Roadtrip!

As a birthday present to Natalie, Juliet and I, Christina wanted to take us on a roadtrip. We spent a couple of weeks mapping out where we wanted to go, and the weekend before last, we headed out!

Our first stop was Branson, MO where we ate lunch and did some shopping.

The highlight of Natalie's day was getting to ride in the "Busytown" apple with Lowly Worm at the outlet mall. She loves watching "B-town" as she calls it. She definitely didn't want to leave. :(

Next stop was Springfield, MO where we stopped at Hebrews Coffee to get some caffeine! 

We stayed the night in Chesterfield, MO (right outside of St. Louis) and then went to a BEAUTIFUL butterfly house the next day. During the month of October they add orchids to the butterfly house and it was just breathtaking.

Lydia Noelle and I at 32 weeks.

Squealing and giggling on the swings at a playground.

Beautiful fall colors

We randomly happened upon a HUGE indoor carousel on the grounds of the butterfly house. It as SO awesome!

Natalie really did love it even though you can't tell by the look on her face. :)

Juliet was fascinated...

 

At the St. Louis Zoo the next day. That huge orangutan came and sat right up against the window in front of Natalie, which she loved. She adores monkeys!

Outside the zoo waiting on the trolley. Christina and I are huge fans of the movie "Meet me in St. Louis" so we were thrilled to get to ride a trolley in St. Louis. :D

The next day we drove to Illinois where we hiked to a waterless waterfall and let the girls throw rocks in a cold, almost non-existent creek. The leaves and scenery were SO gorgeous it was absolutely worth not getting to see the waterfall in all it's glory. Drove to Memphis, TN that night and stayed right outside the city in Olive Branch, MS.

The last day of our trip we drove to Batesville, MS and had a wonderful lunch and visit with my great-aunt and then traveled home. Jules represents how exhausted we all were, but we had a BLAST! 

The Girl's Birthday Party

Picture post!

"Oh, was I supposed to smile or something?"

"Yay! I'm one!"

Checking out her new bath toy

Trying out her new pacifier

Group shot. Except for Juliet's face. :P

Love the expressions on their faces. JJ's fascinated. I think Natalie was afraid her cake was gonna burn down...

"Quite tasty..."

"I wuv chocolate!"

"I stashed some for later in my ears and my diaper mom. This was way too much cake for one sitting."

"I think I ate too much..."

All cleaned up and full of energy!

What I would do for my one year old

A couple  of weeks ago, as the girl's and I were about to leave for Church, I found myself in a situation no mother ever wants to find herself in.

Being helplessly separated from her child and not able to do anything about it. Serious, yes, but in this case also absolutely hilarious.

It was Sunday morning, and the girls and I were about to leave for church. I left Juliet playing on the floor while I took Natalie out to the car. I shut the door behind me so JJ wouldn't come out onto the porch. What I didn't realize was, the person who had last left the house had "pre-"locked the door from the inside, so when I shut it, I couldn't get back in. I went out to my car and realized it was locked too. And my keys and purse and phone were in the house. I panicked. I sat Natalie down on the porch, kicked off my shoes and ran as fast as I could around the house looking for an unlocked door or open window. I peeked in a window to see what Juliet was doing, and she was sitting in a big pile of electrical cords from the computer and printer. She has a habit of unplugging cords and sticking them in her mouth, so at this point, I could only imagine the worst case scenario. I started praying and crying out to God to show me how to get in to her. I was about to throw some sort of large object through a door or window, when I noticed a window that was cracked open about 10 feet off the ground. I ran to the back of the house and grabbed a ladder and drug it to the front of the house and propped it up. My fear of heights completely vanished as I climbed up the ladder and tore off the screen. I pushed the window up and flopped my 7-month-pregnant body over the windowsill and onto the floor. (If anyone had see it, they would have died laughing. Great day I picked to wear a maxi dress...) I ran into the living room and scooped up my precious baby and kissed her and cried and told her I loved her. Yes folks, she was sitting in the living room floor for a grand total of about 20 minutes, but to me, it felt like forever. If you don't have children, you will probably think I'm crazy, but wait until you do- you will know exactly how I feel.

This happened at some point during the morning... I don't remember it at all.

My sweet Juliet Joy safe and sound!

Pre-birthday party and more!

Hello everyone. My name is JJ. I'm about to be a big girl, because I will be 1 on Tuesday! I have 3 and a half teeth and I am pulling up on everything and trying to take steps! I love to eat. Everything in sight. Even beetles. Even though my Mommy doesn't like it when I eat things off the floor. My newest words are thank you and cracker. I gotta go snuggle now, bye!

Hi guys! This is Natalie. I'm going to be 2 in 10 days, although I've been telling people that I'm two ever since I turned 1. :) I love to talk (especially on the phone) and I am learning more and more new words every day! My favorite things to do right now are: COLOR, ride in my wagon, watch "Curious George" and take showers.

Mommy here. Wow, my little angels are growing up so quickly! Especially the little tator tot in my tummy! It won't be long and she'll be here! Can't wait to meet my little Christmas present...

The above picture displays JJ's excitement that Natalie spilled her cheerios. 

"Yay! More food for me!"

Last weekend we had a pre-birthday bash for the girls with my grandparents. And their "fairy god-mother" as we call her, Lana. :)

Above picture is Natalie opening her new cell phone from Nana and G-dad!

And keys! Now all she needs is a car... :P

"He-llooooo!! He-llooo?"

Everyone laughed at how animated she was. Including her. :)

JJ getting her giggle toy. Fits her perfectly. Uncle Matthew calls her his little chunk of joy!

Had to taste the tag of course...

Bouncing and dancing

Hoping Poppa lets her help in the garden...

That face is priceless! Pure elation!

When I lit Natalie's birthday candles, she cried! Maybe thought I was going to burn her brownie down? Not sure... maybe just an emotional moment. :D

JJ was just fascinated with her candle.

And LOVED her brownie and ice cream!

This is our attempt at a group shot of the girls/ladies. So thankful for these little girls and women in my life. 

And that's it for now. More updates and pictures to come soon!