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.

Let the fighting begin

I knew it would start at some point. Crying, pulling, snatching... it is inevitable with all siblings. I knew that they would realize "my" toy was being taken away at some point and that the love pats would turn into hair snatches and kicked faces. They spend all day every day together, so it is no surprise. I don't think they are doing this with any type of mean intentions right now, but just wait! Sydney Frances seems to be the most aggressive because, really, Rush just wants to be left alone. He is kind of like his Dad in that way. He is content to just do his own thing and play with a block or two. Then, here she comes, pulling his hair with a HUGE grin on her face. She just loves her brother, right? Of course, when pushed he will kick back.




Please help me, Mama... get her out of here!


Of course, he gets in his fair share of pulls and kicks.




(I should add as a side note that no babies were harmed during these photo sessions. Yes, I was taking pictures of them pulling hair and kicking, but it was all in fun, right?)

We have also graduated to a larger bathtub at night. I must admit I have been bathing them in the infant tub in the sink for WAY TOO LONG! Poor Sydney Frances has long outgrown that thing. There are two reasons for their lengthy stay in the infant tub. The first is that I struggle a little bit with seeing them outgrow their tiny baby things. They just grow up so fast. The second is it is easy. I don't have a better place to bathe them. Our house has two bathrooms, but there is a garden tub (DEEP) in one, and the other has a tub/shower, but it has glass doors on it, so it is inconvenient to bathe them in there. If any of you have better ideas that have worked for you, I am open to suggestions. I got a blow up duck to use in the garden tub. I hate that duck. Really, I hate him. It is hard to fill up because it is big and bulky and won't fit under the faucet. To top it all off, if you squeeze his beak he makes a really annoying quacking sound. It is a little too realistic for my taste. It should make a kid friendly quacking sound if it has to quack. Needless to say, I am the only one that can make it quack, so he doesn't quack much. The kids seem to like being in it, though, so I will give it a few more nights. My poor back... I am not as young as I used to be! I have to lean so far over to get to them. Of course I have some cute pics to share, though.

Sydney Frances will usually look at you with the camera and do her big cheesy grin, but she would not look at Phil and me. She was too involved in checking out the new tub. She has forgotten what it is like to actually be submerged in water since she hasn't been covered in a couple of months now in her too-small infant tub. She was just so excited!

This is Rush's first glimpse at me after I put him in. He was feeling a little unsure about things to begin with, but he finally starting splashing and playing around after a minute or two.

We are going to the pool for the first time later this afternoon, so pool post will be coming!

P.S. The babies had their nine month checkup last Wednesday. Little Sydney Frances is closing the gap with her weight and height. She is now in the 25th percentile for height and weight with NO ADJUSTMENT for her age/prematurity. That means he was using the 9 month chart, not the 7 month. She weighed 17 lbs. 2 oz. and was 26 3/4 inches long. Rush is still jogging to catch up with sis, but he is still gaining. He had a longer way to go since he was smaller when he was born and the boys' growth chart is different that the girls' chart. He weighs 15 lbs. 14. oz and he is 25 1/2 inches long. He isn't quite on the charts for nine month olds, but when Dr. Jones used the adjusted chart for 7 months old, he was in the 10th percentile. Dr. Jones is not at all worried about this and said he is fine! I am not going to worry about it either because I trust Dr. Jones, and Rush is very happy and healthy. I just always think back to how dangerous the end of my pregnancy was, how tiny they were, and how very lucky we are that this story has a happy ending!