Christmas #2 in Kiawah

Reagan and Riley's first Christmas morning was spent at my parent's house in Kiawah. It was a beautiful morning and an amazing day! The girls were spoiled rotten and did a great job opening presents. They were much more interested in the wrapping paper than in what was inside, but they had a blast and especially loved playing with their cousin Cooper. Cooper LOVES trains (he calls them "choo choos") and it was a very Thomas the Train Engine Christmas for him. But, Uncle Matt and Aunt Stacey bought him his very own train that he could ride. It was hilarious. When he first opened it he drove it around the house (we took it outside after that). He had some very cute passengers in his train though...it was absolutely hysterical. We laughed so hard our stomachs hurt. Reagan and Riley LOVED it. Reagan laughed out loud and Riley was just happy as a clam to be driven all around. It was a very, very, Merry Christmas! We are headed back to Cleveland tomorrow for Christmas #3 with Matt's mom, sisters and their families. We can't wait!!!!! The packing is insane with two babies...but it's going to be SO MUCH FUN! We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!

Christmas #1 in Hilton Head

We had the girl's first round of Christmas today! We drove to Hilton Head to visit my grandparents (the girl's great grands) and had presents and fun and then went out to lunch. It was such a fabulous day!!!! The girls were on their best behavior and were spoiled rotten by GG and GG! Reagan couldn't have been any more cuddly. She cuddled up to her Great Grandpa right away and we had to pull her away. They are BEST BUDS! It was so sweet. They hadn't seen Riley since her surgery in October and were amazed at how well she's doing and how great she looks. It was a great kickoff to the Christmas week/weekend. Next stop...Kiawah to my parents where Aunt Lola, Uncle Nathan and Cooper will be, and then to Cleveland for Christmas #3 to visit Matt's family. All of the girl's aunts and uncles will be there and their cousins Grace and Greta too. We are SO excited to see everyone!

We actually paid for this

The girls visited Santa for the very first time today! It was one of the funniest afternoons that Matt and I have had in a VERY long time. We waited for close to two hours to finally meet the Big Guy. The girls were amazing the whole time in line. We had them dressed super cute and everyone in line was entertained by them and kept saying how good and happy they were. And they were so right...until they sat on Santa's lap. I'm not actually sure if Reagan even made it to his lap before she started screaming. Everyone was in hysterics. Riley just sat and stared at Reagan and then at Santa. No screaming, no crying (but definitely no smiles either). The photographers kept snapping away attempting to get a picture (and I thought I was annoying when I try and get the girls to smile for a picture...these people were ridiculous!!!!). Riley eventually caught on from watching her sister that crying seemed to be what was supposed to be happening, so she joined in. It was so funny. We gave up, picked the girls up, and they were completely fine in about 2 seconds. Santa looked like the REAL Santa...no joke. (except that he smelled like he'd just had about a carton of cigarettes...maybe that's why the girls were crying?!?! Santa doesn't smoke, does he?!).
Anyway...great memory for Matt and I and a great picture to someday show the girls of their first visit with Santa. He even gave the girls these sweet charms of his sleigh. I'm putting them in their baby books along with the 55 pictures of them crying with Santa that we had to buy. Ha!

Meeting Riley's prayer girls

Ever since we first found out about Riley's congenital heart defect and contacted St. Michael's Church here in Charleston, we have been overwhelmed with love and support from people that we don't even know. It's been absolutely unreal how this church has embraced us and welcomed us and prayed for us and made us feel like a part of their family. Right after the girls were baptized, I received a call one day out of the blue, from a woman named Susannah. She and her husband had been in the church when the girls were baptized and had been touched by Riley's story (Reverend Al let the congregation know what was happening so that they could add her and us to their prayers). Susannah and some of her good friends had started a Bible study a few years ago for their girls (now all first and second graders) basically because the moms were friends and the girls all went to different schools and they just wanted the kids to get a chance to interact. Well, the Bible study is still going and the girls were told about Riley and on their own decided that they HAD to do something to help. They formed prayer teams. Two of them took the morning, two took lunch and two took dinner. The girls would pray for us, pray for Riley, pray for Reagan and pray for the doctors. They did it every single day and are still going. They sent Riley cards and pictures in the mail. They made us feel so loved. We had never even met them or their amazing parents.
Until today.
Matt and I took the girls downtown to their Bible study. We brought each girl a little bouquet from Riley and Reagan as a thank you. It was the BEST afternoon. The girls were SO excited to see Riley. They asked some questions, they checked out her scar and they held her and cradled her and loved on her like crazy. She did pretty well too...got a little nervous, but as long as we stayed close by she did great! Reagan, of course, stole the show and showed off her social skills. She cuddled the girls and played peekaboo and made everyone laugh. It was so awesome.
These little girls are so special (their families are too) and we are so happy that we're a part of their lives now. All of the girls are little angels in the St. Michael's Christmas Pageant on Christmas Eve that we'll be going to and I think it's so fitting. I can't wait to see them again, and I know that they can't wait to see R and R again either. (And Matt is excited that in a few more years we'll have a TON of babysitters to choose from!).

A great weekend

We've been so busy lately! Matt and I had date night on Friday night (FINALLY!) and it was awesome. We tried really hard to NOT talk about the girls the whole time! Our great friends, the Houstons, came over yesterday with their beautiful daughters Malain and Jackie. The girls were so sweet to Reagan and Riley and will someday make excellent babysitters! It was so much fun to see Katie and Jason again too...we love them so much.
The girls also went to their first big party this afternoon! Their friend, Knox, turns 1 year old in a few days and had his party at the South Carolina Aquarium! It was so much fun and Matt and I met so many nice grown ups too!
Tomorrow we are taking the girls downtown to meet some really special people to us. A group of little girls from the church we've been going to (St. Michaels) got together when they heard about Riley and formed prayer teams. They did this entirely on their own. They formed teams and some would pray for her when they woke up in the morning, some would pray for her during their lunchtime and the others would pray for her before dinner. They sent her pictures and cards and their parents wrote us letters too. I can't tell you how special these girls are to us, and it's amazing that we've never even met them yet. But they have been DYING to meet Riley (and Reagan too) and since Riley has finally been cleared to be around people...now is the time! So, we're going down as a family to meet the girls and thank them for all of their prayers and love and support. I'm going to try not to cry!
We've spent the majority of the weekend watching the girls in their silly Johnny Jump Up things. We hung them from the entryway hall right by the dining room. The girls are bigger now and we thought that they loved them a few months ago...but they REALLY love them now. Here is a quick video so that you can see them in action! Pay special attention to Riley's feet. Hilarious. Reagan has the jumping thing down really well! Riley is working on it...mostly looks like she's running/tap dancing. It makes us laugh so hard!
Hope that you all had a wonderful weekend too!

We LOVE Michael Buble

The girls and I have the Michael Buble Christmas CD on all day long. It's in the car too...I'm not getting sick of it at all (they might be...but they haven't told me yet). Here are two quick videos we took tonight of our happy girls!

We're 8 months old today

The little ladies are 8 months old today. I know I say this every month, but I seriously can't believe it. They are becoming SO MUCH FUN! They seem to be doing something new each day. Reagan is clapping and waving non-stop, but her newest trick is giving high-fives! She thinks it's hysterical too. Matt taught her and it is pretty funny. I'll try and get it on video one of these days. She still loves being outside in her swing and is just super curious about everything. She does NOT like to be alone and isn't really into taking naps lately. She'll take them, but not for longer than about 30 minutes at a time...unless we're out for a walk in the stroller or in the car and then she'll nap for much longer. I can be found driving aimlessly around Daniel Island on any given day lately. I actually drove for over an hour the other day when Matt was out of town. I found some really great parts of the island that I haven't seen before and the girls both slept so it works, I guess. I'd much rather they easily go down in their cribs for a couple of hours each day...but oh well!
Riley is SO close to crawling!!!!! She's up on all fours and rocking back and forth. She goes backwards still...hasn't quite figured out that the goal is to go forwards, but it's going to be any day now. She's still not sitting up which is hard...but the doctor and her physical therapist have told us that it's because of the open heart surgery. As a result of her chest being cut open, the muscles have a lot of work to do to get to where they need to be to make her feel comfortable enough to catch herself if she falls forward. She's still just not quite strong enough. She'll sit for a tiny bit by herself but still falls over...we're working on it every day and her physical therapist is AWESOME and she's helping us out too. We'll get there...I'm not worried! She's doing such a great job eating. It's like a totally different kid. She has a new nickname too. We've started calling her Bugs. She loves carrots so much it's hilarious. She kicks her legs and shakes her arms and smiles and squeals and eats the whole jar in about 3 minutes. It's so awesome. You have no idea how much you take for granted having a kid eat "normally." She's finally doing what we'd always hoped she would. She's still not putting on lots of weight but the doctors have told us it will come and not to worry too much.
The girls continue to be a total blast. We're tired all of the time...and Matt and I haven't seen 10 o'clock in a long, long, time. But we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as far as sleep goes (Reagan sleeps through the night and Riley is only waking up a couple of times). Once they're both sleeping through the night our lives are going to totally change! Can't wait! Think it would be just about the best Christmas present EVER. Matt and I are actually having a date night on Friday night for the first time in a very long time. I am so excited I can hardly stand it!
Grandma Susan and Anthony sent the girls some Santa hats...they looked adorable!! We really, really, really tried hard for smiles. Riley HATES smiling for the camera. She looks so serious in all of the pictures! I swear, they are the happiest kids ever until the camera comes around. We're definitely in the holiday spirit around here (even though it's been 70 and sunny every day...we're loving it!!!!).
Happy 8 month birthday sweet girls! We love you so much!

End of November

I can't believe December is almost here...for numerous reasons. First off...it's ridiculous how amazing our weather has been. Today was almost 75 and sunny. I'm LOVING it. (sorry to all of you Northerners reading this....I'm not bragging, I swear! Well...maybe a little). We were outside almost the entire day today. Matt and I worked in the yard while the girls played in their new swing that Matt put up or bounced around in their bouncy thing. They entertained themselves for HOURS. It was awesome. We got SO much done and they had a blast...and it was so beautiful too.
I also can't believe that this year is almost over. I swear this has been the fastest year of my life. It feels like just yesterday that we moved down here, and it's been almost 5 months already. Here are a couple of videos we took today...one of Reagan in the swing and the other of Riley being silly on our bed! Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had such a great Thanksgiving...minus being with our families of course! Chef Iofredo outdid himself and we were stuffed and satisfied! I have to say that I was pretty proud of us for pulling together an entire Thanksgiving meal, setting the dining room table and cleaning up....all with twin babies! It was great and we have SO MUCH to be thankful for this year. We're thankful every day of course....but it's nice to stop and actually have a day built around giving thanks.
Our sweet and wonderful babysitter, Elizabeth, spent Thanksgiving with us because she wasn't able to make it home to be with her family. We were thrilled to have her (the girls especially...they LOVE her so much) and it was just a great day!
The girls even sat in their high chairs with us while we ate and didn't make a peep. After dinner, the girls passed out just like the grown ups.
I'm trying to talk Matt into some Black Friday shopping today. Do you think I'm crazy?!? He does!
Hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving too!

We're 7 months old today

My sweet little girls are 7 months old today and I honestly can't believe time is going so fast. So much has happened in the past 7 months...and SO much has happened in the last month that I don't even know where to start!
Reagan continues to get bigger every day and with that comes more and more milestones. She's sitting up all by herself and showing signs of crawling already! (GOD...please, not yet. I'm NOT ready for that yet!). She is just the happiest, funniest baby in the world and keeps us smiling all day long. She has even started to crack Riley up which is hilarious. She has graduated from some of the things that she loved so much (her swing, the activity mat...) and now just loves the bouncer and some even bigger toys that make tons and tons of annoying music all day long (thanks Aunt Lola for sharing them!!!!!). She has started noticing Madison a lot lately and we have to be more careful now because she's wanting to "pet" Maddie all of the time. Maddie pretty much keeps to herself so we're not too worried about it....but once the girls are more mobile we'll have to be on our toes! She says "Dada...dada...dada..." all day long. I am convinced she even knows what she's saying. My attempt at having Mama be the girl's first word was a big failure. Oh well! She has the sweetest little voice and it's got a little bit of a raspy sound to it which is adorable. She is just amazing and sweet and cuddly and fun and I love her more than ever which I didn't think was possible. I can't wait to see what she does next!
Riley continues to astound us with her recovery. It has blown us all away how fast it has been and how well she's done. She is back to her old self during the day and is playing on the mats and in her bouncer and smiling like crazy. If you didn't see the scar you would never know that just a few weeks ago she was in the ICU after open heart surgery. It's amazing. She LOVES playing with Reagan. They are really starting to have fun together and I love watching it. She's talking SO much more than she ever did before. Nothing that sounds like "mama" just yet...but I'm listening closely!!!! She's gotten her new helmet (boo) and has to wear it 23 hours a day. I still think her head looks perfect...but the doctors said that after a few months in the helmet they'll agree with me. Just like everything else she does she's a total champ with it and doesn't complain at all. She's eating so well...before the surgery it would take me 45 minutes to an hour to get about 3 ounces in her. Now she's having 5 ounces in about 25 minutes. It is the BEST to not dread feeding time! We've gone to feedings every 4 hours now and solid foods 3 times a day! The girl's seem to have the same "favorite" food...they both LOVE pears! They now sit in their high chairs (thanks Molly and Walt!!!) and have even attempted sippy cups with water. It's crazy to me every time I add something new like that...it just means that my little girls are getting big! I'm so happy that THEY are so happy and healthy and doing so well, but I can't believe that 7 months have gone by already. Everyone told me it'd be fast...they weren't kidding. Best 7 months of our lives so far though, so we can't wait to see what's next!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone! The cutest pumpkins EVER hope you have a great night! We also have to wish a VERY Happy Birthday to my Grandma...the girl's GreatGrandma Zellar! She turned 90 today and is the youngest, hippest 90 year old that has ever lived! We love you GG!!!!

Reunited...and it feels so good!

The family is back together again! Reagan came back from her vacation to Kiawah and the girls were so happy to see each other! I'll update more later but...we went to the hospital yesterday and everything is looking really good! No leaking of the valve and the echocardiogram and xrays looked great. Believe it or not, we don't have to go back to the hospital for almost 2 weeks. What are we going to do with ourselves?!?!?!?

Not much new around here (ha!)

Can someone please tell this kid that she just had open heart surgery on Thursday? She doesn't seem to know.

You wouldn't believe the change in Riley today. If you didn't see her chest or the loads of meds that she has to take, you'd never even know she had any kind of surgery at all...let alone open heart. The doctors, surgeons and nurses are amazed at this little kid and so are we. We got discharged about an hour ago and she's sleeping in her swing. Yes. I said in her swing. At home. OUR HOME....she's HOME. Already. It's a miracle...amazing and the greatest day ever. Matt and I are a tad terrified that she's so fragile right now and they just turned us loose, but we have been living this now for a few days and know pretty much exactly what to do. I almost could be a nurse at this point. My parents took Reagan out to Kiawah until Wednesday to give Matt and I a chance to get settled here with just Riley (and to maybe, finally get some sleep?!?). We miss Reagan terribly already, but know that it's the best thing for everybody. We'll be back together again soon and she is going to be so excited to come home to her sister.
So...that's our scoop. We are so beyond thankful to the amazing surgeons and doctors and nurses at MUSC. They are our heroes and we love them all so much. I can't wait for Riley to go back and visit them and show them just how fabulous she's doing. (And we're going to be going A LOT....we already have an appointment on Thursday!). Thank you to the rest of you for all of your continued love and support. We are so relieved and happy it's indescribable. We never would have imagined last Thursday morning that we'd be holding her in our arms in our own home on Monday afternoon. Modern medicine is absolutely amazing. (God is too!).

5 days later-can you even believe it?

She continues to blow us away. Now if only she would start to eat...and give us some smiles! We're so excited! What a great way to start a week!!!!

Out of ICU

We're out of the PCICU!!!! WOOHOOOOOO! We have our own room now and Matt calls it the deluxe suite. It actually has a couch for us to sleep on instead of just a chair...it's not that bad at all! I slept with her last night and Matt's taking over tonight so that I can get some sleep at home. The couch is nice...but it's not very easy to sleep around here. They come in every hour to check vitals and then are in constantly with different meds and changing things around. Riley slept really well though and I'm so happy about that!!!!
She's doing so well....it's absolutely unreal. The nurses in PCICU called her the star of the unit. She is amazing everyone. We've only had a couple of very small setbacks and for the most part everything is going so smoothly. This afternoon the surgeons came in during rounds to check on her and they took out her chest tube and the last of the other tubes. We had to leave the room during that because they said we wouldn't want to see it and she would be really upset. They gave her another dose of oxycodone before they did it. She handled it pretty well (we could hear her crying down the hall which made my heart break) but she was incredibly strong and brave once again and now is resting (okay...more like she's passed out or stoned).
I finally got to hold her and it was so awesome. You SO take for granted just being able to hold and love and kiss your babies whenever you want to. I've wanted to have her back in my arms since the nurses took her Thursday morning and it finally happened. We have to hold her very carefully and have to pick her up in a very different way (it's just weird to have to think about how you pick up your kid...it's just not something I've ever really thought about). Holding her is great but she's still pretty uncomfortable so sometimes it's best to just leave her laying down in her crib and just sit next to her and hold her hand. She's much more alert (when not stoned out of her mind!) and we're reading to her and playing with her. She's not eating so well so they're watching that, but they said that now that the chest tube is out she'll likely start to eat again.
The most amazing thing is that the doctors and surgeons say she'll probably go home in a couple of days. When Matt and I first heard this we were stunned. WHAT?!?!? First of all, we were told we'd be here a lot longer, and second of all....I'm not so sure we're ready! I mean, I can't wait to have our family back together at HOME again, but she's still really fragile and sore and on drugs and I'm no nurse! I suppose I'll be terrified whenever she comes home so it might as well be sooner, rather than later. We're confident they won't send us out of here unless they know she's ready and we've already been told we'll be back here a lot for follow up stuff in the next few months.
So....all in all, this little girl is doing better than we could have ever, ever imagined she would be. We've only gotten one smile so far but we're sure more are coming soon!!! We're just praying that it continues to go smoothly and that she continues to feel little pain. (oh...and that they don't send us home too soon!!!!...stupid insurance companies!).

Being an only child is not that bad of a gig

We're so lucky to have so much help while Riley is in the hospital. Our parents continue to be amazing and are making it so much easier for Matt and I. Reagan is being spoiled rotten and loving every minute of it. I went home today and put her down for 2 seconds and she had a fit. Matt and I are starting a major Baby Boot Camp for both of these ladies once Riley is all better! Just kidding (sort of!!!). Yesterday was a gorgeous day and Susan brought Reagan downtown to visit. She can't visit Riley so she visited mommy and daddy instead! We went for a walk downtown and then sat out in the courtyard at the hospital and just played. It was the BEST. She is so hilarious and made my day so much better! My dad sat outside with us and she had a ball just bouncing around. I think she's in for quite the wake up once Riley comes home and has to share mommy and daddy's attention again!

Bless her (new and improved!) heart

Well...she did it. Here we are, about 24 hours after surgery and our little peanut is doing so well. The surgery went really well and there were no surprises. The doctors were able to fix both holes and everything looks really good so far. The one big surprise was that we found out the day before surgery that Riley's left valve has only 1 muscle (all normal heart valves have 2). They didn't fix this during surgery because it just wasn't possible. However, so far, so good and her heart seems to be working okay with only one muscle at this time. We are beyond thrilled, so relieved and so grateful to God that He took (and continues to take) such amazing care of Riley. The great news so far....
This morning, Riley came off of the ventilator and is BREATHING ON HER OWN!!!!!!
She has opened her eyes a few times so far...she doesn't seem to know what in the world is going on or where she is but she has definitely responded to my voice and has even squeezed our fingers numerous times. (talk about melting my heart...it's the greatest feeling in the world!!!) She is in a lot of pain even though she's on a lot of pain meds and when she does cry it's more of a whimper (her voice is virtually gone due to the breathing tube). I got to feed her this morning and she ate so well. The head cardiologist of the pediatric icu came in this morning when I was there and did another echocardiogram and said everything is looking beautiful. No leaking at all. There won't be any big changes today...nothing else is going to come out but if all goes well today, there is a chance that she may be moved out of ICU tomorrow! The surgeon has to come to her and approve it and remove this huge tube coming out of her chest...but if that happens then she'll be moved to the 8th floor and that will be HUGE. So far though, we couldn't be more pleased with how well she's doing.
I have to say this though...we could NOT get through this without all of the love and support of our family and friends. Our parents have been so unbelievable. They haven't left our sides...and when they have it's to help us take care of Reagan, or go shopping for us or do anything else that we ask them to do. They are amazing and we feel so blessed to have such amazing parents. Our other family and friends have also been amazing. Thank you so much for all of your love, support, cards, and especially your prayers. We absolutely, 100% feel them and we know Riley does too. Reagan definitely misses her sister at home...but she is being so spoiled and while I miss her so much when I'm here at the hospital, when I get home and see that sweet smile it makes me happier than ever. She is helping Matt and I more than anything to smile through all of this....which is so needed.
Riley still has a ways to go, but we're so optimistic and can't believe how strong this little thing is. She is my hero! I will do another update after we get out of ICU.
One thing I do feel the need to say....while what we've been through has by far been the hardest thing that Matt and I have ever been through, what we've experienced since being here has been such a wake up. There are so many families here with stories like ours, and so many families here with stories that you wouldn't believe if I told you. I like to think I'm strong...but seeing some of the mommys here and what they are handling (sometimes for months at a time) give new definition to what strength and faith really are. So please, keep your prayers coming for Riley...but make sure that you thank God for all of the blessings in your life. Most of us are so beyond lucky...us included.
Riley sends her love....the pic of Riley alone I took last night before I had to leave her to go home (hardest thing I've ever done...besides handing her over to the nurses in the morning) and the pictures on here when she's with me are taken today after the vent came out. This is pretty much what we do all day. I just sit and hold her hand and talk to her. Parents and grandparents are the only visitors allowed. There isn't a lot to do when you're in there but I did read her a few articles from InStyle magazine this morning...a girl can never have too much fashion advice, right?! Seriously though...thanks again for caring so much about all of us! We feel the love for sure!

The day before

We spent the day before the surgery (all day!...8-5!!!) at the hospital for pre-op stuff. As usual, Riley was a total champ. She was super brave all day. She had echocardiograms, EKG, tons of bloodwork...you name it. Matt and I also met with so many doctors, nurses, surgeons that our heads were spinning by the end of the day. We were told what to expect during the surgery, how to handle certain things that might pop up and pretty much a bazillion other things...thank God for paperwork because I couldn't remember a thing. All I could do was focus on my sweet little girl. I'll be honest...I held it together pretty well for most of the day but towards the end (and especially when meeting with the surgeon) I kind of lost it. I think it just hit me what a big deal this is (that sounds stupid...I mean, I've known what a big deal it is...the "realness" of it just set in I guess). However....my little sweet pea had the entire nursing staff in love. Everyone kept coming to visit her...even people who weren't in charge of her or had nothing to do with her surgery. She flirted all day long and made her daddy and I so proud. (not because she flirts well...because she's just so amazing!). She entertained us all...Matt even took a video of a bit of it. You can hear all of the nurses laughing at her in the background!! About 5 or 6 of them pulled chairs up around her bed and she put on quite a show. I LOVE this video...it is SO her.

Race For a Cure

This morning I ran the Susan G. Komen Race For a Cure! I had fun and did it in celebration of many close friends and family who have been affected by this nasty disease. I can NOT believe that we haven't found a cure yet....my prayers are that by the time my girls are older there will be one so that they never have to worry about a scary thing like breast cancer.
The race used to be run in downtown Charleston but a few years ago it moved out to Daniel Island...where we live! It was SO nice...it took me 1o minutes to walk to the start line from our house and Matt was able to take the girls out to the course to cheer on their mommy! They were the BEST cheerleaders ever! I was so thankful they were there and I got to see them a couple of times during the race so it gave me extra motivation to run faster! I had fun and the weather was incredible...think I even got sunburned (oops!). There were over 12,000 runners so it was a really fun morning!
We're staying in today (of course...continuing our "lockdown") and watching the Spartans and Buckeyes today and then the Browns tomorrow. Since the weather is so beautiful I'm sure we'll take a few walks too. We have a BIG, BIG week ahead of us so we're trying to stay as relaxed (yeah right) as possible.

What a great day

Today was my birthday! I was made to feel SO special all day long (and yesterday too!) and I am so thankful for all of the cards and emails and texts and facebook messages that people sent. I feel so loved! My parents took Matt and I to dinner last night at Al Di La...one of my very favorite places in Charleston. It was extra special to me because it's a place that my mom and I used to go to all of the time when I was in grad school. Once I was teaching at Ashley River she would drive in from Kiawah on occasion to treat me to my favorite Italian around. Only fitting that I married an Italian and we had to go there for dinner! We haven't had any good Italian food since we moved back! It was just as good as I remembered it and it was so great to celebrate with mom and dad too.
Today Matt and the girls spoiled me rotten! They gave me special presents, we had a really yummy dinner from the same place that we went for Matt's bday (although we did takeout since we're on "lockdown" with Riley and can't take her out anymore!) It was just as good as if we'd gone there. And to top it all off....Matt and the girls got me my favorite coconut cake complete with candles ( uggghhhh...how are there 34 of those already!!!!). I'm the luckiest lady in all of Charleston. It was the perfect day and I can't imagine a better birthday. I wish for all of my birthdays to be just like this one with my amazing family!

A South Carolina Pumpkin Patch

So...all of my great Cleveland friends have been sending absolutely gorgeous pictures of their sweet kids enjoying the fall weather by going apple picking, on hay rides and of course to the pumpkin patch! We used to take field trips to do some of those things when I taught there...it's just kind of a given up north...it's what you do with young kids in the fall on the weekends. As soon as the pictures started pouring in it made me start to think about taking my girls to do those things! In Cleveland there seems to be a pumpkin patch in every town. Around here they're relatively hard to come by! We ended up at a pumpkin patch in a church parking lot! HA!!! It's not that big of a deal this year...especially as evidenced by the pictures from today! The girls were much more interested in each other than in the pumpkins. It was mostly a trip for Mommy to get her pumpkins for the porch and some pictures for their books. My mom (Nana...yes, we think she has an "official Grandma name thanks to Cooper!) met us and we spent the afternoon together and it was so much fun. Riley was pretty sleepy so getting a smile out of her today wasn't going to happen no matter how hard we tried! Reagan smiled enough for both of them though. While Charleston may not have an abundance of fall activities...we have so many other things that we can do (like go to the beach in January!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I'll sacrifice the pumpkin patch and a hay ride for the sunshine in winter....just keep those fall pictures coming and I'll enjoy the change of seasons through you guys!

We're 6 months old

There is no way my little angels are 6 months old already. I can't believe it!!!!! Every single day is amazing with them. It's exhausting and stressful at times (okay...a lot of times) and especially with everything we've been dealing with lately it's been harder than usual....but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. These girls have changed our lives in so many ways and like I've said so many times before....they make my heart so happy.
I can't even begin to describe all of the ways that they are growing and changing every day. Reagan is SO close to sitting on her own. It's going to be any day now...she'll do it for about 30 seconds until she realizes we're not helping her and then she'll just topple right over. She is happier than ever...laughs and smiles non-stop and makes her mommy and daddy (and everyone else that she's around) so happy. She continues to crack us up. Her newest discovery is her voice. She recently realized that she has one and LOVES to use it. She talks all the time and has just started SCREAMING. It's more like screeching...it's n0t fussing at all...she just thinks it's hilarious to scream bloody murder every once and awhile. It's funny. Sometimes. Sometimes Matt and I look at each other and wonder just how long this phase is going to last (and we're praying/counting on this being just a phase!). She is so strong and getting bigger every day. Her hair is growing really fast and is pretty blond now. She continues to just be so in love with her daddy. He can make her light up like no one else can and watching it makes me happier than anything. I can't say enough about how much I love this little girl. She is too much fun.
Riley's new favorite game is peekaboo...she puts things over her face all of the time now and as soon as we pull it off she laughs and smiles and then puts it right back on her face. She'll do it for hours. She rolls around so much and has recently started scooting everywhere on her hands and knees. If I put something that she wants a little ways away from her she'll scooch herself over to get it. It's not crawling...but she's getting there! Her hair is still not that visible...but it's getting there too. It's going to be blond too I think! She has the MOST beautiful blue eyes ever. She is going to break some hearts with those eyes someday I'm sure. She is a little love and still loves to cuddle (especially with mommy) and has started to play with Reagan when they're next to each other. She reaches out to grab her all the time. She LOVES apples (applesauce) but not so much any vegetable. She's just like her parents! She is just incredible and amazing and I can't imagine a life without her in it. I feel like she's always been with me. The surgery is coming quickly. October 20th will be here before we know it and we're very ready. We've had a few "scares" lately with her breathing etc...which they told us would happen. We're just so ready to have her fixed and back in our arms safe and sound and ready to grow big and strong!!! We're lucky enough to have our parents all here for the surgery which will mean so much to Matt and I and make us feel so much better. It's going to be tough but with all of the support and prayers we have from everyone it's so much easier.
They continue to amaze me. They are already teaching me to never (for even a single second) underestimate them. They are quickly getting a reputation for being “the happiest babies ever” as they dole out huge (I mean gigantic!!) smiles left and right and let out bellowing belly chuckles that make everyone else laugh too. They laugh all the time, at everything and the joy they spread around is so infectious.

Reagan and Riley...you two have changed the path of my life in the most wonderful way. Being your mother is the greatest thing I have ever known. To watch you grow and develop into two unique, individual little people is a daily gift. So often daddy and I will just stop what we are doing and say to one another “Aren’t they incredible? Can you believe WE made them?” I can’t imagine this awe ever wearing off.

I know I must sound like a broken record. And please, please don't get me wrong. We have our moments around here where Matt and I long for our old days back again where we actually had a social life (or really any life at all) and could do what we wanted to do when we wanted to do it. But those times are really pretty few and far between. These girls were by far the best thing to ever happen to both of us and we just hope that someday they'll look back at this blog and will be able to even sort of get a feel for just how much we love them! Happy half birthday beautiful girls!!!!!! I can't wait to see what the next 6 months have in store for the Iofredos!!!