Correction

In my post below, it says that 11 of us were piled into a minivan. I was typing "all" but the a was left off resulting in what looks like 11. That's what happens when you try to type one-handed while holding a baby.

Our Trip to Winter Park, CO

This past Sunday morning, Braxton, Avery, Caroline, Braxton's parents, and I headed off to Winter Park, Colorado for a family reunion. We left our house at 6 a.m., picked Braxton's parents up, and then drove to the Atlanta airport. The babies did great in the car! I knew they would because they rarely give me any trouble in the car. We got to the airport, found our gate, and grabbed some lunch to take with us on the flight. Avery and Caroline were so good the entire flight! We fed them when we took off and when we landed to help their ears. I held Caroline and Braxton held Avery. The look on their faces as we landed were priceless, They didn't seem scared as much as bewildered. We were both relieved that we had not caused a scene on the plane. We were apprehensive about how they would do. We flew into Denver, got our rental car, picked up Braxton's brother Jason (who flew out a day early), and began the next leg of our journey. We made the 2 hour winding drive to Winter Park with ll of us packed into a minivan. Again, the girls did great! If this is sounding sickeningly perfect, hang on. Our life is not all butterflies and rainbows. We entered Snow Mountain Ranch and pulled off at the registration building to find out where our cabin was. Braxton and I stayed in the car with the girls. While waiting in the car, the babies simultaneously pooped and then had to sit in it for a good twenty minutes or so which resulted in an unfortunate mess. When we went to change them, the poop had made its way up their backs and chests. We had to strip them down and bathe them and unfortunately their outfits were a casualty in this situation. I didn't have a washing machine nearby to toss them into so they were stained. After getting the girls cleaned up, we went out to visit with all of Braxton's fam. We had a great time catching up with familiar relatives and meeting and getting to know new ones. We put the girls to bed and had the WORST night we have had in a loooooong time. We probably got up at least 10 times that night. I remember I had counted 4 times before midnight. Yikes! A few contributing factors were change in altitude, they were cold and we didn't realize it until the middle of the night, they were sleeping apart for the first time, and in a pack and play for the first time. It was so rough! The next morning, Braxton went with the guys to play golf. He really enjoyed it and said that the golf course was absolutely beautiful! I took care of the girls, got us organized somewhat, went on a walk with the girls and some of the other children there, and visited with the family. That night we had a delicious Mexican dinner from a local restaurant. The girls slept well that night too, thank goodness. On Tuesday, Braxton and I and some of his family went white water rafting. The water was freezing, but we really had a great time! There were many laughs along the way. On Wednesday, we departed from the ranch at about 9:30 to make our way back to Denver. The girls slept almost the entire drive. The flight back was fairly uneventful. Both girls got fussy for a minute or two at different times because they were tired, but overall they were quiet and content. A couple of people commented on how well they did which was really nice for us to hear. You always worry that people are getting annoyed with you. We made it back into Montgomery at about 11 p.m. that night. It was a fun trip but we were happy to be home as well. There's just nothing like sleeping in your own bed.

Braxton with Avery on her very first plane ride!


Caroline and me on her first plane ride!

Caroline with her grandma

Braxton playing with Caroline

Braxton's second cousins playing with the girls! Chloe, Tabitha, and Emily loved holding and playing with the girls. They were so sweet and attentive to Avery and Caroline.

Tabitha and Caroline

Emily and Kim with the girls

Somehow, I managed to not take a single shot of the beautiful mountains and surrounding scenery. My hands were full!

Avery and Caroline's Christening

This past Sunday, Avery and Caroline were baptized. It was such a sweet time for us! The girls were very well-behaved. Caroline got a little fussy at one point, but with at little bit of swaying and bouncing, she was fine. Avery was baptized first and then Caroline. They were the first two babies baptized in our new church!

These are the girls' godparents. Oliver McLemore (Braxton's best friend) and Mary Sanders (my best friend who was in Arizona and so sad to miss the baptism) are Avery's godparents. Caroline's godparents are Lauren and Golson Foshee who are great friends of ours.

This is Avery getting baptized!

This is Caroline getting baptized!

Avery staring at the candle. She loved it!

At our church, after a baby is baptized, the dad will walk the baby down the aisle so that everyone can see him or her while the congregation sings "Jesus Loves Me". Since we have two babies, I had to walk with him!

After church, we had some family and friends over to my parents' house for lunch. We had chicken and wild rice casserole , a delicious salad, fruit salad, rolls, cake, and strawberry cupcakes. I had lots of help with the food. My mother-in-law, Cynthia, made the casseroles for me. Madeliene, a family friend of ours, made the salad. My mom made the fruit salad. My sister-in-law, Lindsey, made the strawberry cupcakes. They are the best strawberry cupcakes I have ever had! I cannot thank ya'll enough for all of the help. I definitely could not have pulled it off without you.

Our precious angels!

A special thanks to my ever so talented and sweet mom who made the girls' christening gowns and bonnets. She put countless hours into them and they could not have been more beautiful or more perfect for the girls. She had already made one gown and one bonnet for our family to share but when we found out I was having twins, we needed another one! Cynthia and I helped do some of the hand sewing on one of the bonnets and sleeves. We greatly appreciated the time and energy that my mom put into the gowns and bonnets after doing so!

My sweet Caroline

My sweet Avery

This is Braxton's family: his brother, Jason, who has been a sweet uncle to the girls, his mom, Cynthia and his dad, John (Grandma and Grandaddy).

My family: my brother Daniel, his wife Lindsey, and their two girls, Katherine and Madeleine. My Mom and Dad. My brother Matt and his wife April and their three boys: Josh, Caleb, and Luke. It has been beyond wonderful having them home from Hong Kong for the summer! It meant a lot to Braxton and me for them to be here for the christening.

My mom, Meme, with all of her grandchildren.

My niece Madeleine with Brianna. Our friends, Jeff, Diane, and Brianna came all the way from the Charlotte area to be here for the baptism. We truly appreciated it and enjoyed getting to spend some time with them!

Lazy Days of Summer

We had a nice 4th of July weekend. We took Avery and Caroline swimming a couple of times with my family and they really seemed to enjoy it! They would just float around in our arms and smile. After a while, the girls got sleepy so they napped in their carseats. It gave us time to play some pool games and relax. We had a blast being goofy and making up ball games! We had dinner with my family on Saturday and Sunday night after swimming. We spent Monday afternoon and night with Braxton's parents. We had a great time visiting with them!

We have had a good week this past week! We are definitely still teething. You can see Avery's first tooth starting to come in and you can feel that Caroline's are starting to as well. This has made them a tad bit fussy this week, but nothing major. They enjoy chewing on everything! Caroline pulls her dress or shirt up constantly to put in her mouth. Avery prefers her bottom lip. She sucks that lip in and looks like she is "chewing" on it. They are both getting the hang of the rice cereal. Caroline has moved away from spitting it all out and is really doing a good job of eating it. Avery is continuing to enjoy it and often fusses in between bites. It is so cute to me! That girl is serious about her meals.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend!

This past Monday Braxton and I took the girls to their 4 month checkup. I don't know what I was thinking or maybe I wasn't when I scheduled their appointment for 2:00, smack dab in the middle of naptime. Anyway, Caroline was in desperate need of a nap and Avery was 25 minutes into her nap when I had to wake her up to go to the doctor. They were both screaming even before they got their three shots. It was a little chaotic! Avery weighs 14 lbs., 3oz (55th percentile) and is 24.5 inches long (60th percentile). Caroline weighs 13 lbs., 2 oz (45th percentile) and is 24 inches long (40th percentile). They have come along way for being preemies. Our doctor was very pleased at their progress! They both got a great report and appear to be totally healthy.

We started rice cereal with the girls this week! Caroline did not know what to make of it at first and would immediately try to eject it from her mouth. She had the most repulsed and baffled look on her face, but now she is getting the hang of it and actually swallowing some of it. Avery was a little bit baffled at first, but quickly began to love it. The second night she chuckled (first time we had heard that) while eating! It was the cutest thing. She had rice cereal all over her face and was laughing! I hate that we didn't get it on video. Both of their reactions to the rice cereal were exactly as Braxton and I predicted they would be. Last night, Avery was really sleepy when it was time to eat so she was a little bit fussy. She would start to scream when it was Caroline's turn for a bite. She did not want to wait.

It was also their first time in a Bumbo chair. They seemed to like it!

Avery

Caroline

Caroline

Sweet Caroline has had kind of a hard week. Ever since her shots, she has been fussy and needy. We like to say that her psyche is very fragile. I don't think it is so much the shots as it is the beginning stages of teething. Both girls are drooling like crazy and are putting their hands in their mouth. Caroline has had a lot of trouble sleeping at night. One night this week, I had to get up 10 different times for her. Everyone has always told me that once you start the rice cereal, they will sleep so much better. Not the case for us, only because it has coincided with teething. I am hopeful though that there will be better nights to come!

Here the girls are having their "tummy time". They don't really enjoy this, but I know the importance of it so I just see how long they will endure this. They are still just rolling from front to back at this point.

We have had a busy week so we are going to take it easy for this long weekend and visit with family some. Tuesday night, I had some friends over and last night we had a couple over for dinner. We have had a few doctor's appointments, Braxton's been busy with work (which is a good thing!), and I have been busy planning the twins' christening lunch!

I hope that everyone has a fun, relaxing, and safe Fourth of July weekend!!!