises. Hopefully, she'll drop a little blubber while she's working out! Other than that, the babies are doing great! Wyatt has become a tummy sleeper this week. No matter how many times we lay him down on his back, he just flips right back over on his stomach. He's done with that back sleeping crap. I don't blame him!

When you wish upon a star...

Don't Mess With Me Woman!

At least I didn't post one of you with the WORST pants and NASTIEST 80s hair ever!

Beach Babies!

We took the kids to play at the beach for the first time yesterday! We had to wait for the sun to start going down so that the kids wouldn't get burned but it was so much fun and the kids loved it! Wyatt was so cute and just took it all in and sat in the water and watched the waves come up to him. He tasted some of the salt water and puked. He watched doggies run and splash in the water like, 'how do I do that?'... he cackled like it was the funnest thing he had ever done in his whole little life. Callie wasn't as observant as Wyatt was... and in true Callie-like-form, was just hard core set on finding something to eat. She DUG in the sand and would come up with fistfuls and just shove it in her mouth. It was gross. I can't wait until they are old enough to be able to truly play in the waves and build sandcastles and stuff. It's the reason we moved here... and I don't know if they will ever understand how lucky they are to be able to grow up at the beach. It was kind crazy taking our KIDS to the same beach we got married at a couple years ago. I swear it feels like our wedding was just yesterday and now here we are with two little kids. CRAZY!

Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Copy Cat Recipe

1/2 - 1 lb. hot italian sausage
2 large baking potatoes - 1/4 inch slices, then sliced in half
1 large onion, chopped
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups kale, chopped
1 quart water

Place onions, potatoes, chicken broth, water, and garlic in a pot. Cook on medium heat until potatoes are done. Add cooked sausage, bacon, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn to low heat and add kale and cream. Heat through and serve.

Don't make fun of me for being dorky and posting a recipe until you try it. TRUST ME! This soup is the best ever and worth the effort. Brent and I can eat a whole pot in one sitting!

4 Months Old!

The babies had their 4 month checkup today which meant lots of shots! It was so sad because they cry like they are in so much pain and Wyatt got so scared and upset that he peed all over the doctor! My buddy got revenge! So, Callie is 15 lbs. 14 oz. (91st percentile) and my homie is 14 lbs. 6 oz. (30th percentile). He is more appropriately sized for a preemie at his age. I don't know what Callie's deal is ... I'm sure the doctor thinks we are feeding her hamburgers and spiking her bottle with chocolate syrup. Whatever. She's just an overachiever!

My parents came to visit this weekend because my pops hadn't seen the twins since they were like 2 months old and 1/3 of the size they are now. Of course, he started teaching Wyatt how to chant "C-I! T-A! D-E-L!". There's no hope of him going to a different college if my dad and Brandon have anything to do with it. We mostly just hung out and played with the kids since it rained so much. My dad and I put together a dresser we got for the babies from IKEA. It was like a huge puzzle and so much fun! My mom and I attempted to make sushi one night which turned out pretty good and I made this fabulous soup which I will post the recipe for because it is by far and away the best soup on the planet. Anyway, it was a pretty relaxing weekend.