Our weekend trip to El Dorado

This past weekend we headed to El Dorado. We don't get to go nearly as much as I would like to either of Bailey and Griffin's grandparents houses, so we love when we do get to go. This weekend, we headed there for the wedding of one of my best friends from high school, Jordan. I didn't get any pictures, but here are some from the weekend...

Hannah and I before the wedding...love my sweet sister!

These next few pictures were my attempt at taking some pictures of them Saturday, which is why I had to take more Sunday (the ones I posted yesterday)

We love playing in the grass!

My Dad came around the corner is the lawn mower and they were amazed!

The best that I got that day!

Griffin riding the lawn mower with my Dad

I LOVE this picture of G and B with my sweet Dad!

We love grandparents!

Bailey is SO excited that Aunt Hannah is about to graduate from high school and move to Harding!!!

10 Months Old

Yay for being 10 months old!!!!

Griffin has developed quite a personality lately and he has become very mobile. He is now doing an army crawl across the floor, but he is pulling up on everything! So far, we have had a busted lip and a bump on the forehead. As excited as I am for them to reach new milestones, my life is about to drastically change!! He still has eight teeth and is becoming a pro at eating. Griffin will eat anything we give him, except for green peas...he won't even let them come near his mouth. One of my favorite things is that he has become a big time Mama's boy. He wants to be with me at all times, and while it can make things a little difficult, I'm not complaining one bit. My heart melts when I hear that little voice repeating "Mama Mama Mama" and reaching those chubby arms in the air. I think Daddy is a little jealous because the other night he kept them and Griffin wanted me all night! :) His favorite things right now are clapping when he finds something he likes, and being outside...he would stay outside all day if it was possible! This little boy is going to keep us very busy!

 Bailey Jane has discovered her voice in a big way! She squeals all of the time just to get our attention. Lately, she also has developed a fake cry and when you look at her, she will start giggling. She is a mess! Her appetite has become much better and she will eat most anything that we give her, even broccoli! Bailey has finally gotten one more tooth, and it's a little funny looking because she now has her bottom two and one on the top, right side. We laugh a lot because it sounds like she says "Hey Daddy!" a lot! Dada is her favorite word of choice right now and there aren't many things she doesn't get from her Daddy. Our latest struggle with her is that she wakes up in the middle of the night wanting to chit chat. She's so happy, but it's three in the morning, so Mommy isn't really in a talkative mood...although you can't help but love those sweet sounds and smiles! She is quite the crawler/scooter now, especially if food is involved. She has the ability to see any Cheerio that has been dropped on the floor that we have missed and she gets there quick! She is such a sweet girl!

Bailey and Griffin are discussing how it's time for Mommy to start planning their first birthday!!!

A Year Ago Today....

One year ago today I looked like this....

One year ago today, I was really afraid that I was about to meet these faces way too soon...

 (Griffin)

(Bailey)

April 11 and April 12, 2011 were the scariest days of my life. I went into my routine doctors appointment relaxed and excited to hear two little heartbeats...every other appointment had been perfect, so I expected nothing less. It was that day that I found out that I was in labor at 24 weeks and didn't know if my babies were about to be born. I cried more tears in those days, prayed more prayers, was prayed for by so many, and felt more love than I had ever felt. I know that it's because of those things that I was about to be on bed rest for 11 weeks and not go into labor until almost 37 weeks. Looking back, it's amazing that it was a year ago and how much has changed since then. I'm so grateful for Bailey and Griffin and how healthy that they are. At this point last year, there were many unknowns about if they would be born, and if they were, what condition they would be in. It truly is a miracle that I have these two healthy babies! I am pretty sure I've said it before, but today I have really thought about how much I appreciated everyone's support, love, and especially prayers during this time! I am one lucky mama! 

Very thankful today!!

Bailey and Griffin's First Easter!

We have had a very busy Easter weekend that has been filled with lots of family and fun times! 

Thursday afternoon, the babies and I headed to Benton to watch my sister, Hannah, play soccer. It's her senior year and I hate that I don't get to watch as many of her games as I would like to, so when she played 40 minutes away, we decided we would make the trip! We loved getting to see my parents and we loved getting to see Hannah play...not to mention that they won 6-0. It really brings back some soccer memories for me watching them play...some days I wish I could go back there and other days I do not really want to go back to that time in my life! :)

Hanging out with Bebe and Pawpaw during Hannah's game...sure was sunny!!

Aunt Hannah and Bailey after the game

That night, Hannah and four of her best friends came to spend the night with us before going to Harding for the weekend. I have gotten the privilege to watch these girls grow into such beautiful young ladies and it's so fun to have them come spend time at our house and listen to them now, compared to when they were little girls running around at our house playing dress up! :)

Beautiful girls!

Hannah and Griffin rocking on our front porch

Jacob and I were both off of work on Friday, so we had a fun family day! I also had my first snow cone of the summer! :) Friday afternoon, Jacob's parents headed to our house...they came for Spring Sing at Harding and to spend Easter weekend with us. Saturday, the girls in the family went to Spring Sing and it was great to be back on the Harding campus! 

Having a snack outside while Mommy and Daddy clean the cars

Griffin LOVES being outside!

Cooper (who is on an extended vacation in Tennessee) came to visit us this weekend and we'll just say that Bailey's crawling has improved! She tried to get to him at all times!

Daddy and Griffin playing together

Sunday, we had a great first Easter! We all woke up, took some pictures, went to church, came home to take more pictures, and I cooked my first Easter lunch! It turned out pretty good...guess I'm officially a grown up now! :) Sorry for the picture overload!

Checking out what's in our Easter baskets!

We love them...and I love those sweet faces!

Griffin thought he'd like Bailey's Veggie Tales movie more than his own!

Bebe and Pawpaw sent swings for Easter for a swing set my Dad is going to build them!

Griffin loves his swing!

He loves it so much that he tried to go ahead and carry it outside to use! He's one strong little man!

My sweet family...and pictures are HARD to get right now!

Aunt Hannah was with us for Easter

When you can't have candy in your eggs, you get Puffs instead!

There are no words to describe my love for this picture...and we had to get Daddy on board with these sweet outfits! :)

Mommy's sweet boy!

Gran and Poppa

notice two things...first, Griffin's adorable smile (and Bailey's look of confusion)....second, Cooper being thrown in the air in the reflection of the window to create that smile!

The Fox side of the family...we missed Jessie and David!

Gran with Bailey and Griffin

Happy Easter from the Fox family!!

Three/Fourths of a Year Old!

Bailey and Griffin are now nine months old...how in the world is that possible?!? Nine months just sounds so old! Their personalities are really developing and it's becoming such a fun stage to watch!

Griffin is still our little chunky monkey. He is one solid, strong little boy! Lately, he has become very attached and cuddly, and I know you're not always supposed to encourage that, but I sure can't help it. When he reaches those chubby, little arms for me, my heart melts and I immediately pick him up. He still has eight teeth, but he has been drooling a lot lately, so I don't know if that means that he has more coming. I'm guessing he weighs around 23 pounds, from when I've weighed myself on the scale with him. We don't go back for a well visit until a year. He is so long and has the biggest hands and feet...Jacob is praying that he gets my side of the family's height...he wants Griffin to be tall so bad since he never got to experience that! :) As far as being mobile, Griffin still rolls everywhere. However, he gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth now, so I have a feeling he's so close! I'm afraid to say this to jinx myself, but he has become a pro at sleeping! At 7:30, we feed him, lay him in his bed wide awake, and he'll lay there until he falls asleep. Then, there are a lot of mornings we have to wake him up...he may take after us and love his sleep! He absolutely LOVES being outside and I see many days in our future of playing outside until the sun goes down! We sure do love our sweet boy!

Bailey is our petite little baby. Well, she  may not really be, but when you compare the two, she certainly is! She weighs around 19 pounds, and I was thinking that wasn't that much of a difference between the two of them, but I guess when you only weigh 20 pounds, 4 pounds is a lot. She still only has the two teeth, so she's not as good of an eater as Griffin is. She still spits a lot out with her little tongue! She has started crawling a little bit...she will lunge herself forward to get something, but she is just now figuring out how to move her arms and legs. She will be an active little thing very soon! She has become extremely fiesty...she wants everything that Griffin has, no matter what it is. I have a feeling we're going to have many lessons on sharing with each other. She is just the sweetest thing! She's become more selective on who she smiles at, but she has the sweetest giggle now that her Daddy just loves! Now that we've gotten rid of ear infections, she's sleeping much better...I just hope that it continues. However, she has figured out how to put her paci back in, which will help out a lot! Our sweet girl has us wrapped around her finger!

"Mom, you want us to take MORE pictures???"

We're not interested!

The funniest thing happened the other day...they were both sitting in the floor playing with their toys. They both had a paci in their mouths, but apparently, Bailey's was not good enough. She reached over, took Griffin's out, spit hers out, and stuck his in her mouth. Well, Griffin decided that wasn't going to work, so he reached over and took it back. They want back and forth three times, then when she reached for it the last time, Griffin CLENCHED down with his teeth so that she couldn't have it! I was cracking up....oh the memories we are going to make!

"I'm outta here!!!"