Quick note

It's too crazy around here to post some pictures, but I wanted to at least say that we're home from N.C. We had a great visit! It's back to the real world now. I started orientation today. Riley and Colter did well. I sure do appreciate all the extra work that working mothers do to get their kids ready for the next day. Yikes! Since Thanksgiving is on its way, I thought I'd list a few things we're especially grateful for right now:
2 good little travelers (It's amazing!)
safe travels
a new job for me
we think we have childcare figured out
good friends who are willing to keep the kids this week
wonderful families
healthy children (this job definitely won't let me take this for granted)

That's all for now.

Gotcha!

Jeff and I are constantly finding Colter with his sock in his mouth. I could care less except a soggy sock makes for a cold foot. I thought I'd caught him at it again, but this time it was Riley who had his sock! Why should she let her feet get cold?Riley and Colter love sitting on the floor and taking toys out of the toybox. I enjoy watching them paying attention to what the other one is playing with.

Governor is usually close at hand to see if there's anything he'd like to snag. We lost a little wrist rattle the other day. I still think he's doing well though, considering he's only ruined three little toys so far.Gigi and Papa Jim stopped by tonight to say goodbye to the babies. I'm taking them to N.C. tomorrow to see the Raleigh side of their family before I start my new job. We'll be back on Thursday!

A House Divided

Our family has voted. Too bad we only have pictures of the three Democrats in the family.

Look how excited they are! FYI, this is not our yard. Jeff and I try not to get into politics with each other too often. It never ends up being much fun.
Of course they'll be making their own decisions about politics when they grow up. However, I did enjoy walking to the polls with them and having them be a part of things.

They even got their own Georgia Voter stickers.

Happy Halloween!

Aren't these the cutest, plumpest chickens you've ever seen??

My mom found these costumes at a great consignment sale in North Carolina. The twins looked adorable! We weren't sure if they'd tolerate wearing them for very long, but they made it more than an hour. It helped that we were outside the whole time. It's chilly enough that all that chicken fluff kept them warm. This was the second year our cul-de-sac had a Halloween party. We set up a bunch of tables and chairs and had dinner together before passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. It was so much more fun than running back and forth to answer the door. Plus, the kids really like it because they get to just walk down the line where we're sitting and collect their candy. I even heard a skeleton say, "This is the best Halloween ever!" Jeff and I didn't do much decorating this year. In fact, we went to get pumpkins for the kids at four o'clock this afternoon! We started a new family tradition and walked with Riley and Colter down the street (1/2 mile) to a local church that sets up a pumpkin patch each year. While the kids were more interested in eating the hay, I think we all had fun. Jeff and I laughed when we imagined us in the future, dragging a couple of teenagers down the street to the pumpkin patch to keep up the tradition.

We've got a praise to share - I got the job at the Children's hospital!! I am so excited. I start orientation on November 17th. It will be hard to be away from Riley and Colter during orientation, but the long term plan is for me to just work one or two nights a week. Now I need to get to work on figuring out a plan for childcare.

There's another woman in Jeff's life...

...and her name is Riley.

Look at these two! I know just how she feels. How Jeff thinks he will ever tell her "no" is beyond me.

What life is like now

Just so I don't forget...
We're pretty much living a dream schedule right now. Riley and Colter go to bed by 7:30 pm and wake up around 7:00 am. (Yes, as our pediatrician says, we are spoiled!) They usually entertain each other for a while before I get them up to feed them. They are so darn cute in the mornings! Honestly, I think they're cute all the time, but they are especially snugly when they first wake up. I get them dressed, spend some time playing with them, and read them a couple stories before they go down for a nap around 9:00 am. I've been reading Time For Bed (mainly just naming the animals and making the animal noises) and Goodnight Moon every day for a couple weeks. Riley gets really excited now when she sees me reach for those books. They usually sleep until 10:00 or 10:30 am. I nurse them again and then we try to take advantage of our window of opportunity and get out of the house to run errands, go to the park, or at least take a walk. By 12:30 or 1:00 pm it's time for lunch. They're still eating pureed foods for the most part. However, our big news this week is that we've added Cheerios to the mix. Most of them end up on the floor, but they're enjoying them. Colter is able to get some of them to his mouth by putting his whole fist in this mouth, but Riley usually just plays with them and opens her mouth to be fed. Naptime starts again around 1:30 or 2:00 pm and lasts 1 - 2 hours. Lately neither one of them have been going right to sleep. Next, they have some more milk and we have playtime again (and start hoping that Daddy will be coming home soon). Neither one of them is crawling yet, but they manage to move quite a ways by rolling around - especially Colter. They love the Jumperoo and plastic lids from the kitchen are some of their favorite toys. We keep catching Colter stealing toys from Riley. She usually doesn't mind, but did burst into tears yesterday. They are so funny together, always watching what the other is doing. I feed them dinner around 5:00pm. Jeff usually gets home by 6:00pm. Depending on our sanity levels, we either hang out at home or decide to go to the grocery or run some other errand. Then it's back upstairs for bathtime, milk and bedtime.
OK, I know that was boring. I couldn't ask for a better schedule from two 8 month olds. I have to be honest, however, and say that I still manage to be exhausted by the time Jeff comes home. I had no idea the volume of dirty diapers, laundry, spit up, and smeared baby food I'd be dealing with. I am so thankful these guys are so easy going!

Photo documentation of our newest teeth

Well, you can kind of see Riley and Colter's first teeth...
p.s. These were taken before our furnace was fixed. You can see that their noses turn as red as mine when it's cold!