95: A Beautiful Number

Yesterday we had the great honor of helping Grandaddy celebrate his 95th birthday. He is one of the kindest men I've known. He has such a strong yet gentle soul. He and Nannie have the best example of a happy and everlasting marriage that I've ever been able to witness. They celebrated 68 years two weeks ago; they have loved one another and enjoyed one another every day of their marriage. H is a better person for having them play such important roles in her life. Both of us are thankful to have their love and example to rely on.

The party was lots of fun with cake and ice cream enjoyed by all. We were in a big room at the nursing home, so the babies could run around and raise a ruckus. They had a good time making lots of noise and burning off the sugar they consumed. It was a special party.

Lucia's name comes from Grandaddy. It is a feminized version of his name, Lucius. Both names are derivations of Luke which means Light. Grandaddy's life always shines brightly and we are so thankful for him.

Lucia with her Great-Grandaddy:
Mazie Bell and Papa Glenn:

Lucia and Grandaddy:
Aunt Patti and Mazie Bell
Lucia and Elliott playing with the balloon:
Nannie and Elliott playing with the balloon:
Lucia in full party mode:

Elliott enjoying his sqeaker shoes:
Mazie Bell celebrating the occasion:

Nana with Lu and Elliott:Nannie playing patty-cake with Lucia:
Four generations: Nannie, Nana, Mama Bee, and LEM:
H and me with her parents, grandparents, and babies:

Milk Math

This week we have started transitioning the babies to cow's milk.

We originally decided to begin moving the babies from formula to cow's milk at their full-term due date (October 18). They are doing a great job reaching milestones, but we thought there no need to rush the digestive tracks. The only issues we've had this first year were related to digestion (milk protein allergies), so we though we would just take things nice and slow.
The babies haven't had any real digestive issues since we moved Mazie off Nutramingen at about seven months. We coupled this fact with the expense of the formula and decided to go ahead and start transitioning them. If we buy formula in our one-grocery-store hometown, it costs $18 a day. We, obviously, try not to have to do this and for the most part have been able to stock up when we go to the big city. Still though, it is a good $15 a day. Based on how much milk cousin Avery drinks a day, my sister and I figured that LEM will go through about a half a gallon of milk a day. With Horizon milk a little under $4 for a half gallon, this is a trendous monthly savings.

The other issue for us is storage. We want them to be on Horizon milk and we the closest store that sells it is Wal-Mart, thirty minutes in either direction from us. So, we have about six half gallons in the deep freezer right now.

The babies appear to be enjoying the milk. They are getting it in two of their five bottles a day right now.

Also, if anyone has any ideas where I could order Whole Organic Powdered Milk, please let me know. I am having trouble finding powdered organic milk that is Whole.

Sweet Feet

We finally took the babies to get shoes this weekend. They have been sockfooted or barefoot for a year now. H said it was time for us to get them some shoes. We took them to a children's shoe store so they could be fitted properly and were glad we did. Elliott has very wide feet and Mazie has very tiny feet. The lady who waited on us taught us a few things about new shoes. We bought them each a dressy pair of shoes and a casual pair. Plus, H had a fit over the hot pink merrells, so we justified an additional pair of shoes with the fact that we got a multiples discount.

The lady who helped us said the babies did very well in their new shoes. They were walking all around the store. She said some babies will just sit down and cry when they are fitted with their first pair of shoes.

They have now worn their new shoes to church and for a walk in the stroller. We are now working on incorporating socks and shoes into our daily routine.

Lucia in her hot pink Merrells, waiting patiently for her Mama Bee to check out.
"Hey, look at my new shoes."
"Okay, let's get this show on the road."
Lucia in the church nursery with her new dress shoes.
Elliott playing in the nursery with his dress shoes. They squeak when he walks.
Mazie playing with a balloon in the nursery, wearing her new dress shoes.
Lucia in her casual navy mary janes.
Elliott, learning how to unvelcro his shoes on day one.
Mazie, walking in her new mary janes.

Birthday Gifts

As stated earlier, the best gifts at a party are the people who attend, but the second best gifts are gifts. The day after the party my mom said something like, "Last time I was here I noticed y'all needed more age appropriate toys." Well, I guess the birthday came just in time, because the babies got musical instruments, riding toys, a water table, new books, dolls--lots of things they didn't have. I have divided the toys into several different baskets. Each day or two I bring out a different basket and put the other basket up. If there is too much out, they tend to get overwhelmed. So, it is nice now that we can pull out something new every few days for them to play with and learn from. We also received some much appreciated money for their college funds.

Here are some of the great gifts we got at the birthday party.

The babies got two push toys, a school bus and a lion. They like to push each other around. They are not very good at steering or turning around yet. They do a good job getting on and off though.


The piano is a big hit. They love to walk over to it and bang on the keys. Sometimes I will play very basic little ditties on it and they enjoy that too.
Here is Elliott with their new drum. This gift made several people at the party gleeful at the thought of H and I listening to a drum all day. So far they like to eat the drumsticks and listen to me play the drum. I am sure they will develop a talent for it in no time though.
Here are the babies with their new top. They love to watch it spin around. They also like to try to make it spin themselves. They are also sporting their new "rock star" pajamas.
Lucia learning to spin the top. Elliott reading his pillow book.
Here is Mazie loving her little Cabbage Patch doll.

They also got some electronic toys and books that they enjoy playing with. They especially love the VTech books that light up and sing to them.

We got a fun water table that they will really enjoy. They can pour water to move the wheel and float the little sail boats around--not to mention splash, splash, splash.
My sister and her family gave the babies a tunnel tent with magic balls. They love it. They love to get into the hut and play with the balls. They also love to chase the balls around the room.


These books are some of their new favorites and my new favorites. Sheep in a Jeep is so cute. We also got Open the Barn Door that the babies love because they can open the flap to see what animal is underneath. Peek-a-Who is also a cute little book.
Here is Mazie studying up on her first 100 words. I am giving her a pop quiz Monday. Here is Lucia reading Wild Animals. We got several touch and feel books about animals that the babies love to sit and read and feel.
We hope you have a wonderful day and that someone bestows a gift on you today.

Injured

We have had a couple of black eyes and lots of bruises. Last week we had our first busted lip and split tongue. All we saw was Mazie fall back and hit her head on the floor and the blood start to pour as Mazie cried her little heart out.

What we think happened is that Mazie, standing at the window, knocked her chin into the sill busting her lip. This, being upsetting to her, made her fall back onto her head and since she was already crying from the lip, her togue was sticking out and she bit it pretty far back and quite deep. She wouldn't take a bottle or nurse for over twelve hours, so we felt like it was our first real injury. By midmorning the next day, she was feeling back to herself.

As you can see from the picture below, girlfriend is now cooling it on her school bus going around and around. Peace out, y'all.
By the way, this two finger salute is Mazie's customary salutation these days. If you call her name she will often turn to you and give you the peace sign. She also touches anything and everything with these two fingers. If you give her a cracker to eat, she'll pick it up with her two fingers.

Time for Love

Here are some photos I snapped this morning of Elliott and Lucia exchanging affections. Our children are all three equally close. Sometimes they all three play together, but often two will break away for a while and play. Usually the babies interact more by playing and laughing; this is an especially tender exchange between the two.