{Flashback Friday} :: College Freshman

When my 10 year high school reunion rolled around, I blogged about my high school years. So now that my 10 year college reunion has arrived, I thought I would do the same for my college years at Baylor :) So over the next few Fridays, I will relive my time as a Baylor Bear!

Sorry for some of the poor image quality...it was still back before digital photos {or at least before I had transitioned out of film}. So I had to scan a lot of the photos out of my scrapbooks. But you get the idea. And I wish I could say my fashion choices improved in college, but sadly, they did not. Oh well. Enjoy the laugh and the trip down memory lane!

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I arrived on the Baylor campus in August of 2003. I was excited and hopeful, nervous and slightly scared. But I was so ready to take on the world and figure out life as a college student! 

I knew I wanted to study business, so I dove right into all of my freshman business classes. It would take me a couple of years to decide on my final major, but {other than a brief life choice crisis my junior year} I enjoyed my business classes from the beginning. 

My dorm room...complete with matching bedding with my freshman roomie

Megan, my freshman roomie! We went to high school together, so it was nice to know someone.

I lived in North Russell, Hall 1A. I loved getting to know a number of these sweet girls.

Game Day! Baylor football was terrible while I was there, but we still had fun going to to the games.

Our tiny dorm Christmas tree :)

My sweet friend Nicki {who lived next door}...ready for a night out, wearing each other's clothes ha!

Sweet girls from freshman year

With the bear!!

It's also worth noting that I worked in the dining hall my freshman year. That's right...I served food to my fellow classmates, and my uniform was complete with a hair net. I don't have any photos of that, but you can just imagine. It was a good job, but I was glad when it was time to move on to something else :)

Another random {and fun} thing about freshman year is that my parents surprised me with my Mazda, Peabody! The car I had taken to college was acting up and so my parents gifted me a new, more reliable vehicle. It was completely unexpected, and one of the best surprises!

Eli + Maddie :: 5 Months

Eli & Maddie, 

Since you have been growing and developing so much, we actually got out into the world a bit more this month! We continued introducing you to all the people who have prayed for you, and it was such a blessing for me and your daddy to show off the miracles that you are. Every month seems to get more and more fun with you two, and we are loving seeing your little personalities come out! You both think mama is hilarious {and I only have to look at you sometimes to elicit giggles} so I plan to ride that wave as long as possible. You are both such happy babies, and those sweet little grins just melt my heart. Every time.

Love,

Mama

E L I J A H      W I N N

Stats :: 15 pounds

Loves :: sticking out your tongue, blowing raspberries, your new activity center

Dislikes :: waiting on your sister when you're hungry

Eat :: you are eating SO well now buddy! we graduated you to stage 2 bottles, and you are almost keeping up with your sister now. you are eating 5 times a day, 6 ounces each time. we also introduced you to your first solids this month! you tried avocado, sweet potato, and apple, and you seemed to like them all! you took to the spoon fairly quickly, though I am not sure how much you have actually swallowed. but with a little more practice, I think you will get the hang of it pretty quick!

Sleep :: you started sleeping through the night! a full 12 hours...your daddy and I may or may not have done a happy dance. naps are kind of fluctuating right now, and I suspect that you will be dropping a nap soon {you're still at 4}.

Play/Development :: you can roll from your tummy to your back, though you still prefer us to help you. you like your feet and have started trying to put them in your mouth. you grab for everything now, particularly loving to grab onto mama's hair.

Unique to You :: you seem to be our little creature of habit. you like routine, and you fuss when things are out of sorts for you. you finally moved into size 2 diapers yesterday. you are also our little snuggle bug, which we are more than happy to oblige. a funny thing: you are relaxed and giggly and fun at home, but you tend to become mr. serious when we are out with other people. it makes it fun to be able to see your goofy personality at home! and those baby blues...buddy, they're piercing. and you melt. my. heart.

M A D E L I N E      G R A C E

Stats :: 17.6 pounds

Loves :: blowing raspberries, your new activity center

Dislikes :: sitting still, solid foods {so far}

Eat :: you are still eating so well! we graduated you to stage 2 bottles, and you just love that you don't have to work so hard haha. you are eating 5 times a day, 6 ounces each time. we also introduced you to your first solids this month! you tried avocado and sweet potato and hated both. hopefully it's just a texture thing and you will like these foods later, but for now, you are not a fan haha. but you seemed to be not quite as grossed out by apples, so maybe you're warming up to the whole solid food thing.

Sleep :: you started sleeping through the night! a full 12 hours...your daddy and I may or may not have done a happy dance.  naps are kind of fluctuating right now, and I suspect that you will be dropping a nap soon {you're still at 4}.

Play/Development :: you recently started rolling! you easily roll from your back to your tummy but then get frustrated when you can't roll back; which is funny, since you have been rolling tummy to back for a long time! you grab for everything now...hair, earrings, diapers, pretty much everything in sight.

Unique to You :: baby girl, you are consistently measuring on the 90th percentile for your height and weight. so it shouldn't have been a surprise that you started wearing SIZE 3 diapers, but it's still hard to believe! you are always "on the go" and you seem to get frustrated that you can't actually move anywhere on your own yet. you want to see and know everything that is going on...you are our little social butterfly! that big toothless grin...lady bug, it's the absolute best. and you melt. my. heart.

That smile! :)

{iPhone Rewind} :: March

deb-o-nair, adj. (of a man) confident, stylish, and charming

Those big beautiful eyes! Daddy is in trouble...

Saturday morning Theology 101 class with Daddy :)

A boy and his dog :)

I'm so thankful these 2 wake up so happy!

A fun {and fitting} memory popped up on Facebook. I remember that we were talking about and planning to attend a church planting conference. It has been my joy and privilege to walk in faith alongside Mike the last 6 years :)

This girlie has crazy hair after bath time haha.

This little man moves ALL over his crib. Already.

The cuteness. I just can't.

When you just have so much to tell Grandma :)

I hope they become the best of friends!

Hanging out with Grumpz!

Maddie loved playing with PK!

I got the quintessential "mom break" :: mom haircut, Starbucks, walk around Target sans kiddos, the wonderful husband that made it happen...it was just as awesome as all the mamas said it was :)

He's such a daddy's boy

All of the currently birthed McCullough grandkids

Sleeping babies in the back seat...such a sweet gift #itsthelittlethings

So excited this arrived in the mail...can't wait to dive in!

Taking all the babies out for a walk #twinmama #twintank #puppiescounttoo #thosebabyblues

Buddies for life :)

There were some hard concepts, but they eventually got there #storytimewithdaddy

Love being mama to these 2!

Has anyone ever seen one of these? I'm pretty excited about mine!

Spring is in full bloom! The roses outside our front door are HUGE!

Eli was having a rough day so Maddie tried her best to comfort him.

We got baby gates...and Sasha is NOT a fan. Poor puppy. But she just sheds TOO much haha.

Play time! We have some happy babies now that they don't have to share an activity center haha

<3 p="">

Baby Firsts :: Solid Foods

This weekend we introduced Eli and Maddie to their first "solid" food! We had received the green light from our pediatrician at their 4 month check up, but I wanted to wait a little bit to see if their appetites increased before we dove into solids. They definitely seem ready now, so we decided to give it a try!

I use the term "solids" loosely, because let's be honest...everything is mush right now and will be for awhile. We will spoon feed fruits and vegetables that we puree, but we hope to use more of the Baby Led Weaning principles when they are a bit older. Right now, it's just a fun practice exercise for babies to get used to something other than their bottle. And we're only doing one meal a day for now. Slow and steady :)

First up on the list? Avocado!

I have to say that I was pretty surprised with their reactions. There were no tears or frustrations, but definitely a lot of confusion and grossed out faces haha. I expected Maddie to dive right in and love the avocado, and I expected Eli to be more hesitant. It turns out that Maddie was definitely wary of the whole process and never once showed any enjoyment of the taste. She did reach for the spoon and want to hold it on her own, but not because she was interested in eating the avocado :)

Eli seemed to do a little better. He took to the spoon really quickly, easily pulling it into his mouth. What to do with the avocado once it was off the spoon was another story :) I am pretty sure he liked the spoon itself more than the actual avocado.

I don't think that much was actually swallowed, but we'll keep at it and let babies have more practice. It is now going to be a brand new task built into my day. As with anything with twins, it can be quite an event {and this one will be a messy one for sure!}, but I think it will be fun to actually start eating with our babies.

Next up? Sweet potatoes. Yum!

High Five for Friday!

{one} This week I got to introduce babies to my work family. I am constantly reminded of God's goodness and grace and how He has provided for us through this job. I miss working every day with these amazing people, but I am so thankful that I still get to work with them on a part time basis. There is something incredibly special about having a boss that loves Jesus, who prays for you and your babies, and who just wants to be a blessing to everyone around him. He usually sends out a gift {lovingly embroidered by his precious wife} to the new babies at the bank, so I was really excited to receive our blankets for Eli and Maddie. Such a special gift! 

{two} I mentioned back in October that my dad had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He had surgery in December, which went well, but we have been waiting for his follow-up blood work to get the final answer on whether or not he was cancer free. And I am so glad to report that all of his tests came black clear, and he is officially cancer free! He will have to continue going in for routine testing to be sure he stays cancer free, but for now, he is all clear. Such a huge praise!

{three} Even though we are taking a break from full time vocational ministry, Mike has still had several opportunities to preach at a couple of churches. Because of bed rest and babies, it has been a LONG time since I have actually been able to go with him to hear him preach. So I catch his sermons online after the fact. This past week, I finally caught up on the last couple of sermons I had missed, and I was reminded of how amazing my hubby is. Jesus has truly gifted him with the ability to effectively communicate biblical truths, and I am constantly amazed at how he carefully and diligently crafts his sermons. I am so proud of him!

{four} Babies are officially sleeping through the night! WAHOO!! We put them to bed by 7:15 or 7:30pm, and they are sleeping until 7:30am. And it is absolutely glorious. I cannot tell you how amazing this really is. After months of not sleeping, and babies waking each other up....we finally are getting some real sleep. Thank you, Jesus!

{five} Babies are starting solids this weekend! Our pediatrician gave us the green light at their 4 month check-up, but I wanted to wait a little bit to see if their appetites increased a bit more before we jumped into solid foods. And we feel they are ready now! We will start with avocados and sweet potatoes, and see how it goes. We will spoon feed for a little bit, but eventually want to follow more of the Baby Led Weaning principles. Let the real mess begin! :)