Sophia and Claire are 14 Months Old

My BEAUTIFUL girls are 14 months old now. The past few months have gone by so quickly. We have had so much fun this summer and try to spend most of our time outside. Unfortunately this summer has been unbelievably HOT and HUMID. If we are outside, we are definitely in water of some sort. The girls are little fish and are definitely not scared of the water. We have spent a lot of time in Nanna and Pappaw's pool and on Morse Reservoir with Uncle Chris and Aunt Shannon. We have also visited an outdoor aquatic center, the local sprinkler park and enjoyed the sand and small waves at Morse Beach. When it is too hot we head to the mall and meet friends for mall walking and playtime at the indoor play center. I never thought I would go to the mall to just walk and sit in the playground area. HUGE change for me. We have also been to the Children's Museum which they loved. I definitely couldn't do it by myself because they are all over the place and never want to do the same thing at the same time. I look forward to enjoying it even more this winter.



A funny story about our last mall walking experience.....before leaving the mall I headed into Ann Taylor to look around. We weren't in there long and headed out and were almost outside of the mall when I see Claire in the front of the stroller twirling something around on her finger. I take a look and she stole a beautiful white linen tank top. She has good taste! I took it back to the store manager and she just laughed and said it happened to another Mom that morning. Funny and embarassing at the same time!



Our little angels are really developing their very own personalities. The girls are so different but similar in many ways as well. When we are at home, Claire is the outgoing one....always climbing on something, making loud noises and constantly talking. She is hilarious and loves to make funny faces as she talks. She never stops moving around and is a busy body. The TV does not interest her at all which I guess is a good thing. When we get together with family or friends Claire becomes much more shy and reserved. She likes to just sit back and watch everything going on around her. According to Matt he was the exact same way until he was in high school (who would have guessed). Claire is defintiely awnry and I have a feeling I am in for it in the upcoming years. When she is planning to do something she knows she shouldn't she looks around to see if I am watching and even if I am it doesn't stop her. She giggles on her way to do it. She has recently started to tell me NO when I tell her NO. It is so hard not to laugh b/c she is so serious about it. Claire is not walking yet. I am ok with that...it is hard enough to chase her sister around. Claire pronates her feet very badly and because of this we had to get her orthopedic braces. They seem to really be helping but she has only been using them for a month. She doesn't seem to be interested in walking but I am hoping in the next month or so we'll see her getting around with Sophia! Claire is definitely a child that will dive right in and try something. She doesn't care what the end result might be. This is probably why she falls a lot more than her sister and often times gets really frustrated.



Sophia on the other hand is more quiet and laid back at home. She plays really well by herself and stays quiet for the most part. She is always happy and smiling. She has become more interested in climbing and being more adventurous after watching Claire. She started walking at 13 months and hasn't stopped since. She is fast and is constantly walking around checking things out. She continues to be our little dancer. She loves to shake her booty and will do it on command. When we are out with family and friends Sophia becomes our social butterfly. She loves to be the center of attention and loves to get to know people and it isn't hard for her with that beautiful smile and adorable laugh. Sophia is obsessed with telling everyone hello regardless if she knows them or not. In the mall she yells HI and waves to people passing by. Sophia definitely likes to understand the processes behind things. She will study something forever and try to figure it out completely. She is just like me.



The girls welcomed another nephew. Brycen Tate arrived on June 29th to Chris and Shannon. The girls love him but really aren't sure what to make of him. Just recently they have become more aware of his presence. He is beautiful and such a blessing. I am so glad the girls will get to grow up with Brycen. He is a big boy already so hopefully he'll protect his cousins when they get older! The next few years will be so fun with these three kiddos!



The girls continue to get more teeth. Sophia is definitely way behind! Sophia has 1.5 teeth although it appears quite a few are making their way to the surface. I am getting so used to her gummy smile I don't know what I'll do when her teeth are the focus of her smile. Claire has 6 teeth and loves to show them off. Claire always had a serious look on her face before she had teeth. Once she got the first two she began smiling non-stop.



Claire has an unusual talent that creeps me out. She pops her jaw in and out all the time. The doctor said it was normal and as long as she isn't it pain it won't harm anything. The sound alone makes me cringe.



The girls are understanding how to help us clean up around the house. They will pick up their bath toys and put them away now. Claire loves to throw trash away and started doing it on her own. Now I don't have to throw any diapers away...she pulls them along the floor as she crawls to the trash can. It is so funny! The bad part is that she likes it so much I have found toys and clothes in the trash. I guess she can't be perfect yet. HA!!



Sophia is definitely the girly one of the twins. She loves shoes! She would sit in my closet for hours trying on my heels if I would let her. She is getting more interested in her own shoes as well and even Daddy's although they are harder and heavier to carry around.



We celebrated 4th of July in a small way. The girls go to bed early so their was no way they could stay up until 10PM to watch fireworks, so Matt let off some at our house. They were not as impressed as we thought they would be. I don't think they understood what was going on. They did enjoy seeing the sparklers. Don't worry....we didn't let them hold the sparklers.



We had our Annual Sorrells Reunion in July and the girls got to meet the other Sorrells twins for the first time. Russ and Brenda's girls are 4 years old and absolutely adorable. It was definitely a house full of girls. They really had fun playing together. Brycen was outnumbered but he'll grow up knowing how to deal with a lot of women. HA HA!! It was great to have the girls with all of their cousins. They had so much fun with all the kids and it was so neat to see how our girls will probably be in a few years.



The girls are talking so much! I love to hear them say new words. They are really getting into saying people's names. They especially love saying Abby and for a few days they didn't stop saying it. Some new words are ALL DONE, STOP, NO, BABY, GREEK CHICKEN, HI CLAIRE, HI SOPHIA....the list could go on and on. They both talk a lot in their own language still so I am hoping that all of it eventually comes out in English.

The girls are so funny when they eat. They pass food back and forth which is so sweet. But, many times it is to get something off their plate they don't like ...such as vegetables. Georgie sits right between their highchairs waiting for his moment of happiness. The girls love to feed him and if they don't offer him things he just puts his head in their lap and eats whatever falls

Recently we did the first AFC family photo session. Needless to say, it is hard to get 10 kids to look at the camera at once. I captured a few though and I think they came out wonderfully. It is amazing to see how big our family has become. Nanna and Pappaw have a lot to be proud of!

The girls had their first night away from us in July. Nanna and Pappaw kept the girls overnight for us so that we could go out and celebrate Aunt Abby's Surprise 29th birthday party. It was a lot of fun but I was so ready to get back to my parents to see them. The girls did great and were perfect angels for their grandparents. Thank you Mom and Dad!

Nanna went to Ireland with Great Grandma Stella and Aunt Lana. They had so much fun. We really wish we could have been with them. Nanna spoiled the girls and brought them back great gifts. They got Irish baby dolls, Irish winter hats and really cute t-shirts. The girls love the dolls and look so funny in the hats. I can't wait for them to wear them this winter!

We continue to love each stage with the girls. I say this every posting but this is my favorite stage and I know it will only get better. The girls are so good and we get so many compliments on how happy and content they are. Very rarely do we have crying children and that makes us feel so good. They provide so many smiles and laughs. I can't imagine life without them and it seems like they have always been with us.



I hope you enjoy all of the pictures. I've taken a lot in the past two months! I am obsessed with taking pictures of the girls. I drive them crazy sometimes! They are just so beautiful to photograph!!! Soon I will post pictures we had taken at the IMA. They turned out beautiful.