The Shoaf Family

Our Big Move

2010-10-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know it’s been 10 months since my last blog, but we have big news…we have moved to Port St. Joe! We are still trying to get settled into our new house but we are getting close. We have all the boxes unpacked and pretty much the only thing left to do is a little decorating and to hang some pictures on the wall. Once we get all that done, I think it will start feeling a little more like home. The babies are adjusting well and have taken a liking to their new town. They especially like the fact that it is a “golf-cart community”. William’s favorite new thing to do is to ride the golf cart. I think it’s pretty fun too! And convenient – we rode the golf cart to and from dinner tonight and got an awesome view of the beautiful sunset along the way. One of our first adventures in our new town was an evening out at the circus! Madelyn had a blast and was jumping up and down and clapping with the music. William lasted longer than I thought he would, but still had to get up and go outside even before the first half of the show was over. We have even taken a trip over to Panama City to go shopping at Target and I learned a very important lesson – don’t ever do that again, at least until they are a lot older!

I miss my family and friends in Tallahassee soooo much and I will admit I’m a little homesick, but all things considered, we are having a great time here so far.

Here are some breathtaking views from our front porch:

Party, party, party!

2009-12-05T20:11:00.000-08:00

The twins attended their first wedding reception tonight and had a blast! William was not a happy camper at first, but once he got comfortable, he was flirting and dancing with the best of them. Madelyn enjoyed herself from the moment we stepped into the tent. She was waving at everyone and dancing to the beat like a pro; there was a smile on her face almost the entire night. My babies never cease to amaze me. I would have guessed that Madelyn would have been the unhappy one, since she has historically been the most stranger-shy of the two; but William surprised me as he was the one who burst into tears whenever a new person said hello to him, which is very uncharacteristic of him. Once he settled down and realized we were all there to have fun, he was soaking up the attention and loved every minute of it! As it was a last minute decision to bring the babies, Jason and I are so glad we did and I know William and Madelyn are glad they got to participate in the festivities.

I am now a blogger...

2009-12-03T17:57:00.000-08:00

Here we go...I didn't think this day would come, but I have decided to dive into the world of blogging. I just hope I will be able to keep up with it! It has been almost a year since we were blessed with our two precious babies William and Madelyn and I thought it was time to create a place to capture those fleeing moments that seem to pass us by so quickly. Also, I'm hoping this will be a good place for our distant family and friends to watch our little ones grow.

I'm going to go back to when the babies were born and hopefully I'll just be able to pick the highlights of their lives so far. But first, I will give a quick update. At ten months, William feels solid as a brick weighing in at 20 pounds. Madelyn is a bit more petite and weighs a little under 19 pounds. As of this week, they are now both extremely mobile, crawling and pulling up in their cribs and on furniture (William has been doing this for quite some time and Madelyn quickly learned from her brother). In contrast to their mobility, their vocabulary is quite limited and consists mainly of "da da da da da". However, William said "bo" (one of our dog's name) and "mom" for the first time yesterday, but I have only heard him say it one time. And Madelyn has gotten a few "ba ba"s in too, so hopefully their vocabulary will be expanding soon. As far as food goes, they are not picky eaters. They will eat almost any variety of baby food and are learning to enjoy finger foods, in particular bananas, Cheerios and Gerber graduates "puffs". Madelyn has four teeth while William has his bottom two and is expecting his top two any day now.

Okay, enough with the updating...here's a quick snapshot of the last ten months:

Our family doubled in size on January 23, 2009.

William Stuart was born at 6:47 AM and weighed 5 pounds 2 ounces.

Madelyn Grace was born at 7:01 AM and weighed 4 pounds 1 ounce.

After spending five days in the hospital we finally went home. They were so tiny we had to place blankets all around them so that they didn't fall out of their car seats!

At home in our crib.

Approximately four weeks old...sleeping in our bouncers.

Approximately six weeks old....daddy took an awesome picture to use on our birth announcement.

April 2009...we celebrated our first Easter.

May 2009...I celebrated my first Mother's Day.

...and we're getting so big!

June 2009...our first swim, our first solid food, and our first beach vacation.

July 2009...we're growing up so fast!

August 2009...our first professional photo shoot, courtesy of Volaj Photography. (Wow, it was difficult picking out which ones to post here, they were all good!)

September 2009...our first time in the swings at the park.

October 2009...our first Halloween.

November 2009...our first Thanksgiving.