May

May is always a busy month for us. This year I turned 27, Rusty and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, I got to enjoy my second Mother's day and we enjoyed our first family vacation. Tired yet? I am!

This month the girls have been busier than ever! Madison remains a tomboy. She is our explorer and troublemaker! She knows what she isn't allowed to do and checks over her shoulder to make sure no one is watching. If she notices someone watching her, she quickly continues doing the forbidden behavior! She is full of confidence at home but remains shy around strangers. As tough as she sometimes seems, there is a gentle side to her. In the evenings (or even mornings!) she loves to cuddle up with her blankie. My favorite times with her right now are right before bed when we read our stories. She always climbs up on my lap for a quick cuddle before bed.

Audrey is still a mama's girl and loves to ride in my backpack when we go to the grocery store or walking around some place. She has become quite the little chatter box as well. She walks around the house saying something that clearly, you should understand!!!! When she really gets going, she'll even stick out her pointer finger as if trying to make a real impression. She is starting to try to say more words, although "doggie" remains her favorite. Every animal is a doggie to her and every animal also makes a monkey sound "e, e, e!!" Very entertaining. A few other words she has tried to say are ball, daddy and ducky. She is also a little mother. Audrey loves her "babies" and is always toting around one stuffed animal or another. She is very sensitive to Madison's feelings and gets very upset if she is crying.

Both girls are becoming entertainers. They like to kiss their stuffed animals, blow kisses, kiss the animals in story books and wave hello and goodbye. When one does something, the other is usually quick to follow.

As for little baby Jones, he or she is growing well. I feel movement everyday and I realize how special a time this is. We have our final ultrasound this week. It's so weird to me since I had so many with the girls but I'm so satisfied to feel the little bumps of tiny limbs inside of me! We have decided to make the sex of the baby a surprise and can't wait to meet this little person. I'm already 21 weeks!

I wish I could freeze this stage in our lives for a little while. I love growing new life inside of me and I love watching the girls discover the world. (It doesn't hurt that sleeping through the night is consistent!) Rusty and I have seemed to settle into a routine and I am enjoying seeing him as a father more than I thought I would. He is also a great husband :)

More next month (or sooner if I'm feeling really ambitious!)

First family vacation: Complete!

Our long awaited Disney cruise has come and gone. And it was amazing! Not every second was perfect but overall really great and really relaxing.

It wasn't like any vacation we've taken before but there were no dishes, no cleaning and no laundry. We napped every day with the girls and went to bed not long after their 7:30 bedtime. It was just what we needed!!! My favorite part was watching the girls explore new things and smile with pure delight. This was certainly a trip to remember!

Check out the rest of the pictures in the photo album to the right :)

Audrey and Madison Turn ONE!!!!

April started out busy and never slowed down!!! The first day of April, we celebrated the girls' first birthday with family and friends. Then on the 3rd we celebrated their actual birthday with brunch at Keke's buffet with mom, an afternoon walk in their wagon and some cupcakes for after dinner desserts!

This month we also announced that we are expecting our third child on October 17th! This also happens to be Dannis' birthday so it will be a very special time!

Most of this last week has been spent getting ready for our cruise which leaves on Friday! It is a long awaited, much needed vacation!

In baby news: the girls' continue to grow up (how do you keep that from happening anyway?!) They are now both walking and are getting better and better each day. Soon they'll be running! They are both starting to become more vocal, babbling all day.

Audrey: She said her first word! Doggie! She is very particular at mealtime, sorting out her food in a way that is very methodical! She also loves shredding paper and putting the pieces into piles...oh my looks like she inherited my OCD! They are starting to learn more sign language too. Audrey knows "more," "clean-up" and "bye-bye." She also helps (sometimes) with cleaning up by putting toys into the toy basket. Her hair now requires brushing and she loves to do that too. And don't even think about trying to take her brush away until she's finished...lol!

Madison: She was our first real walker! There is no fear in her and I think that's helped her be successful first. She knows she is going to fall, and it doesn't keep her from plowing on ahead! Madison is a much more rough and tumble sort of chick. She excels in gross motor skills but some of the more finer things like sign language are only for times that she's in the mood to do them! She currently (occasionally) signs "more," "all done," "bye-bye" and "daddy." Forget about mommy...haha!

More after the cruise! :)

March

It goes without saying that March was an unusually difficult month. I am still trying to grieve the loss of Dannis while being extremely grateful that mom's life was spared. I know it will be hard, but we will prevail.

I have blogged enough for my liking on mom's CaringBridge website so this will be short and sweet. Check out the girls' photos in the album. I'm going to leave the big first birthday party for the next blog ;)

RIP Dannis. I miss you :(

February

Ok, ok! I'm finally updating! Geez....I'm glad people actually still check this thing :) So, life has been very full lately. The girls are everywhere and into everything! Let's talk about them first:

Audrey: Our once fussy child is now very happy (most of the time!) Every day we get lots of smiles and even a chuckle here and there! She is independent and social, always making eye contact and smiling at strangers while we are out and about. They always tell her how cute and beautiful she is and she just eats. it. up! Still a mama's girl, however, and gets very angry when I am around the house but not near! We often find her trailing after Madison on their little adventures. Monkey see. Monkey do. She is truly a joy! Audrey LOVES her fruit and carbs but has also come to love the meatballs, meatloaf and hamburgers her mom so lovingly prepares from scratch! She also happily picks through her tray with her very accurate pincer grasp to choose exactly which item she wants to eat (peas, corn and Cheerios are some favorites too!)

Madison: As we like to say, Brutis! As much as Audrey is a mama's girl, Madison is a daddy's girl!!!!! She finds comfort in Rusty in a way that I can't give her. Funny how they have chosen us in such a way! Madison is much more reserved and takes a long time to warm up to people. Even people she sees regularly! But for those of us who know her well, she is quick to laugh, squeal and smile, showing off her new toothy grin! She has also discovered that a little fake cough will get people looking at her pretty quickly. I shot quite a few photos of her this month mid-cough! She has graduated from the military crawl to her hands and knees, getting places quickly. As soon as she sees the back door open or our bedroom door she is sprinting towards the opening! The back door leads to the outdoors (where she loves to be!) and there's that funny green stuff out there with lots of dead leaves to munch on! Our bedroom, she has discovered, is where the shoes are. Another obsession! As always, she remains fascinated with Layla and will sometimes just start laughing at the dog out of no where! Unfortunately, she also likes to grab her soft fur. There have been a few occasions where she's ended up with a handful of it! Good thing Layla is so good with them!!

On Fridays the girls and I go to our Baby Bunch group and meet with other moms and babies. There is a different speaker each week and we really enjoy the outing. Rusty and I have also been working at teaching the girls a few basic signs. So far they have really picked up the sign for "more." Occasionally Audrey will sign for milk but it's mainly just more, more, more! We have "more" work to do, teaching them to use other signs to communicate their needs :)

It's hard to believe that their first birthday is quickly approaching. I'm in denial about it actually. I wish it wasn't happening. I have so enjoyed this first year and this time especially. Their personalities are blossoming, they are smiling and laughing, they join us for family meals, they are easy to take out and about, they sleep through the night. How could it get better? Part of me dreads them growing up because I love who they are right now so much. They want to be with us, they love us and they are so innocent. Each stage has its challenges and joys but this is my favorite time so far. Maybe I will like the next stage even better but who knows.

As for us: Rusty is still awaiting a promotion to lead position back on second shift. We are hoping he gets and interview (and the position) within the next week or two. As for my job, we are entering the slower season at work and I am nervous about getting canceled too much. I am considering taking a part-time position instead of per-diem but it also means taking a LARGE pay cut. We remain optimistic and realize that things will fall into place, just like they always do. It just causes a little stress in the meantime.

Until next time...

2012 is here....

...and we're still recovering from 2011! The craziness of the holidays is settling and the Christmas decorations are put away. In fact, I even have the V-day decorations put up. Other than that, our life is crazy right now! Rusty's schedule at work is changing from moment to moment. Ever since the closing of Jaws on January 2nd, he has been shuffled around and his shift has changed several times. It looks like he will be officially placed on second shift on another ride but we still don't know his days off. Oh, and there's a possibility he will be working third shift for awhile, starting Sunday but we probably won't know until late this week. This makes life really difficult when my schedule is already made through mid March! I know things will work out but it really is a struggle in the meantime!

Not much in other news except the girls are changing and doing new things everyday! Audrey is pulling up on everything (mainly mommy) but also any furniture she can get a hold of! Madison is still a sprinting crawler...life is very interesting to say the least! They are also becoming good eaters and no longer require being spoon fed purees! We are able to take them out to restaurants to eat and it seems they are a bit easier to take out and about. We are (I think) in the process of transitioning from 2 short naps a day to one. I hope this one nap is long!!!

I staged a mini-photo shoot in preparation for the "holiday." Mainly just for fun :) Daddy was the one getting all the smiles for me in the pictures...a great assistant!

Babies' First December!

As much as we enjoyed the holidays, I am breathing an exhausted sigh of relief that it is all over! All of November was spent in preparation for Thanksgiving, December for Christmas and now it's already the new year! I guess I better start thinking about the first birthday party?! How time flies!

The month started with a camping trip. Yes, we took the girls camping! It was certainly not the most relaxing trip we've ever taken but it was great to include the girls in the December tradition! We were also able to steal away to the theme parks before the holiday black out days! Rusty and I had a date night to MGM for the Osborne light show and the next day took the girls to Magic Kingdom and met up with my cousin Stacey and her family!

We also had several visitors this past month! Paige was home from college and Nolan from the Army. So great to have my siblings home for the holidays and it made me so glad that the girls will always have each other :) My friend Savanah was also home from California and came to stay. Last but not least, my aunt, uncle and cousins from Minnesota came for a week! So fun to all be together!!!

Then came the actual Christmas holiday. We hosted Rusty's family on Christmas Eve. Aunt Judy and cousins Dylan and Noelle were in town too! I baked a turkey and a pie and we enjoyed lots of good food! Then, Christmas morning my family came and had brunch and opened presents. Then Rusty's parents came and opened presents, then we went to the grandparents for the afternoon. Feel tired yet? I do, just recounting it! Loved being together with family but wow! exhausting with two little people :)

The girls learned how to crawl this month! They are everywhere and into everything! Audrey is learning to pull up to a stand and Madison is the fastest crawler you have ever seen! They continue to LOVE their doggie! Layla has been a saint with all the craziness that is mobile twins. She shares her toys, tolerates the fur pulling and gives plenty of wet kisses! We are lucky to have a dog like her for the girls to grow up with!

We also have had major news in regards to Rusty's job. Jaws has closed as of the beginning of 2012 so he has been moved to another ride. We are very grateful that he didn't get laid off but are also struggling to adjust to a new schedule. He is now working 5 nights a week on second shift. My job is going well. Lots of sick people to take care of this time of year!!!

We are counting our many blessings for 2011 and hope that 2012 is another great year!