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!

First day of summer

While the babies were doing this, today....


I was doing this...

CRAZY MESSY DESK... BEFORE




NICE, CLEAN, NOW I ACTUALLY HAVE ROOM FOR THE COMPUTER DESK... AFTER

Yes, I do have the good sense to be ashamed of my desk. In my defense, it does have doors that close so that I can make it look like I really have my act together and am very desky and organized. I knew if I took a picture of it to turn into a blog post, then I would HAVE to do it! And it worked! Yes, I also have the good sense to be ashamed of the stain of prunes on my Frantastic's "sheet saver". (For those that missed it.. go back and look now.) They don't call it a sheet saver for nothin! I didn't notice the stain when I took the picture, but she is smart girl.. she just moved her cute little head to other end of the bed. At least she didn't lie in it! (Yes, I changed to a fresh clean one.)

We have had a fun day playing even though it has been indoors. I even accomplished one of the things that I wanted to get done this week! First day of summer.. so far, so good!

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!

I am singing the title of this post! Today was IT!!! Last day! I spent the day getting my new classroom ready. I decided to request a transfer back to 4th grade next year after two years in fifth grade. I am excited to be back in 4th next year, but I am glad I had the experience of teaching fifth grade. It gives me a very good perspective on where I need to have these fourth graders so that they will be well-prepared for fifth grade. I am going to have to spend a couple of days this summer finishing up my classroom, but thanks to my good friend, Kristen, I made a really good dent in getting things unpacked today. Thanks, Kristen!!! I just wanted to share a video with you that has nothing to do with school. It was just really funny to Phil and me, so I thought I would share. Don't feel bad if you don't think it is quite as hilarious as we do. :-)

Nine months!

Phil and I have both been talking about how hard it is to believe that our children are 9 months old today!!! It has absolutely flown by! They are so much fun right now. They both have huge grins, a tooth coming in, and ants in their pants to be on the move! What are we going to do when they are able to move around on their own?? I mean, seriously, what are we going to do? They are both eating all kinds of new foods. They (and I) tried mango tonight. Not bad... not bad at all. This morning they wore their Japanese kimonos that my friend, Lisa, brought them from her time living in Tokyo. I must say, they looked pretty cute! SF's has some ruffles on it to make hers look girly! Do you think I have a ham on my hands with little Sydney Frances? Every time she sees the camera come out.. "CHEESE".. out comes the grin!



See what I mean?


Rush is working with his blocks in the pink bucket. This is what they bathed the babies in when they were in the NICU! Hard to believe they used to fit in this little bucket! They so LOVE to play with it now. They beat on it like a drum, put things in, and best of all DUMP THEM OUT!


Now,hmmm.... do you think the baby is supposed to be able to pull himself into a sitting position in the bouncy seat? Somehow I think this would be frowned upon by the manufacturer. I am sure there are some very scary warnings in the assembly instructions about letting your child do this. I think these are on the way to attic. I am a little sad because they have LOVED these bouncy seats. Some things you can get away with only having one of them, but we definitely used BOTH of these every day for the last 9 months. I don't think most people can use something like this for 9 months, so we have really "gotten the goody out of them."


We also now have TWO high chairs! Fun times with Cheerios ahead!



Well, Friday is the LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!! CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!!! Summer fun is coming our way!

Teeth and videos

Both babies have a little tooth coming through on the bottom! It definitely explains some of the cranky moods, tears, and drool we have had around here for the past couple of weeks. So far, you can't actually see the tooth on either of them, but I can feel that it has broken through. I must say that I am completely blown away that they are cutting their first tooth at the EXACT same time. That is very interesting to me. They haven't really been the same on any of the other developmental stuff. I mean, they are usually within a couple of weeks of one another, but there has never been anything this obvious that they have done at the same time.

I wanted to post some videos. I am trying to do a better job of catching things they do on video because we have found that we are already beginning to forget little things that they do as the months go by. Do any of you readers out there have a great way that you are keeping up with videos? I use the video component on our digital camera, which does a great job, but then I feel like they are only on the computer or camera for viewing. So, suggestions are welcome! The ones of them giggling are especially for my friend, Michelle, because she loves giggling babies. I was at home by myself at the time, so it explains the "handy" camera work... especially on Rush's video. Also, notice how SF is totally done with me by the end of her video. It is as if she is saying, "OK. Quit... I did it.. now quit." Ha! Will not be the last time I get on her nerves, I am quite sure! She also has a huge spit cow lick from where Rush had given her a good slurp a couple of seconds before.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Stay tuned...

I think Rush might be getting a tooth! How exciting! You can't see it yet, but I can feel something hard and kind of sharp coming through. It also explains why he has been such a drooly, cranky- pants lately. Hope we see some pearly whites soon! :-)

Mamas

Sleeping on the little cot in a tiny hospital room with her baby (who is 10 years old) while she waits for the next visit from his pediatrician...

Working tirelessly to keep her twin grandchildren every day so her own daughter could return to work...


Going to Walmart at 8:30 pm to get photos developed for her child's science fair project because it is due tomorrow...


Going to a new job every morning for the financial well-being of her family while she leaves her heart at home with her 2 year-old daughter...


Raising her young son as a single mom because of circumstances no 31 year-old should ever have to face (and doing a wonderful job)...


Helping her eleven year old find the perfect dress for her sixth grade dance...


All of these are things that I have personally witnessed over the past few months. Just Mamas loving their kids! I hope all of you have had a wonderful day with your families! I know I have! Kiss your Mama today! She deserves it!



,n yuh huihb ghb bb yuh uyh uh uh hyu ijm (This is a little message from Rush. He says hi! He is sitting in my lap and was itching to do some typing this afternoon.)