Discovery Place Kids

My good friend Sabrina and I took Luke and Olivia to the new Discovery Place Kids that recently opened in Huntersville. It is designed for kids 8 years and under, and it did not disappoint! There was so much to see and do, including a puppet show and LOTS of things that bang and make noise! The place has different rooms where kids can pretend to be a vet, a fireman, a doctor, a pilot, or just about anything. I think Luke and Olivia will appreciate DPK even more once they are walking, but they still had a great time and it held their attention for hours-which is no small feat with two 11 1/2 mth olds!

Luke's favorite thing to do was to climb though a whale again and again, and Olivia found a bell to ring that she thought was just hilarious. There were lots of pots and pans to bang on the floor (glad it wasn't out kitchen!), and a really cool water feature to splash around in. I truly could have spent all day there, and I hope to take them back again. Dan said he would like to go and see them play as well, but I really thinks it's just an excuse for my "big" kid to play, too.

She SO wants to walk!

It seems that in the past few days, Olivia has really perfected her ability to stand unassisted, and will now play with a toy in her hand while standing without even realizing it. Today, I held out my arms out and motioned for her to come to me. Before I knew it, she was bending her left knee and about to take a step. Now normally I would encourage this motion again and again, but since Dan gets home on Friday we really want to see her first steps together (if possible!). I don't know if Olivia will wait, though, as she is getting braver by the day.

A perfect fall day

Since the temperatures climbed out of the 50's today to almost 70, I decided to take the babies to a nearby playground for some fall fun. Luke and Olivia has the best time in the swings and playing in the leaves-another first! I love seeing them experience "firsts"-it never gets old! I love how Luke kept showing me the leaves, and Olivia had to examine each one she touched. Then we found a big tree stump, and did they ever have the best time playing around it! As you can see in the pictures, Olivia tried to climb into the stump, while Luke was content putting leaves inside (he loves to clean up while Olivia loves to make a mess). We were all pretty dirty by the time we got home, but it didn't matter because we had a great time. The only thing missing was Dan.

Cute pics

Just wanted to share some pics I thought were especially cute of Luke and Olivia.


So much for cabinet locks!

Peek a Boo

Sibling love just before naptime

Um, we didn't do it

Who's behind the mirror?

Baby Play yard

Here is a picture of what our living room looks like with the play yard. My, oh, my how our living room has changed from before we had babies!

And then she was standing!

Today was a big day for our Miss Olivia. She stood unassisted for the first time for longer than a few seconds. She even started to fall, caught herself mid-way down and stood back up. We have been working on standing for awhile, but she usually just bends her knees, hits the floor and takes off crawling. Today when I stood her up, she stood there staring back at me as I sat there in amazement. Then I grabbed the video camera, cell phone so I could send Dan a video, and camera for pics. I think her first steps may not be far away!!!

Half way there!

Two weeks down, two weeks to go! We are at the half-way point until Dan gets home-yay!!! He will be done with this particular project at the end of the year, so hopefully that means he won't be traveling again until at least January (and hopefully for a much shorter period of time). Now when he has to go on a business trip for a week it will seem like a piece of cake! We can't wait until Novemeber 19th!

11 mths old

Our babies are ELEVEN months old today. I just truly can't believe it! Every time the 1st of the month rolls around, I think about the day they were born and the day we brought them home from the hospital. Wasn't that just yesterday?!?!

I am busily trying to get ready for their first birthday, and I feel like I have so much to get done. But I keep crossing things off of my list one at a time. I know Dan would give anything to be home, and we are all missing each other lots. Olivia and Luke smile when they see Daddy "on the computer" and he loves to see them clapping and giving kisses. Only 2 1/2 weeks to go!

Happy 11 month birthday to our lil' Luke and Olivia!

The Amazing Maize Maze

I ventured out to the Amazing Maize Maze with Sabrina and Marc on Saturday and we had a great time! The average time of "escape" is 45-90 minutes, and we managed to find our way out in 57 minutes. Luke and Olivia were a huge help, and were great at reading the map. Marc carried Luke and Sabrina carried Olivia, so it was nice to only have the diaper bag to carry for awhile. I felt so light! I think we'll definitely venture back to the maze next year.

First Halloween!

As Luke and Olivia's first birthday approaches, we are quickly running out of "first" holidays. Today we celebrated their 1st Halloween. I looked at lots of costumes, and my options became limited because there was no way they were going to keep anything on their heads for long-especially Olivia. Anytime anything goes on her head, she takes it off as if playing peek a boo!

I decided it would be fun to make their costumes, like we used to do when we were kids. I would like to make it a tradition to try to make their costumes each year, as long as they'll let me! Luke and Olivia were "biker babies" this year, although Olivia was a cross between a rocker and biker girl. I knew no one else would have those costumes, in keeping with their uniqueness! I made Olivia's shirt and me one to match as well.

My friend Karen came up from Atlanta to spend the weekend with us and help out, along with MauMau, PawPaw, Uncle Wyndal, Aunt Gina and cousin Hailey. Our neighborhood had a parade at 4pm, so we got the babies dressed and joined the festivities late in the afternoon. By the time we got home and got Luke and Olivia fed, it was too late to take them out trick or treating. I was hoping to go to just a couple of neighbors houses, but we'll just have to save that for next year.

There was so much gong on it was tough to get a great pic of the babies looking at the camera, but we got some fun shots from the day. I think when Dan gets home from Japan, we'll dress them up again and let them get a picture with Daddy, too. Maybe they'll even get to sit on his motorcyle!

A busy weekend

It seems like time has slowed to a crawl now that Dan is gone. I am having so much fun with Luke and Olivia, but also sad that he is missing a lot of the little things. We know he is where he needs to be, but it doesn't mean we miss him any less! And he is already missing home, and American food!

Since it was such a nice weekend and the impending rain for the week would take care of the beautiful fall leaves, I decided to take the babies for another hike on Saturday. I met Oma and Opa and we did the same hike we did 2 weeks ago. It was a perfect day to be outside. Unfortunately, Olivia was really tired and unhappy during the entire walk down the mountain, but once we were on flat ground and she could wiggle, she was a much happier little girl! We all ate some lunch and chatted with other hikers and truly enjoyed the day.



On Sunday, we went to a reunion for PawPaw's family about 45 minutes away. Luke and Olivia did really well and are ok so far letting strangers hold them. They had fun exploring new territory, and passed out in their strollers briefly after a walk around the neighborhood. They were really tired on the way home and not happy about missing their afternoon nap, but once they had a quick bath and their bottle, they fell fast asleep. It was a very busy weekend, but a good one nonetheless. I took lots of pictures to share with Dan when he gets home!

A 2nd tooth

Luke's 2nd tooth is well on it's way, and as we thought, it seems like they will be coming in one right after the other. Just a few more weeks and they'll both be having steak for dinner!