We are blessed to have parents who are capable of chasing twins around and willing to keep them for a few nights. Last week, Michael and I went to NYC for five days while both set of grandparents rotated staying with A&H. Michael had a conference Wednesday through Friday, so I had 3 days to wander the city, shop, and DO WHATEVER I WANTED. I felt like my old self and back then I never knew to be thankful that I could mostly determine my own schedule all day. I got to see three friends who live in the city and we ate so well.
Rooftop patio at the Met.
Lego Indiana Jones at FAO Schwartz
Between the time our plane landed and us getting home to our babies, Allie took her very first steps! Yes, we missed them by 30 mintues. Serves us right, doesn't it? Leave your babies for five days and that was Allie's payback. She also gave me the cold shoulder for about 10 minutes after we got home. She let me know it that it was not nice that she didn't get to go to NYC. She showed me the back of her head every time I talked to her or tried to hold her. Or maybe she knew the grandparents were leaving and wanted us to go on back to where we came from. Anyways, it is so entertaining to watch Allie toddle around.
In one week, she went from 4 quick steps a couple of times a day to trying to walk almost everywhere she goes. These past two days, she is taking about 10 steps, falling down, and getting right back up again. At this rate, she won't be crawling at all by this time next week. It is amazing how quickly she has gained stability. We're trying to encourage Harper along by making a big deal out of Allie walking. She is just excited for Allie too. I believe the main reason Allie is walking and Harper isn't is sheer guts. Allie is fearless and not afraid to get a few bruises learning. Harper is going to hold onto a hand or furniture for dear life until she has a no-fall guarantee. Here is a video of Allie early last week:
A few weeks ago, Allie and I went on our first special trip together. She was very squirmy but also very happy on the plane. She got to meet her Texas friends:
Clark Christian
Twin boyfriends, Luke and William Evans.
Caroline Rowling and brother Tres not pictured :(
Harper had a blast shopping with Lovey at Scott's antique market on Friday and then loved the special attention from Dad all weekend long. It took her two or three days of adjusting after getting so much personal attention.
In October, we also:
Celebrated Halloween by trick-or-treating with a chicken...
Playing with Pumpkins
Wearing these hilarious outfits their Aunt Lauren gave them.
Riding the Pink Pig at Lenox Mall.
Hanging out with Uncle Bob (doesn't Allie look like him?)
Our baby girls are 1! On Saturday, we celebrated Allie and Harper, our survival, and the conclusion of an incredibly joyful year with friends and family in Piedmont Park. My event planner friend, Georgia, was so sweet to take these pics:
Ellie, the great-grandmother and pumpkin cupcakes
Allie: "Can i really have this cupcake?"
Harper: "I'm going for it."
Allie: "Me too!"
Getting messier
and messier
As usual, Allie isn't finished until her hair gets some too.
Oliver helped finish off the crumbs.
Charlie cheered them on.
such proud parents
Lovey feeding Harper MORE cupcake
With great-grandparents, Ellie and Granddaddy
The day kicked off with lots of presents delivered with love from Mississippi
What is your vote on what Allie and Harper should be for Halloween? This:
Or, this:
Times are achanging quickly. These girls love to get out of the stroller these days, which means I have to be on top of my game to keep up with two babes crawling opposite directions. There is no chit-chatting while they play, I've got to be in the zone to allow them to explore yet keep them from getting injured. Yesterday, I dashed to keep Allie from eating a discarded fruit snack on the playground, Harper made a run for it and was at the TOP of this slide by the time I got back to her. My heart skipped a beat!
In other news, Allie is going on her first plane ride tomorrow. I have been dying to go visit friends in Dallas and hold their new babies. There was no way that I was taking both ladies on a plane with me either, so yesterday, we flipped a coin and determined that Allie is going to Texas! Harper will get a fun weekend with Dad. We had to do a coin toss because I kept going back and forth on who to bring. Harper will get to go on the next trip. Stay tuned for pics of Allie with her Texas friends, Tres and Caroline Rowling, and twin friends: William and Luke Evans, and hopefully Clark Christian up from Austin. It's a big weekend in the Big D! Hook 'em Horns!
P.S. I just discovered the joys of Baby Einstein. They are oooing and ahhing and are glued to the TV right now and I can go pack. To all the Baby Einstein haters, don't worry I'll keep their veg out time to a minimum.
Allie and Harper are loving their new alphabet train. Soon I'll have to get some footage of them walking with it, but for now, check this out:
Also, we saw a movie star today. We were strolling around Piedmont park and came across a movie set. Standing right by the sidewalk was Kate Hudson with curly black hair eating a popsicle. Just looked it up and she is in Atlanta filming "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" with Kiefer Sutherland (star of 24). Allie and Harper were very chill about the sighting. Georgia is giving some major tax breaks for films and this is the third time I've walked up on a movie set in Piedmont Park.
Yesterday, Allie, Harper, and I had one of those moments where we walked up on something so cool, it felt like we shouldn't be there. I had that same feeling when Michael and I hopped on a boat across a lake in Switzerland. We weren't sure if it was included in our Eurorail pass and didn't want to find out that it wasn't, so we just jumped aboard. It was so beautiful and probably more fun because maybe we weren't supposed to be there.
Me on the Boat
The final destination of the boat, Chateau de Chillon in Montreax. Bonus points if you know whose poem made the Chateau famous!
So maybe what happened today wasn't quite as exciting and it was totally okay for us to be there: We got a mini private concert at the Botanical Gardens from Colbie Caillat and Andy Grammar. We just happened to be in the gardens when they were warming up, while all the people with tickets for the show were lined up outside. I didn't know who they were because I'm out of the music loop, but I did know several of CC's songs. Here is a music video of hers that is cute and funny in a weird way. You know the song, right? She warmed up and performed that song for Allie and Harper and two other kids. Then Allie and Harper had Andy Grammar all to themselves for his warm up. He sounds like an even more upbeat John Mayer. I'm a little shy to admit that sometimes you just need some happy John Mayerish music for a little pep in your step. Anyways, he's so handsome and we had a personal concert, just me, Allie, Harper and the sound team!
Personal Concert with Colbie Caillat
Today we walked around the Atlanta Arts Festival in Piedmont Park. We bought a hummingbird made out of a Cola-Cola can for our Christmas tree and a frame made out of a salvaged ceiling tile for a friend's birthday.
The blueberries are growing up so fast and reaching milestones left and right. This is a long catch-up post on their recent developments and the summer, with lots of pictures. To see how overphotographed these kids are, seethis album.
Around 9 months, Harper said her first word: ball. She and Allie both babble a lot of mama's and dada's but there is no doubt that she knows what a ball is and says it. I'm so glad I caught it on camera because she talked about balls for about a week, but since then I haven't been able to conjure up one sweet little "ball." This video also gives you a peek into how Allie and Harper interact. Harper likes to "pat" Allie, and they are starting to play tug of war for toys.
They have been so much happier since they started crawling ALL over the place. We went through a rough stretch when they were frustrated about not being able to move very far, but now I can actually have more than an hour of them happily entertaining themselves all over the house. They are also pulling up on everything; toilets are a particular favorite. Yesterday, Allie bee-lined for the toilet and started exuberantly splashing around. She did this twice before I wised up enough to close the lid and close the door.
Both girls love the water. Tonight my stomach hurt from laughing at how intensely they splashed in the bath tub. They splashed up a storm for 15 minutes straight and I've never seen them go to bed more easily.
Allie went from 2 teeth to 6 teeth poking through this week! Harper has 4 teeth (I think). Michael and I are also very proud that they can make bear, dog, and elephant noises. Here is proof of the bear noise from Allie:
Allie still excels at her party trick, though she is getting a little heavy for dad to hold her up for extended periods:
Jeff introduced us to this, and it's quite impressive that he can still support 16-month old Lucy.
We had some backyard fun at the Dutsons':
They LOVE their new activity table. A great find by me at Tater Tots Consignment:
Went to a free Play 2 Grow class organized by a twin mama in our twin playgroup. They loved bouncing and rolling around on a yoga ball, a fun activity we've taken to at home:
Had a blast with Lovey and D in Coolidge Park in Chattanooga:
OK, maybe Allie had more fun than Harper did on the merry-go-round.
They had their first day of Mom's Morning Out. Allie thought I dropped her off at Six Flags, and Harper missed her mama the whole time. All ready to go with their backpacks:
Why blueberries? When we first learned of our two baby girls (via ultrasound), that's how big they were. They looked like Teddy Grahams, with little stubby arms and legs. Sometimes they wiggled.
