Jake vs. Vacuum

We got a new vacuum today, which I will post more about later, but these videos show Jake's obsession with vacuum cleaners, as well as his crawling skills. He chases it around any time I'm vacuuming & just thinks it's hilarious. I'm glad he isn't scared of it, but it definitely makes it hard to clean!

In the first one, he also shows off his ability to pull up on his own.

You can see his cute grin at the end of this one. He has figured out that it's extra cute when he shows his teeth!

Hooligans

hoo-li-gan
slang - a young person who behaves in a noisy and violent way in public

This is the term we use most often in our house when describing our children. We mean it in the most affectionate way, of course! And while they may not be violent in public very often, they can definitely do some damage to each other at home when no one's looking.

Here is Mallory trying to pants her brother. She did manage to expose a good bit of crack before we put their clothes back on them.
Leaving the toys in the basket so they can pull them out on their own buys you extra minutes before they become bored with them. Golden!
Jake going for the coveted microphone, which actually belongs to Mallory
Mal suggesting that he "share" with her
I still haven't gotten a video of Jake's crawling, but he's really fast now, so I'll try to post that soon. Mal seems to be on the verge of figuring the whole crawling thing out. I think she's getting tired of her brother leaving her behind.

Add One More to the List

Lately, it seems like the kids have a new accomplishment almost every day. They're growing so fast! We can now add pulling up to his feet to Jake's list. He is very impressed with himself & loves to practice this new skill often. Unfortunately, that means that he has multiple bruises on his forehead from pulling up on things & then knocking his head against them. Only one way to learn, I guess!

Five LONG Years

Today is our fifth wedding anniversary! Whenever anyone asks J how long we've been married, he replies, "Five LONG years!" It's currently his favorite joke. Here are some highlights from our first five years as husband & wife.

Justin graduated with his masters in accounting from ACU two weeks before our wedding. I had just finished my sophomore year at ACU. Yes, I was a teenage bride! We moved to Dallas into our tiny apartment, J started working for PwC & we started attending church at Prestoncrest.

Our wedding day - May 22, 2004I graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology from UTD in December 2005, & we continued to enjoy life as newlyweds.

In Gulf Shores, Alabama where we spent the week of July 4th, 2005 with J's family
We bought our first home in 2006 & spent much of that year doing small updates, buying furniture, etc. J left PwC to work for the Coker Group.

I think this was taken in San Luis Obispo on our trip to Orange County, California in March 2006.
2007 was our year of travel. We were planning to start a family soon, so that year we went to New York, Jamaica, Italy, Colorado & Florida.

July 2007 - in Jamaica for J's brother's wedding
Last year was all about the babies! Since I was 24 weeks pregnant with the twins, we spent our fourth anniversary in Frisco, Texas.
This year has flown by as we've watched our babies grow, & I can't believe it's already May! I would post a recent picture of us, but it's hard to find one of just the two of us. I'll have to take one tonight. Garrett & Amy are coming to watch the kiddos so we can go to dinner at Truluck's. We're going on a little weekend trip to the hill country for our anniversary, but that's not actually happening for a few more weeks.

To my wonderful husband, I love you so much! These first five years have been amazing, & I look forward to many, many more!

What goes up...must come down

The twins have recently perfected the art of sitting up on their own, as well as pulling up to their knees. As with most new accomplishments, this always seems to cause some disruption when it comes to bed time. For the last several nights, Mallory has been all but passed out when we put her in bed, but she immediately sits up when we put her down. Apparently, she then forgets how to lay back down & get comfy. She'll just sit against the back of her crib sobbing until she finally soothes herself & lays down. We've tried helping her lay down, but it's no good. Within seconds, she's sitting up again. I guess she'll have to figure this one out on her own!

They can't do this on their own yet, but if you stand them up, they're so excited to hold on & play for as long as they can.

Diapers, Anyone?

Since we go through A LOT of diapers at the Chamblee casa, we're always looking for the best deal. Unless I have specific store coupons, www.diapers.com usually has the best prices. Every time I refer a friend to the site, I get credit toward my orders & the friend gets $10 off their first order. We all win! So, if you're interested, please enter my referral code, ALLI4937, when you check out. Thanks!

Rock Star

We may have to get this girl a rocking chair at our house.

Nine Months Old!

As of yesterday, Jake & Mal are nine months old! We went to the pediatrician for their check-up yesterday, so I have stats.

Mallory, or Miss Priss, as we very aptly call her

• weighs 16 lb 6 oz (10%)
• is 26 1/4 inches tall (15%)
• continues to have a large noggin (80%)
• is VERY talkative & VERY, VERY loud
• loves to jump & bounce
• is a very happy & content little girl...until you steal her toy
• can pull up to her knees
  

Jake

• weighs 17 lb 9 oz (10%)
• is 26 1/4 inches tall (5%)
• also has a large noggin (60%)
• is starting to talk more & has the sweetest little voice
• is an eating machine & shovels food into his mouth
• loves to roam all over the room while he plays
• can pull up to his knees, can sit up from lying on his belly & is crawling more & more each day
  

Here are some other recent pics of our cuties.

Uncle David, Jake picked out this shirt just for you. He wants to learn to be a pilot like you!
The twins are now pros at drinking from their sippy cups.
Their first time to use high chairs at a restaurant (S&D Oyster Company).
Having fun singing songs & learning about creation in their nursery class at church
Seeing what's going on out back with Daddy
Mal's dress here isn't supposed to be an off-the-shoulder look, but I guess she decided that's what she'd go for.
Messy girl! The blueberries got the best of her.
Since these pictures were taken, we've moved their crib mattresses down to the lowest level. I found Jake sitting up playing with the strings on his bumper & Mal trying to remove the bumper from her bed. Now that the mattresses are lower, I have enough room to tie all of the strings in front to the rails, which was the problem before.

Daddy inadvertently put on clothes that matched Jake the other day when he got home. Once he saw Jake's outfit, we had to get a picture. Like father, like son!
I just think he looks like such a big boy here.
Have a great weekend!

The Energizer Bunny

Seriously, this girl never stops bouncing. She didn't even mind that this exersaucer wasn't really made to bounce like her jumperoo. Where there's a will, there's a way.

Lock up your daughters...

...because Jake is officially on the move. He started crawling last Saturday when we were in Paris, & is getting pretty good. This video was from that day, & it's the only footage I have, but he's getting more coordinated at it now. Such a big boy!

Small Town Saturday Night

Last weekend, we headed to Paris to see my mom for Mother's Day & to listen to my daddy's band play. It was a quick but fun trip, despite the torrential downpour most of the time we were there.

The first few pics are just some random shots that I thought were cute or funny of the kids while we were in Paris. Jake succeeded in fitting the entire frog's head in his mouth. He tries this with his rubber duckies at home, too.Nothing better than watching TV shirtless!
Forget the blocks, the bucket that holds them is more fun.
J had a little photo shoot with the kids on the back porch. Everything looked so pretty & green due to all of the rain. He doctored this one of Jake up to make the colors pop.
I love the little smirk on his face here.
So excited he can hardly stand it!
Mal loves to be the center of attention.
She managed to pull a leaf off of the plant sitting beside her & studied it for a long time.
Unfortunately, she tried to put the leaf in her mouth, & I had to take it away. This was her response. Not dramatic at all.
Saturday night we headed over to Windom, TX to listen to Daddy's band. He & his buddies formed the Bois d'Arc Bottom band when they were in their twenties & have reunited now that they're all starting to retire. They play bluegrass & country, & have a great time. We enjoyed some yummy fried catfish at the Windom Feed Sack & then listened to them play in the pavilion across the street. Daddy plays the drums, so he's a little hard to see. Lucky for us, he had parked their motor home nearby, so we were able to listen & still keep the kids out of the rain.




You can check out their website at www.boisdarcbottom.com.

My Life's Amibtion

Throughout my life, there have been many things that I wanted to be or do. When I was really little, I wanted to be a teacher like my mom & dad. For most of my childhood & adolescence, I wanted to be an OB/GYN. But whatever the dream was at the time, being a mother was always part of it. From a very young age, I had dozens of baby dolls that I loved on often, & they each had names.

Now that I've been a mother for almost nine months, I can truly say that the thing to which I aspired all those years is every bit as wonderful as I had hoped. I won't deny that it has also been very difficult at times & not every day is fun, but I wouldn't trade a minute. I am so blessed to have my sweet angels!

My Mother's Day has been great so far! I got to open sweet cards from J & the kids this morning. Jake & Mal even signed them, with some help from Daddy. The three of them gave me the gift of having my dining room painted for my special day. I'll have to pick out my color soon! We also enjoyed a yummy lunch at Macaroni Grill after church. Thanks guys!

Happy Mommy with her darlings this morning before church
I've been wanting to post these pics for a few weeks, but we framed some of them for our mothers & grandmothers, so I had to keep them under wraps. Thank you to Charolette for telling us about a spot close to us with pretty bluebonnets.

Both of them enjoyed expecting the flowers & trying to eat grass.

This was my favorite of the two of them.
They thought the breeze was funny.
Sweet hugs
I LOVE this one of Jake!
Where did Jake go?



Pretty girl!

Funny faces from Mal


To our moms & grandmas, Happy Mother's Day! We love you all so much!