Cherry Blossom

One of my favorite things about my home town, Macon is the Cherry Blossom Festival. I love the time of year not only because Macon is absolutely beautifully pink but because the whole town seems to be so united and in love with this festival. This year Preston was invited to a guy's camping weekend and so it was just the twins and me! I had to pep myself up for the one and a half hour car ride all by myself and I am proud to say I did it! It is funny how two 7 month old babies can be SO intimidating! My aunt Donna and Uncle Bobby came into town from Arkansas and it was their first time seeing Gracie and Baily. I loved attending the arts and craft fair downtown and it was so much fun to have my sweet babies to shop for this year. Gracie got some new bows and a bow hanger and Bailey got his very own football bulletin board.

The twins and their Cobb cousins under Grandma's Cherry Blossom tree. Gracie and Bailey had a blast playing in Grandma's back yard all weekend. The weather was gorgeous which allowed us to spend alot of time outside and in the sun porch. Gracie and Bailey loved swinging for their very first time!

Gracie and Bailey's Special Day

Baby Dedication Day

Today we celebrated Gracie and Bailey's Dedication Day. We had a wonderful celebration lunch in our home before going to our church for the ceremony. To explain a little more about the day, I have included a letter that we handed out to our family at the service. We could not have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate our decision to raise our children to love the Lord.

We were so blessed to have our family in support of this important day.

Browns Bridge Community Church did an amazing job at hosting a wonderful service for the families who were dedicating their little ones. This is a clip from the slide show that was played.

March 21, 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

Today is a very special day in the lives of Gracie and Bailey as we dedicate them to the Lord. We want to thank everyone for their love, support, and for being present with our family on this day.
A year ago, we would never have known the path we would travel to get to this point in our lives. Now, looking back, we can take a big sigh of relief that we are able to celebrate with our Gracie and Bailey. We can not thank you all enough for all the acts of love that helped us get through this journey.
As Gracie and Bailey’s parents, we celebrate today as one of the most important days in their life. This day means that we are choosing to raise our children in the Church. We are making the decision to be accountable to God, each other, and all of you. On this special day, we are asking you all as family and friends to help guide us and hold us accountable for this very important decision.
During the preparation for Baby Dedication Sunday, the church asked us to choose 5 values that we will adopt as a family and two ways in which we display them in our daily habits. The five values that we selected are: love, respect, responsibility, faith and self worth. Two consistent habits that we will use in our home to teach these values are spending quality time together and displaying acts of love. We believe that these values and habits will help to guide Gracie and Bailey in loving the Lord, their family, and themselves.
In looking to scripture as guidance, we turn to Proverbs 22:6 “Train your child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn away from it.” Our prayer is that one day our actions as parents will lead Kathryn Grace and Preston Bailey to the acceptance of the Lord as their personal savior.

With Love and Thanks,
Preston and Elizabeth

My heart was so full at the end of the day after the service when all the guests had left and it was just our own little family. I was able to give Gracie and Bailey kisses while getting them undressed and ready for bed. I told them how much I loved them and how God loved them even more. These moments will always be so close to my heart and I will forever remember how sweet my two little ones were on their special day!

Spring Time

Spring is finally here and we have been enjoying our backyard. It is so nice after being stuck indoors to be able to enjoy the outdoors. Gracie and Bailey really have not been outside hardly at all and so it is taking a little time for their eyes to get adjusted to the sun but they are enjoying it more and more each day. The outdoors have been a great dose of medicine for us all after being inside for so long while attempting to keep the twins healthy. After being on bed rest, I learned to never take anything for granted and I can remember the days where just watching the clouds or sunshine from my bed was relaxing. I now try to take time to enjoy all of the beautiful gifts that God gives us on a daily basis!

Enjoying our swing!

Gracie and Bailey taking time to smell the pretty flowers!

Daddy flying Bailey in the bright blue Spring Sky!

Aunt Laura came to visit and helped us prepare for our dedication party. We don't know what we would have done without her help!

St. Patricks Day Puppy Fun

Happy St. Patricks Day !

I couldn't miss out on this cute picture opportunity with having Gracie and Bailey all dressed up in their green. I placed a green scarf on Dixie to make all my "children" complete with their matching outfits. Gracie and Bailey fall more and more in love with their Dixie each day and she is such a good sport and and a great big sister. Dixie will usually sleep outside of their door when they are napping or sleeping as she is super protective. Dixie can always bring a smile to our faces when we are upset and she is great at keeping one twins' attention while I tend to their sibling.

Gracie petting her puppy dog, Dixie!

Bailey laughing at his silly doggy!

Fun with Mr. Bunny

We visited the Easter Bunny today at a local shop called Victoria's. It was great because we had our own appointment and there were very few children present which equalled less germs! Victoria's is one of my favorite shops even though it is a little $$$ for this stay at home mom's budget. You can find some great accessories like hair bows and nice socks which are a must for fancy little outfits! Gracie and Bailey had just woken up from a nap and so they really didn't even have time to glance at the bunny before we placed them in his lap. I absolutely love this memory of Gracie and Bailey's first Easter. This occasion was one of the many fun "first holiday traditions" to celebrate with our precious little ones!

Seven Month Old Twin Love!

I woke up and sang Happy Birthday today to my sweet little angels for their seventh month birthday. My favorite part of the day is getting my babies up and giving them kisses all over before they even get out of the bed, what a great way to wake up! Realizing that it was their birthday I decided I would get a few photos of them. After their breakfast of oatmeal and applesauce I laid them on a blanket to change them. I have discovered with twins that it is much easier to skip the changing table and lay them on a blanket where they can both have my full attention at once, it seems to prevent lots of tears! Gracie and Bailey immediately grab for each other now and usually anything goes straight in their mouth's including each other! I am constantly saying something like"Gracie don't eat your brother."

Bailey is our little "cuddle bug" and he LOVES to grab his sister's hand whenever she is in reach. Sometimes Gracie is not in the mood to hold hands and she growls at her bother. I love to watch my sweet babies hold hands and I am glad that Bailey is already looking out for his sis.

Grandma visited later in the week and this is a pic of her enjoying the beautiful weather with all of her grandchildren!

Grandma accompanied us to our VERY LAST SYNAGIS INJECTION !!! Yippee after receiving them once a month after our discharge from the NICU we are very glad to have them behind us. For those of you who may not be familiar with Synagis, it is a monthly injection to help lessen the severity of RSV in children with immunity disorders which for us would be prematurity. RSV is the most common reason for hospitalization of premature babies. We were extremely blessed to have the shots covered by insurance as they are very costly and about $3,000 per injection. "Knock on wood" the shot has seemed to help us stay healthy through an aggressive flu season. Grandma thought that the twins were so brave for their shot that they deserved to go to Babies R Us and pick out some new toys. Bailey loved his new weebles and teething monkey!

This past week Preston and I attended my twins club consignment sale. I am a member of North Fulton Mothers of Multiples and they had an amazing consignment sale where we picked up some great new items for the twins. The items looked brand new and the prices were great and perfect for our budget! We brought home another exersaucer, some new books, dvds, another bath ring, some adorable matching beach outfits and a carrier for daddy to wear.
Gracie and Bailey in their new but gently used exersaucers!