In Love

The other day, I put the girls down unswaddled; something we rarely do. They are much much happier and sleep much better (and longer) when swaddled still.

But being able to capture this made their short nap worth it! They are so different and yet so similar!

And we are utterly and completely in love with them!

(anne perry and audrey kate)

My (New-To-Me) Camera

If your familiar in anyway with Canon Digital SLR cameras, then you know what the 5D is.

A quick explanation though (because I'm a dork): the Rebel is a basic digital SLR camera (which means it has a removable lens (I have an older model of this)). Things go up from there...the early 20D, 30D and 40D; the new T1i and T2i; the current 50D; the brand new 7D. Then comes the older version of the 5D, the Mark I, and the highly coveted (at least by me!) 5D Mark II. Above that is the 1D. Starting with the 5D, the cameras have full frames (more closely resembling the image sensor of a 35mm film camera, meaning you get more in the frame at the same mm than with the smaller sensor of the other cameras). I'm sure I've missed something, but that's the basics.

I decided last year that I would not upgrade to a newer model camera until I could upgrade to a full frame (um...never. just g00gle them!). There is no way on earth I'd be able to justify buying a new camera. Mine works. I've been given two awesome lenses for Christmas for the past two years, and I've been told by professionals to invest in the glass when you can't invest in a new camera. So I did...

But our friend and professional photographer DiAnna was planning to upgrade from her current 5D Mark I to a Mark II. She can justify it! ;) And I was first in line (of apparently about 5 people) to purchase it. I just had no idea it was going to be NOW!

So I introduce you to my birthday-you-just-birthed-twins-Mother's-Day-10th-anniversary present:

...like a kid on Christmas morning!

Popsicles!

I've attempted (and failed miserably) to spend some one-on-one time with Addie each day. I'm just now coming out of the fog of initial exhaustion and recovering from the c-section, so I hope to do a better job of it in the future! It makes a huge difference in her behavior and how she responds to me and the girls.

But one day last week I actually succeeded at finding the energy to take her outside while the little girls were napping. And this is what we did:

Amazing how appetizing a 2 year old can make a popsicle look!

I'm loving this picture: her expression, her eyes, the blurred popsicle, and the drips hanging in mid-air!

I had RieRie come outside to check out our little popsicle girl, and this is Addie looking at her (as well as her showing her the popsicle in the picture above). This is one where I just wish she didn't have red popsicle all over her!

 The last few bites were a little tricky.

But she was determine to get every last bit!

And this is the reaction I got when I told her there would not be a 2nd one!

As our friend Mary Michael said, without the popsicle stick, these pictures would look like something out of a horror film! Thankfully, each is sporting the popsicle stick, reassuring readers that I am not taking pictures of an injured child!

Can you tell how much fun she had though. This maybe a favorite summer past time, minus the cleanup. Baby pool, here we come!

Let's Go On A Walk

I haven't been able to take a walk with Addie in what seems like forever! First it was my surgery. Then it was too cold. And then I got put on stay off your feet and rest!

So I was thrilled the other day to take a walk with all 3 girls and Paul (even though the humidity had set in!). We literally walked up our street to the little triangle park and walked back.

Addie threw a fit because it was the wrong park according to her. Anne Perry was suffering from terrible gas and refused to take her paci, so she had to be held the entire way back. Abbey (the dog) was wild. And Audrey Kate slept. Whew...

I was really hoping I could swaddle (or not) the little girls and lay them in the back seat of the stroller for a while.  That way, Addie could sit in the front if it was just me with all 3. Well, it won't be long before the little girls outgrow that tiny space. So I'm pulling out the Ergo Baby Carrier tonight to figure it out. The next option: Addie in the front, one baby in the back laying down or in a car seat, and one baby in the Ergo Carrier!

But for now...this worked!

Thankfully, the little girls like to be close!

We Interrupt This Programming...

{again}

I once again have several posts written and ready to publish, but this must come first.

Tuesday was Paul's last day home with us.

We went to the zoo (post to come) and had a fabulous morning, lunch, and nap.

But somebody apparently woke up on the wrong side of the bed from her nap!

If you had been a fly on the wall in our house, you might have heard a few of these things:
disclaimer: no, the majority of what we say to our child is NOT negative; but this is certainly a conglomeration of primarily negative responses to her behavior. 

you may not jump on the sofa. stop or get down.

stop trying to pick up Fuzz by the head. let go of her tail.

leave the boppy alone while mommy is feeding the babies. 

push the swing gently. do not let it hit the wall. gently! (there was no baby in it)

yes, that is Abbey's eye. do not poke it!

do not take your diaper off.

stop kicking. stop hitting. do not hit your sister. that is not petting the dog, that's hitting.

you may not bite me. 

use your spoon in your yogurt. you may not drink it. no, we do not use our fingers in our yogurt!

give me the baby paci. do not put it in your mouth. take it OUT of your mouth and hand it to me.

yes, you can go potty but not with all your clothes on!

The various forms of consequences we employed were apparently inconsequential to her.

so...

Dinner. Bath. PJs. Teeth. Read. 

Poopy diaper?

No more nighttime {cloth} diapers. Make a nighttime diaper. Change diaper. Dump diaper. 

Put on sleepsack.

Anne Perry wakes up. Mommy holding her while finishing up cleaning the kitchen.

Daddy goes to find lovey #2. 

and this is what I hear...

CLICK

Daddy: Addie, unlock the bathroom door. Addie. Unlock the door. 

Mommy from the kitchen: You're kidding? You're kidding, right?

Daddy: Nope. 

Mommy continues cleaning to gather her thoughts. Daddy begins to freak out (his words, not mine). 

And we proceed to attempt to tell her how to unlock the bathroom door that she's locked herself in!!!!

Turn the thing below the knob. No, that's the knob. Turn the thing below the circle. Yes, that's the knob. Turn the lock like when we open the front door.   

FYI: our house was built in 1928. That makes the door, the handle, the lock and all its components approximately 82 years old. The door opens in, so the hinges are inside the bathroom. There is an outside window in the bathroom. No outside access. 

There are 2 screws that we can unscrew to take the outside plate off, but the bottom screw is stripped.

Mommy: Addie, what are you doing? 

Addie: Going potty. 

Mommy: No, let's not go potty. How about if you get in the {empty} bathtub and play with your toys. 

Mommy: Stop kicking the door. It's ok. 

Daddy: Bang. Bang. Bang. 

Mommy: It's ok, we're just trying to unscrew the door. 
(as we try to create a groove to use to unscrew the bottom stripped screw). 

Silence. 

Daddy: Addie, what cha doing?

Mommy: Are you playing with the dogs water? That's ok.

Hear the trashcan. Hear the water bowl. Hear the bath toys. Hear more water?

Daddy working on it. Mommy holding Anne Perry. Mommy working on it. Daddy holding Anne Perry. Mommy holding Anne Perry. Daddy finally getting the plate unscrewed.

...and after what seemed like seconds minutes hours...

allen wrench into hole inside door

click 

...finally

We had our girl out.

and that concludes not only this interruption but thankfully this day!

My mom assures me that we will laugh about this some day.

 Not today.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 
 Matthew 6:34

Our Newborn Session

I'm so far behind on my posts!

Last week DiAnna Paulk and Lori Mercer came over for the girl's newborn session, a sweet gift from both of them! It was a beautiful morning, perfect for pictures outside! Addie was fairly overwhelmed and pretty much refused to cooperate at all, but I'm pretty sure DiAnna got some precious shots of her and the girls in the yard.

I love this picture of Addie though!



But this has to be one of my favorites of the girls!

A few months ago, I sent DiAnna a picture of twins that I'd found of another photographers. They had on these adorable stocking hats! She loved them and found these on etsy.com and immediately ordered them with our girls in mind! Isn't this picture adorable!??!??! They look very similar here as opposed to the above picture, which really highlights their differences!

DiAnna's friend Lori had these cute red hats in her prop box. I love the expressions on the girls faces! I cannot begin to tell you the time it took to capture these shots. I knew, to some extent, how time consuming this kind of thing would be; but I had no idea the effort that went into capturing this kind of thing!

Audrey Kate (on the left) has to have the cutest pouty lips! Anne Perry just looks like a little girl instead of a baby here to me!

Abbey, our golden, was in rare form. We had banished her to our bedroom only to find out she had practically torn down the door trying to get out to us. DiAnna somehow (at some point) grabbed this sweet shot of our first baby! Abbey has always been good at flashing those pitiful looking eyes at you, making you feel terribly guilty for not petting her! Here is no exception! I'm so thankful to have this picture of our girl though!

You can see a few more of DiAnna's shots here.

Thank you, DiAnna and Lori, for a fun morning and these precious memories you captured of all our girls!