Stand UP!

The kiddos are officially standing! They can pull themselves up on just about anything and are loving this new independence. Mom and dad are a little scared, but it's awfully cute to see the two standing by the ottoman playing together. They are just so big now! We hit 10 months on Thursday and mom is beginning to think about their 1st birthday that's right around the corner. They are officially "friends" now and light up whenever they see the other. We hope this lasts through the teen years!!

Jackson Camper has continued to be persistent in taking food from Carlisle at every opportunity. On Wednesday, Kendal was taking the twins to school and heard Carlisle screeching from the backseat. He thought that was weird since he had put her in the car with her Podee bottle and she was happily drinking away when they pulled out of the driveway. When Kendal got to school, he found that Jackson Camper had taken the Podee from his sister and was drinking her bottle! The kids are side-by-side in their carseats in Kendal's Jeep so clearly they need some space between them from now on!

Quick note: a Podee is a hands-free bottle my friend Brittany told us about and it's AMAZING! Anyone with babies should get one - click here for the link to buy one!

We've discovered that the twins LOVE music, especially when their daddy is singing. Their favorite is Kendal's rendition of "Johnny B. Goode" - it's precious, they bounce and clap and laugh along to the music!

A quick shout-out to the twins' best buddy Will who turns one on Tuesday! It's surreal that it's been a year since my friend Mary Elizabeth and I prepared for motherhood - what a fast but amazing year we've had! I posted a few pics of Will and the twins in honor of his birthday :)

Teeth (yes, that's plural!)

This past weekend, Kendal let a Cursillio retreat and Nana came up to help watch the twins. We noticed that Jackson had a white spot on his upper gum and assumed a tooth was on the way. However, Lauren realized that a bottom tooth had actually cut through when he bit her on the nose! He won't let us see the tooth, but it's definitely there. Today, Lauren was giving the kiddos a bath and thought she saw something in Carlisle's mouth. Turns out she has cut a tooth on the bottom gum as well! They are really on the same pace developmentally, which is surprising but really comforting for us. Note, the photo is not of either of the twins but one I shamelessly stole from Google since I can't get near either twin's mouth without them clamping their jaws tight.

The twins are also pulling up! Jackson mastered this skill first and actually pulled up all by himself for the very first time in the church nursery (Carolyn and Alvin, two church members, are our witnesses!). On Monday morning, Kendal went in to get a happily babbling Carlisle out of her crib and there she stood, hands on the rail, standing on her strong little legs. Crazy! Jackson has really continued to pull up while Carlisle, confident in her new skill, is happy to play with her toys. We've noticed that Jackson wants any toy Carlisle has, but C is pretty quick and can dodge his grabbing hands! She has done her share of toy stealing, too, so it looks like we're in for a long ride!

Carlisle Claps

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!