Sunday Funday

We went to church yesterday, and M and P still did great in the nursery. Jordan taught the 4 and 5 year old class so I was solo carrying them in. Normally I use the stroller when I'm by myself, but there isn't always stroller access so I carried them inside in car seats. What a site! I'm not able to really bicep curl the car seats with M and P weighing them down, so I walk pretty lop-sided with the two car seats. I'm sure it's rather hilarious.

After church we went to the riverwalk and ran! Mac and Paisley were pooped after our jog-

Apparently we ran faster than normal because Mac is holding on!

Then we went to Smokey Bones, and they were super about accommodating my "allergies" aka Mac and Paisley's protein intolerances. It's always nice to have good experiences when there are special issues. 

I captured one of the first toy fights today. Mac would fuss about Paisley having this flower toy, and then she would fuss when he got from her. They love this toy. The flower faces light up when you tap them. Pretty exciting stuff. 

Mac and Paisley wore Atlanta Braves t-shirts today. These were a gift from one of Jordan's co workers who is obviously a Braves fan. This pic is for you, Jerry!

 When I was feeding Paisley her carrots this afternoon, Mac was playing so well by himself. He was being super smiley so I had to take his picture.

Notice the blanket change? Probably not, but I'm sure you noticed my children aren't wearing any pants... That's because the mangoes and chicken cleaned out their little systems, and we had back to back blow outs. Special. I have an unspoken "one pair of pants a day" rule around here, haha!

 -ashley

Saturday Swim

Have I mentioned how much I love Saturdays?? We love when Jordan is home, and the weather being nice is such a special treat. 

I get so many questions about what I eat since cutting out several foods due to Mac and Paisley's protein intolerances. (Read about their intolerances here.) I decided to take a pic of this morning's breakfast- Pinterest style :o) The Pinterest idea was to turn the toaster sideways for cheese toast. The bread started smoking a bit and ended up being burnt on the side lying against the griddle of the toaster. Of course I ate it, though. I mean, breakfast is the most important meal of the day... and I only get a small window to eat it!

We recently bought a Groupon deal with the local YMCA. These 2 months are our 'trial' to see if and how often we would use the facility. Jordan has been swimming twice a week before work, but today is my first venture... and we took Mac and Paisley swimming!! We had 2 bags packed with extra outfits, towels, swimsuits, Charlie Banana swim diapers, lotion, wipes, and sippy cups (I mean, what if they get thirsty?! Jordan made fun of me for this, haha.) This is definitely not a trip I plan to endure on my own!

I was so excited how they reacted to the water! They love bath, but it's a whole new ballgame with the pool... They splashed and kicked and laughed. Do we have little swimmers on our hands??? We'll see!! 

We went to lunch and then through a car wash. I tried to capture both of their faces during the wash, but Mac wasn't cooperative- he kept trying to grab my phone when he saw it. Paisley was too distracted to notice me.

 Look at this picture I took last night... Notice P's right foot... in the air!!! Silly girl!

(The temperature says it is 75 degrees, but the camera and sensor are attached to the other side of an attic wall so the temp reads a few degrees warmer than it really is.) I try to keep their room between 68 and 72 degrees and dress them accordingly.

 Enjoy your weekend!!

 -ashley

Target is a Laxative

Thanks to my 5k running partners we completed a 20 minute run yesterday! Woo hoo! It wasn't half bad, and race day is quickly approaching! I'm telling you, if running isn't your thing but you'd like to start somewhere, the Couch to 5k app is it! This app is the only one I have ever seen that gets 5/5 stars- pretty impressive. It's well worth the $1.99. I call the girl (who is encouragement throughout the run giving us countdowns) "Ginger". She's British. 


I came across this quote on Pinterest, and I thought it was very true for my running right now:

Here is a pic of the play date we had earlier this week. Sweet babies. 

So Target.... it's a laxative for poor Mac. Today we went to lunch with our friend, Casey, and we walked to Target afterwards. Here's how Mac was dressed before Target:

Since we were walking, Mac and Paisley were in the stroller in their car seats. I didn't buckle Mac back in because I knew it was a matter of time before he would fuss and want out. He started fussing, and I tried to calm him with my voice... I didn't look at him because once we stare into his big eyes, well, you fall for whatever he wants. Fortunately Casey looked at him because he had flipped onto his stomach!! Silly boy. I didn't take a picture of this (although Casey asked if she could). 

So I turn him over and head for the dressing room to feed them. I picked him up, and he had pooped all over his outfit and car seat. Seriously. And where was the diaper bag?? Well in the car, of course! (This isn't a first time for this incident either.. Read the other time here.) You'd think I would learn. 

So here is how Mac looked on the way home. Poor boy. 

Notice the socks beside him that I used to wipe up his drool. I promise we have adequate supplies... I just forget to pack them. 

And here are my sweet babies in the bathtub tonight. They grow so fast... too fast. This time next week I'll be writing about them turning 8 months old. {sigh}

-ashley

Our Easter

What a special Easter we celebrated this year! As we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, we were surrounded by family and delicious food. While it is easy to fall into the temptation to make Easter about egg hunts and bunnies, may we always cherish the true meaning and center of the Easter holiday: Jesus. 

I want to know Christ-- yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Philippians 3:10-12

Here is a picture story of our glorious day :o) 

Once Mac and Paisley got up from their morning nap, we dressed them and started capturing our memories. 

Annnnnd they were getting tired of the pictures already. If Mac would talk, he'd tell me to have Paisley leave him alone. I bet that will happen quite a bit in our future ;-)

Family pictures!

Cousins!!

These are my two favorite girls... Paisley will have such fun with her Lilly Scott and KK.

I even got to blow out candles! :o) 

Love all these kiddos and babies! 

I must pause and share these pictures from last Easter...

 ... and here we are now... a family of four. Wow. 

We love you, M and P! We are SO incredibly blessed to be your mom and dad.

-ashley

Special Saturday

We are visiting family for Easter, and we have especially enjoyed having Mac and Paisley here this year :o) It has been fun to visit, egg hunt, and eat! This year makes me even more excited for next year when our little nuggets are running around hunting the eggs. :o)

Since this blog is my way of journaling to M and P, I captured the day in pictures...

Paisley didn't sleep Friday night so we were pretty sluggish Saturday morning. I have narrowed down the cause to peas. From what I can remember, when P has peas (ironic, huh?), she wakes up about 2 hours after being asleep and cries pretty hard. So, no more peas for our P. 

We spent our morning cuddling and playing at Mimi and Geep's house.

After Jordan, my dad, and I went for a run (I'm on week 5 of the couch to 5k app... that's what 7 weeks of bed rest will do to your leg muscles), we went to a picnic! We had lots of family there to love on M and P. 

 

 We had a couple of tired babes on our hands so Uncle Jeff took them for a walk... and they were out.

 After the picnic at Aunt Dee and Uncle Larry's, we went to an egg hunt at the park. Mac and Paisley's cousins Paxton, Caitlin, and Blake and Aunt Courtney and Uncle Kyle came too :o) Paw Paw and Lilly were there, our cousins Donna and Dreya came from Georgia, and Rachel, Colton and Brittney joined us. Jordan and I treated ourselves to snow cones (yummmmmm), and I unfortunately didn't treat my skin to any SPF :o(

 

 

We went to church to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus! Thank you for defeating death so that we may experience grace.

He is Risen, Indeed!!!!!  

-ashley

364 days

Jordan kindly reminded me this morning that I have 364 days until my birthday. I'm a sucker for birthdays. I love them. It's a day that's a celebration of you.... even though our mom's did all the work, haha. I get excited to celebrate birthdays for any and everyone. It's about feeling special for me, and yesterday I felt special. :o) Between the phone calls, texts, gatherings with friends, and a dinner date with Jordan (thank you, Jessica), yesterday was a good.. no, great birthday. 

Here are some highlights... And I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of my lunch dates, Mary and Frances. Next time, ladies. 

 We only had "2" and "6" candles so we put those on a cake and added the "+1".

 Jordan made me a delicious vegan lime cake... yum yum yum. I'm carb-loading like I'm about to compete in an ironman triathlon. :o/ When in Rome, folks, when in Rome...

-ashley