The NICU Post

Chris's hand and my hand on Evie, 10/16/11

You know that on this blog I’ve shared pretty much the whole story of the girls’ birth, while being as non-TMI as possible. If you would have told me three years ago that 1) I would be HAVING a twin birth experience to begin with, 2) it would be crazy scary, and 3) I would be sharing the story on a public blog, I would have laughed you right out of town. After all, whenever I’d flip through the channels and land on A Baby Story, I couldn’t get rid of that thing fast enough! So the thought of me sharing a birth story would have been utterly preposterous. Plus, I did nearly pass out having some blood drawn at the doctor’s office just this week. It was embarrassing. I'm one queasy girl. But here we are. I’ve blogged about our story so far for many reasons:

• to provide encouragement and hope to any mamas out there who go through some kind of scary pregnancy situation. I figure God allows each of us to go through things for a reason, and a lot of times that involves being able to help others who eventually go through something similar. In order for what I went through to be maximally beneficial to someone else out there who might need to hear about it, I figure it’s good to share what I’ve been through rather than just keeping it all bottled up inside. We need each other!
• to get it all down before what little I remember of it is completely erased from my memory. Plus, if I’m going to write it all down, I may as well share it with others, since so many people have asked me so many questions about it all. 
• (most importantly) to give God the glory He deserves for bringing all three of us - OK, four, including Chris :) - through this whole thing, to where we are today. 

Kangaroo Care with Tamsie, 10/19/11

However, up to this point, I have failed to blog about our NICU experience. Tamsie and Evangelyn were in the NICU for eight weeks, and those were the eight most difficult weeks of my life - not at all because of the hospital or doctors or nurses, because all of them were exceptionally amazing. ALL of them. No, those were hard weeks because I had just been through 29 weeks and 4 days of a joyful but intense pregnancy, and then my babies were born. Just like that, all our excitement and joy came to a sudden, shocking and scary halt, to be replaced by a constant, gnawing temptation to give myself over to worry and fear, as well as to overwhelming feelings of discouragement (this was NOT my plan!), despair (would the babies be OK???) and loneliness (it felt like hardly anyone could relate to me, and my family was so far away!). Above all, I just had to be patient and wait to have my babies home with me... and being patient has never been easy for me!

I’m not going into all the details of their NICU stay, except to give you a glimpse of what I felt during the whole thing. If you ever have friends with babies in the NICU, maybe this will help you understand some of what they're going through emotionally.

- It was indeed a roller coaster ride - and I hate roller coasters! One day we’d have fabulous news, and the next day, one of the girls would have regressed a bit. And even a minuscule regression can feel enormous to a mom whose babies still aren’t home, just because it’s not forward progress. Plus, I really didn’t know what would happen from one moment to the next. I didn’t know how any of us would end up at the time. (Remember, I wasn't completely out of the woods yet myself!) I will say that the Lord was extremely gracious and merciful to the girls and to us, because their stay was relatively uneventful overall, compared to what it could have been. 

- I’ll also never forget how I felt when I’d go out in public and see happy parents with a sweet newborn baby and be happy for them... but also ache so very much inside not to have my sweet babies with me. I felt like I should have some babies to show for what all I went through, but they couldn’t be with me - and it was just an awful, hollow feeling. 

- I was also plagued with guilt, wondering what I could have done differently to keep things from ending up as they did. However, I was reassured over and over and OVER again that TTTS comes out of nowhere, and that I was extremely fortunate not to have had problems earlier on in the pregnancy. Most of all, I am just so thankful the girls survived TTTS!!!!

- I would feel guilty having too much fun while they were in the NICU, even though I know that was entirely unwarranted, from a logical standpoint. Like I remember feeling bad eating at one of my favorite restaurants with Chris while they were being fed through feeding tubes.

- One of the most helpful things anyone did for me the entire time came in the form of a text from my dear friend Jane, who has been a NICU mom a few times herself. When she texted me to ask me how I was doing one night, I texted back that I just wasn’t cut out for handling what I was going through very well. I can already tend to be a bit of a worry wart, and this was just altogether too much for me to handle. She texted back a reminder that God would give me the grace to handle it one day at a time, which reminded me of Jesus's words in Matthew 6:34: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” That single piece of wisdom helped me more than I can ever say, because I stopped trying to handle the whole thing as a unit and started looking to Christ to give me the grace to handle each day as it came. And He totally did. Of course. :)

So what I would like to share at this point is primarily for the sake of helping you know how to help friends with kids in the NICU, should any of your friends ever find themselves in that situation. I’ve been wondering whether I should share about this, and the more friends I have mentioned it to, the more encouraged I have been to go forward with it. Plus, with a couple of friends with babies recently in the NICU, all of this is fresh on my mind, and I just feel like I should share. However, I've had reservations, because it's such a sensitive topic, and what we found helpful may not be what someone else would prefer. Also, I am fully aware that so many people were trying to be as helpful as they knew how to be, and the last thing I would want to do is sound ungrateful or hurt their feelings. Even so, I think I should share this. Who knows whether God will use it to minister to someone else out there in a similar situation.

HELPFUL

• Receiving gifts of friendship, love and prayer. These were by FAR the greatest gifts we were given during our time in the NICU. For example, one of the things that meant the most to me was when a precious friend of mine who is also a nurse came and met the girls in the NICU and prayed over the girls' incubators with me. Also, my dear friend Jennifer, who is also a stay-at-home mom and lives in North Carolina, kept me sane through everything by talking on the phone with me several times a week while Chris was at work. Her friendship and concern for me helped get me through such a trying time. Also, I can't say enough about how God used those prayers from so many friends, acquaintances, and friends and acquaintances OF friends and acquaintances, and answered them so faithfully.
• Receiving gifts of restaurant giftcards. We were up at the NICU every night, which made finding the time to eat dinner a pretty tricky thing to do. We found ourselves picking up food to go all the time - which gets expensive after a while. Giftcards helped ease that burden.
• Being surrounded by the excitement and joy of our family and friends, despite the unique circumstances. There was something really healing about being around people with a positive outlook who expressed pure happiness at the birth of our daughters and who didn’t let the scariness of the situation trump the joy of welcoming new life into the world. When people would tell me they were following our pictures and updates on Facebook, or when people seemed genuinely happy for us, that just meant the world to us.
• Hearing encouraging stories of families in similar situations. I particularly enjoyed hearing from people who were preemies themselves, just because I didn’t know anything much about preemies until all of this happened.
• Feeling like we were loved and not forgotten. We had to miss church during the whole NICU stay, due to being up at the hospital so late the night before, and it meant so much to us to hear from friends who missed us and were praying for us. It was good to know we weren't forgotten, even though we had to pull out of virtually every outside activity in our lives.
• Having us over for dinner. AMAZING. It was so good not to have to worry about dinner, and also so good to get to hang out with friends and feel semi-normal.
• Having friends who would just show up and ask how to help - then get busy helping. I mean they called first, of course, but then just came over and got to work! :) This was wonderful once the twins came home and we were completely overwhelmed, living in a city so far from family.

NOT AS HELPFUL

• Frozen meals. We needed all the freezer space we could get to store expressed milk. We were already having to throw out random foods we didn’t eat much of, just to make way for milk, and it was hard to keep finding room for everything as it was. This is why giftcards turned out to be so amazing. **EDIT: To clarify, frozen meals early on were GREAT! :) Once the girls came home, though, we had people offering to bring us frozen meals, but we told them there was just no room in the freezer. 
• Meals delivered in dishes that need to be returned. I think I still have some of these dishes in our house in Louisville to this day, because it can be so hard getting them back to their owners. I know this sounds odd, but seriously, with baby twins you just don't get out nearly as much.
• Giving us too much space. Chris and I were at a place where we needed to feel like we had a family away from family. However, I think some people were scared of getting in our way, so they kept their distance - but what we really needed was love and support. We needed to know we weren't alone in all of this, but we didn't always get that from people.
• Telling us horror stories. I guess a lot of people thought that since our girls were doing OK, it was alright to tell us about babies in similar situations who didn't do so well. Seriously? Just because my babies were stable right at that moment, everything could change in an instant. And please don’t be so shocked that my babies are doing well, because that makes me wonder why it’s so shocking and if things are about to take a turn for the worse. I would leave the hospital each night (for the most part) feeling empowered and hopeful and optimistic that everything would be fine, because that is how our doctors and nurses encouraged us to feel in our particular situation. Then I'd talk to people who had really no idea about our situation who would share horror stories with me, and all of a sudden I'd be given over to fear and worry until I went back to the hospital again. Not helpful.
• Making empty promises. Don’t tell us you’ll do something really sweet for us during this time and then not follow through. 
• The following types of comments:
• “At least you’re getting plenty of rest right now and not being woken up all night long!” Trust me, I would have given anything to trade in sleep for having my sweet girls home with me!
• “Well, they’re where they need to be.” Duh.
• “They weren’t supposed to be born yet.” Duh. Plus, this comment tended to trigger those irrational feelings of guilt over the fact that they had to come so soon. I would much rather hear people express thankfulness that the girls are OK!
• “How scary!!” Really? Thanks for reminding me.
• “Let me know if you need anything.” We heard this a lot once the girls were home. I know this one was well-intentioned, but please don’t tell me to tell you if I need anything. Of course I need a lot of help right now, but I’m probably going to feel awkward calling you up and asking for it. Just volunteer!
• “Do you think you’ll ever have any more kids?” Do I even need to comment on this one?
• Being upset if you haven’t heard from me lately. Umm, once again, seriously? I just had baby twins who were 1 lb 15 oz and 2 lbs 14 oz each, and now they’re in the NICU. I’m more scared than I’ve ever been in my life. My mind is everywhere and nowhere at once these days, so please extend some grace to me until things settle down a bit in my life.
• Acting like a C-section is the worst thing ever. Please.

I hope this whole post has been helpful or will be helpful to someone at some point. 

Happy 9-Month Birthday, T&E!!!

Dear Tamsie and Evangelyn,

Happy 9-month birthday to you, my sweet girls! Right now, Tamsie, you are crawling all over the floor as I type this. You are constantly saying, "a-Dada Dada Dada!" and sometimes you pause to look up at me and smile your sweet Tamsie smile. Evie, you are FINALLY sleeping. You took maybe a 20-minute nap this morning, and I haven't been able to get you to settle down and sleep since. You just have so many more important things to do, like getting into everything and talking up a storm! I absolutely love life with y'all right now. If I thought you were active last month, I had no idea just what you'd be capable of just a month later! 

Evie was rolling around on the floor until she got tangled up in her blanket - then I took this picture! 

 Sometime in the past month you started getting onto all fours, and now you're doing a more refined version of crawling than we had been seeing before. This allows you to go where you want to go VERY quickly, and I can no longer leave you on the floor while I leave the room. You have to be in a crib, pack 'n' play, swing, or exersaucer... otherwise you'd really get into trouble! You're also starting to pull up on things, so I'd better watch out!!

Don't mind if I bite your fingers, right? (Notice that Evie is sitting on her own... of her own initiative, too!)

 On your actual 9-month birthday, I took the pictures for this post. Both of you were SO very wiggly, however, and I was all alone with you, so they really didn't turn out so well. I think these pictures perfectly illustrate why:

Tamsie is enjoying looking at Evie, who was mid-fall at the time. I had to drop the phone to catch her from falling any farther than she did! The NICU bear is in these pictures, although they kept squishing him as much as they could!

E: Since you bit my hand, I hope you don't mind if I pop your headband.

T: Since you popped my headband, I'm sure you won't mind if I pull yours in your face.

E: Now look what you've done!

 The biggest news lately is that you're talking. Now we have no idea if you know what you're saying, but you are definitely saying plenty! It all started a week ago, when Tamsie said "Dada" for the first time... and proceeded to say it again and again and again, tossing in the occasional "Mama." By Friday, Evie still had yet to say anything, until nighttime rolled around and my parents came to watch y'all while your dad and I went out on a date. When we came back, Mom said, "Did you know Evie is saying 'Dada,' 'Mama,' and 'Baby?'" Of course, the answer was NO! So Evie, when you finally decided to talk, you wanted to one-up your sis! Tamsie, never fear - you also started saying "Baby" and "YaYa" VERY soon thereafter! Now the two of you just chatter away all day every day. I just love hearing your sweet voices! Here is a video I made of Tamsie the day she started saying "Dada." (I'm sure you'll admire my skillful impromptu camera work...) You should know that Tamsie is growling at the beginning of the video... one of her favorite things to do!

When chair pictures proved NOT to be a safe option, I put the girls on the floor and decided to try and settle for some subpar floor pictures. They turned out even more subpar than I'd imagined, because the girls immediately started playing with everything within reach.

Tamsie latched on to the Cat in the Hat, whom she particularly enjoys biting, and Evie attempted to play with my phone, which is a constant source of fascination.

Then she went for the gold: her feet!

Tamsie, one of your most fascinating accomplishments this month is that you have started trying to whistle. Turns out that's what your famous "ooo" face is all about! I first realized this when I was changing your diaper one day, and I heard a whistling noise. It didn't take me long to realize it was coming from YOU! Somehow, with the rest of the hustle and bustle that accompanies the daily intensity of being a mom to twins, I totally forgot to mention this to your dad. By the next day, I was afraid maybe my brain had just embellished the whole thing. Then when we went to visit your YaYa, she called us into the room to show us that you were whistling!! Your dad, of course, couldn't believe I had failed to mention that to him! I can't whistle, and neither can your dad, so where did you learn it from? Well, when I told your grandpa about it, he just laughed and said he taught it to you! It turns out that he whistles to you all the time, and whenever he does, you just sit there studying him. Now you have figured it out! :)

Sweet girls who can no longer wear bows without pulling them off of each other

 On occasion, both of you have proven that you like holding your own bottles... when you're in the mood for it. However, you're still pretty inefficient little suckers, so I wind up doing most of your feeding... which you often fail to enjoy! Fortunately, we'll be starting you with a new speech pathologist here in Memphis very soon to help you overcome your fears of the bottle.

Tamsie chillin' in her crib

During the day, you're taking shorter naps, but I'm happy to say that you usually sleep very well at night! When you do wake up, it's because you're practicing crawling or pulling up!

Photo sessions with the two of you are pretty much impossible these days.

Both of you LOVE people. Whenever we are out and people want to talk to you, both of you just smile and soak up all the attention. You also love meeting new people whenever we introduce you to someone new... unless you're extra tired or hungry!

Baby jail?

On your 9-month birthday, both of you were hovering right around 14 lbs. You're wearing size 2 diapers still and mostly 6-month clothes, with the occasional 9-month or 3-month outfit sprinkled in for good measure. You squirm like crazy whenever I try to change your clothes or your diaper, so I have just learned to keep teething toys on the bed where I change you so you'll kind of stay put. I also have to say, "Snap!" and really emphasize that "p" sound when I snap your clothes, because it fascinates you just enough to get you to stay still for me.

You love to steal toys from each other... as Tamsie demonstrates here...

... but it never seems to bother the girl who's getting stolen from! I'm hoping you'll be pros at sharing soon!

You love going for rides, biting anything you can bite, smiling and showing off your two bottom teeth and playing with other babies.

Evie demonstrates the fact that both of you LOVE wearing your stacking rings like jewelry! You're already such girly girls!

You sit up, but never for long. Something always catches your attention, and off you go chasing after it! Both of you are just way too active to bother with sitting still.

This photo is here to represent what life is currently like for us right now as we're staying in this apartment temporarily. Due to the extreme heat, this staircase is the only exercise your crazy mama gets these days. Maybe one of these days I can get you out in your stroller for a walk again!

Tamsie loves to play with a good old water bottle!

She can't wait til she can trade in baby bottles for real bottles!

They sure are crazy about their Aunt Jennifer!

Girls, you wear me out most days, but it's the best worn-out I've ever been. I love spending time with y'all, and I am so blessed to be your mama! When random people at the store see me with y'all and say things like, "Double trouble!" I always correct them and say, "Nope, double blessings!" It's so true. Being your mama is the absolute best! I love both of you with all my heart.

Love,

Mamamama, as you often call me :)

I know I keep looking back, BUT...

... I came across a post I wrote on July 7, 2011, on the blog I tried 5 times to get going (guess the 6th try is the charm then?). It's in black, and my editorial remarks are in pink (what else?).

On the last day of my 15th week, thinking I was huge! :)

Don't get too excited that I'm back - not that you would - because things are about to get supercrazy around here you've got that right!, as two baby twins are on the way... but then again, this blog might be just what I need to keep things on track in my life! So this is attempt #5 to enter the great blogosphere. Who knows, maybe the fifth time's the charm (since the third time certainly didn't work)? Not really.

(BTW - Aww! Baby twins! So much fun to say! The husband is probably tired of hearing me say it in my little baby voice... which, I might add, I try not to use in any other context!)

Right now I'm enjoying the summer, working at the seminary in the communications department and tutoring at a learning center, as well as working on my internship for school. Yeah, probably not the smartest workload when carrying a risky set of twins. Believe it or not, this is the calm before the storm (yep!) - since I will be taking four classes next semester (the most I've taken thus far) HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA yeah right! I did good to get ONE class in that semester! AND getting closer to the day I'm looking forward to so very much: the day our twins come to live with us!! :)

This is truly a unique time in my life. I'm 15 weeks along, and Saturday I'll be 16 weeks. I felt like I had been pregnant FOREVER at this point! In 13 days, which may as well be a year based on how it is just ddrrraaaawwwwing out, I will know the gender of my little twins! As soon as I find out that crucial piece of information, I can get to work decorating their nursery and picking out clothes and other fun and fabulous baby things. And I did. I went crazy getting everything together, starting the very day I found out! Oh, how I miss their sweet little nursery! They're having to make do with a regular old bedroom here in the apartment. In fact, I can already see an obsession on the horizon. If there were alert departments for such things, a warning would be out right now and the sirens would be sounding. But you know what? I can't do a blasted thing until I know what these twins are going to be. So really I should savor my final 13 days of being pregnant and yet having nothing baby-related on my to-do (or to-buy) list. After all, this certainly won't be happening again for the foreseeable future. ARGH but I'm just so ready to know, so ready for the suspense to come to an exciting end! This is what's on my mind right now. Waiting on that life-changing piece of info seriously put me in the greatest state of suspense I had ever been in before! I don't know how you mamas who wait to know until the baby is born make it through... you have my tremendous respect! :)

Oh yeah, one other major thing is on my mind: how incredibly grateful I am for a good report at the doctor's office yesterday. And still am. Thank you, Lord, for so many wonderful doctor's reports! We wouldn't be where we are now without doing so well for so long. I just went a month without a doctor's appointment for the first time ever in my pregnant life. Yeah, knowing what I know now about TTTS, that should never have happened. Ladies carrying twins in the same placenta should have a weekly ultrasound check-up. I thought I was going to go crazy not seeing the babies, and I didn't even have an ultrasound scheduled for yesterday like I always have before. However, much to my delight, the doctor wheeled in the bedside ultrasound and let me take a peek at the little taters. And, even more fabulous, she kept telling me how "perfect" everything is looking and how cute they are! (Granted, I'm sure she says all her patients' babies are cute, but it still made me feel good! I mean, who doesn't want cute babies?!) Oh my goodness, hearing that they are in perfect condition right now was such music to my ears. The type of twins that I'm carrying is a particularly risky type (although it could have been much riskier than it is) (yes - thank goodness they were in separate sacs within the placenta!), and being a mom now, I can't help but fear the worst sometimes - so words can't describe how relieved I was to get good news after an entire month of no news at all. Thank You, Lord! And to any straggler readers out there, please do keep the twin babies in your prayers - of course they have a long way to go!

Well, it is time for me to go work some more on internship stuff... but I'm hoping to be back much more frequently! Stay tuned! :)


Reading this makes me particularly thankful to be where we are this year, as opposed to where we were last year! Sometimes it's good to pause and reflect on how gracious and merciful God has been to us. Oh, how I love my sweet T and E! :)

Twins on Tour 2012: First Trip to YaYa's House!

Last night we got back home (if you can call a temporary home "home") from taking the girls on their inaugural trip to YaYa and Herbie's house in Madison, Mississippi! We had a wonderful weekend and made memories we will treasure forever! :) Mrs. DeeDee and Mr. Herbie were so gracious and hospitable, and we are very thankful and happy to live within baby-approved driving distance from them again. This trip is sure to be the first of many, many more!

We arrived in the wee hours of Saturday morning, having left after the girls' bedtime feeding on Friday night in an attempt to keep them as on-schedule as possible. Even though it was so late, Mrs. DeeDee and Chris's youngest brother Noah played with the babies and helped us get everything in place for the weekend. The girls also impressed us all by sleeping through the night, despite their new surroundings!

Saturday we hung out around the house. Mrs. DeeDee fixed us her fabulous tortellini soup for lunch, and then for dinner we met up with my Jackson family to introduce them to the babies and to catch up with them. Sunday we went to church, picked up brunch from Julep (home of amazingly delicious strawberry chocolate chip pancakes!), and then the girls had a photo session with Mrs. DeeDee's talented friend and neighbor Jana. Can't wait to see how their pictures turn out! Here are some of our collective iPhone pics from the weekend:

I stole this picture (and the next four!) from Mrs. DeeDee! Here the little ladies are chatting it up with YaYa and Uncle Noah, who, by the way, is an amazing uncle! I can already see how much the girls admire him! 

YaYa and Tamsie! I totally meant to take a picture of her gorgeous picture wall, but you can kinda see it in the mirror here. It is inspiring me for our future house! 

They're like celebrities! :)

The girls are sitting up pretty well these days, as Evie demonstrates. However, you have to sit them up. They never get into a sitting position on their own, because they're way too busy scooting around and getting into everything they can to take time out to sit still.

Breakfast time! Chris and I feed the girls in high chairs borrowed from JT and Jana. Speaking of high chairs, Chris and I are planning on taking a trip to Louisville next month, where we will pick up such much-missed items as the girls' high chairs, baby food maker and their other crib. It will be strange to stay in our own house while on vacation... assuming it hasn't sold by then! 

Evie girl and the Cat in the Hat

There's that famous Evie smile!

The girls are finally starting to hold their bottles and feed themselves, although pretty inefficiently. We're still working (and praying!) to overcome bottle issues. (This is Evie on Uncle Noah's old blanket.)

They also love their ring stacker, but their favorite thing to play with is the cone the rings go on! Who knew?! (This is Tamsie.)

At dinner - Evie with my (Emmy-winning! See, I told you I brag about you every chance I get! :) cousin Keri. Sorry for the closed eyes - blasted iPhone photography skills - but still oh so cute! Keri pulled out some little puppet eyes she put on her fingers and entertained the babies during dinner. They loved it, of course! 

Tamsie and her Great-Uncle Walt, whose grandmother was also a Tamsie

I LOVE this picture. Check out Uncle Walt's face!

That's better! :)

There was actually a dessert on the menu called the Burma. Not sure how Mom would feel about that one!

Keri's husband Bryan and Evie (stealing Keri's picture)

Uncle Walt with Tamsie, Keri with Evie, and me with my baby-proof hairstyle - no pulling! (Walt's picture)

Uncle Walt and Tamsie - so sweet! (Keri's picture - thank you Facebook!)

I love this picture of Mr. Herbie and Mrs. DeeDee. (Walt's picture)

Later that night, Mrs. DeeDee showed us some old photos. This is Baby Vaf - who does this remind you of? :)

He looks so much like his mama! Here is Mrs. DeeDee's precious baby picture. If you've seen any pictures  at all of the girls, that mouth should look verrrrry familiar! 

While we were off in Jackson, my parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary! Congratulations to them!!

Thanks to everyone who made the girls' first trip to Jackson so special! We loved seeing every one of you! :)

Freedom, Baby!

Y'all. Write this down. Both girls are sleeping blissfully and have been for the past hour and a half! What in the world is going on today?! Naptime is a success! What to do now? May as well share pictures from T & E's first 4th! 

K, so this isn't from the 4th, but it's Tamsie, and I thought it was presh. 

They love being close to each other! BTW - you can guess whose house we were at with the Saints paraphernalia in the background. Sorry, Tams, that your foot is chopped off... you're just so blasted hard to photograph!

Evie on the left, Tamsie on the right. I wish I could remember what had them so amused!

They look like they're hanging onto this chair for dear life!

Tamsie's "ooo" face and Evie's smile. Evie flashes this smile ALL the time these days (Chris calls it her Grinch smile), but it's really hard to get a picture of, because she's always on the move!

Silly girls!

Naptime for Evie. Doesn't she look like a little doll?

Rosy cheeks!

A little while later, while lying on vintage baby blankets that once belonged to their mother, Tamsie started getting a little fussy.

But, as usual... 

... her dad has a way of making everything better!

Evie's still in her own little world, but Tamsie's rocking the "ooo" face!

Daddy's totally working his magic. (I don't call him "The Baby Whisperer" for nothing!)

And now, the clouds are parting.

She's giggling!

Their daddy really does know how to make them smile! 

Once again, trying to capture the Evie smile on the way to my aunt and uncle's house for 4th festivities.

Once at Myron and Lauren's house, it was Chicken Foot time! Notice how far away from Evie that Mom had to scoot her domino tray... 

Toes!

Meanwhile, Tamsie and her Grandpa made funny faces in the mirror. 

So fun!

Smiles all around! And you can barely make out E's little head in the mirror, but she's sitting in Mom's lap back there.

Ever wondered how to stay entertained during a car ride?

Evie demonstrates just how fascinating feet can be on such occasions!

Tamsie couldn't agree more.

She also favors a good old chew on the seatbelt.

Evie's a little more refined though. She prefers to play with the giraffe..

Just shake that thing around, girl. The trip will fly by in no time!

Ending this post with another picture of sleeping Tamsie, this time with the giraffe on her head. Of course.