Yesterday Vivian hosted her Daddy at Preschool for "Donuts for Dads." Here they are before they leave the house (he took the camera with him but forgot to take pictures...):

She's always giving us a hard time about smiling for the camera.

Last weekend we traveled to Pinehurst, NC to visit Granddaddy and Grandma Carolyn. They were great hosts! We left Friday afternoon so that we could be there in time for dinner. Grandma Carolyn served us every meal and it was awesome. Vivian and Kate did fairly well with the travel. They loved having a new place to explore and new people to read to and smile at.

First thing on Saturday morning...open Christmas presents. Yes, that's right...Christmas! When we got so much snow in December, our travel plans were canceled and so we never saw our family in NC for Christmas. V didn't mind...she loved the gifts just the same!They got her these bears and she insisted on having them eat breakfast with her.Grand Aunty Nancy was there also, and she brought this beautiful rocking chair for V. As soon as we walked in the room where it was, she knew it was for her...she walked toward it immediately, and then stopped to turn around and look at us to make sure it was okay, and gave a huge smile. She sat in it for a long time and said, "rocky, rocky, rocky" over and over. Grandma Carolyn made the cushions for it...very cute!She makes lots of things. She is the most crafty, creative person I know. This "flower" arrangement is made of pinecones.V loved these dancing chicks. I think Hallmark was selling them for Easter and Grandma got it for her. It was a big hit. I was taking this picture to try and get a shot of her fat lip.She got a kick out of Granddaddy's golfballs. Grandma Carolyn told me that she had been thinking about what Vivian would like to play with while visiting, and she got several toys and books out, but I guess the favorite toys and games are never what you'd expect!

On Saturday morning we went over to Southern Pines to walk around and shop. We went in to a children's clothing boutique...everything in there was beautiful and exactly my taste! It was a little overwhelming because it was all so perfect and cute. Grandma got the girls an outfit. I can't wait for them to wear them. Then we walked to a toy shop which may have been a mistake: I told Aaron about how all the toys were at eye-level for Vivian and so she could get her hands on everything. His reply was that the toy store knows this and they do it that way on purpose. Ha!

The picture below is sweet. She loved sitting with Granddaddy to read to him or put stickers all over his pants leg.

Saturday was his birthday. We celebrated with an awesome TCBY cake (I had 3 slices!) and the Happy Birthday song twice. Vivian made him a card with felt butterfly stickers.

She also made Grand Aunty Nancy a card because her birthday is the 26th. We sang to her, too. She was fun for V to play with on Saturday morning.

We love you Granddaddy! Happy Birthday!

I promise Kate was there with us...I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of her! Sunday morning at church was rough for them due to lack of sleep, but after a good nap, we were all back on track! It was a fun but short trip. We hope to see them again soon :)

Spring is here! Friday was the first day to wear flip flops. God is making beautiful days!

Mama Dot has been visiting, so we've spent a lot of time at Papa and Gramme's house the last two days. While we were there, Kate pulled herself up on her own for the first time. I ran to get the camera... Standing on her own! So strong! We almost missed it because we were talking...when we looked down she was almost to her feet. Mama Dot was her spotter to make sure she didn't do a face plant.This was the day before...trying to pull up but just couldn't get to her feet. She loves the Mickey Mouse face. Mama Dot brought this chair from her house.

Here's a picture of Vivian standing on her own for the first time (last March):

This weekend I went on a little getaway to NC to visit a great friend Emily and go to her baby shower! She and Travis are having a little girl in the beginning of April. Her shower was great...this little one will have all she needs to enter the world comfortably and in style! I took a few pictures: It was my first time meeting Ben and Nathan, Emily's nephews. They are only a week or two older than Vivian, and so fun to be around! We had fun with an Easter egg hunt before the guests arrived.

Emily got a lot of good stuff for her baby girl.

I had to take this picture...look at all the gifts! Her friends and family were very gracious. It was a big shower.

Lots of diapers...speaking of diapers, I wanted to let everyone who came to the diaper shower that Erin gave me before Kate was born know that I just now used up all the diapers that you gave me. Thank you, thank you! I went 7 months without having to buy diapers!

Emily's growing belly! They estimated at her last appt that the baby is weighing around 7 lbs, and she still has a month to go!

Emily, Mandi, and Katie (sisters)
...and with their mom, Liz. The shower was at her house in Apex.
When we got back to her house that afternoon, we got all the gifts out of bags where she could organize and see everything together.
Travis tore his achilles heel this past week while playing basketball with friends. It looks like he might have to have surgery this week. :( Bad timing, but they both seem to have a good perspective about it.

It was a nice trip! I missed my family but it was good for Aaron to spend some one-on-one time with the girls. They adore him.

Vivian and Kate are starting to take baths together since Kate has graduated from her baby tub. They love it.

Kate had a nasty mullet and I finally cut it over the weekend.

In no way do Aaron and I want to encourage "young love", so although many people would title this post, "kate's first kiss" I am just going to say that Kate tried to eat Hayden's face yesterday.
Since she is mobile now, I can't put them on the floor together because she will attack him (out of interest in other babies, of course).

Our little lady is 7 months old! We are having fun getting to know her personality as she grows and shows herself more. I'm not sure how much she weighs since there is no appointment for this month and thankfully she hasn't been sick for me to take her to Dr. B. But she is eating well.

This past month has been a big one for her physical development: she started sitting up on her own without support, and can get to a seated position on her own. She is practicing her crawling a lot when she's on the floor.

Praise God for such a sweet smile! She's known around here for her insanely huge grin.
She is eating 5-6 ounces every 4 hours during the day, and 3-4 ounces anywhere between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. She takes her Prevacid in the middle of the night bottle. She is eating 3 solid meals a day, including prunes, apples, bananas, pears, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, peas, and oatmeal. Sometimes she eats a lot, and sometimes hardly anything. Sometimes we skip a meal altogether if we're busy. Not too committed to the solid meals yet.
She gets mad when something gets taken away from her (screaming mad), and she gets really frustrated when she can't get her sippy cup to do what she wants. She loves her pacifiers but for the most part only uses them when in the crib or when it's close to naptime and she's tired. She has sensitive skin, and although we still haven't had any diaper rash problems, she can't seem to get rid of a rash on her neck. The area around her mouth stays chapped and red, too. :(
"Mom, I am way too cool to participate in this photo shoot"

Vivian, while normally very sweet with her sister, is pretty cruel to Kate in this video. For those of you who previously thought Vivian to be an angel, you might be disappointed. Just a warning before you watch.



This is one of Kate's first attempts at crawling. Yesterday she was so close, and this morning while we were all still in our pjs she made a move for something she wanted. She tries so hard!

Posts are slow this week...we've been busy! We are all under the weather. Vivian and kate both have snotty noses. I'll take more pictures tomorrow, I promise!
Kate turned 7 months old today! She is so sweet, and started to crawl today (sort of, a little bit). Maybe I can get a short video of it soon. And I'll take pictures of her with Raggedy Ann this weekend.