Memorial Day

Morning breakfast!

Piggy toes

Lilly napping

Milo

Snuggled in the blanket from Aunt Kara

Jack

At Mimi and Pop-pop's house

The End of May

Lilly and I went to the grocery store...first outting with my baby girl! I was so nervous I installed the carseat backwards. It took me a couple minutes to realize why it wouldn't snap in. I pointed out all the cars, clouds and directions on our way, singing a jumbled up mix of songs to keep her distracted. Having never put a carseat in the front part of the cart, I was concerned that it wasn't stable and did most of my shopping with one hand on the merchandise and one on the baby. Lilly seemed like she had a good time. Other than being overwhelmed or surprised a few times by unfamiliar noises or lights, she spent the trip fingertips in her mouth and eyes bugged out to catch all the action.

There was one strange incident when I turned my back on the cart to get something on a shelf and by the time I had turned around there was a little old lady with her head in the carseat looking at Lilly. Well intentioned perhaps, but still AWKWARD.

Both were pretty fussy this evening. After several hours of this, it was nice to put them to bed and hear nothing. No little squeaks or complains. Can't say the same for Jack and Milo, though. They continue to follow us around the house and crawling all over us meowing and staring like, "Geez, when are you going to put that baby down?" We've found their general disinterest in the babies noteworthy, but nothing to be concerned about.

We continue to swaddle them when we put them to bed. We've found that they are much better at self-soothing this way and fall asleep quicker when they feel secure. Josiah still likes both hands out and Lilly always manages to wriggle her fingers out so she can suck on them. I love that each morning they greet us with big grins. What a way to start your day.

I was excited for the couple days they woke up at 8 or 9 am, however they continue to fall asleep between 10-11:30 pm and sleep until 5:30 or 6:00 am. I am thankful for the feeling of routine in this area. It was always so distressing to go to bed with the thought that they could be up at any minute.

On a different note:

We were saddened to learn that Steve's cousin's 4 month old baby passed away suddenly. While we never met Braedyn, we grieve for the loss of such a pure little life. I'm not sure we could have ever appreciated such a loss before the birth of Lilly and Josiah.

We mourn with you.

"I wept thy absence - o'er and o'er again..."

- Thomas Moore

Shout Out

Congratulations to Sarah and Christopher on the birth of little Chloe Anne! We are so excited for you!

Steve's mom was kind enough to watch the babies while Steve and I visited my grandparents at Ephrata Community Hospital. My grandpop has cancer and is undergoing treatment. He is one of the strongest people I know. We were excited to visit them and catch up. I wish there was a way for hospitals to be less "hospitally". There's such a distinct feeling when you walk through the doors. Sad that we can't make it better for them...

Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone! Enjoy the time away from work and take a moment to think of the veterans who dedicated their lives in service of their country.

Pictures of the little things...

After meeting a realtor Wednesday, we are no closer to making a decision about selling or buying. Such a lot of hassle......

In other news:

Happy 4 month birthday to Josiah and Lilly today!

And congratulations to Auntie Ashley and Josh on their engagement! We are SO excited and can't wait to celebrate with you in October!!!!!

Josiah

Josiah and Daddy

An attempt to get picture together. It's VERY hard to get both of them to look at you!

Peace, sista!

On the prowl

"Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn't music." ~William Stafford

We've been talking about moving ever since we found out that we were having TWO. Our original plan was to stay here for 2-4 additional years while baby #1 grew. Alas the carefully painted walls of our two bedroom condo have slowly started to close in on us; however, realizing that the babies would be stationary for quite some time, we saw no problem in staying here until they were mobile. Really, what would they be doing anyway besides staring at you and drooling?

That is until we saw "THE HOUSE".

Having planned to move early next year, we weren't aggressively making plans to move. On a casual hunt for houses online, I kept coming across this lovely 4 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom Colonial with a GORGEOUS backyard and breezy floor plan. Considering it advantageous to attend the open house scheduled for Sunday, we made plans to visit multiple open houses that day to do a little research and begin our serious searching.

As we pulled into the driveway I was immediately disappointed.

"Drat- I love it", I said to Steve. This makes everything harder.

By LOVING this house, it puts Steve and I in a position to either pull strings to make this purchase do-able now or provide an excellent opportunity for us to see what it is we are really looking for....and move on.

Oh the choices! I keep reminding myself that we want something nice for the babies, but I'm not sure having beautiful kitchen with double sinks is really what's important to them.

It'll take a couple days to come to a decision. Heaven on 2nd street or perhaps our condo for a little longer.....?