My blue-eyed girls

One look from these big blue eyes and daddy will be wrapped around their little fingers....

by the way....how cute is Marissa and her little pigtails:)

A visit from Pops and Nana

A couple weeks ago, we were able to spend several days with Russell's parents, aka Pops and Nana, and we all had a great time visiting and spending time together. We don't get to see them often enough because they live in Texas, but Pops' job has him traveling a lot so on their way home from Pennsylvania, they stopped here to see us. Marissa got seriously spoiled while they were here...they got her a kitchen for her playroom!! It is so cute and she loves it...(I am in the process of putting up curtains in her playroom, so when it's complete I will post some pics) She also took a trip to Target with her daddy and Pops and they got her an Elmo doll and video and a Handy Manny doll. Marissa is always asking to watch her "elmee bidibee" (Elmo video). :)

We also had a surprise visit from Uncle Ryan and Aunt Loren (and her adorable growing belly!). It wasn't exactly under the best circumstances as they had to travel to Memphis b/c Loren's grandpa passed away, but we were sure glad we got to see them. Loren is pregnant with a little boy and due in August, so I was able to loan her lots of maternity clothes and a few other baby items we don't need right now. Here are a couple pics from our visit!

Loren, Allie and me (and baby boy Nichols:))

the boys with their girls-Uncle Ryan, Marissa, Allie, Pops and Russell

We hope to see y'all again soon!!

Well, we almost made it....

through an entire church service, that is. This morning was our second attempt at going to church as a family of four, and, unfortunately, it got cut short. We arrived a little early, the girls both had full tummies, Marissa had her paci and silky (blanket) and Allie just needed to take a nap. Russell and I go in, talk to some people, give some hugs and get situated in our pew. We made it through the worship time and prayer and then, about halfway through the sermon, I see the head nursery woman (who is very, very sweet) walk into the service and start looking around...and, you guessed it, she's looking for me! I immediately think it's going to be Allie. She spots us and comes over and whispers, "Do you mind if we take some of Marissa's clothes off, she is really hot." Uh, ok-that's certainly not what I was expected, so I just kinda laughed and said, "sure, take off whatever you want." The weather channel said it was 55 degrees this morning, so I put on a turtleneck, sweater dress over that and tights, looking back now, probaby not the best outfit choice. I felt like an idiot. Russell assured me I was not and then laughed at me. Ugh, thanks. So, about 5 minutes later, the door opens, I look back and see the other nursery lady (also, very sweet person) looking around for someone...and, you got it, me again! She comes over and says, "Allie is screaming, she won't take the bottle and I think she is hungry." So I smile, get up and go get my baby. I get back there, and as I'm on my way to Allie's room, I peek in Marissa's room and I see her, stripped down to just her turtleneck and diaper and still crying, all red-faced and snotty-nosed. I laugh to myself at the sight and then proceed to Allie's room, who I can hear screaming bloody murder as soon as I walk into the hallway. I pick her up and she stops crying and then I can hear Marissa crying from down the hall. So, I smile and say, "Ok, I think it's time to go home." I hand Allie back to the nursery lady, go back to the service, wave Russell over and we proceed to load up our half-naked, snotty-nosed, screaming, red-faced babies in the car and go home. We look over at each other and just laugh, because well, what else is there to do in a time like this?

I will leave you with a picture of the above mentioned girls...can you believe that these two sweet little babies could cause so much trouble!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my mom's 50th birthday and to celebrate, I would like to dedicate this post to my mom...my very best friend. I'm having a hard time putting into words what my mom means to me...I just know that I don't know what I would do without her. My mom is the most beautiful person I know, both inside and out. I can remember one summer when we were living in Houston, she and I were driving down the road and we passed a woman who was propping herself up against a tree, trying to stand up. It looked like she was going to pass out at any second; it must have been 100 degrees outside and mom pulls over and gets out and puts the woman in the car with us. I don't remember all the details because I was young, but I know she brought her to our house, let her take a shower, fed her and gave her clothes and then found somewhere to take her so she would be safe and have a place to sleep. I will never forget that day because, looking back now, it helped me understand just how kind and giving and amazing my mom is. And now that I have children, I have a whole new love and respect for my own mom. I didn't always make things easy for her, but no matter what happened, she was there by my side, never giving up on me or anyone else in her life. She is strong, independent and so very intelligent and I hope more than anything that, today, on her 50th birthday, she knows just how much her family loves her and truly appreciates everything that she has ever done for us, sacrificed for us or cooked for us (haha:)). You are the best mom in the world, and as I enter into this time of my life as a new mom, I'm so incredibly grateful that I have you to look up to. I thank God everyday that He picked you to be my mom. Happy Birthday Mom, I love you!

Sisters

Here they are at 2 months old...what do you think?:)

Funny girl:)

I sure wish I knew who she was talking to b/c they must be the funniest person ever:)

teeth, teeth, and more teeth....

Sorry for the lack of posting lately...there just really hasn't been too much going on besides our everyday lives. The girls are both feeling better from their colds, now we are dealing with Marissa and her teeth. Poor thing is cutting all 4 canines (or cuspids, eye-teeth...whatever you want to call them) at the same time. Needless to say, she has been pretty fussy lately. On friday afternoon, she started to feel warm, and by 5:00, her temp was 102.7. I figured it was teething, but just to be on the safe side, I asked her sweet daddy to take her to CARES, which is an emergency clinic that takes walk-ins and get her checked out. So, off they went and about 2 hours later, he calls and says, "yep, it's just teething..." So we got some motrin and tylenol and kept her drugged up the next 48 hours. She is feeling better now, still a little fussier than normal, but after you see these pictures, you will understand why!I was able to get some good shots of her teeth coming in...doesn't it look so painful and awful? You can click on the picture and make it bigger...

showing off her top teeth with a big smile...

showing off her bottom teeth with a big frown:(

isn't it funny how she can go from this.....

to this in less than a minute....

I'm sure this is God's way of easing me into teenage years. (I'm already praying for those days...and for Russell:))

I'll end this post on a happy note and tell you that Allie is doing great!! She is starting to smile and is trying to laugh and let me tell you, her big sister is so in love with her! It is just the sweetest thing to watch Marissa love on Allie and give her kisses and want so badly to pick her up and hold her. Here are a few recent pictures of sweet baby Allie.