Our Flowers discovering the ever-spreading Grape Hyacinths in the front yard.

One year ago today, we waltzed into our ultrasound to discover the sex of our baby and found out that we were to be the parents of not one but two! Three months after the ultrasound, Abigail and Sydney arrived in all of their glory and our lives have never been the same. This experience has been very rewarding, although challenging at times, and we hope that you have enjoyed the journey with us. These are a couple of pictures of the girls enjoying the nice weather on the deck.

Sydney and Abigail are discovering new things on a daily basis. Since they are sitting up without much assistance, they see things on their own and are able to explore the world around them--even touching and talking to each other. The girls experienced Zweiback toast last week and, actually ate less than they had on their faces and clothes. They seemed to like it, and that discovery time kept them mostly quiet for an entire dinner time. Rebekah captured the last picture as the girls were curiously touching and intrigued with a patch of sunlight on the floor. I am amazed by their lives everyday.

Physiological development update: Abigail continues to roll around and prefers her belly for going to sleep. The girls are sleeping fairly well during the day and at night. We only have to tend to them a few times during the night. Sydney is our vocal daughter right now. She likes to make noise when happy (dadadadadadadadada), when frustrated (for attention), and when Abigail is upset--she doesn't want to be left out. When looking for attention or just to hear herself, Sydney will yell, "Aauh" and stiffen all of her muscles so that her arms straighten. She has also figured out how to cough. I cannot remember if we have shared Sydney's comforting exercise--tapping. She will tap on her bottle or her Mama's hand when being fed, on the toy or pacifier that is in her hand, or on the surface in front of her. Her hand is positioned as if when trying to roll glue between your fingers and thumb, with fingers in her palm, and thumb pointed towards the object of the tapping. It is a constant, rhythmic tapping that Dr. Mallard indicated could be a comforting thing for her. Tap away, baby. No crawling in this update, but I would guess that it will be soon for Abigail. When on her belly and holding herself up with her arms, Abigail has started to sway/rock from side to side, and occasionally will lift herself off of the floor. Lifting herself with nothing but her hands and the tips of her toes touching the floor! Simply amazing!

Fun in the sun! Rebekah, Sydney and Abigail are trying to adjust to the unseasonably cool weather this week after being in sunny Orlando all last week. Rebekah and her mom adjusted their plans, so that the girls could be present at the OC Baby Blessing on the 12th. They left Nashville on Monday morning to join the rest of the Runcie family, and the flight went really well. Extra seats on the plane were quickly taken by the girls' car seats, and as I understand it, they both slept most of the trip. Although I missed their reactions when I get home from work, the playtime that we have at night, and [sometimes] seeing their beautiful faces in the morning after they have just waken up, Daddy had a good week of relaxation and plenty of time to watch basketball. The Orlando 'villa' was well furnished and had a fully enclosed (with a screen) swimming pool in the yard. Both Sydney and Abigail loved being in the water (just don't take your eyes away or they'll drink it). Although extra seats were not available on the return flight, all was well, and the girls slept in the arms of family. Everyone returned last Saturday to temperatures in the 40's. Looking at the pictures - it seems that everyone had a great time.

Busy day. The Baby Blessing at Otter Creek Church was tonight and was an amazing display. It is such a blessing to think of 29 new babies in the last 12 months and all of the promise for the future. 29 babies in 27 families - two sets of twins, the Glissons and the Blankinships! If you are looking for the Glissons in the top picture we are under the second "G" of the first "George." Family and friends turned out in droves - I didn't count but maybe 500(?) people were in attendance. The third picture is of Abigail with her Great Aunt Karen and Uncle Steve (Gigi's brother).

Our little "China Dolls" were a hit at church today - Abigail and Sydney looked cute in their kimonos and love the attention, of course. Thank you, Chad and Laura Troup for the outfits!

These cool cats like holding their bottles and hanging out during lunchtime. Once a day, Rebekah lets them 'feed themselves' - all she has to do is make sure the bottles are in the right place.

New discovery! Two teeth have come in on Abigail's bottom gum! Both of the girls chew on everything that they see and Abigail has been a bit more irritable; So, it's really not a surprise to us. Exciting -- but at the same time...our girls are growing up. I'm forming prisms in my eyes...

A new Winter Olympic sport! -- Levitating Babies...

Happy Girls! Sydney Exersaucering and Abigail tickling the ivor...ur...primary colored keys!

Messy with Momma is so much FUN!

FYI: We are reaching a milestone - almost 2 Gigabytes of pictures of the girls (~1,900 pictures). Whoa. Their cuteness is sure worth it; I guess we will be looking to buy more hard drive space, soon.

Water is good! The beauties are becoming more dexterous and were holding their sippy cups last night - with a little help. A quick note: Abigail was spotted attempting the famous consecutive roll, tonight - and she stuck it! An easy roll to the left to her belly, followed by a roll to the right to her back! Rebekah has found her on her belly during nap time a few times this week. She has even slept on her belly for 30 minutes, or so, at a time. It has taken Abigail a while to realize that sleeping on her belly is not half bad; the girls haven't slept face down since they were 2 months old. They will, undoubtedly, be rolling around the house in no time.

If you don't visit already, an encouraging blog by Mike Cope. (Our first hyperlink, thank you very much...) Although I don't usually hyperlink every single word that is written, like some bloggers, Mike's blog gives me blessings on a regular basis and is worthy of a link...