Thanksgiving

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Florida with my mom's family.  Mom (Grandma Sue) flew down to Savannah the Friday before and left the Tuesday after.  It was so nice to have extra help again!  We drove to Ruskin, FL on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to try and avoid some of the traffic.  It was still a long travel day and the girls were very cranky by the end of the trip.  Matthew and I rented an Airbnb near the family so that we wouldn't bother anyone with the babies.  It was the perfect place to stay and we told the couple that own the place that we'd like to stay with them every time we visit!

 

The girls got to meet so many new family members and they were quite well behaved for the whole visit.  They sat quietly in their dresses with my Grandpa for a long photo shoot one afternoon.  Here he is with his first great grandbabies.

 

And a four generation photo with myself and my mom.

 

We also got a photo of my Grandpa with all of his daughters, granddaughters, and great granddaughters!

 

My step-grandma Sharon (Gigi) is already spoiling these girls rotten!

 

My Aunt Cindy giving Elsie a bottle.

 

Uncle Bill (Aunt Cindy's husband) with Elsie.

 

My cousin Andrew (Aunty Cindy & Uncle Bill's son) also holding Elsie.

 

 

My Aunt Chris with Leonie.

 

 

My Aunt Sandy with a sleeping Elsie.

 

 

One afternoon we went for a walk around the retirement park and down the nature trail.  I enjoyed using our new carrier from Gigi.

 

The girls loved having so many people to hold and entertain them.  Here my mom reads to Elsie while Aunt Chris holds Leonie.

 

 

Matthew barely got to hold the girls with all of the family around but he did get to go off and golf with the guys one of the days.

 

On Thanksgiving we went down to the Hall for the retirement community.  Along with about 200 other people we had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner.  Gigi loved taking Elsie around and showing her off to all the neighbors.

 

And Leonie slept in Grandma Sue's arms for the whole dinner - she missed her first Thanksgiving!

 

Elsie fell asleep too at the end after a little snack for herself.

 

 

Another day Matthew and I enjoyed talking with my Grandpa about engineering topics and we were able to look through Grandpa's scrapbook of projects and family photos while he narrated.

 

On our last day in Florida we went to a local orange farm to pick oranges with the girls.  They enjoyed this trip - Elsie fell asleep with Grandma Sue and Leonie nursed most of the time with me!

 

 

Walking in the groves.

 

 

I love this photo that my Aunt Cindy took of us taking a selfie!

 

 

There weren't a lot of ripe oranges left after the holiday week but we managed to find a few.

 

 

On Saturday we headed home and stopped at our friend Louise's house for a break and a delicious brunch.  The girls did better on the way home because we made a point to get them out of the car seats more often and lay them down to stretch out.  They slept for a lot of the trip, although there was still more than enough crying!

Three Months Old

This month flew by and was filled with many "firsts" for the girls.  Here are their monthly photos followed by a bunch of other shots from the last few weeks.

 

 

Elsie

 

 

Leonie

 

Our first grocery trip with just me and the girls.  This was quite an adventure and included rain, a poopy diaper explosion, and two screaming babies.

 

 

Their first Halloween.  We didn't do anything too exciting but I did dress them in these awesome custom onesies from Cody!

 

 

Elsie wasn't too thrilled.

 

The girls have intentionally put their first toys in their mouths.  They really love to pull their blankets or their outfits into their mouth but we try to give them something else to chew on.  Here is Elsie with a teething toy from our friend Vanessa.

 

 

Unfortunately they also came down with their first colds.  Here's Elsie still smiling even though she is congested and has a cough.

 

 

Last weekend the girls went on their first camping trip!  We went to a plantation in South Carolina so that I could compete in an endurance ride on Mow. 

 

They weren't big fans of camping and seemed to get bored in the camper.  Maybe next time it will be warmer so that they can spend more time outside.  They sure did sleep well once we got home!  Here's Matthew with Leonie while we were setting up camp and multitasking.

 

 

Other firsts included their first sporting event (see previous post) and their first book (Goodnight Moon from Aunt Maggie).  They really love reading books with me! I've spent many days home alone with the twins now and we are slowly developing a routine.

 

 

I just can't get enough of these smiles and silly faces!  Here's Leonie.

 

 

And Elsie.  With the cold weather we've been putting hats and mittens on for sleeping some nights.

 

 

Elsie has been noticing herself in the mirror.  Both girls like to look at the fish tank too and that is an easy way to help calm them down.

 

 

I try to vary our activities during the day so that the girls don't get bored and get equal social time with me.  Here they are on their boppy pillows.  Leonie is on the left.

 

And a little playtime on the beautiful quilt from Jane (Nanny).  Elsie is on the left.

 

 

The cats seem more interested in the babies now.  Bagheera loves to try to sleep on all of their things including the cosleeper, the quilt, in their rockers, and on their play mat.  Luckily Leonie enjoys sharing the mat!

 

 

Neither girl is a big fan of tummy time but it is made a little easier when Louie comes for a visit.

 

 

I missed getting a video of the first time the girls really looked at each other and talked to each other (my phone was dead), but here are two videos of one looking at the other.  I haven't been able to catch them both looking at the same time.

 

Elsie talking to Leonie.

 

 

 

And Leonie talking to Elsie.

 

 

Tummy Time with Elsie

 

 

Tummy Time with Leonie.

 

 

Finally, a few words from Elsie.