What happened to 2008???

Well the end of the year is always a busy time. No exception in the Miller household! I haven't blogged in a while so I figured I'd try and catch everyone up.

Halloween
We took the girls to the pumpkin patch. Mainly to take some cute pictures as they can't really enjoy it yet. We picked out a pumpkin which Alan carved. The girls watched him carve it from their highchairs. We dressed them up in pea pod outfits, again mainly for picture purposes. We did get some great photos!!




Texas
Unfortunately, Alan saw his job in New York come to an end. So right before Thanksgiving we made the big move to Texas! It was difficult trying to pack up an entire house while trying to take care of 2 little ones. Somehow we managed. Poor Alan though had to drive (with his dad) our cars from New York to Texas. So we are now living in Texas with Alan's parents. And I go back to work full time on January 5. Its been a while so it should be interesting!

Thanksgiving
We were officially living in Texas for Thanksgiving. We got the girls dressed up in matching dresses and headed over to Brook Hollow Golf Club for an early dinner. The girls are still in the stage where they cry a lot when they are around a lot of new people. But they calmed down once they started eating. They started eating solid foods recently and boy do they love to eat! Grace loves fruit and Lily loves vegetables. The remainder of Thanksgiving day was spent playing with the girls and watching football.


Brunch with Santa
Again we ventured over to Brook Hollow Golf Club, this time for brunch with Santa. We came at the very end of the event so there wouldn't be so many people around. It was great because we could ease the girls into sitting on Santa's lap since there weren't any kids in line. We took it slow and miraculously the girls didn't cry!! We got a great family shot with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

Trip to Maryland

I took the girls back to Maryland to see family & friends. We had a full agenda for the week which included two big events: my mom's birthday party/going away party and my 10 year high school reunion.

The week started off with my mom's party. The party was a way for all of us to celebrate her birthday and to say goodbye as she is moving to Florida to be with my grandparents. The party was held at Ram's Head Tavern in Savage, Maryland where we all gathered for a delicious brunch. I was so worried about the girls behaving themselves at the restaurant. They aren't the most well behaved babies, plus they are in the stage where they cry at anyone they don't know. However, they totally surprised me and were so well behaved. They even sat in highchairs for the first time and loved it! Here are a few pictures from the brunch~

Lily got into the icing from the cake!


It was only fair that Grace get some too!


My mom and the girls


Me and the girls

The remainder of the week was non-stop as I tried to see family and friends and catch up with everyone! It ended on a great note with my 10 year high school reunion. I still can't believe its been 10 years - geez I feel old. The reunion was held at Tommy Joes in Bethesda. A good number of girls showed up for the event. I went with my best friend from high school, Lauren, who now lives in Orlando. It was great to see her and the ladies of the Academy of the Holy Cross, class of 98!!

Lauren and me at our ten year reunion


Class of 98!!


Girls just wanna have fun!

New York City

Since we live a little less than 2 hours from New York City, Alan & I decided to take advantage of this and become tourists for the day. Alan had never really been to NYC so this was a must! My mom was in town so she took care of Lily & Grace for the day. This was my first day away from the babies. I missed them a whole lot but it was a much needed break.

We decided to do the double decker bus tour so we could see the most sights in one day. We started off at the empire state building and rode past the following sights: Macy's, Madison Square Gardens, the Flatiron District, Greenwich Village and Soho. Alan & I got off at Little Italy where we had some pizza for lunch. Next we went by the site of the world trade center. They are starting on the new commemorative park there which, once done, will be beautiful. Right now its just a lot of construction.
We then took the Staten Island Ferry back and forth in order to see the statue of liberty. We got some great pictures! Once back on the bus we rode by Wall Street, South Street Seaport, Lower East Side and the East Village. Our finally stop was Rockefeller Center and Times Square.

We walked around Rockefeller Center and saw where the Today Show is taped. Alan & I would have gone to the plaza in the morning for the Today Show but they were on the road taping somewhere else that week. Bummer! Alan wasn't too disappointed as he sees Matt Lauer every weekend at Sebonack where Matt is a member. We did go to the top of Rockefeller Center aka Top of the Rock. It had an amazing view! You could see the whole city from there. It was really windy and cloudy but we still managed to get some pretty nice pictures. We then walked around Times Square and managed to find some dinner after LOTS of walking. Alan & I ended our perfect day with a carriage ride through central park.

Here are a few pictures from our day in the city!

7 Months Old

Lily & Grace turned 7 months old today! I can't believe how big they are getting. They have accomplished a lot of things lately like rolling over and sitting up. Lily is content sitting and playing with her toys. Grace, on the other hand, can't sit still and wants to be constantly moving. Only problem is that she can't crawl yet which frustrates her. She is trying though! Grace also has her two bottom teeth. Nothing yet for Lily. The girls love to play in their exersaucers. They jump up and down while laughing at each other. Its so cute!

Right now they both weigh about 17 pounds, which is in the 55th percentile. They are still my little shorties with Lily at 25.5 inches and Grace at 26 inches (20-25th percentile). They have huge heads though! Their head size is in the 90th percentile. Good thing I had them via C-section! =)

We have two beautiful and healthy 7 month old baby girls. Alan & I are so blessed!!

Montauk

When Alan's parents were in town visiting, we decided to drive out to Montauk for the day. We visited the famous lighthouse and the lighthouse museum. There wasn't too much in the museum but we did get to go up to the top of the lighthouse. The view was incredible! Montauk was beautiful which allowed for some great photo opportunities.

Florida

I took the girls to Florida to visit my grandparents. This was their first trip on a plane and they did quite well. I was shocked actually! It was still the longest three hours of my life as I was a nervous wreck the whole time, just waiting for a crying fit. The trip went well and the family was so excited to finally meet them. My high school friend, Lauren, came down from Orlando to visit and the meet the girls as well. The only downside to the trip was that Lily & Grace decided they were going to start teething while I was down there. Not a fun process! The highlight of our trip to Florida was that Lily & Grace got to go in the pool. They loved it!! Of course we had the pool heated so it felt like bath water. We have so many great pics of them in the pool but here are a few of my favorites.

First Trip to the Beach

Since we live in a beach town, I figured we should eventually take the girls to the beach. My college roommate Kristin came to visit so I thought it would be a perfect time to try the beach out. The girls lasted a little over an hour which for them is pretty long. However, they wanted me to play with them and hold them so I was under the umbrella the whole time. Needless to say I am still very pale! I wouldn't say it was a successful trip to the beach but it wasn't a horrible experience either. Here are a few pictures from our adventure!




Since the first trip wasn't too bad, I decided to try another trip to the beach, this time with Alan. Right when we got there a big wind blew tons of sand all over Lily and she started crying. And so that meant that Grace started crying. We left immediately and were there for not even 5 minutes. I don't think we will try another beach adventure for a while.

Bows!!

I had to share these pictures of the girls in their new headbands. TOO CUTE!!

Father's Day

It was Alan's first father's day today!! He had to go to work, but the girls and I (ok really just me) made him breakfast and sent him off with a box full of his favorite cookies. That night we cooked some yummy steaks on the grill. It was a really nice dinner which included some of his favorite foods. We ended the day with a bunch of gifts for him to open. I think he had a wonderful first father's day.

Four Months

Lily & Grace are four months old. Its weird because the days seem to go so slow sometimes but yet I can't believe its already been four months since they were born. We went to see the doctor for their four month check up and she said they are doing great. Lily weighed 13 lbs 11 oz and Grace weighed 13 lbs 6 oz. Lily is now bigger than Grace - I guess she had to live up to her role of being the big sister (if only by one minute). They both are 23 1/4 inches - my little shorties!! Lily & Grace are in the 50th percentile for weight and the 25th percentile for height.

One Year Anniversary

One year ago today, Alan & I got married in Dallas, TX. I can't believe its already been a year. Its been a year full of A LOT of changes - most notably the arrival of the twins. Its been a little chaotic but still has been a great year!

Alan & I celebrated by going out to dinner in Southampton. We dined at the Plaza Cafe where the chef at Alan's club is good friends with the chef. So we were treated like VIPs and received a lot of free little tastings and appetizers. We tried a lot of different types of food we have never had before. The food was amazing and so was the evening. A perfect one year anniversary!!!

Twins At Play

As the girls get a little older, they are starting
to enjoy playing more and more. He are some
recent pics of Lily & Grace playing on their
play mat. They really enjoy playing on this -
although it only lasts maybe 10 minutes -
Baby ADD at its best!!!

Mother's Day

This was my first Mother's Day and Alan & the girls made it very special. Although Alan had to work during the day, we were able to celebrate at night. We went over to a friend's house (Jason & Diana) for dinner. They have a 4 month old daughter. It was nice to interact with adults! Grace did cry most of the time which was pretty stressful but that's the norm in the Miller household at night time.

Alan & the girls got me wonderful presents including a beautiful necklace. It has a pea pod charm on it with two pearl "peas" for my beautiful girls, Lily & Grace. It will always remind me of my two peas in a pod.

Mommy & Lily

Mommy & Grace

Easter

This was Lily & Grace's first Easter. Alan bought them stuffed animal easter bunnies. They aren't quite old enough for the whole easter egg hunt, basket full of candy etc. I can't wait for when they can do all that stuff. We dressed them up in Easter outfits that had bunny rabbit feet and cotton tails on the behind. So cute! Thanks to my sister for the adorable outfits.

Since we don't have family in New York, Alan's boss invited us over for Easter dinner. The girls were pretty good though they didn't want to go to sleep or take a nap while we were there. Luckily there were lots of people there who wanted to hold Lily & Grace. That gave Alan and I a little bit of a break.


Grace Elizabeth


Lily Ann

Nursery

Here are some pictures of the nursery. Obviously there is a lot of pink!! I love the names above their cribs. Now if I could only get them to sleep in their cribs.