Kara and Neale

Christmas

2012-01-05T23:53:00.007-05:00

It was great to have all of our families here for Christmas. This is the first year the girls really understood Santa so they were really excited. We put food out for the reindeer and left cookies and milk for Santa. The girls woke up went downstairs to see what Santa brought them. Taylor told me that she didn't ask Santa for a car and she did not want it. Apparently Santa is only allowed to bring exactly what is on her list. The girls did have a big time opening their presents. Taylor went back and forth on what she wanted from Santa. At first it was a tiger, then a hippo, then a dinosaur, then back to a hippo, etc. Well the final answer was the hippo and Santa did bring her that. Then she said to me in her little baby voice as she looked around at all of her presents,"Mama, did Santa bring me my tiger and my dinosaur?" (My heart sank) I said,"I don't know, baby. I don't see them."She had the saddest look on her face and she just said,"Oh." and sat in silence for a minute. I shouldn't have felt bad because they got more presents than any child needs but it still broke my heart. Santa will have to pay more attention next year! The girls got a car for Christmas. Taylor is actually a very cautious driver and she is actually really good at it. Kaylie - well she is much more concerned about how she looks in the car. She runs all over the place and flips her hair around. The girls dress themselves these days which is evident if you look at the photos.

I was in charge of the party for the girl's class at school. We read books, danced, anddecorated cupcakes. I think the kids had a great time. Taylor ate half of her cupcake before we even started decorating and Kaylie dumped everything she could on hers so it wasn't even edible.

Taylor has developed a major southern accent. It came out of nowhere and it is hilarious. Here are some bits and pieces of some conversations between me and the girls.

Kaylie (while waving her hands in the air while she talks)- "Mama, Santa ate all of our cookies! Why did he eat all of our cookies all gone?Santa is not nice."

Taylor was talking on her phone she got from Jeff and Kelley for Christmas.

Me - "Who are you talking to?"

Taylor - "Cinderella"

Me - "Oh, what did she say?"

Taylor - "She said her stepsisters BROKED her dress....her pretty pink dress."

Kaylie got mad at Taylor the other day and told her,"You are not my sister!"

The girls have started taking "M-nastics" (gymnastics). They seem to really enjoy it after they get there but getting them dressed and there is another story...I will probably have gray hair before long.

All is great here and we have the girls' 3rd birthday coming up in just a couple weeks! Time is flying by and I am enjoying every mintue with the girls.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2011-12-20T00:32:00.005-05:00

My how time flies! I just turned a year older, Neale's birthday is in a few days, and it is almost Christmas! The girls are growing way too fast for me. I can't believe they will be 3 in January. They are getting so big and the things that come out of their mouths just amaze me. They are so funny and they just seem so grown up. It is amazing the things a two year old knows and can pick up on. AND...they are just so stinkin' cute! I could just sit and watch and listen to them all day long. I LOVE, LOVE my babies!

Kaylie is wide open. She is skinny as could be and it is because she can't sit still. She is full of energy. She still hasn't hit the 30 lb mark and she is almost 3. She talks and talks and wants to go, go , go. The only way to get her to calm down is to put a princess show on tv and then you can talk to her and she won't hear a word you say. She has become such a girlie girl. She insists on wearing "pretty dresses" every day. She has to have a pony tail and a headband or a crown. She wants chap stick or "lips" as she calls it. She is such a sweet child. If she accidentally runs into you or does something she immediately says "Well I am so sorry" and gives you a hug. She loves to snuggle and give hugs. Tonight she told me, "I love you, beautiful." She loves to dress up, read books, sing, dance, and watch cartoons.

Taylor is mellow and laid back most of the time. She does like for things to go her way and does get upset if you don't let her do everything by herself. She wants to open the doors, flush the toliet, let out the dogs, clean the house, etc. Many times she has gotten the mop out of the closet and dipped it in the dog's water bowl and mopped the kitchen. She loves to read and her favorite thing to read is Professional Photographer Magazine. She doesn't really care about dresses BUT she wears my shoes daily. I find them all over the house. She has become really attached to her blanket and it has to have the yellow side up. She also loves to cuddle and is as sweet as can be. She loves to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer".

The girls are excited about Christmas! We went to see Santa. Kaylie had the biggest smile and most excited look on her face when we got up to Santa. You could see the magic of Christmas in her eyes. Then..... Taylor started screaming so Kaylie started screaming. Neale and I had to hop into the Christmas photo or there was no way they were going to sit there with him. We prepped for it by telling them how nice Santa was and that they needed to tell him what they wanted for Christmas. They were so excited but they just got scared. Then after the whole screaming incident we walked off and Kaylie told me that we couldn't leave because she forgot to tell Santa what she wanted. She asked me to go back and tell him for her. So I went back and told him that she wanted an elephant. He said okay and we started to go. Poor Kaylie started balling her eyes out. She thought she was going to get the elephant right then. Oops. Kaylie wants an elephant for Christmas and Taylor wants a hippo. Taylor did want a tiger but I managed to steer her away from that. And...they wanted the real thing. I explained to them that real animals bite so they quickly changed their minds and decided stuffed animals would do just fine. We wrote letters to Santa. The girls helped me hold the pen and write a letter to him and they told me what to say. The girls had a Christmas show at school. The teacher said during practice that Taylor sang louder than anyone else but during the actual performance everyone kind of froze and just smiled but it was still precious.

Now that busy season is coming to an end, I hope to post much more often. The girls have said and done so many cute things but since I haven't written them down I have forgotten them all so I plan to post more often.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Photos Soon

2011-11-11T08:59:00.013-05:00

Time is flying by and we have been so busy but hopefully I will have time to post more often soon. (After I get all my Christmas orders out!)

Since I am the room mom I put together a Halloween party for the girls' classroom. The kids painted pumkpins, we read Halloween stories, and they had a Halloween themed lunch with cupcakes. The kids had a great time. Halloween was freezing here! Kaylie was Cinderella and Taylor was Ariel. Kaylie is just like me and she is always cold. She is always telling me, "I don't want to be cold mommy." She ended up wearing a sweater under her costume. Taylor was so into trick or treating that she could have cared less how cold it was. She would go to every door and come back and say "More candy." She was on a mission. Of course Kaylie still doesn't like sweets so she was into getting the candy but not eating it.

I have two little divas. Every day when Kaylie gets home the first thing she does is put on a costume, a tiara, and dress shoes. Then she says,"I am so beautiful now." She will tell me to take her picture. Every time I turn around she has on another costume. It always has a crown or a headband, etc. with it. This morning we went out to breakfast and Kaylie wore a tiara. The waitress asked us if it was her birthday. Every morning Kaylie has to pick out her own outfit. She usually shows up to school in a dress or skirt with sunglasses and a headband or tiara. She makes quite the fashion statement. Taylor is just into shoes and she likes to have her fingernails painted.

Kaylie is still all over the place and hyper and Taylor is still laid back. They are opposite in just about every way. Taylor is very concerned about her sister. She will get a juice box and say, "I need to get one for my sister." They were watching "Sleeping Booty" (Beauty) and it scared them. Taylor said "That witch is not going to get my sister."

The girls went to a birthday party on a pirate boat in the Inlet and had a big time. They got their faces painted and got to squirt the pirate on another boat with water cannons. They got treasure (rings and coins) which Taylor was thrilled about. She left a ring in the bathroom and had a meltdown because " I lost my treasure".

The other night I got home from work and Taylor came and sat on my lap and started talking.....and kept talking for 30 minutes nonstop. Taylor is usually quiet so it was unusual. I mean she didn't take a breath. She was telling me about her day, her teachers, a movie she watched at school where they cut off the princesses' hair, etc. Finally Kaylie held her finger up to her mouth and said ,"Shh! Taylor be quiet. Shh!"

When Kaylie is being bad I give her until the count of 3 to do what I have asked. Now when she knows I am getting frustrated she looks at me very seriously and says,"Don't count."

Today during nap the girls were being loud, doing backflips off their beds, and both jumping in Taylor's bed. I could see and hear them on the monitor. I yelled upstairs for them to be quiet and go to bed. Taylor told Kaylie,"Be quiet so mommy can watch her football game."

Neale and I went on our annual trip to Key West with all of our "Parrothead" friends. Jimmy Buffett showed up and played. We had a great time and I had computer issues so I actually hardly worked for 5 days straight (now I am suffering for that and way behind but it was nice)! His mom and Dale were kind enough to stay with the girls which we appreciate! I know the girls had a great time with them and they ended up with new books, clothes, shoes, etc. that are a huge hit.

A couple weeks ago my parents were in town and my dad tried to get the girls to say "Go Tigers". Kaylie said,"No granddad. It is 'Go Gamecocks'. You need to go to timeout."

I will post photos soon.

"You are both mommies"

2011-10-12T23:36:00.005-04:00

Taylor (in Halloween colors not to be confused with Clemson)

Taylor picking berries to make pretend pie and picking flowers

Turn your head for one minute and the walls or Taylor get colored!

Partying like a rockstar! Kaylie loves to dress up and of course she has to pick out her own clothes. Part of this is her Halloween costume.

Kaylie puts on a crown or a hairbow and says "Now I am so beautiful" .

Kaylie is full of energy. She is quite the talker these days. She is non-stop constantly going whether it is dressing up, singing, talking, running, or squealing with excitement. The other day I picked the girls up from daycare and Kaylie said,"Mommy, I love you and you love me. You are both mommies. You are my mommy and you are Taylor's mommy."

Kaylie always tells me there is an alligator on the ceiling in the corner of her room. She asks me if he is going to get her.

I was tucking the girls into bed and Kaylie said (just like she was ordering from a menu),"I want a hug and a kiss and a 'I love you' and a 'Have sweet dreams'."

Kaylie told me,"Mama you are a good girl. I am so proud of you. You will always be my baby."

Taylor's favorite song is "Jesus Loves Me". Kaylie sings it and then tells me as she nods her head,"Jesus is SO STRONG mama. He is SO STRONG."

Kaylie is into dressing up. She has to pick everything out herself and if you pick something out for her she will absolutely not wear it. Taylor is into shoes. She could spend all day putting on my shoes. She gets them out of my closet and wears them all over the house.

Neale talks in his sleep and so do both girls. Last night I went into the girls room to check on them and Taylor was said,"I want to put on the other pair of shoes." She is so obsessed with shoes that she is even dreaming about them!

Both girls are potty trained except they wear Pull-ups to bed at night. After Kaylie went to the bathroom Taylor told her,"YAY! I am so proud of you!"

The girls are as opposite as could be. We took the girls to Octoberfest last weekend. They got their faces painted and jumped in the bouncy castles. Taylor held her head down the whole time the lady tried to paint he face. Kaylie had her head held back and thought she was a princess! Even a stranger at the festival said that just by watching them there she could tell that Kaylie was wide open and Taylor is laid back. They are opposites but they are both the sweetest, most loving little girls. I am so blessed!

The Things We Say & Do

2011-09-28T21:25:00.016-04:00

Kaylie in my shirt

Taylor had a runny nose and I was taking some photos of the girls. I told Kaylie to give Taylor a kiss. She emphatically replied, "No, I'm not gonna kiss Taylor cause she has boogies."

On two occasions Kaylie has woken up really early in the morning when it is still dark. I can hear her on the monitor. She cries and screams, "Taylor!" repeatedly. Finally Taylor wakes up and groggily says "Right here" and then silence and they both go back to sleep. I guess she just wants to make sure her sissy is still there.

Kaylie is in to putting on dresses and headbands. As soon as she puts them all on she looks at me and says, "Now I so beautiful mama."

Taylor took it upon herself to go into the pantry and get the mop. She dipped it in the dog's water bowl and started cleaning!

At first when the girls were born I thought Taylor looked like me. Now everyone says Taylor looks just like Neale and Kaylie looks just like me. I haven't really been able to see a big resemblance in either of us until this week. Kaylie got a haircut and she was sitting on my lap and I was looking at her profile and it was just like looking at a picture of myself when I was little.

We took the girls to build a bear workshop and they got to make their own stuffed animals. Taylor was into it and Kaylie pitched a fit at first and then she got into it too. Taylor made "Doggy" and Kaylie made "Bunny". They got to give their animals a bath which was a hit especially with Taylor.

Halloween is around the corner. Now Taylor tells me she is going to be Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Kaylie tells me she is going to be Minnie Mouse. We will see if they change their minds. I have been explaining to them how Halloween works and how they have to go to the people's doors and say "Trick or Treat" to get candy. Kaylie told me she doesn't want to do that. She just wants to dress up and get candy.

I am so blessed to have these little angels in my life!

Appendicitis

2011-09-13T10:19:00.010-04:00

After just having appendicitis and having my appendix removed I have to tell you that I am very grateful to have the family and friends that I do. I am grateful for having a friend and a husband who insisted I go to the hospital, for my parents who dropped what they were doing and drove down to help, for friends in the photography business that stepped in and picked up the work that I could not do, and for my sweet babies who keep wanting to "kiss your boo-boo". I am feeling much better now! I am way behind on posting so I plan to post a bunch soon.

Kaylie and Taylor are doing great in their new classroom. I am going to be the Room Mom. My mom always volunteered when I was young and I want to do the same for my girls. I may put the girls in a gymnastics class. We are on the waiting list so we will see. Neale and I want them to be around more kids. I guess they interact with other kids at school but not much out of school so we are trying to change that.

Kaylie is all about dressing up, playing with my hair, wearing as many bows, headbands (on sideways), and crowns. She loves to watch tv. We never used to let her watch much and ever since The Little Mermaid she is hooked. Dora, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, Agent Oso and Barney are her favorites. She is a sweet little girl and she tells me,"I'm your sugarbear."

Taylor is cuddly. She sits on my lap and chats and asks a million questions when I do let Kaylie watch tv. She asks about where the sun went and is the sun going to come back up and when, etc. She is very inquisitive. The other day she told me in her baby voice, "I am wearing big girl panties. I am not a baby anymore. But I am YOUR baby." She definitely is and will always be that!

Growing Up

2011-08-28T00:16:00.014-04:00

Taylor in Edisto

Kaylie in Edisto

Taylor

Taylor and Mama

Kaylie and Mama

Us in Edisto

Kaylie posing for photos

Taylor posing for photos...she dressed herself. She has her shirt inside out and backwards and my shoes

Taylor on the Big Girl Potty

Building Turtles in the sand with Daddy at Grandpa's condo

Kaylie

Visiting with Grandma Fran and Grandpa Dale

I can't believe how much the girls have changed this year. Taylor is so talkative. She asks non-stop questions. Lately she is very well behaved and loves to hug and snuggle. She is very concerned about her sister. She will get stuff for her and the other night when they were in bed I heard her say, "Are you okay Kaylie?" She does great with going on the potty. I need to get her into a gymnastics class because she is constantly tumbling. Last night she was doing backflips off her chair.

Kaylie does great when she is rested and she has major meltdowns if she doesn't get a nap. She is definitely more of a handful right now than Taylor. I bought her The Little Mermaid for the car ride to Edisto and she is obsessed with Ariel now. She has always had the Ariel doll but was never really interested in it but now Ariel has new meaning and she is all about her. She sleeps with the Ariel doll, wears Ariel pajamas, and asks to watch The Little Mermaid at least 5 times a day. Kaylie is giggly and sweet as can be when she has had sleep. She likes to pose for photos.

When I tell the girls to do something they have started saying "No, you don't tell me." I explained to them that I DO tell them because I am the boss. Neale told them to do something and they said "No, you don't tell me." Neale told them he does and he is the boss and they said "No, mommy is the boss." Haha...we are working on their listening and obeying right now.

Taylor recently told me "Kaylie is a mine-o-saur" (which means she says all the toys are "mine"). She also said "Kaylie is a crybaby."

There are so many funny things the girls have said. I should have written them down but if I can remember them I will write about them later..but for now I gotta go back to work.

Vacation in Edisto

2011-08-14T20:52:00.008-04:00

We just got back from Edisto Beach. I haven't posted in a long time because I am swamped with work. Gettting out of town was not easy but it sure was nice. We went down with my mom , dad, Jeff (brother) and Kelley(sis-in-law). It was great to spend time with all of them and of course with Neale and the girls. I treasure my time with my girls. They are just changing so much that I want to just be with them every minute. I can't even begin to tell you how sweet they are and how funny the things are that come out of their mouths. They constantly entertain and surprise me. I have no idea where the week went. We spent part of the days at the pool but it was HOT so you had to stay in the water the whole time which the girls enjoyed. The got floaties and noodles so they could float by themselves (in arms reach of course because those floaties aren't too floaty). Taylor liked going up and down the stairs and going to the "kitty kat" (kiddie) pool. Kaylie liked riding on my back. They both swam to us wth their floaties on. Neale and I took the golf cart too far and got stuck and had to get towed back by a car and an extension cord. I have a lot more to write but I have work to do so for now I am just posting a couple photos but more to come...

We are 2 and 1/2

2011-07-26T14:46:00.011-04:00

The girls turned 2 and 1/2 on Saturday! I don't know where time is going but I do know it is going by too quickly! A quick update on what has been going on...photos to follow hopefully this weekend....if I can get caught up on my work!

The 4th of July was fun. We went to Coach and Candy's house. The girls got to do sparklers and watch the fireworks. They weren't scared of them which surprised me. Taylor is usually scared of everything. She is now scared of the dark. I got a nightlight for her room but she still says it is dark. I was terrified of the dark when I was little. I remember not wanting to spend the night at my friend's house because it was dark because she kept her bedroom door shut.

The girls can sing the alphabet and count to ten. They can sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "The Wheels on the Bus", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "You Are My Sunshine", etc. They love to sing. They love to dance. They know "M" is for "Mom", "A" is for "Apple", and a bunch of letters and a word that begins with that letter. They can identify about 10 of the letters, They know their colors. This morning Kaylie told me she wanted a yellow hair bow. She has been asking for yellow a lot lately so I asked her if that is her favorite color and she said yes. I asked Taylor what her favorite color is and she said "Orange". That made me cringe because of the Clemson Tigers and then what she said next made it even worse. She said "and purple". Oh no, I will have to work on that!

Kaylie got dressed yesterday and then said matter of factly,"I pretty, mama." Taylor but on a dress this morning and said in her baby voice "Nana likes this dress. It is beautiful." Nana and Granddad just came to visit while Neale was in Virginia taking classes for his Masters in Special Education. They were a huge help and the girls loved seeing them. They enjoyed putting Granddad in time out.

The girls often pretend to go shopping and to go to work. When you ask them what they are shopping for it is always "shoes". When you ask them what they do at work they always say "I take pictures of babies." They even pretend to type on their toy laptop. Kaylie sat with me the other day when I was editing photos. She caught on pretty quickly. She would say "His eyes are closed" and point to a person on the screen because she knew I would delete that photo.

On occasion when I tell the girls to do something they will say "No". My response was, "Don't tell me 'no'." So now when I tell them "No." They say "No, you don't tell me 'No'." They say it like I am doing something wrong. Oops. I forget them mimick me ....often. Taylor will say "Mama, Kaylie told me No." and then she will tell Kaylie, "You no tell me no". Taylor likes to tell on Kaylie when she does something she isn't supposed to. Taylor is very talkative and very inquisitive. She is constantly asking questions. "Mom, what's that, mom?"

Kaylie is a happy girl. She gets excited easily and when she is excited she runs around and squeals. She always tells me, "I'm a good girl mama." She likes to take pictures with her camera and likes for me to take pictures of her. She will let me take one or two and then say "I'm all done mama." She loves to play with my hair and give me "piggy tails". She is very sensitive and gets her feelings hurt easily. When she gets upset the only thing that will calm her down is for you to hug her or for her to hug a stuffed animal. Minnie Mouse is her favorite right now. She tries hard to be good and listen and to make me proud.

Taylor is sweet, independent, and stubborn. She wants to do what she wants to do and she will pitch a fit if you don't let her. She has to have things a certain way. She has to turn on the lights, flush the toilet, shut the door, feed the dogs, etc. She has to do EVERYTHING by herself. She is very inquisitive and talks a lot. She loves to tumble and do front flips out of her bed. She has the silliest face when I take photos of her. I will post some soon. She smiles as big as she can and closes her eyes.

At night when they girls go to bed we usually read some books. The other night I was reading this book about construction on a street called "Easy Street". The girls had every word memorized and sang it with me and danced and jumped up and down on their beds. I wish I had it on video. After I give them multiple hugs and kisses and flip their blankets to the "other side" Taylor always says "Have good dreams Mom."

Gee-boo!

2011-07-04T14:48:00.013-04:00

The girls have started taking swimming lessons. Neale and I both go because so we can each hold one of them in the water. They seem to really enjoy it. They have learned to blow bubbles, go underwater, float on their backs, kick on the kickboard, and jump off the side into the pool. Since we go to the beach on the weekends I want to make sure the girls learn to swim as soon as possible. We also got the girls a new plastic little pool so they can play in the water in the backyard. We would really like to move to a new neighborhood with a pool but until the market turns around a little bit we are staying put.

We have started separating the girls at nap time. One will sleep in their bedroom and the other one will sleep on a cot in the hall. Usually whoever is in the hall will nap and whoever is in the bedroom will play the whole time. The girls are doing great going potty. The good thing about the pull ups is that the girls can go to the bathroom by themselves. The bad thing is that they can take them off by themselves. The other day Taylor was sleeping in the hall and I guess she woke up with a dirty diaper. Next thing I know a dirty diaper comes flying over the stair railing down to the bottom of the steps. Nice....

The girls came home from school with some artwork. It had sparkles on it which ended up everywhere. The girls told me they had "farkles" on their faces. Kaylie says "Gee-Boo" for "Thank You". Taylor laughs and tells me "Kaylie said Gee-Boo."

Dancing

2011-06-27T07:42:00.003-04:00

My Dancing Girls

2011-06-27T07:30:00.003-04:00

Taylor Reading Huggle Buggle Bear

2011-06-26T21:24:00.004-04:00

Growing So Fast

2011-06-22T16:19:00.013-04:00

At this age the girls change so quickly! They are wearing Dora and princess pull ups and working on potty training. They ask me if they can go to the potty quite a bit - especially Taylor. I think she is mostly excited about the fact the she gets to dump her little potty tray into the big potty and flush the toliet.

Naps are almost non-existant but they still have to stay in their rooms for about two hours. I will turn on the monitor and see the girls doing front flips out of their beds (onto pillows on the floor). Sometimes we will go to get them up from nap and every piece of folded clothes from both dressers will be in a huge pile on the floor. At night they girls will try to put off going to bed. They tell us to "Cubit" them which means to cover them up and then they say "other side" which means we have to turn the blanket over. Then they need hugs and kisses and want juice. Neale and I are pretty good about not giving in to multiple requests. We give hugs and kisses cover them up and then turn the blanket over once and then that is it. This morning when I woke up I heard Kaylie singing her little heart out on the monitor. I think it was a song she made up. They love to sing "You Are My Sunshine", "ABC's", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Happy Birthday", etc. Last night when the girls went to bed they were singing a duet of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm".

The girls still prefer reading over anything else. Grandma Fran and Grandpa Dale just visited and brought some new books which the girls love. The girls will read the books to me and they have heard them so many times that they have the words memorized. Yesterday Kaylie was reading me a book of colors. She did exactly what I normally do. She would say " What color is this Mommy?" and I would answer her. She sould say " Good girl, Mommy." and turn the page to ask me about the next one. Fran bought them an ABC book and taught Kaylie several letters. She would say "K" is for Kaylie, "T" is for Taylor, "M" is for Mommy, etc. Then she would ask Kaylie where the letters were and Kaylie got them all correct. She has about 10 of the letters memorized.

The things they say are funny. Taylor told me ," Kaylie is a crybaby." If you ask them who is their best friend Taylor will say, "Kaylie is my best friend." and Kaylie will say, " Taylor is my best friend." Then they argue over it. Sometimes they tell me that they are going to work. I will ask them what they do at work and they will say "I take pictures of babies". And my favorite - when I go to work and come home I will say "I missed you!" And Kaylie will say " I missed you too, Mama!" or " I luge (love) you too!" Taylor just plants a big wet kiss on my lips!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T23:22:00.012-04:00

This is me in a Christmas stocking meeting my dad! I was adopted and my Aunt Jannie picked me up in Nebraska and flew me to Greenville SC to meet my amazing parents and brother, Jeff.
My Daddy and Mom

Me with my brother, Jeff

In looking for some old photos of my Dad I found this one of me on my Big Wheel when I was little. Since my girls love their Big Wheels I thought I would share.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers!

I am so blessed to have an amazing daddy! He is one of the smartest, kindest, most sincere, genuine, and most successful people I know. He is full of knowledge and I can go to him with anything and he will have an answer. When I was little and he would get mad at me he never really raised his voice but he would give me a look and I knew what that meant. He has always taken an interest in my life and he has been a huge influence on me. When I was little he built me a huge playhouse by hand, used to drive me around on the tractor, rake piles of leaves for me to jump in, built me snowmen (or by the looks of the photos they were snowwomen), helped try to teach me piano, played basketball with me, tried to teach me math (and he was so smart it would drive me crazy because he would go into these lengthy explanations and I just wanted the way to get the quick answer), and sat through my dance recitals. When I was in my pre-teenage years he would drive my friends and myself around in the car and dance to whatever was on the radio. It embarassed me to death but my friends thought it was hilarious. When I began my career in photography he picked it up too. We took trips to Colorado and Hawaii and bored my mom by planning the stops around where we could get the best photos. I definitely got my work ethic and drive to want to be successful by watching him. He is also amazing with Kaylie and Taylor. They call him "AhhhDaa" which means Granddad. I am so proud to have him as my father!

I Love My Girls!

2011-06-06T22:11:00.007-04:00

Ready for our 1st day in our new class

Playing in the pool

No fear...flying down the driveway

"Sissy push me"

Come On Sissy

Today the girls started a new class at daycare. I think they adjusted pretty well. They are growing up too fast! I tried to prepare them by telling them about the new class ahead of time which I think helped. The girls are full of conversation these days. When I am working and I call home to talk to Neale all I hear in the background is screaming " HI MOMMY! HI MOMMY!". When I get home Kaylie runs to the door as fast as she can screaming "MOMMY!" and jumps on me and gives me lots of hugs and kisses. I tell her I missed her and she will say " I missed you too Mommy. I love you." AWWW!!! Taylor does it sometimes too but Kaylie is especially a mama's girl. The moments like that make the meltdowns more bearable. What do you do when two 2 year olds decide to throw down on the floor and scream at the top of their lungs in Walmart when every person in Walmart is staring at you? Just getting back to the car is a major ordeal. Luckily this behavior is rare but "Oh My Goodness" (as Taylor would say) when it does! Honestly the girls are well behaved but when they are sick or tired you best stay at home.

The girls have been sick but are starting to feel better. They went to the doctor and Kaylie weighed 24 lbs 12 oz. and Taylor weighed 25.5 lbs. Taylor thinks she is a gymnast. When she is supposed to be napping she jumps on the bed and dives and rolls head first off the bed. And of course...Kaylie follows in her footsteps. Sunday we went to the beach and Kaylie and I were out in the ocean for a long time. I couldn't get Taylor to go out with me. Kaylie didn't want to go back in. It is a good thing we did go in though because about 5 minutes after we went in everyone was called out of the water for a shark and a stingray that were right in front of us in knee deep water. I saw them both and then we decided it was time to go back home.

The girls can hold actual conversations now. They will tell me they want to sing songs and tell me which ones. They tell me what they do and don't want to eat and what they want to do each day. I love being able to understand everything they say but it also makes me realize my little girls are growing up so fast. They are still the sweetest and most loving girls. I am so blessed.

"Oh My Goodness"

2011-05-30T23:50:00.005-04:00

T looks like she is ready for dance lessons!

Giving Sissy a kiss

We had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. My parents came to visit. I put my dad to work and he assisted me on a wedding. He taught himself photography and he is amazing at it so I was thrilled to have his help. Thanks Dad! The girls were happy to see them. When Taylor would wake up she wouldn't call for "mama".....it was "Nana!". They love their Nana. Nana and "AhDa" (granddad) read lots of books to he girls while they were here. They still LOVE to read.

Taylor's new saying is "Oh my goodness." She sounds adorable when she says it. Kaylie likes to tell on Taylor. Taylor colored in the books and on the back of the couch so Kaylie likes to show it to me and say " T colored it." Taylor smiles and says "No, Kaylie did it." We are teaching the girls not to say "Mine!" and fight over toys. We have a book about a Minosaur (Dinosaur that says Mine) so every time the girls say "mine" we ask them if they are a mineosaur. They reply "No, I not a Minosaur". They are moving up to a new classroom in daycare next week.

"Me gonna take a picture"

2011-05-21T09:07:00.009-04:00

I told Kaylie to smile for me and this is what she did

Team Day at School

CRAZY DAY AT SCHOOL

Photos from the visit with Neale's friend, "Buckles" (from the army)

Taylor pushing his daughter in the babydoll stroller

Neale and Buckles

The girls

Thurs. night there was a fundraiser for the daycare at Chik Fil A so we went. There were kids everywhere on the playground. The girls went up on the playset but they wouldn't go down the slide or go past where they could see me. They see to be much more calm, shy, and scared of things than the other kids. Of course they were younger than most of the other kids there. Friday night we had family night and acted like tourists. We went to Ripleys Aquarium. The girls loved seeing the fish and sharks. Then we took the girls on the Merry Go Round and a Car Ride at Broadway at the Beach and went to Margaritaville for dinner. Taylor especially loved the car ride. She always dives into my front seat and pretends to drive when I am putting Kaylie in her carseat so she was thrilled to get to drive her own car. Taylor took her toy from Chik Fil A and pretended it was a camera and took photos of the rides and Kaylie. She said "Me gonna take a picture." " Me take a picture of Kaylie." Looks like they are learning early!

"Me Lika Da Beach"

2011-05-15T22:01:00.005-04:00

My Cool Sunglasses
Maybe mom can't see me with my super cool sunglasses because I know I am not supposed to be playing on her computer

"Me See!" Kaylie lets me take her photo if she can look at the back of the camera afterwards

"Me Lika Da Beach" Kaylie says. We have actually made it into a little chant. Neale and I sing it and the girls think we are "silly".

"Me Do It"

Throwing seashells in the ocean

We have been trying to go the beach as a family when we can. The girls really like it. Kaylie loves the ocean. She is amazed by it. She wants to go stand and look at it the whole time we are there. She didn't want to touch the water but I got her to put her feet in and then by the end she was in the water up to her chest and Neale got Taylor to do it too.

Today we went to Haylie's 8th birthday party at the zoo. The girls weren't scared of the animals like they have been in previous visits. They were really intersted in watching the big kids at the party.

Taylor thinks she is super cool in sunglasses. Tonight she was walking around like a little diva.

Life is good!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-05T08:46:00.015-04:00

Nana and the girls on Easter

Kaylie giving "T" all the candy in the eggs

Kaylie's first real camera

Charlotte at Jimmy Buffett

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers! My day was pretty perfect. We went to the beach and then lunch. Kaylie is scared of the ocean but she really wants to get close to it so she had me hold her and stand with my feet in the water for a long time. She watched the waves (and said "another one!" every time they came in) and gathered seashells. Taylor is scared and doesn't want to go near the water. She played in the sand. I snuck away for a little bit to go shopping and then came back and spent some time with the girls before I started editing photos. Kaylie climbed up behind me in my computer chair and scratched my back. Then Taylor wanted to do it too. I would say that made for a pretty perfect day. I absolutely adore my babies. They are honestly the sweetest, most loving little girls on the planet.

Our life is back to pure insanity as you can tell by the gap in my posting. Busy season has hit and so I am back to working until 2 in the morning most nights so I haven't taken many photos of the girls lately. Plus Kaylie is in major need of a haircut but my weekends are so packed that I haven't been able to take her.

Easter was great. Neale and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary (we have been together over 12 years total). We went to the Jimmy Buffett concert in Charlotte and then spent the rest of the weekend in Greenville with my parents. I think the Easter Bunny hid about 100 eggs for the girls to find. They also got stuffed animals, clothes, sidewalk chalk, coloring books, and toys. He may have gone a little overboard but the girls loved it. Kaylie was really into getting the eggs and Taylor was really into eating everything out of every one she found. Even our dog Roxy managed to snag an egg too. The Easter Bunny put jellybeans, animal cookies, applejacks, etc. in them. The girls really don't eat candy any other time. Kaylie opened her eggs and said "No like it" and gave "T" all her jellybeans and "T" happily ate them all. I was sick so I didn't get photos like I normally would. Tina, Kendall, Brayden, and their 6 week old twins came over for dinner that night. The girls loved to look at the babies. They would go up to them and stare at them and rub their feet. For days they said"See babies?"

When I was growing up and I heard my mom yell "Kara Suzanne Stovall!" that meant I was in trouble. The other day I was getting ready for work and Kaylie hopped in our big bathtub. Taylor shook her pointed finger at Kaylie and said in her baby shouting voice "KAYLIE CHINN GET OUT!" Oh, the things they pick up.

The girls are very into their clothes, shoes, and hairbows. Taylor told me the other day "Me have cool shoes." She also said "Daddy has a cool ride" but I think she may have been coached to say that one.

Neale had a friend ("Buckles") from the army in town so we went out to dinner with him and his family last week. The girls love to go "Out to eat!". They ask me often if we can go shopping or out to eat. They say "Me go shopping?" or Taylor will say "Taylor go shopping?". They also came over and we grilled out Friday night. Their daughter is almost 2 so the girls played with her. Taylor pushed her around in her babydoll's stroller and Kaylie kept giving her hugs.

The girls have slept through the night since they were 3 months old with no problems. We have never put them in our bed because there are two of them and if you put one in the bed then you have to put the other one in too and if you put them both in bed then it becomes a jumping on the bed party. We tried it once and then realized with two that just doesn't work. It has actually turned out to be a good thing. On the weekend I will wake up at 6:30 and hear the girls up talking and saying "Momma!" I will yell down the hall "Go back to bed. It isn't time to get up yet." They actually GO BACK TO SLEEP! WooHoo! I didn't think that would work. Neale and I have been able to sleep in until about 9 several times. They have started trying different tactics to get us to go back into their room at night when we put them to bed. They will tell me the need juice or "Momma cubit" which means "cover me up". I will go up there 1 time to re-cover them if needed but that is it. I tell them "This is the last time" when I am up there and that usually works. They know I am not coming back so they go to sleep or talk. Taylor loves to sleep. Kaylie talks and sings for about an hour after we put her to bed. Taylor will talk to her for about 20 minutes and then she is out. I can hear Kaylie say "T", "T", "T" trying to get Taylor to wake up. It reminds me of when I was little. I was an early riser and my friends wouldn't wake up for several hours after I was awake. I would get so bored I would turn the pages of books really loud or open and close the velcro on my shoes trying to make noise to wake them up.

The Easter Bunny got the girls their first real digital cameras for Easter. I had fun teaching them how to use them. Shooting at 2! YAY! Way to make momma proud. Kaylie will pose for photos now as long as she gets to see the photo after you take it. Now if only I had the time to take her photos!

Chatty Girls

2011-04-13T09:30:00.020-04:00

I love my new slide

I see a birdie

I love "Adaugh" (Granddad)

Our "Nana"

Our new playset

Mama did this to my hair

Granddad and Neale hard at work

Feeding my bear

Eating sissy's food

Daddy teaching us how to play golf

The girls change so much every day. It feels like yesterday they were just saying single words or little phrases but now they are super chatty. Taylor loves to get into these long, serious conversations. She does hand motions and all. Usually when she goes into the long conversations I have no idea what she is talking about because she babbles non-stop but she is very serious about whatever it is. It is nice to be able to communicate with the girls and for them to be able to understand what I tell them and respond. I can actually reason with them some now. If I tell Kaylie she can have her frootloops later when we go downstairs she understands that and will wait patiently instead of crying. They also remember everything you tell them. In the car on the way to daycare I told them that was Taylor Swift singing and that it is another girl that also has the name Taylor. When we got back in the car I still had that cd playing and Taylor told me "That's Taylor singing".

Kaylie is outgoing and full of energy. She is a little shy but it doesn't take her long to warm up to someone new. She gets super excited about everything. She opens her eyes and mouth as wide as she can, squeals and takes off running. She is a very happy child and also very emotional. She gets her feelings hurt very easily. If you yell at her for something she does (but then you realize she didn't actually do it on purpose) she will get the saddest face you have ever seen. Her bottom lip comes out and she gets the saddest eyes with tears in them. She tries to hold it in and then she bursts into tears and runs for hugs from mama. Kathy (teacher at daycare) told me that she was painting Kaylie's toenails and a parent came in the classroom so she had to stop for a second. When she looked back down Kaylie had taken the purple fingernail polish and painted Kathy's leg. Kathy fussed at her and Kaylie immediately burst into tears and said "Kathy pretty". Kathy said she felt bad because she then realized she wasn't trying to be mischievious but was trying to be nice. She gets her feelings hurt so easily. She is such a sweet girl. Kaylie doesn't like cookies or cake or most things sweet. If it was up to her then her diet would only consist of bananas, grapes, applejacks, milk and turkey hotdogs. Bananas ('Nanas") are by far her favorite. We actually have to tell her she can't have anymore most days. Kaylie usually eats all of her dinner and 3/4ths of Taylor's too.

Kaylie came up to me and decided to give me a list of things she likes. She put her arm around me and the conversation went like this: "I like grapes, I like hotdogs, I like nanas, I like milk, I like Mickey Mouse, I like ABCD, I like Goofy, I like doggy, I like outside." She went on and on about what she likes. I think she said grapes and hotdogs about 10 times....maybe I need to change their menu...haha.

Taylor is much more shy. She even takes a while to warm up to family that she hasn't seen in a while. If you are a stranger she isn't going anywhere near you. She will hug my leg and not let go. If you try to talk to her she will turn her head the opposite direction. She is more quiet (other than her long conversations) and reserved. She likes to do everything by herself and she likes for things to be orderly. She enjoys putting things in her grocery cart or stroller and pushing them around. She likes to put on her glove and pretend she is cooking in her kitchen. She STILL tries to close the mailbox on her playhouse (it won't stay closed). I wish I could describe this thing she does but I don't think I can. She will kind of hold her head and nose up high in the air and stick her arm out and walk around like she is in her own little world. If you try to talk to her or hold her when she is doing it she will ignore you. I think she must be pretending something. She LOVES to go outside. That is by far her favorite thing to do. Both girls love to dance and Taylor has actually been able to imitate exactly some dance steps I do. Both girls hold my hands and dance with me. They sometimes fight over who gets to dance with mama and we all three dance holding hands. Taylor likes applejacks, juice and she likes sweet stuff. She is a sweet, loving little girl.

The other day I was sitting at the computer working and the girls were doing something cute so I grabbed the video camera and spun around in my computer chair to video them. Taylor was playing with something in her hands but glanced up at me and mumbled to herself "Mama 'posed to be working."

The last two nights before I went to bed I went into the girls room to check on them. I bent down on my knees and put my head on their pillows and gave them both a kiss. Both nights Kaylie opened her eyes and gave me a precious little smile and put her arm around me and went right back to sleep. Those are the moments I treasure.

Thanks to all the grandparents for the playset they gave the girls for their birthdays. AND A HUGE THANK YOU to Granddad Stovall and Neale for putting it together. Grandad Stovall spent about 22 HOURS (and Neale helped for 12 hours) working on it. The girls love it and we really appreciate it. The girls had a nice visit with Nana and Granddad and were sad to see them go.

Happy late birthday to Aunt Kelley, our Aunt Cathy, and Grandpa Dale! We love you.

Locked Ourselves in the Bedroom

2011-03-27T21:07:00.005-04:00

I woke up Saturday morning and looked at the monitor and the girls were awake but staying in their beds. I was so impressed and was thinking that the big girl beds were going so smoothly. Then I went to their bedroom and the door was shut and locked! It isn't the kind of door that you can stick a nail in to unlock so we had to take off the doorknob. The girls were calm while waiting. Taylor even told me "I locked the door." I guess she was proud.

This afternoon I came home after working most of the weekend and I was exhausted and on the couch (which is unusual for me). The girls came over and gave me hugs and kisses and told me they were going to work. They said " I Love you, I Love you Roxy, I love You Sydney." They told me bye and waved and took off down the hallway (Taylor was pushing her stroller). They came back and said "I missed you!" and gave me more hugs and kisses. They did this about 20 times.

Taylor's new thing is to scream "Mom!" every time she wants my attention. I have always been "Mama" but now to Taylor I am "Mom". She says it over and over....

I taught the girls a game I remember doing when I was little. They sit on my lap and I hold my hand out. I tell them to flush the toliet and they push my hand and then I move my legs so they fall through to a pile of pillows. They thought it was pretty cool and had a big time!

2011-03-24T21:21:00.005-04:00

I love by Dora Big Wheel! I can't pedal it yet but I love to push it around.
Kaylie tickling and hugging mama's legs

Kaylie likes to lift her feet and fly down the driveway...just like I did when I was little!

The girls flip flop in who is the laid back one and the high maintenance one. When they were born Kaylie was high maintenance and Taylor was laid back. Then Taylor became stubborn and Kaylie was laid back. Now Taylor is laid back and Kaylie has most of the meltdowns. At least they usually take turns so I don't get double trouble at the same time. When one is having a meltdown the other one will usually try to help by getting them their juice or their stuffed animal, etc. And if that doesn't work then Taylor just tells Kaylie "Shh! Stop it! That's enough."

I am in my big girl bed

Tickling Sissy

Kaylie's sweet but mischievous look

My laid back happy girl

The girls are doing great in their "big girl" beds (which is the crib without a rail on one side). So far they stay in their beds and usually go right to sleep. They will each ask for a hug and a kiss about 20 times but I don't mind that at all. I have such good little girls (most of the time).

A few days ago I was driving the girls to daycare. They have pulled the sun shields off the windows. Taylor likes to wave at the sky and say "Hi Birds", etc. and this time she was waving at the sky saying "Hi Moon". I told her I thought she could probably see the sun and wave to it but not the moon. Well then I felt bad because both girls were staring at the sun so I said "Don't look right at the sun because it will hurt your eyes". OH BOY!!!! They started crying and were scared to death. The whole rest of the way to daycare they were saying "Sun Get Chu" "Sun Hurt Your Eyes" "Mama!". What I thought was a simple statement traumatized them! I had to carry Kaylie into daycare and she held onto me as tight as she could. They just kept saying "Sun Get Chu". They talked about it when we got in daycare. They talked about it when we were leaving daycare that afternoon. They got to the door to go outside and started "Sun Get Chu" and crying again. And they have talked about it ever since. Kaylie says "Sun, I no like it." Oops!

Their "likes" these days - "Pretty" dresses, hair bows, Goofy, Pooh, Mickey Mouse, Pluto, Dora, coloring, riding big wheels, being outside, Apple Jacks, Milk, Birds, Music, Dancing, Paddy Cake, and doing everything by themselves

First Night in Big Girl Beds

2011-03-20T22:04:00.002-04:00

Busy season for me has started so I don't have any photos to post but hopefully soon. Yesterday I worked a wedding all day and night so I wasn't home but Neale said he heard a thump and then footsteps down the hallway. Kaylie escaped from her crib. The doctor told me to leave the girls in their cribs until they could get out because it is safer for them (especially since they are on the second floor). So the time is here and today Neale turned the cribs into beds. They seemed pretty excited about the change and wanted to play and jump on the beds (before we turned out the lights). Surprisingly, they went to sleep without any problems. They got out of bed twice at first and went to the gate in their doorway to peek down the hall but they got right back in bed when we told them to. Taylor cried for just a minute. I am pretty sure she was scared but it only lasted a minute and then they both went right to sleep. (Sigh of relief!) Having 2 two year olds is a handful so I am sure not all nights will be like this but I am certainly grateful that this one was.

Kaylie has really only had one or two meltdowns since we got back from Disney World. I think the meltdowns really only happen when she is overtired or hungry so I will do my best not to let either of those situations happen. Otherwise, the girls are great and very chatty these days.

Disney World - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

2011-03-11T14:01:00.023-05:00

Taylor and Pluto
Taylor and Mama - I have a photo of myself and my dad in front of this castle when I was little

Kaylie and Daddy watching a parade

Me and My girls

Kaylie giving Daddy a kiss

Taylor waving at Mickey Mouse in the parade

Back home on my Dora big wheel

Taylor waving at the birds

I had a photography seminar in Orlando so I decided to make it into a family vacation and take the girls to Disney World. I know they are too small for Disney World but my logic was that they would still have fun just walking around looking at everything. Well.....lets just say the good times were AMAZING and the bad times were MISERABLE. I can honestly say that I would never do it again and two years old is way to small for Disney World but we did have some good times. We also hit the terrible two's with Kaylie in full force. I have seen people in the store before with their children who were having a meltdown and thought "If that was my child I would...." or "I can't believe that parent...". Lets just say my outlook has changed. I will not ever pass judgment on anyone in that situation again. Kaylie had regular meltdowns where she would throw herself on the ground (in the middle of everyone going by) and scream and kick. When I picked her up she would hit me and pull my hair. When she would hit me Taylor would come over and kiss me where Kaylie hit me. I tried time out, spanking, ignoring, removing her from the situation, etc. I decided that ignoring is best and spanking only teaches her to hit but ignoring doesn't really work at Disney World. It was not pretty and it seemed to go on forever. Put that together with a husband who isn't the most patient person in the world (not that I am either) and you have a recipe for disaster. So that was the UGLY.

The BAD - 2 Year olds can't wait in line for an hour to go on a ride so you can pretty much skip all the rides. We did make it on 3 at Disney and 1 at Animal Kingdom and the girls did enjoy them. When they got off they would say "Again" and Kaylie would say "I like it" and nod her head.

The GOOD - We got to visit with Grandma Fran and Dale while we were there. Dale's sister, Jean, came out to meet us for lunch too. Fran and Dale were kind enough to stay at the hotel one night so Neale and I could enjoy dinner at Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney. The girls loved the hotel room (The Dolphin on Disney property). They pushed their strollers around the room and jumped on the bed. They loved the idea of seeing the characters at Disney World as long as they didn't get too close. We stood in line so they could see Mickey Mouse (who we have been talking about seeing for a while now). Kaylie told me she was going to hug and kiss Mickey but when we got close it was quite a different story. We took a picture with Mickey but Mickey had to stand off to the side. The girls got to pick out stuffed animals. Kaylie picked out Minnie Mouse and "Pooh". Taylor picked out Pluto and Dumbo. The girls enjoyed "It's a Small World" and we have been singing the song ever since. The most fun we had was at a parade at Magic Kingdom. The girls loved watching the parade and then they let everyone go out into the street and dance with all the characters. My girls love to dance! They had a big time. Kaylie dances by jumping up and down and Taylor sticks out her booty and squats and bounces. It is pretty funny to see. Taylor's other dance is to put her hands in the air above her head and sways back and forth with her mouth wide open. She reminds me of a hippie when she does it. Those moments were perfect.

I really have to watch what I say these days. On the ride home Kaylie was screaming and it was apparently even annoying Taylor. Taylor looked at her and put her finger over her mouth and said "Shhhhhh Sissy! Shhhh!" Then Taylor told her "Stop it!". At one point she said "That's enough". I believe those were some of my words earlier in the trip.

We do plan to go back to Disney but not until 2016!

"I No Like It"

2011-02-28T23:02:00.004-05:00

Going down the slide

Swinging

Last week I had the flu so I was confined to my bedroom for a few days so I wouldn't get the rest of the family sick. I am feeling much better (except for chest congestion) and we were able to take the girls to the park again on Sunday. They love it there so we are excited about putting up the girls own little playground in the backyard in the next few weeks. Neale and I were happy to finally be outside in nice weather too. It is amazing how much happier we seem to be when the sun is shining!

The girls' new popular saying is "I no like it." If they don't like the song on the radio, the snack I give them, etc. they immediately tell me. The girls love to dance to two Zac Brown songs but when I turn on other songs they almost always tell me "I no like it." Taylor will actually pitch a fit if you don't play the right song and start kicking and jumping around. She is really into her music and dancing. I have taken lots of videos of it so I need to post some. Every day the girls come up to me and say "Dance". It is their favorite thing to do next to playing outside.

Neale and I often talk about how different the girls' personalities are. We have decided that Kaylie is a rule follower. She likes to do the right thing and she wants to make sure that Taylor does too. If Taylor is not doing the right thing Kaylie will tell her to and get right in her face so she can look at her in the eyes and put her hands up in the air like she is explaining it to her. She will start by saying "T" like she is trying to make sure Taylor is paying attention and then she goes on with her explanation and nods her head. Of course, Taylor could care less. She is probably going to do the opposite of what you tell her to because she thinks it is funny.

Mommy and Daddy Time

2011-02-21T22:00:00.006-05:00

View from our room balcony

For Christmas I gave Neale a trip skiing so we went to Beech, NC for the long weekend. This is the first time we have been skiing together in the 12+ years we have been together. My last ski experience in high school was spent on the ground (probably because I went to the top of the tallest slope at Snowshoe WVA and didn't have any clue how to ski- no bunny slope for me). I was amazed what a difference it makes if you actually go on the bunny slope first and teach yourself how to ski! I am actually not so bad at it. I only fell 3 times the whole weekend (and once I made myself so I wouldn't go into the woods and another other time I was walking...haha). Neale can ski well but fell pretty hard a few times. We both had a great time. The first day it was in the high 40's and sunny. The second day was cold and windy so it was a little hard for this beach girl to tolerate. I have lived in SC my whole life and I have always said that I will never live north of SC. After this weekend I can confirm that. We really had a great time though.

The girls stayed with Nana and Granddad Stovall (Thank you so much!). We called to check in on them when we had a phone signal and the girls would say "Hi Mommy" and kiss the phone. They told the girls "Mama is skiing" and the girls replied "Mama working". When we got home Kaylie ran right to me and wouldn't let go. She was giving me hugs and kisses and I was definitely feeling the love. Taylor on the other hand turned her back to us and actually put her nose up in the air. She was mad at us! It took her a while to get over but she is now back to her loving little self.

While they were with Nana and Granddad they went to the Zoo and Gaddytown. Nana and Granddad said the monkeys at the zoo were loud and the girls (especially Taylor) were scared of them and did not like them. The girls were still talking about the "bad monkeys" when we were driving home.

The girls are talking so much! When they are eating dinner they tell me "I like it" or "I don't want it". They put their plates in the sink when they are done eating and throw away their trash in the trashcan. They are such sweet loving little girls.

"Love You Too!"

2011-02-14T09:28:00.015-05:00

The other night I put the girls to bed and as I was leaving I said "I love you" and started walking out of the room. I heard Taylor shout "Love you too!". We then began a "Love you" "Love you too" back and forth to each other until I was downstairs. Hearing her baby voice saying "love you too" melted my heart!

Those who know me know that I sneeze a lot and that it doesn't sound like a normal sneeze. I was having one of my regular 8 sneezes in a row fits and Taylor looked up at me and said "Bless you." So sweet.

Sunday Neale and I took the girls to The Market Common to walk around and play on the playground. George and Cissie ("Papa" and "Gungie" to the girls) met us there. The girls had a big time looking at the birds and the ducks in the pond and playing on the playground. They loved the slide. Taylor was pretty bold and had no hesitation in climbing up or going down the slide (although her face showed some fear in the photos when she was actually going down). Kaylie was a little more hesitant. She liked it but she hung out at the top of the slide while Taylor lapped her a few times. Looks like it is about time to put up the playground the grandparents got them for their birthdays!

Sentences and Silliness

2011-02-08T15:09:00.017-05:00

My silly little girls

My Sweet "T"

Kaylie would only smile when she was doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing

And of course...Taylor joined in

Kaylie

Taylor looking at the ocean

Taylor loved walking around. Kaylie was freezing so stayed right beside mama

This is Kaylie's attempt at doing a pose I asked her to do. Not exactly what I envisioned but we are getting there.

I stole sissy's bunny!

Peek a Book with Sissy

"I Get You" as they say

The "Hi" and "Bye" Games are Taylor's Favorite

Talking on my Dora phone

Wiping my nose

Cleaning Sissy's Hand

My little couch potato

At two years old I just need someone to open the refrigerator to get Daddy a drink!

The girls are speaking in sentences these days. They are able to communicate and get their point across which is nice but also makes me sad at the same time because they are growing up way too fast.

The girls love to be silly. They love to laugh and make everyone else laugh. They love to dance, eat with spoons, dress up, play with puzzles, go potty, take baths with their Ariel dolls, go to "Applebees!", color, watch "Pony" in the car (My Little Pony movie), and dress themselves.

Tonight the girls and I were going to dance before bedtime. I told them we were going to dance and started dancing and they both had a fit. I was wondering what was wrong and then they showed me. They ran over to the cd player and tried to turn on the music. Apparently you can't dance without The Zac Brown Band playing. As soon as I turned on Zac Brown they were dancing away.

The teacher at daycare told me today that Taylor had a toy that Kaylie wanted. Kaylie had a fit because Taylor had it so Taylor put it down and went and sat in the teacher's lap. She said it hurt Taylor's feelings so bad that Kaylie was upset that she threw down the toy and wanted nothing to do with it. She said Taylor is a sweet girl and very sweet to her sissy. Taylor does always try to hug and kiss Kaylie but Kaylie usually won't let her. Kaylie tries to tell Taylor what she is supposed to do. If Taylor isn't doing what Kaylie thinks she is supposed to be doing Kaylie will run up to her and turn her head sideways and point her finger at Taylor and tell her what she should be doing.

Kaylie is very independent. She gets in trouble and I fuss at her and she throws herself on the ground but then she always cries for mama (even if it is me that she is mad at) and once I hold her and she cries it out she is all better.

We have our "Terrible Two" moments but mostly the girls are sweet, loving, and kind. They are happy and giggly and I am so proud of them.

"Daddy Did It"

2011-02-03T21:03:00.002-05:00

This morning I heard the familiar "Uht...oh!" from Kaylie as I was getting ready. I walked over to see Taylor's diaper off again. This time I just looked at her and she quickly offered me an explanation. "Daddy Did It". I said "what?" since Daddy wasn't even home but she matter of factly replied "Daddy Did It".

Taylor wants to dress herself. I need to go get some more video tapes so I can tape her because it is precious. Tonight she put her "big girl panties" on (over her diaper) and had two legs through one leg hole and had the whole thing up around her waist. She also had a pair of shorts on her head. Then she proudly exclaimed "I DID IT!".

Conversations

2011-02-01T21:33:00.004-05:00

Photos will come this weekend! Last weekend I had a bridal show, a photo shoot and a funeral so it was pretty busy and I didn't get any photos of the girls. Neale worked the bridal show with me which was very much appreciated. He has working on quitting smoking so I am very proud of him.

I am constantly amazed by what the girls understand. We were at the grocery store and Taylor dropped "Puppy" in a rain puddle. I was explaining to her that Puppy is dirty because she dropped him and she needs to be more careful. She looked at me and said matter of factly "Wash it". I said "Wash it?" And she started laughing and said "Wash it".

Taylor broke out in hives from peanut butter. She has had a bite of peanut butter before and was okay but this time she ate a peanut butter sandwich and she broke out in hives. We quickly gave her allergy medicine and after a few hours it went away. So already can't have eggs and I guess we will be adding peanut butter to that list.

Kaylie likes to repeat everything I say. She insists on putting on her own clothes. Both girls insist on going down the stairs by themselves. It is a good thing I stand right in front of them because they would have taken numerous tumbles. They love to brush their teeth and their hair. When Taylor brushes her hair or someone elses she will say "Pretty" or "Kaylie Pretty" or "Mama Pretty".

Taylor likes to play a game while Kaylie is on her big girl potty (which we are working on). She smiles and shuts the door and say "Bye Bye Sissy". Then when I open the door back she giggles and says "Hey!" She does it over and over again. Taylor has an obsession with opening and shutting things. "EWWW!" is one of Taylor's favorite words when I am changing her diaper or when she blows her nose. I guess she got that from me.

Kaylie and Taylor both have a bedtime ritual. They have to go up the stairs by themselves, put their clothes in the clothes hamper, brush their teeth, sometimes read a book or sing a song, sometimes say a prayer (we are working on that), then get in bed. Taylor has to have "Puppy" and "Bunny" (a blanket with a bunny head), sometimes "Frog" too and a special blanket. If you give her the wrong blanket she will throw it out of the crib (we are still in cribs...we know we have to change soon but the doctor said to keep them in there until they know how to get out). Kaylie has to have her "Bunny" and sometimes her "Frog". We all give hugs and kisses and then cover them up with blankets. Then the girls like to give us kisses through the bars of the crib. Then we leave. Sometimes they cry a little (mostly Taylor) but usually they just talk to each other until they fall asleep. Kaylie is usually up later and she sings to herself sometimes. Taylor talks in her sleep. The other night I went to check on them and Taylor was sleeping but she said "Kiki" Even in their sleep.....they are best friends.

"Sissy Did It"

2011-01-28T08:37:00.004-05:00

"Uht...oh"....as my girls would say. This morning I got my first "Sissy Did It". I keep the girls in a pack in play while I get ready in the mornings because we are upstairs and it would be dangerous for them if I didn't. They watch cartoons and play. This morning I kept hearing Taylor say "Diaper" so I went over to see and just as I suspected, she was holding her diaper in her hand. I told her that she shouldn't do that and her response was "Sissy did it". And I can tell you by the mischevious look on Kaylie's face and her giggle that Taylor was telling the truth. Then not five minutes later I hear Kaylie say "Taylor Bite". I could tell by the look on Taylor's face that she just bit her sissy. I told her to tell her sissy she was sorry (they do that by giving each other a hug and kiss) and Kaylie started running from Taylor saying "NO!" and laughing. Taylor was so sweet. She kept saying "Sissy please kiss" but Kaylie wasn't having it. I think I might just have my hands full.

We turned 2!!!

2011-01-25T22:20:00.012-05:00

Taylor in her party clothes
Our Happy Family

We love these books from Aunt Jannie and Uncle Chuck

Yes I am 2 and I still have a tongue thing. In the hospital when I was born they called me Gene Simmons from Kiss because I always stuck out my tongue

The pants weren't part of the outfit but she thought it was pretty cool

Party like.... It's My Birthday!

Reading with Daddy...thanks Aunt Jannie and Uncle Chuck!

I love cake!

I am 2.....I love to climb on furniture

I love my Nana

I love my Nana too

Grandma Fran and Granpa Pettigrew...thanks for everything!

"Kiss" ...the girls say it all the time. They like to give kisses.

Taylor loves her "Puppy"

Yes....the house has been taken over by toys!

We love Grandma and Grandpa Pettigrew

Dora Party

And the Dora cake I made for my sweet babies! Thanks Nana for staying up past your bedtime to help me mix all the icing!

The girls had a great birthday! Kaylie was still a little sick from the croup the girls both had last week (and they got me sick too) so she was a little out of sorts but overall it went well. The girls have so many toys now that I think we could open a store. They got a swingset from the grandparents. It isn't set up yet but we are very excited about it and appreciate it! We enjoyed visiting with our family and friends. We missed my dad who was sick and unable to make it. He is retiring this week so we are very excited for him!

I can't believe my sweet babies are 2! I always say I just wish I could freeze them at this age for about 10 years because they are just so precious.

When the girls had to go home sick from daycare, Taylor got sent home first. Neale was taking her to the doctor so we left Kaylie at daycare (the two of them at the doctor is not easy). The whole ride home Taylor kept saying "Kiki!" I think she thought I forgot her sister. She was very concerned about it. Then I got called to go back to daycare. Kaylie was also sick and crying so hard she threw up. All she kept saying when I got her was "T!". I realized they have really never been apart. For two years (and 7 plus months in my belly) they have pretty much spent every minute together. They are best friends and have a bond that is so strong.

The girls are into dressing up. They like to wear hair bows and "pretty" things. Taylor has started telling me "Kaylie pretty".

They love presents! After they opened them all Kaylie signaled "More" in sign language and said "More presents."

I think the girls have found my weakness. They will ask for something and I tell them no. Then they look at me and smile and say "Please". I usually can't resist.

Tonight Kaylie was in bed and I could hear her on the monitor. She was singing a song. Every word in the song was "Gabby" but it was adorable.

The girls are learning to share. If Taylor is playing with something Kaylie will say "Next" which means that she is next. Sometimes the girls will give the toys they are playing with to each other. They are so sweet. Tonight Taylor told Kaylie she wanted a "Kiss". Kaylie resisted at first but finally gave in.

I am treasuring every minute with my sweet babies. I love them more than I could ever say.

Happy Birthday Kaylie and Taylor! We love you.

Busy 2 Year Olds

2011-01-18T00:01:00.002-05:00

The girls decided to put these dresses on over their clothes. They thought they were pretty hot stuff.

We are busy, busy these days! We do have our hands full. The girls are full of energy and pretty high maintenance. They like to be on mom and dad's lap at all times. When they get hurt they like to have their boo-boo's kissed. They even pretend they got hurt so they can get the kisses. They fight over toys and who gets to sit on the toliet, etc. but they also are learning to share and will at times go get toys for sissy and even say "sissy's turn".

They are learning to use the potty and go on it quite a bit. They are so proud of themselves when they go on the potty.

Tonight I had to go to the grocery store and both girls ran to the door because they knew I was going to leave. They both put both hands on the door and leaned into the door like they were holding it shut and said "NO!!"

We have some huge meltdown moments but most of the time we have some sweet loving babies who love to cuddle and give hugs and kisses.

We are looking forward to our birthday party this weekend and having family in town!

2011-01-12T23:39:00.002-05:00

Kaylie and "Minnie"
Neale cooking dinner

"Kiki "

"T" (with a daycare hairdo)

The girls will be 2 on the 23rd! It is amazing how time flies. The girls are very talkative. It is amazing how their vocabulary has grown over the last 2 months. They are so much fun! Lots of giggles, being silly, reading, dancing, and chatting....some terrible two moments too but mostly just lots of fun.

Christmas and Happy New Year

2011-01-02T10:45:00.012-05:00

Kaylie sitting by our Christmas tree. Taylor wouldn't do it.

I love my sissy!

We got pretty brave at the park

Talor loves the cake and Kaylie doesn't

I dressed myself

I love cupcakes

Rockin Out

Kaylie and Nana

I love presents

Taylor loves the penguin

Kaylie and Granddad

We can't quite ride these yet but we like sitting on them

Kaylie and her penguin from Aunt Cathy

George and Neale

Dancing with Dora

Taylor is the baby's stroller

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T23:54:00.012-05:00

Grandpa Dale and Grandma Fran with Kaylie

Nine adults tried to figure out how to get six Sing A Ma Jigs to sing in unison and we couldn't figure it out.
Kaylie pushing Taylor in the babydoll's stroller.

Kaylie and Taylor trying on mama's jackets

Kaylie loving her baby

And to end 2010...Taylor is still trying to close the mailbox...some things never change!

I really want to keep pulling sissy but I am so tired.

New Year's Eve Neale was the 12th year anniversary of when I met Neale and we started dating. And as Taylor has been walking around saying for the past two days "Mama, Dada, Happy". I have no idea where she got the phrase but it certainly is fitting. I would say our life is just about perfect.

Christmas was wonderful! We had the family in town and we appreciate everyone coming to our house to celebrate. Thanks for all the presents and the hard work everyone put in while they were here too.

Taylor and Kaylie REALLY got into opening presents or "pants" as they called them. Taylor would run to the tree and grab gifts and start opening. There was one present that was so big that no one thought she would go for it but she did and she pushed it with all her might to where she wanted it to be. A big hit for Kaylie is the dancing Dora doll. You turn that on and Kaylie starts dancing! Taylor loved pushing her baby stroller and shopping cart outside. She even got Kaylie in the wagon and pulled her around. I think I have heard her "Outside" request about a hundred times a day. She loves to go out and she doesn't want to come back in. The baby dolls, Penguin, books, and play guitar or "tar" as they call it were also huge hits. The girls got a photo album from Grandma and Grandpa Pettigrew with photos of the girls and the family in them. They have had a big time going through the album and naming everyone. The funniest thing is that Kaylie points to photos of herself and says "T" because she thinks it is Taylor and Taylor points to photos of herself and syas "Kiki" because she thinks it is Kaylie.

We went to a Mexican restaurant and George asked me if the girls could have chips and salsa. I said no because I didn't want them to eat any junk food (which really makes no sense because they were eating Chicken fingers for dinner). So we were all talking and noticed that Taylor had helped herself to the cips and dipped it in the salsa. She loved it! There was alot of triple dipping going on but that is all she ate. She wanted nothing to do with her dinner. She thought she was pretty hot stuff dipping her chip in the salsa. Very funny.

The girls had a Christmas program at daycare. Their teacher made them some red hats for the program and they wore them around for days.

Taylor loves cake and cupcakes and Kaylie doesn't like them. Kaylie doesn't like most sweet stuff.

Taylor is very shy when she meets people and turns her head away from them and hides behind her mom. Kaylie is more outgoing.

The girls like to do stuff all by themselves and if you try to help them they will pitch a fit....especially Taylor. She thinks she has to have her way all the time. When Taylor gets mad she hits or bites or kicks. She gets angry. We are working on that.

Popular words/phrases: "cookie", "boote" (book), "Hey", "Come On", "Sydney", "pants" (presents), "Mama, Dadda, Happy", "potty", "eat", "juice", "outside:, "Nana", "Grandma", "Grandpa", "Papa", "baby", "Minnie" (Kaylie's bunny), "Frog" (Taylor sleeps with), "all done", "uh-oh" and of course "No".

We hope everyone had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

New Phrases

2010-12-10T16:15:00.012-05:00

See through bottom of boots - they are too big but the girls LOVE them
Taylor loves going outside but we don't get to do much of that lately - it has been freezing!

I can't believe it is mid-December already! I haven't been blogging because I have Christmas picture deadlines gone mad!I am still getting orders for Christmas and last minute photo sessions and I am realizing I should have had a cutoff date! I told myself 2 weeks ago that I wasn't taking anymore sessions before Christmas and I know I have booked at least 10 since. My Christmas shopping time is going to be very limited. AND ....I am disappointed to say that I haven't even gotten a chance to take Christmas photos of my girls or design any albums like I wanted to. On a positive note, I am very blessed to be busy and I appreciate the business. 2 years of babies and no Christmas cards! That is something I am going to have to change next year!

The girls are more fun each day. Taylor and I were ready to go downstairs and Kaylie was down the hall so Taylor kept yelling "KIKI!!KIKI!!!KIKI!!!!" Taylor speaks Chinese fluently or at least that is what it sounds like when she reads her books. Occasionally I will hear "mama" or "dada" or "baby" but the rest sounds like Chinese. The girls are both very intent on telling me long sentences and very serious about it. They will repeat themselves and repeat themselves but I usually can't figure out what it is they want. Kaylie loves "Minnie" which is her bunny. She used to be able to say "Bunny" but now it is "Minnie". Kaylie's common phrases are "get it", "more please" and "come on". Taylor's favorite thing to say is "No". She also loves to "wash". She takes baby wipes or paper towels and cleans the floors or whatever she can find. Kaylie loves to dance and put on hats and shoes. She puts her shoes and socks on by herself every day. She tries to put on her pants too but both legs always end in one leg hole. Every morning when going to the car to go to daycare Taylor runs over to the wagon and gets in. She is hoping I will take her on a walk. We haven't been outside much because it has been freezing here! Kaylie learned how to get into and out of the pack and play by herself. She has NO FEAR. She will dive in and out of it head first. So it looks like it won't be long before we move to the big beds. I am not quite ready for that.

Thanksgiving and Christmas (Soon)

2010-12-01T00:15:00.008-05:00

Kissing Sissy
I love my Sissy

Taylor's eyes say it all

Decorating the tree

My Silly Girls

Playing in the leaves on Thanksgiving

Kaylie

"Uncle" Paul trying to give Taylor junk food. She gave him the cold shoulder!

Little Miss Independent raking leaves

Reading books with Mommy

We had a great Thanksgiving with family. Everyone always says Kaylie looks like me and Taylor looks like Neale. Kaylie also eats like me! On Thanksgiving the only thing she wanted to eat was the rolls. A girl after my own heart. Give me some bread and a coke and I am all set! On Thanksgiving we raked a pile of leaves for the girls to play in. I remember when I was little my dad used to make piles of leaves for my brother and I to play in. I was thinking of those fond memories as I made the pile for my girls to play in. Taylor loved it especially. Kaylie couldn't really sit still long enough to play in it but she was content running around.

We put up the Christmas tree and the girls helped decorate. They would grab ornaments and take them up and drop them on the tree. So I was trying to catch them all before they hit the ground. The girls really had fun doing it. They are learning about Santa. Grandma Fran and Granpa Dale sent some Christmas books and clothes. We read the books and I ask the girls to point to Santa.

The girls giggle all the time. Especially when we are in the car calling Nana on the car speaker phone. They get so excited and giggle and scream. Taylor has also developed a fake laugh. She is very shy around people that she doesn't know. She is very independent. When we go to daycare and bed Taylor walks and Kaylie has to be carried. Taylor still gets her shy little smirk that is precious. Kaylie loves to be silly. She is a ball full of energy. She has to put her shoes on by herself. She usually gets them on the right feet. She is very picky about her clothes. She likes to pick out what she wants to wear. If she doesn't like it she will tell you No and pitch a little fit. I never knew a less than two year old could be so opinionated. At bedtime she usually picks the Dora pajamas.

I was able to visit my family in Greenville the day after Thanksgiving which was nice. Neale is enjoying working in the school system. I am busy with Christmas photography orders and editing. Things are great!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T22:22:00.002-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving! New photos will be posted soon.

Please vote for me for Best of the Beach in the Best Photographer category. It only take a minute to do. It asks you to fill in your name, email, and birthdate and then sends you an email. When you open the email it will count your vote. You will not get any SPAM for this. It is only to verify that your vote is valid. Last year Kara Stovall Photography placed in the top 5. I appreciate your votes!

http://wmbf.cityvoter.com/kara-stovall-photography/biz/509011?for=weddings%2fphotographer

Hats, Bows, Time Out and the Zoo

2010-11-22T00:05:00.008-05:00

Taylor being beautiful in her hat
Kaylie trying on her hat and mama's shoes

Hats and Shoes

I can do it by myself mama

Taylor

Kaylie

Taylor

Loving Sissy

Being Silly

Mama and Kaylie at the Zoo

Look at the monkey

Taylor

Kaylie

Taylor

Dad, Grandpa George and the girls looking at the animals

Kaylie and Daddy

Lots of Toys!

Taylor put herself in time out

Kaylie loves to try on hats and be silly

It has been busy here! The girls are full of energy and giggles these days. Today we went to the zoo for the first time. The girls were both quiet. I think they were amazed by all of the animals. Kaylie enjoyed it and Taylor was scared of all the animals. If you got her too close to them she would scream and cry "NO! NO! NO! NO!.......

Yesterday the girls got their hair cut. Kaylie sat in the chair all by herself and was a big girl. She seemed to enjoy it. Taylor sat on my lap and cried a bit. She settled down when they gave her a book to read but she wasn't a big fan of it. At the end though it was so cute because the hairstylist put her hair up in a fancy hairstyle and then turned her around to see herself in the mirror and Taylor's face just lit up! She got the shy little smile she gets. It was priceless.

It's Been A While

2010-11-18T00:15:00.002-05:00

I will post more photos this weekend. Sorry it has been a while! Neale and I went to Key West for vacation and had a good time. It was nice to be away from work but I was happy to come home to my babies! They are hilarious these days. They talk and talk. Tonight they had a giggle party on the way home from daycare. I have never seen them so giggly and loud. They have really started taking an interest in their baby dolls and stuffed animals. They carry their baby dolls around and hug and kiss them. They each have a little blanket with an animal head on it that they sleep with and they are becoming very attached to them. Taylor 's is froggy and Kaylie's is puppy and another one that she switches back and forth between. They are still big fans of being "beautiful". I have discovered that I can get them to wear hairbows or hats if I tell them how beautiful they are. They get so excited. I say the alphabet to them letter by letter and they repeat each letter after me. They sound so cute saying it. "K" is "Key" and "Q" is "Coo". They still call each other "T" and "Kiki". More to come this weekend.

We Loved Halloween - Strawberry Shortcake and Tinkerbell

2010-11-02T01:05:00.004-04:00

What cha doing sissy?

Taylor wouldn't wear the hat but with those cute curls it still looked precious

Tinkerbell with her candy

Look what I got mama

We went to our friend's neighborhood for Halloween. Taylor dressed up as Strawberry Shortcake and Kaylie was Tinkerbell. I didn't think the girls would enjoy trick-or-treating because they are usually very shy when they meet people. They loved it! We put on costumes which went surprisingly well. I have learned that they love to hear that they are beautiful so I told them they were beautiful when I put their costumes on and they got all excited and you could just see the sparkles in their eyes. So they were happy to wear their costumes except for Taylor's hat. Our friends had a neighborhood party and there were kids running around everywhere. Kaylie and Taylor just watched all the kids. I told Taylor she could go over and play with them. She started to walk over there and got pretty close to the other kids but then just stopped and watched them all. Kaylie was amazed by a leaf in the street. I realized I really need to get the girls outside more! We took the girls to about 10 houses to go trick -or-treating. They are shy so I thought they would cry. Not the case! Taylor walked right up in front of the other kids to try to be first at the door. They loved getting candy in their pumpkins. They thought that was pretty cool! Of course we didn't let them eat any of it (but Daddy did) but they were happy just to hold it and take it all out of their pumpkins and put it back in. Taylor cried her little eyes out when it was time to go home. We all had a great time.

Bath Time

2010-10-25T00:51:00.003-04:00

Taylor
Helping Mommy Wash Sissy's Hair

Taylor being independent

Business has been so busy that I haven't had a chance to take any good photos of my babies lately but I hope to find time soon......wishful thinking. I shouldn't complain because I am blessed to have the business and I know that. I worked all weekend so I didn't get much time with my girls. We did manage to have a dance party though before my wedding Saturday. The girls love to dance with mommy and mommy loves it too! They get jealous if one is holding my hands and not the other so we have started dancing where I hold one of each of their hands and they hold each other's other hand. Taylor is very independent. She wanted to eat with her own spoon and didn't want me to help. It took her about 45 minutes to eat the yogurt but she was content the whole time. Kaylie gave up and asked for help. Her way of asking is making a noise is loud and sounds like "UHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The girls went to the doctor this week for Taylor's mosquito bite and pinkeye and got weighed. Kaylie weighs 23.8 lbs and Taylor weighs 24.8 lbs. They are still one pound apart. On the way home from photographing Couture For the Cure (a breast cancer fundraiser) today I stopped by the store to finally get halloween outfits for the girls and they are out of everything!! Oops! Not sure what we are going to do now.

Taylor's Mosquito Bite

2010-10-21T20:32:00.004-04:00

Kaylie's Angel Face
I swear she is the happiest baby

And of course...so is T

This is Taylor yesterday (and this is it looking MUCH better than it did)

My Fashion Diva

Kaylie came up with this hairdo on her own

Taylor totally posed for this photo...training in progress

So tonight the girls smiled for photos (a couple times) when I asked them to and even said "Cheese". And they definitely didn't learn "Cheese" from me because I do not say that...ever. It is so funny to me the things they say sometimes which I know did not come from me. Taylor the other day pointed to a hairbow and said "Bow". The girls are still fashion divas and I don't know where they get it because I don't have time to do anything like shop, do hair, etc. Half of my wardrobe is still from college and high school. I shouldn't admit that but it is true. The girls are perfectly content trying on shoes, brushing hair, put on momma's shoes, and putting on clothes. They put on my high heels and walk around the house. And Kaylie is still VERY opinionated about what she wears. She will pitch a fit if she doesn't like it. She likes Minnie Mouse, Ariel, and Dora. Yesterday she had Minnie Mouse on her shirt. We were walking down the hall to daycare and we passed a backpack in the hall that had Minnie Mouse on it. Kaylie pointed to the backpack and then pointed to her shirt. Smart chick.

Taylor got bit by a mosquito several days ago and her face blew up! Her nose was so swollen that her face looked completely different. People thought she had fallen or that something bad happened but it was all from a mosquito bite on her nose. I didn't get a photo when it was at its worst. Several people told me her face looked so bad that she may have an infection and then daycare called and said they thought Kaylie had pinkeye so I took both of them to the doctor. I don't think Kaylie actually had pinkeye and they are both doing much better now.

I have a mole on my chest and when Taylor was a baby she always tried to eat it. Yesterday she tole me it was my "boo boo".

The girls are into eskimo kisses now. I give them to Taylor and then she says and signs "More".

I love my super sweet girls!

2010-10-19T22:23:00.002-04:00

Poor little Taylor got bit by something when we went on a walk last night and what started out as a tiny bite on her nose has turned into a VERY swollen face. I gave her some allergy medicine tonight and we will see what she looks like tomorrow but now it looks pretty bad. We may be making a trip to the doctor. She looks pitiful.

I still haven't gotten Halloween outfits. We went looking and Kaylie pointed to Ariel and acted like she really liked that so that might be what she dresses up as. She has Ariel pajamas so she likes Ariel. Not sure about what Taylor will be yet. I am sure she wants to be Dora but that is just about the most boring costume I have ever seen so we will try to find something else.

Tonight we went to a Fall Dinner at the girls' daycare. George and Cissy came along. I really like the new daycare. I am one of the Room Moms so although I have zero free time - I am volunteering and helping out where I can. I am making treats for the class for Halloween. Haha...it is a good thing they are toddler's because I am no cook! I really like bring more involved. My mom was very involved in my school when I was little and I want to do the same.

Neale is doing good. He is substitute teaching until he can find something else. Hopefully something will come along. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

Taylor is very independent. She insists on feeding herself (which is quite messy), putting on her shoes by herself, brushing her teeth by herslef, etc. Kaylie likes to say No. I used to say "Are you ready to go to bed?" and the girls would run to the stairs. Now I get a big headshake and a "No." Kaylie says "NO" very short and quickly. Taylor drags it out and puts some drama in it. Hers come out "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I love my sweet babies....I mean toddlers......they are growing too fast!

Costume Shopping

2010-10-14T22:16:00.003-04:00

Rocking in the chair on the front porch
Who is Mama's Baby?

Kaylie and Daddy

Kaylie and Mama

Roxy

Kaylie and her pumpkin

Taylor brushing her hair

Taylor LOVES to try on shoes and brush her hair. And she doesn't want your help. She wants to do it. And when you brush Taylor's hair ...this is what happens. Every morning she brushes it and it turns into a big bush and I have to wet it to get her pretty curls back. The girls are both in mama phases. They want mama to get them out of the car, mama to dress them, etc. Taylor gives me big hugs and doesn't want to let go of my neck. Kaylie gives me lots of kisses. I am shocked at what a happy baby Kaylie has turned out to be. She always has a smile on her face and giggles all the time. She is so excited about everything.

Tonight we went to the store to look for Halloween costumes. The girls each got pumpkins to go trick or treating and they loved them. While we were looking for costumes Daddy decided to put on a mask and roar at the girls. That didn't go over so well. Poor Taylor was terrified and balling her eyes out. I don't think Daddy will be doing that again any time soon.

This morning Kaylie came up to me and gave me a hug and Taylor ran after her shaking her finger at her telling her "NO!" They can get a little bit jealous. If you tell one they are good or beautiful then the other one will look at you like "What about me?" And if you tell one of them they are doing something good then the other one will copy her sister so you can tell her she is doing good too. When you tell Taylor she is good or pretty she gets this little smile on he face that I can't describe but it is precious. She gets a little shy smile and looks away but you can see how happy it makes her.

Tonight we went to Applebees and there was a woman in the booth next to us that had the same haircut as my mom from behind. Taylor kept saying "NANA!" and trying to peek around the table to see her face. We kept telling her that it wasn't Nana and she almost started crying when the woman finally did turn around.

Hopefully more photos to come this weekend.

Twin Talk

2010-10-07T01:01:00.004-04:00

Kaylie riding her car
Taylor

Taylor

Kaylie

Trying on Daddy's hats

The girls are so talkative. They "twin talk" to each other. I have no idea what they are saying when they do. They are able to put two and three words together at times too. Taylor is hilarious. She has a very dramatic "Noooooooooooooo." Kaylie is very interactive and answers all my questions. Taylor acts like she didn't hear me and shows me a little grin and looks away. They are in the Mama stage where they want mama all the time. They have finally learned to give kisses with their mouths closed. They love to give hugs and kisses almost as much a I love receiving them. They have learned how to get their way. They will ask for more snack and I will tell them no that they have had enough and then they will look at me with their pretty little faces and say "Please" and sign please in sign language. Then of course I have to give in. My dad said I used to know how to get my way when I was little too so he knows where they get it.

Proud of My Dad

2010-09-28T23:02:00.017-04:00

Taylor thought it was hilarious to dump buckets of water on her head

Beautiful Taylor
Taylor and Nana
Holding My Sissy's Hand

My Amazing Father
The band "The Water Drops" played at the party in Dad's honor - Note the Water Treatment Plant name on the sign - named after Dad
Granddad dancing with Kaylie
Tina and Kaylie (Tina is soon going to be a grandma to twins too!)
My family and friends at Dad's Reception right before we left

The Water System had a beautiful reception in my father's honor for his retirement (he retires at the end of the year). They named the "L.B. Stovall Water Treatment Plant" after him and announced it at the reception. There is a nice sign when you enter the plant with his name on it but I wasn't able to get a photo of it because it was raining. Yes, even the water decided to show up for the party....it poured! At the reception they presented dad with numerous plaques/awards and he also received the SC Order of the Palmetto which is the highest civilian honor in the State of South Carolina (http://www.sciway.net/hist/sc-order-of-the-palmetto.html) One of the guys that got up to speak about dad called him a "walking encyclopedia" which is a pretty accurate description. The reception was lovely and there were lots of people there that had great things to say about Dad. We are very proud of him!

The girls are so talkative! We are having so much fun. I love this age. The girls are so sweet and loving.

Kaylie puts herself in time out on a regular basis. If I tell her she better stop or she will have to go to time out - off she goes! I must be doing something wrong here because she likes time out.

Kaylie hates dresses. She pitches a fit and tries to take off her clothes every time I put her in one. I pretty much had to hold her the whole time at my dad's retirement party because she would not stand up in her dress. Taylor on the other hand loves when you tell her she is beautiful. She throws her head back and moves it from side to side and opens her mouth as wide as she can. It cracks me up. So she will wear a dress and even sometimes a hairbow if you tell her she is beautiful or pretty with it on. She smiles when you tell her too. She loves to brush her hair and try on shoes.

I think Taylor might have inherited Neale's wacky sleep disorder. Some of you have probably heard me tell stories about how Neale will sit up and talk in his sleep . Well we were driving home fom Greenville this weekend and Taylor was talking in her sleep. What was she talking about? SHOES!!! The girl loves shoes.

I bought a sign language DVD for the car. I have seen the girls do "More" and "Please" in sign language. So I bought a DVD to help them learn some more sign language. They really like it. They repeat all the words they say on the DVD too. Hopefully they will pick up the sign language. Aunt Jannie will be so proud!

The photos above are the girls playing in their pool. Taylor thought she was hilarious dumping buckets of water on her head. She did it over and over and giggled every time.

Daycare said that Kaylie and Taylor would wake up from their naps and hold hands. They finally had to separate them because they would giggle and make a bunch of noise playing with each other when they woke up. That is pretty much what they do at home too. They wake up and talk to each other and giggle and sometimes jump around their beds.

Taylor loves her Nana! Every time the phone rings Taylor says "Nana" and when I get on the computer Taylor comes over and says "Nana" because she is used to us video talking to Nana and Granddad on Skype. And sometimes she just says "Nana" because she wants me to call her.

Nana, Granddad, Neale, and I took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese in Greenville. They really enjoyed playing on the slide and Neale and I played each other in basketball. Neale won two out of three in basketball. I am blaming it on the carpel tunnel and the fact that it was a game because I beat him every time in real basketball. He does beat me in air hockey most of the time though so I will give him that.

Everything is going great. The girls are all over the place and I love it. We are having a blast.

TT and Kiki

2010-09-09T10:36:00.011-04:00

Holding Sissy's Hand
Putting on Shoes in the Sand

Sweet Taylor

Doing her modeling pose

Kaylie and Bunny

My Sweet Taylor Loves To Hug

I know you said not to but I really wanna eat it!

I am on a mission

My hair is out of control when I take out my hairbow

Daddy and Kaylie

Mom has no idea what to do with my hair

And mom cut mine ...but it really isn't as crooked as it looks in this photo! Don't try this at home.

It's Potty Time!

And this is what happens when you brush Taylor's hair....

I once took Kaylie to get her bangs cut but I didn’t like the way it was done. The woman cut too many bangs. Well her bangs needed to be cut again. I knew it was a bad idea but I decided to do it myself. I once cut Neale’s hair about 8 years ago and it didn’t turn out too well. As Neale will tell you – I took a chunk of his hair out. So against my better judgment I decided that Kaylie’s hair was a mess and it needed to be cut right then. After all, I was about to take her to the beach to take some pictures. Let’s just say that cutting hair is not my thing.

I ask the girls to repeat words I say. It is a little game we play. Some responses come out perfectly. Taylor can say “Taylor” exactly. Kaylie calls Taylor “TT” which is what they used to call her at daycare. Kaylie calls herself "Kiki".

Kaylie has started singing her “ABC’s”. She has the first 3 letters pretty well and the rest she makes up. I sing it to her all the time and do sign language to the letters. Yesterday I was driving home singing it to them and Kaylie had her hand in the air and was making up her own sign language. She is so smart. You can ask her to do something with words you are sure she has never even heard of before and she does exactly what you want most of the time. It amazes me. The girls are very talkative. Taylor likes to say “Momma Dada”. Kaylie does things you ask her, answers questions with a yes or no, and follows the rules with time out. Taylor is just the opposite. You put her in time out and she just smiles at you and gets up. After every time out I tell the girls they need to come tell me they are sorry. They come over and give me a hug and lay their heads down on me. It is precious.

I bought the girls a toilet because potty training will be right around the corner. We tested it out for the first time last night. At first they just fought to see who could sit on it in their clothes. I took off their clothes and put them on the potty one at a time. Kaylie liked sitting there. Taylor sat there and actually went to the bathroom! I am sure it was probably by accident but I was impressed.

Happy Late Birthday to Grandma Fran! We love you very much. Thank you Aunt Cathy for the book you sent. We read it every night before bed.

My Talkative Hairstylists

2010-09-02T22:43:00.013-04:00

Kaylie
Taylor

Sweet Kaylie

Taylor sleeps with her behind in the air

Kaylie

Curious Kaylie

Taylor still tries to close the mailbox. Neale says she must have OCD.

Kaylie kissing Daddy

Kaylie styling Daddy's hair

Kaylie styling Taylor's hair

We like to brush hair

Taylor giving Kaylie a new hairdo

The girls are talking and repeating everything I say. Today I asked the girls "Can you say..." and said a bunch of words. When I first asked them I really thought they wouldn't even know what that meant. To my surprise they both repeated every word I said. Taylor said "Taylor" for the first time. They also said "Roxy", "Sydney", "Kaylie" "Nana", "Apple", "Banana" and a bunch of other words I threw out. They get excited when you tell them they do a good job. Their eyes light up and the get a huge smile on their faces. They also clap for themselves.

The girls have been getting lots of "time outs" lately. Kaylie takes it very seriously. She cries and gets so upset when she has a time out. And when you sit her down she will stay there until you tell her she can get up. She tries hard to obey the rules and to do the right thing. Taylor doesn't and it really bothers Kaylie. Kaylie will be sure to tell her when she is not doing the right thing. Kaylie will point her finger at her and babble at her. The new thing is "Not nice". If Sydney snaps at the girls they will shake their finger at her and say "Not nice". If one of the girls is misbehaving then her sister will shake her finger at her and say "Not Nice". I was fussing at Taylor the other day and she listened to me and apparently didn't think much of it because she then walked off and mumbled "Not nice." Kaylie likes to get right in Taylor's face when she is telling her what to do and point her finger at her. She tries to tell her what she is supposed to do. It is funny because Kaylie is usually right and trying to get Taylor to do something that I want her to. The new daycare says Kaylie is the "bossy one". Kaylie likes to please you. She helps me clean up and goes and gets things I ask her to. She is very helpful. The other day I said "Why don't you take those clothes and go put them back in the dirty clothes basket." I never thought she would understand that but down the hall she went with the clothes and in the basket they went. Taylor likes to do her own thing. She is into brushing her hair and if you take the brush away from her it is like the world has ended. Taylor doesn't think much of time out. She will get up and not follow the rules. But she has the CUTEST thing that she does when she is sorry for something. She will come up to me and hug me and lay her head sideways on my shoulder or my lap and wrap her arms around me. It is her way of saying she is sorry and it melts my heart.

It was sad leaving the old daycare but I love the new one so far. It is so nice taking them and picking them up every day. I feel like I know more about what is going on with them. The daycare teachers say the girls are "Daycare pros" and they haven't skipped a beat. They said they act like they have known the other kids in the room forever. She said the first day they took a nap on their cots which were side by side. She said they woke up and held hands.

I am loving every minute of being a mother.

A Nice Visit

2010-08-25T00:09:00.010-04:00

Mama and Taylor
Kaylie Coloring

My Sweet Babies

Taylor watching tv at her table

Laying on Sissy

We are BUSY, BUSY (arms in the air)

Coloring is my new favorite thing (besides reading)

Sitting at our new table that we love

Reading

And more reading while sitting on our toybox

Dancing with Grandma Fran

Dancing with Daddy

Having a tea party, eating goldfish and coloring. Kaylie the Fashion Diva decided she did NOT want to wear her dress.

Giving Hi 5's to Grandpa Dale

Taylor and Grandma Fran

Taylor reading with Grandma Fran and Aunt Cathy

Taylor

Our Dance Party...the girls LOVE to dance

Taylor with her "Trouble" look climbing on the furniture

We had a nice visit with Fran, Dale and Cathy. We had a dance party in our living room that Aunt Cathy started that the girls absolutely loved. The girls got some new books so they have been reading those non-stop. Thanks for the books and clothes Fran and Dale! And thanks to Aunt Cathy for coming to visit and for her extreme kindness. We really appreciate it.

The girls got a new fairy table that they love. They sit at it and eat their snack, read, and color. They LOVE to color. We had a lesson about only having crayons at the table. The girls understood the lesson and have been obeying it. They are so smart and so amazing and kind and loving...I could go on forever because they just amaze me every day. They share have such great personalities at only a year and a half. You can have a discussion with them and they understand it. I am just so proud of them and I can't get enough of them. I am glad for women's rights so don't get me wrong because if women didn't have the rights we have then I would probably be at the front of the line fighting for them....BUT .....sometimes I can't help but wish for the old days when the woman stayed home and was a MOM. Time just goes by so quickly. It is like you blink and they aren't babies anymore. Of course, I love my job so I would have to work but maybe just not as much.

Kaylie is back to her fashion diva ways. Fran and Dale bought her an adorable dress but she was not wearing it. It had to come off. So opinionated already.

Kaylie's new word is "Baby". She says it very clearly and often. I had no idea where she got it from and then I kept catching myself saying it to her. I would say "Are you mama's baby?" or "I love you Baby", etc. She also loves to say "No". And if Taylor or the dogs do something wrong she will tell them "No" and shake her finger at them.

The girls get in these moods where they want to be wild and they just take off running after each other giggling and screaming through the house. It cracks me up. They have just learned how to run and it is so funny.

The girls are great so I couldn't ask for more. Life is good.

Kissing Sissy

2010-08-19T00:41:00.004-04:00

Photos Coming Soon

2010-08-18T15:44:00.009-04:00

I tried uploading some video a couple days ago but it didn't work so I will have to try again when I am not quite as busy. The girls are growing too quickly! I wish I could just freeze them right at this age for a couple years. It is just so fascinating how their little brains work and I love to hear them talk. I love the baby babble. They look at me so seriously and talk and talk. Their vocabulary is rapidly expanding. They can repeat words exactly as I say them. I have alphabet books and I read them to the girls and make the sound of the letter and the girls repeat them.

They have started stomping their feet when they get mad or don't get their way. Both of them do it. When I was reading their daily sheets from daycare yesterday I figured out where it comes from. It said "Kaylie loves doing morning exercises. She LOVES to stomp her feet."

Kaylie has been home sick for part of yesterday and today but I think she is starting to feel better. I have also been sick. Taylor was sick for one day but is better now. So far Neale is in the clear. I woke Kaylie up last night before I went to sleep to give her some medicine. I hadn't gotten to see her all day because by the time I got home from my photo session she was asleep. I told her I loved her and she relied "I Love You" and then I told her "Night, night" and she said "Goodnight" and waved to me and rolled back on her stomach and went to sleep. So sweet. Kaylie stayed home sick today so I went to pick Taylor up from daycare. Sometimes they put the girls in different rooms for part of the day. They move them around according to how many students are there per teacher. Taylor must have thought Kaylie was in the room next door because when I was walking out the front door Taylor pointed at the door to another room and said "Sissy". I think she thought I was forgetting Kaylie.

The girls will start a new daycare next month. They have been on the waiting list for this place since I found out I was pregnant and they just got a spot. The daycare is closer to me which is really important because I can take them to daycare and pick them up every day. Neale does it most of the time now because it is on his way to work. I just feel like I don't know what they do all day. I don't know any other kids or parents in their classes, etc. The teachers where they are now have been great but I just want to be more involved because I feel like I am missing out on too much so this is a step in that direction. So I am excited about it. Summer is almost over which I am thrilled about. I am so grateful that my summer was so booked but the most important thing to me right now is spending time with my family so I am hoping to get to do more of that in the near future.

Neale's dad and Cissy just left town and Neale's mom, Dale, and Aunt Cathy are coming this weekend so we are looking forward to their visit.

Girlie

2010-08-07T22:10:00.014-04:00

My Little Taylor

Love those blue eyes

My "Trouble" look

Hanging with sissy eating goldfish

Taylor relaxing (and putting a piece of her book in her mouth)

Kaylie being silly (and cute)

Taylor

Taylor playing the "Where Is Taylor" game. She would hide behindthe corner of the porch and I would ask "Where is Taylor?" and she ran out smiling

Playing "Where Is Kaylie"

Kaylie on the move...she puts her arm out like that when she dances too

OLDER PHOTOS BELOW...some I never got around to posting

This is how I carry my purse (and Sissy's purse too)

Kaylie loved this .....as long as it wasn't moving. She just wanted to sit on it.

Chillin in my car

I think this photo is so funny because Kaylie is doing exactly what the guy is doing

A couple weeks ago when it seemed like everything that could go wrong was going wrong I had a photo session at Huntington Beach State Park. I was meeting the people in the parking lot nearby and it began raining HARD....big storm. The photo session got rained out but where that tree fell is where I normally park (facing the road) to meet people. When I pulled into the parking lot I looked at the tree nearby swaying in the wind and decided to go to the other side of the parking lot. Right when I pulled into the other space the tree snapped and fell right where I would have been. So I guess I may have a little bit of luck left in me afterall.

Kaylie swinging in the neighborhood

This is by far my favorite age for the girls so far. Their vocabulary amazes me. They are starting to say 2 and 3 word phrases and popular words are "All Gone", "Up please", "Down", "I Love You", "Sissy", "No", "Fish", "Dog", "Quack", "Moo", "Book", "Mama", "Daddy". They talk all the time. A good bit is baby babble which I adore. Kaylie comes right up to me and looks me right in the eyes and just talks and talks and talks. And she is so serious about it. I usually say "Yes" and she agrees with me and then walks off. I would love to know what she is thinking or trying to communicate. They can repeat words you say exactly.

The other day Kaylie walked up to me so seriously. She was just staring at me and I was wondering what in the world she was doing. She seemed to be concentrating really hard. Then she leaned in and kissed me. Very sweet.

The girls are very girlie. I have no idea where they get it because all I have time to do is hop out of the shower and go. They on the other hand like to walk around with their purses, talk on the phone, brush their hair, and try on shoes. They can get shoes on by themselves sometimes. And Kaylie.....it is unbelieveable to me but she is picky about what clothes she wears. If you put her in an outfit she doesn't like she will let you know. She will pitch a fit and try to take the clothes off. She definitely has an opinion about what she wears....at one and a half!

"I Love You" A Year and a Half Old

2010-08-02T16:47:00.007-04:00

So I haven't blogged in a while because I am just trying to keep my head above water these days. My summer schedule is torture. Last night I was editing photos until after 3 am. It is never ending. I haven't gotten to spend much time with the girls or with Neale which needs to change. I miss them.

The girls turned 1 and 1/2 ( it was over a week ago but I am trying to keep up). They went to the doctor for their check up and shots and I forgot to get their info sheet with their height and weight. I think they are both 20 lbs. Going to the doctor with both of them is not easy so as soon as they give the girls their shots they start screaming so the nurse tries to get me out of there as quickly as she can at that point so the sheets got left behind.

Usually when I go to work the girls will give me hugs and kisses and wave goodbye to me. Sunday when I was leaving I told Kaylie I love her and she gave me a big kiss (with her kiss sound effects) and very clearly said "I Love You". Even the babysitter was surprised when she heard it. They are growing up so fast. I am a very proud mother. They are sweet little girls and I absolutely love the stage they are in right now. I love that I get responses when I say things to them. They are wide open. Now they are at a stage where Kaylie wants to please you and do what you ask (sometimes) , sit in your lap, and give you lots of hugs and kisses. Taylor is at a stage where she wants to do what she wants to do. And if you want her to do it she probably won't. Although sometimes I ask her to give me a kiss and a hug and she will think about it and finally do it. Other than that she is always on a mission to do something whether it is climbing furniture, trying to race to the top of the stairs before I see her, trying on shoes, getting the mustard bottle out of the refrigerator door, getting a brush to do her hair, etc. She gets it in her mind that she wants to do something and she has a one track mind until she gets it. And if it is something she can't do by herself she will say "Uhhhhh...Uhhh...Uhhhh" over and over again until you help her. She also constantly is still saying "Up, please" and "Quack, Quack" when she sees a duck in her books. Kaylie likes the cow and to say "Moo". Books are still the big hit around the house.

The girls like to say "Shhh" and Kaylie often tells that to the dogs and points her finger at them. She also does it to Roxy when Roxy tries to eat her snacks. It has been sad not having Marley around. Roxy and Sydney have started barking all the time at every little noise they hear. I think they used to use Marley as a guide for when they needed to bark and when they didn't need to and so now with her gone they bark constantly.

I will post photos tonight or tomorrow if all goes well. Thanks for following.

Marley Is In Heaven

2010-07-28T23:07:00.004-04:00

My Sweet Marley

Neale and I got Marley 11 years ago. We never knew her exact birthday so we said it was August 1st. We saw in the paper one day that someone was giving away puppies so we went and got her. It was a spur of the moment decision that we are very happy we made. As a puppy she definitely tested our patience. I came home one day and my loveseat and chair were shredded to stuffing. Over the next two years our tv cords and lamp cords were chewed in half, our shoes were eaten, all the corners on our kitchen cabinets were chewed off, etc. I found full batteries in out yard that Marley had apparently swallowed whole. We took her to obedience school..... twice. Then when she outgrew her puppy days she became one of the best behaved dogs ever. She loved going on walks, going to the dog park, swimming, playing fetch with balls, playing frisbee, riding in the car with her head out the window, and going to the beach. She was gentle to her dog sisters, Roxy and Sydney, and extremely patient and loving to Kaylie and Taylor. She was one of the sweetest most loyal dogs I have ever known. She was extremely smart. If you asked her where her ball was she would search the house to find it. She loved to give kisses and made a funny noise like Chewbacca from Star Wars when she got excited. She tried to always carry around as many balls as she could possibly fit into her mouth. When I would wake up she would be beside me on the floor, when I got out of the shower she was on the floor by the shower door, when I left the house she would watch me leave out the window and wait for me to come home by the door, and when Neale and Roxy went to bed every night she stayed on the floor right beside my computer desk to wait for me. She was such a loyal and loving dog. We love her and it breaks our hearts that she is no longer with us.

Grandparents Visited

2010-07-20T00:18:00.005-04:00

This is my silly little girl
with her precious smile

Taylor is trying on shoes while Kaylie plays with bunny

Grandad Stovall entertaining the girls

Taylor kissing her baby and Kaylie with bunny

Taylor tackling Kaylie to give her sissy kisses

Taylor making some pretend food and feeding Marley (with an unsharpened pencil)

The wild girls

My mom came down for a week and my dad came for the weekend. They were a big help with the girls because I was working most of the time they were here. The girls definitely wore their Nana out. We appreciate all of their help. Mom did laundry and cooked and most importantly played with the girls which I was unable to do since I had to work. Kaylie had herpangina which is throat blisters and a 103 fever. She had a rough couple of days but is feeling better.

The girls are wide open. They get their little push toys and take off like wild women down the hall. They chase each other and giggle. Taylor has just started tackling Kaylie to give her kisses. Taylor plays hard. She climbs furniture and has no fear. Nana let them up on the furniture while she was here so now all they say is "Up" because they want to get up on the couches and chairs to be wild. We are constantly telling them to "Sit on your bottom". They still LOVE books. Tonight we read "Hugs" (Thanks Aunt Cathy!) over and over again. They tend to find one page they like a lot and turn the pages quickly to get there. The girls are beginning to like to color. The trick is keeping the crayons out of Taylor's mouth. Taylor still shakes her head No to everything. I ask them questions all the time and they shake their heads no to most things. I do notice that when I ask them "Do you love Mama?" they actually will stop shaking their heads no. They don't answer me with a yes on that but I don't get the big NO shake. They love shoes!! They try them on over and over. Sometimes they actually put them on themselves and if they can't get them on they will hand them to me and say "UH, UH, UH" until I put them on them. They got their own purses and pretend cell phones from Nana and Grandad. They put their purses on their arms and hold their hands straight up in the air so they don't fall off and walk around the house. I have photos so I will have to locate them and upload at some point. They are so full of personality.

Yesterday Taylor picked up her empty bowl and took a pencil she was "coloring with" (it wasn't sharpened) and started pretend mixing up something in the bowl. She then walked over to Marley and was "feeding" Marley her pretend food and using the pencil as a spoon. I think she must have been trying to make Marley better. Marley lost all movement again about a week ago. We have been to a couple vets and took her to Charleston to have a catscan. During the catscan her heart stopped but they were able to revive her. They first told us that they couldn't find what was wrong and we would have to put her to sleep. Then they called back to say they did find that she has a slipped disc in her neck and it may heal on its own in a couple weeks (surgery is not an option because she also has lung cancer and cancer in her front leg or legs). She has yet to recover so we will see how the rest of the week goes but we can not leave her as she is. She has been such a sweet and loyal dog to Neale and myself for almost 11 years. We love her very much.

Neale has been trying really hard at his new job. It is not an easy job to have or to keep but he is really making an effort to do well at it. I am just busy...too busy. Today my car died on me...it is just one of those times where not much goes right. Hopefully things will turn around.

Imitating Mama

2010-07-08T08:09:00.004-04:00

Taylor modeling my purse
Kaylie modeling my purse (pre-haircut) with her photo showing on the purse when she was a baby

I love this photo because that is Taylor and the photo on the purse you see is also Taylor (right after I had given her a bath when she was really little)

I have noticed that the girls have started imitating me. I realized it when I saw Kaylie pointing and shaking her finger at our dog, Roxy, and telling her "No". The I realized it again when Kaylie started spanking herself when I told her I would spank her if she didn't stop what she was doing (obviously I don't spank very hard because she thinks it is funny so I think we are switching to "time out") and then again when Taylor picked up my purse and put it on her shoulder and started walking around the house with it. They aren't even a year and a half yet! I am amazed how their little brains work. Taylor just thought it was the best thing in the world. The purse weighs so much it made her tip over a few times but that didn't stop her. Then Kaylie decided she wanted to do it too.

Haircut and Hanging with my girls

2010-07-06T00:00:00.007-04:00

Kaylie trying to hold sissy's hand

I hope everyone had a Happy 4th! We didn't do anything (work) but today I got to spend some time with the girls. I can't believe how much they have changed just in the past couple weeks. I haven't gotten to spend much time with them so today I really noticed how much they are changing and how much I am missing. I took the girls to get their hair cut. Kaylie got her bangs cut. I didn't get a photo because I had to hold her the whole time and Taylor had to hold my other hand or she would cry. I really have no idea what to do with Taylor's curls. The lady said it didn't need to be cut since it is growing out so she didn't get hers cut. Then we went to Broadway at the Beach. There is a kid area that you can pay and the kids can jump on inflatables, play in the playhouses, etc. I put the girls in the inflatable to jump but they just wanted to get out. So we went and they played some in the playhouses. Kaylie liked to play with a ball she found. The biggest hit of the whole thing was sitting in miniature kid chairs. Then we went home and after the girls' nap we had a picnic outside. I filled up the pool for them to play in. Kaylie did some but Taylor is not big on it so she played in her playhouse. We had a very good day and I needed it. I have really missed my babies.

Taylor always wants to hold my hand and lead me around. She will not let go of it. You have to pry her fingers away. She still bites Kaylie from time to time. When I fuss at her she gets the saddest face you have ever seen and cries wants me to hug her. She sticks her bottom lip out. She loves to shake her head no to everything. Kaylie tries to hold her hand and give her kisses but Taylor rarely wants anything to do with it. She just shakes her head no. Taylor loves to climb on things...toyboxes, chairs, couches, pillows, etc. She loves the dogs. She pets them, kisses them, and occasionally sits on Marley. She wants to do everything all by herself (feeding with a spoon, putting on her shoes, brushing her hair, etc.) She will cry if you try to help her or do it for her. She is scared of the water and scared of most things but when she is climbing on stuff she has no fear at all. Today she did a backwards roll off the pillow and thought it was so fun she almost just threw herself backwards again from the standing position. She is a sweet little girl and very sensitive. I love hearing her say "Mama".

Kaylie is really smart. You can ask her to do something and she does it. Even if you think there is no way she understands you...she does. Today I told her she better sit down from standing on top of the toybox or I would "give her a spanking". She looked at me and bent over and spanked herself about five times while smiling at me. I tried not to let her see me laugh. Her smile is precious. She thinks everything is funny and is always smiling and giggling. I ask her to go get something and give it to Taylor and she does. She shares with Taylor, she tries to hold Taylor's hand, she tries to give Taylor kisses and hugs. She is a good big sister. Today Roxy was trying to eat her goldfish crackers and I was working on the computer but I heard her say "No" and I looked over and she was pointing and shaking her finger at Roxy telling her "NO". She loves to dance.

Both girls LOVE to read and to have stories read to them. I read books over and over to them today. Then I tell them to read to me which is my favorite. I love their baby babble. I love how Taylor emphasizes words and points at the pictures. Kaylie is an early riser and Taylor likes to sleep in but never can because sister always wakes her. Kaylie loves stuffed animals but Taylor doesn't really care for them. Taylor likes to stand on the toybox and Kaylie likes to get in the toybox. Kaylie loves the water so much and splashes around so much that she has on occasion gone in head first in the bathtub. Taylor is scared of the water and doesn't want anyone splashing and wants to get out pretty quickly.

Every night before I go to bed I go in their bedroom and put my hands on their chests just to check on them and I look at them and the thought that always comes to my mind as I look at each one if them is "I adore this child". I could not love them any more. I am so blessed and so grateful to have them in my life. They are my world.

Catching Up

2010-06-29T22:57:00.004-04:00

Kaylie
Taylor

Loving My Sissy ...actually I think Taylor was trying to push Kaylie out of the dog bed but Kaylie thought it was funny...she thinks everything is funny

Taylor Reading

Taylor pushing the doorbell button in the book

Taylor getting kisses from Marley

Taylor hugging Marley

AND...Taylor sitting on Marley

Taylor's first try with a spoon

Taylor

Kaylie enjoying lunch at the beach

I remember when I was little my friend Laura and I would sit in out bathing suits in her parents bathtub with bubbles and make fun of this Calgon commercial. The commercial had a woman in a bubble bath and she was so stressed out that she would dramatically say "Calgon take me away". We thought is was hilarious and would say it over and over. I was taking a shower tonight to get the sand of my feet from my beach shoot and that popped into my head and made me laugh. That is kind of how I feel here lately. Despite referring away over 50 photo sessions in the last 3 weeks...I am still slammed. Saturday I had 2 weddings back to back from 8 am until after 11 pm. I think maybe I just like to torture myself. I just keep reminding myself that I am blessed to have this problem. BUT...I do miss my girls and my husband. So I am hoping to catch up sometime in the near future so I can spend some time with them.

I haven't written for a while so I didn't get a chance to tell Neale, Dad, George, Dale, and all the other fathers out there Happy Father's Day!!!

We are very sad that Aunt Nancy passed away. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her children.

Neale and I got a black lab puppy together 11 years ago. Her name is Marley. She has been having some problems getting around in the past month. Sunday she lost all ability to move, stand, and walk due to losing control and feeling over the front part of her body and her right leg. We took her to the vet and the vet thinks she has bone cancer which has also spread to her lungs, arthritis in her back that is the worst the vet has ever seen and so bad that her back legs should not be able to move (which the problem is now her front legs not her back so the vet doesn't know how that is possible), and she has nerve damage. The doctor was amazed because Marley has all these problems yet none of them of she has shown any signs of except the nerve damage which is what is preventing her from standing and walking. So we had a bad couple of days. The vet gave her some medicine and with the medicine and some prayers Marley was able to stand again today!!! So we are very hopeful that she will recover.

Neale got a job which we are very excited about. Jobs are hard to come by in this area unless you are in the service industry. He started this week so hopefully he will like it.

Grandma and Grandpa Stovall got the girls a new book which they love. It asks them where their nose, ears, etc. are and they want me to read it to them over and over again. As a matter of fact they have fought over it so much that they have torn out 3 of the flip up pages. There is one part where it asks where Blueberry the Bunny is and it has a photo of the flower. I read it to them and say "That is not Blueberry." and the girls both shake their heads "NO" before I can even get the words out. Taylor LOVES to shake her head no. Even if she means yes she just likes to say no. Kaylie learned how to shake her head yes for the first time this week. It looked a little bit like she was headbanging but it was cute.

We are hoping to find some time for haircuts this coming weekend!

Our New Favorite Restaurant

2010-06-16T22:58:00.016-04:00

Kari and Kaylie
Taylor and Daddy

The Girls With Nana (last week)

Kaylie

Climbing Up the Pizza Slide

Kaylie Dancing to the Music while standing on the slide

Taylor

Fun times...love the face Taylor is making

Taylor

The train was all good and fun until it started moving

Grandpa George and the girls

Sweet "T"

I have a lot to say!

I am really making an effort to make every minute that I do get with the girls count because I don't get to see them much these days. Work is keeping me BUSY. So we decided to take the girls to East of Chicago to eat dinner (several days ago). The girls loved it. They were very upset when it was time to go. They preferred mac and cheese to the pizza but they both ate pretty well. If Kaylie doesn't like something she takes it right back out of her mouth and lets you know.
They didn't like any moving rides but liked playing on the "playground". Kaylie was busting a move to the music. The girl loves to dance. Taylor will sometimes too. It cracks me up.

The girls are in serious need of haircuts. I have been working from sunrise until....well...almost sunrise again so I haven't been able to take them to get it cut but hope to soon.

We are keeping Aunt Nancy and family in our prayers. She had surgery last week and is not recovering as hoped. Please keep her in your prayers too.

Wonderful Weekend

2010-06-07T22:17:00.011-04:00

Kaylie in her Jammies

Taylor in her Jammies

Taylor loves Roxy

Kaylie and Granddad

Kaylie and Nana

We had a great visit in Greenville. Neale and I went to the Zac Brown Band concert and had a great time. Sat we went to Erica's baby, Caroline's, 1st birthday party and then went over to Tina's house. The girls enjoyed Tina's pool. They were both hesitant at first and a little scared but they both ended up really liking it. Kaylie liked it more than Taylor but Taylor did pretty well. It was nice to get away and to spend time with family.