Labor Day - Abilene

Brooklyn's face cracks me up - Tayden is so happy!

My precious Nana - love you!

My camera was off-centered - we pledged to Photoshop all of the family members who couldn't make it into the missing space.  Where was Brooklyn?

He loves brooms and mops

The Aeropostale twins

Our hotel room

The loved the baggage cart.  The velcro on Brooklyn's sandal stuck to the cart and she was not happy.  Nice babysitting option - ha.

Their first time riding the carousel at the mall. 

Brooklyn's new ACU shirt

Tayden's new ACU shirt

the twins teamed up to move the gate

She is forever climbing on things - notice that the tote is not even laying flat on the ground

New pillow pets - so soft

Things at our house have been busier than ever!  Tim started working nights for Chase bank last week.  (He is still doing real estate as well, and about to start EMT school).  I had gotten so used to having him here in the evenings to help with dinner time, etc.  It has been a hard adjustment that has made me realize just how much I appreciate all he does and how much I enjoy sharing parenthood with him.  We were so fortunate the past year to both be home most evenings.  We had a great routine established, and I am still trying to find my own groove.  One of my first nights home alone I changed Tayden's dirty diaper and then started to change Brooklyn's.  While changing her our dog Sambo threw-up four times in the living room floor.  In the meantime, Tayden moved the entire fence and went in the kitchen.  When I finally finished cleaning up the mess I looked in the kitchen and all I could see was the broom handle going back and forth.  Tayden was sweeping the kitchen floor.  What a night!!!

The twins are both doing great.  They are starting to cut more jaw teeth and talking more and more.  Brooklyn has really started to make more sounds and say more words like cheese and ball.  She loves walking around with her purse on her arm and dancing.  Any time she hears music she starts breaking it down.  Tayden continues to learn more words and his passion for books grows daily.  He will bring me a book and say "read," and then immediately sit down for storytime.  It gets hard when he picks the same Sesame Street over and over again.  I read a few books to them before bed each night and when we put the books away they both start crying.  It warms my heart to see that they both have a love for reading. 

This past weekend we went to Abilene for my Nana's birthday.  It was the twins' first time to visit my hometown and stay in a hotel.  We had a wonderful time seeing family from Houston and catching up on all that has been going on.  My only wish is that we would have been able to stay longer and spend more time with those that we don't get to see on a regular basis.  We had the birthday party at my grandparent's church.  The twins ran around the gym playing with basketballs and loved every minute of it.  They are not used to having such a large space to play.  At the hotel they loved running from one side of the room to the other, starting the microwave over and over again, and banging on the mirrored closet doors.  On Sunday we went to my grandparents' house for a little bit and played in their backyard.  The weather was absolutely perfect!!!!  Before heading home we went to the good ole' Mall of Abilene for some Coastal Cookies and then grabbed a delicious lunch at Betty Rose's.  I really wish that my grandparents lived closer!!! 

We are praying for everyone that has lost their homes in the wildfires.  What a scary, terrible, life-changing event.  Just another reminder that this earth is not our "home."