Prayer and Praise

I'd like to begin by asking for prayer for a friend of mine. Keisha Pittman (on the left at my baby shower last year) was diagnosed today with lymphoma (not sure the additional details, she will find out more at her oncology appointment next week). Keisha is one of the funniest, most creative, most giving, Christ-filled people I know. She is a constant encouragement to me, always is waiting with a quick retort and gives her ALL to those around her. Keisha has begun to keep a blog (www.bigpittstop.blogspot.com) and I am adding it to the list to the right so you can stay on top of her progress. Pray that God would heal her and give her strength and peace during this process.

In twin news, Carlisle has mastered clapping! Once she starts, she just can't stop! You can see a short video in the post above. Jackson is really beginning to pull up to his knees and can do a mean "downward" yoga pose. He is babbling up a storm and generally has a mischievous smile on his cute face.

Kendal and I are both amazed every single day to be the parents of these beautiful children. They play well together already and I even caught them today playing with some other kids in their nursery class. So far their temperaments are sweet but neither have a problem letting us know when they are unhappy!

Babies' First Easter

What a perfect first Easter with the twins! We put them to bed Saturday in special Easter pajamas (JC's said "Chicks Dig Me" while Car-Car's proclaimed "Daddy's Little Chickadee") and were granted a full night's sleep. Right before bedtime, we gave the twins their presents from the Easter Bunny. Lauren set up the baskets and the "bunny footprints" sent by GanGan. Then, we let the kids crawl/sprint to the baskets and knock everything out. It was fun - Carlisle especially enjoyed banging the plastic eggs together.



Kendal preached at a sunrise service so he was up by 5 a.m. and out the door by 6. I crawled out of bed around 5:30 to get dressed and packed for a quick overnight to Shreveport. We made it to church early (for Lauren, that is) and managed to get some family photos before Sunday School. Carlisle decided to be an absolute angel and sat with mom during "big church" so that she and her best buddy Will (and his mommy, Mary Elizabeth) could go down front for the children's sermon (Jackson was cranky so stayed in the nursery). It was just wonderful to watch Kendal give the children's sermon to all the kiddos - and Carlisle just beamed at her daddy! The entire service was fantastic and we made it to Shreveport in time for a late family lunch. All the cousins were there - and already fighting over toys! Cousins Kelly and Sarah Beth "chaperoned" much of the play and were huge helpers. It is a blessing we don't take for granted to be close enough to our family to spend holidays together and still make it back to Arkansas for work on Monday morning!

We think Jackson may be cutting his first tooth (top, to the left) - he is cranky and has just cried all day. We see a little white poking through, but aren't sure when the tooth will make its grand entrance. Carlisle is recovering from an ear infection but has been happy as can be regardless. Nana swears she saw Carlisle crawl on her knees last night, so it looks like we're dangerously close to TWO mobile babies! Jackson has mastered crawling and has even pulled himself up to standing a few times (the first time in front of our pediatrician, such an overachiever!). They amaze us everyday.

A heartfelt "Welcome to the World!" to our newest cousin, Amelia Elizabeth. She was born on Easter Sunday in Atlanta to Lauren's proud cousin David and his wife Becky. We can't wait to meet the beautiful lady!

Can't Sit Still

It's Spring Break for Lauren, and we've been busy bees! Wednesday, Lauren met Nana, Jennifer and cousins Sarah Beth, Casey and Michael in Texarkana for Jenn's birthday. We dined at the Olive Garden ("... it was lovely") and enjoyed bread sticks, pasta and peach-raspberry tea. The staff even sang a version of Happy Birthday to Jennifer - but no free dessert. The twins enjoyed their first Olive Garden breadsticks - they're probably too young, but they were SURE happy! The kids outnumbered the adults but we managed to enjoy a wonderful lunch with no tears! Afterwards, we hit Target and Old Navy to finish out the twins' summer wardrobe. Okay, to add to it...



Today, Kendal and Lauren took the twins to Hot Springs for an Easter photo shoot at Garvan Woodland Gardens. Carlisle was not in an overly smiley mood, but Jackson was pretty cheery. We hope the photographer got some good shots in their beautiful smocked Easter clothes. After the photos, we ate lunch at Chic-Fil-A, went in search for seersucker pants for Kendal and stocked up on Abita for Kendal's bourre card game tomorrow night.

The twins are really starting to play with each other... Well, if you call stealing zweiback crackers and juice from each other "playing" then we're getting along great! They are learning to "wrestle" and it's generally funny to watch. We're also working on using sippie cups - they love to drink juice (1/2 water, 1/2 apple juice) and are slowly figuring out how to serve themselves. Jackson stood on his own last night for about 3 seconds - Kendal was close behind as Jackson held onto the couch for dear life. Cruising is soon to come! Carlisle has mastered sliding on her belly and is a quick one while Jackson has the crawling down to a science.

Almost Easter

It's nearly Easter! The twins' daycare hosted an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos on Wednesday. Not one to miss a great photo opp, Lauren dressed the twins in matching spring togs and waited to see how they would react to their fancy Easter baskets (compliments of Aunt Shannon and Nana) and eggs! They were more fascinated with the playground rocks BUT they also really liked the plastic grass. After the "hunt" the kids moved inside for snacks. Lauren let them split a cupcake - happy babies!



Friday, Lauren went to her first meeting of MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and got to share stories and tips with other moms while the kids (affectionately known as "moppettes") played in the nursery. The ladies made "Easter gardens" - a great family project in which you literally build a small-scale garden with Jesus' tomb, flowers, dried moss, a cross and other creative touches. It's a great way to share the story of Easter with your kids and on Easter morning, you roll the rock away to show the empty tomb. Pictured is an example (not mine, I wish!).

This next week is spring break so Lauren gets a few days off work while Kendal has his busiest week of the year at church. Thursday we are going to a local botanical garden for photos - we're anxious to see if the twins ruin their Easter outfits before Sunday during the photo session. We also hope to start working in the yard (and not disturb any soon-to-awaken snakes). Wish us luck, we need it!

A Long Week!

It's been a VERY long week!!!! Kendal left for a fishing trip to Mexico with his dad (Papa Ben) and brother (Clint) and brother-in-law (Patrick) on Saturday and Lauren's mom (GanGan) came up to help with the babies. Lauren was getting over a violent stomach bug when GanGan arrived (Kendal was a hero and took care of everyone before leaving for his big trip). Unfortunately, the twins also caught the bug as did GanGan. The Land home was a true "House of Horrors" for a few days but, finally, everyone is well. Lauren did have to miss the big race she had been training for (a 4-person relay in the Little Rock Marathon) due to illness but the beautiful spring weather will certainly bring more opportunities for jogging with friends. Kendal returned to Arkansas on Thursday, surprising Lauren with an early arrival and lunch at the Honeycomb Restaurant.

Friday was Papa Ben's birthday so the Land clan loaded up the car and headed south to Shreveport. Despite a literal blizzard brewing outside, we made it through ice and snow to celebrate the big 6-3 with the family. Kendal, Nana and Papa Ben made sure Lauren's weekend was extra special as a gift for taking care of sick babies all week - shopping at the Boardwalk, a massage with Nana and a few extra hours of sleep on Saturday morning! Lauren feels like a queen and is praying the illness is past in our household!



This was also a week of milestones. Jackson Camper has mastered crawling on all fours and is quick as lightening! He can make it from one room to another like a true speed demon! Carlisle can crawl but prefers scooting on her belly. We also had our first "tandem bath" last night. Gone are the days of the infant bath tub! The twins weren't sure what to think of sitting up in the warm water at first, but Mom dumped enough toys into the tub to fool them into thinking bathtime is an extended playtime! It was great and fantastic to combine the bathing of two babies!