Shandra's Graduation

Before the graduation, we went to Ruby Tequilla's to eat and the three kiddos rode on the donkey out front together. They had a good time!!

Abby watching the crowd around us. She didn't really like so many strangers so close (I don't blame her).
Rory giving Mimi Cinda kisses. She showered everyone with kisses throughout the graduation!!

Here come the graduates
Braxton waiting to see his Mommy graduate

Braxton's "sad" face. He wanted to make sure I got a picture.

Shandra is officially graduated!!

Shandra and her diploma. Yeah Shannie!!

Braxton is so proud of his Mommy

Shandra with her nieces. Rory was very interested in getting a hold of the tassle.

The graduate and her proud parents

Shandra's Congratulations Roses

She did it all for the cake!!!

Last night, we attended Shandra's Amarillo College graduation. She has completed her Associate's degree in General Studies with the intentions of applying and attending the Texas Tech School of Physical Therepy. We are all so proud of her accomplishment!!

Climbing Higher and Higher

"Can I help you?" ~Abby

Jumping on the couch. I think we need to get a trampoline.

"I'm being good Mom." ~Abby

"See mom, no danger at all!" ~Rory

Abby watching her sister climb

"Mooooom. I don't want to get down!" ~Rory

Here a few pictures that I took of the girls today as they climbed on everything in the house. I pulled one of our ottomans over in front of the front door today because Rory continuously shut Abby in between the wood door and the glass door as they waited for Daddy to come home from work. Rory decided that she could see out of the front door better if she climbed on the barrier. The girls also had fun jumping on the couch (which they are not allowed to do... just by the way). It's amazing the things that they can climb on now!! I remember the first time that Rory climbed on the couch by herself and we were so proud of her, jumped up and down with her and praised her. We did the same with Abby when she climbed in one of our chairs for the first time by herself. What were we thinking?!?!

My Wonderful Family

Blue M&M kisses
Daddy gave Rory a blue M&M this afternoon and this was the result

Rory trying her very first snow cone... YUMMY!!

Abby trying her very first cherry snow cone!!!

"I think I'll have some more of that!!" ~Rory

There's a reason Mommy and Daddy left them in only their diapers

Rory playing ball

Abby's new "evil" stare. She cracks me up!!

This past Sunday was my second Mother's Day! What a special day we had!! We decided to keep the girls home from church because Abby had a nasty stomach virus last week and we didn't want her exposed to anything else while her immune system was still on the mend. I don't know if Daddy had a chat with the girls the night before or what, but they decided to sleep until 10:00 Sunday morning. That has never happend in their entire little lives!! Needless to say, Mommy slept in as well. Michael and the girls gave me precious cards (that the girls colored in themselves) and then surprised me with flowers for my garden planters. I love working outside, but I haven't done a lot this year because we are trying to sell our house. I didn't want to plant a ton of new flowers and then move off and leave them. Michael and I had talked about the fact that I haven't really gotten a chance to work outside much since I got pregnant with the girls and that I really missed it. So, they surprised me with flowers and promised time alone (gasp) in my garden. It was very special to me!! We went to lunch with my parents, sister, Braxton and grandmother. Then, we spent the remainder of Mother's Day visiting the mothers and grandmothers in town. It was so good to see everyone and get a rare chance to sit a visit! The girls were so exhausted when we got home that they couldn't even sit through dinner. Poor angels!! They slept well Sunday night!

Today, Michael and I decided to be brave and let the girls have their very first snow cone. We made a special evening out of it. The girls sang in the jeep all the way to the snow cone stand and back (our favorite one is across town). When we got home, we stripped them down to their diapers and sandals and headed to the backyard (I wasn't brave enough to let them have a cherry snow cone on my white carpet... call me crazy). I think they really enjoyed it once they got used to the sweet and the cold. We were wise to leave them only in their diapers, though. They had snow cone from their faces all the way to their little toes. They played and had a sticky good time outside this evening!! All in all, it was a wonderful treat for us all!!

Growing Up So Fast

Ta-Da... Rory climbed up all by herself
Abby has shed her clothes for the morning and is now following her sister

Abby loves to sit on the toilet and watch Daddy or Mommy get ready

(hopefully she will like to sit there when it's time to potty-train)

Abby is passed out with her Daddy. She's such a Daddy's girl!!

It has been so incredibly busy around our house here lately. The girls are growing so fast! It seems that they wake up each day and accomplish ten new things that they weren't doing the day before. Tomorrow, they will be 15 months old. Is that even possible? They are so busy all the time that Michael and I run after them constantly. Both of them are climbing on anything and everything that they get near. Rory loves to climb on one thing and then another like steps. She has no problem climbing to stand on tables, chairs, the back of the couch... etc. I just never know where I'm going to find her. She has also taken to climbing into her toy box and sitting in there for an hour or so at a time to play with the toys. When she first gets in the box, she will throw out all of the hard toys that hurt to sit on. She will then arrange the stuffed animals in the box into a nice little padded seat for herself and proceed playing with the remainder of the toys in the box. This works out nice because Abby will play with all of the toys that Rory throws out onto the floor. We only have problems when Abby wants a toy out of the box. Usually, I have to break up a fight when that happens. Abby is climbing just as much as her sister. It's too funny, though, because the whole time that she is climbing on things you can hear her mutter under her breath "no, no. get down." She knows that Mommy is going to tell her to get down off of certain things, but she just can't stop herself from climbing on them! Today, Abby was climbing on some baskets in our living room that stack on top of one another. I heard Rory saying "Abdibigail... get down." She couldn't quite say her sister's full name, but she knew that Mommy doesn't allow them to climb on the baskets. The girls have both learned to take their own clothes off, as well. While this is a huge feat for someone their age (and I am very proud of them for accomplishing this), it gets a little interesting when I am trying to get them both dressed in a time-crunch. I will get one dressed and then, while I am dressing the other, the first will take her clothes off. Then, they will switch on me. They think that it is hilarious! We are working on animal sounds right now. The girls both know what sound a puppy makes and what sound a kitty cat makes. Rory, however, knows a couple more. When asked what sound a puppy makes, both girls will say "ruff-ruff." When asked what sound a kitty makes, they will say "meow meow." When asked what sound Papa (my dad) makes, Rory says "grrrrr." When asked what sound Mommy makes (her daddy thought this was especially funny), she says "no-no." Ha ha. The girls are also getting good at telling me what they would like for a snack. When they get up from their afternoon naps, I will ask them what they would like. Normally, we have animal crackers and juice. Rory, who has heard animal crackers called "crackers" and "cookies," will say "crackies, juice." Abby says "kakers, juice." When they prefer milk, they will tell me "mik." It's not perfect, but they definitely get their point across. Both girls call each other "sisser." They can say each other's names, Abby and Rory, but they prefer "sisser." I put little bands on their cups that are different colors to help tell them apart. The girls know which one is their cup and will say "sisser's" when they pick up the wrong cup. That doesn't stop them from drinking out of one another's cup, but at least they know that it's their sister's cup that they are drinking out of. Rory has become extremely affectionate here lately. She loves to give kisses and hugs all the time. Abby, on the other hand, is still fairly reserved with her affection. Rory will follow poor Abby around the house pinning her down to give her hugs and kisses. It's a little funny, but I have to try to explain to Rory that Abby is done with kisses and hugs for the day. There are so many more things that I could tell about that they are doing now. It's so much fun to watch them learn, grow, and interact with one another more and more each day!

Super Fun Weekend Trip!!

"I was just looking. I promise!!" ~Abby
Daddy and Rory

Rory about to take off running in the hotel room

Rory loved the full-length mirror in the hotel room. We may have to get one for her room at home.

Abby's in front of the mirror, but Rory is in the reflection

Slumber party fun!!

"We're worn out! When are you going to let us go to sleep?"

The girls slept with Mommy and Daddy in the big kind size bed. They look so tiny, but they sure do take up a lot of room for as little as they are. :)

Having fun in the swimming pool with Daddy

Jonathan getting in to go swimming

Jacob swimming with his Daddy. I think this is a sweet picture!!

Jonathan peeking out from the firetruck window

Abby racing down the rollercoaster with Daddy's help

Rory loved jumping on the trampoline! She actually started jumping really high!!

Rory and Abby jumping on the trampoline

Look how high Rory can jump!!!! Abby is holding on tight!

Abby loved riding on the little tricycle that is just her size!

Rory climbing in the middle of a big foam doughnut

Jonathan Merriss and Rory racing with the help of their Daddies

Rory is going fast down the rollercoaster

Abby and Jonathan playing on the big drum! They made beautiful music together!

Jennifer and Jacob watching the fun

Rory chasing after Abby

Jonathan pounding on the drum!

I think that the Dads had as much fun as the kiddos :)

Abby driving the firetruck

Rory loved playing with the gears table

Abby figuring out where best to put the gear to make it work

This weekend, we decided to go to Lubbock with some of our closest friends, the Merriss family, for a fun trip away from home. With four kiddos in tow, we didn't know exactly how well it would work out, but we decided to be brave and ended up having an awesome time!! We went to Lubbock Friday evening after Michael got home from work. After we arrived, we ate at a Japanese place for dinner. It was so much fun to watch the cook prepare our meal right at our table. The kids were all fascinated!! Rory was a little unsure about the whole new experience, but Abby took every bit of it in!! She tried shrimp for the first time and LOVED it!!!! We spent the night in a nice hotel. Jonathan, Abby and Rory took turns running back and forth and chasing one another through the hotel rooms. Then, all four kiddos (Jonathan, Jacob, Abby and Rory) watched VeggieTales and had a bit of a slumber party for a while. They stayed up way past their normal bedtimes, but I think that they really all had so much fun!! The girls got to sleep with Mommy and Daddy in a big king size bed. For as little as they are, it is amazing how much room they take up when they are sleeping. I woke up in the middle of the night and both girls had their heads propped on their Daddy and all four of their little feet propped up on me. This morning, we got up and took the kids swimming in the indoor pool at the hotel. It was the first time that Abby and Rory had been in a big pool. They played in their little pool last summer, but it was nothing compared to the hotel pool. Both girls did pretty good. Rory decided that she does not like getting water splashed anywhere near her. Abby, on the other hand, decided that she was going to take off swimming like her Daddy and John. Michael held her up under her stomach in the water and she started kicking and swinging her arms through the water. It was so fun to watch! She was determined to figure out the whole concept of swimming! She even put her face down in the water all by herself. I think that she is really going to enjoy taking swimming lessons this summer. I think that we may have to persuade Rory that it's really a lot of fun to swim, however. After swimming, we had lunch and then headed to the Lubbock Science Spectrum. They have a room full of discovery toys that kids under 5 yrs. can play with. All four kids had a lot of fun!! Jonathan, Rory and Abby ran from toy to toy checking everything out! Abby and Jonathan even had a great time playing the big drum together!! By the time that we headed home this afternoon, all of the kids (and adults for that matter) were worn out from having such a good time. It was an awesome weekend getaway and we look forward to taking a trip with the Merriss family again soon!!