Thanksgiving

Wow, I'm really doing an excellent job with the holiday posts.  And now, just in time for Christmas....it's Thanksgiving!!!

*crickets*

I know, sorry folks.  We did, however, have a wonderful Thanksgiving with both sides of our family.  My mom made a DELICIOUS meal for us on Thursday that all of us, including Elle & Kate, loved.  Mom, I heart your squash casserole.  I contributed a pumpkin and chocolate pie.  They were both tasty, though my meringue leaves something to be desired.*

We had a super fun visit with Grandbob, Mimi, Uncle Preston & Gabby.   There's nothing like being home for the holidays.  *Cue The Carpenters*  But really, there's nothing like it.

Believe it or not, this is pre-turkey.  Elle must have been resting up for the feast to come.  Also, Tyler?  You're cute.

Kate thinks Uncle P rocks.  And his MacBook too.

Gabby doing what Gabby's do best - soothing a fussy baby (in this case, Kate)

If anyone is wondering what to get Elle or Kate for Christmas, might I recommend a dog crate?  They had ENDLESS amounts of fun playing with it.

Having fun....

....at Mimi & Grandbob's

 And while we were in Franklin, we were able to visit The Porters & meet baby Anna for the first time!  She's such a doll.  And Tyler and I couldn't believe how teeny she was.  It seems like forever ago that Elle & Kate were that small and we totally thought we were going to break her.

Hello, Gorgeous!

Oh, look!  It's Anna and her favorite Aunt Jen.  :)

We headed to Huntsville on Friday for Thanksgiving part 2 and the Iron Bowl.  Enter more delicious food, fun family time and the most animated I think I've ever seen Tyler during a football game.  He has come a long way since our days in Media Relations at Auburn when we weren't allowed to cheer during the games at all.  War Eagle.   

Elle is ready for the big game.

Add Kate has already staked out her seat.

Kate being silly in her reindeer antlers at Grandma & Bill's house.

Cousins!

Having fun at Papa & Coco's.  Also...need another gift idea for Elle & Kate?  USPS boxes. 

 We had a great Thanksgiving all around.  Elle & Kate had such fun - it's amazing how much they've changed and grown since last Thanksgiving.  And can I just say how thankful I am that we are surrounded by such wonderful family on both sides?  It's such a blessing.  They are such a blessing.  I love 'em all and can't wait for Christmas.  Which, due to the lateness of this post, is in 4 days.  Well done.

So, Happy Thanksgiving!  And, more appropriately, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

*Special thanks to Papa of Papa & Coco for the chocolate pie recipe.  He is the king of chocolate pies.

A Visit from Nana

It appears I only blog on holidays lately.  The days slip away and I don't post.  Maybe I need to get the heck off Facebook.

Anywho - there will be a forthcoming Thanksgiving post, but first, a visit from Nana!  Well, my Nana and Kate and Elle's Great Nana.  They were able to meet her the week before Thanksgiving when she came down with Mimi & Grandbob.  They had a grand ole time showing off for her, playing with her and generally being cute.  I'm so glad they were able to spend some time together!  We all had a great visit.  We even got some shopping in!

Elle & Nana

Nana with her Great-Grandaughters.  Getting these two to look at the camera at the same time, let alone smile, is a feat. 

Kate loves Nana.  And her buttons.

 

Nana, me, & Mom aka Mimi

PS - The girls REALLY impressed Nana during dinnertime.  Luckily, this was bath night.  Elle looks like the town drunk.  We've all decided to start calling her Otis.

Don't mind me...

I'm just doing a little light reading in the nude.

The Monkey and The Ladybug: A Halloween Story

Wow, it's been way too long since I wrote!  The Burns' house has been under the weather/travelling for the past month or so, which is my excuse for the long drought of posts.  But as a friend of Tyler's says, "Excuses are like bellybuttons.  We all have them."  Ahem.

Elle & Kate went trick-or-treating for the first time this year!  Last year I think they were asleep for most of it.  Not this year.  They were big fans of their costumes - especially Elle, who would laugh every time we put her ladybug hood on her.  We They got tons of candy that we they will surely gobble right up.  Our Their favorites are raisinets and gobstoppers.

We stopped by our friends Ang & Josh's house for our first trick-or-treat and the girls had way too much fun digging through their candy basket and then throwing the candy out of said candy basket.  They still have a few manners to learn.

Then we went trick-or-treating with some new friends from our neighborhood and their little girl and our good friends Shane, Jessica and Campbell the Duck.  The girls' costumes were a hit and they thoroughly enjoyed going door to door and didn't even fuss when they ate dinner an hour later than they usually do. 

Oh, and they hung out in our church's pumpkin patch on Sunday morning for a few obligatory fall pictures!  Pictures of all are below.  All in all, it was a very Happy Halloween!

Elle & Kate chillin' in the Pumpkin Patch

Elle looks like WAY too much of a big girl in this picture!

Getting ready to go!  Elles in the picture are more excited than they appear.

Digging through Ang & Josh's candy basket.  Elle apparently loves Reese's.

So a duck, a dalmation, a monkey and a ladybug walk into a graveyard...

Despite our attempts to clarify that Kate is indeed a girl monkey by putting a bow on her ear, people still thought she was Elle's brother. 

Here, I believe Elle is contemplating how her world might implode if someone were to take that Twix she has a death grip on in her hand.  Seriously, she held onto that thing until it was mushy and chocolate was seeping out the sides.

Daddy and his ladybug.

Not-So-Good-Homemaker

Since deciding to stay home with the girls, I have off and on struggled with feeling like I am not great at my new job as "homemaker".  I don't know how to sew, don't have dinner waiting on the table, don't teach my girls baby Spanish (but they do know who Zack Morris is, and I think that's quite possibly equally as important), I don't do this, I don't do that.  Enough, I say!  I am as good as I can be at it and am a work in progress.  My girls are happy, funny 1 year old's.  My mission is to have a much better sense of humor about being a homemaker & mom, to forgive myself when I mess up and to lean on the grace of God, because heaven knows I can't do it without Him.

ANYWAY.

I read this article today and it was so timely and made me snort.  Several times.  It's the first time I've read her blog, but for sure not the last.  Read, and enjoy.  Even if you're not a homemaker, it's still funny.  Especially the part about Gandalf.  You're welcome in advance.

http://kasm.blogspot.com/2010/07/few-more-obvious-tips-for-not-very-good.html

1 Year Stats

For posterity, here are the girls' 1 year stats:

Elle
Weight - 20lbs 11oz
Height - 29.75 inches

Kate
Weight - 19lbs 13 oz
Height - 29.25 inches

Kate is our petite one for now!  They got great reports at the doctor though they were thoroughly offended that their parents allowed them to get shots.  Don't worry, I gave them bites of the pineapple upside down cake samples at Costco to make up for it.  Which, by the way, is quite delicious.

One.

Kate and Elle are 1.  ONE!  Did this happen when I wasn't looking?  I can't believe it.  I remember in the hazy days of early mommyhood feeling like I was walking and moving so slowly through the days.  And then I blinked and it's 12 months later and my sweet girls are now 1. 

Elle and Kate had a fun weekend full of celebrating with family, eating cake, subsequently taking baths, opening presents and ignoring them in favor of the AWESOME tissue and wrapping paper they came in and, in general, being the belle's of the ball.

Here are a few highlights:

 Kate in her fancy birthday PJ's - complete with a little belly showing and a Grandbob hiding.

Elle doing a little light reading in her new big girl chair.

Kate

Morning storytime with GGM (Great Grandmother)!

Boy, do we love our birthday tutu's, Mom.  I mean, really.  Give us the cake, already.

Kate is already practicing her ballerina moves.  First, tiptoes.  Next....JAZZ HANDS.

Mimi got the pink memo and coordinated nicely with Elle!

Kate and Uncle Preston.  Or, as we like to call him, Uncle Text.  He hearts text messaging.  And his nieces.

The bday girls with Papa and Coco!

Present time!

Kate loving her new quilt from Grandma Burns.  Please note Elle in bottom of the frame, playing with the tissue paper.  Tissue paper was her life that day.

My name is Elle.  And my motto is "Face First."

Much to our surprise, Kate took a slightly less aggressive approach to her cake*.  She loved the strawberry icing. 

And Elle?  Well, I think you can tell which icing was her favorite. 

*Please don't be jealous of my wicked cake making skills.  You can't get this kind of handiwork in a bakery, folks.

All in all, a very happy birthday weekend for the girls.  Topped off with an Auburn win and a visit from their BFF, Charlotte.  After they came down from their sugar high, they were POOPED!

And now, for the "tender" part of the post, as Tyler would call it.

God has taught me so much through these two precious little people this last year.  How to love more than I ever knew I could; how to be patient even when I feel like it's the most foreign concept in the world; that it's not all about me; how to appreciate my husband and what an amazing father he is; how to roll around on the floor again and laugh hysterically at funny faces and zerberts; how to find peace in a warm baby and a rocking chair; how to savor every moment, good and bad, because they are so fleeting and I'm going to miss them; how to take deep breaths; how to be so thankful that He blessed us specifically with these 2 precious, distinctively different and amazing souls to care for and love and teach and nurture; and how that responsibility takes my breath away each day.

Happy First Birthday, Kate and Elle!  I love you so.

The Graduate

My itty bitty, teeny tiny, baby brother graduated from Auburn this past Monday.  War Eagle!  I'm so proud of him!  And the fact that it's my alma mater makes me just a smidge prouder.  :)  It is captured for posterity below, mispronounced name and all.  Please excuse the shakiness as no tripods were used in the making of this video.  And might I say, the girls?  They were CHAMPS through the whole ceremony!  They didn't have to be strolled around at all and just sat there a.) playing with Grandbob's tie and camera, b.)  making the rest of us laugh by making faces and c.) sleeping on Daddy.

Congratulations little brother - you did it!  

YMCA

We joined our local Y not too long ago and each member of the family had to get ID cards.  Never in my life have I seen a funnier ID card than Kate's.  The lady taking the picture was even like "Are you sure you don't want me to retake it?"  To which Tyler replied, "No way.  It's awesome."  And I agree.  It's awesome.  And she will probably hate us for it one day!  But right now?  High comedy.

Feast your eyes on inmate #090309:

I mean, COME ON.  Between the Dirty Harry expression and the strawberry swimsuit, I can't handle it!

And though Elle's is not nearly as funny, for posterity, here she is:

I like how she is completely uninterested in the camera and I'm trying to hide behind her. 

Oh, these girls.  They kill me.

30 Rock(s)

Today is my darling husband's 30th birthday and I just wanted to give him a little blog love on this big day!  We had a great celebration over the weekend with family (thanks, Roysters!) and tonight we're going out to dinner.  Hopefully.   The girls are a little under the weather, so we'll see how it goes.

In honor of his 30 years, here are 30 things I love about Tyler:

1.)  He is a wonderful father
2.)  He is a wonderful husband
3.)  His sense of humor
4.)  He is wicked smart.  For real.  Try to beat him at trivia.
5.)  He has strong beliefs and he sticks to them.
6.)  He always goes above and beyond what is expected of him.  At home.  At work.  In life.
7.)  His eyes.  The girls have beautiful blue eyes, though I must admit I was hoping one of them would have his amber-colored ones!
8.)  His silliness
9.)  His even-keeled temper.  He is the opposite of me in that respect and I'm glad he's around to keep me in check!
10.)  His sweet dance moves.  Ask him about them sometime.
11.)  How he relates to people
12.)  The love he has for his family
13.)  He loves to travel. 
14.)  His freckles
15.)  He is not afraid to ask questions.
16.)  How he smells.  Unless he's just played softball or worked in the yard.  Then, gross.  This is the part where he would say "You love my pheremones."  And then I would snort.
17.)  He's an extremely hard worker, but he knows how to relax.
18.)  He doesn't hold grudges.
19.)  He would do anything for pretty much anyone he knows.
20.)  He loves to learn.
21.)  He's fun at parties.  :)
22.)  His love of Snoop Dogg.  It cracks me up.
23.)  His laugh.  It's kind of infectious.
24.)  His hugs.
25.)  He is very laid back and doesn't get uptight or upset very often at all.  Here's hoping this rubs off on Kate & Elle!
26.) He is a kid at heart.  I know he will always keep me young!
27.) He's a sports fanatic, but will watch So You Think You Can Dance because he knows I love it.
28.)  He's thoughtful. 
29.)  He's kind.
30.)  And oh so handsome in a suit and his glasses. 

There are a gazillion more things I love about him.  Happy Birthday, TyTy!  Thanks for being born.  :)

Elle Bit Me!

I'm sure a lot of you (yes, all 5.7 of you loyal readers) have seen the youtube video entitled "Charlie Bit Me".  And while Elle and Kate are neither talking nor British, I present to you their latest video entitled "Elle Bit Me!  And it really hurt...."

A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a girl who said she would never own a mini van.

They were big.  They were uncool.  With them came short hair, track suits and the smell of wet cheerios.

Then the girl had twins.

And she ate her words. 

The end.

Epilogue: 1 month later....aforementioned girl has brand new short hair.  Stay tuned for pictures of track suit. 

Moral of the story:  Never say never.

"And never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line!"

Sorry, I think I have movie quote tourettes.

Found: 1 Camera. Subtitled: Why this will never be a food blog

 Glory hallelujah!  The mystery of the missing camera has been solved.  The mystery being how I could go through one bag at least 5 times, not find the camera, and then on the 6th time, it magically appeared.  Someone played a cruel, cruel joke on me.   Because it couldn't have been there the whole time, right?

Right?

So, without further adieu - 9 month pictures of the girls!

Elle















Kate: The Ferocious. 


On a completely unrelated note,  the below picture illustrates why this blog will never be a food blog.

This is Chocolate Delight.  It was far from delightful.  Kristin, we need to talk.  Somewhere, I went horribly wrong.  In case that wasn't evident in the picture.















Pictured here is Ang.  After my failed attempt at chocolate delight, she suggested we try and turn it into chocolate bread pudding.  Ang is very creative and very confident in her belief that we can make this work.  Cut to approximately 30 minutes later and Ang is trying to convince me, by eating the "Chocolate Bread Pudding", that it is "actually not bad".   Oh Ang, you really are a good friend.  I hope you didn't go home and throw up.

9 Months

 DISCLAIMER:  My camera is M.I.A., so I have no 9 month pictures to post.  Will post them if and when it turns up, but figured I should get their 9 month post up before they are 10 months old.  :)
------
 I can't believe Kate & Elle's next doctor's appointment (assuming they don't get sick) will be for their 1 year check-up.  That's right.  My babies are 9 months old!  Let's not even talk about them being 1.  Denial is my preferred method of dealing with that right now.

They are doing great.  They are neck and neck (pun semi-intended) on height and weight.

Kate is 18 lbs, 14 oz and 27 3/4" long
Elle is 19 lbs, 2 oz and 27 3/4" long

Let's start with the Elle, the elle-dest.  Pun totally and unapologetically intended.  Elle is an independent woman as her daddy would say.  She loves inspecting her toys, chewing on stuffed animals ears, her paci, and playing quietly and independently.  She also loves to scream.  LOUD.  The child loves the sound of her voice!  It's too funny.  Except when it's not because she's showing her temper, which she may or may not have inherited from her mother.  She loves to play peek-a-boo, has 6 teeth, thinks watching Lily drink her water is hilarious, often appears slightly annoyed by her younger sister (who has a bad habit of taking away every single toy Elle picks up), and, at 9 months old, appears to me to be wise and introspective.  She is beautiful and she is mine all mine.

Now to Miss Kate, who, while only one 1 minute younger, really seems to fit the part of the little sister.  It's kind of amazing the dynamic these 2 have already.  Kate has 2 teeth, loves to babble, suck her thumb, snuggle, give kisses, crawl commando style, pull up on anything she can and irritate her older sister.  This girl is ON THE MOVE.  She does not like to be still and loves to investigate the world around her, even if that world includes electrical cords, dirty shoes and old cheerios.  She gives this mama a good workout!  She cracks me up with the faces she makes and has a silly sense of humor.  She is my emotional, tender-hearted little baby who finds comfort in her thumb, her stuffed rabbit and being held close.  When she giggles at me and snuggles up against my chest, all is right with the world.

Happy 9 Months, sweet girls.

A Day at the Beach

Well, really, it was a week at the beach, but A Day at the Beach was one of my favorite books when I was little, so I took some liberties.

That's right, Tyler and I packed up Kate and Elle and headed to Destin to spend the week there with Mimi and Grandbob.  We had a great time!

I must say, vacations with kids are MUCH different than they used to be.  I don't know why I didn't realize this before we left, but they are a bit more work with 2 little ones in tow!  We had some great help from the great Mimi & Grandbob though - hopefully we didn't wear them out!

The girls traveled well, for the most part.  Meltdowns commenced approximately 45 minutes from our destination each way, though it was much worse on the way.  But hey, what can you expect from two 8 1/2 month olds on a 6 hour car ride??  They were troopers!

As you will see below, they looked super cute in their bathing suits.  Thank you, Old Navy, for making the cutest tutu swimsuits ever.  They both loved the pool and their pool floats.  Sweet Kate fell asleep on her Daddy one day in the pool.  Snoring and everything.  So cute.  And Elle got dunked by her daddy.  She wasn't sure how she felt about going under water, but under she went and she made it!  Elle seems to be our beach baby - she sat and played in a little tide pool and had fun in the ocean while Tyler held her.  Kate, on the other hand, was not so much a fan.  I think she was a smidge scared of the waves and did not like the way the sand felt and so she clung to me for dear life.  It's okay, Kate - I prefer the pool too!  And I'm sure when they get older, we won't be able to keep the out of the ocean.

The girlies were rock stars wherever they went - garnering much attention and ooh-ing and ahh-ing.  And they went all over the place!  To the outlet malls, to dinner, to lunch...and they did great most everywhere we went!  There was a small incident at Harry T's, but we overcame it and even took them out to eat again.  If you'd seen me that day, during lunch, you would be immensely proud that I ventured back out with them.  :)  It required a MaiTai afterwards.  Which, by the way, should not be made with bourbon.  Gross.  I think the bartender was acting like he knew what was in it.  FAIL.

The girls were also able to see Aunt Manny and cousin Kendall while we were there.  They got lots of hugs from Kendall!  Cutest thing ever - Kendall LOVES giving hugs.  And Aunt Betty came by for a visit too and brought some delicious wings for lunch (thanks again, Betty!). 

And Tyler and I were able to go on a date while we were there, thanks to the babysitting prowess of Mimi & Grandbob.  I love The Back Porch.  It was so nice to have drinks on the beach and a nice leisurely dinner together.  Grilled Mahi Mahi - yummmm.

All in all, we had a great time on our first beach trip with the girlies!

Possibly my favorite picture from the trip.  Tyler drinking from his giant fishbowl while feeding Kate Cheerios.  Classic.

Elle at Harry T's.  This was pre-incident.  Incidentally (ha), the girls are both big fans of sitting in highchairs at restaurants.  At home?  Not so much.

Big hugs from Kendall.  I think Elle is trying to lick her ear.  Is ear licking is a pre-cursor to hugging?  No?  Nevermind then

Ole Blue Eyes.

Kate likes to call this next series of pictures, "Why me?"

You might not be able to tell, but Kate is pretty much having a meltdown here.

Helpppppppp

Meeeeeeee

When asked to comment, Elle said "I love the beach!"

Mimi and Elle!

Grandbob & Kate.

And the closest thing to a family picture we were able to get!