Visitors

I loved all of our visitors! It's a shame we don't have pictures of everyone. But thank you to everyone who took time to come by and meet Hudson. We also appreciated all the flowers and gifts - they really brightened my room, especially since I opted to stay there for 4 nights.

Much love...

Easter Egg Hunt

The May girls were headed to the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the local church and invited us to tag along.

Ryker found one egg and was satisfied with that.

Miriam and Alexander came with us and collected a basket full of Easter Eggs.



Ryker was really only interested in tackling the stairs, while Riggs sat there like a perfect angel.



"Coming?"

Avery happily collected her eggs (and Rigg's eggs, and Ryker's eggs), then she had no problem taking a break to pose for the camera. Diva.

Sweet Frances was excited to see "Rocker", as she calls him. I love it!

More Crying Ryans, please

Anne, Riggs and Avery visited us this Saturday and spent an unplanned overnight stay (the best kind!). We spent the afternoon eating, shopping and playing. A perfect day...

Looking at Justin, listening intensely...

...Just worried about her cherrios


Thinking "what's a kid got to do around here to get some shade?!"


"Hang on Riggs, Moma just needs some caffine!"

"Is there a half naked girl on my playmat?"

"I'm just going to eat this cardboard and play hard to get"

Avery: The Flirt!

DIVA.

Flirting one minute, uninterested the next.

She was hamming it up! I wish I would have caught her on video!

"Mom, women seem complicated."

Ryker and Riggs

Let's do this every weekend!

After a little convincing, Justin agreed to make the trip with me to visit my bestfriends and their kids. It had been too long since us girls got together for a good dinner and some girly chit-chat. Ryker and I met Anne and Blair at a new restaurant. Great conversation, good wine and, while the food was a bit heavy and over-priced, the waiter and GM were especially helpful going out of their way to make us comfortable, even warming his bottle for me at our table. Man, you just can't beat good service like that!

Saturday, after a yummy lunch with our crew, Tim and Justin took Avery home, while me, Anne and the boys spent the afternoon shopping. With 2 babies instead of 3 we were able to run errands around town in one car and one stroller. That was nice! However, it wasn't as easy as Anne makes it look. The boys were fairly good but shopping with two definitely slowed us down! Also, judging by the amount of the people in the mall, it doesn't look like we are in a recession. And it was HOT - not just outside but inside! I didn't just have beads of sweat, there was lakes of it running down my back. We were dying! Needless to say, I ended up purchasing 2 pairs of flip-flops and some workout clothes. I blame the heat.

Then we wrapped up a long day by running by Blair's to see her girls and their new house. We couldn't stay long since Tim was in need of us to "save" him so he could go hit golf balls before the sun went down. B - as promised - we will stay at your house next time!

Thanks for a wonderful weekend!

Aunt Blair & Ryker at dinner.

Aunt Anne & Ryker

The young waiter asked us if we were sisters when he overheard us calling each other "Aunt". Really, really? Surely he was just being flirty and didn't think the three of us were sisters? No, we just use the word "Aunt" loosely I guess.

I think we were asked, I'm not exaggerating, 15 times if they were twins.
Anne thought it would be cute if we dressed them alike.

By this time, Ryker had had enough of shopping and being toted around in the 100 degree weather. I think Riggs was just glad to be hanging out with his friend and not his sister for once!

The boys and the pretty blondes!
Charlotte (3 1/2), Ryker (3 1/2 mos), Riggs (5 1/2 mos), Frances (21 mos)

Slumber Party

Last night Anne made an unplanned trip to my area, Riggs and Avery in tow. Once here, the idea of visiting over a few glasses of wine sounded too good to pass up and so she decided to stay the night.

Sometimes spontaneity is best, even as a mother of twins! We realize that if she would have planned an overnight stay at my house with the twins she would of stressed about it for days and wouldn't have considered leaving her house without the activity mat, 2 boppy's, the bumbos, baby Einstein dvd's, miracle blankets, the sleep sack, the pack-n-play and way too many extra outfits,bibs,diapers,etc.! (I'm really not exaggerating)

Instead, with only the bare minimum, she and the babies managed to survive the sleepover, proving it can be done.

The babies enjoying Ryker's mobile. This entertained them for most of the evening.

Once Anne made the decision to stay the night, we had to get creative with the sleeping arrangements. Ryker spent the night at Lovey's, Avery slept in Ryker's crib and Riggs slept in our bassinet.

The next morning, Ryker came home first thing, so we were back to 3 babies. Come morning nap time, we put Riggs in the crib, Ryker in the swing and Avery in my bed.

Riggs swaddled in the crib.

Ryker cozy in the lamb swing.

Avery laid out in the king size bed on the pillow!

This is Anne during morning nap time. We stayed up 'till 2:30am and drank too much wine! She wasn't feeling very well! We aren't the rockstars we used to be...

Saturday afternoon outside at Lovey's.

Mama B

As Mother's Day approaches, and as a brand-spanking new mom, I reflect on the women in my life who are stand-out moms.

Besides my obvious role-model, my amazing mother and best friend, Lovey (who will receive her much due praise in the next few days) my mind immediately goes to my best friend, Blair.

Blair was the first of my friends to have kids. While we were all still partying late into the night and "me time" existed 24/7, Blair was busy taking care of someone other than herself. In fact, Blair had two babies before most of us had our one. We didn't quite understand what Blair was dealing with, mostly because she never complained, not once.

Blair's love and adoration for her two beautiful girls is so sweet to witness. The time and energy she spends entertaining her girls seems exhausting to me. They go to the zoo weekly, to play dates, to swim, to dance, to you name it! When they are home they are playing dress up, dancing in the rain or doing crafts. These girls never have a dull moment and every moment of their activities is documented and blogged about.

Blair, you are an inspiration to me! Charlotte and Frances, I hope you know how very lucky you are to have such a wonderful, hands on Mom, who loves you oh so much!!

Happy Mother's Day, B!

Oh Boy!

On Sunday we stopped at our friend's house for a quick visit.

These four guys were roommates in college, and now they each have a son of their own. Oh what a difference a few years make!

"Hey, Ryker! Wake up buddy!"

Everyone with their little ones. Casey (next to Justin) and his wife are expecting their 3rd any day now!

A Double Sweet Visit

Anne and I have been friends since mid-college. She'll tell you she didn't like me much before she even met me; however, she'll also confess that later she'd learn it was for all the wrong reasons! Luckily, she gave me a chance and I ended up winning her over. After sharing a very late night of girly chit chat and cheap wine, the deal was sealed. We'd be friends for as long as life would allow.

After graduating, Anne moved to Texas (thank God!) and helped me open my boutique. We would work there together for over a year. (Anne, I couldn't have survived it without you!) In fact, when she had to leave me, a lot of my passion for the business left with her.

A few years later, we were each announcing our engagements and had the excitement of planning our elaborate back to back weddings together. Close to two years later, what do you know, we would find out that we were each expecting our first child due within a month of each other.

Typical to our friendship, hers would come first and she would out-do me again by having two to my one!

We each experienced unique pregnancies and were blessed when we delivered healthy babies. I had the opportunity to visit her and her babies when they were born on January 6th and she was also there when I had Ryker almost exactly 2 months later on March 5th.

So yesterday was a special day when our children met for the first time. They, along with Charlotte & Frances, will be lifelong friends. (Blair, we hated that you couldn't be with us and missed you and your girls dearly!)

We spent the day making introductions and loving on our little ones. Thank you Anne and Dearie for making the trip with the twins! I know it was quite a feat!

Riggs & Avery (3 1/2 months) with Ryker (6 weeks)
Friends Forever.