Reunion Pictures

As a mentioned in an earlier post, we went to Bridge City to spend Thanksgiving with Rob's family.While we were there, we also had our family reunion. The babies were a big hit as some of the family had not yet met Madilyn and Carter. Uncle Randal took some pictures while at the reunion and here are two of my favorites. 

The Biddle Family!

Our sweet little family of four! :)

A double dose of Funny Friday

Well, some of you may have noticed that there have been two weeks without a Funny Friday. Life around our house has been pretty busy.. We have babies growing teeth and who are crawling and wanting to stand and start walking. Plus, we've been really busy with holidays and family and friends. So those are my excuses. But, to make it up to you all, I have some funny stuff for you - plus I'm going to publish a few more posts about what we've been up to.

Madilyn eating prunes - but I think she looks like a little goth baby!

Carter eating peas - at least we are pretty sure that it was all peas!

Madilyn thinks Carter's got some funny things on his feet!

This is how Madilyn likes to share with Carter. Yes, we still have things to work on!

Funny Friday #12

Today we bring you a video of the babies... "sharing" their toys. I have a feeling Mommy and Daddy are going to have to teach them how sharing is really supposed to work.

7 months old!

At seven months - here's what the babies are up to:

Madilyn

*She is getting better at eating her solid food, though some feedings are better than others. Though she still can get messy, I think she now understands that what is on the spoon is good and will fill her up.
*Rob will be the first to tell you that Madilyn is like me because she is a picky eater. She likes for her milk to be hot and will stop eating it if it gets too cold for her liking. The same goes for her solid foods, and we sometimes have to reheat it in case it has gotten too cold.
*Madilyn can pretty much sit up on her own without any help. I will say though that when she does sit up, I am close by just in case, but it is rare that she ever really needs me to catch her. And, she is even learning how to go from sitting up to leaning over and getting on her tummy.

Carter

*Carter is getting better at sitting up on his own - but he definitely can't be trusted to sit up without someone sitting with him. Maybe it's because he knows he can move and go places when he is on the floor.. Or maybe it's because sitting up is hard work and he'd rather squirm on the floor!
*Carter is growing like a weed. He is so tall that very soon he will outgrow his current car seat. There is a weight limit and height limit, and while he is not quite heavy enough to need a new seat, his legs are posing a problem.
*He has recently discovered he can put his feet in his mouth. He doesn't do it all that often (or when I have my camera ready!) but I will try to sneak a picture because it makes me laugh when he does it.

Both

*They are both working on growing some teeth - which is loads of fun!
*They are both very close to crawling. Madilyn actually gets on her arms and knees and rocks back and forth, and has pretty much mastered the army crawl. Carter doesn't get on his arms and knees quite as often as Madilyn, but he can roll around like crazy and get where he wants to go.
*Both babies really like the cats and notice them when they are on the floor playing, or even if they are in their highchairs in the kitchen. I don't think the cats always like when they get noticed - but I don't think the cats have done anything bad to the babies.. yet!

And finally -- here are two videos to show you just how they are getting around these days.

Happy Seven Months, Babies!! 

Funny Friday #11

I am in major need of some funny today. It's been a looong day today. So here we go!

Madilyn usually wakes up with a red face and lines! :)

Carter's cool hair styling done by Daddy

Madilyn's scrunchy nose face.. Love it! 

Carter's super sad face. Don't feel bad - he was fine seconds later..

Funny Friday #10

Super funny videos for you all tonight. My kids crack me up -- and I hope they give you a good chuckle too!

First up --- Madilyn falling asleep while eating breakfast.. or lunch. Regardless of time.. this is sort of sad.. but also really FUNNY. 

And next up, we have Carter who when he has his watermelon toy next to his mouth can't help but talk. I love the noise he makes at the end!

Baptism Pictures

This past weekend, we went to Bridge City for Thanksgiving to visit family. It was a great visit - and I loved that we got to stay longer than just a day! While we were there, I was able to get the pictures that Uncle Randal took at the baptism just a few weeks ago. (Thanks again, Uncle Randal!!) I wanted to share just a few with you all. 

During the service - just before getting baptized

Baptizing (a sleeping!) Carter

Baptizing (a sleeping!) Madilyn

The family with Father Gerry Sevick after the service

All the kiddos!

The babies with Mommy's side of the family

The family with Aunt Colette and Uncle Bill 

The family with Wes and Kelly

Rob's side of the family

Madilyn's cute cake!

Carter's cute cake!

Funny Friday #9

Today we have two funny videos for you! First, here is Carter helping Daddy with work on the computer. He was pretty excited to get to help - although I don't think Daddy was quite ready for the "help" he was getting! :) 

And the second video is of Mommy and Madilyn. Mommy loves giving Madilyn kisses - and Madilyn has learned how to give Mommy kisses back! Such a sweet (and slobbery!!) girl! 

Happy Friday -- and hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Funny Friday #8

Sometimes I wonder if what I post is only funny in my head... Regardless, here are two pictures I find pretty funny. When this happens, Rob and I lovingly refer to the babies as George and Martha Washington. I don't really know why that started - but I guess the big pillows around their heads made us think about the big wigs they wore back in the day! Happy Friday, everyone! :)

 

SIX months old!

Six months. Half a year. Wow. It's hard to believe 6 months has flown by, but I am so happy that we have been taking lots of pictures, and doing our best to document things that have happened in their lives. Here's a list of what the babies are up to now, and their official measurements since we had our six month check up visit this past Monday.

Madilyn
Height: 26" (59%)

Weight: 15lb 14.2 oz (47%)

Head Circumference: 17.24" (84%)

*Since learning to roll over, Madilyn insists on being on her tummy. Even during the day when she plays on her mat, she loves being on her tummy. When we put her to sleep at night, we put her on her back. But she pretty much rolls to her tummy as soon as we put her down.
* Just got signs of her first teeth! You can see the white beginnings of teeth on her bottom gum, so a new set of fun is starting!
*She loves playing on her mat, and literally does circles on it! Sometimes she does move backwards - we are working on teaching her how to go forward!

Carter
Height: 27.75" (89%)

Weight: 17lbs 4oz (45%)

Head Circumference:  17.52" (71%)

*He has become quite a talker. He has mastered saying "ma-ma" and "bah". He often makes other noises though we don't speak the same language quite yet so we are not sure what he is trying to say.
*Speaking of talking, Carter has become aware of volume control, and now knows that he can make more screaming like sounds. Mommy and Daddy are not a fans, and hopes that he will outgrow this phase soon.
*Loves to squirm! Even when he is in our arms, it seems as though he is always bouncing and moving.
*He knows how to roll from back to front and front to back. And, he has learned that if he does this, he can move from his play mat to Madilyn's play mat pretty easily.
*Carter has started sleeping on his tummy more often, though he does like to sleep on his side sometimes.

Both

*They both do pretty well when we feed them their solid foods in their high chairs. As far as solid foods go, they both seem to prefer vegetables over fruits, and I think their favorite veggie so far is peas.
*The babies are still working on sitting up by themselves. Madilyn does a little better job than Carter, but then again she weighs a little less so she has less to hold up.
*After their first morning feeding, the babies love to watch an episode of Baby Einstein. We are making sure that these are some smart babies!
*They can both make crawling motions. They put their knees underneath them, but can't really coordinate that with their arms yet.
*They both love the bouncer and really go to town playing with the toys on it.

Happy Half Birthday, Babies!! We can't wait to see what is in store for all of us in the next six months!

Funny... Saturday?

Well.... You might have noticed that there was not a Funny Friday post yesterday. That would be because I totally lost track of what order the days came in this week! And truthfully, if Rob hadn't asked me earlier tonight if I posted something yesterday for Funny Friday, I might not have even remembered I forgot about it! So thanks, honey!!

So - here's a quick and funny story with pictures to follow. When we put Madilyn and Carter down to play on the mat, they have a variety of toys to choose from. And granted, they share most of them - but there are a few that stand out as being girl/boy toys. Well.. Try as we may to give them their "gender specific" toy - in this case, Madilyn's pink purse and Carter's blue turtle - they somehow are only happy once they switch and have each other's toys. Silly babies!

Baptizing the Biddles!

This past Sunday (November 4th) Rob and I took Madilyn and Carter to church to be baptized. We were so blessed to have so many friends and family come to join us in the celebration. The babies were baptized at Trinity Episcopal Church here in the Woodlands by Father Gerald (Gerry) Sevick and Mother Genevieve. The service itself was very nice, and the babies were great throughout the whole thing. When it was our turn to go up to have them baptized, both babies were sleeping. Thankfully, the holy water was warm - which let Carter sleep right through it and Madilyn woke up only momentarily. Rob's Uncle Randal took a multitude of photos during and after the ceremony - and I will be sure to post quite a few of them once he has gone through them and I have them on my computer. (Thanks, Uncle Randal!!)

We know that Madilyn and Carter will be extra blessed because they will have so many people around them and praying for them. We chose four very special people to guide Madilyn and Carter on their spiritual journey. Those people are: Bill and Colette Durbin (Christine's aunt and uncle), Wes Biddle (Rob's brother), and Kelly Biddle (Rob's sister).

After the baptism was over, we invited everyone to come back to our house for brunch. We had some pretty yummy food - some of which we made and some that was brought by friends and family. I think it was a success! It was great getting to visit with everyone, and the babies were blessed with many sweet gifts. Since I do not have pictures to post from the baptism itself, I am including a few shots of some of the wonderful gifts we received. Thanks again to all those who made this day so special for our babies!

Gifts from the church

Gifts from the Biddle family

From Grand Uncle Bill & Grand Aunt Colette

From the Wallaces/Walpoles

Advent Calendars from Aunt Cath

Etched and Personalized Blocks from Aunt Sherri & Uncle Wes

Books from a few different people (Aunt Kimmie, Wes & Sherri, and Chris, Tiffany, & Natalie)

 

All the cards - a few with monetary gifts (to go towards the college fund!)

Meeting Aunt Cath!

My sister Catherine flew in from DC to meet the babies for the first time, and to join us in baptizing the babies. It was so great having her come in for a few days beforehand and spend time with our little family. I speak for her, but I think it is safe to say that there was a lot of bonding going on! Anyways, I wanted to make sure to put up a few pictures and videos of their meeting. The babies can't wait to see you around Christmastime!

Carter meeting Aunt Cath for the first time - He's not sure what to think about that Texas sweatshirt!

Madilyn thinks Aunt Cath is pretty funny!

Madilyn making sure Aunt Cath flosses! :)

The babies post-baptism with Aunt Cath and Great Great Aunt Jo

Playing with Madilyn!

Carter and Aunt Cath on the floor

Saying goodbye to Aunt Cath -- for now! We love you, Aunt Cath!

Mom and Claire visit!

This last weekend, my mom came into town for a wedding with some friends and brought my sister Claire with her. Claire stayed with us from Friday evening to Monday morning. My mom was busy with wedding stuff for some of the weekend, but we still got in a good solid day of visiting. It was so great getting to spend time with both of them, and to have them spend time with us! Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

Madilyn learning what is on Grandma's face

Claire & Grandma feeding the babies

Carter & Grandma reading his favorite book -- Batman!!

Feeding the babies food -- and yes, it does help to make those faces!

Claire watching Baby Einstein with Madilyn & Carter

Funny Friday #7

Happy Friday! I can't believe it's already Friday but what I really can't believe is that my sweet babies are SIX MONTHS OLD today!! Wow. Anyways, I will do my usual monthly update on what the babies are doing, but I am going to wait to post it until Monday because we have our checkup then, and I will be able to put some official numbers with it. I am behind on posting on the blog in general because we have been busy! My mom and sister Claire came in last weekend, and my sister Catherine is here this weekend to visit and help us celebrate the babies being baptized this Sunday. So, there will be another post or two about those events - but not tonight! Tonight I give you a Funny Friday!

Madilyn found this toy to be hilarious! I'm glad I got it on tape, because she hasn't laughed like this since!

Carter's new favorite noise to make.. 

I love this video - because the babies really do see each other now and "talk" to each other. 

Happy First Halloween!!

We have been celebrating Halloween for a few days here at our house and took a few pictures to remember our first Halloween as a family of four! Enjoy!

Our Little Skeletons!

Our Little Skeletons!

Mommy & Madilyn at the Pumpkin Patch

Daddy & Carter at the Pumpkin Patch

It's bright, Daddy!

My Sweet Girl

Wearing our Great Pumpkin Outfits!

Close up of Carter-man!

Always something in my mouth..

I'm a pumpkin!

I'm a pumpkin too!

Wearing my duck outfit with my pretty bow and Halloween bib!

Wearing my Great Pumpkin outfit and my matching pumpkin bib!

Happy Halloween!!