Happy Anniversary!

Saturday, Braxton and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary! My parents babysat for us and we went out on our first official date since we had the babies. Actually, it had been quite a while since we had been out on a date because I didn't feel like going "out" for much of my pregnancy. Anyway, we have been out together, alone, without the babies, but it has always been for a reason: our ten year high school reunion, a wedding, a work function, etc. But, this was our first date where it was just us. It was great! It was so nice to sit down and have a meal together (that I didn't have to cook or clean up!) and have a real conversation. We went to the Chop House (Vintage Year) for dinner. Both of our meals were incredible! I had the breaded trout with a lemon caper sauce over an orzo primavera with broccolini. Braxton had the bone-in ribeye (which was humongous) with white truffle Mac and Cheese and broccolini. His was delicious as well! My fork kept finding its way over to his mac and cheese. After dinner, we went and had a drink at the Pine Bar because it was right in the middle of the babies' bedtime routine and we didn't want to interrupt/be responsible for that on our night off. We had a great time!

Braxton and I met in high school at Trinity at a new student orientation in 9th grade. We started dating two years later and have been together ever since. I am so much better for knowing Braxton. He encourages me, leads me, and loves me unconditionally. I am a better person because of him.

Happy Father's Day!!

Over the past 11 years, I have had the privilege of knowing and loving this man. I have observed him as son,brother, friend, teammate, swimmer, swim team coach, water polo player, youth advisor, boyfriend, fiance, husband, uncle, businessman, leader, and godparent, but nothing has brought me greater joy than to see him as "Daddy". From the moment we found out I was pregnant, to seeing the first ultrasound (and realizing their were TWO heartbeats), to taking care of me and the babies while I was pregnant, to the day our sweet babies arrived, and still today, Braxton has been the best Daddy. I could not ask for a better father for our girls. His love for them is so apparent. He is so attentive to them and in tune with their wants and needs. He truly is a natural. I love that I don't have to worry about leaving him at home alone with both babies and that I don't have to explain to him what to do. He knows, because from Day 1, he has been hands-on with the babies.

I hope that we can show him how much he means to us today and that today is a very special one for him. We are beyond blessed!

16 Weeks

My babies are 16 weeks old! I don't know their length or weight but we go to the doctor at the end of this month so I will post it then. They smile all the time, still love to be together, take good naps, and are sleeping well at night. They both coo a lot! They enjoy running errands with me and charm everyone we meet! When people see my double stroller and realize it is twins, they always come over to take and look. Then, they always tell me their twin experience, whether it be their own, their grandchildren, or their boss' daughter's cousin that had twins. :)

This morning, Caroline smiled at Avery and Avery smiled right back!!! That was the first time that I had seen that. I cannot tell you how absolutely precious it was.

My sweet Caroline:

• Is still taking her time with her bottles and doesn't have a huge appetite. She likes to hold onto the bottle while we are feeding her and often tries to suck on her fingers while drinking her bottle. My favorite thing is sometimes when I am feeding her, she is smiling so big with the bottle in her mouth that she can't suck. It is so sweet!
• Kicks her legs a lot! She kicks her legs when she is sleepy/fussy, needs to burp while feeding, when she gets excited, or when she is trying to break free from the swaddling blanket. She actually kicked a hole in her swaddling blanket. I picked her up out of the crib one morning and her leg was out and I just thought that she had kicked it out of the opening. Nope, she created her own opening!
• Is still very happy and grins from ear to ear with that precious dimple!!
• Is still sucking on her fists and fingers constantly. I really think she will end up being a thumbsucker! She makes a fist with her hands most of the time, but when does open them up, it looks like she is doing sign language. It cracks us up!
• Loves her paci

My sweet Avery:

• Still loves to eat and doesn't waste any time doing it!
• Is a better sleeper than her sister- She takes long naps during the day and sleeps well at night!
• Continuing to burp with the best of them! She is so loud for such a little thing.
• Has a love/hate relationship with her paci. She usually only wants it when she is sleepy. If you try to give it to her and she doesn't want it, she gags and spits it out. Sometimes, she just chews on it instead of sucking on it.
• Smiles a lot but it takes more time to get a smile from her than Caroline. Sometimes when Avery gets upset, she frowns and sticks out her bottom lip. I hate that she is upset, but she looks so cute when she does that!
• Is still loving soft blankets! She will smile when she sees one coming down on her, then she pulls it up to her face, and rubs her face on it.

July is going to be a big month for the girls. They will be baptized and will go on their first plane ride! Hopefully, they will cooperate for both!!

Avery and Caroline meet their aunt, uncle, and cousins!

Last week, my brother, Matt, my sister-in-law April, and my nephews Josh, Caleb, and Luke came back to the U.S. for six weeks! It was so much fun to introduce Caroline and Avery to them! The boys loved holding their cousins and were so sweet to them. We have enjoyed getting to hang out, visit, and catch up with them.

All of the cousins together: Madeleine, Avery, Caleb, Josh, Caroline, Luke, and Katherine

Luke and Caroline: He loved "holding" her! Everytime we tried to pick Caroline up, he got upset!

Matt with Caroline and Avery

Josh with Avery and Caroline

Caleb holding Avery

Avery, Josh, April, Caroline, and Luke

Avery, Caleb, Josh, and Caroline

Avery, Caleb, Josh, Caroline, Luke, and Madeleine

A couple of random things...

1)Last night, Braxton and I went to a function that his company put on. The speaker was Dr. Kevin Elko who is actually a motivational speaker. He has spoken to the Alabama football team multiple times and most notably he spoke to them right before they won the National Championship (Roll Tide!). I wanted to share with you something that he gave to us. Paul "Bear" Bryant used to keep this in his wallet. Now, to all you Auburn fans don't let all of this Alabama talk keep you from getting something out of this.

"This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is very important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever leaving something in it's place I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, not a loss-good, not evil. Success, not failure in order that I shall not forsee the price I paid for it."

He said so many great things, I wish I could remember them all to share with you.

2) Here is a recipe for pork tenderloin that Braxton and I made up last weekend. I am sharing this with you because it has taken me 5 years to find a way to season and cook pork tenderloin just like I like it. Oh, and I must tell you I do not like to measure so there will be no measurements in this recipe. I just dump how much I think there should be, so use your best judgement. :)

Here you go:

The night before you want to cook it, put the pork in a ziplock bag with fresh sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Then about 45 minutes before you are going to cook the pork, remove the sprigs of thyme and rosemary (so they don't burn on the grill) and dump some Dale's and some Worcestershire sauce all over the pork. Let it marinate for about 30-45 minutes. Sprinkle with some Emeril's Essence and add pepper. Grill for 5 minutes. Sprinkle some chopped fresh thyme and rosemary on top and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. I found this to be perfection. Subtle, fresh flavor. Perfectly cooked. Hope it works for you if you try it!

3) My parents are on their way to Atlanta to go pick up Matt, April, and they boys from the airport. They will get in late tonight and try to sleep off the jet lag. Then, we are all getting together tomorrow night for dinner! So excited!!

4) I am obsessed with Chick-Fil-A's Cookies and Cream Milkshake. And when I say obsessed, I mean that I saw a Zaxby's commercial for a milkshake at about 8:30 p.m. last week, began salivating thinking of Chick-Fil-A's milkshake, and by 9:00 p.m. I was in the drive through getting one. That's really going to help me lose this baby weight I know. Probably one of the biggest contributing factors to the fact that I am still wearing maternity jeans. Well, that and I CANNOT find any of my real jeans, so I don't have a choice. I packed them all up once I got pregnant and now I can't remember where I put them. I really do think I could get back in them if I could find them....

5) Does anyone know of an antibacterial spray that you can spray on a microsuede couch? Does Febreeze make one that is antibacterial?? Has anyone ever sprayed Lysol on their couch?? I am itching to do it, but I am worried about messing up the suede.

6) I don't have any new pictures of the girls. I will have some next week for you when I do their 4 month post. They are growing up so fast!

Happy Friday!

Thought these pictures of these sweet babies might make you smile! Thanks MeMe (my very talented mom) for our cute outfits that you made for us! We enjoyed wearing them today!! They are pink and white seersucker (my fav!) with little watermelons all over if you can't tell in the pics! Perfect for summer. My mom is working on more summer outfits for the girls. I will post more pics as they come. I am so blessed to have a mom that can sew beautifully and that enjoys sewing!

We're on a roll!

Caroline rolled from front to back today! I wasn't sure if this was ever going to happen because she had two things working against her:

1) She does not generally enjoy tummy time. She doesn't usually last very long on her tummy. She will stay longer if I get down on the floor with her and talk to her.

2) She doesn't like to feel like she is "falling" as I have mentioned before. So, anytime she would start to roll over she would put her arms out and stop herself. But, today she just went with it and let it happen.

This is how she felt about it the first time she rolled over.

And this is how she felt about it the second time she rolled over!