Christmas In Augusta: With Gramma

I'm quickly realizing that my already somewhat limited photoshooting skills are very rusty. Before my surgery, I didn't shoot much because I just felt rotten. After the surgery, I didn't pick up a camera for 2 months. Rustier. And then my very limited editing skills are even rustier than that, which makes me very slow in processing anything!  And because I shoot in RAW now (it's like you end up with a bunch of negatives that must be "developed" into pictures), I can't just upload them and go.  They have to be converted to .jgp or .png files to post.

To top all that off, I got a new lens for Christmas along with a mounted/off camera flash. As much as I love my 50mm 1.4, I just couldn't move fast enough with my growing belly and weakened muscles to keep up with Addie and shoot anything with clarity with a fixed lens. So I begged for a 28-75mm 2.8. I was floored I got it, and then the mounted/off camera flash was a huge surprise! Thank you Mike and Margaret (Paul's dad and mom).

So now I have a learning curve to conquer with a new lens. Not as difficult to shoot with as the 50mm 1.4, but I haven't shot with a zoom lens in almost a year. It's different, for me at least.

So...my rusty, limited shooting skills on these initial pictures combined with a new lens on the ones I'll post tomorrow means I wasn't uber pleased with just a ton of them. But they tell the story none-the-less, so bear with me and enjoy! I'm warning you, this is one of two long posts!

We had a blast in Augusta. It was truly a whirlwind because we decided to only stay 2 nights. Addie's been sleeping great for weeks now, but we just knew we couldn't risk her falling back into a negative sleeping pattern due to traveling.

So we drove into town and immediately went to a White Elephant (dirty Santa) party with Paul's (mom's) extended family. That would be Gramma and her husband Albert; Paul's brother, his wife, and their daughter Kira (Addie's aunt, uncle, and cousin); 2 aunts, 2 uncles, 3 first cousins and 1 with a spouse; and 5 first cousins once removed (those would be Addie's 2nd cousins). Everyone had a great time and went home with something fun from the White Elephant swap. Addie got a cute hat and little wallet/purse from her Gramma.

Then the next morning, we had Christmas with Paul's mom/Gramma.

Addie loved playing with Kira's new toys as much as she did Paul/Jay's toys from their childhood. I remember hearing Addie open the cabinet, looking for Ernie and Big Bird and exclaiming, "Oh Wow! Oh Wow!" But she really loved wearing the box Kira's blocks came in as a hat!

We had yummy breakfast that was so steaming hot that it cracked Paul's plate! ...and we were worried about Addie breaking a plate!

Addie loved opening her stocking and finding Little People in it...and crayons!

Kira, Addie's cousin, loved watching. She was still a little sleepy from her morning nap.

But then she decided it was more fun to be a naked baby and chill on the floor while we opened stockings ourselves!

And was so excited to eat some yummy food, naked of course!

Addie apparently was the one who needed a nap though!

But it didnt stop anyone from opening presents:

Or Addie trying to take presents from her cousin Kira.

But Kira didn't hesitate to take it back! That's two only/first children for you!

But then Addie got her big present from Gramma...

An easel!

She had as much fun coloring as she did "sorting" the crayons!

But then she resorted to playing with ribbon. Who knew it could be so much fun! She's very serious about her ribbon though. I wonder where she got that from? ;)

And I couldn't resist posting this picture of Kira and her Daddy. Isn't she just adorable! It's hard to believe that Addie was exactly this age last Christmas! (they were born a day shy of a year apart).

And to think we'll have 2 almost this age next Christmas...

Quick Update

I guess the most exciting news I have to share is that the twins are doing fabulous. I had an OB appointment yesterday, and their little heartbeats were loud and clear! I talked to my OB about a c-section vs. traditional delivery. He said it all depends on Baby A. If she's breech or transverse, it's out of the question, but if she's not, there's a possibility I wont have to have a c-section. They can turn Baby B if need be much easier (and I'll have an epidural by then anyway!). Have I mentioned I'd prefer not to have my belly cut open again? He did say that he'd only cut me about half way up my other scar (3.5 inches instead of 7!). That was a relief in and of itself! The entire delivery will be done in the OR with it being twins though, so no more rushing me into surgery like they did a few months ago!

I'm feeling them more and more every day, but I just haven't figured out when they sleep. As of right now, it feels like never! We'll hope that changes once they are born! :)

Have you seen the little baby ticker in the right hand column of the blog? I know it says "129 days to go" but that's to 40 weeks. I sure won't be going to 40 weeks (they'll induce/do a section at 38 weeks latest I believe). Which means we are ticking closer and closer to being under 100 days! Have I mentioned I'm excited and ready to meet these little girls? 

On another note, the twins room is almost cleaned out and ready to be put together. The bedding will be on it's way soon, and I can't wait! We're working on a time for Paul's mom to come help me paint both rooms, and I am so thankful for that! I finally feel like I'm making some headway in going through things though. The closet is 75% cleaned out and the room is probably 95% cleaned out. I think I'm realizing 1.) how much ridiculous stuff we own, 2.) how much I am going to miss having a stuff room, and 3.) how much stuff I will be getting rid of! Where did all this stuff come from? Thankfully I've figured out some new ways to utilize space in our closet as well as the hall closets. And what a fabulous problem to have!

I got a little sidetracked this week. I painted and decorated (with paper) letters for Addie's room, spelling out Addie Marie. They turned out way cuter than I could have even hoped (luck), and I'll post pictures soon. Now I just have to do it two more times for the twin's names!  I'm still planning to upload the last of our Christmas pictures soon too.

So stay tuned for some way more interesting posts than this one. Well, except for the part about the twins. I figure that's pretty exciting! :) We have another ultrasound February 4th to check growth, so I'll have some more pictures of the little girls then.

Have a great weekend!

Christmas Breakfast with Papa Ray

Paul, Addie, and I met my dad (Papa Ray) and his wife Pat (Mawmaw Pat) for a delicious breakfast the day after Christmas!

Addie was not big on having her picture taken before breakfast. Look at the tears in her eyes! Who knows why she was being so camera shy!

But after breakfast, she was all smiles!

And she was all about giving her "smile for the camera" grin for us! I love it that she closes her eyes completely, squishes her nose up and shows her toothy grin!

And there was something right inside my dad's jacket that she was going for here! Who knows! But she loves her Papa Ray!

More pictures to come! (yes, I'm almost done!)

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

I'm pretty sure there is only one word to describe our Christmas week: a whirlwind!

We spent Christmas in Montgomery with my mom and aunt. We had a laid back Christmas Eve and a delicious Christmas Day dinner with all the fixings, Christmas china included. I somehow got to cook nothing and manage everything. Not a bad combination!

We got up early the day after Christmas and packed the car to head for Augusta. But before we left, we had a delicious breakfast with my dad and his wife Pat. Afterwards we hit the road for the 4+ hour drive, arrived at Paul's dad's with enough time to unpack and then raced to a White Elephant (Dirty Santa) party with Paul's mom's family. We spent the next day having Christmas with Paul's mom, ate dinner that night with his dad along with his dad's brother and family, and had Christmas day the following day with his dad.

Then we loaded the car with way more stuff than we came with and headed back home!

A whirlwind but a wonderful one!

Here are our pictures from Montgomery.

Christmas Eve: Reading with Nana: Nana gave Addie the cutest little rolling backpack filled with books! Addie would unpack it and pack it and roll it around the house. She also thought she was pretty cool carrying it on her back!

Santa 2009.

I think we under-did what we gave Addie and over-did Santa a tad. Next year will be very different! I'm liking this 3-5 present limit some families do. We just have to figure out exactly how it will work for us.

a favorite!

and another favorite!

playing with (bouncing) her hoop

Reading a new book with Daddy: GEORGE!

And clearly the sunglasses were a huge hit!

We had a wonderful Christmas at home with Addie. It was just as wonderful as her first Christmas last year...but even more fun because Addie was excited about things too!

In fact, here's a little flashback to last years Christmas.

 

Again, my what a year does!

More pictures to come!

More Than Enough Room...

...in the stable.

We have two nativities: a beautiful wooden nativity and Addie's Little People Nativity.

The wooden nativity sat on a table away from where Addie plays, but I started noticing her going over to "see baby Jesus" more and more. She'd talk about Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus and the sheep and most importantly the camel. She'd talk about Baby Jesus sleeping (because that's what babies do, right?).

And then she wanted Baby Jesus to watch her jump. So she'd stand in front of the table, holding onto the edge, and jump. I'd hear, Addie jump Baby Jesus or Watch Addie jump as she'd look on expectantly.

But the sweetest thing to me was when she started taking things to Baby Jesus.  First it was the Little People angel. Then a Little People sheep. I wasn't aware that there were lions and turtles at the manger scene, but there were at this one!

But if you look to the far bottom left of either picture, you can barely make out the "mammal" (camel) Addie's favorite animal from her Little People nativity.

And even though she loved to carry it around, jump with it, and play with the "mammel" more than any other, she left it there for Baby Jesus.  Maybe, just maybe, in her 21 month old mind, she's beginning to grasp the concept of giving. I know I'm a little biased, but I thought it was pretty sweet.

Zoo Lights

As most of you know, Addie and Cady are dear friends. It amazes us how much they care for each other, treat each other like sisters, and are always more concerned with making sure the other one gets what they have (vs. being jealous of what the other one has!). They are sweet sharing friends!

Mandy, Chad, Paul, and I decided to take the girls to dinner and then to the zoo lights. We could hardly get them out of the car without them hollaring for the other!

This picture pretty much sums it up. They held hands the whole way walking in!

(me, Addie, Cady, and Chad)

The girls were really excited about the lights (otherwise knowns as "ights" to Addie). They were way excited about riding on the choochoo train.  The lights were beautiful, but I'm not sure they could make out what a lot of them were. Too abstract. But we still heard lots of "oh wows!" as we rode along.

A few of the lights (hard to take when i couldn't see my settings!)

There were also lots of animals on display: a petting zoo, a monkey wearing a sweater who would sit in your lap, and pony rides (all of which cost extra and we avoided). But the true highlight of the whole trip for Addie were the camels (otherwise known as "mammals")! The camel has been her favorite animal from our nativity scene, the one she talks about the most. I think she carried her little people camel around for days! Did you know that camels roar like lions? Me either; but according to Addie, they do!

Her first look at the "mammals"

Oh. My. Word. Mommy!

Cady enjoyed them too!

Very concerned that it was getting near time to leave:

And this is what she thought about leaving! Forget the lights. She wanted to see the "mammals" some more!

She talked about the "mammals" and the choochoo train for days afterwards, bringing them up at the most random times. What a fun night with the girls!