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.