The Fourth of July

We had a great time last night at our city's Fourth of July celebration. We took our chairs, a picnic, a big blanket, and two cute kids to join the rest of the residents of our town for some fun. It was really crowded, so I was glad we got there early to get a spot near (but not directly beside) the band. I knew the kids would love the music. They started dancing immediately. The band played all songs that we knew. We walked down to let them see the men playing guitar, but we didn't stay long because it was LOUD! They had a man there making balloon animals, and the line for that was a MILE long. I was glad my two weren't old enough to get it and want to participate in that line!! Mainly, we just danced and Sydney Frances ate about 20 Wheat Thins. She loved those, and I don't guess she has had them before. Rush had a fit of giggles on the blanket while flipping around and trying to make himself fall on purpose. That led to some interesting pictures! We ended up trekking back to the car to watch the fireworks closer to our car so we could get the kids home a little faster after it was over. You could tell they were starting to lose steam around 8:30 or so. The fireworks didn't start until 9:00, so it was a late night for them. They were up until 10:00 or maybe even a little after which is incredibly late for them. They have never been up at that time since they have been sleeping all night. They were both great, though, depsite the late hour. Phil and I had to compose ourselves from hysterical laughter when the fireworks first started. We were in a church parking lot in a grassy area off to the side, so the twins were running around and playing. When the first fireworks started, they came charging to the blanket with a full look of panic on their faces. Sydney Frances was not a fan of the fireworks. She watched them glued to either my side or Phil's lap, but when we asked her if she thought the fireworks were pretty, she cried and said "Uh no." Rush loved them! Although, he did stay in my lap or Phil's lap the whole time. He did say "put-tee" (pretty) several times. It was a great night! Hope you enjoy the pictures!

I have figured out how to get both kids to stare at the camera when having their pictures taken. We will invite a random stranger to all photo sessions and family gatherings from this point on. Random,kind stranger took a few photos of our family together so we could all four be in the picture. Both kids stared at him the whole time! :-)
This sandwich played a big role in the night for Rush. See below.



This is Rush's sandwich from the picnic. He kept walking around with it after everyone else was finished eating, but I guess he got tired of holding it after a while. He kept tucking it in random little places. He tried Phil's cup holder on the chair. I finally found the remnants squeezed into the side pocket of my cute little monogrammed market tote. Boys...


In college, we had several cats, and sometimes they would just go crazy and run uncontrollably around the house. Rush behaved similarly last night on the blanket. He ate a bite of my brownie, so maybe it was the extra sugar?? Anyway, that little burst of energy led to the next few pictures. I think his giggles were contagious to all of us.







Watching fireworks

Happy 4th!!

Rush was feeling patriotic. I will post more pictures from our festivities tonight.. picnic supper, a fun band, and fireworks.

A trip to the park

I have learned this summer that too much inside time can tend to lead to some cranky kiddos. So, I have been trying to make an effort to look past the smothering heat to get the kids outside a little more often. We went to a local park earlier this week. They LOVED IT!!! We had the entire place to ourselves because we went early in the morning. (It was still VERY HOT!) We only stayed about 30 minutes because we had more errands to do. Poor Rush cried when we left because he was having so much fun. We will have to make another early morning trip.













We have had more summer adventures since our trip to the park... more to come on that later!

Backyard Fun

First, it was an outside snack at our new table.


Then, Rush discovered just how much fun a "hose pipe" can be here on a hot day.


Then, little Fran snatched it.


And this is the way the day goes. Rush is currently in training to learn to snatch back. He hasn't figured that out yet.

Playing Tah-ra

The kids had some fun with Phil and his "tah-ra" (guitar). Rush discovered it again when I accidentally left the guest room door open. The guest room is where we hide everything that isn't supposed to be explored by tiny hands. So, Phil got out the guitar and connected it to the amp to let the kids play around. They loved it!

Kate, Carseats, and a New Table

We had a great June visit with Ivy and Kate. We just had lots of time to hang out and play. It was fun! Gigi and Papa's house was KICKIN'!! We are headed to Aunt Ivy's in July, so I am sure that will be lots of fun again!

My sweet little man... love that smile!



Love watching Kate sit in her Bumbo seat!


Sydney Frances ADORES her Aunt Ivy! Notice that she strategically placed herself between Kate and Ivy.


The cousins



Family pic!! Always interesting!



In other big news, the twins are finally facing the front in their carseats. Again, it is another way to say goodbye to babyhood, but I am loving it! I love seeing those faces grinning at me in the rearview mirror. It is hard to not just stare at them, but I have to.. you know... drive and stuff. Ha! I think they like being able to see out the window. We also got a new car, so they are up higher. I am sure the view is quite different. If you notice chocolate around any mouths in these pictures, that is because we just returned from our first visit to the NEW Publix grocery store. They have free cookies for the little ones! And grocery carts with steering wheels... we went for the whole experience! And I survived the fact that I didn't have my antibacterial wipes.. Are you impressed?



And finally, I am most excited to present a surprise that my Aunt Pat and Lindsey brought by for the twins this past Wednesday. It is THE CUTEST table and chairs. It is like a mini-card table with four colored chairs. The twins love it!! Actually, obsessed would be a better way to describe how they feel about it!! I can't keep them away from it! Phil loves it, too (see below)!








(The chairs also double as a new cool place to watch D-D-D-Dooora!)

A few things to remember

If you had to guess, who would you say is the most enthusiastic about having his/her picture taken? After nap.. they got on this little table and sat together. Cute until about 15 minutes later when I saw Rush's chubby little hand make its way around the corner of the kitchen cabinet. He was standing on the table reaching for the candy jar.
All we do is watch TV around this place. Ha!! Just kidding.. they just love uh motes.


I am having such a fun time staying home with the kiddos this summer. In a way, though, it makes me a little sad to think about how much I miss with them when I am at work. They change so much every day. They learn something new every day. They are doing some things right now that I don't want to forget. So, even though we aren't quite to the two year mark yet, I want to remember some things they say and do right now because I know by the time they turn two in August, these things of right now will have moved on to something new.

Phillip Rush:

-Loves his baseball glove (and, oh man, does that make Phil happy!!)Also see picture at end of post. Rush calls the glove a "dosche" (long o). We have no idea why.
-Loves to play.. he can be kind of rough and rambunctious but I think that is how boys are supposed to be.
-Loves to ride "hortie" (this means ride a horse aka someone's knee)
-Very affectionate.. loves to give hugs and kisses (when he is in the mood.. ha!)
-When Frannie cries, he brings her favorite pink "Munny" to her to make her feel better.
-Does not like to have his hair washed or dried with a towel
-Eats a LOT of food. He usually isn't very picky, but he still loves sweet potatoes, grits (that's my good southern boy), yogurt, and bread.
-Can say lots of words, and we are currently working on saying some words together. Last night he said "I hep you" when I was putting his socks on, and he tried to help get the sock on. He also told me they were green, and they were.
-Reads his books upside down
-Loves to spin in circles and make himself dizzy
-Seems pretty fearless and ready to try anything
-Loves his ti-ta. We try to get him to say her name, but he always calls her ti-ta.


Sydney Frances:
-Her speech has really taken off! She is talking all the time. She is a little parrot, too! Anything you say.. she says.
-She loves the pronoun "I". She uses it frequently. As a matter of fact, we get a play by play of all of her activities and opinions all day long. Her current favorites are: I walk, I wun (run), I poo poo, You change, I sit (although it sounds like a word I would prefer not to type), I weed (read), I wide (ride), I out, and my personal favorites I cute and I Fwances (Frances).
-She also famously puts an uh in front of most singular words that she says, for example: uh Wush (Rush), uh Kate, uh brudda (brother), uh bunny, uh chaya (chair), uh pate (plate), etc. On an interesting note, Rush now does this as well. I guess he is picking up his speech habits from his sister. :-)
-Loves french fries
-Loves to dance and will stop by Phil's guitar and say "I dance" and cut a rug without any music at all.
-Loves to have her bow in her hair and will ask for it if she doesn't have one in her hair
-Is a good eater but tends to be on the picky side (sometimes telling her it is a "surprise" and giving it to Rush first works.. but not always)
-Loves to run full speed at her Daddy across the room and let him lift her high into the air
-Also loves to ride "horsie" and is relentless if she wants you to do it again. Just ask Granddaddy, Gigi, and Aunt Julia.


In other summer news, we have been busy doing nothing around here! We are looking forward to a visit from Aunt Ivy and Kate. We will make a trip to see them soon, too. We have to hang out this summer during the week while we can because Aunt Ivy works weekend nights, so that cuts into our "hang out" time during the school year.
We took the babies to Chick-fil-a to eat-in the other night for the first time. They have eaten in restaurants before (although not often), but this was their first time to get a "Kid's Meal". I got two of them but learned a lesson. Rush ate ONLY CHICKEN and Fran ate ONLY FRIES... hence the need for only one meal next time. They don't really get that there is a "prize" every time yet, so we can just pretend like there is only food in the bag. They also drank a juice box of apple juice each. That was a HUGE treat for them because I rarely give them straight juice. It is always pretty watery. Rush kept saying "YUM" and smacking his lips. His little tummy was as tight as a drum when we left from drinking all of that juice. Sydney Frances enjoyed hers, too, but she ate an ENTIRE small waffle fry by herself, so she didn't have much room for juice. That is a lot of fries for such a little girl, but treats every once in a while are fun for everybody.

For those of you with young children who eat on the go, I highly recommend these:

It is a Tiny Diner placemat and you can find them on Amazon or at Babies R' Us. I am sure they are other places, too. We use them EVERY time we go to a restaurant. I love them for many reasons. Reason #1: They are clean. Reason #2: Keeps babies' hands off the nasty fast food restaurant table. Remember I am very anti-germ although having toddlers makes you have relax on that somewhat. Reason #3: No need for plates.. they can eat right off the mat. It has suction cups on the underneath side to hold it to the table, and it has a little "food catcher" that hangs over the edge of the table. I wipe it off with a baby wipe, roll it up, and bring it home to wash with soap and water. Hang them out to dry over night, and back into the diaper bag they go! Simple and very practical. LOVE some Tiny Diner! Thanks, Aunt Julia!!

And finally, our current night night routine includes the following:

All of the above items are placed on the ottomon, covered with two blankets, kissed, and told "night night". Yes, there is a baseball and glove in the picture.