First Kiss

I took Charlotte to the library on Tuesday for storytime...only it turned out there was no storytime that day. So the other moms and I hung around the huge, hollow (fake) tree in the children's area. I ran into my friend Jennifer and was chatting with her when I noticed that Charlotte had gone into the tree with another little boy. Suddenly the little boy came out of the tree and said something to his mom that I couldn't quite hear. His mom said, "You can't just do that; you have to ask people first!"

Uh-oh...what had happened in the tree? I asked the little boy's mom, and she replied, "He says he kissed her," and pointed to Charlotte, who had emerged from the tree.

Charlie's first kiss! In a tree at the library. And as I told the little boy's mom that Charlotte probably didn't mind, Charlotte proved me right by walking over to the boy and puckering up for another kiss. Oh my goodness...what a little flirt! Apparently Charlotte's daddy is going to have his hands full with this girl!

Wordless Wednesday

(mischief!)

 

Here's to the Lake...

Here's to having a perfect weekend spot...one that is so many people's "happy place".

Here's to these ladies. We can (and regularly do) go months without getting to see each other...yet when we get together, it feels like we just saw each other yesterday.

(TEN YEARS of this pose! Why? Who knows.)

Here's to being with a good friend as she rings in her 30th birthday.

Here's to fried chicken, BYOB (& wine) and places that bring you honey for your biscuits!

Here's to our husbands, who get along just as well as us girls.

(Jill's boyfriend couldn't make it, so we apparently felt it necessary to make her stand by herself on the other side of the chicken. Sorry, Jill!)

And here's to having the best possible babysitters for my precious babies...ones who love them almost as much as I do and literally need not one single instruction from me before I leave for the weekend. Thanks, Grandma, Auntie Tammy, and Tita...you are the best and we love you very much!

Charlie and the Watermelon

Tita came over the other night to help Brian put the babies to bed while I went to my moms of multiples meeting. She brought with her half a watermelon...24 hours later, that half a watermelon was no longer with us. Where did it all go? Charlotte's belly! The girl loved the watermelon and ate it at each meal until it was gone.

Wednesday Breakfast:

 

Wednesday Lunch:

 

Wednesday Dinner:

As you can see, our little Bug found the watermelon quite pleasing. She was so happy that I couldn't resist taking pictures of her during each meal, and she was cheesin' it up for the camera..apparently Mommy had better head to the grocery store while watermelon is still in season!

Apparently I've Been Doing This All Wrong...

There's a lot of "stuff" that comes along with having a baby...some of it is fairly self-explanatory, and some if it takes more effort to figure out (Moby Wrap, I'm talking to you!). I always thought that baby gates fit into the "self-explanatory" category: You put them up and keep the baby away from places he or she is not supposed to be. You know, keep those kiddos in your line of vision and away from anything dangerous (i.e., stairs). Even keep them out of the kitchen while you're cooking heating up leftovers. But whilst perusing the Internet the other day, I came across a few ads that brought to my attention the fact that I could be using baby gates in a way cooler fashion:

To get the heck away from my children!

"Kids! You stay in that cage, er, enclosure, while I catch up on my Us Weekly!"

That mom needs to let me in on her secret, because I'm telling you right now that there is absolutely no way that my duo would sit and play quietly in that little fenced area. No. Way. In fact they would probably knock it down before you could say "Who Wore It Best?"

Some families use baby gates to keep their dog out of certain rooms. Or to keep baby and dog separate. But this mom has decided to cage her kiddo while her dog gets free reign of the house. I like your style, lady. I like your style.

Looks like someone's getting out early for good behavior!

This next one is my fave. This woman gives stay-at-home moms a bad name (or makes everyone who works outside the home really jealous). She really wants to be left alone...by her kid and her dog:

I mean, at least they're in her line of vision, right?!?

This Week By the Numbers

Number of gym childcare center meltdowns: 1 (Charlie!)
Number of times I resolved to take Charlotte back to the gym childcare center and try again the very next morning: Probably about 5,002
Charlotte's temperature when she awoke that very next morning: 101.2 (Her dad says she must realllly be trying to avoid going back to the gym!)
Number of sick kiddos: 1 (Charlie!)
Trips to the doctor's office: 2
Hours spent at doctor's office: 3.5
Diagnoses made by doctor: 0. (Although Charlie's daddy has diagnosed her with West Nile Virus.)
Number of employees at doctor's office who probably think I'm slightly insane: I don't know. I guess I'd have to figure out the number of people who work there.
Number of people at doctor's office and gym childcare center combined who probably think I'm slightly insane: Let's not even go there.
Glasses of wine consumed: Er, see above.
Funerals attended: 2 (Brian's Great-Uncle Don and baby Siena)
Ages of people whose funerals we attended: 77 years old and 7 1/2 months old
Number of anniversaries I forgot: 1 (Sorry, Mom and Dad. Happy 42nd!)

But...the silver lining...number of days until I'm at the lake with some of my favorite people: 5. Are we there yet?!?

Wordless Wednesday

(Welcome home, Daddy!)

It's Been a Day

It has been quite a day around here. I'm going to go ahead and count last night as part of our day because that's when the fun began. Charlotte was in the tub and appeared to be deep in concentration...not a good thing, because apparently the only thing that requires deep concentration in the bathtub is the production of a few turds. Thanks for making bathtime a bit more lively, Charlie-Bug!

I awoke this morning to a far more serious issue, which was the passing away of one of the 7 1/2-month-old twins of a mom in my multiples group (which you can read about in my last post). I read the email that broke the sad news shortly before leaving for the gym...not an unusual event, but today was the first day I was going to leave Charlotte and Jensen in the childcare center rather than having my mom come watch them. It's something I've been wanting to do for awhile...they're starting preschool in a little over a month, after all. Anyways, I had been on the verge of tears since reading the email, but I'd been pushing them down so that I could focus on getting C & J to the gym and into the childcare center. Cristi was nice enough to meet me there and help me get them settled...they strolled right into the toddler area and began to play. Cristi and I escaped unnoticed and made our way to spin class.

The staff at the childcare center had previously informed me of their policy of trying to calm down a crying child for 10-15 minutes before coming to find a parent. As spin class began, I kept close watch on the door...I was certain that I was going to see a childcare center employee at any second. Sure enough, about halfway through class, she arrived...holding a dry-erase board with my name on it (okay, it said, "Mary Shelton" but I got the picture). I left class and made my way to the childcare center to find an inconsolable Charlotte. I don't know whether it was the stress of leaving my babies somewhere for the first time, or the fact that I felt awful seeing Charlotte so upset, or the fact that I had been on the verge of tears all morning (or all three combined) but before long Charlotte and I were crying together at the childcare center in the gym. Once she calmed down a bit, I got her and Jensen (who had been obliviously pushing a toy around with another little boy; thank God for one calm child!) to the car. At this point I realized my diaper bag was still inside the gym...but no way was I going back in there to get it!

We finally made it home and fortunately Cristi was able to pick up my diaper bag for me and bring it by the house (and also calm me down a bit). I now feel like a total idiot for crying at the gym...the people who work there probably think I'm completely crazy. I really do think I am going to try again tomorrow...maybe leave them for a shorter amount of time? I don't know...I guess we'll see. Anyways, our day was topped off with terrible naps for both kiddos and a heavy, heavy heart for me as I continue to think about baby Siena. But I know that tomorrow is a new day, and for that I am very thankful.

Perspective

Today has been a bit rough for the babies and me. But it's also been one of those days in which something happens that makes me realize that even during rough days, I have it pretty good. Several months ago I wrote a post about Ada and Siena, twins who were born at 25 weeks gestation. Siena weighed only 13 ounces and was what they call a "micropreemie." After spending her entire 7 1/2-month life in the NICU, Siena passed away last night. I've only met Siena's mom a couple of times at Moms of Multiples events, but she and her husband are absolutely amazing people. Her husband has a gift with words, so instead of rambling on here, I will provide a link to the post he wrote this morning.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mccoy/journal

They Got Their Swim Trunks...And Their Flippie-Floppies!

(Seriously, how cute are these flippie-floppies?)

We ventured out to a new place today...Misenheimer Park (for you Mansfield/Arlington folks, it's off Matlock Road kind of right where Mansfield turns into Arlington). I had seen signs for the park but never driven past...I'm so glad one of my mom's friends told us about it, because it's a great little place! There is a small "splash park" area with fountains and such for the kiddos to play around in, and there is also tons of open space and all the traditional "park stuff": swings, slides, etc.


We got Charlotte and Jensen suited up, then my mom and I headed out to meet Uncle Dot there. He arrived before us and sent us the following pic:

(It says that the water feature opens at 10...it was about 9:30.)

Hmmm...I guess I should investigate when places open before driving there! Fortunately for us, a little girl soon arrived who knew that the water features can be turned on by a sensor...she totally schooled us in the ways of the splash park! Once the water was on, the fun began!

Jensen ran right over to the water and stuck his face in it (and of course none of us were the least bit surprised). Charlotte was a bit more cautious, especially after getting smacked in the face with a stream of water. The water turns on and off and also varies in intensity, so we were never quite sure if we were about to get squirted...Uncle Dot and I ended up drenched, but standing in the Texas sun dried us off in about 2.5 seconds!

The highlight of Charlotte's morning was a woman who brought her two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels to the park. Charlotte's face lit up, so I asked the woman if her dogs liked children and whether Charlotte could pet them. It was a good thing the woman answered "yes" to both questions, because in no time at all Charlotte had walked her little self right over to the dogs and bent down to give them a kiss! I wish I had that on camera...such a little sweetie.

But perhaps the best part of the splash park? The record-long naps C & J took this afternoon! I'm seeing several return trips to the splash park in our future!

Random Updates

This whole no-morning nap thing has proven to be quite detrimental to my blogging! Here are a few of our recent goings-on:

Going-on #1: I co-hosted a baby shower for my friend Cristi. I may have mentioned this before, but Cristi and her husband Chris's first date took place in 1996 at my parent's house. The date consisted of watching a movie whilst sitting as far away from each other as humanly possible while still sharing the same piece of furniture. And now they're married and having a baby!

Cutest preggo chick ever! I can't wait to meet baby Ellison Grace (who is due two days after my b-day...perhaps she will arrive on the 22nd and share her special day with me!).

Going-on #2: I had a wonderful (but quick) girls' getaway to the Gaylord Texan last week. Cristi, Robin, Kristen, Michelle and I packed up and spent an entire day lounging poolside and drinking strawberry margaritas...yummy!

We didn't take any pics of our poolside lounging, so you'll have to just picture me hanging out here, strawberry margarita in hand. (But if you're picturing me in my swimsuit, do yourself a favor and picture my pre-twins stomach. You're welcome.)

We ate a yummy dinner at Esparza's in Grapevine and had a nice, relaxing night of sleep at the hotel before heading home the next morning. Grandma and Auntie Tammy stepped in to help Brian so that I could enjoy myself with the girls...I'm so thankful for them.

Going-on #3: We had a lovely long weekend for the Fourth of July. We hung around the house on Saturday, then Sunday we took C & J out to Lake Granbury with Brian's family. The kiddos had a great time running amok with their cousins, but the biggest news of the day was that Charlotte only took one 45-minute nap and Jensen didn't nap at all the entire day. This is the first time either of them has gone without napping, and I was shocked at the fact that Jensen was actually in a decent mood all the way until bedtime.

On Monday, my parents watched Charlotte and Jensen at their house so we could have a few friends over for pool time. In our pre-baby days, we did this almost every weekend in the summer...nowadays, not so much. It was really nice getting some of the gang back together for a Monday Funday.

Going-on #4: On one of our morning strolls in the wagon, we came across a squirrel. Jensen loves him some squirrels, so we stopped to take a look. As we watched it, this crazy squirrel stood up and gave us quite the stare-down. I think he was about to bust out some kung-fu moves. I couldn't help but take a picture because it was cracking me up.

(Click on the pic to make it bigger.)

Hey, Squirrel...I used to think you were crazy, but now I can see your nuts! Hahaha.

Going-on #5: The kiddos and I attempted library storytime again, this time with Grandma in tow. Much, much, much better. Partly because we were able to play man-on-man defense with Charlotte and Jensen, but also partly because I remembered snacks this time. Don't get me wrong, Jensen is still a wild man, but he only tried to steal one little girl's sippy cup...compared to last time, I'd call that a raging success!

Going-on #5: I realized tonight that I have zero pics of the kiddos in the bathtub together. Bath time can be a challenge around here...it can be lots of fun or it can be a scream-fest, and it all depends on the mood of our Charlie-Bug. Tonight she was happy so I snapped a few pictures...most contain way too much nakedness for the Internet, but this one sums up bath time pretty well: Jensen splashing wildly while Charlotte tries to avoid getting splashed in the face.

Poor Bug. Perhaps this explains her bath time anxiety? And yes, those are books...even in the bath, my kiddos cannot get enough of being read to. They're definitely my children!

Anyhow, that's a bit of what we've been up to lately...basically just hanging out and trying to avoid this awful heat! Hopefully as I get more and more used to this new nap schedule I won't be such a blog slacker. :)