Polka dots and pony tails

For the past couple of weeks, we've been experimenting with the twins' hair dos. There's not that much hair so the experiments haven't gone to well, ha! But then, the easiest (and by that I mean the softest - so babies aren't screaming bloody murder when you try to pull some hair back!) pony tails were found and bam bam - or should I say Pebbles! LOL!

Slumber party!!!

If there's one thing Abby loves, it's a good "slumber party!" Although she loves for people to spend the night with her (or even have her own little slumber party in Mommy and Daddy's bed - ha!), she is all for going to other people's houses for the night! Two weeks ago, on the way to taking "A" (her uncle, Aaron) to the church for his wedding, Abby brought up the subject of spending the night at A's house (our old house). The day for the slumber party has come and she is super excited. She helped pick out her clothes and PJs for the night, pack her bag and close up her pillow pet. About an hour or so ago, A came to pick her up - she was literally waiting outside by the front door for him! Sounds like tonight's agenda includes Pizza Kastle (one of Abby's favorite places in Dothan) and sleeping in her old bedroom! We know she will have a blast tonight at her slumber party but it's already too quiet around our house!

Safety and Shamrocks!

This morning Abby's school hosted a SAFETY DAY for the students. It was a time for them to check out a fire truck, an ambulance and a police car - as well as ask the operators any questions about safety. We got all three girls dressed up and headed out to the school. First up, the fire truck - it took a little bit of coaxing by Fireman Jeff, but soon Abby was crawling all around the truck and even sitting in the front ready to sound the siren. Next was the ambulance. Abby got a real kick out of finally understanding "what Mommy and the babies rode in to Pensacola" last year. She got her vital signs taken, talked to a couple of EMTs and even got to use their CB to call out for cars to get out of the way for the fast ambulance, ha! The last vehicle visit was with Officer Seth and the police car. There's just something about seeing your daughter in the back seat of a cop car to make your heart stop a bit. As a close friend said the other day, we hope it's the only time we see Abby in the back of a police cruiser, ha!



After Safety Day, we headed out to lunch with the Millers and Slagels....to one of our favorite places - Myoris! Yummy! Although true to form, Abby hid in the corner whenever there was fire on the hibachi in front of us. But, we all had a great time with the food and fun so that's all that really mattered! After lunch we headed home for some much needed naps because a big night was planned....St. Pat's Day party and the Hovi house!!! Their first annual SPD party was a big success and we all had a great time...from green drinks, to green food to friends all decked out in green attire, it was awesome! Thanks Donna and Chet for a fun night!

Tell it like it is

Less than a week after her baby sister started talking, Reagan decided she was not to be outdone...she has started talking too! Here's a little conversation heard in the Wade household this morning:

Barbara: (After waking up, feeding babies and bringing them downstairs for playtime) Eric, I may be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure when I was changing Reagan's diaper she was saying Daddy.

Eric: (With a *slight* grin on his face) Yeah, I heard it last night but I wasn't going to say anything to you.

Barbara: So out of our three kids, two of them said "Daddy" for their first word?

Eric: (With a *slightly* larger grin on his face) Yeah.

Barbara: Well, the next words out of their mouth better be Mommy.... (turning to Blaire now) Mommy. Mommy. Mommy.

Blaire: Daddy.

Third Thursday

It's not easy being green - but it sure is fun to eat things that are green! Ok, ok, maybe only on St. Patrick's Day, LOL! Today, being the third Thursday of the month, meant dinner with Aaron and Jenifer (the newlyweds!). We headed over to their house and enjoyed green egg casserole, green waffles, grits, bacon and some green shamrocks (Rice Krispie treat style) for dessert!

Our Lucky Charms

Happy St. Patrick's Day
from our three lucky charms!

(Reagan, Abby, Blaire)

Elosie...that's me...Eloise....

After being a Kangaroo, a Bunny, a Tiger and a Duck, it is soon time for Abby to say goodbye to her friends and teachers at FUMC (Enterprise). Starting this August, Abby will be attending preschool at Ms. Eloise's here in Enterprise - in fact, it's only 4 minutes away from our house! Ms. Eloise's preschool takes only 30 students each year (Abby got her name on the list 2 weeks after she was born - yep, back in 2007 - apparently getting into preschool really is that crazy!). The students are divided into two groups and go back and forth between Ms. Ramona and Ms. Meloni. (The daughter and daughter in law of Ms. Eloise who has since passed away.) We had heard nothing but great reviews of the school and after today, we completely agree! This morning was the day that Abby had to to for her registration and preview. It was awesome! After being a bit worried about how she would react to a new place and new teachers, it took less than 1 minute for her to be talking to the teachers, showing how she can already write her name/add/subtract/color, asking about the field trips and begging to go out to the playground! Starting in August, Abby will be going to Ms. Eloise's every day, Monday through Friday, from 8 AM to Noon. We are all completely happy and very excited about this new adventure!



A special shout out to Aunt Carol for coming over to the house and hanging out with Reagan and Blaire today while Abby got some much needed solo attention! There was no way we could have made today possible with two little ones in tow and we are extremely thankful to her!
Thanks Aunt Carol!

Terrific Ten

Today the twins turned TEN MONTHS old! We are so unbelievably blessed with their lives, health and happiness!
Happy 10 month birthday girls!
We love you!

(Blaire and Reagan)

Extra, extra! Read all about it!

BLAIRE'S NEWS

-Blaire started talking this weekend. Her first word was... drum roll please ...."DADDY!" Eric heard it once on Saturday afternoon but then today she was saying it over and over! She is completely the talker of the two and it was awesome to see her not only saying something, but saying two syllables and putting the word and the meaning together! And how fitting is it that Blaire, who looks like the spitting image of Eric, said "Daddy" for her first word? Ha ha!
-Blaire also is now the proud owner of her first two teeth! Today, both of her two middle bottom teeth came through the gums. Chomp on, Blaire, chomp on!

REAGAN'S NEWS

-After weeks of trying to accomplish the "baby impossible" (a.k.a. finding the perfect teething ring), Reagan hit a groove with her teether and started drooling 90 to nothing. We knew it was only a matter of days before her teeth started coming through her gums. Early this morning the teeth had not broken through, but right after lunch there was a tooth!!!! It might be only her first pearly white, but it was a great sight to see!!!

Your Sunday Best

After heading to church as a family this morning, we came home to enjoy a yummy pot roast lunch around the kitchen table. When you have three kiddos, the absolute hardest day of the week happens to be Sunday. Now we aren't saying that we can't, and don't, get through those days, but our schedule that we've kept for the last six days goes right out the window when you get to Sunday. We learned this the hard way with Abby about four years ago and it doesn't get any easier when you add two infants to the mix. But, to combat the fussiness, whining and today's added little bonus of the time change, we decided to chill at home for lunch and not worry about the afternoon. As soon as we got home, Eric took the babies up to their cribs for their much needed (and wanted) nap and I got to work on lunch's side dishes. We told Abby that she had about 10 minutes to play upstairs before we were going to call her back down for lunch. When lunch was ready, Abby headed down and that's when we realized, she must have enjoyed the idea of lunch at home too because she completely dressed for the occasion:

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Never too young to be a student

Although a few of us in this house are a bit older than others, we found out today that no matter what age you are, you can still learn valuable life lessons. Today, there were more than a few lessons learned the hard way:

Lesson #1
When you tell your 4 year old daughter (the night before) that "Saturday's the day you get to take out your earrings and put in new ones!", rest assured that she will be by your bed side at 6 AM waking you up by asking "It's Saturday - can we put in other earrings now?"

(The old earrings...the new earrings)

Lesson #2
While grocery shopping at the local Walmart, don't ever say "Wow, we didn't run into anyone we knew" until you are officially in your car and driving out of the parking lot. After managing to do the shopping in less than 30 mins, we were thrilled to be on the way out the door and then ran into 6 different people we knew and talked almost an hour.

Lesson #3
When you punk a new sister-in-law upon her and your brother's return from their honeymoon, be prepared for payback. Today, Aaron and Jenifer returned home from their honeymoon to find a few pranks had been pulled on them...and we're not giving away all our secrets because the final pranks have still yet to be found!!!

Lesson #4
When attending any party or shower (in particular - TWO different baby showers on the same day) try not to take almost 60 pictures without any of them being of the Mommies-to-Be! (Although on a little side note - Congrats to Jamie/Aaron and Loren/Chad...we had a great time at your showers today and love love love you all! Can't wait to meet Little Miss Adelei as well as Brigham and Baylor!)




Lesson #5
When you plan to roll around in the grass, don't wear white capri pants.

Lesson #6
Always plan to roll around in the grass! LOL!

Tornado Time

Although the winds and rain that were actually supposed to start last night didn't, we woke up to a dreary morning here in Enterprise. After getting up and ready for the day, the weather reports started coming in about tornado watches and warnings. About 10 AM, we packed up our "tornado box" (full of diapers, wipes, clothes, toys, books, blankets, pillows and food) and headed to the master closet. During the next hour we found ourselves doing a bunch of playing while the heavy winds were going around our house. It was very creepy at times - especially when Abby realized that she could hear the wind and the howling even though we were in the closet. When we first got into the closet, I said a prayer asking God to keep us safe during this storm. Well, when Abby heard the weather hitting, she came over to me and said "Mommy, I'm gonna pray too so close your eyes." And then she sat down, put her head in her lap and said "Dear God, Please keep us safe from this tornado. I don't like this tornado. I don't like thunder either. Please tell your angels to stop bowling. And bless the food to our bodies. Amen." So, as you can tell, even though we were a bit scared and nervous, we were safe and clearly enjoying ourselves during the storm. Thankfully, we endured no damage during the worst of what came through and at 11 AM, we came out of the closet and decided a nice lunch and nap would top the morning off quite well!

Wordless Wednesday

Oh, of course!

Date - Tuesday, March 8th
Time - 8:17 AM
Location - Our living room

Abby: I can't wear that dress to school today!

Barbara: Well, I got some leggings out of your closet so the dress is going to be a shirt today, not a dress.

Abby: Oh. Well, that might be OK.

Barbara: Come here and let's get dressed.

(After clothes are on, shoes are on and hair is done...)

Abby: Well, if this just isn't the cutest little shirt now! We will have to save this for the babies to wear.

Barbara: There's a big "A" on it for Abby. Blaire and Reagan's names don't start with the letter A so they probably shouldn't wear it.

Abby: (With big eyes) Then what will happen to it when I am done wearing it?

Barbara: We will have to put it up when it gets too small.

Abby: Oh no, oh no, oh no. Then we better get a picture of me in it now before it gets too small. Where's your camera?

Barbara: Over there on the bar. Where do you want to take the picture?

Abby: It's just too chilly outside. And not next to my white table. Just right here on the floor.

Barbara: You want to pose?

Abby: Pose? What's that?

Barbara: It means sit really cute and smile for the picture.

Abby: Oh, of course!

(And here's the pose....)



Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE this kiddo?

It's all relative

Although our house was buzzing the last week with the anticipation of Aaron's wedding, there was something that Abby was waiting on - and asking every day if the time for it had come. It was Uncle Roger and Aunt Nancy's arrival. We were all excited for our weekend house guests. We love each time they come to visit and it is always sad to see them leave for their return trip home to Columbus, MS. If you don't have the pleasure of knowing these two, you are missing out. They are two of the kindest, funniest, most generous, most loving people we know and we're not only fortunate to call them family but friends as well. This morning we gave them lots of goodbye hugs and kisses and sent them on their way home...with the plans for the next visit already! See you two soon!

Do you? I DO!!!

Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,
wherever you're going I'm going your way.

Today was the day...Aaron's wedding! After almost 4 years of dating, Aaron (Eric's younger brother) proposed to his fiance, Jenifer, over 14 months ago so this day has been a long time coming! But, as the saying goes, it was definitely worth the wait!!! We started the morning off by heading to the Bride's house to check on her and give her lots of good luck hugs and wishes! She was spending the morning with her Bridesmaids and girlfriends getting all dolled and dressed up for the ceremony...and the end result was beautiful! We headed home to meet our own hair stylist (Teri) who turned our master bathroom into a beauty salon and we love love loved being pampered! By lunch time, our house was full of family and friends for the "Groom's Get Together"...Goldfingers, coleslaw, beans, rolls, chips/dip, and yummy red velvet cake. The groom and his friends got all spiffed up in their tuxedos and argyle socks (ha!) and were handsome with a capital letter H. At 3:30 we rushed the Groom off to the church so he and the Bride could have a special moment together before the pictures began. Less than 3 hours later all the pictures were taken and the pre-ceremony music began. The ceremony, which started at 7 pm, was wonderful - a simply gorgeous night of pretty flowers, lovely ladies, handsome men and a sweet ceremony topped off with laughter and love! The bridal party whisked away to the reception site in Daleville and the party began. Lots of music, some dancing with the Bride, great food (lots and lots of great food...chocolate table, cookie table, kiddos table, potato bar, fruit table, veggies, chips, meats, etc.), cake cutting, more pictures and then a sidewalk full of sparklers to wish the happy couple off on a wonderful honeymoon! After a couple of days in Foley, Alabama, Aaron and Jenifer are headed on a cruise out of Mobile and will return home next week. We had a wonderful night and are so happy for the couple!
Congrats again to Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Wade!!!!
We love you both!!

Top 10 Memories of the Wedding

Number 10 - Capturing tons of kisses on camera...including Johnny Childs, Ted Brunson, Ronald Fulford, Jeremy Sullivan, David Lambert and Theo Lee!

Number 9 - The omnipresent baby teething ring.

Number 8 - "I can't do it" (No, not a comment by the Bride or Groom - but rather by the Flower Girl...2 seconds after she was told to walk down the aisle and throw out the flowers.)

Number 7 - Watching the groom's face...not when he was waiting for the Bride, but rather when he realized he was wearing the wrong tux, hee hee.

Number 6 - Watching the Bride's nephew come to a dead stop in front of the Bride and Groom during the garter removal...finally, a smile, LOL!

Number 5 - Pops great sense of smell, ba ha ha!

Number 4 - Matthew Beasley and TWO girls...ha ha!

Number 3 - How long does it take to get a ring out of a pouch? Wait for it, wait for it...keep waiting for it. LOL!

Number 2 - Never looking at eagles or cement the same way again.

And number 1 best memory of Aaron and Jen's wedding - THE KISS!!!

Practice makes perfect

"Four steps to achievement: Plan purposefully. Prepare prayerfully. Proceed positively. Pursue persistently."
(William Arthur Ward)

Less than 25 hours before the big wedding, we all gathered together at the church for Aaron and Jen's wedding rehearsal. After a few practice walks down the aisle, everyone had their ceremony parts down pat and we headed off to the dinner party hosted by Eric's parents, Angie and Will (a.k.a. Nana and Papa). The catered dinner was scrumpdidliupcious, the company was awesome (especially at our table - ha ha!), the musical performances were lovely and the presents were a big hit (FYI to all parents: Zu Zu pets are a huge hit for Flower Girls. Huge. Ha ha!) Now we are home and ready to call it a night! A special shout out to two people that helped us enjoy this night: To Jess and Melissa - thank you, thank you, thank you! Now, Off to get someobeauty rest before tomorrow's big day!!!

Workin' 9 to 5

Somebody around here has got to make a living...and we aren't against putting even our littlest ones to work! Today the twins had a "At work with Mommy" day and they loved it! And with love from Tina and Kim, the day we like a party for the girls...they had a ball! They rolled all over their "office nursery," got tons of snuggle time, entertained the clients and even helped with some of the paperwork, ha! But I think their paychecks will probably be docked a bit from all of the drool they left in Mommy's office! Thanks Tina and KK for a great day!