Pool Days

Going to a pool, any pool, is our family's happy place right now. My girls love to come and hate to leave. Here are a few snapshots of these sweet days!

Celebrating my friend's baby girl!!

My precious friend since I was four, Katie, is having a little girl in a few weeks! Her little boy is three weeks younger than Blythe and Joy. She's made a few appearances on here since they moved back to ATL from Seattle this spring. I was given the honor of making Baby Girl Sheerin's going-home dress, to be monogrammed upon her birth and name announcement!!

Katie's big sis Kristin made these out of cupcake liners- soo cute!

Katie and I on Sunday...

Katie and I at her (and my) baby shower last time! Whew, I have to say I am glad just one of us are expecting at this moment!

So on my way home from Katie's shower, the following happened within five minutes.

Call #1: I tell Jake I'm on my way, Jake is getting the girls in the car to meet me and our friends at the pool.

Call #2: Jake tells me he's locked the keys in the house, but the girls are outside with him and safe. So just come home instead of going to the pool to unlock house.

Call #3: Jake tells me not to worry about the keys anymore- he has hoisted Abby Jane through a window, and they are now inside again. I tell Jake his Jeep is breaking down. I need to call a towing company to get the car and my mom to come rescue me.

Call #4: Jake is giving me our USAA number but needs to get off the phone before finishing because Joy has had a fall resulting is significant blood.

Thankfully, everything worked out pretty painlessly after that. But it was definitely not our normal Sunday evening. Thank goodness for that!

NOT a fun run!

On Saturday morning, I ran the Red Top Roaster. I was really amped for the race and excited for a trail run. Well, the race itself was, shall we say, SIGNIFICANTLY more challenging that I anticipated!!! I have never seen more runners walking at a race in my life. I have NEVER been more grateful to see a finish line! And I am absolutely not, under any conditions, ever doing that race again.

But look what sugar love was waiting for me about a half mile before the end! It was so sad- they all watched and waved as I ran by... then the babies burst into tears, as they didn't understand why I didn't stop! Thankfully I didn't hear them crying- I had my music blasting so I wouldn't hear myself breathing!

That final stretch was a bit of a wrap around, so they were right at the finish line to give hugs! Here's Abby Jane...and the littles.Boo didn't mind mama being sweaty- she just wanted snuggles.A plus to the race being so ridiculous- I finished third in my age group, even with a time that was actually 30 minutes longer than I had realistically anticipated!! The girls thought it was fun to go up and get my award with me. An extra plus- this was my last "big" race in that age group... I'll be 30 by the next one... so at least I went out of racing in my 20's with a bang.

Saturday ended with family trip to Yogo Ono and a cul-de-sac late night showing of Pirates of the Caribbean- thank goodness for long range monitors!

Gator

We spent the morning with the Gillies one day last week, and we all had a great time. The boys did a great job of sharing, even their special gator! Abby Jane got to drive- here is Luke as her copilot: a year younger, but a significantly more experienced driver!

Blythe and Joy both got rides with their big sis. Something about this pic seemed a slight snapshot of the future- Abby Jane playing the part of the serious driver, Blythe delightedly holding on for dear life!

I liked seeing Bets over Blythe's shoulders, helping the cousins.
Thanks for a great time, Gillies! I promise Cade was there, too, but it would seem he might not have been still enough for a picture!

War Eagle in July

On Sunday night, I told Abby Jane that we were going to go to Auburn the next day. She said, "Can you sew me an Auburn dress real quick?" Then she said she wanted to sleep in her War Eagle shirt, wanted to pray for Auburn football (heaven knows we need it) that night, and could she bring a shaker in the car?

I had to make sure she understood we were not going to a football game, but for a slightly last minute visit some dear friends for the day. (Isn't it fun to be able to just think... "I want to just get out of town, see some sweet friends, be in my favorite place in the world"... and then just do it?!) It was obvious Abby Jane was not disappointed with the plan! The Muncies had us over, and we got to see the Vaughns and the Coopers while there. Here are the girls all dressed up in Kirkley's room. The twins were not having an amazing morning of behavior, but it seems the big kids did!

After lunch, we headed to Chill, which has opened since we left. It. was. delicious. Kirkley and Abby Jane had their own cups full of the kinds of things only kids put together- I think Abby Jane's was pink lemonade sorbet with jelly beans, sour patch worms, blueberries, and strawberries. They were in heaven. Holly is 14 weeks along with their little one-on-the-way and looking fabulous! I have to say that if I were pregnant in July in Auburn, I think I might have my name bronzed on a chair at this place!
Jay (19 months), Kirkley (4), Abby Jane (3), Blythe and Joy (20 months). Quite the parade!
After yogurt, we hugged the Muncies goodbye, then went on a short sentimentality walk. We "told the sick trees we hoped they felt better."
We played on Samford lawn.
We sat on the steps of Samford Hall where Jake and I got engaged.
And I fantasized about the days when we might be taking pictures of these three in graduation gowns in front of this sign...

It was a beautiful day in the Loveliest Village!! Can't wait to go back this fall!

20 months

Well, we are less than a week before the girls turn 21 months, but it was still really important to me to blog 20 months as that was the age Abby Jane was when Blythe and Joy were born. So here is my biggest girl at 20 months...

And here are her sisters...

Joy: still fearless, crazy, absolutely no sense of inhibition, a clown, the greatest belly laugh, and if something goes wrong, she's mad. The other day at a park, a little friend threw bark on Blythe's head. Blythe didn't care, but Joy patted Blythe on the back, then started crying. So add compassionate to the list.

Blythe: quiet, sweet-spirited, lady-like, more contented, just plain precious, and if something goes wrong, she's sad. On our road trip to St Simons a while back, Jake and I constantly found ourselves getting onto Joy and Abby Jane. At one point, Jake said, "Do we have a third child?" Because Blythe was just contentedly riding along, not causing any ruckus. Glad our family includes one of those kinds of kids!

Blythe and Joy could not be more different. In the few months since I blogged on their development, their speech has exploded. They are not exactly conversational, but definitely communicative. A few most commonly heard words: hi, mama, dada, Abba (Abby) or Ah Dane (Abby Jane), tank tu (thank you), bye bye, puppa (puppy), nigh-nigh, phone, bow, nana, nyeah-nyeah (cheerios- we have no idea how that one came to be), baby, Boo (Blythe's nick name), fwowah (flower), bowl, Mimi, Bop Bop, Gee (Grammy), Paw (Paul), Beesy (Betsy)... and, my favorite: a version of "I love you!". Honestly, they're at that stage where they attempt most words we suggest, so the list really goes on... but those are most of their most successful words...

They love talking on the phone, playing in the kitchen, swimming, copying ANYTHING Abby Jane does, playing at the park, going to storytime, reading, building with blocks, riding tricycles, blowing bubbles. Favorite books right now for the little girls are the ones with puppies, our nursery rhyme book, Where is Baby's Belly Button, From Head to Toe, Where is Baby's birthday cake. Favorite songs: I may never march in the infantry, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Alphabet song, Jesus loves me, If you're happy and you know it, Alice the Camel. Joy is our particularly musical one.

Schedule: wake up-8, quiet rest time in bed: 9-10; "go and do" all morning; nap time 1-4; dinner around 5:45; bedtime around 6:45 or 7:00. But this is the age where there is finally flexibility in all of those times! We are really enjoying having turned this corner!

One of the most entertaining and most common practices in our home is accessorizing. Blythe is the queen of it. Abby Jane's bow basket provides great amounts of entertainment for all the girls. Joy actually is the most obsessed with bows, but Blythe in general is always finding ways to accessorize. It's very lucky we have several pairs of dress up heels, as commonly there are three pairs in demand simultaneously.

Sharing is very very hard. As they are on a constant playdate, they are always having to share, and we are frequently having to settle disputes over coveted and/or stolen items.

One of the highlights of the last several weeks is seeing them really take to playing with and entertaining each other. They play chase, they copy each other, they play peek-a-boo with each other from behind their cribs, they hold hands in the car.

THIS is when the fun is really starting!

Summer Saturday

We decided a rainy Saturday would be a perfect day to hit up a great farmers market we don't usually frequent. But as we missed our local market due to VBS, it was all the excuse we needed.

It was impressibly packed despite the weather, and the girls were delighted by the sights, sounds, and dogs at the "fancy" farmers market, as we ended up calling it.
There's a train play area in the square nearby, so we decided to go ahead finish soaking the girls' clothes...while they had the whole area to themselves!We somehow ended up NOT without the girls actually IN the fountain, but it wasn't for their lack of desire!
We joined Paul and the boys (Bets was on a girls' weekend) at the pool Saturday night. Here's my mom with a traffic jam at the ladder.
To give perspective on how high Cade is in the air right here, Paul is really tall- 6'4", I think, or something else impressibly tall. And there is his brave boy flying several feet above him!!
What's a fun night at the pool if someone doesn't go home with a split lip? Poor Blythe, it's not even her first. If you think she looks bad, you should see the other guy.

Just kidding, it was just a run-in with the pool deck. Sweet baby girl!