A year ago today, a Wednesday, Rebekah and I talked about the arrival of our girls and how we still had so many items on our 'lists' to complete. We had a conversation about how she was going to use the three to four weeks of time off of work to get things ready for Sydney and Abigail's arrival--since we planned for her to work only through the end of that week. We coordinated my work schedule so that I could participate in the next day's [June 30] ultrasound and discussed how I needed to figure out how to install those car seats so that I wouldn't be wrestling with them the night before our [supposed] scheduled C-section in a few weeks. Our friends, the Blackstons, came to visit that afternoon--Stacey helped Rebekah make sense of all of the shower gifts that filled our nursery and Drew [Stacey's, then, 2 year old] helped stack the gifts into neat little piles. Our favorite eatery, Casa Fiesta, was packed on the porch that night, as usual, but we snagged the table next to the kitchen door and devoured our Nachos Supreme meal, as usual. Little did we know that in a few hours our lives would change forever...

(Back to the present) Last weekend we celebrated with family. We celebrated Sydney and Abigail's first year of life and the importance of family. The girls had mixed reactions to their first taste of pure sugar, but enjoyed every bow, scrap of wrapping paper, and [sometimes] the gift inside the package. They made such a mess. Both Sydney and Abigail were able to showcase their new skills of cruising and unassisted standing to their aunts, grandparents, and great grandparents. And the family was enthralled. Be sure to check out more pictures on flickr.com

Kids can make a toy out of anything

Abigail found that the toy basket made a pretty good toy, too. You may not be able to tell from the picture, but she has been a regular "Guy Smiley" the past few weeks. Her grin is contaigous, and she doesn't keep it to herself. It may be that she is happy from all of her exploring of the world...the bookshelf, opening the stove door, pushing the buttons on the computer and the dishwasher, tipping over trashcans just to see what is inside, and crawling under, through, around all of the furniture in the house. We can't keep up with her--and it is just the beginning because she is starting to balance fairly well. 10 seconds, 15 seconds and, just yesterday, 30 seconds of free standing! Not quite walking, but that excitement is surely just around the corner...

Piranha Sydney

Busy times mean blogging takes a back seat...sorry. So much has happened since our beach vacation last month that I don't know where to start. Sydney has been showing off her pearly whites with the underbite look. We can't tell if this is a smile for her or her best impression of a piranha--most likely it is an imitation of real life; I don't do that, do I? The girls are both attempting to impose their own wills on our lives--they express themselves in other ways than crying when unhappy and are constantly looking for the attention of Mama and Daddy. Sydney is very vocal at times and LOUD! She will have spurts of loud play, loud talking, and loud crying followed by times of, seemingly, introspective contemplation. She is a wild one and has become more adept at pulling up and cruising. Closing most of the interiors doors in the house and a gate are the tools Mama uses to corral the rugrats on a daily basis.

The fam

More pictures for your enjoyment...

Glisson Edit (20)

So as not to belabor over each and every detail from the past week, I thought a Top Ten list would be appropriate:

The Top Ten Memorable Moments from the Glisson's 2006 Gulf Shores Adventure--

#10 Abigail having trouble keeping food down on the way--Twice! We had to change her clothes and mop up the puddles after lunch at Peach Park and after her mid-afternoon bottle in the car.

#9 After driving 500 miles one way so that our babies could experience the beach, we showed the girls the majestic Gulf, and they cried because the waves/wet sand/hot sun were simply unpleasant to them.

#8 Killer snorkeling (not really) and expert games of horseshoes (not really)

#7 Seafood! At LuLu's, the Original Oyster House, Tacky Jack's, and the Bayside Grille (for my birthday!)

#6 Beach time with my wonderful wife while Gigi and Grandaddy took babysitting duties!

#5 Date night with my wonderful wife ...

#4 Family photographs on the beach in the setting sun--Thanks to Josh (and Karina) Walters for those wonderful shots on the beach, in the pool, and the closeups. I just had to sign up for the extra storage on Flickr to share them all!

#3 Swimming pool time with the girls--everyday from about 10:30 to 11:30--They love the water!

#2 The girls consistently waking up at 5 to 5:30 every morning, and our walks on the beach with the kids in backpacks or through the maze of Plantation swimming pools/parking lots/boardwalks in the stroller. We were usually the only one's walking around at 6 am!

#1 A wonderful birthday week for Brad on "island time"!

We're back! After a week of having a great time on the Gulf Shores beaches, we now have the task of catching up to normal life--or "assimilating back into society" as Gigi and Grandaddy describe it. As you can see, the girls enjoyed pooltime. Off to church this morning...more pictures to come later on the blog and flickr.