We've loved every moment of 2015. Well, there are some moments we wish we wouldn't have seen in 2015, like the stomach virus. But, overall, 2015 was a year we will cherish. Here is a look back at our favorite moments in pictures from each month!

{January}

{February}

{March}

{April}

{May}

{June}

{July}

{August}

{September}

{October}

{November}

{December}

Twenty fifteen brought so much happiness to our little family, and we can't wait to see what twenty sixteen has in store.

Happy New Year! We look forward to hearing from you all soon!

Christmas Pajamas

As you might remember from my Christmas recap, our air conditioner went out early Christmas Eve night. You'd think this wouldn't be a big deal since it was Christmas, and December, and winter... but we live in the South. So there you go!

I had these really cute matching pajamas for the girls to wear for photos. Of course when it's 82 degrees in the house, you wear summer pjs to bed. So we didn't get to wear the cute pjs Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. But, I told Terry the tree and decorations were not coming down until I got that picture this year.

I ordered the pajamas from a friend on Facebook. She has really cute boutique clothes waaaay cheaper than any other site I've seen. I saw the pajamas back in November and ordered the girls a matching set. I knew they wouldn't be in until the second week of Christmas, but I went ahead and made arrangements for them to be monogrammed as soon as they came in. Well, they were delivered December 18th, to our front door, or so the tracking information said. However, they were no where to be found. We even went a street over to see if they were delivered to that 112... but no such luck. Chastity was very helpful and put a claim in immediately to the post office, but I knew we would never see those pajamas in time for Christmas.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve...

I'm pulling out of the driveway to head to Publix for some last minute groceries and see a vehicle parked in front of our house. I look back and see all my family at the front door and a man talking to them. I called mom and asked what was going on and she said this man said a package was delivered to their house last week and they had been meaning to get it by to us, but just now got the time. I had her open it, and it was their pajamas!!! Nothing short of a Christmas miracle, I tell you.

Even though they arrived just in time, there was no time for monogramming. And as it turned out, they didn't wear them for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day anyway.

But... we did get our Christmas pajama picture. Even if it was on December 28th! And without monogramming!

The above picture is why I pay to have family pictures made. When I'm behind the camera, I can get them to smile. But when I'm taking the photo and I'm in the picture too, we get blank stares.

Now, you get to see the cute smiles...

Hello, it's me...

Have you ever wondered where I sit and write to you?

Well, it used to be in my recliner on my laptop, or maybe even on the couch. Occasionally from the bed 'cause Terry likes to get in bed together, but sometimes a post is started before the zzzs. And most of those posts have stayed in draft, because I'm so tired I never finish before I fall asleep.

Now it's behind a beautiful new writing desk. Accessorized with a modern lamp. On a brand new Mac desktop computer gifted to me from Terry this Christmas.

And I couldn't think of a better place, or way, to blog. Maybe you'll see more from me now that I have a momtog blogger space just for me.

Christmas 2015

Another Christmas has come and gone. How in the world is that even possible? We got to experience another first Christmas this year; this time for Lenny P. While it was also the first Christmas, it was also the last "first Christmas" for our little family. No more babies for us, which is kinda sad and exciting at the same time.

This Christmas was the first time to host my parents and my brother and sister-in-law during Christmas week. My brother and sister-in-law came a day early to get some one-on-one time with the girls. There was a lot of playing in Avery's room, gingerbread house decorating, and the baking of cookies. Chef Avery had to show off her skills in the kitchen, of course.

The next day my parents arrived to really kick off the Christmas celebration. We all got a good nights sleep to get ready for a big Christmas Eve.

Christmas Eve was full of food and fun. Mom spent most of the day in the kitchen getting things ready for Christmas Eve dinner while most everyone else in the house took a nap. That afternoon we rushed up to the top of the street for our neighborhood Santa Stop. It's put on every year by the Fire Department, and this was our second year to participate. Avery loves to watch the fire truck pull up and see Santa hop out. We're thankful the rain held off so we could enjoy it again this year.

We headed back to the house for Christmas Eve dinner that mom had been slaving away in the kitchen to prepare. Both of the ovens were going and the food was smelling delicious when I noticed it was hotter than usual in the house. Checked the thermostat and saw it was 76 in the house, when it was set at 72. So, we went ahead and ate our meal before dealing with the chaos. I've vowed for the past two years to break out my fine china which includes Christmas dishes, but I haven't gotten brave enough yet. Maybe when the girls are a little older. So we had a mixture of our everyday china, a Minnie Mouse plate and red solo cups. Nothing says an Alabama Christmas like red solo cups, right?!

The men went down to check on the AC unit while we got everything ready for the opening of presents. When they came up, the news wasn't good. It was down for the count, and it being a holiday meant no one was coming to fix it anytime soon. However, we enjoyed family time in the living room watching everyone open their presents from each other.

It's safe to say that no one slept comfortably that night. It was hot, and we all know we don't do hot well. But Santa managed to come to drop off lots of presents for two little girls who were good all year long. (Well, one was only around for half of the year, but she was good, too!)

Christmas morning, Papa made pancakes while we waited for sleepy Avery to climb out of bed. She's not a morning person, and she gets it honestly. When she finally came in the living room, she just starred at all the presents. Not being fully awake, she didn't know what to think. She finally started walking around taking it all in.

The girls love all their Christmas gifts, and it's safe to say they were all a hit. Terry got a new Apple Watch and some fun accessories to go with it. And I got a new Apple Computer; which I'm using for this blog post today! Ganny and Papa must have been pretty good all year too, because Santa left them goodies in their stockings. Now how in the world did he know where they would be Christmas morning? And MB, she got presents too!

We spent the rest of the day trying to stay cool in the house. It got as high as 82, but we managed with ceiling fans and other fans positioned around the room. Our lunch equaled snacks and one of Plain Chicken's dip recipe that was cooked on the grill. Our dinner was also cooked on the grill; filets and baked potatoes. It's a meal I could eat each and everyday, but our bank account says otherwise. Ha!

We ended the night taking cool showers to cool us down, and sleeping under fans with the promise of the AC repairman coming at 8am the next morning. Thankfully he showed right on time, found the problem, and had us cooling down within thirty minutes. A new unit will be installed Tuesday or Wednesday so... Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Valentine's Day, Happy Anniversary, Happy Easter, Happy Mother's Day, Happy Father's Day, Happy Birthday... and any other holiday we would celebrate, to US!

While this Christmas had it's turn of events that we weren't expecting, like a blowout on mom and dad's vehicle about five miles from our house, or the endless fevers from Avery, we had our best Christmas yet! So thankful we could celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, enjoy time with family that we don't get to see that often, and see the joy of Christmas through the eyes of our girls.

We hope your Christmas was very Merry and Bright!

{Chef Avery} Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies

I love to cook, and my oldest daughter (21 months) shares that same love at such an early age. Whenever I'm in the kitchen she comes in and asks to "help mama cook" and of course I can't say no.

This past Friday was #nationalcookieday, so we got in the kitchen and made some homemade peanut butter cookies. She loves to add all the ingredients and watch our KitchenAid mixer mix everything together.

Once the cookies were out of the oven, I let her add different toppings to the cookies and she chose M&Ms, Reese's Pieces and Hershey Kisses.

This recipe is easy to make, and it makes a lot of cookies. However, we made the cookies pretty big so we wouldn't have so many around the house. These are perfect for gift giving this Christmas season! And, they are Avery approved!

Halloween 2015 Recap

Last year for Halloween it was a no brainer... AC would be Minnie Mouse! This year since we had a four month old and a one and a half year old, I wanted their costumes to flow together. So back in August I decided they would be Cruella de Vil and a dalmatian.

Do you know how hard it is to find a newborn dalmatian costume? I wouldn't have thought so either, but it was. So I had to do some searching to find the perfect items to complete LP's outfit. Thanks Amazon, you pulled through for me once again!

And AC's was a little bit challenging, but it all worked out in the end. Her costume came together with the help of some DIY projects and a steal of a deal on zulily.com for her coat. This was the first time she's ever worn lip gloss, and she LOVED it. (We won't tell daddy. Ha!)

It took some convincing to get her to keep her wig on, but once she saw herself in the mirror she said, OH WEE!

We only made it to three houses before the rain started, so we called it a night. AC loved seeing all the trick or treaters come to the door. Last year we had at least 200, this year because of the rain we only had 20-25. She kept standing at the door saying, kids, kids... I mean, this pose looking for trick or treaters kills me!

Even with the rain, we had a great Halloween. I know next year, LP will enjoy it more. Of course, I've already starting thinking about their costumes for 2016!!

Pumpkin Patch 2015

This was the first year we've gone to a pumpkin patch. Last year AC was almost eight months old, and we thought it was probably best if we waited another year. Little did we know we would have another infant this year, but we decided to go anyway.

We decided on a pumpkin patch a few miles down from us. They had a train that took you about fifteen minutes away to a "pumpkin patch" to gather your pumpkin and enjoy all the stations for kids to play. There was a corn maze, jumpie, hayride, face painting, bubble station and more. We did a few of them, but AC was having more fun watching everyone and running around, so we let her have her own kind of fun. LP passed out right after we got there, so no family picture. We managed to get one of Ganny and the girls before her nap.

AC loved the train ride, but she and Ganny fell asleep on the ride back to the train station. LP laughed, kicked and squealed there and back!

Next year we might try one of the pumpkin patches further away that has more, like a petting zoo. Both girls will be walking and I figure at a fun age where Terry and I are chasing both of them.

Thankful for the memories that were made for their first pumpkin patch trip! Enjoy all the pictures below!

Beach 2015

Shortly after LP's birth, we attempted a family trip to Perdido to vacation with Terry's family. She turned five weeks old the day we left. (What were we thinking?!)

The drive down was rough. We still didn't know at the time that she had reflux, and she screamed 90% of the way there. Arriving late that Thursday night, we unpacked and tried to get some rest so we could enjoy the next three full days at the beach.

AC enjoyed swimming with her daddy, while LP enjoyed sleeping in her bath tub under an umbrella with a fan blowing on her. This was the norm for all three mornings. Then in the afternoons, we napped before getting ready for dinners out on the town. We hated to leave, no seriously we hated to leave because we knew the ride back would not be fun, but we had to get back to reality.

Enjoy some of the pictures from our beach trip. I'm thinking next year's pictures and activities will be hilarious having two walkers!

LP's Birth Story

I realize it's been quite awhile since my last post, and I can't promise I will be able to update on a regular basis, but I will try to do better. Having two littles ones is a demanding, yet wonderful job.

Our newest addition is now sixteen weeks old. And before I forget all the details of the day she was born, I want to get it typed out for my memory and for your viewing. (FYI, I've been writing on this post for weeks.)

At my thirty-eight week appointment I told the Mr I couldn't go on much longer. We had already scheduled her birth for June 29th, but we were a few days from that date and I was ready! As we sat in the waiting room to be called back, I told him tomorrow is the day. Once we were called back, I'm pretty sure every nurse we passed knew it too. For six weeks at every doctor's appointment we had an NST (non stress test) which monitored the baby for thirty minutes. I was very thankful for that last NST at our appointment that day because I hadn't been able to feel her much, and as a mother who is carrying a baby that can be the scariest feeling and will make you worry to death.

It took the nurse a few minutes to find her heartbeat, but once she did I was relieved and tried to relax and enjoy listening to her heartbeat. My blood pressure was really high, and my ribs were in constant pain. So when my doctor came in and asked how everything was going, I didn't hold back. Thankfully, she knew it was time, too. And with all of my crazy vitals and having trouble feeling the baby, she said let's have a baby tomorrow. The Mr said I immediately relaxed and smiled after hearing those words. She told us we would have to be at the hospital at five the next morning to be admitted and prepped for surgery. I told her no problem. And I'm not a morning person. Just ask Terry.

After a full day of running errands, and getting a last minute mani/pedi we finalized our bags and went to bed. I got maybe an hour and a half of sleep before the alarm went off at three. And as soon as I got in the shower, I realized I was hurting. I was having contractions.

We managed to arrive at the hospital and got to the labor and delivery floor a few minutes before five, and shortly after we were settled in our room. The nurse was quick to get my IV in, and on the first try I might add. (She's a rock star for that!) After a few thousand questions, and the signing of what seemed like hundreds of pages, I was ready. I strictly remember one of the questions... how many pregnancies and how many babies? Well, I answered three and three. She gave me a look because it wasn't agreeing with the paperwork she had on hand (three pregnancies/two babies). After I saw her puzzled look I quickly answered, this is pregnancy number three, one baby is in Heaven, one is at home with the grandparents and one is about to be born.

A few minutes after seven, Dr. Gooding came in to tell me she was rallying the troops to get it started. The nurse anesthetist came in to talk to me about how everything was going go, and how it would be different from last time. (If y'all remember, last time was rough with the spinal block.) And she assured me that she would do any and everything she could to help me relax and be comfortable. A few minutes later, I was being wheeled to the OR.

This time it was different, a lot different. There weren't as many people in the OR as last time. I didn't hear people counting, it didn't seem to be so chaotic. The OR table was as tiny as I remembered, and cold which I was fine with. It wasn't long before the anesthesiologist came in and said we were about to get started. Since it took three tries last time, I was trying not to panic. Thankfully, this anesthesiologist was very nice helped me get calmed down and stay calmed down with the help of an outside guest (and that's really all I can say about that). One stick of the numbing medicine (which hurt the worst) and the next thing I know he said, it's in... lay her down. WOW! Nothing like it was last time. Only this time, I started panicking quicker about the heavy feeling in my legs and not being able to move them. I'm talking really panicking. Thankfully the nurse anesthetist calmed me down and told me as soon as the baby was out, she would give me something to relax so I wouldn't think about that feeling. She also kept telling me that I would feel like someone was pulling me, but the only feeling I remember was like someone was rocking me from side to side at my waist. It was weird, but it didn't bother me or hurt me. And then I heard the sweetest sound, my beautiful baby's cry. Actually it was more like a constant scream. Ha. She wasn't happy to be out! While we were waiting for Dr. Gooding to start surgery, we started trying to guess her weight and height. I said she would be 8 pounds 6 ounces and 20 inches long. Well, she was 8 pounds 4 ounces and they said 19 inches long, but her pediatrician said, they must have measured wrong because at her two week check up she was almost 22 inches long. And she said they don't grow that fast. HA!

Terry got to go over and get his second little baby girl and bring her over to me.

She didn't want to leave her mama, but Terry and the NICU nurse left out of the OR to get her completely checked out while I was being taken care of. Last time, I was asleep as soon as I saw AC, but this time, I was awake through everything. I remember talking to Dr. Gooding making sure she was getting my tubes removed. And I even asked her if she was using the dissolvable staples like last time. She told me to relax and let her do her job. Ha! They moved me back to my bed, and wheeled me back to my room.

Terry was in the room with me a few minutes later with our newest addition, and she was still screaming. I think we messed up her happy place. The nurse came in and gave her a bath in our room and she still screamed the entire time. Poor thing wasn't happy. But, as soon as they gave her back to me, she calmed down and got some sleep.

We told my parents they could bring AC by to visit after lunch. Her first time to meet her sister was so sweet. When LP cried, she cried. But she loved touching her and watching her closely.

Our first picture as a family of four...

Healing from a second c-section was nothing like the first. I was up and moving a little over twelve hours after surgery. My parents were shocked to see me opening our room door the next morning to meet AC. I had more gas pains this time because I was open longer, but I was back to myself in over half the time this go a'round.

We've had our littlest addition with us for over sixteen weeks, and she's such a sweet little girl. The first few weeks were rough because she had reflux and we didn't know it, plus she was colicky. But, we managed to make it through and now, she's the happiest little girl who loves her big sister to pieces!!