Leave It To Beaver and New Pics

Today at Target, the checkout girl told me that she liked Rush's hair. She said it looked like "one of those Leave It To Beaver" hairstyles." Okey-doke! She also thought that despite the fact that SF had on a sunflower covered sunsuit.. she was such a cute little boy! Dang-it... Fran's bow was in the car.

Of course, I was also asked twice if they were identical. I just said, "No."

We had some new pictures made. As many of you know, I have had several unfortunate portrait experiences while trying to get some cute pictures of my children. I don't have the money or desire to spend hundreds of dollars on pictures every three months. We had really nice portraits made at 6 months. We will do more professional pictures when they are a little older. The "portraits" from when they were 3 months were made at Sears. I will post a few just for kicks.




They just make me laugh. Is it me, or does it look like two little skinny babies floating around in outer space? And these were the good ones.

We tried to have their six month pictures made at Portrait Innovations. If you are a new reader, you can read about that experience here.
We ended up having the six month pictures made by a real photographer, so I don't have the copyright to those to post them, but they were great. Of course, you get what you pay for most of the time.

I decided to try Olan Mills for their nine month pictures. Remember Olan Mills? It used to be the only place to have your picture taken when we were growing up. We had a photographer named Rachel, and she was fantastic. She really wanted the pictures to be good, so she kept working with the babies until she got some good ones. I think they are very cute, and I was pleased with the exprerience.

I don't usually enjoy props in photos, but she put the babies in this chair, and they both grinned from EAR to EAR! They loved that chair. Rush tapped it with his thumb which means he really likes something. :-) I had to get some chair pictures.




The outfits they have on in the pictures have a special story to go along with them. I don't usually dress them in "twin" stuff since they are a boy and a girl. I received these two outfits as a gift at one of the showers. They were so cute. Both are plaid and have a little shirt underneath. The ones given to me at the shower were 3 month size which would have worked if they had been born at full term. Since the babies decided to arrive early, they would need the nine month size to wear THIS summer. So, I was on a quest to find them and exchange them for the size they would now need. I don't know why I became so obsessed with these two outfits. I just thought they were extra cute, and it was a way for them to look "twinnish" without being exactly alike. My Mama was with me for this quest since all we did before I went on bedrest was shop for the babies. We even drove to a town that is about 30 minutes away to go to their Target to try to find it. It was always the same, we would find the girl one in a 9 month size, but not the boy one. And so on... So, I decided to get the girl one because I thought it was cute even if Rush wasn't going to have the matching one. I resigned myself to no cute boy plaid outfit. So, on another day, I was standing in line at the return desk in my Target waiting to exchange some things. I noticed a lady two people in front of me doing a return. And what was she returning? Is it POSSIBLE? It was the blue plaid cutie outfit for my baby boy. I think I felt him kick. Get it, Mama! It took all of my self control not to go up the counter and snatch it when she put it down. Like I said, it was a quest. So, I had to wait behind someone else, and I finally got to get up there. I asked the girl to dig it out of the cart she had thrown it in. Please let it be a 9 month size, please let it be a nine month size!!!!!! So I asked, "What size is it?" NINE MONTHS!!!! I couldn't believe it!!!!!!! I snatched it, made my return, and set off to find my Mama.. the only other person who could ever possibly understand how flipping excited I was to have this outfit!!!! She was SO excited with me. Oh, how cute my twins would be in these plaid Target outfits.

As my pregnancy progressed I began to have dreams about the babies that were somewhat anxiety-filled. For example, in one dream, I dreamed that I couldn't find a daycare for them to stay in except this one very unsavory place here in town. I was going to have to take them to this day care when they were 3 days old, mind you... because I had to get back to work and all. Well, since I had only known them for three days, I had trouble identifying them among all the other crying babies when I went to pick them up that afternoon. Well, it was my lucky day... because what were they wearing when I went to pick them up? Why, the pink and blue plaid outfits from Target, of course. So you see, they had to have their pictures made in them, right?:-)

Fran's new bow!!

I had been wanting to get some headbands and bows for Sydney Frances, so I ordered a few bands from this website. I got the bows at a cute local store. (The pink band/bow is in the Father's Day post). What do you think? I like them, although she will not always wear them. I think they are cute for something different. I surprised myself that I like them because I am typically not a bow girl. :-)


This is what happened when I tried to feed her at Mama's on Saturday when the whole family was around. It was like feeding someone watching a tennis match.



Although this is SF's bow post, I couldn't leave out Rush! Just wanted to let everyone know that he can officially crawl now. He still prefers to army crawl, but he can do it the hands and knees way now, too! I will try to catch him with a picture or video soon! In other milestone news, SF pulled herself up to standing this morning. (No pics because she fell before I could get the camera!) They are going to be walking in no time!

Father's Day Photo Shoot!

We had a great Father's Day! Today was Phil's FIRST Father's Day, so I made him waffles and gave him presents from the kids. We made him stepping stones with the help of my sweet friend Braley and her daughter, Anna Carson (my future baby-sitter). I will have to take pictures of them for a later post because it is dark outside and they are already outside. We also tried to get a good picture of Phil with the babies tonight, and I got really cracked up. I am going to post our efforts because this is EXACTLY what it is like to try to get two infants to look at you and smile at the same time. Nearly impossible. Maybe Fran just didn't like her new pink bow.







You know, you can always imagine what your husband will be like as a father, but you never really know until you see them with your children. Phil said that he would be too afraid to hold them when they were newborns. That didn't last long at all. He has been an amazing Daddy to Rush and Sydney Frances. It is fun to watch him interact with them every day. To see the kind of Daddy that Phil is, you need to be here in the afternoon when Sydney Frances hears him come in through the door from the garage. Her face lights up and she bounces up and down and opens and closes her hands. Anybody that gets that kind of response has got to be doing something right.

We also spent some time with my Daddy today. We made him a CD, and it was a little trip down memory lane for everyone today. We put songs on it that reminded us of Daddy. I have very vivid memories of riding in my Daddy's blue truck singing "Houston" by The Gatlin Brothers. I loved Daddy's deep voice. He would sing it extra deep to make me laugh. Of course, we were standing beside him on the seat back then... not strapped in a hot, sweaty car seat like kids are today! We also put "Drive" by Alan Jackson on it because it talks about learning to drive on a dirt road. Ivy and I both had that experience with Daddy in his truck, as well. We really did have a great childhood! Good times, good times! Love you, Daddy!

We also went to see Gram and Granddaddy for Father's Day. They love to go over there to play! There are slick,hardwood floors that work great with the baby walkers! Granddaddy also does a cool airplane ride that really got Rush giggling! He is a little thrill-seeker! Scares me a little that he so brave. We had a great time hanging out with Phil's parents, though! Both babies love all the attention they get when we are there!

10 months old!

How is it possible that these sweet babies are ten months old today? I don't know where the time has gone, and to be honest, I would be just fine if it slowed down just a little bit. I love seeing them do new things, but I also love having them be sweet babies. They are moving towards being 1 year olds!!! I just wanted to put a few things into words to describe what they are doing and "who they are" right now at this age so I can always remember it.

Rush:
* He loves to be active. He army crawls and pulls up on anything he can find.
* He has chubby, fat feet. I think we may have trouble finding shoes.
* He love to jump. In a bouncer. On people. In a lap. Phil's Paw Paw nicknamed him "Bup" when he was little boy because he loved to jump up and down. I think Rush is a "Bupper", too.
* He loves to crinkle up his nose and smile at you. He also breathes in and out of his nose really fast when he does it. Extra cute by the way!
* He can say "da, da". He can also scream at the top of his lungs in JimBob's during lunch.
*Most of the time, he couldn't care less about eating.
*He sticks his bootie way up in the air when he is really sleeping.
* He only likes to snuggle if he is really sleepy. I love when he falls asleep while I am giving him his bottle at night. He is really only still when he is asleep, so I hold him and watch him sleep for a while. Nothing better!
*He has one bottom tooth and his top two front teeth just peeked through a day or so ago.
* I'm afraid he is going to think his name is Buddy when he grows up because I call him this ALL THE TIME! I have already discussed this with my Mama. Most people aren't given the name "Buddy" as a child. They get from being called that over and over. I love his name, so I am trying to do better about calling him Rush instead of buddy. (There.. I won't capitalize it, so it makes it less of a name.)
* He loves to play around and have someone play peekaboo with him. He will laugh hysterically at you.
* But he doesn't like to have someone sneak up on him. I have never seen a kid startle as easily as he does. He gets that from me. He gets very mad and cries if you scare him. So do I.
* He loves the remote control.
* He love the Rainforest Jumparoo.
* He opens his mouth and rubs his head back and forth against your cheek to give kisses.
* He gets his hair pulled multiple times each day by his sister.
* It is hard to believe that he is actually mine to love for always.

Sydney Frances:
* She is learning to go from a sitting position to her knees and has started rocking like she is ready to crawl.
* She loves to smile!
* She has two bottom teeth that are crooked.
* She has many nicknames: Fran, Frantastic, Syd Fran, Boot Boot, Beauty, Buggy, and Ladybug. And Ladybuggy. {I need to work on calling them their real names!}
* She cries EVERY time you put her in her crib.. even if she falls asleep two seconds later. She is in complete shock that you have put her down in the crib. Every time. You would think she would be used to it by now.
* She LOVES to snuggle! (Thank God one of my children is a snuggler!!) She could be held and loved on all day long.
* She loves the Baby Einstein worm that plays songs and says numbers. (Some of you know the one.. "Hello, orange butterfly, fly along, sing your orange country song!" HA! You know I just got that song stuck in your head!")
* She can say "da da", "ma ma", "la la". She also has a really cute little singy voice that she uses in the mornings to entice us to come in to get her when we hear it on the monitor. But, if you don't hurry, it is not Frantastic. She will begin to cry very loudly.
*She is very ticklish and laughs very hard if you goose her stomach!
*She holds out her arms and opens and closes her hands when she gets excited or wants to be picked up. She also does the open/close hand thing when she first wakes up if she is in her car seat.
* Her hair stands straight up and fits her perfectly.
* It is hard to believe that she is actually mine to love for always.

Fun with Friends

Yesterday, the twins had their first playdate. Reese and Avery came over with their moms to do some playing for the morning. Elizabeth and I work together and she was pregnant with Reese at the same time I was pregnant with the twins. We actually shared the same due date of October 9. So, Reese is a little over a month younger than Rush and SF. Avery is 15 months old, and her mom, Kristen, also works with us. It was fun! The kids got to play, and the Mamas got some adult conversation and lunch! A few pictures.. (E.. I stole a few from your post because I didn't have as many good ones.)


Waiting for our friends to arrive!


Reese and Sydney Frances


Kristen holding Avery and Rush


The buddies

In other news, there has been all kinds of pulling up going on around here. Rush, as you know, can pull himself up to standing, so we had to lower his crib. Now, apparently, SF can pull herself up to a sitting position and onto her knees. I know this because I heard her squeal out during naptime today, and this is what she was up to when I went to the door.

OH MY!

Hi everyone, this is Rush. Could you please say a little prayer for my Mama tonight? I learned to pull up by myself today and now I don't really care to do anything else. I am very proud of of myself in this picture. She said it makes her feel nervous and worried about what to do with me for the rest of the summer. So pray for her, OK?

P.S. Sorry my eyes are closed in my picture. Mama said the only camera she could get her hands on when I pulled myself up is the one that makes me blink when it flashes. I can't help it.

A day in the life...

These are just some random pictures taken over the last couple of weeks since I have been at home with the babies. We are having lots of fun!

OK. This was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak. Even after I said I was going to put the baby papasan bouncy seats upstairs, I didn't. Until I saw this. Yes, her head is almost touching the floor.


Those of you who know me well know that I do not enjoy an intentionally placed backwards or crooked baseball cap, but this one was unintentional and caused by some serious napping. Seriously cute, too!


As many of you know, Phil has braces right now, so he brushes his teeth immediately after he eats dinner every night. Sometimes Frantastic goes along for the brushing which I think is just too cute.



I just love this picture of him. He is still army crawling everywhere, and I caught him on the tile in the dining room.



This is Rush with his new bat and ball. Yes, it is an Alabama bat and ball. But, what am I going to do?



BUT, look at my girl!!! Notice the colors that Fran chose to play with. ORANGE ring and BLUE block!!! That's my girl!


Rush on his knees in the crib. Oh no!


Rush in their new baby pool. He really does like it! Look at that expression!


Sweet Sydney Frances! She loves water!!



Both babies in the new HIPPO pool!

Meandering in the Mall

I took the babies to the mall today because I was B-O-R-E-D. I was afraid it would pour down rain, so I figured the mall would be a good place to go. We did some strolling, and we were stopped by many people who wanted to say hello. The mall in the morning on a weekday is not a very kicking place, so I guess seeing some cute babies was a diversion for some. The following were some of the comments we heard along the way:

"Oh look, what cute little boys!" (Yes, Frantastic had on a very cute outfit with smocking and puffed sleeves which matched nicely with Rush in his plaid shirt and denim shorts.)

"Oh look, he has pretty, smooth hair, and hers... it sticks up."

Makeup lady: What cute twins! What are their names?
Me: Rush and Sydney Frances.
Makeup lady: How do you spell Sydney?
Me: S-Y-D-N-E-Y
Makeup lady: Oh, I have a granddaughter named Sydney but we spell hers like the capital of Australia.. S-I-D-N-E-Y.
Me:(In my head... she needs a spelling and geography lesson today.)Out loud:Oh, really? That's neat.


"It gets easier!" (From a mother with 4 year old twin girls, climbing a mannequin in Dillard's.)
Me (Inside my head): Really? Because it doesn't look like it. :0) But I said, "That's what I have heard!"

My favorite: "You are so lucky.. I always wanted twins." There were many other very positive comments, too. They just aren't as funny to read as the others. I LOVE hearing them, though. It just never really gets old for someone to tell you how cute your kids are... twins or not. And.. this lady was right.. I am SO LUCKY!

On the way home, I went through the drive-thru at McDonald's because I had been wanting to try their iced-coffees. There is a reason that she asked me if I wanted a burger or fries with that. My response should have been "yes" in order to get the taste of the iced hazelnut latte out of my mouth. Starbucks, don't worry.. you didn't lose a customer today. :-)


Rush: "Are you serious, Momma? We are going to the MALL?? But, I really want to just keep on bouncing." (Ha!)


SF: "The MALL??? Get me out of this tub, so I can put on my cute outfit and go!!"

Ok.. so that isn't what they really said, but I needed an excuse to use the cute picture of Fran in the tub. I love it! Aunt Ivy took it, and I knew it was blog-worthy immediately.

Leaving comments

I have had several people ask about leaving comments on the blog. It is actually pretty simple. You do not have to create a new email address. You can use a current email address and then create a password. It doesn't sign you up for anything, and you won't receive junk mail. I have actually never gotten an email from Blogger (the site where the blog is created) or Google. I use our charter email address to login. If you click the "comment" link under a post, it will take you to a screen to leave a comment. On the right side, choose the bubble that says "Google Account". Then click "Sign up here." You then have to put in an email address and make up a password, etc. It is only a few questions. After than, you can log in with your email address and password and leave a comment on any post!!

By the way, I LOVE comments, so it would be fine with me if you wanted to do this!! Ha! :-)Right now, I count on Adrienne, Elizabeth, and Michelle to help me get my comment fix! Thanks, my friends!

Poolside Adventures

Do you ever have a vision for how something is going to be only to have it turn out NOTHING like you imagined? I have. Yesterday. In a pool. With twins.

So, it started like this. I wanted to be sure I was well-prepared for our trip to the pool. Several weeks ago, I purchased our brand new package of Huggies Swim Diapers in anticipation of our first swim! It just made me feel like summer was on the way to make that purchase in the those last days of the school year. Yesterday, I went to the friendly, neighborhood Wal-mart to purchase the spray baby sunscreen and new floats, etc. for our trip to the pool. This is our neighborhood pool that I am referring to. It is basically a backyard pool that everyone has to share. Nothing special, but it is wet and cool, so I always hang out there during the summer. Well, all summers before this one. Now, don't get me wrong. I knew I would not be sitting in the lounge chair reading the latest chapter of Twilight this summer. Those days are gone, and I understand that. What I did picture was cute babies in cute swimisuits and hats splashing with their Mama and Daddy while floating in their newly purchased "My Baby Float". These babies would be easily greased up with SPF 422, so their sweet baby skin would not get one trace of sunburn or irritation that is sun related. Oh, I even have these cute little robes that one of my students gave me last year before the babies were born. I thought that would be perfect to wrap the sweet little babies in after their very first swim. So, off we go!

I put sunscreen on the babies' faces before we went to the pool, but I planned to "spray" on the other sunscreen once we arrived because I didn't want to spray it all over my house. Seems like a simple plan, right? I mean, Phil was with me. I would just spray one baby while he held the other one. Like I said.. simple plan. Well, the new baby spray sunscreen had other ideas. Not only did it not spray, it came out in huge clumpy blobs all over Rush. He was less than thrilled. Phil tried to get it to work while I began slathering on the sunscreen from the bottle (OK.. in hindsight, I might have been a bit overzealous) to cover his entire little perfect baby skin. I even put a little extra on his face.. just to be sure. We put on his hat, and he was whisked away with Phil to try his first dip. Meanwhile, I slathered up Sydney Frances, and in the background I hear some wails coming from Rush. So far, he is not a fan. I got into the pool, and put Rush in his "My Baby Float". I am quite sure if we had actually been at the pool long enough, I would have had a claw mark sun tan from the slick little fingers of a nine month old clawing his way up me and out of "My Baby Float" while EXTRA COATED in SPF 422. He hated it! And I do mean hated it! I was all disappointed. Meanwhile, SF was busy dreamily floating in her "My Baby Float" because she LOVED IT!!! And I do mean loved it! She was lying back and kicking her little feet. I'm thinking to myself, "Thank goodness one of my kids likes the pool... gosh, what is wrong with Rush? It can't be that bad." Did I mention that I actually wondered what would happen if a baby pooped in one of those brand new Huggies Swim Diapers as I was putting them on the babies just a short ten minutes before? Did I also mention that I was perhaps a bit overzealous when putting on SPF 422? Well, now I know the answer to my diaper question. I also know the effects of how to NOT apply sunscreen next time. Namely, I should avoid apparently smearing it all in the 9 month old's EYES!!! I don't remember rubbing it in his eyes. I thought he wasn't opening them because it was so bright outside. I felt like TOTAL CRAP once we got the little booger home. I will not describe the diaper, but I will add that the only benefit of a swim diaper is that it doesn't swell. There is nothing dry about it. All wet! Allllll wet!! So, we will have to try again with the little guy when he does not have a diaper FULL of poop and eyes full of sunscreen. Although I am not sure he is going to be game. Last night when I put him in the Duck tub, he FLIPPED OUT. I think yellow Duck made him have a little flashback to yellow "My Baby Float." OH WELL! Every day is an adventure!

Getting ready to go in


Sydney Frances ENJOYING herself!


Rush during a rare moment of not freaking out (note.. closed eyes... hmmmm.. get a clue Mama.) They do have sunglasses, but I couldn't handle any more equipment at that time.)


What Rush looked like for most of the 10 minutes we were there


I think SF looks like her Aunt Ivy in this picture


This is what Rush looked like for the next two hours post-pool fun. Did I mention I felt like crap? Bad mama award here.

Today I am going to go and buy a small pool for our backyard where they can splash and play. I think that is a better option for us for now. We'll try the big pool again another time. I need that memory to leave Rush's short and long term memory before we make a second attempt.