Camping, Round Two

Last weekend we took the girls on another camping trip.  This time we went a little over two hours away to a competitive horse trail ride near Toomsboro, GA.  We left Friday afternoon and came home Sunday morning.  The girls had a great nap on the way!

 

The weather was just right for sitting outside and playing so that's what daddy did with the girls while mommy was off riding her horse on Saturday.  I stopped halfway through the ride to nurse too, luckily the trail came back through camp at a good time!

 

Using the adorable camp chairs from Aunt Emily.

 

 

I didn't get any photos of the whole camp setup, but here's Mow on his highline. 

 

 

We all had a great time.  The girls were very happy (which made things much easier for daddy) and Mow was a well-behaved boy.  I was hesitant to come to this ride because of how things went last time but I'm so glad that we did.  As you can see, Mow and I also cleaned up with a first and second place in our division!  Our next ride won't be until fall - I think the girls will enjoy camping even more by then.

Seven Months Old

These little cuties are seven months old already!  They were very happy for their monthly photos and are really filling up the blanket.

 

Leonie was all smiles.

 

 

A happy Elsie too.

 

 

We had another busy month that started off with a trip to North Carolina for Matthew to go skiing.  I didn't take any photos, but here are a few from Aunt Emily, Matthew's sister.  The girls got to meet their cousin Henry.  They may not look too thrilled in this photo but Henry was very entertaining for them.  Elsie is on the left.

Nanny and Pop with their three youngest grandbabies.  They came down from Virginia to visit too.

 

While Matthew was skiing the rest of us went for a walk around a raptor center.  The girls loved being carried around in their carriers and watching the other people and birds.

 

Later in February we had some more visitors at our house.  My college roommate Sam and another good college friend, Jen, came for a long weekend.  Giving the girls their bottles is always a fun activity for our company.

 

The weather was beautiful and we finally have things together enough that we made it out to the beach with the girls.  We brought our new jogging stroller and walked along the beach.  Then we stopped in Savannah at Leopold's ice cream for a treat.

 

 

Family Beach Portrait

 

 

Elsie and I

 

 

Some fog rolled in while we were walking.  Thanks for the great photo Jen!

 

 

The girls are now champs at sitting on their own.  They prefer to spend most of their time sitting and playing with toys.  Here's Leonie making a silly face.

 

 

And Elsie talking to a toy.

 

 

Crawling is not too far away and the cats may be the motivation that the girls need to get moving!

 

 

Mealtimes continue to be a huge hit.  We feed messy things like yogurt and guacamole on bath nights.

 

 

Baths are also quite fun.  Here Leonie is splashing around.

 

 

Elsie with their rubber ducky.  They also enjoy playing with cups of water.  For the most part we have very happy babies and are loving every minute.

Real Food!

Right after their six month "birthday" the girls got their first taste of real food.  We have decided to do Baby Led Weaning and forego the purees and mush.  So far, it has been going very well!  Their first meal was venison steak from my dad, winter squash from my mom, and a slice of store bought apple.  They loved everything!  Here are the before photos.

 

Leonie.

 

 

Elsie

 

 

The theory behind Baby Led Weaning is to let the baby take the lead and feed themselves from the beginning.  The girls already know how to put spoons in their mouths and they were delighted to find something tasty on the spoon!  Here Leonie eats some squash.

 

 

Elsie with an apple.

 

 

This approach to feeding might be a little messier but they sure have a lot of fun!  In fact, Matthew and I can now sit down and eat our own food while it is hot and in relative peace because the girls are easily entertained by playing with their food.

 

Leonie with her apple.

 

 

These photos are from a couple of weeks later.  You can see that we have learned to use different bibs that clean easier and catch more of the food.  The girls have also gotten a lot better at getting the food into their mouth.  They are swallowing more and more of it every day!

 

Elsie with her banana. We leave a little piece of the peel on so that they can get a good grip.

 

Leonie with her banana.