These Robeez Are Made for Walkin'

Dee, the grandkids name for my mother Barbara, gave M&M the best birthday present! They are just taking walking steps...not on their own but along the furniture. So we found the perfect walker while she was here at Mothercare. It's a little shopping cart, with buttons that they can push that plays 3 different songs. They love it and can walk pretty well with it. We had several choices in the store and I'm so glad we chose this one. It's sturdy and has just enough "stuff" on it to be fun but not overstimulating like so many of the walker/activity centers are. The handle also telescopes up so they can use it when they get bigger to tote stuff around in.

Michael, of course, took to it right away after Andrew put it together. He was off and running...well OK walking. He is again sporting his "cheese" face in the picture. We have no idea where he got this from, but it's so funny :-) The video is from the first night we had the walker. Our friend Chris was over visiting encouraging Michael from the sidelines. He's a pro with 3 kiddos of his own and one on the way.

Mary Ellen is still figuring out the one-foot-in-front-of-the-other thing and she's more cautious than Michael. But she can take a few tentative steps with the walker before she sits down. She it so cute and looks so small with it. Bless her heart, she's still under 19lbs. at one year old. Just a petite darlin'!

Tree of Life Trip

Unfortunately there are few "tourist things" to do here so I'm not sure how much fun Mother is having on her visit. But we did go and see one of the country's landmarks the "Tree of Life". It is said to be a miracle. This big tree is growing in the middle of the desert with no irrigation or explainable water source. It is definitely big... and beautiful against the setting sun.

Michael and Mary Ellen were in their car seats ready to go on the world-wind tour around the island. Andrew has given the tour several times and has it down to a science. Michael is sporting his new "cheese" face. For some unknown reason he now does this silly grin every time we get the camera out. Probably because we laugh hysterically when he does it....anything for a laugh, just like his Daddy!

The winds were up that day and we could barely hold onto the kids without blowing over. And they kept squinting with all the wind in their face. Our hair-do's definitely did not make it! But the sand wasn't blowing like it usually is when the winds gets that high, so that was a blessing! These shots are under some of the long reaching branches of the tree. If you look closely you will see the graffiti on the branches. Sad!

Two great shots of M&M sitting on the branches with Daddy holding them up! Fun trip for the whole family, with only some tired crying from Michael on the return trip. Pretty good!

Becoming A Native?

As a fun evening out, Jen and I went to a Henna Salon the day before they PCS'd to Italy. I decided to get it done on my feet and Jen had her hands and palms done. It was a fun experience! Henna is a traditional thing that is done for weddings here. The bride and her bridal party usually have their hands and feet done. It is an amazing art form. These women sit around you and do everything totally free-hand with just a tube of henna. The henna takes some time to dry...a few hours completely. Then it flakes off, which is extremely messy, and the "stain" remains. We had it done over a week ago and it is still almost as clear as the day after we had it done. I was told that it will last around 2 weeks and gradually fade. I guess, this is the poor man's (or scared-man's) tattoo! It is so cool to have it and now I feel like I fit in here...just a little bit :-)

I took the picture below the day after we had it done. It got darker brown over the next day and now it is just slightly starting to fade.

More Gifts!

More gifts just keep coming. We have amazing friends and family! M&M are now becoming experts at opening presents.

The slide show below shows M&M opening gifts from our good friends Stitch & Katy. They are so generous and Katy has to be one of the most thoughtful friends I have. She never forgets a birthday or anniversary.

M& M loved the gifts and the "Crazy Legs Learning Bug", now affectionately called "the bug" is one of their FAVORITE toys! As you'll see in the pictures, Mary Ellen has a lovely scratch on her head from a vigorous session of jumping-in-the-crib.

Our friend Jeanette and her little boy Jacob came over to give M&M gifts the day after the party. Poor Jacob had a playground accident the morning of the party and spent the day in the hospital getting stitches. You could tell he was sad to miss the party, because he kept asking where all the kids (who were invited to the party) were!

Mary Ellen's first doll! As you can see, she is completely in love with it. She's all girl! Michael also loved his hammer and ball set. They both love to carry around the hammer wherever they go!

Jacob is explaining to them, the ins and outs of the new gift as M&M listen intently :-)

My Mother's friend Cindy made these cute little onesie outfits for M&M and she brought them over when she came. Thanks Cindy...what a talent you have!

First Birthday Party Fun!

Michael and Mary Ellen had their birthday party on Saturday and what fun! They loved having all the kids over and seeing the plane and butterfly decorations all over the house. Check out the slide show below to see all the fun decorations.

The whole family had "1" shirts on to celebrate M&M's special day. M&M had "1" baseball caps too but as you can tell, they didn't like them on their head for too long.

They had several friends that came to the party. Most from the neighborhood and play group. What fun! Boston even came dressed like a chicken because he knew M&M would think it was funny :-)

Daddy provided face painting for the kids. He did a great job! Who knew he was an artist?!

M&M loved the party hats and didn't seem to mind wearing them at all. Mary Ellen of course, sported her butterfly ears.
Ready for cake! Dee, my Mother, came in the night before for the party. What a relief to have some extra help and M&M have loved having her here.

They were tentative at first with the cake but warmed up quickly. Michael especially loved the yummy chocolate cake!

Such a fun day and I had a ball planning it! They were quite overwhelmed with it all but they always love new experiences and handle them pretty well. I can't believe my babies are one! I guess that means I can't call them "babies" anymore.

We are so blessed to have such perfect children. They are so much more than we ever prayed for. We would have felt overjoyed to have been able to have just one baby. God's grace is truly humbling! What a happy day!

Gifts, Gifts, and More Gifts

Michael and Mary Ellen had lots of practice for their party opening gifts. We love to get packages in the mail and it seems all of them recently are for M&M.

The first slideshow is of the gifts from Papa and Mama Jo. That is Andrew's parents in South Carolina. They loved the toys! Papa and Mama Jo always put a little something in their packages for Mama and Daddy too. Thanks!

The next slideshow is from our best friends CAS & Christy and their kids, David, Carly and Daniel. They always give M&M the most perfect gifts. We miss them terribly and are praying regularly for CAS who is in the desert for 120 days. Christy is a strong lady who always does a tremendous job holding down the fort while CAS is away. We love y'all...Thanks!

The last slideshow is of the gifts from our friends MAC & Jen who just left for Aviano Italy. They came over on their last night here to give a birthday surprise to M&M. Thanks and we miss y'all already!

Mama's Monkey

We have always joked how Michael is a little monkey. From the time he was very little he would literally use his legs to crawl up my arms when I was changing him. He uses his legs and feet for everything! So guess what he's going to be for Halloween? Yep, a monkey! We already have the costume and it's SO cute! This little video is a great clip of what Michael loves to do in his crib and how he and Mary Ellen interact.

"10 little monkeys" is my favorite song to sing to him now! OK, Mary Ellen just started waving, so I'm not sure if this is a fluke or not, but adorable anyway. It really looks like she's waving at Michael. By the way, she is jumping in her crib now too. Anything to be like her big brother!