Our New Favorite Thing

Jake and Lilly's new favorite thing is the "dental exam."
Get within feet of either one of them and they'll have their slimy, slobbery fingers right in your mouth!!!

Say ,"Ahhhhhh," Pop!

Open wide, Auntie Bri!

First Christmas

Our First Christmas with Jake & Lilly ....

At our family Christmas with Grammy & Pop in Cat Spring, Jake and Lilly were quite entertained. I figured they would be more interested in the wrapping paper than the gifts they received, but I was wrong. They were totally fascinated watching all the commotion. Their cousins, Kash and Kiley, were enough to entertain them for most of the morning.

Here is a picture of Grammy and Lilly...

And one of Great-Grandpa and Lilly...

Pop and Jake....

On Thursday, we loaded up the truck and headed to Dallas to celebrate Christmas with Noni and Poppy. We also saw Auntie Bri and Uncle Dave, Uncle Jay, and Great-Grandma and Pop Van Allen.

We were up bright and early to open up stockings....

Before lunch we opened more gifts. Jake and Lilly will look so stylish at the rodeo next year with their new boots from Auntie Bri and Uncle Dave. A little too big to wear this year, but they will both be walking around in no time!

Pictures of Lilly and Jake sporting their new boots....

Noni and Lilly....

Lilly with Noni and Great-Grandma and Pop Van Allen...

Why I Love Winter

Winter has always been my favorite season. Maybe it's because I love Christmas and getting together with friends and family. It's also the best time for hot chocolate and mittens. And every now and then in Texas, we get to see a glimpse of snow. (That's right, I said a glimpse!!) Well, this year, I'm adding a new reason... fuzzy PJs!

Some sweet, sweet friends of ours sent these adorable PJs for Jake and Lilly.

Snowmen, polar bears, and penguins. It's doesn't get any better than that!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Jake and Lilly heard a rumor that if you have a red nose you get in good
with the big guy in the North Pole.

We have orange noses... does that count?

Can you tell we love sweet potatoes and carrots?!?!

Born To Be Wild

This weekend our good friends, Charla and Kent, brought their motorcycles to the house for a photo shoot with Jake and Lilly. Charla (G3 to Jake and Lilly) brought them Harley onesies and bandanas to complete the "biker" look.

Here is Jake looking very "bad" on Kent's bike.

Jake is in his element with all the shiny gears, mirrors, and gauges.

Lilly is comfortable on G3's bike, too. She is ready to ride!

Lilly & G3

Kent & Jake

Two at a time!

Lilly had to leave the photo shoot early to take a nap.
All that riding wore her out!!!
She is content to nap right on her Poppy's shoulder.

So Thankful....

At Thanksgiving this year, we give thanks for all the blessings in our lives. Jake & Lilly have made our lives so exciting. They have just discovered how to roll over and enjoy giggling at each other. It took about four months, but they are very aware of each other now!

We have to separate them at dinner because they would rather look at each other than eat. We also recently moved Jake out of the nursery and gave him his own room. We really hoped they would be able to share a room until they were much older, but they were constantly waking each other and keeping each other up at night. Now everybody in the house is sleeping much better!! This is a snapshot of them playing together on the floor in Lilly's new room.

Happy Halloween

Jake was a dinosaur....

and Lilly was a Lady Bug....

Our Two Little Pumpkins

Can you tell who's who?!
Our two little pumpkins spent their first Halloween
in Dallas at Noni and Poppy's house.

(Jake is on the left; Lilly is on the right)

Our Trip To The Pumpkin Patch

We took our first family picture at the Pumpkin Patch in Old Katy. Jake and Lilly each got their very own mini pumpkin. Here is Lilly showing them off! It's hard to believe that next year they'll be running around picking out their own pumpkins!

Loving the Cooler Weather

Loving the Cooler Weather

Jake & Lilly have bundled up every morning this week for our two and a half mile walk. They love the way the fresh air feels on their faces, and Mommy loves that fact that they both have taken extra long naps in the stroller! We pray that the cool weather and sunshine will stay!

Two Months Old

It is so hard to believe that Lilly and Jake are two months old now! Time sure does fly! I had intentions of posting pictures each week, but have quickly found that with two babies not much gets done... including updating the blog. So here are a few snapshots of our sweeties.

Lately Jake enjoys watching football with Daddy on Sundays. "GO Texans!"



Lilly loves to be read to in her bouncer seat. Her favorite stories are the Golden Books her Aunti Bri gave to her.



Great-Grandma Smith has been with us now for over a month... she goes home to NJ next week. We are all going to be sad to see her go! She has been an angel... I can't imagine how we would have survived the past month without her!



Life with twins can be so exhausting, but equally rewarding. Each smile and laugh makes up for all the sleepless nights. It really is double the work, but definitely double the blessing!

Growing Every Day

Lilly Grace is full of smiles these days. She's also starting to look around and notice things. She is just over seven pounds now, our "Little Peanut!"





Jake is 9 pounds now and showing more and more of his personality every day. His favorite spot is in his Baby Bjorn right next to Mom or Dad. We are mastering the art of bouncing him while eating dinner. (A recipe for indigestion!!)

More Newborn Pics

One More Newborn Pic To Share

Jake & Lilly's Newborn Pictures

Newborn Pics

Here is a sneak peek of Jake & Lilly's Newborn Pics from A & A Newborn Photography.