Our hearts (and arms) are full!

Such happy sweet smiles. 

   

Happy Thanksgiving!

Our 2nd family Thanksgiving was a success!

Girls were sweet, but hesitant around everyone...next year will be lots of fun!

The Blackburns

Allen told me Ryan and Erin et. all were coming in town for the holidays. We are super excited and took this picture to capture the moment!

Their 1st Duet

I figured it wasn't too early to introduce musical instruments. Looks like they have some of their Mama's musical talents. :) 

Alyssa really enjoyed her jam session. 

Audrey has been good at this for a while...

Audrey has been good at this for a while. But it is still neat to see her do this on her own.

She put her pacifier in during one of our walks recently. 

Alyssa is so funny!

So this morning we're hanging out in our bouncers and I watch Alyssa discover (again) the dangling bee over her head. She would jump...stop and then reach up and touch...no swatting...no grabbing...just touch the bee gently then continue jumping or slapping the objects in front of her. It just cracks me up the random little things she does sometimes....

Sloppy Joe Meat Pie

So Allen and I have been compiling a list of "Delicious Meals" and this is one of the easy ones that Allen loves. 

I got the idea from a book I love. "Fix it & Freeze it & Heat it & Eat it" Its a Southern Living book and so far has had some really tasty and east recipes. 

Pretty much you want to fix your favorite sloppy joe recipe (the one in the book is delicious) and put it into a baking dish. I top it with a sprinkling of cheese then spread mashed potatoes on top. My Mama introduced us to refrigerated mashed potatoes, and we discovered there are lots of flavor options...because its sloppy joes, I got the jalapeno version and used that. You can also whip up your own mashed potatoes if you like, or have the time. I like to think of this recipe as semi-homemade (You know that show from the Food Network...is it still on?) Sprinkle some cheese on top of the potatoes and you're done!

Bake at 350 for 25ish minutes....just give the cheese time to melt and begin to brown and you've got dinner! (Allen turned on the broiler for a few minutes to crisp and brown the cheese in this picture.)

Directions:

1. Cook sloppy joe recipe of choice.
2. Put in baking dish.
3. Sprinkle cheese to cover sloppy joe meat mixture.
4. Spread mashed potatoes over meat and cheese.
5. Sprinkle more cheese on top.
6. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned.

For variations we have browned hamburger meat then added onions and peppers and cooked until softened instead of using sloppy joe mix. You can then season the meat however you like...we have used taco seasoning and it turned out pretty well... get creative with that you like to eat and season the meat however you like, then follow the rest of the recipe to finish up.

Now...about freezing... If you fix a double batch while you're making dinner you can split the meat mixture half, and put the half you want to freeze into an aluminum throw away dish. You can prepare as usual and freeze one dish for later. I was able to make enough sloppy joes meat mixture for sandwiches one night, and 2 meat pies to freeze for later. I used 3lbs of meat...a lot I know, but wait until Publix has a sale and make this recipe.

Great for new moms and an easy freezer meal to gift to the new mom too!

So about nap time.....

I know it's not optional to skip naps...but the girls thought they'd try it today...Mama knew better, but I didn't fight it....we spent the evening fussy and not very happy...then totally fell asleep during our bottles. 

***I risked taking a flash picture to show y'all these tired babies.***

Audrey zonked out before I could even lay her down. 

Alyssa Has. Not. Moved. Since Daddy laid her down. 

Yes you see 6 pacifiers in her crib....what you don't see are the other 4 to the foot of her crib....just in case...

6 months old!!!!

Here we are getting bigger and so much fun with DIFFERENT personalities!

We eat pears and love them! We eat cereal like champs, and drink some juice. We still take 3 naps a day and sleep through the night most nights!!!  

Here is Alyssa. Alyssa can almost sit up on her own, balance on her knees and rock. She has a big personality and loves to laugh and smile. When Mama tickles her she laughs and covers her mouth with her hands. When Daddy walks in the room her face lights up and she always gives him a big toothless grin. 

Here is Audrey. Audrey can roll over both ways. Loves to rub noses with Mama, and grins at Daddy like you wouldn't believe. She's more reserved and likes to watch the room and what is going on from her door jam bouncer. She will jump and jump and jump until Mama says she's jumped long enough.

1st Halloween

We had a blast for Halloween!

They visited Mama's school, were Daddy's side kicks at a chili cook off judging and enjoyed seeing the other trick or treaters at the door later. 

Daddy minion and his little side kicks. 

Audrey Hepburn and her little minions

Audrey and Audrey!

Babies on the move!

Love these onsies! These girls are starting to notice one another!!

Trying to take pictures these days is interesting. Getting them to look at me is a challenge because they want to check each other out!

Just call me.....Suzy Homemaker!

The girls sporting their new head bands with bows. Feeling crafty!

Alyssa's awkward sleeping poses.

The last few nights Alyssa has fallen asleep in some crazy poses. I can't imagine how this could possibly be comfortable.

On a happy note....she has been sleeping though the night with wake up around 5am. Sometimes 6 or 6:30 if we're lucky!!

A girl and her dog.

Ava gave Audrey her first doggy kisses yesterday.

Ava is so gentle and sweet. Audrey enjoyed watching Ava and Apollo run around. 

Because her toes are so much better

It was nap time.

She had a pacifier. 

Her toes were better...

Cute night time clothes

So I was dressing Alyssa in her pjs and remembered there was a matching hat.

Couldn't resist. Look at those cheeks and ears!!!

Latest Pictures From My (Amanda's) Phone

So here's an awesome way to open up this post. We were traveling down to Perry to celebrate my brotherw and sister's-in-law birthdays. Alyssa and Audrey had both been napping. I was trying to take a picture of her sleeping cuteness and as soon as I was about to snap the picture......she woke up....I can't say she looked too thrilled to see the camera in her face.

Before they woke up I was able to get a picture of each of them sleeping.

No caption needed....

Alyssa had been sleeping the entire time we were out for our stroll. She woke up right as soon as I got to the front door.

This is our newest thing....Alyssa can ROLL!! However....this is a frequent occurrence...I was so busy taking a picture of this that she fell asleep again, and I hated to move her...she slept for a while like this happily.

Alyssa always has a ready smile.

Audrey smiles with her whole face.

Audrey hasn't mastered rolling over yet. Daddy saw her roll over once. They are definitely enjoying tummy time more now....

I caught Alyssa mid-roll....you can hear Audrey fussing in the background. They were both ready for nap time. 

****Videos won't work unless you are on a computer or laptop. iPhones and Kindles will not work (not sure about iPads, but I can assume they won't work either....) 

Nursery 2.0

When we added the ceiling fan to the nursery, poor Alyssa was being frozen out of the room, right under a draft from the fan. We decided to rearrange the room and I have to say it makes it a notch better than before. 

Here is just one picture. I need to touch up on paint and move some stuff around on the walls a little, but I'm excited at how pretty everything is. I'm so blessed with the best Mama ever! She has an amazing eye for decoration!

4 Months!!

September 9th was our 4 month birthday. We went to the dr on September 11th.

Alyssa weighs in at 14lbs 10oz and Audrey weighs in at 13lbs 7oz. 
We've had a slight growth spurt according to the dr and her charts. Really kind of neat to see. 

Both girls are healthy and growing right on track.

We grab for toys (and Mama's face), laugh, squeal, scream (mostly Audrey---very high pitched) and watch who enters and exits a room. 

Alyssa has rolled onto her side and usually sleeps in this position. 

Both Audrey and Alyssa enjoy short times in their bouncer saucer. 

Picture time this month was not so bad!!! We got some nice smiles!!

 These are the dresses that Allen and I bought from Hawaii. They are 12 month sizes and it has been neat to see the girls grow into them....although they don't seem super excited to be wearing them. Haha!

Selfies with Mommy

Audrey

Alyssa

Found a sweet message from Allen in the fridge outside. He's such a nerd! Love him!!

Visit from Owen

The girls got to meet Aunt Janda and Uncle Jason this weekend.

Owen was outnumbered but he handled himself well!

Owen may have been a little jealous of his Mommy's attention divided....Aunt Janda holding Audrey and Owen on the ball. 

Different Personalities

It is so neat to see how the girls are developing so differently. Alyssa has always been dubbed the "diva" she tells you whether she likes it or not and loudly. Audrey is the quiet one.....until today...they have switched roles on me and it's been interesting and fun.

I never get tired of seeing them side by side. Alyssa is the one wearing the "up all night" shirt. Because she was. Audrey and her sweet smile slept the whole night  through!!

Pictures from my phone...

Here is Audrey sitting for the first time in her Bumbo chair. She sat so nicely and didn't mind at all!

This was after a nap time. I always have them sleeping in their own cribs, but when they wake up at about the same time, I put them in the same crib and carry them out together back into the living room. THey were smiling a lot this day.

A little bit of google magic. I love how google takes several images and makes a little mini movie.

Found a head band and wanted to try it on Audrey. We're. NOT. Ready.

I think this is so funny the way she looks like she's just reclining. She was eyeballing her sister. Just looking and thinking.