Let me backtrack

I don't know what has gotten into me. Either I have gotten so busy that I forget about blogging or I've just lost interest. One way or another, I need to catch up. So I am going to do several different posts of some of the important things that have happened since June 20th(the date of my last blog). Lets start with........their birthday party.

The girls turned 1 on July 5th. We had their "garden" party on the 3rd. I planned on having it in the backyard. I had umbrella tables rented, tents ready to set up....all in hopes of shading and protecting the guests from the blazing summer sun. But the weather had different plans. There was a tropical storm that hit the gulf that week and it rained everyday...for 5 days. So, I had to change everything. I called the rental company and changed the order from umbrella tables to regular tables, I had to change the number of chairs I was renting....it was a mess! We moved the party inside. It was crowded to say the least. Almost 50 people in our house, with tables and chairs and lots of babies. There was hardly any room to move. Everything went great though--and after all the changing and moving, it didn't even rain!! We waited too long between eating and opening gifts and the girls had an emotional meltdown during their gift opening. We blew threw that so quick, I didn't even remember who gave what. Thankfully my mom wrote everything down. My friend Carlie came and took pictures and they turned out great...I was so happy that I didn't have to worry about getting good shots while entertaining all the guests. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day(in random order):
some of the 70 flower pinwheels(I know I went a little overboard, but they were on sale!) I bought for the outside decorations. They lined all the flowerbeds.


This is the butterfly pinata that we ended up not busting because we assumed the weather would be too rainy to go outside. We have it saved for another year...


Addison being shy and playing peek-a-boo

some of the tables
our garden themed cake!!
little Ashlyn, the social butterfly!
opening presents

smash cake
Addison

party favors
Addison eating cake
Ashlyn eating cake
Ashlyn was SO intrigued by that candle!!
"Is this okay, sister?"

The craziness continues

I have completely forgotten about blogging in the past few weeks. It has been a crazy start to the summer to say the least! Ashlyn is now walking, Addison is not too far behind. We are teething(which has NOT been fun). They each have 4 teeth now. We are lowering our matresses to the lowest setting and getting rid of our mobiles. Attempting to babyproof all the cabinets(is well worth the money spent to have a professional come do it). I can't count how many fingers have been slammed in doors or drawers! The girls are growing up FAST!! I am realizing now that I'm about to have 2 toddlers on my hands! I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I am currently planning the girls birthday party, which is July 3rd. Things are just busy! This will be a short post...because I've only got a limited period of time before all hell breaks loose in the other room!!! We have gone swimming several times....each time its getting better. Addison was kind of afraid the first time and just wanted to be held. We have learned that she does better in shallow water than floating in a raft in deep water(how she knows the difference I'm not sure). We have had a couple of playdates with new friends. We bought a "starter" swingset and put it together. Gosh, we've just been on the go for weeks! Here are some pictures of some fun things we have done. These are in NO order....
Ashlyn sitting in the grass for the first time ever. We didn't get a picture of Addison because she freaked out anytime she touched the ground!!


Ashlyn walking in the shallow pool. She was so proud of herself!


Addison liked licking the water off her own face!

Addison's first time in the pool(Memorial Day). I had to hold her the entire time.

Playing in the splash pool....WATCH OUT ADDI!
SQUIRT IN THE FACE!!


Playing in the fridge...their new favorite thing to do!


We went to a car show and found this GIANT dog. This picture doesn't do it justice....it was HUGE!!!

Addison has wrinkly feet after swimming!


Addi enjoyed looking at the water drops on her float more than anything else!


Crazy Ashlyn just wanted to get out and swim and splash!!!

Busy Busy Twinkies!

Its been over a month since I last blogged. It's really no excuse, but with 2 crawling babies I never seem to have time to sit down and relax! In the last month, we have had our 9 month checkup, gotten teeth, learned to crawl and pull up, and the girls are just into EVERYTHING!!

I will start first with their 9 month checkup(although they are 10 months now). The appointment was on April 5th.
Addison: 26 3/4 long and weighed 16 LB, 14 OZ. She is maintaining in the 20-25%

Ashlyn: 25 3/4 long and weighed 14 LB, 4 OZ. She is maintaining in the less than 3% YES, that's LESS than 3%. She is just going to be a tiny little runt!

Both girls now have their bottom 2 teeth. Addison got hers several weeks before Ashlyn did. Now I think Addison is working on her top 2 teeth, so hopefully soon she will have more. They are eating everything in sight. I have never heard babies make so much noise while begging for food...MY FOOD and anyone else's food who is within feeding range!! They scream, squawk, grunt, and bounce in their highchairs until you feed them. They eat everything from cucumbers to steak and shrimp to double decker tacos and bea burritos!! THEY LOVE FOOD!!!

They are now both crawling. Ashlyn started first, as well as pulling up first. Addison is now doing both too. They follow each other around the house, getting into trouble. Their favorite things to do are swing on the drapes in the living room, pull moss out of our potted tree, get into Claire's dog dishes, get into the pantry and play with cat food cans and 2 liter coke bottles, and eat remote controls and phones!! I'm not kidding when I tell you it is CRAAAAAZY around here!! But this has been my favorite stage so far!

They both can say certain words, but they don't say them in the right context. I think they just say them to SAY them! Ashlyn has the biggest vocab...she says: dada, baba, mama, nana. Addison only says baba. But Addison talks with such enthusiasm. She will talk like she is speaking a sentence, with different tones for each baba she says! Its cute! As far as their development, I think they are probably behind on verbal skills. But for preemies, that is supposed to happen and they tell me not to worry just yet.

Here are a TON of pictures of the highlights of the last several weeks. Some of these will show just how rambunctious these two little girls are!
playing with the drapes. Addi looks so sneaky and sweet, but don't let her fool you!

Ashlyn leaving the scene of the "drive by mossing". She heard me yell and she got out of there so I couldn't prove she did it!!

splashing in the pool

sunglasses...a HUGE waste of money!

Addison singing in the microphone

Playing on the air hockey table is fun....
trying to catch the pucks is even MORE fun!

The new sound around our house is "DOOOOOOOIIIIIINNNNNGGGG"! The sound of the springy doorstop thing. This was their first time discovering this annoying toy!

Hanging out with Daddy upstairs in the gameroom. Spinning in the swivel chair is lots of fun!

Playing cops and robbers....Addi was the robber and Ashlyn threw her in jail!!

Addison's cheese face!! This is what I come in and see after every nap or good night's sleep! It makes my day!!

Ashlyn is learning to climb things. I think she will be a big climber...I caught her climbing the baby gate the other day. She was up about 4 or 5 inches off the ground....like a little monkey! In this picture she is standing on her crib bumper, trying to get a little higher!!

Ashlyn splashing on the dishwasher

Helping Daddy with dishes

Addison found the dog's water bowl...if you look at the placemat you can see how much water she had spilled. What you can't see is how SHE was soaked as well!!

Ashlyn's cheese face....anything will make this girl smile!!

CHEEESE!!

Another funny face from Addi.