CDO Graduation

Well, the kids are graduates! From the nursery, that is! We celebrated their first semester at CDO (Children's Day Out), the daycare the twins attend while Kendal and I are at work. They started in January and adapted so well to the school and quickly made friends with their classmates. Their teachers, Ms. Naomi and Ms. Courteny, were fantastic and loved on both Carlisle and Jackson Camper every single day.



Immediately following their "graduation" from CDO's 2007-08 school year, we jumped in the Jeep and headed to Hattiesburg to visit Lauren's family for a few days. It was a quick trip but we had a great visit with Lauren's grandmother (Mama Diket) and GanGan and Big Daddy. We also got to grab a quick breakfast with Lauren's sister Anna and her boyfriend Matt before they headed to see Radiohead in Houston. Matt just graduated from Southern Miss with a degree in film so we're so excited to see where his budding career will take them. We just hope it's close enough for frequent visits!

Jackson Camper took full advantage of Mama Diket's walker during our visit, claiming it as his own! He is very close to walking - heaven help us! JC and daddy took quite a few trips up and down the hallway and our little speedracer handily overtook the other residents in walker races! Carlisle has amazed us, though, with her efforts to stand up. She is working on a lunge/stand and will probably be on her way to standing on her own very soon!

A Great Visit

Lauren had the opportunity to take Carlisle and Jackson Camper to Mississippi for a visit with her family. The twins were troopers in the car and happily drank their juice while mom listened to a book on CD - what a nice surprise! We stopped in Jackson to visit Lauren's very first friend Emily and her girls Anne Elise and Ava - we watched the kids roll/run around and had a wonderful visit. While in Mississippi, we also got some great visiting time in with the twins' great-grandmother. She got to watch them play, listen to their belly laughs and do a little cuddling. It was a great time. We also got to spend some special time with one of Lauren's best friends, Cara, and see her son Cole and new baby Claire. We had a great visit and even treated the twins and Cole to a trip to the zoo, complete with a visit to the local tiger! The remainder of our trip was spent with Big Daddy and GanGan. Jackson Camper learned to climb the stairs on his very first try (a little horrifying!) - Carlisle has not yet followed suit.



As the twins first birthday approaches, we are in awe - sheer awe - of the amazing, busy, sleep-deprived, affirming, beautiful year we've had with these amazing twins. We've been in a reminiscing mood lately and are constantly shocked to observe how quickly the kids have grown and developed their own personalities. If you have not seen the news story that featured the Land twins on their birth day/Father's Day, click here!

Point of Grace!

Anyone who knew Lauren during her high school years knows that the Christian group Point of Grace is her favorite - many of their songs were sung in her car AND in church! Last night, Lauren had the opportunity to host an alumni Meet & Greet for the girls, three of whom are alumni of Ouachita. It was an amazing experience - the girls could not have been nicer, they gave several shout-outs to Ouachita during the concert AND the show was absolutely amazing. Pictured above is Lauren with the girls and her Ouachita friends Keisha, Rebecca, Kirt and Justin.

Also performing with Point of Grace last night was the Christian group Selah (they are FABULOUS!). My friend Brittany has linked a blog to her site called Bring the Rain. The author is the wife of one of the singers in Selah and her story of their fourth daughter is both heartbreaking and a testament to how big God is. Take some time and read her story, it is so inspiring. Her husband Todd shared daughter Audrey's story and there were many tears throughout the audience.

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!