10 months

Casen & Collins are 10 months old. Casen discovered how to crawl on his hands & knees and is zipping around the house. Collins is improving her army crawl & they both love to follow us from room to room. Collins is getting her first premolar - tooth #8! Case still doesn't have any teeth, but doesn't let it slow him down. Collins is finally bearing weight on her legs - especially while standing at their play table. It won't be long before she is able to pull herself up to a stand!

Casen pulls up on everything now & loves to explore.

This is one of my favorite pics! Yes, Collins looks cute; but it is extra special because the sweater she is wearing was knit by my sweet grandma 40 years ago. She made it for my cousin, Allison, & my Aunt Marsha sent it to us for Collins. It is absolutely beautiful & reminds me of how much grandma loved us.

Case & Lainey LOVE to "help" mommy do laundry!

Michelle's college roomies: Chris, Laura, & Karen - love these girls!

Collins' bed head... this girl has som CRAZY hair!
This look is all Collins - no static electricity required :)
Halloween 2011 - Sic 'em Bears! Also gearing up for BU Homecoming.
Baylor Homecoming - our growing family of friends.
Michael & Laura Simpson with baby Rebekah, Byron & Karen Swartzendruber, the McCaskills, Brett & Chris Gibson with Ellia & Olive.
Taking pics on Baylor's campus.
Collins was so distracted by the leaves.
Love those beautiful Baylor oak trees!
Collins with her Aunt Megan.
Casen & his Nana (Bryan's mom). She came to stay with us this week to watch Case & Collins while Michelle's parents are visiting Suzy & Stu in Florida. They had a ton of fun dancing, reading books, riding the horsey, & eating yummy food. Thanks Nana - we love you!!
Casen & Collins with their Great-Grandmaw & Great-Pawpaw.
Menn update: Suzy & Stu with their beautiful babies - What a great family pic!
Carson & Taylor - getting a little chub on their cheeks!

Carson & Taylor Made It Home!

Carson & Taylor (& their mommy) were released from the hospital last night. The babies are eating well every 3 hours & by all reports are doing great! Suzy is still recovering from surgery, but seems to improve every day. Carson & Taylor like to snuggle together while they sleep... I remember Case & Lainey doing the same thing! How sweet! :)

Taylor Morgan snoozing with her arms up.

Carson Rogers - what a handsome little guy!!

Fall Fun 2011

Casen & Collins - Fall 2011

Our family outing to the Danville Corn Maze
Case & Lainey at 9 months.

Collins is such a happy girl!

Casen at the pumpkin patch.

Mommy spotting Casen while he takes his first tractor ride.

What is this big orange thing???

Casen checking out a pumpkin.

Collins checking out a pumpkin.

Casen Ray at 9 months - what a big boy!

Collins Elaine at 9 months.

Look mom & dad - something new to pull up on!!

Case & Lainey having fun on the wagon.

Our little dare devil ready to stand up on the wagon!

Casen playing in the "corn box".

Casen pulling up on the "corn box".

Lainey playing in the "corn box".

With the heat wave we've had this summer, the corn crop was only about 5 feet tall :(
It was still interesting to roll through the maze, though!

Welcome Carson & Taylor!

Introducing our precious new nephew, Carson Rogers Menn (left) & our beautiful niece, Taylor Morgan Menn (right). Congratulations Stu & Suzy!!
Suzy delivered via c-section on October 20th. Taylor was born first & weighed 5lbs 14oz. Carson weighed in at 6lbs 4oz. Both babies are doing well. Carson has a leaky heart valve (diagnosed on prenatal sonogram) & spent 3-4 hours in the NICU after birth for observation. He's doing great so far & is now back with Taylor in the newborn nursery. He'll be following up with a Cardiologist in a few weeks to monitor his heart, but the doctors are encouraged with the results of his echo so far.
Suzy is recovering well, but still feels pretty loopy from all the pain meds. I know she & Stu are overjoyed! It brings back a lot of good memories from when Casen & Collins were born. I just wish I could be there to hold them!

I put the welcoming party to work as soon as we heard the good news... but they got a little hungry!

Movin' On Up!

Casen discovered the window blinds! This little guy is determined like his momma... when he wants something, he is very persistent!

I was cleaning the bathroom & left Casen crawling towards this chair full of toys. When I peeked around the corner to check on him, this is what I saw! Now he wants to pull up on everything!

Collins is growing up along with her brother... she can now hold her bottle all by herself!

Bryan's parents & sisters came to visit last weekend. The girls hadn't seen Case & Lainey in months.

Collins & her Nana.

Casen in one of his cute 12 month outfits from Nana & Pop.

Collins all dolled up in a dress from Nana & Pop & a handmade hair bow from Charlotte - too cute!

Our big girl! Remember when she could fit inside the hood of this towel?

Our little frog prince is growing so big!

9 months

Casen & Collins are 9 months old! We took them to see Dr. K this week for well-check appts. They got the 2nd doses of their flu shots & are doing great!

Exploring the table paper in the exam room.

Collins weighed 15.8 lbs & measured 25.75 inches long.

Casen weighed 19.2 lbs & measured 28 inches long.

Casen's hair sticks straight up in back - hopefully it will lie down one of these days!

What!?!? We get SHOTS today?!?!

A new adventure this week... bathtime without the baby tub! Since Case & Collins are both sitting up so well on their own, we started bathing them in the big tub. The best part is they get more toys to play with - so fun!

We feed Case & Collins baby food twice a day - usually around 10:30am & 6:30pm. They love The Price Is Right & Wheel of Fortune - the "click...click...click" of the wheel gets their attention every time!

Collins had quite a productive week. She found her voice & started babbling last weekend - her favorite is "da-da-da-da-da-da". She also started army crawling, except her army crawl at this point looks more like an inch-worm! We're working on strengthening her legs to bear weight. She is beginning to bounce better, so we're making progress! Here she is with her snack cup.

Casen spends his time these days mastering his army crawling skills - he can get around so quickly! He continues to be extremely curious & loves to explore anything & everything that catches his attention. This week he learned how to reach into his snack cup for some puffs.

This week we introduced some new textures by offering banana slices & grapes in their mesh feeders. Lainey is still getting used to the idea, but Casen loves it - so much that we have keep him from taking Lainey's feeder!