So the Keith's took our first lake trip as a family of four!  And it was such a good time.

We have gone to Lake Kahola for 3 years now and it's become one of my favorite summer trips.  It's a decent sized lake right outside of Emporia, KS, embedded in the flint hills.  The owners of the adorable little house are the Morgan family.  We've known the Morgan's since high school and I went to nursing school with Olivia.  She has become one of my best friends over the years and both Bennett and Emmy have a special relationship with her.  I can't even begin to tell you guys what she has done for me and my family.  She has been an integral part of the first 7 months of the twins life and without her, we would be lost.
Anyways, back to the lake.  The babies had a B L A S T and loved the trip.  They slept well in their own pack and plays (since they roll around so much, we decided to stick with their own pack and plays, just like at home), napped pretty much on schedule and were big fans of the water.

Carl was their dog friend of the weekend.  He always seemed to watch over them, a little skeptical but always gentle and sweet.

These two love remotes.  I don't know what could be so fascinating about them but they both can be easily entertained for a good 10 minutes with a remote.  I'm not sure if they actually think they are controlling the TV or what but it works for now.  I'm sure the more intelligent they get, I will regret giving them the remote.  *Cue the Winnie the Pooh movie every hour*

First night there!  Babies asleep and Mom and Dad can enjoy some cold beers by the river, listening to a live band!  So great.

The people who lived next door had a shrimp dinner on Saturday night with a live band that played both Friday and Saturday nights.  Once the babies went down, we grabbed beer and headed down by the lake.  The whole weekend was like a dream, with the exception of the mosquito bites (which I am still finding).

Okay... ready for picture overload?  Sorry but pictures speak volumes loader than my words...  Major photo cred goes out to Olivia Morgan, some of these are her shots and I am so happy to finally be in some pics on the blog!  Being a mama that documents the babies lives, it's not always easy to jump into pictures now.

Getting ready for their first boat trip!

Emmy girl.  Does she not look like such an angel baby?!

So... they liked the boat... so I think.  They didn't not like it.  That's probably a better way to put it.  They just were.  I think they liked the noise.  It sounded like their sleep sheep. 

B, the fisherman.

Daddy and Em girl...

My bestie Olive.  

Bennett and that hat.  Cracks me up.  He is like a little old man in a baby's body.  Such a sir!

She sat like this for the remainder of the boat trip.  I think the sun really tired them out.  THey napped like champs right after this ride.

So, we didn't get a vacation from Pooh bear.  B couldn't seem to part with his better half.  That honey-seeking little bear snuck into our family trip and I'm not even mad about it.  Just seeing B's face when he can spend 20 minutes with Pooh is more than enough for me.

After hours.  Babies fast asleep.  Parents wear glow sticks and listen to live music.

Had to add in this cutie because YOU GUYS he's adorable.  Little 8 week old Wade.  Such a heart breaker.

First real dip in the lake!

Family--- ahhh my heart is full.

They liked the water, but mostly didn't really know what to do.

Em girl... That smile is so addicting.

Little burrito.

Bennett loved the sand!  I see sand-eating in their future if we visit a beach again.

Dad and B.

Emmy and Olivia--- two peas in a pod!  Many MANY thanks to this girl for this weekend.

That suit is Old Navy.  And let me tell you.  It's a great place to get baby clothes.  Decent quality for how they last and the price is great.  Especially if you have a GAP credit card.  No endorsement here.  Just a head up for anyone interested.

End all be all, we will definitely be returning to the lake, if the Morgan's will have us.  It was such a great weekend.  I think the funniest story from this weekend was the only thing we forgot to grab before we left: diapers.  I packed everything we needed except the one thing we desperately NEEDED.  Which was hilarious.  I did pack about 34 swim diapers!  Not exactly what you want 6 month old's in, as swim diapers are basically pull ups.  I've quickly come to realize traveling with little ones is like 10x more work in remembering the right stuff and being prepared ahead of time is crucial.  Thankfully Dr. Morgan ran into town and got us a box.  Thankfully we weren't too far from a grocery store.

Selfie with my sweet babes.

This weekend will be my first weekend away from the babies and Alex since they have been born.  I'm so excited to be celebrating the bachelorette party of one of my best friends but will miss my babes!  Tune in next week for an update!

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!  Stay cool and again, everyone love everyone.

Until next Thursday,
Lauren, E&B

The City We Love...

Well July is rapidly coming to a close and surprisingly our most fun is yet to come!

Found this gem at Nordstrom and LOVE this kind of saying.  It makes me flash forward to when the babes are older and we have added a few kiddos and I hope and pray that our life sticks with these "do's" because I love this type of family life.  Mmmm cue the good feels.

F a m i l y   F r i d a y s ...
Last week we spent the day downtown KC with all of Alex's family doing a mini scavenger hunt of the city.  It was awesome because we had never really walked around that part of KC in depth before.  Alex's cousins from New Hampshire were visiting and we got to spend some time with them too!  It was a warm one but the babies did really great, even got a nap in too.

Started our walk at Barney Alice Plaza!  Great spot right in the heart of KC.

My love.  Things with him have been just great lately.  We've been closer than ever and been enjoying spending the summer together.  

Emmy girl stylin in her shades.  This was the first time she actually wore them.  Normally I put them on and she rips them off right after.  I put them on when her eyes were closed so I think for awhile, she didn't notice.  She wore them for like an hour it was so damn cute.

B, taking the front of the stroller.  Such a sir.

Out front of the KC Public Library.

Alex and I are big KC fans.  I'm originally from Chicago but only lived there for the first 4 years of my life.  So, naturally I call KC home.  Alex has lived here his whole life and also happens to know more facts about the state of Kansas than most people.  It's true.  Ask him the state song, bird, tree, motto, etc and he can name it and 3 random facts involving that thing.  It's pretty genius.  The reason we did this Friday Family thing this summer was so we could further explore our city we love.  Too many times I have heard people say once you have children, you can't do things on a whim or go out much.  We wanted to be that couple that changed that.  We had 2 babies and we still find the time to do fun things and explore, WITH our babies!  We include them!  We want them to be adventurers and to be comfortable with the world, because it can be intimidating.  It does taking some minor planning and time scheduling but nothing Alex and I cant figure out.

T w i n s...
We just switched out their infant car seats for the next step car seats that stay in the car.  It's kind of a huge step for us, leaving the comfort of having their car seats that snap into that cart.  I used to run all around the city with them when they were tiny and would sleep all the time!  Now, it's a whole different story when planning to go out with them.  I just have to prepare myself well and honestly, if it's an errand that can wait until Alex gets home... I do.  Taking the twins out with Alex is easy, but alone... it sometimes is just easier to online shop or wait to do certain things.  But as far as our walks are concerned, that I will do alone!  The babies LOVE LOVE walks, especially outside.  I just want to wait until it's not 100 degrees and gross out.

The Itsy Bitsy spider has become a staple song in our household.  For whatever reason, both babies could be freaking out and we sing that song and boom.  Smiles all around.  Not really sure why and it's ONLY that song.  Which I am weirded out by, since spiders are one of my biggest fears.  Eh, I guess I can get over that for the sake of a song.  But the minute one of them asks for a spider as a pet... I'm out.

People often ask me if the twins play with each other yet.  And no, not really.  But they are aware that they are together and they notice each other.  As far as "playing together" goes, that is not happening yet.  They are learning to steal things from each other but luckily the one that gets something stolen from doesn't always notice and just moves onto the next toy.  I know that won't last long.  I do notice that they could grab and hit and scratch at each other (unintentionally) and they don't scream, cry or even seem bothered by it!  It's as if their time in the womb just got them comfortable hitting each other in any way possible and not even noticing.  Again, I don't think that will last forever.

"I'm gonna eat your head." -Bennett

Legit sat like this watching Pooh- sweetest thing of my liiiiiiiiife.

I tried giving the babies a few cut up strawberries, in tiny mashed up pieces the other day, just to see what they would do.  They starred at them and smashed them into their high chairs a bit and then just seemed disinterested.  I think they are a bit too young still to understand or have the dexterity to pick up food bits.  It's around the corner.  On an unrelated note, they are seconds away from crawling!  Which is SO excited and terrifying at the same time!  Time to start baby proofing.

Smiley Babes.

Dad and B being crazy.

My girl Em... already a PRO at selfies... uh oh...

Like I said in the beginning, our most fun is coming up this summer with a trip to the lake, a weekend away for me (anxious excitement), Alex turns 26 and a family wedding in Illinois!  Lots of fun stuff for this family of 4!

See you next week loves.

Peace, and please... love each other!

Lauren, E & B

Braving the Road...

I once read in another mama's post on Instagram, that vacations/ traveling with kids are not really vacations, just a changes of location.  Well, I understand and I conquer.  After taking our first official road trip to Minnesota this past weekend, I learned a lot of things!  So let's dive in.

T h e   C a r   R i d e s...
So on the way there, I thought we had perfect angel babies because the drive up there was not terrible!  We had one stop for a dirty diaper, one stop to feed, and one stop to calm Emmy down when I found she was cutting her first tooth on the car ride there!  (Great timing huh?)  So overall, not bad! I did have to sit in between the car seats in the back because we travelled with my sister.  I was actually glad I did because it was easier to see the babies and help distract them from the road. Bennett was a champion and pretty much slept on and off, played a little and also managed to watch part of Winnie the Pooh on my phone.  The ride up there took us about 7 hours when it was just Alex and I.  The ride up there took about 8.5 hours.  Kind of what I expected.

The ride home was a different story.  I got the sense that they knew the long ride was happening again and their patient wore short, quickly.  We had a stop at a McDonald's when both babies were having complete and utter meltdowns.  We went in to change diapers, get lunch and hang out before jumping in the car to try and haul home before another meltdown.  I never felt more unorganized and scattered in my life.  We were in between feedings so we didn't have anything to feed them and they were just restless from the car.  I felt like the wears would not stop.  They were just over the car, and I didn't blame them.
I felt more than ready to get back to KC finally and out of the car.  My advice for traveling with 6 month olds: have plenty of toys, bring blankets to shade the sun when napping, have emergency formula in the car, bring more wipes than you think you'll use (we almost ran out), and lastly, crying seems inevitable.  Eventually, they tire out and sleep.  And just remember--- you chose to make the trip!  So make the most of it.

T h e   V i s i t...
The reason we went up north was to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday!  Friday, when we got up there, we hung out at my aunt and uncle's house and the twins were introduced to part of the family.  It was crazy that some of them hadn't even met them yet, I was so happy that we got to make the trip!  Saturday was the party and it was such a great day!  We started the day off with breakfast with a view of the gorgeous river in Stillwater, MN.  It was BEAUTIFUL.  Sat on the patio and gazed at the glassy top river.  It was a dream.

This was ADORABLE I had to document.

Emmy was so happy to be making everyone smile.  She knows she's cute.  Alex and I are in trouble.

Cousin Arica

I don't even have to tell you what's playing on that computer...

The weather up there was gorgeous.  It was in the lower 80's and breezy- we even got a thunderstorm Sunday morning (my new favorite weather)

Watching Pooh with Great Grandma...

After our bellies were full, we headed back to the house we were staying at to let the twins nap.  We tried to stick with our routine as best we could.  And for the most part, we did.  It was just difficult not having all of our toys, swings, activity gyms, etc. to distract and busy the twins in between feedings.  Another challenge I ran into was where and how to get rid of all the diapers in an efficient way.  We stayed in a room in the basement so getting to the dumpster out in the garage was not always convenient.  I used plastic bags to collect the "wet" diapers in we changed in the basement and changed it out when we had a poopy one.  There's just nothing smooth about having that kind of garbage at a house you're staying at.
I was really impressed with the babies this weekend.  Emmy was in a bit of a Mommy's girl phase and not really liking being held by people she doesn't know.  Well this weekend was a different story.  She was GREAT and loved being around the family that she hadn't met yet.

A bit dysfunctional... Needless to say, we got a picture.

A regular family picture!  Except for that scowl Emmy Lou...

Have to give an extra shout out to my cousin Abby... My whole family helped us out SO much but this girl stayed at the house we were at too and I felt like helped us 24/7... We love you Abs!

We have a few more trips this summer but none as far as this one was.  So I'm not too worried.  I hope we didn't scar them from the car.

T w i n   U p d a t e...
They are sitting up (almost all alone) and holding their bottles by themselves!  I could cry of happiness!  Feedings are no longer a stressful event.  I can make the bottles, hand them over and even have a second to make a cup of coffee.  Sometimes they'll drop them on accident and need me to pop them back in but other than that, they are pretty self sufficient with the bottle feeds.
The babies still sleep great... Bed by 7 pm and up around 6 ish...  They even nap 3 times a day!  So it allows me to get things done around the house.  I've been following this blog by another KC mama and have found some awesome tips for keeping the home simple and clean  I've begun my new quest to simplify our life and to move towards all natural cleaning! (http://www.homesongblog.com/)  I'll give an update in a few blog posts.

I am so glad I revisited my twin boppy now that they are sitting up and feeding themselves.  It's so great for them to watch Winnie the Pooh in, drink bottles and just to play by each other... and it's pretty comfy too...

Look closely at her eye... She slept on her hand- with the imprint to prove it.  I laughed for awhile.

Tomorrow is one of our last "regular" Family Fridays in KC... More to come...

See you next week...
Lauren, E & B