Little Red Riding HoodWe went to explore the world outside yesterday and they loved it! It was their first time in the stroller so I didn't know what to expect but they really enjoyed their ride. Uh, I put the stroller together by myself by the way. Well pretty much by myself. As always, their daddy got home at the last minute and put the finishing touches on it!

You know, when you hear nothing but ways to prevent your child from getting sick or being exposed to germs for the entire first month of their life it is pretty hard to forget those things. They stick with ya for a LONG time. And when their pediatrician tells you that if they get sick they WILL go back in the hospital, well you are going to do every thing under the sun to prevent that from happening. I guess that is why I never really thought to take them outside for a stroll. There are germs outside! They could get a runny nose from too much wind. Someone could be burning leaves 5 miles away and they would be exposed to it!


But I have pretty much gotten over all the "outside germ" fears. I decided that if my babies can't have a normal life by meeting friends and family, going to church, going to the mall and so on and so forth.........then they can at least play outside like normal kids, right? Right. So, my goal is to take them outside every day for at least 30 minutes. Well, as long as it is not too windy!

Aunt Bets bought them their jackets that they have on in these pictures and poor James' almost wouldn't cover his head! When she bought them they were practically falling off of their heads.

Auntie Em (Jon's sister Emily) requested a picture of the 4th level. That is what is going on below! Scary, huh?! He did not want to come in from our walk.

Look what I can do!We had a good week last week but by Friday I had a serious case of "Cabin Fever" and thought it was the end of the road for me! I seriously was wondering if I would be able to make it through these last two months of being housebound. Saturday my sweet husband took pity on me and when he got back from church that morning he MADE me go to the mall. It only took a little persuasion to get me to leave and I was really glad I went. Now, if I can only get my children out we will be doing alright! As it turns out, James' turning over was only a fluke. Either that or he is just to lazy to try again! He is a precious baby, don't get me wrong, but he is a little difficult to keep content. No, make that very difficult! About the only time he is content is if he is A) sleeping B) being held C)pooping! He wakes up every time mad at the world. And if you don't tend to him directly upon his waking, beware! He has 4 levels and if that 4th level is ever reached it is just plain awful. If you are among the chosen few who ever get to see Jon imitate the 4 levels of our darling son, you will laugh uncontrollably. And if you are among the even fewer chosen who may get to see it from the perp himself, you will never forget it! He is a squirmer and a mover and very curious about his surroundings. I have a feeling he will be the one we will be forever chasing after! I don't have any pictures of him on here today because he is in time-out for yelling at his mama. JUST KIDDING!!! I just didn't have any new ones today.

Audrey is very easy to keep satisfied. The only time she really fusses is when she is tired. And even then all you have to do is pop that pap in her mouth and give her seat a little bounce and she is out like a light! And she wakes up very peacefully. She will lay in her bed in the mornings for a good 10-15 minutes before she lets you know she is awake and ready to get up. Even then she only gives out a little yelp. And she can just sit quietly in her seat and look around. Yesterday she laughed out loud for the first time! It was so precious! She was looking at her toys that hang down from her bouncy seat and was just a kicking and laughing and talking to them. And she even thought about touching them a few times but changed her mind at the end. She really enjoyed herself for a good 30 minutes and then she was ready to take a snooze.

We go to the doctor on Wednesday and I can't wait. I am hoping that he will take one look at how well they are doing and say "Okay, your children may now start living normal lives" but I seriously doubt that will happen. But I have been praying fervently for like 2 weeks that he will say we can start having more visitors and maybe they can finally meet their little cousins that have been waiting so patiently until they are not "sick" anymore! I really want to be able to go to church more than anything though. It is getting extremely old having to watch Jon leave without us on Sunday's and even though I know I will have some SERIOUS boundary issues when they can go out into the world, I am more than ready!

Look at me mom, I can roll over! Yes, you read that correctly. James learned how to roll over during the night. I don't know if it is just a fluk or what but I thought it was pretty amazing! After I fed him at 4 this morning, I swadled him, put him in his wedge and got back in the bed. When Jon came to tell us good bye, he woke me up and asked if I knew James was on his stomach. I jumped up scared to death because he is not good at turning his head and he smothers himself in the sheet. But he was fine and sure enough he was on his stomach. I couldn't believe it. How he turned over while he was swadled is a mystery. He usually gets his arms out of the blanket and always scoots out of his wedge but he has never turned over. Maybe they wont be so far behind after all!

Above is how Audrey handled the news of her brother turning over!

Below is Audrey smiling at her mama without yacking! They enjoy laying together on their mat and playing. By playing I mean usually punching and shoving each other. They layed here yesterday for the longest time, just cooing and kicking. They are starting to get to that fun age and I sat on the floor talking to them for about 30 minutes and they were looking at me and smiling and talking back! If they keep this up I really wont get anything done around here during the day!

And, Ms. Audrey Grace had another good night last night. She slept from 10:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.! James slept from 10:00 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. and then woke up at 8:00 and is still awake. Audrey is cat napping right now. I think she is going through a growth spurt. James is always growing. He continues to get fatter and fatter each day! We go to the doctor next wednesday and I can't wait to see how much they have grown!

Go Tigers!
That's what I'm sure was shouted in my living room last night when LSU beat Ohio State for the BCS championship, their 2nd National Title in 5 years for any of you who may have been wondering! Yes, I am a Tiger fan. It took me a few years but I made it! So sorry for all of you non-LSU fans. Some of you may have won a bowl game or a silly heisman trophy this year, but you have to admit, LSU had another AMAZING year! Now, lets all love one another!!!!!

I was laying on the floor doing Pilates yesterday and had Audrey laying behind me on her mat. I heard her just a talking so I looked at her and she had her legs kicked higher than I'd ever seen them. She was doing her exercises with mama!I am obsessed with taking pictures of my kids yawning. There is nothing cuter than seeing their little bitty mouths wide open. Especially Audrey, she reminds me of a baby bird opening her mouth for worms!

James ate at 8:30 last night and then I swadled him and put him in his bed. They sleep ALOT sounder when they are swadled. Audrey ate at 9 and then her daddy did the same with her. Jon came and got me at 1:45 a.m. since James was awake and ready to be fed. That little buger rarely misses a feeding! Audrey Grace did not wake up until 6:00 this morning! Now, if only we can get James to do the same we will be resting sweet!

I was on the phone when I uploaded this one so I didn't catch that it was turned wrong. Betsy called me this morning to tell me she thinks she has the flu :( She was supposed to come down here thursday to see the kiddos but not anymore! :( Anyway, my niece Hannah is always saying the funniest things and Bets said this morning she had been to the bathroom to throw up (sorry) and when she came out Hannah was standing in Betsy's room waiting to get in the bed with her. So Betsy let her and when they layed down Hannah said "Mommy, you stink like Daddy"! Out of the mouth of babes, isn't that what they say?!!!!

Back to work for daddy
Good monday morning all. It was a sad sight this morning to have to kiss my husband goodbye and wish him a good day at work. It was sooooo nice to have him home with us for the last two weeks. But I guess life goes on and we will have to get back into the regular routine around here.
Audrey is going to be my serious child I believe. 90% of the time this is the look she has on her face. Funny, huh?!She smiles at me some but most times she smiles it is because she is fixing to spit up! I get all excited thinking she is smiling at her mama 'cause she loves me so and then she yacks. Oh well, I'll take what I can get!They are both getting really strong. They are able to lay on their tummy's for a little bit and push up some. Audrey is better at it than James but I'm sure he'll catch on at some point!

This past thursday night I went to a Mom's Club supper at my friend Mollie's house. She is a member of our church and her and about 12 other mom's get together once a month either at someone's house or a restaurant and talk about all the things mother's have to talk about. A girl that Mollie introduced me to before the twins came who lives about two miles from me, came and picked me up so we could ride together. She is really nice and easy to talk to and I had such a wonderful time meeting everyone. It is so much easier to meet new people in a new place when you have kids it seems like. And I really enjoyed talking with a bunch of people who can actually talk back to me! There was also a lady there who has twins. A boy and a girl! That was great to talk to to someone who can relate!

Baby lesson # 1,545 Have you ever had a break down in communication with your husband that could have caused serious illness in your child? Well, Jon and I experienced that a few days ago. My mom had mixed this concoction when she was here of white karo syrup, baking soda and water. It helps with hiccups and bowel movements and so forth. Anyway, I had left this bottle (that just looked like water) on the counter and when Jon got home Tuesday night he was gonna feed James and went to fix a bottle. He hollered "is this water for him?" I said yes because I thought he said "them". Well time went on and James just did not want to eat a lot. He had fallen into a deep sleep. Our exchange went like this:

Jon: He just isn't gonna eat anymore

Amanda: Okay. How much did he eat?

Jon: I don't know

Amanda: Well, how much did you give him?

Jon: I don't know

Amanda: What do you mean you don't know?

Jon: I gave him however much you fixed

Amanda: I didn't fix it

Jon: Yes you did

Amanda: No I didn't

Jon: Yes you did. I asked if the water on the counter was for him, you said yes

Amanda: Ohhhhhh nooooooo. That was karo syrup and water

Jon: WHAT!! Karo syrup? What in the world is that for?

So, I proceeded to tell him and we eventually decided that James would be fine but no wonder he didn't want to drink his bottle. Karo syrup, baking powder and formula? How nasty! He slept the best he's ever slept that night and we credit it to the sugar induced coma!! And, he had the BEST poopy diaper he's had in a long time! However, note to self: Only use water that you fix yourself!Poor Audrey. She spits up all the time and is always so sweet about it. She makes the sweetest noises right before and right after she spits. I've got a call into the doc to see if there is something we can do for it. It doesn't seem to hurt her because she doesn't cry when she spits but it has started to smell like vomit. So I am afraid it is not digesting or something. We'll see.

Baby it's cold outside! Brrrr.....It was a whoping 18 degrees here in south Georgia in the wee hours of the morning. I sure wish this stinking weather would make up its mind. Either hot or cold please. I was gonna post these yesterday since they were 3 months old but time got away from me.

They are both beginning to smile at us from time to time for no good reason. Yesterday morning I felt Audrey staring at me after she gotten finished eating and I looked down at her and she broke out into this huge grin! It felt like she'd given me a billion dollars!

During the last three nights they have gone down between 9 and 10 and have slept until 2:30. And after the 2:30 feeding they have been sleeping until atleast 7 or 8 in the morning! How wonderful is this! I just hope it will last. They still seem to want to eat every 3 hours during the day but today I am going to try and condition them to atleast 3 1/2 to 4 during the day and see where this gets us! Wish me luck!

They were so glad to see their daddy when he got home tuesday night! They would hear him talking and just look around trying to find him and the whole time Jon held James, James wouldn't take his eyes off him! I was glad to have Jon home too! That was the first time he'd spent the night away from us since they have been home and it was really weird. You just get used to things being a certain way I guess. Anyway, every time a set of grandparents come I have HUGE expectaions of getting things done around here. Well, when you step through the doors of our home it is like going into a time warp. Hours pass like seconds and I never get half of what I want done. But this time I did! I busted my behind tuesday morning before mama left so I could get it all done. Now, if only it will stay this clean............

Audrey loves to have conversations with anyone who will listen! I have no idea where she gets this trait from seeing how NO ONE on either side of her family really likes to talk all that much!Can we say cheese??!!!!!