Happy Thanksgiving!

We were invited to have Thanksgiving dinner with our friends from church, the Buck family. Mr. John Buck is an elder, and we have been good friends with their wonderful family as long as we have been in Arkansas. Anna, their daughter, has taken ballet classes from me, as well as danced with me in church. She has also become a second aunt to Alec and Emma, and has come over numerous times to help me out, and to love on them. We had a fantasic meal and enjoyed the company. Here is a picture of us over at their house.

We were originally supposed to have my family over for the holiday, but my grandmother had to go into the hospital a few weeks ago (she's out now) and is not supposed to travel. Aaron is having to work the Black Friday project for Walmart, so we can't go anywhere until Saturday afternoon. We will leave for Oklahoma then, and celebrate Thanksgiving with my family on Sunday. We'll see his family in Texas for Christmas.

Decorating for Christmas

So, over the past few days, the babies and I have been decorating our house for Christmas. Yes, I realize that Thanksgiving hasn't even passed yet, but we will be out of town this weekend, and I needed to get the decorating done while I had the chance. I don't want to belittle the Thanksgiving holiday in any way. I love Thanksgiving. I think that it is so important for us to take time to reflect on the many blessings that the Lord has given us, but not just on one day of the year. Something that I hope to instill in my children is the value of gratitude, and in rejoicing in the simple pleasures and bigger blessings that each and every day brings. Our family has much to be thankful for this year. We have doubled in size and grown exponentially in love, and we are so happy to have one another with which to share this wonderful season.

I say that the babies and I did the decorating because if it weren't for their contentment, cooperation, and good naps...I would never have gotten it done. Sunday, I worked on the inside decorations minus the Christmas tree. Monday, I did the outside lights. (Weather was nice...babies hung out on the porch with me and napped.) Tuesday, I tackled the tree. As most of you know, I love Christmas. I love the way the house looks when it's decorated. It feels so warm and inviting. I love the lights. I love the music...oh, how I love the music! I've been singing lots of Christmas songs to the babies, so I'm hoping that my obsession will rub off. : ) I also love giving gifts. Not necessarily fighting the crowds and the shopping itself, but the joy of wonderful surprises on Christmas day.

So, here are a few pics of the finished product. Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and here's looking forward to Christmas!

Are they twins?!

So...Thursday, I took the babies to Target. I wanted to look at shoes, but I also just wanted to get out of the house. Granted, it's pretty difficult going places with two babies, but I do venture out every now and again. Sometimes we'll make a run to the post office. Sometimes to Wal-Mart when I only need a few things that will fit in one of the small baskets that you carry in your hand. I just hook it over my arm, and I have them in their double stroller. I always take them when its their naptime, since they almost always fall asleep in the car, and will be happy just to ride around in the stroller for a little while. However, I'm almost always in a bit of a hurry to get what needs to be done done, so that I can get them back home for the next feeding. As you can imagine, this is important...because while dealing with one fussy baby is one thing, dealing with two fussy babies is quite another.

That being said, whether it's just me with them, or Aaron and me with them...it's crazy how many times we get stopped, stared at, pointed at, called out to...and various and sundry other very interesting reactions. At least once, every time I take them out, someone asks me if they are twins. I guess I don't really understand that question. I mean, how could I have possibly had these two babies separately...as close in size as they are?? I guess it's conceiveable by a huge stretch of the imagination, or I guess maybe I could have adopted one or both or I don't know! But I have answered this question about 50 times now.

The other comment that is made at least once an outing is "You have your hands full!" This has been yelled at me across the parking lot, as well as by people stopping me/us in stores. I've had a few sets of mothers with small children, stop their kids and tell them to come over to Alec and Emma's stroller to look at the babies and have a conversation about them without making eye contact with me or otherwise asking me if it's okay for their kids to come up and point and stare at my babies (it's flu season, people). And perhaps the weirdest thing, is that a young male greeter at Wal-Mart, not too long ago, stopped me to talk to them and started stroking both of them and talking to them. He basically wanted me to wait to shop until one or both of them smiled for him. Now, I try to be a patient and loving person. And I am thrilled that people notice my children and are drawn to them. But there are times that I truly feel like we are a circus act or something. And the thing that peeves me the most is that (especially when I am alone with them) I am on a mission to get what I need and get out, because I have to get it done before one or both get cranky...and so getting stopped 5 times a trip usually makes this difficult.

You might ask why I don't just do everything on the weekends, when I have Aaron around to help...well, sometimes it's absolutely necessary, and I also like to rest on the weekend, and not just run errands and do shopping. I realize that I've done some venting here, but I just thought I'd tell a little bit about what our shopping adventures are like.

So, back to Target. I decided to swing through the baby dept. Truly, we have had to buy no clothes for our own kids because we received so much through our showers and so much has been handed down to us from friends. We bought them each an outfit for their 6 month picture session last month, and until this trip to Target...that had been it. So, I was looking for some jackets and winter hats for them...and found these precious Classic Pooh hats with the ears. I couldn't resist and also bought them each an outfit with a jacket. As you can see in the pics above, they look pretty darling in those hats!

Playing Together

Here are some pictures of Alec and Emma playing together in their octagon. As you can see, Alec is sitting up on his own really well. Emma would still rather be on her tummy, or back, or standing...not a big fan of sitting for some reason. Anyways, they play well together, but brother really likes to crawl all over sister. He uses her to prop himself up, or sometimes to get to another toy. It can be dangerous, so I really have to keep my eye on them. She has sort of figured out that if she gets in the "tunnel" toy, she will be somewhat safe from his shenanigans.

Get up, Stand up...

Yeah, so I had the babies by myself Sunday morning, because Daddy was needed on the worship team. (We both used to be scheduled for worship team quite often before the babies, but as you can imagine, we've taken a leave of absence for a while until our lives are a little less crazy. But sometimes, they are without a guitarist...so Aaron steps in. That means he has to be at church for early practice on Sunday from 8:30am until 9:30 or so, and then he runs back home to pick up the kids and me, and we have to make it back to church for him to be on the platform by about 10:20.) Needless to say, I handle two babies all week long for a good 50 hours or so by myself...so it's not that I can't do it...it's just that by the weekend, I am SO ready to have a partner in crime to do baby duty with. So, Sunday mornings are a little tough when it's just me. Getting them fed, cleaned up, dressed for church, entertaining them, and keeping an eye on them all while trying to get myself fed (hopefully) and also ready for church can be a challenge. Like I said, it's not that its not doable, it's just SO MUCH EASIER when Daddy is around to help. So, that's all the background to my story.

I was running back and forth between the living room and my bathroom, trying to keep a decent eye on them, and also trying to get ready. Alec was in the play yard, and Emma was in her jumperoo. I ran to the bathroom to do something with my hair, and then decided to check on them in between hair and makeup. When I got to the living room, you can see in the pictures above what I saw. Alec had pulled himself up the grating of the play yard gate and was standing up watching t.v. like it was nothing. As you can see, Cookie is standing on the other side, making sure that everything is okay. She started barking, either because she was worried about him, or about the fact that these kids are getting more and more mobile everyday and it kinda freaks her out. I have a feeling that he will be an early walker. He's got pretty strong legs. It's crazy how he's really taken off in the last month. All of a sudden he's crawling, sitting up on his own, holding his bottle, babbling and pulling himself to sit and stand. It's pretty amazing to see.

You may be wondering what sister is upto. She has been doing the army crawl and squealing and making noise for the longest time. She makes consonant sounds, and will repeat them...but usually when something is in her mouth like a teether or her fingers. Not a true babble yet. She sits up on her own, and is gaining stability. She will pull a bottle to her mouth and then smile and let go as if to say "nah, I'd rather you hold it." It's crazy how quickly they are changing. We can barely keep up!

Something that used to be so simple...

Okay, I can't say that I love changing diapers, but it used to be so much easier...that is, before my children became extremely mobile wiggle worms. Both Emma and Alec decide that they are going to go crazy if they can't roll over or crawl away as soon as I try to change their diaper. Something that used to take less than a minute (even with poop), now takes all of my effort and energy. I have to have one or two toys or diversions ready, or it just won't happen. Once I finally get them cleaned up and a new diaper on, and I'm trying to tie up the old diaper, they're already getting away from me, and I must regain their attention so that I can put their bottoms back on. Oh, just thinking about it makes me tired. They are both so darn strong! I guess that's what we get for having them on the strict weight-training and cardio program for the cage fighting. This scenario plays out about twelve to fourteen times a day (since I have to do everything twice : )). When the dog is around it's even more fun, because she thinks that she needs to sniff around and get in on the action. Good times, people...good times!

Sniffle, Sniffle, Ma-ma

Well, a change in seasons has officially occurred, and therefore, we are all experiencing the onset of allergies, sniffles, sneezes, etc. It's been pretty brisk outside lately, and we've been using the heater a lot more than we normally do (due to Aaron's frugality) since we have babies to keep warm now. Coincidentally, their nursery is the coldest room in the house...so we really have to keep the heater set at a decent level to keep them warm. Since it's a gas heater, it really dries out the air in the house, and thus the problems with sore throats and dry, irritated nasal passages. Aaron and I both grew up in Victoria, TX where the humidity was basically 100% year round. We are still trying to get used to the dryness here. Aside from what's already been stated, my skin gets so dry in the fall and winter, I have to bathe in lotion to keep it hydrated. Anyways, the babies and I have really been sniffly lately. We've had to suction snot (sorry if that's gross) everyday, and they just sound terrible when they're sleeping, trying to breathe through their stuffed up noses. We have two humidifiers that we are in the process of cleaning out. We'll put one in the nursery and one in our room to put some moisture into the air. Hopefully, we'll all start breathing better soon.

In other news, Alec said "ma-ma" repeatedly this morning. Daddy was worn-out and stayed home a little later than usual this morning, and Alec did this while he was feeding them breakfast and I was making breakfast for us grown-ups. I'd like to say that Alec knows the exact meaning of the sounds he's making, but it's probably just his natural first babble. I don't know...we repeat "mamamamama" and "dadadadada" to them over and over again. I'll bet Emma will say "dada" first. She is his little baby doll. Regardless of whether he knows what he's saying and which one Emma says first...it is really cool, and both of us got a big kick out of it.

The Octagon

On Sunday, Daddy put together "the Octagon." It's a big octagonal gated playpen area for the babies. They need to be able to roam free in a safe place, and their pack and play playpens just aren't big enough...plus, they like to play together. Up until we had the Octagon, I would always just play with them on the floor between the coffee table and the t.v. in our living room, and sometimes on the floor in their nursery. It was fine until they both became mobile. As I've mentioned, Emma does the army crawl at an amazing speed. We can turn our heads for a second, and she'll be under the table or making her lap around the table or into the electronic equipment. Now, Alec is doing the army crawl and even taking real crawling steps...and is picking up speed. So, they now have their play yard area with a brightly colored foam floor of the alphabet, and tons of toys to keep them occupied...until they decide that they're bored or need Mommy. It's really a pretty great invention, as I can let them play without having to scoop them up and move them back to safety a million times. I just have to watch to make sure they aren't trying to steamroll eachother, but then we are trying to prepare them for their careers as cage fighters. JUST KIDDING! That's a joke. If you watch UFC, you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, they're napping now...so I'm going to reheat my cup of tea.

A Trip to Fort Smith

On Saturday, we took the babies down to Fort Smith to Western Arkansas Ballet (where Mommy used to work as ballet mistress) for Act II Nutcracker rehearsal. We wanted to show off our cuties, as well as to visit with my former co-workers, company, and students. We had lots of fun seeing everyone and watching the variations from Act II. The board of directors had purchased several toys and a few outfits for Alec and Emma, and so we had fun opening their gifts and showing them their new toys as well. Afterward, we went to Furr's, Daddy's favorite "all you can eat buffet" type restaurant (which we don't have in NW Arkansas).

The drive was nice because we got to see the fall foliage. Lots of the trees had already peaked in color and shed their leaves, but we did get to see some nice color. We forgot to take our camera with us. I wanted to post more recent pictures, but here are a few of the company when I was still with them. There's also a photo of Aaron and I one year when we were party parents (2006), and a picture of Melissa (the artistic director) and Jennifer (the administrator/tap & jazz instructor) with the babies over the summer. The next time I make it down to Fort Smith will be December 13th, for their Nutcracker performance, which I'm really looking forward to.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Alex!

Hey, Uncle Alex! We hope you have a super 17th Birthday today! We are so excited to see you at Christmas! We had fun with you at Dixie Dude (where these pictures were taken)...and also enjoyed seeing you when we were in Austin. Enjoy your day! We love you!

Did you know that you share a birthday with Reverend Billy Graham?! He is turning 90 years old today. Pretty cool to have the same birthday as the man who has probably been the most recognized and influential evangelist in our country!

Happy Birthday, G'ma Wanda!

Hey, G'ma Wanda! We just want to wish you the happiest birthday! We hope that you have a wonderful and relaxing day...and we hope that your gift made it to you on time! We'll call you this afternoon. We love you very much and miss you!

These pictures remind us of how much fun we had with you and G'pa Jeff and GG'ma Davis. We were only two weeks old then! And we really enjoyed having you stay to love on us and help our Mommy for eight weeks. Now we're seven months! The next time we're all together, at Christmas, we'll be almost nine months old! We can't wait for you to hold us again!

We also want to add that GG'ma Davis' birthday was October 27th, the day Mommy started our blog. Sorry she wasn't "with-it" enough that day to think to do a Happy Birthday post for you, GG'ma! But you know that we love you bunches, and there's a fun picture of us with you and G'ma Wanda up top!

Election Day

Happy Election Day everyone! Alec and Emma want to remind you all to get out there and VOTE today! Their future depends on it. We Davises are supporting the McCain/Palin ticket. Whoever you choose to support...let your voice be heard. We are so grateful to live in a country that affords us this right!

On another exciting note, Alec and Emma turned 7 months old today! My, how time does fly. You might wonder what kinds of things they're doing right now. Well, Emma does the army crawl...and very fast. She also loves to squeal at the top of her lungs. She often sounds like one of those 4th of July screamers! Alec can sit up on his own for short periods of time, and he just cut his first tooth Sunday. He is trying to crawl, and we're expecting him to take off any day. Their solid food repertoire consists of sweet potatoes, squash, peas and carrots, bananas, applesauce, and an apple, banana, strawberry mix...and rice cereal. They sure are growing fast!

Boomer Sooner!

We all enjoyed watching the OU/ Nebraska game on Saturday. We were especially stoked to see the Sooners completely stomp the Cornhuskers pretty traumatically in the opening quarter of the game. Two touchdowns in 4 seconds!!! We flipped between that game and the UT/ Texas Tech game, hoping that it would be an upset for the Longhorns...which it was! We couldn't believe our eyes during that last wonderful touchdown for the Red Raiders! Now the Sooners and the Longhorns are on an even playing field again. HaHaHa!

Halloween Pics

Here are some photos of Alec and Emma in their Halloween costumes. We took them to Daddy's work to go trick-or-treating around the pods (cubicles). Of course, they were the cutest kids in the building. They collected a small bag of candy for Mommy and Daddy, as well as a lot of comments about their preciousness. We didn't stay too terribly long, because it was really HOT in the ISD building. As you might know, in an effort to save you money so that you can live better, Walmart keeps from using too much air or heat, depending on the season, too keep costs down. Now granted, it's technically fall here, but this was one of the hottest Halloweens I remember up here. Plus, there were a bazillion parents and kids in costume parading through the pods in very close quarters...so I'm sure that contributed to the sauna-like conditions. Alec and Emma made it through like champs, though. Enjoy!