6 Month Check In

We had such a fantastic Spring that included visiting with about 90% of our blog readership, so we have neglected to post much (or, um, anything).  But now these gals are 6 months old, and we want to fill you in on their progress!

These big babies were too busy watching the game to look at the camera.
Eva (L) and Carolyn (R) watching the Cardinals play the Braves at Turner Field on Memorial Day

The girls went on two road trips in May and proved to be excellent travelers.

 First, we traveled to Kentucky to visit Grandpa Donnie and meet Great Grandma Eva.

Carolyn (L) and Eva (R) visiting Paducah, KY

Then we continued on to Illinois to see Uncle Tommy graduate from U of I.

Eva with Marmi

Carolyn dozing with Daddy

For our second road trip, we headed to North Carolina to see Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Andrew get married in Chapel Hill!

Eva and Carolyn dancing the night away with Mawmaw and Cait

We also had a great 6 month check up where we found out the girls are still healthy and growing great.  For those of you into stats, they both weigh 13 pounds 14 ounces and are 26 inches long.  The doctor also gave us the go ahead to start solid foods, so we did.  Although we proved what rookies we are the whole parenting thing, and had to start and then restart.

Now that we are back in Atlanta, we have enjoyed a few hikes when it isn't too hot outside.

 First to the East Pallisades trail...

Carolyn with Daddy hiking near the Chattahoochee River

Eva with Mom

Then to Lullwater Creek...

Carolyn (front) and Eva (back) -- notice how they are now facing forward in their stroller!

We strolled across this neat suspension bridge...

...but turned around when we saw this sign.

Despite our best efforts to avoid this guy, we managed to run into him a little later on in our hike.

 And that's about all we have been up to these days.  Now for some final words from E & C!

Hello Spring!

Despite the INSANE pollen count that has hit Atlanta, the girls are loving springtime.

Hello Spring!

Before the cloud of pollen hit Atlanta forcing us to temporarily put stroller walks on hold, we made a weekend trip to our neighborhood farmer's market. 

Getting Eva dressed for her trip to the farmer's market

Carolyn says, "I cannot go out in public in these footie pajamas!"

Whew.  OK, we are ready now.
Let's go!

 Once we all were ready, we strolled on over to the market.  

The girls had a good nap on the way over... and continued napping pretty much the whole time we shopped.  Who doesn't like a good mid-morning nap?

We had a great time buying food and accepting compliments from our neighbors about what precious little girls we have!

Eva grudgingly waking up for a photo op with Dad.

Carolyn checking out the scene.

We got home and made some lunch with the produce we bought!  (The girls did not get to share in this bounty of kale salad and fruit salad just yet.)

 

All of this shopping and eating (and napping) wore out E & C.  Time for a nap sans pants!

10K

Today marked two important milestones. First, Emilee ran her first race since the girls were born! Second – as a result of the early start time for the race – we turned the tables on Eva and Carolyn and woke THEM up to start their day, rather than the other way around. Take that, babies.

The race was the first annual “Intown 10K,” which took place near our neighborhood. Emilee has been informally training for this race for several weeks, by taking Eva and Carolyn on long daily strolls. Today, Eva and Carolyn were not part of the race, but they enjoyed venturing out early to watch their Mom run with a few hundred other people:

From left: Carolyn, Eva

Emilee was very excited to see her babies during the first mile:

 ...and she was still excited to see them during the last mile!

It was a little too cold for the babies (and me) to stay outside for too long, so we hung out in the warm car while Mom ran:

Eva

Carolyn

We were all very impressed with Mom's finish time:

Emilee shattered her previous10K time by more than 2 minutes and finished in about an hour (official results pending). She finished first in the “Mommy to the cutest babies” division.

 From left: Carolyn, Emilee/David*, Eva

*Please note the awesome Cardinals hoodie. One guy in the race yelled, "Go Cards!" at me. Go Cards, indeed.

Visits with Aunt Elizabeth & Uncle Andrew and Uncle Sam

Eva and Carolyn have had a busy February visiting with lots of family and friends.  Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Andrew were in town February 10 -12.  The girls had a rough start to their weekend having to get their two month vaccines.  Aunt Elizabeth showed up just in time to help me shuttle the girls to their appointment and was there to give them lots of love after their shots.  Eva was especially displeased with getting her shots, but she recovered very quickly.  What a brave little girl!

Carolyn was not too happy about the situation either, but she managed to put on a brave face:

The girls went on to have a fabulous weekend that involved cooking lots of yummy food (too bad they can’t eat any of it yet!), singing songs, and most importantly getting to know their Aunt Elizabeth and Uncle Andrew.

The weekend went by way too fast!  No one was happy when the time came to say goodbye, and unfortunately, Carolyn could not show the same stoicism when it came time for her new friends to leave as she exhibited at her doctor’s appointment.

Luckily, the very next weekend, the girls had another special visitor . . . Uncle Sam!
    

Eva (with David) and Carolyn (with Sam)
 
More cooking (can you tell we like to eat?) and fun family bonding time ensued.  As you can see, Carolyn loves to cook:

It turns out Eva and Carolyn L-O-V-E their Uncle Sam.

Eva clearly loving her time with Uncle Sam
 

Yep, Eva (with David above) has no worries at all. 

Carolyn is feeling pretty relaxed too.  All is well when Uncle Sam is around!

Fiona also got some much-needed attention.

Eva and Carolyn asked us to tell Uncle Sam to come back to visit anytime!

Reading!

They might not know it yet, but Eva and Carolyn are going to be very well read.  Many of their family and friends have already gotten them some great books, including classics like Goodnight Moon, Little Bear, The Polar Express, The Little House, and various collections of fairy tales and fables.  Eva and Carolyn certainly do enjoy being read to – or maybe they just like hearing the soothing sound of their parents’ voices.  And Marmi also gave the babies two books that play her prerecorded voice reading the books to them – so Eva and Carolyn can hear Marmi’s voice whenever they want!

Noted children’s book readers T-Rex and Mamaw, who supplied Eva and Carolyn with much of their library, recently came to town:

Interestingly, and probably not surprisingly, T-Rex can recite various children’s books on demand, including The Pied Piper of Hamelin.  (Don’t worry, he stopped before the bad stuff happened.)  But most of the visit with T-Rex and Mamaw was spent admiring, holding, talking to, making faces at, and getting spit upon by these perfect little babies.  And T-Rex and Mamaw even helped hang up the new wall shelf in Eva’s and Carolyn’s nursery (and by “helped,” I mean “did basically the whole thing themselves”):

Uncle Beardface and Aunt Cait gave Eva and Carolyn a veritable library of books, including a newer book called Bats at the Ballgame.  I enjoy reading this book to the girls – even though it was written by a Red Sox fan – largely because it reminds me of recent World Series glory.

Reading to the girls:

World Series glory:



Books are an important part of both of our childhoods, and we look forward to sharing them with our own children.