Thankful in so many ways

Well Thanksgiving has come and go. It came so fast! I cant believe this year is almost over. It flew by! Thanksgiving was amazing. We went to Mimi and Papa's house (Andrew's parents) the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The kids loved it. They helped cook mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. The grandparents got a good look at how they will get into everything! Their house wasn't the same after we left. We had a wonderful meal and got to spend some quality time with the family. 

 Andrew and Drew had some quality time playing X Box Thanksgiving morning. Drew loves playing X Box.

Thanksgiving day we went to my parents house. The kids passed out before we could even get out of our house so everyone was waiting on us. We watched the Cowboy game and ate on some turkey my brother brought from his work. It was delicious. Always love spending time with family.  This is the kids craft we did before we went to Oma and Pops house. They weren't thrilled about the paint all over their hands but they did it and that made this mama happy. My parents loved their gift and I love being able to give and do crafts with my kids!

This year I am thankful for so much. I could go on and on. But most of all I will have to say is that I am thankful for my wonderful family. The twins have been such a blessing to us all. It is so fun having kids run around during the holidays making everything more hectic. We cherish each moment and wouldn't change it for the world. I am so grateful for their health, their smiles, their ball of energy, their cute little faces, and just the love they can give. This year has been amazing with them. So many memories. And so many milestones. Having twins was my thing to do. I love these little kiddos with all my heart. And watching them show love for each other melts my heart. When one is sick the other cuddles with them as they sleep to comfort them. When one falls asleep before the other they check on each other to make sure they are okay. When one has a snack and the other doesn't they always share...wish I could say the same for their toys. The twin love and emotions is so real. I love being an outsider and watch them work. I cant imagine what it is going to be like when they get older. I am so blessed to have two amazing children and a spectacular husband and father. I couldn't do it without him. 

I am also so grateful for my family, his family and all our friends. My parents help us out so much and give so much to those kids that I am truly blessed by them. Andrews family is so supportive and take the world on for us. We have a great group of friends and so lucky to have just celebrated our 15th Annual Christmas Party. 

I can not wait for the new year and carry on so many more memories with all these amazing people in my life. 

I am back!

I have finally ventured back on this! We have just been so busy that I could never find time to get on here. I think we went to a wedding every month this year, attended a ton of birthdays, two toddlers, a working husband and a crazy house. With the cold weather and steady schedule coming up I think I have finally found some minutes that I can spare to get on here more often.  I have missed it and am ready to start blogging again!

Quick update on life...the twins are almost 21 months old. I am starting to see their terrible two's approaching. Sara likes to throw fits and throw herself on the ground. I have yet captured this on video but I plan on getting a shot of it so she can see it when she is older. Its crazy to see how upset she gets when one little thing doesnt go her way. I enjoy every moment with them even if it involves a cry spell here and there. Drew is calmer than Sara. He doenst get as upset. I think his feelings get more hurt when we dont give him something he wants at that moment. He will whine for a moment and he gets it over pretty quick. They are a ball of fun though! I love watching them grow so much. This time last year we were getting closer to them taking there first steps and today they run the hall way and talk their little heads off. Its amazing to see such progress. We are doing the potty training thing here...not fun but a work in progress. Drew has pottied in the potty more than a handful of times...I think he will be easier than Sara. Sara has a bit of stubbornness in her so she might be my challenge. The good thing about twins though...when one sees one doing something it isnt but a day or two the other will do the same...so fingers crossed!

Our latest event we enjoyed so much was Halloween. Drew was a pirate and Sara was a ladybug. They were just too cute and loved strutting their stuff in their costumes. My parents and I took them to our town's Halloween Trick or Treat in the square that afternoon of Halloween. They were terrified! They didnt not want to get out of our hands. It was still fun to see the town come together and it was good for the kids to get out there and learn more about their surroundings. When daddy came home we got ready and went to my best friends house who lives just a street over. Our two families rallied together and walked the neighborhood as the kids fill their buckets with candy. The twins were chauffeured in their wagon most of the time...they didnt see any candy that night. It was tons of fun though and can not wait until next year when they have a better understanding of what is going on. 

I am ready to start this up again!! Its funner than facebook :) Plus my husband and I are going to start a website of different handy man things he does and crafty mommy things I accomplish around the house. It is just for fun. He enjoys working and fixing things and I have come to open up my creative side. I threw a surprise wedding shower for some friends not too long ago and enjoyed the decorating side of it so much I thought it would be fun to expand it and hopefully do something with my ideas one day. My best friend Alexa is Martha Stewart when it comes to events who will be my sidekick through this new journey I hope to take. We call our self FLC (Fay and Lex Creations). We are always thinking of something fun to do next and my hubby is always upgrading or carrying a tool...so stay tuned! As soon as my husband gets the website built yall will be the first to know the address!

Busy, busy, busy

Sorry I have been MIA! We are super busy here at the house. We have wedding after wedding, wedding showers, bachelorette/bachelor parties and birthdays. We have been going every weekend and wont stop until May then we get a little break and will start back up again. Its crazy, but its fun.

Drew and Sara are doing great. We have been enjoying the weather and taking them out as much as possible. They love being outside. We have been spending a lot of time with our neighbors. We grill and hangout with the kiddos. Its been great having adult time but still having our kids there. Their neighbors have two little girls and the twins have been spending a lot time with them as well. Its been great and I am very blessed to live in such a great neighborhood with fantastic neighbors to share memories with.

Sara has been walking now little over a couple of weeks. She really does it when she feels like it. But she is still so little that it is the cutest thing watching her walk. Drew has taken some steps but still has no interest. He moves so fast with his legs straight up in the air crawling that I am guessing he thinks that walking wont do him any good right now. We work with them all the time, but we don't pressure ourselves or them...we know when they are ready they will take off and we will wish they were still crawling.

Morning naps are slowly getting cut out of their schedule. Makes for a lovely afternoon nap though so I cant complain. Eating is getting even easier! Bottles are out of the equation completely. They are growing so fast. Last year we were sticking a bottle in their mouth every three hours. Now they are our little mini Me's. Its amazing how quickly things change with them and how they grow into such smart independent little beings. I love every moment.

On a side note...Andrew and I are great. He is going to Shreveport this weekend for my brothers bachelor party. They are going to have a blast. I was supposed to go out of town as well, but plans have changed. So Friday and Friday night it is me and the babies. My first night alone with them. It should be interesting. I think they are going to have a night of spoiling and kisses! My mom agreed to take them Saturday morning so I can get the house cleaned with no distractions and a little me time at the spa! I am looking forward to the weekend, but sure am going to miss family time.

Twins First Birthday

 

 Cupcakes, cupcakes and more cupcakes!!

How to describe that feeling...your kids first birthday. It's a mix of emotions. Excited because they have grown so fast, sad because they are still growing, and proud because you help them grow and mold them into who they are today. I loved planning every minute of their party. All the shopping, the invites, the food, making sure they had the perfect outfit up until that very morning...which that morning has to go as perfect as perfect can get because if it doesn't then they are cranky...which makes for a cranky party. It's a mountain of things to do. But a mountain I had fun climbing.

We did a cupcake theme for the twins. It was hard to decide what to do because there are so many fun decorations. I couldnt decide either if I wanted to do two different themes...one for Drew and one for Sara. But after long thought and viewing the website over and over I went with the cupcakes. And I am glad I did. I think it turned out perfect for the two and we had a lot of fun with it. 

 We invited a lot of people. I couldn't bear not to invite all who are involved in their lives. We have a big family and lots of friends that are really dear to us. So we let them pack the house. They brought their beers. They brought their smiles and love... we had a good time opening gifts and eating cake. It was fun to spend that special moment with everyone. 

We are thankful for each and everyone of our friends and family. We wouldn't have had the party we did without them.

And because of them the twins were truly blessed with gifts. There were so many we were overwhelmed with thankfulness and appreciation. We recently converted the dining room into their playroom. We are fortunate to have that space because of everyone's gracious giving it was filled with toys, toys and more toys! It makes for a happy babies which makes sane parents!

The twins had some handy helpers at their party. We had Gabbie, Breely, and Makya. I think Addie got in their a few times to help the little ones out as well. I think the twins knew what they were doing but without their friends they wouldnt have been able to get to the whole package!

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After all the gifts were opened we did cake!!! Yummy! Drew and Sara sat patiently in their highchairs...waiting for the big cupcake. As everyone is singing and I am walking over with the cupcakes...Drew is eyeballing the candle that is lit. As soon as I put the cake in front of him the first thing he did was touch the candle, he burnt his little hand and it was all over for him. He wasn't hurt it just scared him, but his Oma was sure to distract him with his balloon and he was all good. Sara however loved every bit of it. It was fun watching her go at this cupcake that was about as big as her.

The party soon came to an end. The house slowly emptied, the kids played with their toys and mom and dad got a breather. We had a blast. We loved every moment of it. It went exactly how I wanted and it made me realize even more how much of a loving family we have and a such a blessing of a friend group. The kids play with each and every toy and wear out each piece of clothing given. As part of the invite we asked instead of a card that each person bring a book. A book signed with the givers name so that when they got older each book had a story behind it. So far it was the biggest hit of the party. We have books galore in the house and I couldn't be more thankful for them. It warms my heart when one of them open a book and I can tell my own story to them just by the signature. And don't think my brother and I weren't going to have some fun ourselves. We had to try out the new wagon to make sure it was safe enough for the twins :)

Thank you. Thank you mom and dad for helping me so much with it...the cooking, the shopping, dealing with my non existing patience and to let my crazy three dogs wreck your house so that everyone can peacefully be at ease at mine. Thank you Andrews family for all your help. Thanks for the borrowed dishes, the dealing with our stress and the love you have. Thank you hubby boo...for the world you have given us. Thank you dada for being such a hard worker that you gave the twins the opportunity to have the BEST first birthday anyone could ask for. You are the number 1 father. You supply more than love, you supply this house with security, happiness and the joy of living. And last but not least to the rest of the family and friends. To all the relatives that showed up. Andrews grandfather and granny, his parents from Glaveston, his aunts, uncles, cousin and wonderful sister and best brother in law who supplied the beautiful photos. And to my brothers...without yall the word life wouldn't have a meaning. To the friends who showed...yall are the most cherished memories these kids will have because tomorrow the family will be there but tomorrow my friends may have their own life to tend to and to take time out of your busy schedule to tend to my family...means the world to me.

Love and Laughter

 The first year with the twins has been amazing. They go from holding their head up to sitting up. Then they talk and crawl and scoot all over the place. Then comes the standing and the " I don't want to mind" attitude. What happened to just having to worry about spit-up?

It has been a fun fun ride though. This is my house today...

We have no walkers...Sara started walking months ago, but has since decided she rather crawl. She stands, she pulls up, she shuffles across things...but refuses to use those chunky little legs. Drew just likes to stand. He will stand to drink a bottle, to see whats cooking in the kitchen or if there is someone outside...he makes sure he is seen and heard. We work with them every day and they have toys galore to guide them to the walking stage so as of now we are just waiting.

A typical day in our house consists of..Toys, toys, toys!!! They love playing especially with each other. Drew you can tell is all boy...I feel like his life motto is DESTRUCTION. Sara is more peaceful during playtime. She loves reading books. Her Uncle Kyle got her a really cool one for their birthday. She will literally sit for 20 minutes turning the pages and staring at all the animals. Its really sweet to watch. There are times though where they like hitting each other in the head or stealing each other toys. Our motto here is...make sure there is two of everything. Its now out of habit...where if I buy one car for Drew I have to make sure I get another one for Sara.

They are opposite in so many ways 
but I be damn if they are not our kids. Andrew had to discipline the dogs one day we came back from an afternoon outing. He used a plastic spoon to spank the dogs...which that particular spoon just happens to be Drew's favorite kitchen utensil. Now Drew takes his spoon, hits the dogs or his sister and says "bad, bad, bad!" yeah his spoon privileges have been taken away. Speaking of hitting things...Drew loves to bang now on his drums he got from his Oma and Pops for their birthday. His friend Tres came over and strapped the drum around his neck and bang bang bang up and down the hallway the whole evening...now that's Drew's favorite thing to do.

Sara loves things handed to her as any princess would. She is more talkative and is sure to let you know when you don't pay attention to her. She is just the funniest little girl we could have though. Andrew has taught her to out her hands out to the side as if we were saying "uh or what's wrong" but in the Rhodes world when lil baby places her hands out to the side it means "whatssssss upppp!" she claps after every time she does it too. Such a big girl. When her girlfriends Gabbie and Breely came to play she thought they were so cool. She wouldn't leave their side. She was so excited to see them run around that she almost took off herself. She moved, she took a step, but didn't make it very far. She is going to love when she gets older and those two dress her up and teach her just how to be a princess. Drew's buddy Tres let us all know too that day that Sara was his girlfriend. He was giving her kisses and wanted to just eat her up! It's already starting!!!

They both love the outdoors! We try and get them outside to play with their toys or watch WWF with the dogs in the back yard. They just love it. I'm excited for when they get a little bigger so we can actually run outside, play at the park and have game days in the yard like I use to when I was little. We were outside as much as we could be and I hope my kids will want to do the same. We are looking forward to summertime though...we have many play dates planned with Aunt Mitzi and the pool. We are excited for that.

It's a mess of things and days I couldn't explain. It's one of those you have to be here to believe it. The more they grow the crazier it gets here and I am loving every moment of it. 

"Twins...a day full of love and laughter plus double the craziness!"

I am still waiting on their birthday pics...they are still being edited. I hope to get them soon and when I do a post full of birthday fun it will be!