Birthday Fun!!

"You Lookin' at Me?"

Braxton, Abby and Rory. Micheal called this "The Evolution of Carters."

This is my Heaven!!!

Mimi Cinda reading Daddy's card with Abby

Make a wish!!

Michael turned 29!! Look at the funny looking cake his wife made him :)

I just couldn't resist!!

Abby and Rory playing together in the outfits that Uncle Ed and Aunt Kay sent them right after they were born!!! They finally fit and are too adorable!!

"But Mom, we don't need a nap... honest."

The only problem with the strollers is that sometimes one girl will get on one side and the other will get on the other side and they will push in opposite directions. Not much progress is made when this happens.

I don't think that Abby was ready for paparazzi after her bath

Rory loves everything about bath time... even the fun time after baths

Rory in her new big-girl car seat

Abby fell asleep in her new car seat on the way home from church. It's really hard to wake up.

Abby fell asleep and pulled her hat down over her eyes to keep the sun out.

Abby sportin' her Jackie O' outfit for church!!

Michael's 29th birthday was this last Monday (Nov. 10), but since there was a nasty stomach bug tearing its way through our family, his birthday party had to be postponed until tonight. We had such a good time despite the delay! I made Michael his birthday cake (because he specifically told me that he wanted a homemade cake and not a bought cake) and my dad and I made homemade chicken and dumpling soup. We figured that due to the fact that 7 of the 8 people present had been getting sick for the last 3 days that chicken soup would be our best bet. Michael has been promised a homemade Chinese dinner from his wife and he will eventually get it... probably. :) The girls and Braxton had so much fun at the party. It's always good to be around family!

The girls are growing more and more each day. Every single day, Michael and I are floored at what new things they are learning and discovering!! Rory has started saying "my daddy" to Michael. She thinks it's so funny when I say "no, my daddy." She then replies "my daddy." It's become a game, but she's learning all the same. She also says "this" when she wants something. I always catch myself asking the girls, "Do you want this?" I guess that is where she picked it up. I'm not really sure. She will even crawl over to Abby and say "this" while pointing at her sister. It's so funny! We try to explain that Abby is not a "this" but instead a "sister." I think that it's an abstract concept that may take a while for her to understand. Abby has started saying "mimi" (much to my mother's excitement). She hasn't had a chance to say it to her Mimi Sue yet, but I'm sure that she will be excited as well!! The girls call their grandmothers "Mimi Cinda" and "Mimi Sue," but I think that Mimi will have to suffice for now. Both girls are doing so well with their walking. They can both pull up with no problem on just about anything that they can get close to. They will try to let go, but still don't quite have the balance to stand alone yet (but they will get there). They can walk back and forth while holding on, though. If they can hold on, there is no stopping them. They LOVE their push toy strollers that they can walk behind. The strollers give them the freedom to wander the house more freely while still practicing their walking. They have also started to figure out how to tag-team Mommy. One will start crying and I will go to see what is wrong and the other will take off. It's constant movement in our house now. The other day, Rory wanted a toy that was on top of Braxton's desk at my grandmother's house. Abby laid on the floor in front of the desk and Rory tried to step onto her back to reach the toy. We were all floored. Should they be able to problem solve that well at this age? We're in so much trouble! Rory and Abby have also been recently cleared to try all sorts of new "big people" food. They love to eat cheese, crackers, gold-fish crackers and yogurt. We are trying to move them away from the bottle at every feeding to just a bottle in the morning and one at night before bed. It's going to take some time, but we are working at it. It's amazing how fast everything is changing!