No Camera Blues

To any avid reader who has missed my girls this week, know that HH Gregg is to blame. Our digital camera that was purchased less than 1 year ago (I remember vividly because I was VERY pregnant) broke. Luckily we purchased the 3 year warranty. I tried to return it and they told me that my $80 warranty covered repairs, not replacements and it would be up to 4 weeks to go through repair with no guarantee. Convenient, considering their birthday is less than 2 weeks away and we could be taking first steps any day. So, that is why I haven't posted and don't have any pictures. We did celebrate Mallory's 1st birthday last weekend and had a blast. Lilly helped open presents and Addy was the first to try out some of her new toys. Some pictures (courtesy of Megan) are below.

Happy birthday Mallory--WE LOVE YOU!

"Seriously, can someone help a sista out and open this box for me?"--Lilly

"I know it isn't my day, but with all these toys, there's no way she'll notice if the lion comes home with me."--Addy

Stay tuned, the blog is getting a facelift from BLOGS FOR A CAUSE and I think it is going to be ADORABLE. Just in time for year 2!

Daddy's Day

Well, the twins LOVED having Aunt Cat here and already miss her (COME BACK SOON!). However, they had a blast with Daddy this weekend. He's been working a lot lately, so it was fun to have a couple days of him all to ourselves! We went to the Northside Twins & Multiples Club picnic on Saturday. Talk about mass CHAOS--there were over 100 families there with twins and higher order multiples. However, I have to admit there is something peaceful about being around that crowd...it assures me that I can make it through another day and life certainly could be crazier. This is probably another reason I watch "Jon & Kate plus Eight". Then Sunday, they pooled with Dad while I attended the baby shower of Lauren Edmundson--another friend having TWIN BOYS anytime now! Here are some pictures of the weekend.

All the fun had the girls exhausted and last night they slept from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.! It was a welcomed change because we are usually up around 5:30 a.m. as Cat informed everyone in the previous post...Today we are gearing up for a quick visit from Grandma Linda. She's flying in from Pittsburgh for her "baby fix".

Addy & Lilly are hilarious right now, as soon as anyone picks them up, they are "exploring" your face--nose, ears, teeth, tongue and they laugh anytime they get their fingers inside a mouth. It's pretty funny. Lilly babbles non-stop, the girl has so much to say, I just know once she starts, we may never have quiet in this house again. Addy has begun to be very interested in how things work--buckles on the strollers, carseat straps, etc. She also crawls around the play room and puts toys into various boxes. Hopefully this isn't a sign that she will be neurotic like her mother.

Bottom line is we are LOVING summer. Despite the 90 degree days here in Indiana, we are having a blast. As for an update about me, I accepted a job working for Gamma Sigma Alpha. It will be 20 hours a week beginning in the fall. A lot of the work will be from home with a day or 2 in the office. I'm hoping this will give me the best of both worlds--an opportunity to stay connected to higher education and the chance to stay home with my girls. If I can stay sane, my goal would be to do this through them going off to kindergarten--but I can't even think that far into the future right now! I start the position August 1.

Guest Blogger (Aunt Cat): Visiting Addy & Lilly

First let me begin by describing how brilliant my nieces are. This morning (and I do mean morning, 5:30 AM to be exact) we were sitting in the family room looking at their flash cards and they have a flashcard that says "BED" with a picture of a bed (I know, very ironic since that is where a person should be at 5:30 AM) and they both said "BALL" and then we went to the next flashcard which says "BIRD" and they both said "BALL." This is evidence that they can read the letter "B" at 11 months and are both ready for MENSA.

Next I have to tell a story that I know will make my brother-in-law cringe;) We took the girls shoe shopping yesterday since I have a need to spoil them. Their mom had them wearing shoes they were a little snug on their feet. So we took Lilly's shoes off and put little pink metallic sneakers on her feet and she flexed and pointed her toes and peered over to admire how cute her feet looked! And Addy did the same thing. They are champion shoppers - they love to shop - we went to two different malls yesterday and they loved it - they were high-fiving salespeople and basically being adorable. They clap all the time, for anything and Addy waves at anything or anyone at pretty much anytime. Lilly is hilarious and keeps saying "WOAH" about every new thing that happens throughout the day. They are little divas though, they do like things done to their specifications! They loved having dinner last night at Uncle Jonathan's un-babyproofed house - they had tons of dangerous electronics and expensive equipment to rifle through!

I know this blog is dedicated to the amazingness of Addy and Lilly but I have to give my sister and Jeremy a massive amount of credit for the amazingness. When I arrived on Wednesday we all sat in the playroom for a little while with Jeremy and Lilly playing the piano and Addy and Aimee playing with toys and it was really hard to figure out who adored who more. Addy & Lilly love their mom and dad and I am pretty certain that Addy and Lilly are so happy and contented because they know how beloved they both are. Alas, there is still tension between me and my favorite brother-in-law who did not exactly take to all the outfits I brought for Addy & Lilly (see pictures below!) and again last night brought up the tragedy that is the electric blue polyester blend Colts jersey and how he was going to retro-fit my gorgeous nieces into one of them. This is obviously unacceptable. Do not fear blogosphere, all is not lost on that front, as I still have one more day here to prevent this impending catastrophe! Please look at these pictures of my beautiful, brilliant diva nieces and tell me if you have ever seen anything cuter in your life;)

Waiting for Aunt Cat...

Our favorite aunt is coming to visit today.

We are so excited for her 3 day stay.

She promised shopping, swimming and the zoo.

We want to show her all that we do that is new!

Waving, clapping and showing "How big?"

It isn't long until we could get our own gig...

"Ball" and "Boat" are our two favorite words.

We should be resting up--but that napping thing is for the birds!

FYI: You have to tilt your head to watch the video, not sure why I shot it sideways and have no idea if you can rotate once filmed.

Seriously, how do they keep getting cuter?

All three of us are a bit under the weather today, so I'm not going to post much, but here is a picture from last week visiting Sagamore Country Club with Mallory.

To cage or not to cage?

We bought what manufacturers call a giant "playyard." We call it the baby cage. Honestly, I've become the parents I used to think were ridiculous. We bought it for the lakehouse, because I thought caging them was a better option than losing one of my babies in the bottom of the lake, but they actually liked it! It was a way for them to be outside without free reign to eat grass and everything else they can get their hands on. We have also converted our former "living room" into their indoor caged playroom. We officially now live in a gated community! Again, surprisingly, they like it! I'm not sure I had many options considering the new quickness of my little ones. The pic below is still a work-in-progress (no wall decs yet). And some more 4th of July pics (more to come, I was camera happy that day). So, my vote is to cage....let the judging begin.

Easy?

I often joke with Jeremy's mom's best friend Dee Wiley because everytime we see her she says something along the lines of "Addy and Lilly are so easy!" She's an avid blog reader and I do think the blog shows the highlights and I often neglect some of our behind-the scenes breakdowns. I also think that I paid dues with a hard first few months and the truth of the matter is my girls are relatively easy-going, but there is nothing easy about parenthood! Here's just a sneak peak at Lilly's meltdown of the morning...

Blogging from the Lake

We are spending the week at Lake Tippy with Grandma Jody! From the Ft. Wayne Zoo to outings on the boat and daddy on the weekend, we've been having a blast! Addy is now waving and saying "ball" and is crawling FAST. Lilly is crawling, saying "DaDa" all the time and clapping. We are BUSY girls! Happy 4th of July!

Grandma Jody & Addy--I love this picture!

Lilly & Mommy on the boat

"We love the lake"

Lilly ready for a boat ride!
Addy & Daddy, just hanging out...