Camera dump

As we close out April, it's time to do a camera dump.  I have lots of pictures on my camera that don't really commemorate any event.  They are just pictures that I thought were cute when I took them and I'd hate to just delete them.  So, here are the random pics that don't really fit in any other post.

First Fight

Grandmommy gave me this genius little toy made by Baby Einstein.  I got it at one of my showers and she assured me that the twins would love it.  She was right - it's been a favorite since the start.

Anything that lights up or makes noise is a hit.  However, not only does this toy do both of those things, it is also small enough, light enough, and plastic enough to put in their mouths.  For anyone doing the math - those things add up to the perfect toy.

The problem is, there's only one of them and it is the favorite of both babies. 

The pics below were taken right after their first fight.  I didn't know that I'd want to document the event in pictures until after the fight occured (of course) so there aren't any angst pics (and that's just too bad!).  But still, it sets the scene.

Carter was dominating the toy.  After he played with it for a few minutes, I took it away and gave it to Olivia.  Olivia had barely gotten it into her mouth when Carter reached up and pulled it away.  Olivia immediately screamed and reached for it, but she couldn't reach.  Then she looked at me, as if pleading for me to rectify the situation.  I sense this is the first of many fights.

However, when I retold this story to a friend, she declared "If they'll fight WITH each other, they'll fight FOR each other."  I hope that's true. :-)

Sunday afternoon walks

It's pretty much part of our Sunday afternoon routine to go to the Longleaf Trace for a walk.  This is typically the time of the day that the babies (and parents?) are grouchy and they (and us?) need a change of scenery. 

Those last two pics were taken today and it was HOT.  Oh wait, today is a Saturday.  Sometimes we walk on Saturday and Sunday.  :-)

Live @ Five

Every Friday night in April and October, Hattiesburg has an event called "Live at Five".  At teh park in downtown, a band plays and several food vendors set up to sell their stuff.  People set up camp in the park (lawn chairs and blankets) and visit with their friends.  We've been twice so far and have had a wonderful time. 

The first time we had to park in a lot across the railroad tracks from the park.  Unfortunately, a train was stopped on the tracks and after waiting for several minutes, we had to jump the tracks. 

I don't know the people in these pics.

 Except of course, I know these two:

High Chairs

Our little eaters are getting better and better at eating solid foods.  We have been feeding them in the bumbos up on the kitchen tables, but I have gotten increasingly nervous about them being in the bumbos as I'm afraid one of them (read: Carter!) will fall out.  So, I did my research and ordered these two chairs.

 They aren't the best looking high chairs, but they met all of my requirements....and believe me there were many. 

The chairs are WONDERFUL and I'm kicking myself for not buying them sooner.  It's a much safer and more comfortable place for the babies to sit and eat.  Plus, I can leave them in the chairs while I prepare the food or clean up.  These two will be fixtures in my kitchen for a long time to come.

These next three pics were taken the first time they sat in the chairs.  They seemed really happy in them!

These are just a collection of high chair pics.

Wiedenfeld Whirlwind

We got visited by the Wiedenfeld family and, although it was a brief visit, we made the most of the time we had. 

They were en route to Fort Walton beach for Phillip's cousin's wedding.  They pit stopped in Hattiesburg on the way there and then again on the way back. 

After the twins went to bed the adults enjoyed a crawfish feast.  There's a seafood restaurant on Hardy street towards downtown that sells live and boiled crawfish, and I don't think I've ever had better crawfish than the ones from this restaurant.  Of course, I'm the queen of superlatives so you should probably ask Liah whose experiences better qualifies her to judge the critters.  When Liah comes to town, we must go to Bop's.  We went both nights that they stayed with us, and Liah even got a Bop's t-shirt to celebrate its greatness. 

Another activity worth mentioning were our walks on the Longleaf Trace.  Both mornings we packed up the girls and dogs and let said girls and dogs work out some of their energy.

I just love to see the cousins interact.  Morgan is less interested in her cousins than Caroline, although as you'll see in some of these pics, Morgan did look in on the action (from a safe distance) occasionally.  Caroline just loves the twinnies.  She especially loves holding them, and although she isn't as careful as I'd like her to be, the twins don't seem to mind the manhandling.  They just like being with her.  I can see why - I like being with her too!

These pics were (almost) all taken by Liah.

I love this pic of Caroline.  She just gets prettier and prettier.

No nap

I was on my own today because Forrest was at a conference and.....wouldn't you know....Carter wouldn't nap!  He was very cranky and I snapped this pic of him.  The t-shirt was purely coincidental.

Fortunately, I took Carter and Olivia to the Rester's house after this little meltdown.  They hosted a crawfish boil.  Though I feared it would be too much work for me to take care of both babies at once (especially a crabby Carter), we had a wonderful time.  Audra took Olivia off my hands and Carter behaved like a perfect gentleman, sitting in my lap.  I had so much fun and I'm so glad I went, despite my fears.

Very Nasty

Sometimes one of the twins needs a wardrobe change at day care if they made a mess of their clothes.  When that happens their soiled clothes are sent home in a plastic bag.  Never before today has there been a note taped to the bag.  I'm afraid to open it.

Easter morning

Easter morning means a lot of things to a lot of different people.  All we did on Easter was get dressed up and go to church, which is probably the most important thing to do on Easter....not get dressed up, but go and worship the risen Savior. 

I took the below pic of Carter right after he woke up and sent it to my family with a text saying  "Jesus is risen! I'm so glad God offers salvation and hope to my son."  My dad responded with a text that said "And what a responsibility to raise them to love the Lord and walk in his way."

Nothing is more important to me than helping my children come to know the Lord.  Will you help me teach them about Him?

We took some family pics of us dressed up in the front yard.  Those pics are on Forrest's camera so once I can get them off I'll post them.  Here's a sneak peak of the twins in their Easter Sunday best.

Of note, this is the first time Carter has worn shoes.

Another "pre-bedtime" video

My little softy

You'd think he'd be a little leaner with all of the crunches this kid does!  He has really started putting on weight in the last few weeks.  He's catching up with his peers!

Pipe down piper

When either of the babies are talking too much, Forrest likes to say "Pipe down piper."  This was one of those moments when he probably would have said that to Carter.

Unfortunately he let a toot slip out at the beginning of the video, which is not what I was trying to capture.  I didn't even realize it until I watched it again.  Oh well.

While I was away

Dun came to town on Monday and stayed all week.  She kept the babies every day and, although she didn't appear fatigued by the end of the week, surely she was.  These two are a handful. 

I went to Houston on Tuesday and Wednesday and she sent me the below pics while I was gone.  She took them with her phone camera, so they aren't the best quality pics, but they absolutely delighted me while I was on the road.