Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas Pictures/Update

I know it's a little late for Christmas pictures, but this is the first chance I've had to blog in FOREVER! lol And guess what I have recent pictures of? hahaha

Robby in his Daddy's arms


Robby on Mommy's shoulder - 3 weeks & 1 day old (This is currently my favorite photo of him)


Our little Christmas present - Desse put the bow on his head, and I couldn't resist taking a picture


Marshie sitting in front of the tree and presents - she insisted on wearing the dress she had just unwrapped


Frankie in Desse's santa hat - I caught this shot mid-step, but it makes it look like he's doing some sort of jig lol


Frances and Mommy (yes, the girls have matching dresses now lol)


Frances with her new dolly, Kit


Last, but not least, our family photo. (from l-r 1st row Michelle-Steven's girlfriend, Steven, Gwen holding Frances Audrey, Grandma Frances, and Isaac. 2nd row Rob holding Frankie, Me holding Marshie, Alex-Desse's girlfriend- cradling Robby and, of course, Desse hiding behind her.)

We had a very joyful Christmas. Steven and Michelle came up from Houston on Christmas night. The kids (of ALL ages) really enjoyed the small gifts that they received. Frankie and Marshie were most interested in the idea of giving and receiving gifts, but of course they tired easily. We had a lovely Christmas dinner together in the afternoon. All in all, our day was fill with much love and laughter.

The following day, Friday, we all started coming down with a stomach virus - one that many of us and our friends are really just starting to recover from. Even with sick kids, a sick husband and friends, I will still say that this Christmas was much blessed. I hope everyone else had such a wonderful time with family and/or friends.

Lots of love for the holidays -------

Friday, December 5, 2008

Baby Robby Announcement

Robby IV was born at 8:22am Wednesday morning weighing 9 pounds even and 19.75 inches long. My sweet boy is doing well -- nursing, sleeping and just being a quiet little thing. I just can't seem to get enough of him!

Here are a couple of photos. The first two are from Wednesday evening after he was born. Big sister, Frances, got to come up and visit for a few minutes (and yes she refused to take off her coat lol). The third one is of Robby from last night showing his pretty eyes open.










And my apologies to everyone who has been wondering where I was. I had a few hard weeks prior to Wednesday's delivery and just never could seem to get online to post. Thank you for your well wishes. And MAN do I have a lot of blog catch-up reading to do! lol

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Two-Fer Twos-Day

Yep, it's that time again! lol Hop on over to Deanna's Place to see who else is playing along today.

Frank and Marguerite turned 14 months old on Sunday, so they are my two-fer duo today. This picture was taken when they were just 1 month old. Marshie is the one waving. The "What the Hell???" look on Frank's face is because, in the previous photo, Marshie had smacked him upside the head. This is one of my favorite early shots of them together. I just can't help giggling when I see it.




And I failed this month with the 30 posts in 30 days. I didn't get to post last night as I was having some serious contractions. :( They're better, but still with me. I can't have the baby until after Rob gets back from China tomorrow though, so..... lol (Not like it would happen anyway. I've never dropped a baby early, including those two up there. *snicker* If we want to talk about having babies late though....) I'm still going to try to post everyday anyway as I like it.

Just because -- Frances got a Happy Meal yesterday (which I don't usually buy, but I thought 'eh what the hell') and in it was the Hippo from Madagascar II. She's been going around showing everyone her talking "Peeppo". She CAN say hippo by the way. She just chooses to make up names for things. lol She's a VERY creative for a 2 year old.

Happy Tuesday everyone! :)

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Miscellaneous Weekend Photos

First is Frances all dressed up to go with Ms. Tammy to the American Girl store on Friday. The girls and Tammy had a "girls day" outing. I'm not sure what tune Frances was listening to in her head, but she was just-a-dancing so I had to snap her picture. Frankie was sitting on the floor waiting on Mama to take him away. He went to the doc's office with me, so he could get a little Mama-Time alone.



Can YOU resist this grin???? Well, neither can I -- thus the snap of it. He uses it whenever he thinks he can get me to do something.... mostly I just grin back at him and take his picture. lol I just love frustrating toddlers!


Little Ms. Marshie stealing cheerios from her sister, Frances, this time. lol Frances was eating a bowl of cereal with milk (for the first time) and doing a fairly decent job, though she'd drop a few on the table and Marshie would gleefully steal and eat them.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Not too much to blog about......

I did have a great day today though. Well, afternoon anyway. My good friend, Elissa, came over to help with the babies and we went shopping at Linens & Things (which is apparently going out of business for good). It was really nice to have someone helping with the babies as I'm having a hard time lifting them these days. I know it'll pass after Robbie is born, but it makes me feel quite useless/helpless at the moment. Usually I have someone here with me, but Rob's in China until Wednesday and Desse had his ROTC competition this weekend.

Elissa was so sweet though. She comes over to play with the babies, changes diapers & wipes noses without complaining...... and even washed my bed linens and remade the bed for me. I'm very lucky to have her. : ) Thanks Sweetie!!!

I did manage to buy Rob's Christmas gift today. I'd post about it, but he reads my blog! lol Frances was adorable while we were at Linens & Things. She got a new PINK polka dot pillow and I watched her feeling it and reaching out to touch other things... just feeling them. Then she held Elissa's teakettle as if her life depended on it. She's becoming such a little shopper! She also now has a set of PINK bedsheets (which I know she's been lusting after at different places - it's all about the pink lately). I think that she would have thrown a fit for them tonight, even though I haven't washed them yet, if we had not worn her out earlier. lol

Frankie and Marshie didn't seem to mind shopping for a change either. Frankie started to complain while we were in the linens area, but he hushed right up and stared in awe when we got to the kitchen things. lol I couldn't help laughing about that. Maybe he'll be my little chef! Marshie didn't make a peep. She stared around looking at things and watching the other people. It was cute.

At the checkout, Frances got a little set of lip glosses (7 to be exact), mostly in hopes that she will leave Mine alone! lol Not that I think that will happen of course...... She made friends with the lady behind us though, talking about her lip glosses. T'was really sorta cute.

Well now I'm just rambling. lol I seem to do that a lot. I'm just glad it was such a good day and I got to spend it with someone I can laugh and talk with. : ) It's SO nice to have another adult female around sometimes.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Phriday Photo Phiesta

Candid Carrie hosts Phriday Photo Phiesta each week and this is the first time I've participated. It's always looked like so much fun, but I've just not taken the time before. Head over to Carrie's place and see who else is playing along!

I'm cheating a bit. I have two pics this week. lol

First, Marshie following her Grandma around the kitchen a couple of mornings ago. Grandma was TRYING to get her Cheerios and Marshie was stealing them, 2 or 3 at a time, from the bowl. Mama of course was sitting at the table giggling and snapping pictures. It's not great, but it shows what a little sneak my baby girl is! lol (And yes, I finally went to rescue Grandma and refill her cereal bowl.)




Second is Mr. Cool-Guy (aka Frankie) on his tractor. He was having a ton of fun playing with the sunglasses that Desse brought home for Frances. They're WAY too big, but as you can see from his grin, he didn't really care! lol (Please excuse the drool down his front... teething ya know.)



I hope everyone has a great Friday and a wonderful weekend!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Thursday's Thoughts

Two kiddo stories:

First: Frances went running up to Tammy yesterday morning yelling, "Ms. Tammy! Ms. Tammy! I want to go to Walmart!"

Tammy was laughing and asked what she wanted at Walmart. Frances said she wanted to "see things". lol Her shopping skills have begun!!! Well, she ended up getting a pair of Tinkerbell boots that are aqua and purple, and as you can see from the photos below, she hasn't taken them off since! *giggles* (Even when they don't match her clothing.)






The second thing is:

Frankie, who will be 15 months old in three days, finally started walking!!!!!! YAY!! He's walked all over our dining room this afternoon and evening.

He's been taking a step or two for the last two months, but then won't try again for weeks. He's mostly walking sideways, but hey that's ok. I'll take what I can get. lol I know that soon he'll be walking up a storm.



Here he is clapping at his accomplishment. Whenever I say, "Good Job!!!" he starts clapping and giggling. Isn't he adorable?


Also went to the OB today. Nothing really new. Did a Non-Stress Test. Baby Robbie is VERY active. lol No big surprise to me. His heart rate stays between 160 and 170 because he's moving so much. I'm having tiny contractions that the machine picked up, but not enough to dilate my cervix. lol I didn't need THAT check today, I assure you!! No other news on that front though.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Way Back When-esday

I decided to join Ms. Cheryl over at Twinfatuation for Way Back Whens-esday this week.

When I was looking for pretty blue eyes on for Sunday's post, I found this picture of Marguerite. To me, it's just sooooo sweet and innocent. She was just over 4 months old when it was taken at Christmas last year.

You have to understand -- Marshie has been the hardest baby I've had to deal with. She could not seem to stomach breast milk OR any other formula given to her for the first 6-7 months. We finally found ONE that worked so/so.... and it was a soy formula that constipated her. So yes, her first year was a battle. But honestly, at 10 months they had us switch her to cows milk and solid foods and she's been GREAT ever since. You would not believe that she had been such a hard baby to deal with now that she doesn't seem to have the stomach problems.

It broke my heart at times because there were people that honestly didn't like her/refused to be around her. She cried. ALL the time. But this picture shows just why she was so lovable, even during all that.


My sweet little Marguerite: (I love you baby girl!)


Now don't forget to pop over to Cheryl's Place and see who else is playing along.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Two-Fer Twos-Day & a silly/sweet conversation

It's Two-Fer Tuesday again!!! Ms. Deanna at Eight is Great hosts this every week for us. Hop on over there to see who else is playing along. Trust me, there are some GREAT two-fer photos every week. :)

My favorite thing is to see a daddy holding his baby.... so today I'm showing off my Rob with each of our twins from Halloween night. First with Marshie, then with Frankie.







Now for the silly/sweet conversation ----

Last night as Desse was putting Frances to bed, she was running through the dining room (like the wild child that she is!), hugging everyone and telling them good night.

Frances (to me): Goodnight Cutie Pie!

Me (chuckling): Goodnight, Dumpling. (Giving her hugs and a kiss.)

Frances (reaches over and hugs the baby bump): Goodnight Baby Robbie. (Then she kisses the bump.) Take care of Cutie Pie.

I couldn't help laughing out loud. It was just SO sweet!

Of course, she ran off to Desse and he put her to bed right after that. Thank goodness I have a 16 year old that doesn't mind tucking his little sister in. (Man she'd be UPSET if he didn't! lol)

Monday, November 3, 2008

Itsy Bitsy Update

Oops, I forgot to post on Friday that I saw the OB. lol Now we're going every week now. *wrinkles nose*

Yes, I had another sono. Gestational diabetes sucks - for anyone that doesn't know that already. Not only do you have the regular pregnancy worries, the diabetes worries for you and the baby, but also you have to work every visit around the sono-tech. lol Luckily I'll only have one more of those (if I make it the full 4 1/2 weeks).

The sono gave Baby Robbie a score of 8/8 - fetal movement, respiration, and.... well I can't remember the last one. Growth I think. They say he's weighing 6.09 pounds already. Nothing unusual with size. I've been told all of them are huge. They measure by head size and forget that my husband (and other children) have ENORMOUS heads. lol (As an example, the week before I had the twins I was told they were weighing over 9 pounds each! EEK!! Of course, they were 7lbs 2ozs and 8lbs 2ozs. Still big I suppose, but not THAT huge. lol)

As for movement, oh YES this child moves... and moves... and moves... and moves! This is by far the most active baby I've carried. And I finally look like I'm preggo -- but ONLY if I stand up and turn to the side. lol I have officially gained -12 pounds (lost 20 at the start, gained 8 as of Friday).

Next appointment on Thursday. :)

Sunday, November 2, 2008

30 posts in 30 days....




Well, this SHOULD be easier than trying to write a novel in 30 days. lol I didn't succeed at that last year, but I think this might work. I'm going to work hard to keep up.

Debi and Cheryl are taking up the challenge as well. :) I can only hope to keep up with these two lovely ladies.

Baby Picture Sunday - Big Blue Eyes!

It's time for Big Eyes thanks to Debi over at Who Says 8 Is Enough? Hop on over there to see who else is playing along.

This one of Frances is from November of last year. She was at my office and I clicked it on the cellphone.


This one of Marshie when she was just a couple of months old. I swear she REALLY looks like a turtle there! lol


Mr. Camo/Rap Man! Frankie was only a month old in this photo.


Remember to head on over to Debi's site to play along.... and see some more adorable "Big Eyes"!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

A couple of quick pics...

Just a couple of quick pictures of the kids in their Halloween costumes.

First: Frankie and Marshie
They didn't have "costumes", just ears. Orange and black cat ears for Frank. Pink and black bunny ears for Marguerite. As you can see, they didn't care to keep them on! lol The black eyeliner faces stayed on a bit better though. They were too cute!



Second: Isaac and Frances
Don't ask me what/who Isaac was. He was just a black cape. lol Frances was "supposed to be" Tinkerbell, but she kept telling us she was a "princess", so I guess she was actually a Fairy Princess. lol Cute either way if you ask me, though I tend to be a bit biased.

They went out to the rec center across the street with Ms. Tammy, Alex and Desse to "trick or treat". Of course, everything was set up at tables --- but hey, it was all safe that way and the kids got a little bit of candy and some little toys. : )

Trust me, there are a TON of pictures over here. I just picked out two that showed the kids' costumes the best. I'll probably post more when I get a chance to really look at all of them. Hope everyone had a fun/safe Halloween!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Wordful Wednesday

This is my first time to join Angie from Seven Clown Circus in Wordful Wednesday. It's for those of us that like to...er...expound...on our photos... so to speak. lol Hop on over to her site and see who else is playing along.


I just couldn't resist these two photos. Frances was "helping" Desse wash dishes on Monday night. As you can see she was doing a LOT to help him out. lol But she did enjoy herself and was learning that we all have chores that need to be completed before bedtime. It's good for her.




Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Two-Fer Twos-Day

Yep, it's that time again! Thanks Deanna!!!

This was Desse messing around with Marguerite a few days ago. Marshie was wearing Desse's t-shirt -- and she wouldn't let us take it off of her for HOURS!!!! I thought this was too cute and just had to share.

Happy Tuesday to everyone! : )

Monday, October 27, 2008

Monday Musing - Family Stories

Today Octamom issued the challenge for us to write out the oldest "family story" that we know. Sadly, even though my family is REALLY into telling stories, the ones I know are always about my father and aunt, my sister and brother (who are 17 and 19 years older than myself) along with my aunts three boys who were the same age, and about me, my younger brothers, and my cousins (which I've lived through).

The oldest story I know is that of my grandmother, whom I called Grandmama. She had two suitors when she was a young woman. She asked her mother how to choose between my grandfather and the other guy. (I think he was a jock, if I remember correctly.) Nanny told Grandmama to go home and have dinner with both families, watching how both boys treated their mother -- because that was how they would treat her. Apparently that's how she chose my Granddaddy. He was polite and loving with his own mother, and she knew he would be with her.

I know that my Granddaddy became a dairy farmer during the depression and that his family of four suffered little during that time.

I know a LOT of stories of my father as a boy, a young man and as he grew older - and at least the names of all of his wives -- EEK! I know a lot about my aunt, her courtship with my uncle (and they're still married!), about their children and grandchildren. I know a lot about my older brother and sister, as well as my younger brothers.

I know almost nothing about my mother. She passed away from complications from breast cancer in the early 70's. I was 2. My sister doesn't even tell me many stories of Mama's - childhood or womanhood - though I suspect she'd heard them. Only recently have we reconnected with my aunts from that side of the family, and I still have yet to meet them.

Octamom is right. In our society, photographs are taking over the role family history story telling. Photos are wonderful pieces of information, but if we lose the stories behind them, they suddenly lose a lot of their impact.

My Grandmama (her name was Odette -- which I've always been proud to call my own middle name) died when I was 14. After she was gone, my aunt found a photo of her stashed away in her things of a young Odette in the 1920's dressed in the "flapper girl" dress and sitting on the hood of a car. Oh how we ALL would have loved to know the story behind that photo!!! Sadly, now that she's gone, no one knows.

Share your photos, but also -- share the stories behind them. We need to make sure our children know their history, from their parents to grandparents to great grandparents and beyond.

Octamom's post has inspired me even more. My sister and I have talked about wanting to record all the stories my aunt knows (as she's the last one left on my father's side of the family), and I think there's no time like the present. After Robbie is born, I think that plan needs to be set in motion. I want those stories to pass on to my children and grandchildren!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Weekend Randomness & Ramblings

It's been a fairly good weekend -- uneventful! (YAY!)

On Friday evening, Frances was standing next to the coffee table holding the insert to some "junk mail" before her eyes. Of course, 2 year old conversation ensued. lol

Mama: What are you doing, Frances?

Frances: (slowlllllly lowering the rectangle of paper to peep over it at me) I'm just reading (pronounced readin'), Mama. (Then the rectangle rose right back into place.)

And she stood there for nearly 10 minutes "reading" this rectangle of paper. lol Only a 2 year old, I swear!

Since then, whenever she has a book open or a piece of paper in her hands, she tells me, "I'm just reading, Mama."

Here's a picture of Frances -- though before I could snap the photo of her on her "motorcycle", Frankie just HAD to pop his head into the shot. lol


Then also on Friday night, Marshie got ahold of the jar of Gerber Grad's treats. We simply call them "stars" (as Frances nicknamed them when she first started eating them over a year ago). Of course, even at 14 months, Frankie and Marshie know when they're not supposed to be doing something..............

Hence you'll notice in the photo that not only are they trying to stuff both of their hands into said jar of stars at the same time, but Marshie is also tucked back up UNDER the table! Frankie's got one hand full and the other headed for the jar. Luckily these things literally melt in their mouth, or they would have choked they were stuffing them in so fast.

I admit, I was giggling too hard to be too hard on them. It was hysterical to watch. You'd think that they'd never been fed, let alone had eaten chicken nuggets, cheese blocks, yogurt and bagels less than an hour before this incident.

I have to say though, that Marshie eating makes me happy. Earlier this week she was running 104.5+ temps and the doc thought she might have a UTI. (NOT good for a baby girl apparently.) Our prayers were answered and that test came back negative. But sadly, it wiped her out. She spent almost four days doing nothing but sleeping or cuddling in my arms. I was DELIGHTED when she started eating again. I know babies will eat when they get hungry and all that jazz, but it's still rather scary when they suddenly stop eating like that. (One of the reasons that I wasn't posting most of last week.... I was cuddling a sick Marshie.)

Rob came home from China on Tuesday evening. We were SO happy to see him. Frances had to go to the airport with me to get him. While we were sitting at the airport waiting for him to come out, I asked Frances what she thought he ate over there:

M: Do you think they fed him turtles?

F: (with a perplexed look) No, Mama! You don't eat turtles.

M: How about aligators?

F: Uh... (Not really sure she knows if you can eat alligator or not by the look she gave me LOL) Nope!

M: How about elephants? You think he had to eat elephants?

F: Mama! Don't eat elephants!!!!

Yes, it was silly, but it was after 9 pm and after her bedtime. Silly songs only go SO far, and she really really really wanted to see Daddy so I was trying to keep her awake. Since then I've heard her mutter a time or two, "You don't eat turtles, Mama. And no elephants." lol She's beginning to remember things longer now. I think it's really cute!

Ok, enough ramblings for tonight. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! :)

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Itsy Bitsy Update

Yesterday was my last 1 month checkup. Of course, I think anyone else would be making 2 week checkups by now.... lol Must be the fact I've had so many so close together. ;)

Anyways, I had another sonogram yesterday. Baby Robbie apparently has a HUGE head. lol He's weighing almost 5 pounds now, and we still have a little over 6 weeks to go. Everything else was good though. I apparently have a bit extra fluid in there, but Doc B said that wasn't a surprise since I have the diabetes.

Frances went with me yesterday. She was VERY concerned about what Kelly (our sweet sono tech) was doing to me. She HAD to hold my hand the entire time, but she was very excited the moment she heard Robbie's heartbeat.

F: "What's that Mama?"

M: "That's Baby Robbie?"

F: "MY Baby Robbie?"

lol She was so cute. After we were finished, Kelly gave us a couple of 3D pictures of Robbie, which Frances carried around showing every nurse and Doc B telling them, "This is MY Baby Robbie." She was just so adorable!

I'm going to try to scan the pictures of Robbie later, but I anticipate them not turning out very well. We'll see.... if they're ok, I'll paste them up for everyone to see. The one thing I did notice about Robbie... he's got Frankie's cute little nose. lol (Which I do believe is their Daddy's cute nose, but shhhhhh don't tell him I said so. *wink*)

My Husband - A Meme

Ok, so I've read this thing around the blog-o-sphere on a couple of different sites, and I finally can't resist answering the questions myself. Debi at Who says 8 is Enough? is the most recent contributor I've read. Go read her answers too. :)

1. He’s sitting in front of the TV: what is on the screen? Most of us rarely watch TV, especially Rob. (Except the little ones - they watch videos for an hour during the day)
2. You’re out to eat. What kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Blue Cheese!
3. What is one food he doesn’t like? brussel sprouts
4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? Guiness, Harp, Fat Tire - any dark (preferably imported) ale he can get. lol
5. Where did he go to high school? McLean, VA
6. What size shoe does he wear? 10
7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Besides our children? lol He really likes hand blown glass paperweights and has quite a neat collection of them started.
8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? I don't know that he has a favorite... sandwiches aren't really what he'd choose to eat.
9. What would the Husband eat every day if he could? Extra spicy Chinese food (and he's still in China at the moment lol) or Salmon... he LOVES the stuff just about any way he can get it.
10. What is his favorite cereal? Cheerios
11. What would he never wear? Sandals
12. What is his favorite sports team? None that I know of... he's not a big sports watching person
13. Who will he vote for? Obama/Biden
14. Who is his best friend?
15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn’t do? Go silent when I'm upset. (Something I'm working on lol)
16. How many states has he lived in? 4 that I know of (just don't ask how many he's visited lol)
17. What is his heritage? English/Welsh/German (possibly Irish? lol I really don't remember all of them)
18. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind? Dark Chocolate with Chocolate Icing
19. Did he play sports in high school? Does Chess count?
20. What could he spend hours doing? Surfing the net.... (*whispers* and creating babies LOL).... Riding his motorcycle...

I had to leave 14 blank because I don't think he actually has ever said he HAS a best friend. If you're his friend, you're his friend. Period. lol

And just because.... here's my sweetie...er...tough guy on his motorcycle. :)

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Little Piano Players

Today everyone was playing on the piano, and I just couldn't resist taking pictures/video. These are the ones that turned out really well.

Frances LOVES to play the piano and has since she was about 8 months old. Frankie is following in her footsteps. I'm ready to get her piano lessons. I think she would LOVE it.

Marshie will join in for a few minutes, but her thing is dancing. lol Guess she'll be the ballerina while the other two are musicians.

Here's the picture of all three at the piano. Notice how HAPPY Frankie is. :)


And the little video of Frances and Frankie playing the piano. I know it's not Mozart or anything, but it's also not awful (especially considering there are two playing at the same time lol).

It's Thursday!!

And yes, I'm SOOOOO glad it's Thursday. Why you may ask? Well, because it's the day AFTER the taxes were due (yes, we took a double extension... again!) and I got the darned things filed and sent! Yay!!!! (And of course that means I can blog TOTALLY guilt free today. lol)

We finally got over to the Pumpkin Patch on Monday, but I just haven't had the time to post the pictures. Here are a few.... trust me, there were MANY more. lol (Comes from having a camera crazy Mama, I know. lol)

Marguerite was delighted to have the freedom to run. I have a LOT of shots of her trying to run free. (Mostly shots of her backside I must say. lol) Frankie was sleepy and didn't really want to do much. He rode in the wagon or sat in the pumpkins when we put him there. We were just greatful he wasn't cranky. Frances was running around playing and giving me these coy, "try to catch me if you can," looks. lol Two year olds!

Now, on to the pictures:

Frances with Charlie Brown


Frankie chewing on his hay. lol (He's such a little farmer boy, isn't he?)


Marshie in a version of dress up (and Ms. Tammy hiding down there behind holding her) --- Marshie was NOT going to leave this little scarecrow dress until she got to have her picture taken with it. lol


My babies and the pumpkins -- this is my favorite shot from the whole day... it's also my laptop background.


Frances trying to pick up the pumpkin she chose for Desse's girlfriend, Alex.


Frances and the pumpkin she chose for herself.


Marshie chooses her pumpkin.


And Frankie just rides in the wagon. Mama had to choose his pumpkin for him, but he sorta liked Alex's too. lol



A couple of last pictures here - All four of us together courtesy of Ms. Tammy. It's not often I am in the picture. (With good reason - I hate being in pics. lol Besides, it reminds me I need to put a bit more blonde in my hair.)

So that's all the cute baby pictures for now. : ) I did manage to hide my growing baby tummy behind the twins, though I wasn't really trying. I have a sono scheduled for tomorrow morning and Frances is going with me -- to listen to HER baby Robbie's heartbeat. (Yes, I've been informed that baby Robbie belongs to her already. lol)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Two-Fer Twos-Day

Sweet Deanna is up to it again..... it's TWOS-DAY! Join us all over at Eight is Great and play along.


Here's my picture for this week. Two of my brothers, Bit (obviously his nickname lol) and Shaun. I miss them greatly, and haven't seen them in MONTHS. (And unless one of them gets time off from their jobs to come up here and visit, I probably won't see them until after baby Robbie is born.)



Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Two Year Old Chatter

So Little Miss has had a few cute conversations the last day or so. (By the way, these are in absolutely no order what-so-ever. Just what I remember as I'm typing. lol)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Frances (with a little tin pie pan in hand): Have some Mama.

Mama: Mmmmmm. What are we eating?

Frances: Cheerios.

Mama (trying not to giggle): Cheerios?

Frances: Cheerios. And strawberries. YUUUUUUMMY......!

(Of course, everytime she approaches you with the little pie plates, you have to ask her what you're imagining you're eating -- it changes by the moment: tarts, cookies, pies, cereal, cake, different varieties of fruit, pizza, you name it!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mama (as I was talking to Daddy on the cellphone): Frances, you want to talk to Daddy?

Frances: Yes!

(I can't hear Rob's side of the conversation - he's in China, so this is the only way we'll be talking to him until the 21st - but Frances's side went something like this.)

Frances: Hi Daddy! (pause while he said something then,) Oh yes. (another pause) I love you.

Then she pulled away to "talk to Daddy" on her own cellphone rather than talk to him for real! lol

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mama (to Daddy, who had hung up before I finished talking to him): Turd. Brat.

Frances: Daddy is a turd-brat.

Don't ask me where I get the silly names I call people (especially when I'm not mad... those, like this one, are the silliest), but I suppose that "turd-brat" is better than SOME of the things that she could repeat. lol And, luckily for me, she usually forgets the one-off comments like that. I'd be in SO much trouble otherwise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Desse (to Frances): Do you want to go with me? (heading to the grocery store)

Frances: Yes!

Desse: Go ask Mama.

Frances (running into the familyroom): I'm going with Desse!

Desse: I said "ASK" not "tell".

Frances (to me): I'll be right back, Mama. (She then proceeded to grab Desse's hand and pull him out the door. lol)

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Desse (to Frances): Come in here and you can have a bite of my icecream.

Frances: YAY! (Then she ran into the kitchen, grabbed her little bowl and headed over to Desse.)

Presumptuous isn't she?

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Grandma: You're a great big helper.

Frances: No. I'm Frances Audrey.

lol

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Frances (talking about a little stuffed cat): This is Audrey's kitty.

Mama: It is? What color is it?

Frances: Pink. (Then holding up another stuffed cat:) But this one is Marshie's.

Mama (thinking they all belong to Frances): Why is that?

Frances: Because it's brown. I like pretty.

Ooookkkkk... I guess brown kitties aren't as pretty as pink kitties. lol Wait until she grows up and finds out there aren't any pink kitties in this world!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was sitting on my bed earlier playing with a tiny babydoll and a bag full of Glamour Girl doll clothes. She kept putting the baby (Marshie -- she calls all babies Marshie) on the pillow and telling her, "Go to sleep." Then she'd cover "Marshie" with a "blanket" (which was actually a terrycloth robe for the bigger doll), and turn her on her side. Then she'd snore for "Marshie" for a second. After a minute or two she'd start shaking "Marshie's" head telling her, "Wake up! Wake up now! Wake up!" ((That's how she gets Desse up in the mornings. LOL))

Honestly, the list goes on. She's so smart and getting so big. I love watching her learn and play. She's gotten so creative too. Her imagination has really kicked in during this last week or so.

Here's a picture of her from this afternoon. She was trying to be helpful. Desse was breaking down boxes after helping Grandma unpack, and she was telling me how "heavy" the empty box was. Probably was too -- it was as big as her! lol