I've got nothing to say

Really... I know it doesn't happen often, but I don't have anything to blog about. I could tell you some gross stories about how we spent the last week with both kids having a stomach virus, but I will spare you those details. Instead of enjoying birthday parties and fun times with friends, we stayed at home... eating saltines and trying to force unwilling little people to drink Pedialyte. SF said, "Eh NOOOOOOOOO... milt" which translates to "Whatever is in my cup doesn't look like milt, so I am not even going to try it. Get me some milt." Unfortunately, milt was not on the stomach bug menu, so she had to wait a while for that. So, there are no fun action shots from the birthday parties we missed or fun days spent in the beautiful sunshine. We did finally venture out at the end of the weekend for some shoe shopping. I dressed them in what they would have worn to the birthday parties if we had been able to go. Enjoy the un-birthday party cuteness.


I don't want you to take my picture.



All of Rush's photos these days are "action" shots. He won't be still or keep his shirt tucked in. And he always needs a bat in his hand. (Psst.. I secretly love that... very boyish of him.)



I actually think SF looks like Rush a little bit here. I don't usually think they look alike. I also love this picture.



And finally, this one is of Rush snoozing and refusing to wake up for school while visions of his teenage years flash in my head. I love how Puppy is snuggled around his neck. (Note from Rush the Woodchuck... please notice to the right of the picture that I believe cribs make excellent teething equipment. A little furniture finish never hurt anyone.) Seriously, we had to wrap as much of the edge of the crib as we could in 'sheet-savers'. This little bit of gnawed crib slipped through, though.

Getting comfy

These two do so many things on a daily basis that just make us laugh! Phil and I have decorative pillows that go on our bed when it is actually made. Truthfully, that doesn't happen often, so the pillows are usually stacked in front of our dresser. What a perfect place for the kiddos to play! Rush went over and grabbed a pillow and propped himself up at the end of our bed against the foot board. It just cracked me up that he decided to do this all on his own. He just settled in and looked around. When he saw that we thought it was funny, he laughed too. Of course, sweet SF had to join in with her own pillow. That girl doesn't want to miss any fun! She takes after her Mama that way!

Easter

I know... I know... Easter was almost a week ago. I have heard from several people that they are wanting to see some Easter pictures, so here they are!!! We had a GREAT Easter! On the Saturday before Easter, we went to our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt. Boy, we really missed the boat on that one!! It was supposed to start at 10:00, and we had gotten an email reminding us that it started promptly at 10:00. We were moving a little slowly that morning, and it was 10:00 and we were still at home. No worries, right? It was literally only one short street away in our neighborhood. Phil was a few minutes behind me with showering/dressing, so I told him I would go ahead and take the kids to the egg hunt, and he could meet us in a few minutes. I even made a pot of fresh coffee for us so that we could take a mugful to the egg hunt. Completely unnecessary coffee, it is evident now. When I pulled up with the kids in the wagon, I could hear them getting ready to start the egg hunt. OK. It hadn't started yet. Then, all of a sudden there were a huge bunch of kids running like crazy up the cul-de-sac. Screaming, running, snatching, running, and some more screaming! They were having a ball!!! Me? I was getting the kids out of the wagon. To make a long story short:
10:00 a.m. At home.. make decision to head to egg hunt.
10:02 a.m. Mass running and hunting
10:04 a.m. My friend, Susan, sees me and grabs Fran while I take Rush to the "kiddie section" to grab a few eggs. (She is a Mama of twins, too, so I think she felt sorry for me.)
10:06 a.m. Egg Hunt over.
10:07 a.m. Phil arrives with fresh coffee in hand
10:08 a.m. We laugh and say, "Oh well, maybe next year."

After the Egg Hunt, though, there was a special guest. Guess who? Guess what Fran thought about him? Hahahahahah!!! She was not a fan of the Easter bunny. She was willing to accept a roll of Smarties from his basket, but sit in his lap? You crazy people must be out of your minds!!!!!





On Easter Sunday, we spent time with our families. Sydney Frances was very interested in hunting eggs. She ran around and frantically placed eggs in her basket. She seemed to want to get as many as possible in her basket. Rush, on the other hand, would choose a few eggs and then stop to examine them. He would take them apart and look at them. I thought it was so funny because it really does kind of fit with their personalities. She was busy and sassy. He was taking it easy and figuring out how everything worked. Enjoy the pictures!!

Flashback Friday

Last Easter-- 7 months old

Meeting Our Cousin

Rush and Sydney Frances finally had the pleasure of meeting their absolutely precious new baby cousin, Kate. Kate and Aunt Ivy made the trip home to see everyone and stayed for a couple of days. The first day they were in town, we stopped by Gigi and Papa's after daycare for a playdate. Rush and Sydney Frances got to watch Papa wash my car (THANK YOU, DADDY!). Then, Papa let them spray the "hose pipe". Both babies seemed very interested in Kate. They touched her feet and tried to touch her head. She didn't seem to mind at all. Rush kept saying "beh-bee" in his deep little voice. Sydney Frances called her "bee-bee". Both of them will also try to say "Kate". Rush seemed much more interested in loving her. He finally got up the courage at the end of the night to kiss her on top of her head when I was kissing her. Sydney Frances was significantly less interested in having someone else take up her permanent spot in Aunt Ivy's lap. She was sweet to Kate, but I did pick up on a jealous vibe since she is used to having Aunt Ivy's nearly undivided attention. Sydney Frances just backed her little self up and sat in Ivy's lap while she was holding Kate. She just wants to be sure Kate knows who's boss. :-)

Some pictures of our visit:

Spring Break Beach Trip

We had such a great time at the beach last week. It was my Spring Break from work, and we had been planning for a while to take the babies to the beach. I had already learned a lesson from a friend about expectations on beach trips with little ones. Thank goodness her kids are older than mine, so she can give me a fair warning on all the things that might not be that fun as a parent. A trip to the beach was one of the things she had told me "not so fun" stories about several years ago. We decided our philosophy would be that we understood we would be just as crazy busy and tired as we are at home, but there would be a beach outside and fresh seafood in restaurants. Looking at it from that perspective really worked! It was so much fun!

Rush LOVED, and I mean L-O-V-E-D the beach!!! He immediately wanted to walk in the sand. We just gave him a shovel and a bucket, and he went to work. He shoveled and dug in the sand the whole time we were on the beach. Phil took him down to the edge of the water, and he let the freezing cold water run over his feet. He just laughed and laughed. He will be with me one day sitting on the beach for hours at a time. He can dig in the sand and I can read. (Yes, reading is what I used to do on the beach pre-twins.)



Rush's first steps on the beach






Rush's fun times in the sand!!!






My sweet Sydney Frances was a little less sure of all of that sand, although she handled it pretty well. Her personality (so far) shows us that she likes to watch first, and then participate after she has had some time to observe. She walked in the sand a little the first day, but she really wanted us to pick her up. Then, when it was time for the play time on the beach, she started out by sitting on the end of our beach chairs. Then, we convinced her to move to a beach towel. After that, she moved to the edge of the towel so she could play in the sand. I had the sweetest moment with her on the beach after she had mustered up some courage. She turned and looked at me from her towel. She then stood in the middle of the beach towel and locked eyes with me (in the chair). Then, she smiled at me and very quickly walked across the sand to me. I cheered for her, and she was so proud of herself!!! So sweet!

Sydney Frances's first steps on the beach:






Sydney Frances's fun in the sun..






We enjoyed a trip to a great restaurant in Seaside called Great Southern. It is SO good. We ate our dinner on the deck because the weather was so nice. I confess... we went two nights in a row because it was a good, noisy place that didn't mind having two kids there.. AND the Grits A Ya Ya, their signature dish, is TO DIE FOR!!! Grits and fresh shrimp. What could be better for this southern girl? Ha! I love it!!



Rush and SF had popcorn shrimp. Doesn't it look like they are having a conversation here?

Overall, it was such a great trip. They traveled well. We even got stuck in traffic a couple of times, but they hung in there. I got a lot more free time than I thought I would. During nap time, Phil would stay in the condo with the babies, and I would get my beach reading time in! He knows I love that beach!!! (Thanks, Phil!) I am already trying to convince Phil that we should go again for my Fall break in October. Don't you think that is a good idea?

Beach Teaser

We are having a great time at the beach! We are leaving to come home tomorrow morning, but I wanted to put up at least one picture to let you guys see the babies on the beach. Great memories! More pictures and a post to come...