4/30/09

Morning glory

First thing in the morning, all my kids are pretty happy. They giggle, smile, coo, the whole gamut. It usually only lasts for about an hour or so after breakfast and then it's naptime. Waking up from naps are a different story. You never really know what you're gonna get. I can understand that, I mean, I've had naps that just sucked and I'm more tired after them than I was before.

On this particular day, Carly woke up in such a good mood. She just smiled and smiled at me. I thought for sure I had Keira and Carly mixed up. LOL I took advantage of the mood and snapped some pictures of her. This has got to be my new favorite picture of her. I know she's still not really smiling in this picture, but something about it makes me smile. Maybe it's Mommy goggles, but I don't care.



4/29/09

I swear I don't have a favorite child

I looked back on the last week of this blog and felt like I was playing favorites. Geesh! It seemed like it was nothing but Keira. I made a concerted effort to take more pictures of Carly today. Even if she doesn't smile very often, she's still beautiful.


I just had to point out another one of Carly's distinguishing features. Other than the dimple, she has a birthmark on her right thigh. It's one of the things we use to tell them apart (if we're unsure.....which can happen on any given day). I never really had a reason to take a picture of it. I was thrilled to see it in this photo.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Mom!

4/28/09

I can't leave the room for two minutes

I didn't hear this plant fall over and she didn't make a peep. I was doing laundry in the other room. I just walked around the corner carrying a load of towels to put away and found her laying here under the heap. She wasn't worried at all. She knew I'd find her eventually. I think it's true that when the kids are quiet, something's up. Or down, in this case.

4/27/09

Chomp chomp

We're at the stage of putting everything in our mouths. I have to be really careful. Keira is my baby vaccuum cleaner. Anything found on the floor is fair game. Today she decided that her new chew toy was the basket the toys were in. I guess we all need a little fiber, eh? :)

Afterwards, she found Colton's sippy cup and proceeded to drink out of it. It was actually kinda cute because I've never offered her that type. We use the straw sippy for the girls. She picked it up, turned it around, and started drinking. I had to snap some pictures and giggle about it for a while. Then my Mommy brain turned off and I realized I should check to see what's in the sippy. LOL Well, I guess a little chocolate milk won't kill her, right? No wonder she was going to town.....I'd been holding out on her!


Where in the world does she get that tongue?? Carly's the same way. Neither Scott nor I have that ability. We must be related to Gene Simmons or something.

4/26/09

Low and slow

This odd little face is actually Colton asking for his favorite Cars car, Ramone. He searched and searched for Ramone (also read: he looked on the floor and it wasn't there so he asked me to find it). Of course, it was inside Mack....just like the rest of his Cars cars. I'm not sure why Ramone is his favorite, but it is. Lightning McQueen is second, Chick Hicks is third, and Mack rounds up the pack. Check out his shirt. Yeah, Mommy doesn't pick out his clothes anymore. Sigh.

4/25/09

If this van's a-rockin'...

Oh yeah, right. We have twin infants and a toddler. The 2 year old sleeps with us. Mr. Man works days during the week and I work nights on the weekends. Our day begins at 7am (7:30am if we're lucky) and ends at 10:30pm (again, if we're lucky). We haven't had any alone time since the girls were about 6 months old. Maybe 7 months old. You really think this van's a-rockin'? Bwhahahahaa!

The only thing rockin' in this house is Carly. She was playing with Colton, looking outside at the nice warm weather and pleading with her eyes to go outside. Phew! Mommy hasn't changed out of her jammies in 3 days, there's no way we're going outside. Probably another reason this van's not a-rockin'. LOL My poor husband.

Anyway, here's Carly (and a great shot of her teeth! which you can't see because you don't have the full size picture) getting ready to rock -n- roll. Man, it's gotta be hard work to get all that chub up off the ground. You shoulda heard all the grunts and groans going on. Hahaa!

BTW, I'm just gonna roll over and play dead when they start crawling.

4/24/09

Two teefers times two

If you personally know me, then you know I'm late for everything. I'm always late. If I'm not late, then I've forgotten something or someone. Late is probably my middle name. It's completely amazing to me that in the last 7 years, I've only been late to work 3 times. How in the world is that possible?

Well, now that I have children....I'm even later. I just have an excuse now. Let me rephrase that....I always had an excuse for being late. Now I just have a viable one! :) On top of that, I'm a procrastinator. I feel like a bad mom sometimes because I don't get around to doing things I should do (or at least think I should do).

For example, I haven't wrote in the girls' baby books since I came home from the hospital on July 15th, 2008. Go on....add it up....it's been over 9 months. And here's the kicker: I only wrote in one of them. I figured up until that point, it was the same story. I'd just write it again later. Later. *Later.* *Later.* Do you hear an echo?

So later is here and I've decided I better start writing. I've forgotten some things (okay, a lot of things), but thankfully I'm using this blog as a way of remembering. Heaven forbid I lose this blog for any reason, I'd be lost. These are pictures of my baby girls and their beautiful teeth buds. Teeth as in two. They both decided to teethe two at a time. Carly got her new pearly whites on April 2nd and Keira's jutted through on April 11th. I had no idea Carly was teething, but Keira? Whew! She let EVERYONE in the house know it!

There, I feel better. Wait! I also have to add that Carly has been standing up for about 2 weeks, gets up on all fours and rocks, and says "dada" all the time. Keira pretty much sticks to the rolling, has no interest in standing up, but she can drink out of a sippy cup like a pro. It's a good thing I wrote down when Carly and Keira starting rolling over on this blog because the dates flew out of mind a month or two ago.

I swear I will start writing in their books so they don't feel like I loved them less than Colton. I just gotta find the time and make it happen. I just can't do it right now. Maybe later.

4/23/09

Cuckoo for the Tutu

I have a photo shoot with the big sister of baby Claire next week. I wanted to make a tutu for her to wear. To make sure it would fit, I used Colton as a measuring tool. After it was finished, I put it back on him to make sure it would stay. Getting it back off was a challenge. My little man didn't want to give it up at all. He ran around the house with the tutu on for almost 2 hours. I laughed so hard. Everytime I tried to take it off he'd say "my tutu". Apparently, he thought it went well with his Spongebob attire. Of course, I had to take a picture of him in it.

Yes, I realize one day my son will hate me for this picture. He does look a little like he's saying "oh crap" in that last picture, doesn't he? LOL

4/22/09

The many faces of Keira

Now, before you guys start thinking "dude, she never changes her kids' clothes....." Yes, its's true, this is the same outfit that Keira had on yesterday. However, she wore it for a total of 2 hours and then proceeded to puke all over herself. I wanted to take some pictures of her in this dress, but it had to be washed first. So, here are the pictures I had in mind yesterday.

As you know by now, Carly is not easily impressed. She has one look most of the time....the look of her Daddy. On rare occasions, she smiles. Keira, on the other hand, is so multi-faceted and shows many emotions in one sitting. I just had to show you a small array of her faces.

The "Who, me?" face
The "Phle, I don't think so" face
The "Yeah....try again, Mom" face
The "Whasssup" face
The "Devil-ish angel" face
The "Ok, you win....just one smile" face

4/21/09

Naptime in the spring

Now that it's spring and the weather is getting warmer, I get to put the girls in little dresses and not feel bad about it. Although, some days I still put baby legs on just in case they're too chilly. Dontcha just love those chunky thighs?? And the hot pink cloth diaper just tops it off. So sweet.

4/20/09

Finally used my chair!

I finally got someone to sit in my chair. I plopped Keira in my chair the other day while Carly was busy playing with Papaw. She was a little apprehensive at first, but did ok while I snapped a shot of her. I'm gonna have to drag this thing out more often. She looks pretty cute sitting in a chair. Oh, and I just had to tell someone....I like her in orange.

4/19/09

Keira and Grandma Shuster

My mom and dad live in Orlando, FL. My mom comes up to visit about 3-4 times a year and stays for about 3 weeks each time. Due to his jobs, my dad only comes in July for about 3 weeks. We miss them both terribly. I wish my kids could be around their grandparents more often. They're growing up so fast and I want them to know and love my parents.

My mom is visiting now. The kids have so much fun with her and it's great to see how they respond to her. Here are some pictures of Keira loving on Grandma Shuster.

4/18/09

Daddy takes over


I had a terribly busy weekend at work so I was too tired to take pictures. My sweet husband decided to pick up the camera and grab some shots of the girls outside. It was a beautiful spring day. He told me that he completely abandoned the manual settings because he couldn't get them to work. I had to giggle since he thinks that taking pictures is easy. Hehee.

4/17/09

Continuation of yesterday's post

I wanted to share the rest of my photos from yesterday's playtime at the park. Colton loves to go down the slide. Everytime we pass a park, he points and emphatically says "SLIDE!" The first time I ever took him to a park, he climbed up and went down the slide head first. Ballsy kid. So, here we are going down the slide. Of course, the girls are too little to go alone so I blackballed Daddy into going down with them. Hehee. It was kinda funny seeing him as a little kid. The girls weren't too impressed. In fact, I think Carly was a little unsure of the ride. She made an "o" with her mouth every time she went down. I don't know if that meant OMG! or Ooooohhh! LOL

4/16/09

Just a-swingin'

Do you remember that old country song by John Anderson? "There's a little girl in our neighborhood, her name is Charlotte Johnson and she's really lookin' good".

Ahem, so I just showed my age, whatever. Well, my grandma loved that song and I remember her playing it on her record player. Oh, for the love of Pete, just how many times can I say I'm old in this post? LOL

Anyway, I grew to like the song and now everytime I sit on a swing, I hear that song in my head. So, of course, during our playtime at the park.....all I heard was "I can't believe I'm out on here on a front porch in a swing, just a-swingin'". *cue horns*

Come on, sing along. I know you know the words. Don't forget the twang.


4/15/09

Introducing Baby Claire

My first newborn shoot of someone I didn't know. Gasp! Ok, so I cheated. It's actually the niece of my friend, Mandi. :) But I didn't know Mom or Dad, so I think that should count. They were very sweet and I was thankful that they didn't mind that I was taking pictures in my pajamas. I do have to make a note that taking pictures of infants is really a cardio workout and I never signed up to exercise! Not that it would kill me, but still! I had the temperature up to 80 degrees F and I was sweating like a pig. They totally ignored it and made me feel very at ease. Not to mention, they brought along family to keep my little ones occupied. It was perfect!!

Miss Claire was such a cutie. She, however, did not make it easy for me. LOL She made me work for these pictures. I must say I'm very happy she did. I know now what to do and what not to do when I don't have optimal situations, lighting, etc. We got her to sleep right away, but it didn't last long. She was just curious to see what was going on. She liked to do the "popeye" look so I spent some time waiting to see if she was going to open or close her eyes. The only time she got fussy on us was when we tried to put her in Daddy's fire helmet. For some reason, babies just don't like helmets.....I'm 0 for 2 now. To let us know her disgust, she left a little something for Daddy in there. Hehee.

Anyway, here's a preview of Miss Claire (I love her name, btw....one of my favorites). I hope Mom and Dad like them.

4/14/09

It's tough being a 2 year old

Or maybe it's just tough being a 2 year old boy. My little man got beat up this weekend. LOL Colton spent time with his cousins (MaKayla, Kirsten, and Aidan) on Friday and Easter Sunday. On a day to day basis, he doesn't spend much time with other children, besides Keira and Carly, so he hasn't really figured out that "sharing" thing, yet. Every toy he picks up is MINE. Same with Aidan. On top of that, he tends to wrestle instead of playing nice. I blame Scott for that. Their floor time play consists mostly of wrestling, tossing up in the air, and tickling. Colton doesn't realize you have to be gentle....even with the girls. Anyway, rough-housing and the inability to share is just not a good recipe for two 2 year olds.

SOOOOOO, in a matter of minutes upon arriving at his cousins' house, Colton was sporting a nice gash on his chin and a scratch on his neck. Boys will be boys, I guess. On Monday, I came home to see another laceration on his forehead. No idea how that one came to be. And Scott tells me that Colton was following someone out the door and managed to get his pinky finger smashed in the screen door when it closed. Apparently, it was pretty bad. But he lived and it looks fine to me.

I'm sure it's not the last time he'll be scruffed up. Just wait 'til they get older. I'm pretty positive the rough-housing will get rougher and they'll be tons more boo-boos. I just hope they live through it.

4/13/09

Little UK fans


This picture is for my husband, the die-hard UK fan. My husband grew up in Barbourville, Kentucky until he moved to Ohio when he was 15 years old. He dreamed of playing basketball and from what I hear, he was very good. He had high schools recruiting him. High schools! When he moved to Ohio and tried out for the basketball team, the coach required him to cut his long hair (bwhahahahaa) and lose the earring. Being the stubborn little snot that he is, he refused and wasn't picked for the team. And that's the sad end of his basketball career.

During basketball season, Scott watches every game downstairs on his projection screen. This is Daddy time. He has his headphones on, he stands up, paces the floor, and you can hear him cheering, booing, clapping, etc. all the way upstairs. He REALLY gets into it. When they lose, watch out. He's in a bad mood for the rest of the night. It's a fun time at the Bingham household.

We actually bought these outfits when I was pregnant with Colton. Little did we know that we'd actually need two outfits. :) I found them in the back of their closet and was bummed to see they were 6/9 months. I squeezed my little chubawubs into them and snapped some pictures. I'm sure it won't be the last UK shot. Daddy's already talking about getting them some cheerleader outfits and Colton wearing his jersey. How much fun will that picture be? I can hardly wait.

4/12/09

Happy Easter!

Well, it wasn't such a happy Easter at our house. The kids woke up and were immediately put in the bath tub. Quite a difference from our normal routine. They really didn't know what to think. After the bath, I dressed them in their Easter outfits....the girls anyway. Colton wanted to pick out his own clothes and, of course, nothing matched. A 2 year old's preference in clothing just isn't what Mommy would pick. Whatever. I was able to persuade him not to wear his Cars pajamas so I guess that was a win on my part. I wasn't able to go to our family get-together because I had to work. I wanted some pictures of them in their Easter outfits because they look so darn sweet. Phle. They were not in the mood. I got blank stares and some tears. Some of them even looked a bit like silent threats. As you can tell from all the pictures. Oh well, I tried.