Beach Babies

Last weekend we went to Wilmington along with my sister and her family to celebrate Fathers Day and my mom's birthday.  It was a sweet time all being together, especially because of the girls being at this fun age.   Lauren and I were able to spend Sunday afternoon hanging out with our friend Morgan without the babies which was a sweet break .  We all went to Wrightsville Beach on Monday for the girls first official day at the beach.  God provided a beautiful tide pool for us to enjoy and Adah was mesmerized by the handfuls of sand she would pull up from the bottom.  Eva had to be watched constantly as she liked to find small shell fragments and bring them immediately to her mouth!

Adah turned eight months old on Fathers Day and she started clapping her hands that same day! She is also waving now, at stranger's passing by and at us anytime we walk into a room.  The other day I went in to get her up from her nap and she was sitting up in her crib, facing the door, smiling and waving with both hands twisting her wrists! It was too much! Her first tooth is coming in on the bottom and I thought nothing could be sweeter than her gummy smile but I was wrong.  What a joyful and blessed June we have had!

The California Desert

My cousin, Maiya, who lives near Palm Springs, California got married on May 19th and my parents, my sister's family and us all went and decided to make a trip out of it.  Along with some aunts, uncles and cousins we rented a house for the week leading up to the wedding.  The house where Maiya got married was directly across the street from where we stayed.  It was such a lovely week of celebrating Maiya and Rusty, lounging by the pool, visiting with family, and doing some site seeing in the area.

We went to a local zoo and saw wolves, a bobcat, this cute badger among others.  We saw two roadrunners by the pool in our backyard! They are just like the cartoon!

We went on a crazy tram ride that takes you up the side of this mountain in a glass walled, rotating tram.  My mom (who has a difficult time on merry-go-rounds) was not a huge fan! It was a cool 70 degrees at the top where we saw the eclipse through a welder's mask and the beautiful views down below.

Adah and Eva loved the pool!  It was so great having Kyle and Brad around all week and just getting to be with everyone each day.  Adah loved seeing her Nana and Pap all week and I know they felt the same about her and Eva.  

The desert is a crazy place! I guess it is just what you would think the desert would be like but being there and experiencing it is so different than just reading about it.  It doesn't rain there.  Seriously, it rains once a year.  I saw two clouds the whole time! Think blue sky and blazing sun constantly.  The towns are situated in a valley and there are mountains all around.  They have misters everywhere that you would think would get you all wet but really have a nice cooling effect.  When you are driving instead of the medians in the road being grassy they are sandy with cacti and some beautiful desert plants and flowers.  I don't know why this was so alarming to me.  The desert has a beauty of its own and unlike anything I have ever experienced.  

This is the only picture we got at the wedding! Proof that it is a bit crazy having a baby at a wedding :)  It was a lovely ceremony and reception and we are so glad we were able to be a part of it! Congratulations Maiya and Rusty, we are so happy for yall!

Thank you self-timer for this photo of us, the Gerstmyers, McCahans and Aunt Carol and Uncle George!

Growing Girls

Look how they've grown! From birth to 6 months old!

Breaking Out the Snowsuits

Saturday was warm and sunny (think T-shirt and jeans) and it was ridiculous to hear that it was going to snow the next day.  Kyle and I drove to Greensboro on Sunday in hopes of being snowed in with the Gerstmyer Family and to our delight it snowed for the first time this winter! We were able to use these amazing snowsuits that our Aunt Carol and Uncle George gave the girls that made them look like adorable marshmallows! We were fortunate to have Adah and Eva awake at the same time since they tend to be on opposite schedules.  Can you tell which baby crashed for a nap right after her first snow adventure??

As a side note: Adah did receive some assistance for making her snow angel (thanks dad).

I'm Back!

It has been a while since I've been able to post some pictures due to Kyle's computer acting up and I finally took the time to download the right software to my computer! This is the start of me writing updates more regularly!

We had a lovely week celebrating Christmas with our family in Wilmington.  We were able to spend time with both Kyle's parents and mine along with my sister, her husband and our niece, Eva! It was such sweet time of being together and getting to enjoy the sweet babes.  Adah is now in her 10th week and Eva is in her 7th. Adah is also wearing size 6 month clothes and she is "talking" back and forth with us.  Last night she reached a new high note.  Kyle is convinced that she is going to be a beautiful singer due to the beautiful keys she reaches with her "ooo's" and "goo's."  She still doesn't enjoy her baths but tolerates them more and screams less with each one.  She had given us a few nights of 6, 7, and even one night of 8 hours of sleep!  Most nights she still gets up once to feed.  I don't have her on a set schedule so each night can be different from the previous one.  I have been really gentle on myself with starting the cloth diapering.  I wanted to give myself time to get used to all the changes of having a newborn and breastfeeding and such before I dove into the unknown of cloth diapers.  I had actually completely forgotten that cloth diapers even existed until one day near the end of the first month I remember them and realized "Oh yeah! I was gonna do that..." Yesterday was my fifth time washing the diaper inserts so they were ready to go.  Adah is currently wearing her first beautiful "blackberry" cloth diaper that I snapped to hopefully the right size.  I will see what happens at the next diaper change.  I have barely an idea of what I'm doing so I will let you know how it goes. I hope you had a Merry Christmas! Here are some pictures.

 

Adah & Eva

I cannot believe Adah will be four weeks old on Monday! So will she be a month old on Monday or not until November 17th?! I can never quite wrap my head around that... Meanwhile my niece, Eva Elizabeth (I AM AN AUNT!!!) is one week old today! Talk about overwhelming, abundant, beautiful blessings from our good Lord! At times it feels like it is too much! 

Slowly we are learning how to be parents.  As baths have gotten more enjoyable for Adah they have gotten more enjoyable for me!  I was a wreck the first few baths when she wailed the entire time.  In any situation a crying baby lessens ones ability to think clearly and heightens the level of intensity.  We have somehow figured out how to live with the random intervals of awakeness in the middle of the night.  We are definitely better at knowing why she may be crying and remembering ways she likes to be soothed.  There are times I still can't believe she is our daughter.  I just stare at her and try to fathom that she is part me and part Kyle and that she is a person and is going to be grown up like us one day and that God has a plan and a purpose for her life... whew! Needless to say, we love her! 

This past Monday we went to visit cousin Eva and Aunt Lauren and Uncle Brad.  It has been so fun being pregnant with my sister and now going through the labor process around the same time and now having newborns at the same time! I am excited to continue this journey with her and for our girls to be going through the same stages and Lauren and I to be figuring out each stage at the same time.  What a gift it is! 

Well, Adah is sleeping so I have a small amount of time to tackle the dishes and if I'm lucky get a load of laundry going.  Enjoy the pictures!