Happenings

A little photo catch up!

Monday 4/22

just hanging around the house. This guy is on the move!

Tuesday 4/23

My mom got the babies "Stone Soup" and they have enjoyed cooking for her!

Wednesday 4/24

Gran came to watch us 

Thursday 4/25

We went to Daddy's baseball game dressed at little frogs! Daddy's team won and we're their good luck charms! Looks like we'll be headed to all the playoff games next week.

Friday 4/26

We went to Gigi's house on Friday morning. She brought us to Mommy's talent show at school. We watched her and the other silly teacher perform the "Harlem Shake". We wish we had a picture of Mommy in her silly hula girl outfit.

we had a park date with Liam and his mommy afterschool and had fun exploring the smaller playground at Freedom Park. Wayyy better than the larger one! 

The park must have wore the babies out because they slept through the first half of our yogurt playdate with Graham and Ellie on Friday night. It was so sweet getting these babies together and we loved catching up with their parents!

Sweet Graham and Ellie

Ellie meeting Emma Cate... 

Saturday 4/27

We had a lazy Saturday with no plans! In fact, we didn't even take any baby pictures. I'm not even sure we left the house! I woke up Saturday morning with yucky allergies and after feeding the babies, Jay let me sleep another hour while he took care of breakfast and playtime. He was putting the babies down for a nap just as I was waking up. Jay has been studying a ton for the GMAT and I'm trying to give him his space and quiet time. Thank goodness for the basement! Holden woke up 20 minutes after going down for nap so I loaded him in the BOB and went for a jog.

 I just started Couch to 10k and tried to do a run on Saturday. I was using this app that kept starting my time over and so I never got into a groove with the interval training. Holden and I did a little over 2.5 miles and got home just in time for Sissy to wake up. We had fun playing with the babies and enjoying the downtime. We did to a little target run and it was good to show Jay how that target bill quickly adds up! (He is always on me about how much I spend at target!)

We put the kids to bed and had a nice little date night meal of flank steak, sweet potatoes and this yummy veggie salad. The avocado was super ripe and kind of turned into a spread but it was still delicious.

Sunday 4/28 

I am committed to this running thing! After feeding the babies breakfast I went for a run with a new Couch to 10k app that I LOVE. It measures distance, heart rate, speed, and politely yells at me when its time to switch intervals. The first workout was a 5 minute walking warm up, and 7- :30 second runs with 4:30 walks. Pretty easy but I tried to sprint on all of the runs. My legs are a bit sore today!

We went to church and then to breakfast with my parents at a little home-style place in Pineville. We returned home and had a lazy little Sunday. The kids played around and we got organized for the week ahead. Jay got in a quick trip to lowe's and I was so thankful to do a solo grocery shopping trip! 

I ended Sunday with a yummy year end party with my high school cheerleaders at Cowfish. 

Monday 4/29

Holden loves his walker at gigi's house!

We've started to fight over the push toy! Two minutes after this picture was taken the both fell backwards and loads of crying ensued! 

Holden loves to wait for me at the gate while I'm in the other part of our house. We had a little potty accident and had to strip down to our diaper...

Loving when my husband doesn't have baseball and gets home at 5! We went for a long family walk with the dogs (who are CRAZY... we need to get them out in public more often!) We ended up doing our favorite thing, swinging, at our neighborhood park.

Boomer our little black cockapoo was a little tired after our walk so he had to ride in the stroller with the babies. Emma Cate and Holden loved kicking him feeling his fur with their toes along the ride home!

I made seared tuna for the first time Monday nigh with a homemade Thai peanut dressing. It was delicious!  

So that's where we're at! 

10 Months

Emma Cate and Holden,
You are TEN months old! Time is flying by like crazy and I almost forgot to do this post!

What our life is like:

Our routine is staying the same. We've got everything the way we like it! I wake up at 5:40 and pump. My supply is still on the decrease and I'm ok with that! I'm getting about 15 ounces each morning. Enough to cover the morning bottle.  Still haven't had to use formula yet (our wallets are thankful!) We use the freezer stash when I don't produce enough and we're making our way through that. We wake you up around 6:45am for a diaper change. You are still sleeping around 12 hours each night. Holden has pretty much stopped waking up early and a paci and is sleeping until we wake him up. Emma Cate has been getting up on her own but just plays in her crib and laughs to herself! We had to lower Emma Cate's crib this month too!

You have an 8oz bottle for breakfast, lunch, and mid-afternoon, and nurse before bed. You eat three meals a day and have a snack around 3. Your meals are at 8:15, 12, and 6:30. We switched from purees to table food and now we have a terrible time giving you anything pureed. It has been fun coming up with meal ideas for you both to eat. In the morning you have a smoothie mixed with greek yogurt, an egg that we split between the two of you and toast. Lunch and dinner alternate. Meals you like include, ravioli, coconut chicken tenders, mommy's pasta creations, cut up sauted zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, asparagus and onions, blueberry waffles, hamburger, shredded chicken, cheese-y eggs, salmon, avocado, fussili pasta, cheese, black beans, edamame, broccoli, the list goes on!

Lots of new developments this month! Holden continues to be our wild man! He crawls everywhere at record speed. He pulls up on everything and cruises everywhere. He can go between pieces of furniture. Holden's poor head is always covered in bumps and bruises because he is so crazy! Emma Cate is a rolling machine and I have no doubt she'll be crawling this time next month. She gets up on all fours and rocks and planks. She also decided to pull up in her crib right before turning 10 months! Holden has gone from shrieking like a bird to more of a grunt sound. He like to imitate the dogs! Emma Cate is still our babbler and continues to say dada and tat tat. No mama yet!

You both nap from 8:45 to 10:45. Around 11 you eat another 8oz bottle and at 12:15 you have another solid food. You nap from 12:30-1:30 and then have another bottle at 3pm. You nurse at 6:45 and are in bed by 7 or 7:15. With daylight savings time, you like to stay up a little later since it is so light outside. Our night time routine includes a bath every other night followed by nursing. You both love to play in the big tub and when we've got sometime we let you hang out in there. We still use the sink baths on a lot of nights.

Holden is looking more and more boyish. He is becoming such a big boy. He's got chunky legs and unofficially weighs around 18lbs. That boy can put back some food! He's starting to drink less milk in favor of table food. Emma Cate is still our petite little girl. Her hair is starting to grow in and she reserving her smiles more and more.

You have begun to notice each other more this month. Emma Cate like to touch Holden and play with his face and ears. Holden doesn't seem to mind! There are rare moments where you both make eye contact and smile HUGE smiles at each other. You will also talk during nap time! It warms my heart to see you both together.

Emma Cate:
Nicknames:  P (daddy's nickname for you), Emma Tate, Taters (we use this one the most), Cate, Tatie Boo.
Weight: around 16lbs
Height: ?
Hair: It's growing in! We think it'll be light brown
Eyes: Blueish grey
Clothes: 6 or 9 month onesies and most of your outfits are 12 month and a little big.
Eating: 7 or 8Toz bottles 3 times a day. You nurse before bedtime. Three table food meals a day. Some days you eat a lot and others you eat like a bird. 
Likes: Seeing your bottle (you go crazy!), listening to music (you move, rock, and shake!) watching mommy cook, watching Holden, talking, being tossed in the air, being tickled around your neck (LOVE your giggle when we do this!), loves being held. You love to bounce in the exersaucer and press all the buttons
Dislikes: mommy walking out of the room, being set down or left alone
Development: You start going from seated position to belly! So proud of our big girl! You also blow raspberries like crazy and are working on the p sound.
Words: hey, dada, ata
Teeth: You've got one little white bump sticking through on the bottom!

Sleep: You have started sleeping on your tummy and always have your paci in your mouth when we wake you up. We took off one bumper so you could talk to Holden during the night!

Extra: You've grown leaps and and bound developmentally this month. I can't believe where we were last month compare to now. You roll like a champ and are SOOO ready to crawl! You can scoot around everywhere though. It amazes me how much you love music. You like to talk and bang toys. You still love to play with the bells on the green turtle. You like to stand and amazed me by walking across the room with the push toy. I think you'll walk before brother. You are simply adorable and starting to look more and more like a little girl. You are a mama's girl and love for me to hug you and hold you. I think your favorite thing to do is straddle my tummy with your little legs while facing forward and laugh and giggle. You like peekaboo and watching me dance and be silly. You love your daddy and light up when he comes home from work. You are the funniest at bed time. As soon as you finish nursing you roll over and give me the biggest smile. You are so happy when you are full! 

Holden
Nicknames: Holdy and Holds, Spatcho, Den Dens and Ho Ho. You go by Holden most of the time.
Weight: approx 18lbs
Height: ? but much taller than EC
Hair: blond. It continues to grow and you a definitely a blond!
Eyes: Bright blue
Clothes: 6 and 9 month oneies. Mostly 12 month clothes. Becoming a big boy! 
Diapers: Bumgenius 4.0 and freetime and KaWaii at night.
Eating: 8oz bottles 3 times a day and nursing at night. We keep you up later and later at night and you are so exhausted when you nurse. You pretty much cuddle and fall asleep. You NEVER cuddle anymore so I love this little time with my baby boy. You eat three full meals and are a BIG eater. You shovel crazy amounts of food in your mouth and act like you are always hungry. I can never get food on the tray fast enough for you.
Likes: dancing, being naked, standing up, you love exploring and rolling everywhere. You love your lovie and holding blankets up to your face. You love your tambourine and any toys that make noise. You love to steal toys from your sister. You also love to pluck her hairbows from her head and chew on them. You also love the remote and Mommy's iPhone. Shiny toys are your friends.
Dislikes: being hungry (boy likes his bottle!), being tired (you are a bear when you are tired), being held still. You love to explore!
Development: crazy toddler here we come. You can pull up, cruise, and crawl. We are waiting on the walking to happen. You can't stand up on your own yet and don't seem to have a lot of desire to.
Words: not yet!
Teeth: not yet!
Sleep: You always have blankets by your face. You like to crawl in to the corner and scrunch your head up to the bumpers to sleep. We took one bumper off so that you could look at Emma Cate. 

Extra: Holden you are all boy! You are crazy and determined. You are all over the place. You don't really notice your sister all that much but she is always watching you. You won't finish your entire bottle in one sitting anymore because you get bored. You are quick to roll over and are onto the next thing. You latest love is crawling over to the dog crate and pulling up and staring at the dogs. You are hard to please at home but MAN are you a flirt in public. You bat your eyes and flash your shy smile. You are a hoot! You don't like to cuddle or hold still. I have to sneak hugs! I love your fun personality and your determination.

Single Mom

Hats off to you single moms! Jay has just returned from a bachelor party in Las Vegas. He left on Friday at 6am and his flight landed at 7:15 this morning. That is 3 nights, 3 days, and 4 mornings as a single mom to twins. I was so nervous going into the weekend because I had not spent that much time alone with my babies since my maternity leave. I jumped back in and it was truly easier than I expected.

My last blog post was Wednesday so lets pick up from there!

Jay and I had a much needed date night Wednesday night. Jay's mom, Gran, used to babysit for us two days a week but accepted a sub position and started only babysitting one day a week. Last week her sub position ended and she's decided to go back to watching the twins twice a week! The best part is having someone around to watch the kids at night so Jay and I can get out and do something. Normally we just hang out with her at home but we've decided to try and take advantage and do a mid week date night!

(we got really dressed up...)

(no worries I have tried for years to tell my husband that the 90s called and wanted their backwards hat back. He refuses to answer...)

We went to see 42 on Wednesday night and I was not impressed. The movie was okay but as someone that only watches a movie once a year, it was definitely not my pick. I liked the story but felt that the personal aspects were too glossed over and would have rather seen more about Jackie's family than watching him steal another base.

Jay had a game on Thursday and the babies loved getting outside for some fresh air. There are 3 sweet girls that having siblings on the baseball team that just love the babies. One even told her mom that "I know them so well now I could be their sister". They are all in elementary school and are just the sweetest things.

This was one of my favorite country songs last summer and as a high school Nelly fan, I am just loving this remake!

A random picture of our downstairs playroom. The kids destroy it! I love that it is in the basement and I don't have to pick it up every evening!

Friday after school we played and played and played. Holden is a wild man and is all over the place. His new favorite thing is to crawl from the toy area to the dog crate and then pull up and stare at the dogs.

I was amazed by how late the babies slept on Saturday. They finally woke up at 7:30. I purposely set my alarm for 6:30 so that I could be awake and pump before them.  I laid in bed for 45 minutes just waiting for them to wake up! Most weekend mornings we sleep until the babies wake up and Jay takes care of them while I pump. We played for a bit before breakfast and mornings naps. After morning naps we headed to the baby grocery store to attend the Great Cloth Diaper Change. We had fun setting the world record for most cloth diapers changed. My mom came with me to help change a baby and won a cloth diaper in the raffle! 

The twins rode in the shopping cart for the first time too!

me and my mama

We finished up the day by driving up north of town to check out the grand opening of Home South. It's like a huge home accessory store with great prices. I didn't buy anything but saw some outdoor cushions that I'd love to make mine!

We ate at Mimi's cafe and that babies tried broccoli for the first time. Not fans.

Around 4:00 I decided that it would be good idea to walk to Whole Foods for a treat. My mom and I are OBSESSED with their chocolate cake. It's 2 miles door to door and the weather was perfect. I was HUNGRY when we set out on our walk and may have complained the entire walk there. Jay and I have gone by foot before but normally it includes some running and makes the trip much faster. Walking was SLOW. We called my sister to come pick us up and thought we were so smart until we realized she didn't have carseats. We walked the 2 miles back and ended up having a much better time now that our bellies were full :)

The hardest part of Jay being out of town was definitely at night time. I was exhausted cleaning all the bottles, picking up from the day, doing the laundry and keeping things neat and tidy. I would put the kids to bed at 7:30 and wouldn't sit down to rest until 8:30 or 9. I appreciate having such a helpful husband! Saturday night was tough because I realized once the kids went to bed I was kind of stuck. I was CRAVING some fro-yo but couldn't leave. 

I was pretty proud of myself for getting us all up and ready for church on Sunday. My mom came over to help a little bit while I tried to get some chores done before we left. Our senior pastor is on sabbatical and we've missed his sermons. It's going to be so sad when they move him to another church. The problems with methodists... 

waking daddy up via facetime (it was 1pm here and 11am there)

We had a quick brunch at Toast after church and Emma Cate was EXHAUSTED and needed a nap. I got down half my food and then decided it was time to go. My how things have changed since having kids! I put the kids down for afternoon naps and spent a good 1/2 hour watching them "talk" to each other through the monitor. They are so cute. They push down their bumpers and watch each other. 

After nap we did some menu planning. I just got a new macbook air from work and Holden is obsessed! I tried to do some menu research and he was all over my shiny new toy. Right as we were about to leave for the grocery store, our neighbor stopped by with flyers she needed help distributing. Our neighborhood elementary school (half a block from our house) is terrible and overcrowded. They are having a meeting with the school board on Wednesday night because our neighborhood is tired of sending all the kids to private or magnet school to avoid the neighborhood elementary. It's also affecting our property values. The babies and I went door to door meeting neighbors and chatting about the schools. It wasn't what I planned on doing but we had a good time getting out and about! 

Sunday dinner was spaghetti for the kids and MAN they were a MESS! Holden had it everywhere. I think we'll be saving spaghetti for bath nights only! Emma Cate wasn't a huge fan of spaghetti and ended up having pancakes and eggs. 

I ended the night with a grocery store run (thanks mom for watching the kids!). Does anyone else get the Sunday night dread. I feel like we relax all weekend and then all of the sudden the dreaded Sunday hits and its a scramble to get everything ready for the week ahead. I spent 3 hours getting everything packed and laid out to ensure a smooth successful Monday morning. I am SOOO glad Jay will be home tonight! I've missed him! Onto a happy and fun week!

Music Together and other randoms

I have mentioned it several times on the blog before but I just LOVE going to Music Together class with the babies! The price isn't cheap but they always have a ball and I'm so glad we've been a part of this program!

It's crazy how much they've grown throughout our classes. Here's a picture from our first session

and now

At yesterday's class Emma Cate was bouncing like crazy to the music! That girl moves as soon as she hears music. Holden was bit of busy body and enjoyed crawling a bit but wasn't a crazy man like he is at home. Both the babies like to sit in my lap or near me while we sing. I think their favorite part is when we use the instruments. I remember when we first started, they weren't able to hold any of the instruments and it is sooo cute now to see them shake them along with the rest of the class!

We ended music class and I decided to take the babies for a little walk around Latta Park in Dilworth. It was fun to get off the pavements and stroll along the creek. It was HOT yesterday and Emma Cate does not like the sun shining in her eyes and proceeded to whimper until I put the shade down. We finished the night with a quiet meal at Mama Fu's with my mom. The babies slept through the entire thing! I ordered them a kids meal of teriyaki chicken and noodles and they devoured it when we got home. I'm trying to make them into good little eaters! We tried coconut crusted chicken fingers the other day and they LOVED them! I made pesto veggie pasta the other night and Holden put it down but Emma Cate wasn't so sure. 

recipe

We've been thoroughly enjoying outside time! One of my LEAST favorite jobs is carrying the babies inside from the car. We have a rear entry basement garage which means that I have to carry the babies up the steps. They are SO heavy now! I am normally bringing them home from being a Gigi's all day so I usually have two babies in carriers, a bag a dirty diapers, a bag a clean diapers, a diaper bag, my pumping bag, and my school bag. I feel like a pack mule! On top of that the dogs always have to go out and its a little crazy trying to figure out what to do with the babies while I'm taking the dogs out. I need to get a picture of all this! Onto my point (I'm beginning to tell this story in the same manner my husband tells stories.... lots and lots of pointless details)....  Sometimes I totally weasel out and just plop a blanket on the grass and we play outside until Jay gets home to help me unload. We did this the other day and I got some cute pictures of my little explorers! I think Holden is finally starting to realize he shouldn't eat the grass. He crawled in it a little today but kept stopping to sit up and rub his hands. I don't think our little guy likes the feeling of grass on his hands (I don't blame him!). He is too funny to watch!

Blog Lovin

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My favorite pasta salad

This pasta salad is delicious and healthy and screams summer! I made a big batch to eat for lunches this week.

What you need:
1 box orzo (16oz)
3 lemons
a few tablespoons olive oil
a rotisserie chicken (love the lemon and pepper from Whole Foods)
a cucumber
1/2 cup a red onion
1 cup dill
1 cup parsley
1 cup green onions
Handful spinach (this was not in my original recipe but I tend to add spinach to everything)
3/4 good feta cheese (buy the 1lb brick at Whole Foods and crumble yourself. it won't disappoint.)

Boil the orzo. Drain. Combine all ingredients except for lemon and olive oil. Squeeze lemon juice into a bowl. Whisk with olive oil. Toss your pasta mixture. Add some salt and pepper. Refrigerate overnight. Serve at room temperature the next day. It absorbs a lot of the lemony goodness so you may need to add a bit more before serving.

Weekend Round Up

What a FUN little weekend we had! I absolutely HATE Mondays! I feel like all weekend we are such a family unit and then Monday hits and we all scatter our separate ways...

The weeks are beginning to feel a bit more weekend like with warmer longer days. I have been eating fro-yo like a maniac and have gone to yoforia almost every day this week! We went Wednesday and then went out for a beautiful long walk around the Myers Park area followed by a dinner outside at Mellow Mushroom.

dropping the babies off at Gigi's. a rare morning without the bow. 

Gigi loves to take us for walks!

decided to put the bow on the outside of the hat!

toys in Gigi's playroom

watermelon for the first time

swinging in the hammock swing at home

someone is happy to be at Mellow Mushroom

I feel like Thursday is really the kick off to the weekend. We went to see Daddy coach baseball and he is always good to love on his babies after the games! Too bad HT lost but it was an exciting game!

I got to meet the Londry twins on Friday afternoon. They are beautiful and amazing. Seantel is doing a fabulous job mothering these two. I got to hold sweet Ellie and I could not get over how tiny she was! Emma Cate was the exact same size but I couldn't even remember my baby ever being so tiny. They are just the sweetest things!

Jay and I arrived home around the same time and he took over baby duty while I ran to the nursery with my mom to get some spring plants. I have NO clue what plants to get so she was kind enough to help me out. We got phlox to go around my main beds and torenias to go in the beds. I'll have to take some pictures!

The weather was so nice, my Dad was in town and my sister wasn't working so my mom planned a little dinner for everyone. I tried and tried to get a sitter (I seriously called 13 people) with no luck. Fortunately, Jay was sleepy and decided not to go out so we hung out at home while I enjoyed dinner with my parents and sister a hickory tavern.

We were up early Saturday morning with some LOUD babies! We hung around the house and tried to tidy up a bit. Jay cut the grass and I'm proud to say our grass is finally growing in and looking good (such a grownup/homeowner thing to say)... We had our chuch directory pictures on Saturday afternoon and threw a bit of a kink in our plans. The pictures went well and both babies behaved but unfortunately I forgot to wear mascara and lipgloss and look like I am dead. We went for more fro-yo after the pictures (I even have Jay addicted).

We decided to try for a babysitter again and lucked up this time! We took the kids for a long walk around the neighborhood to try and tire them out for the sitter but no luck. At 7pm they were wide awake screaming in their cribs. We kissed them goodnight and were off!

We went to watch the Criterium bicycle race in uptown Charlotte. I got sick watching the bikes zoom in front of us (I also get motion sick on waterbeds... who has a waterbed anymore...)

just because...

racers

We watched the race for a bit then headed to dinner a Ri-Ra. We were wanted to eat outside so we picked Ri Ra's. Bad choice. Love their brunch but dinner was kinda yucky. During dinner I got several texts that Emma Cate was still awake. The sitter had gotten her out of bed, changed her diaper, and was cuddling on the couch in just her onesie bc the sitter didn't think she liked her pjs. I learned to let a lot go by this little encounter. #1 they sleep in a special diaper that holds more "moisture" and I was nervous what I would find the next morning since she was now sleeping in a normal diaper... #2 she was probably freezing in her onesie and it would be super fun putting her back in footed jammies when we got home and then putting her in the crib for the night... #3 someone was taking care of my child and doing the absolute best they could. Was it what I would have done... no, but was my child loved and cared for? Absolutely. 

We had a nice church service and met my dad and sister at Zada Jane's for breakfast afterwards. The babies did pretty well at brunch and enjoyed strawberry pancakes and scrambled eggs.

We went home and took naps and did some planting. Emma Cate hung outside with me while I planted and Holden took a trip to Lowe's with Daddy. We headed over to Gigi and Pop Pops for Sunday dinner and Gigi and I took the babies on a LONG walk while Daddy and Pop Pops watched the masters. The babies LOVE exploring new places and while normally their in Gigi's super kid friendly fun basement, this time they were allowed upstairs and had a ball pulling up on all her furniture.