I know two little boys who love their daddy

I once read that a baby tends to smile and laugh more at his or her daddy.  Although babies love their mommy and like to smile for her too, there is just something about those daddies that make babies grin with glee.  The reason?  Daddy is a little more unpredictable (Granted, one might say that this applies to all men in general, but another post another day, right?  lol).  :) 

With two little ones, I definitely find this to be true at our house.  It's rare that I don't walk by the boys' room and hear random farm animal noises, followed by lots of coos and giggles.  Who would have thought that adding in a little "baaaa," "moo," and "oink" could make getting a diaper change so much fun?  Why, Daddy of course!  Jody always has the most fun with the Jack and Rowan.  Sometimes at night I have to sweetly remind him that we're trying to get the them ready for bed, and it might not be the best time tickle the boys and get them kicking and laughing.  Even when their daddy isn't making crazy sounds, the boys love to be with him.  They always turn their head to find him when he talks, and they love to give him the biggest smiles.   

Here is a video of Jody greeting the boys after work.  For some reason, the sound on the video keeps going out...

I am so proud of Jody, because as a daddy of twins, he has had to take on a much bigger role in the boys' lives than most.  While many Dads may be able to sleep through feedings during the night or trade off feedings with Mom, Jody is up for every single feeding.  We have a good little system going.  For example, he sets the alarms so that we don't oversleep and miss a dose of Rowan's heart medication, and he gets the bottles ready for us.  He changes and feeds one sweet baby, while I change and feed the other (unless there is a poopy diaper, and naturally, all bets are off).  To top it off, Jody somehow has the ability to be very talkative and positive at two in the morning, and we often have some of the best conversations when we're half asleep.  The whole process takes about forty-five minutes, and we couldn't do it without him.

Many times Jack will decide after his 5 AM feeding that he is no longer sleepy and is ready to get up and play.  On these mornings, Jody takes Jack into the living room where they stare and smile at the fan while Rowan and I catch a few more minutes of sleep.

Here they are watching the fan until the sun comes up!

There is not a day that goes by that I am not incredibly thankful for Jody.  Jack and Rowan are blessed to have him as their daddy!

Our first vacation!

This is a post that I started several weeks ago, before little Rowan started not feeling well....



Put together family, birthdays, mountains, several bear figurines, and what do you get?  Why, our first vacation, of course!

Last weekend Jody and I ventured out on our first overnight trip with the boys to celebrate our brother-n-law, Gary's, birthday.  Right off the bat I found that packing for two little ones is a very complicated process.  This caused only a minor breakdown on my part, but I think that I hid it pretty well.  (Ha, ha, says Jody.)   So, with half of our house and a positive attitude in tow, the four of us took off for the mountains of Hiawassee.

We stayed in a beautiful cabin with my sister, brother-n-law, niece, nephew, and parents.  Here is the view that greeted us when we got there.  Amazing!

Jack and Rowan's big cousins, Elijah and Ellie, were very excited to see their little buddies out and about for the first time.  They both wanted to help feed and hold the babies, although we didn't have any takers on the diaper changes for some reason.  Here they are helping out and loving on the boys.

Giving Jack some tummy time with Uncle Jody

Best big cousin ever--Ellie holding Rowan

Such a good little helper, or as she said, "baby-sitter"

Of course, everyone else had to get some Jack and Rowan time, too.  :)

Uncle Gary holding Rowan for the first time

Aunt Nichele and Jack

Grandpa and Rowan snoozing away

While there, we also put our baby carriers to good use and took the boys out to the Georgia Mountain Fair.  I'm telling you, for a hefty admission fee, I would have expected a lot more than $5 boiled peanuts and a bunch of old tractors.  It was fun to get out and walk around through, and we only had to fend off a few unwanted hand touches by fellow fair goers.  :)

Posing with Ellie

Afterwards, we all enjoyed a yummy meal at the house together (compliments of chef Gary), and the boys slept five hours straight for the first night ever!

The only picture of the whole crew together, and it's a little dark!

Ellie hopping around upstairs (The view from that window is so pretty that it looks like a picture!)

Our little family of four :)

The Gaddy's

Mom and Dad

Gary's yummy cake!

We were only there for one night, but it was a big accomplishment for us!  The fact that we made it out of the house and stayed somewhere without keeping the whole family up all night, is a small feat in itself.  It was so nice to spend some relaxing hours away from the house with some of our favorite people.  It meant so much to us to have help throughout the day.  At times, fourteen bottles a day can seem a little overwhelming, and even help with one feeding makes a world of difference.  As parents, I think it is important for us to stay "charged up" and ready for our boys.  Sometimes (actually, a lot of times), that means taking some much needed assistance from the fam.

Happy Birthday, G!  We can't wait to do it again!