So Much Fun!!

Rory playing with the HUGE poodle that Mimi Cinda and Papa bought for the girls. It makes about 4 of the girls. She loves to wrestle with it!!
Abby cuddling with her bear. She's played so hard today!!
Rory asleep on the living room floor. It's hard work to play so hard all day!!
Daddy and Abby
Mommy and Rory
Abby dressed up and headed out
Rory loves to figure out her new toys. She loves a challenge!!
Are you watching me?

Sister sleeping tangle. They woke up like this.
Baby Wrestle Mania. I'm not sure who's winning.
And they're off!!
Braxton was trying to put his shirt on and he kinda missed. We had to get a picture before we could help him out.
Abby snuggling with Aunt Shannie

I know that it has been a while since the last time that I updated everyone on what has been going on in the Wonderful World of Hanna, but so much has been happening that I haven't really had time to sit down. I've decided that the 7 month time is, so far, the most fun time for little ones. The girls are learning and exploring new things every day and it's so exciting to watch.

It is never quiet around our house anymore. Both girls are starting to really talk more and more. Rory is now saying "Dada," "Mama," "hi" and "bye." She loves the reaction that she gets from everyone around her when she says one of her words. It's too cute. Yesterday, I was getting up off the floor to go to the kitchen and she said "Momma bye." Michael and I just about fell over. Michael assured me that it was a statement that I was leaving and not a command to go away. Its amazing how sensitive you can get. Abby says "Momma" a lot. She especially says it when I have done something that she does not approve of completely. It's so amazing to hear them talking. When they first started to jabber, I thought it was the best sound in the world. And, every once in a while I would hear something that sounded like "mama" or "dada," but there is nothing like having your child look at you and say "Mama" and know that she knows exactly what she is saying. It's like the first time that they actually smile at you. You enjoy the little involuntary smiles they have at first, but the first time that they look at you and their face lights up and they smile for real.. well, there's nothing like it!! Sorry... I digress. Abby has also, courtesy of her cousin, begun to growl at everyone. It's such an odd sensation to hear such a deep sound come out of such a little body. Her and Braxton will get into growling contests. Braxton will growl and then Abby will growl back a little louder. Each will get louder in turn until they are both almost straining to growl any louder. It's hilarious!! Both girls are so crazy about Braxton. He loves to play with them and they think that he hung the moon. Both will laugh at him no matter what he does. It's too funny!! I have a feeling that they are going to learn a lot from him (some things that we may not want them to). Both girls are crawling now. Abby is still taking it slow, but she gets where she's going after a while. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth while she is deciding where she wants to go. Then, when she's carefully considered her options, she chooses her route. Rory, on the other hand, hit the crawling full-speed ahead (like she does most things) and hasn't slowed down yet. Rory soldier crawls everywhere. It's hard to keep up with her sometimes. I never knew a little one could move so fast!! Both girls love books, which we are so excited about!! It's not too surprising since Michael and I usually have our noses stuck in a book whenever possible (although it has been a little more difficult for the last 7 months or so for some strange reason). They will lay on the floor and turn the pages to their books and just jabber on and on like they are really reading a great story. It's fun to watch. When they want us to read a book to them, they will scoot the book across the floor to us. We have started using sippy cups in conjunction with bottles. Abby actually prefers the sippy cup to the bottle most of the time. There are times when she just needs her bottle, though. Both girls are doing really well with the new cups, though. They are also trying all sorts of new foods. They love it when it's time for meal time. Both get so excited!! We haven't really found much that they don't like as far as food is concerned. They really would like to be able to eat what Mommy and Daddy are eating, but we've been pretty strict about sticking to the doctor's recommendation about when to introduce certain foods. Michael and I both think that it is important to let their systems adjust to new foods rather than bombard them with too many new things at one time. Not to mention, we really would like to establish healthy eating habits now rather than have to fight with them their whole lives to eat what's good for them. No worries, though, they have tried so many different types of food and love it all!! Their Mimi Cinda and Papa really like to sneak them bits of food (like cake and cinnamon sugar twists) that their Mommy and Daddy normally wouldn't give them. But, what good is being a grandparent if you can't break the rules sometimes. :) The girls love to wrestle and play with each other all the time. It's funny how they will just roll over and crawl over each other like it's no big deal. Sister is just another big toy to play with. We get so tickled watching them play with each other. They will wrestle over toys and jabber back and forth at each other. We just let them work their squabbles out and it usually turns out just fine. It's so amazing to watch them interact with one another like it's the most natural thing in the whole world!! There's so much more that I could write about, but I'm not sure that I could write everything. It's just so amazing to watch the girls grow and explore. What a blessing!!

Michael and I are doing pretty well. Michael is in full-swing with work. He's enjoying the school year and all the new responsibilities that he has. He does have a lot of extra meetings and things that he has to attend and he thinks that he could do without some of that, but, overall, he's enjoying himself. I'm just staying at home and having the time of my life with Rory and Abby. We tried Mother's Day Out at our church, but that didn't work out for us (due to some extenuating circumstances that I won't go into). So, the girls and I are staying at home and I love it. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to be at home all day and not have to leave the girls. I couldn't choose a more rewarding job in the whole world!!