Special Surprise for Memorial Day

The first rose to bloom
The second rose to bloom

A beautiful symbol of Daddy's love for his girls

Daddy and his angels

Mommy blowing bubbles for Rory to catch. So much fun!!

What a beautiful girl Rory is!!

Rory's ready with her bubble poppin' finger

Braxton blowing bubbles for Rory to catch

Rory checking out where the bubbles went

Look at that face... Too cute!!

Our Beautiful Abby

What a pretty little girl!!

"Oh, Papa, I need that marble!!" ~Rory

Sisters sharing breakfast (this happens every morning). I've given up trying to keep Rory off of the table. They will eat every other meal in their chairs, but not breakfast. They are picky!! :)

Daddy showing Rory the beautiful orange Oriental Lillies in our garden

Abby sharing special time with Daddy in the garden

Rory has discovered belly-buttons and she has to check out everyone's. It bothers her that sisters is different from everyone else's (Abby has an outie). She checks our belly buttons on a daily basis. :)

We got a wonderful surprise for Memorial Day this year. Last year, as soon as was possible after the girls were born, Michael decided that he wanted to plant a special rose bush for his daughters. I thought that it was so sweet that he wanted to do something special for them right after they were born. And, he did it himself with no help from me. Well, he was really disappointed because the roses on the rose bush he planted didn't bloom last summer. We worried throughout the winter that maybe the rose bush hadn't taken properly and wouldn't live. On Memorial Day, however, the rose bush bloomed with two beautiful red blossoms. Michael was so excited that the first bloom produced two blossoms that opened on the same day only a few hours apart from one another. What a beautiful symbol of our girls and the love that their Daddy has for them!! If we sell our house, we have it stated in our contract already that the rose bush goes with us. We couldn't stand to leave something so special behind.

We spent Memorial Day this year with my parents, sister, grandmother and Braxton. It was a good day. Abby wasn't feeling really well for part of the day, so she didn't get a chance to play as much as the other two kiddos, but I think she had a good day cuddling with Mommy and Mimi Cinda for the majority of the day. Braxton was so excited because he got a chance to teach Rory (and Abby later on) all about bubbles! Rory was fascinated with the bubbles that Braxton blew for her. The two of them played together in Gigi's backyard for a good portion of the afternoon. Braxton would blow bubbles for Rory and they would both race to pop the bubbles. Abby even got in on the fun for a little while. It was so much fun for them!

Fun with the Family

Rory riding her horse
Sweet potatoes and mac & cheese turns Rory's face orange

"That sure was a good meal, Mom!" ~Abby

Abby's our trick rider

The kiddos playing in the girls' playhouse

Braxton was "cooking" dinner for the girls in the playhouse

Family Fun!!

Mimi Cinda giving Rory way more cheesecake than she needs

Sunday evening, Michael and I invited Mom, Dad, Grandma Jeanie, Braxton and Shandra to our house for a backyard picnic. It's been way too long since we have had them all over to our house and so we decided that it was time. We picked a beautiful evening to have everyone over. The weather was perfect for outdoor fun! Rory, Abby and Braxton had a blast running all over the backyard, playing ball, playing in the girls' playhouse, playing chase and stuffing themselves with good food! By the time that the evening was over, the kids were all so exhausted that I didn't know whether or not the three of them were going to make it through their baths before falling asleep. It was so good to not worry about anything for a while and just have a good meal and good fun with our family! Hopefully, we will get a chance to do it again soon!!

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!