Ah Fall!

Cooler weather is finally here and I'm so excited. This is by far my favorite time of year and I love that Luke, Olivia and I get to spend so much time outside. We have been spending lots of time at the playground and in our yard. Last night it was cool enough to put them in their footed pajamas, and they were so cute in them!

Unfortunately Luke and Olivia have had a cold for the past few days, but I think they are getting a little better. I think they may have inherited Dan's allergies, although they can't technically get diagnosed until they are 2. Thanks goodness for humidifiers.

Here's hoping the cool, but not cold, weather lasts for awhile!

Happy 8th Anniversary

Another year has passed and today Dan and I celebrate another wonderful year of marriage. Even though we are more settled than we were this time last year, it seems like this past year has gone by even quicker. Unfortunately Dan has to travel this week but we hope to make it to dinner sometime soon to celebrate.

Happy Anniversary, babe. We certainly aren't perfect, but we are perfect for each other!

Wuv Ewe

Last night Dan and I were putting Luke and Olivia to bed. It's was Dan's night to put Luke in bed, so I was giving him his good night kisses and telling him I love him before I took Olivia to her room. He looked at me, smiled and said "wuv ewe." I almost cried...sweetest words ever (along with momma and dadda)! Then we said it again and he said it again. He did it again tonight, and it is so cute. Luke-what a lil' sweetheart!

Fun times with mommy and daddy

Here is a pic of Luke, Olivia and me at Latta Plantation and of Dan and Luke at our neighborhood playground:

A new career

It's hard to believe I am already starting to think about Luke and Olivia's 2nd birthday. Didn't we just have their first birthday last week?

It's also time for me to start thinking about what I want to do regarding returning to work. I have been beyond blessed to be able to stay home these past (almost) 22 months with L and O. Initially, I was going to stay home for about 2 years and return to sales. However, after much discussion, we decided it would be best if I did something that didn't require travel. Dan has to travel so much for his job, and there is a chance we would need to be gone at the same time. This possibility just wasn't a good option for our family.

Plan B. I have thought for months and months about what I would like to do, and I considered several different options. Meanwhile, I was becoming very passionate about something that initially started as a hobby-photography. Not long after Luke and Olivia were born, we got a DSLR camera and I got interested in taking pictures. With my two adorable subjects, there was always a great photo op waiting! I took a few classes and spent countless hours photographing objects in different lighting, etc.

To make a long story short, my new career is born:
www.threelovesphotography.com

For me and our family, it's the perfect career for me. It allows me to be creative, meet lots of great people, use my mind, work flexible hours, and best of all...do something I absolutely love! I still have so much to learn, but it has been fun so far. I hope to try it for a few years, and once Luke and Olivia start school we will reevaluate things and see what lies ahead. Until then, say "cheese" =)

Fun with Oma and Opa

This past weekend we went to Oma and Opa's time share at Lake Hartwell, which is at the border of the SC/GA state line. We left Friday night around 8pm, just in time for Luke and Olivia to go to sleep. Our hopes were we could make the 2 1/2 hr drive without stopping. Thankfully Oma and Opa had the pack n plays all set up for our arrival, so we when got there around 10:30pm all we had to do was unload a few bags and put the babies right in bed. Smooth sailing!

Saturday we went to a huge flea market called the Jockey Lot in Anderson, SC. We enjoyed walking around and the babies loved checking out all of the junk for sale. After lunch and naps, Dan and I went to the outdoor pool. Luke had fun pouring water out of his mustard bottle while Olivia preferred to jump into the water. Dan's favorite game was "let's see how high L and O can fly." As you can see in the pics, they got some air! Sunday was pretty low key and included an ant following field trip around the trails. Monday and Tuesday Dan, Opa, and myself played golf (9 holes Monday and 18 on Tuesday) while Oma watched Luke and Olivia. After naps (daddy included), we either swam in the indoor pool, played at the outdoor playground, or went on more field trips that included lots of bug following. We were going to come home Tuesday night, but didn't get the car packed in time.

Wednesday morning we all got up pretty early and got the car loaded. There was another flea market on the way out of town, so we all stopped by there for awhile. It was pretty interesting because the stroller was packed. Luke and Olivia were troopers and walked/were carried for almost 3 hours. Olivia did LOTS of walking and I know her little legs were worn out. After a quick lunch, we headed for home while L and O napped in the car. As you can see in the pictures, they were both happy to be home and back in their chairs.

A whole new world

The time has finally come to turn Luke and Olivia's carseats into their forward facing position. We have been waiting until Olivia hit 20 pounds (she is barely there),and thought we would wait until their 2nd birthday before we turned them. But we noticed lately Luke is getting just a little too tall to be rear facing anymore, and we weren't about to turn one carseat and not the other!

Wow, what a whole new world...for them and for us! We can now talk about stoplights and oncoming traffic. They seem to be a lot happier with their new viewpoint, and I love being able to communicate with them easier. It's also lots easier to hand them a dropped toy, but only when the car is fully stopped, of course! =)

Before:




After pics soon.....

Take us out to the ballgame!

This past Saturday night we joined some friends and neighbors at the Charlotte Knights game, which was also Luke and Olivia's first time at a ballpark. Dan was SO excited to take them to a baseball game, and as luck would have it the Knights were playing against the Gwinnette Braves...perfect!

It only took us about 30 minutes to get to the field, which is located in Fort Mill, SC. We arrived about 45 minutes before game time, which gave us a little bit of time to explore. Luke and Olivia loved seeing all of the people, but they really loved putting the seats up and down and up and down and up and down and up, well, you get the point! They also loved eating fresh, hot greasy french fries-a ballpark staple. Luke sat on Dan's lap for awhile so he could tell him all about the game, while Olivia was content to play with her friends and walk around.

It was a nice but very muggy night (as you can see from their sweaty little faces), and L and O hung in there until about 9:30pm. We were hoping we could make it to the post game fireworks, but they didn't start until 10:15pm, which was well past their normal 8pm bedtime. We had a great time and look forward to more games in the future.

Consignment Sale Weekend

This past weekend was the Moms of Multiples consignment sale. I look forward to their sale every season as a chance to get stocked up on clothes, shoes, and toys for Luke and Olivia. As a member of CMOM'S, I was able to shop early and go Friday night. I arrived at about 5pm and didn't go home until about 10:45pm. Dan did great at taking care of Luke and Olivia all by himself during the dinnertime/bathtime routine. Thanks, babe!

I found lots of great things, including 2 Cozy Coupe cars and 2 tricycles (for Christmas). I also got snow suits, snow shoes, jackets, lots of clothes, and a few new puzzle toys. On Saturday, I had 3 friends that wanted to check out the 1/2 price sale, so I joined them on their bargain hunting adventure while Luke napped (Olivia decided not to nap on Saturday). We went to 2 sales, including the CMOM sale and I found a few more things at half off. Overall, it was a very productive, albeit slightly expensive, weekend.

Check out Luke and Olivia enjoying their new rides:

Our little Picasso's

Luke and Olivia had some fun with washable paints before bathtime recently. Notice that Olivia is covered in paint practically from head to toe. Now notice that Luke isn't covered in paint at all. So telling of their little personalities. Twins by birth only...=)

What a day

Olivia has had a little bit of yellow drainage coming from her nose for several days now. We know she is cutting her 2 year molars (top left) so I wasn't sure if the drainage was just from teething or from an ear infection. I decided to take her to the doctor just to be sure and luckily no ear infection. She does, however, have a virus in her throat as the doctor saw some irritation. She told us to watch it for several days and make sure she doesn't develop a sinus infection. Otherwise, we can give her some Tylenol/Motrin if she seems to have some discomfort. Dr. Semple also checked Luke for an ear infection and he was ok.

After the doctor, I met Meredith, Lilah and some other friends at Chick Fil A for playtime. Luke and Olivia were playing while I put the highchairs away. After only about 10 minutes of playing, my friend Anna told me Olivia had fallen and cut her lip. Well, it scared me to death when I first saw her because of all of the blood. I couldn't really tell if her tooth had gone all the way through her lip or if she had just bit her lip from both sides. I called the doctor (which is thankfully across the street) and they told me to bring her in. Nothing like 2 trips to the doctor by myself in one day!

Dr. Semple took a look and said she could probably use 1 stitch, but no one in the office did stitches anymore. She said we could do Dermabond, but because of the location it probably wouldn't work. Our only option was to take her to the ER and sedate her. This would be very stressful for everyone and expose her to lots of cooties as well. I called Dan and asked him to meet me at the office so we could decide together what to do.

We thought Olivia would be ok without a stitch, but we wanted to get a second opinion just to be sure. We took her to the urgent care across the street and the PA said she could do without a stitch. The cut was very small and the trauma vs benefit wasn't worth it.

So we headed for home and gave her some Motrin and lots of kisses. She seems no worse for wear and went right back to playing just like her normal self. Kids are so resilient!

20 Months old

Today is a small milestone for Luke and Olivia. They are 20 months old. Pretty soon their ages will be measured in years and not months, and that is just unbelievable to me. I would love to freeze time because this is such a fun age (aside from the teething!), but each age holds its own fun for sure.