This is Home

We make - at minimum - one fall trip per year to visit God's country, Blacksburg!  A very, very kind coworker gives us bomb-ass tickets and a Lot 1 parking pass.  We love to visit "Uncle Mop", and my old coworkers from Undergraduate Admissions.

We decided to leave Thursday evening at bedtime because the girls sleep awesome in the car.  And just when you think you have it all figured out... they throw you a curve ball.  Ella cried/whined/fussed for approximately 2 hours.  When we arrived at the MacInnis Motel, they both woke up.  We still had to set up pack 'n plays and get them settled.  To say that night was a train wreck is just an understatement.  But alas, we were in SW VA!  My second home.

skeletons watching Minions WAY  past their bedtime!

We wanted to spend a full day with Matthew and enjoy the gorgeous campus.  We let the girls run around, took him to lunch, and just spent it outside.  This Hokie girl was happy :)

E&S and the Drillfield <3

Momma and her pretty girls

We visited a few friends in Undergraduate Admissions and ran up and down the halls.. clearly trying to make a good impression to get accepted!

The #doublesinks and the Hokie Bird

After lunch, we strolled around town... the girls napped in the stroller, we went to the bookstore, drank Starbucks, and went back to the Drillfield.

Ella, Sydney, the Drillfield, and Burruss

Since it was Homecoming weekend, they had a Pass and Review of the Corps on the Drillfield.  We unintentionally sat as close as possible to Skipper, the ceremonial cannon of the Corps.  Since we couldn't get close, we snapped a picture of the girls, Skipper in the background, and the Cadet that was protecting the cannon.  And I'll tell you what... Skipper is LOUD.  And we discovered the girls were unphased.  {that means next year: fireworks on the 4th of July!}

And we have the very best uncle in all the world.  He loves our girls fiercely, and we're all just so lucky.


Holding Sydney upside-down

hugging Uncle Mop

Brothers holding Sisters

<3

watching the Corps

After we were done hanging out on campus, we headed back to have dinner with all of the MacInnis family, and even got to hang out with Camden.  Camden's momma, April, is 35 weeks pregnant with little brother, Tomas.

So here's where things get interesting, and we are reminded that we have the VERY BEST support system - near and far.  In the early morning hours of game day, April went into labor.  Nobody was expecting it... and we had a little bit of a problem since Kim & Brian were watching the girls all day so we could go to the game.  Well, that problem was very temporary because we have such a great "village"... we have so many people who love us and drop what they're doing to help us, 3 1/2 HOURS AWAY!  We called Kelly (who jokingly said earlier in the week to call if out babysitter falls through... who knew!?), and she brought her boys over and they loved on the girls all day long.

So crisis averted, we were on our way to see the Hokies play!  Had to pick up Matthew first

Adopted Hokie, Alum Hokie, Current Hokie

I received the best pictures all day... with confirmation of how much our girls are loved and how much fun they had

Grayson loving on Ella (Luke and Sydney were off being crazy together)

flip cup

we found Kim!

Hokie lady friends... is it obvious I missed the Orange Effect boat!?

love this view of everyone coming into the game from our box seats

love having a break from reality with this guy

.... and he apparently played way too much flip cup

Meanwhile... the #doublesinks we having so much fun

sums it up perfectly.

We had such a great weekend away.  Loved being back "home" in Blacksburg, visiting Uncle Mop, cheering on the Hokies.  We absolutely love our "accommodations" - we are treated so well by the MacInnis'.  The girls have a blast playing with all of Camden's toys, we have a great space in the basement, and the company is simply the best.  Can't wait to get back there <3

putting on our shoes, ready to head back home

A year and a half

So, much to my dismay, time hasn't slowed down any.  Like at all.  And if anything, it's sped up.  So, world, throw me a bone and chill a bit.

The girls are officially a year and a half years young.  And I'm telling you... this is fun.  I love, love, love this age.  I love that they both walk - and to me, it's way easier.  Picking them both up, setting them down, being outside... all-around I just prefer them both walking.  They laugh and interact  They are like trick ponies... and have so many new stunts.

Animal noises:
cow, dog, cat, monkey, dinosaur, lion, snake, sheep

Words:
Mama, Dada, Nana, Papa, Abby, Jacob, Ella, Sydney, hair bow (booooow), purple, outside, inside, uh-oh, bye bye, yah! (they always respond affirmatively... want to get a bath? yah! want to go slide? yah!), go, bath (ba), water (wa-wa)

Body parts:
They can point to... nose, head/hair, mouth, eyes, belly button

They also give the best kisses!  "Mmmm-ah!!". 

Their favorite things:
-MINIONS.  Holy hell, they love those little yellow guys.  You have no idea.. "mi-mi" means Minions.  They love Bob, Kevin, and Stuart.  If they're being too fussy or we need to get a few things done, the Minions come to the rescue.  And to document this obsession... coming soon: Halloween 2016
-Dancing.  When daddy cuts on the record player or a good tune, Sydney especially, will just get down.  They shake their cute little bodies back and forth, and let the music take them away.
-Sticks.  A little bit obsessed.  Ella really is the instigator, but they walk outside and have stick-radar.  They pick them up and carry them around like they're little friends.  We have a collection of sticks next to the door where we make them say "bye-bye" and throw the stick down when it's time to go in.  Not to be missed... those "bye-bye stick" moments often come with some tantrums.
-Books.  They will grab a book, sit in your lap, and "read"... repeat!
-Swinging, sliding, and just being outside.  We take walks, find sticks, water flowers, and visit Daisy.
-Eating pouches, chocolate milk, and goldfish crackers
-Sydney religiously takes off her right shoe in the car every.single.time
-Favorite person: da-da.  All day long.  He can comfort them, make them laugh, and style a mean pony tail

So here are our stats from our well-check:

Ella Grace
20 lbs 3 oz
31" tall

Sydney Ann
17 lbs 3 oz
30.75" tall

coloring on the table at our check-up

And just for giggles... here's Sydney's growth chart.  Both girls are in this special place on the chart called "less than 3 %".  You'd think Ella was "big" compared to Sydney.  Well the thing is, Ella is small, and Sydney is just a freak of nature.  Ella is hovering right on the "curve" and Sydney has just created her own!  But I love, love, love having little ladies.  I think they are so cute, we get more use out of their clothes, and they are the perfect snuggling size!  I'm not a very big person myself, so my lap could only handle so much! :)

Sydney's weight: <3%, height is 22%
Ella's weight: <3%, height is 27%

After you've had shots and a check-up, the best thing is to go grocery shopping, get balloons, and eat pouches

Oh yeah... and if you're wondering WHY Sydney is so small.. it's not for malnutrition.  This girl can EAT.  And she's so cute doing it... shoving, with MUCH FORCE and enthusiasm, food into her mouth.  That night at dinner, I caught her stealing Ella's mashed potatoes off her plate, hahahah.

"Oh, I'd like a second helping... off your plate, Ella" -Syd

And she has a HUGE mouth

"Ella, where's your belly button??"

Sydney was walking UP the slide when Ella was sliding DOWN the slide... and they both hugged and laughed and laughed

the two cutest girls in all the land <3 <3

And this morning, I documented the STICK OBSESSION!

 So here we are... 18 months old.  I'm going to blink and they'll be 18, just watch.

Oh, darlings, don't you ever grow up, just stay this little.

Almost fall!

We got home from the beach and have been enjoying the last bit of summer, but are welcoming the cooler temps! 

Sunday post-beach trip: soaking up the sun in the backyard with the Trevillian/Overstreet gang.  Baby pools, a water table, and a slide made our afternoon complete.

Go, Ella, go!

Happy Sydney, post-slide

Daniel has been planning a kayaking trip with his boyfriends for a while now.  Since I never gave him a 30th birthday gift, we splurged and he got his very own kayak!  Side note: he didn't love it.  Oops.

Look at that happy guy!  He deserves it.

One morning Daniel offered to take the girls to daycare.  I had already woken up early and got myself ready... so I took full advantage (I normally don't do that.. but have tried really hard lately), and enjoyed some tea and my book on the porch.  The weather was just perfect.

Ella and Sydney were thrilled with our newest addition.

Haha, Sydney is enjoying the new ride!

Very late in the game, Sydney caught the virus Ella had on vacation.  Though, it wasn't nearly as bad as Ella.  So Sydney got to hang out with Nana for a few days.  Love these pictures of her trying to ride on the truck.  She's small, but she's not THAT small.

just keep trying.. trying.. trying

The footage behind getting a good picture..

What a cute picture!  Two girls laughing at Dada, they're about to get attacked...

And there she goes

#2 down

by now you know me... love my filled-up lap!

Daddy headed out for his weekend of kayaking, cigars, and campfires.  It was just me and the ladies.  Also known as: just survive.

I was brave and when I picked them up from daycare, we attended their little luau.  First stop: sno cones! 

Then the pictures ceased because.. two babies and one mama at a party.

cute little ruffled behinds walking to our car

While at this lovely luau - and I was clearly all by myself - a mom asked me "is having twins hard???".  How does one respond to such an obvious thing?  Is the Earth round?  Is the sky blue?  By all means... YES! raising twins is the hardest thing in the whole wide world.  Multiples are not for the faint of heart.

Later that night, after I had taken both girls grocery shopping, and was fixing dinner, Sydney puked all over the kitchen floor (in her defense... it was because I had her upside down and was tickling her).  While I had her on the counter cleaning her up, I hear a loud thud, and Ella has now fallen flat on her face in said puke.  That night, bed time couldn't come soon enough.  Daniel couldn't come home quick enough.  I was over it.

So to Stephen's mom at daycare, having twins is hard.  Very, very hard.  To be honest, there isn't much about having twins that's easy... but damn, it's worth it.

rainbow cookies at the grocery store!

Thankfully, I didn't have to spend the next day alone - Robin & Harrison came for a visit!  A much, much, much overdue visit.  We had so much fun, and it filled up my lonely-BFF-soul.

look at those three cuties!

real life candid: babies sitting on babies

While the girls napped and Robin went to get lunch, I got some quality time with my main buddy, Harrison.

wagon ride for one cute boy!

look at him, made out of sugar <3

my heart has been filled

three beautiful smiles :) :) :)

Sadly, they had to leave us... but only about 24 hours until Dada comes home.

when you're surviving, your kids get to play with straws

haha.. this girl

Minions, full lap, babies with goldfish = thumbs up

you can't see it, but my heart has melted all over the floor

Daniel has been working really hard at his dad's house to clean it out and get it ready to sell.  He brought home this gem: an article in the paper with him crushing it in tennis from the year we started dating.  THAT, my friends, is what I fell in love with.

We planned a date with our favorite framily - the Eckerts.  Oh, how we love them, and their little lovely, Evelyn.

Ella decided it was a great idea to eat Daddy's shoe... wtf?

full table

Minions and an obscenely large teddy bear round out a good play date

It's almost fall and you know what that means... the start of Hokie football!  We had to stop by Walmart on the way to my parents for the essentials: food + beer.  We were on a tight schedule, so Daniel took one baby and I took the other.  It was a fun change of pace

Hokie cousins

adorable picture of Abby + Seth

Since the weather is getting cooler, we've started living on the back porch again.  I don't know if I've said it enough, but the porch was our best investment yet.

Ella and that little Buddha belly.. just relaxing

oh, hey crazy Sydney!

love the four of us

"ta-da!"

a game they both love... This little piggy went to the market...

We spent a lot of the long Labor Day weekend organizing since we've received so many items from Daniel's dad's house.  It's never-ending... clean up one thing to make room for more.  Soon enough we'll be all settled and organized!  In the midst of our cleaning up, we took a trip to Home Depot and Target. 

Ella's standing up in the cart like a total BA

Stormtrooper Syd!

she loves Stormtrooper Daddy

finally getting use out of my oak barrel, and I love the results

twinning

pure joy

After the girls were snuggled into bed, we camped out on the porch to watch Stranger Things

these two love popsicles

Daniel was in charge of the girls... please notice he's not awake, haha.

You know it's been a bomb-ass day when their clothes require stain remover, and they desperately need a bath!

enjoying a delicious meal at the Couringtons

I've been having the girls practice holding hands (now that they're walking at a similar speed).  Not only is it stinkin' adorable, but I want them to get used to holding someone's hand in a parking lot/store/etc.

Here are our two cuties.. holding hands and walking into school on the first day of their brand new classroom!

Favorite activity: watering flowers.  I've gotten brave enough to bring them both out with me to help water flowers.  They mainly walk around carrying sticks, and then carry the empty watering can back to the hose for a refill.  So far, Sydney has wandered into the street only once.  I'm thankful we live in a cul-de-sac!

Teamwork makes the dream work

And when you're a twin, you're a total bad ass at sharing.  Case in point: feeding each other dinner.

meal time new addition: forks!



Another favorite activity: reading books.  They'll bring a book in from the playroom, sit in your lap, "read", and go back for more.  It's so sweet!

And sometimes they both sit down in their bean bag to "read"

Instead of taking the girls out to dinner, we switched things up and went out for breakfast.  Such a good decision - they are fresh and not so cranky.  Breakfast spot: Panera.  And before breakfast, we take a cute picture outside because momma is a freak.  Look at those football outfits!

Nana came over for a quick visit

HUGE football game: the Battle at Bristol.  VT vs. TN.  We lost, womp womp.

game faces

someone came over to hang out and watch football!

look at this cute tiny thing who can fit into a pot!

This photo is called "Ella, give Sydney a kiss!"

stop, just stop <3 <3

We have great sleepers.  I mean really... we can't ask for much more.  They go down awesome, normally always sleep through the night, and will occasionally "sleep in" on the weekends.  Even naps are great.  Every now and then they get a wild hair and lose their shit.  See below example.  Of course when it happens, you're solo.  Daniel ran out to get us dinner and came home to this.  So what do you do?  Just snuggle on them and hope they get sleepy REAL SOON!  And don't forget... it won't last forever, but it certainly feels like it some days!

I took it upon myself to take the day off and have a total mom day shopping.  I went to Williamsburg, ate a delicious breakfast, and bought things FOR ME.  It was sooooo very needed, and need to remember to do that occasionally!  So good to recharge.

mama's very quiet, very delicious breakfast.

And after a day of shopping and doing whatever I wanted, I came home to these adorable, happy, amazing little monsters.  What more could a mom ask for?

Ella & Daddy

Look at that cute little toosh cleaning up after getting squeaky clean

Momma and Sydney

It's fall.  Babies, jean jackets, and Chesterfest.

Speaking of recharging... Daniel and I did just that!  The girls went to Grandma Georgia's FOR THE NIGHT.  We got pizza, unsuccessfully looked at reupholstery fabric, and enjoyed being husband and wife (not mom and dad) at the Pascale Nuptuals!  We stayed out too late with friends and slept in.  It was glorious.

flight of cider

<3 <3

the beautiful and fun couple!  we just love these two, and couldn't be happier for them

S

E

Then it happened.  The start of yucky season.  We picked the girls up and Sydney had a fever.  She laid her head on my chest and fell fast asleep.  Noooooo!  Get away nasty germs, ain't nobody got time for that.

We laid sweet, sick Syd on the couch in front of Minions and her side-kick didn't leave her side.  It was just the sweetest and saddest ever!  These two... the bond they share, and having a built-in BFF is the greatest thing.

Ella giving Sydney a kiss

<3

And I'll tell you what... Sydney was pathetic FOR DAYS!  It never seemed to end.  And you know, one evening trip to KidMed confirmed the worst: a virus.  Code for: suffer.  And of course, we had a trip to Blacksburg that week.  Impeccable timing, germs.  Thanks a lot.

:(

But alas, Nana to the rescue!  We are so thankful our "back-up" is such an awesome grandma.  She texted me pictures of Sydney doing laundry (so happy she doesn't let her get TOO comfortable ;) ), and all-around getting loved on.

who is that sweet girl in the mirror?

Syd, Momma, and Minions at KidMed

Daniel took off a day to spend with Sydney to give my mom a break.  He also had a hair cut scheduled... so guess who got to tag along!

Ella laying on the floor, Sydney laying on Daddy's back

All week, we were getting reports from daycare that Ella was fussy... suspecting she was getting whatever virus Sydney had.  My mom and Daniel both said that Sydney walked around saying "Ella.... Ella.... Ella".  Ella never did get sick, and I think they just couldn't handle being a part.  We decided to keep them together one last day before our Blacksburg trip! 

#1 They love to climb from basket to chair to floor, repeat.
#2 My mom witnessed a legit fight where Sydney bit the crap out of Ella and Ella hit Sydney with all her might.  She was traumatized.  hahahah, welcome to our world!
#3 They are both feeling completely fine, clearly

Ella just needed some extra lovin'!

Sink fam of four... recuperating and getting ready for our big trip out west for football and Uncle Mop!

Stay tuned for the real start of fall some fun mountain trips!