TWumpkins '09

While we don't "celebrate" Halloween, we do pile up the pass-out candy and keep in the tradition of carving a pumpkin. The cool thing about this year was that it would be Evan and Taryn's first pumpkin! While we can't wait for the day when they are old enough to walk through the pumpkin patch under their own power and pick out THEIR pumpkin, we wouldn't let this first opportunity go by to get the tradition for them started. So after a trip to the local pumpkin "yard", we found a petite-medium and a chiseled-tall that we claimed as ours and brought home. Evan claimed the tall pumpkin, and decided on a "Boo" theme for his carving (which included a ghost that he named Nave...his name spelled backwards!). Taryn defaulted to the petite pumpkin, and wanted a "bat" (which she nicknamed Herby) theme for hers. After settling on their designs, I got to work. Between the sketching, carving, and detailing, it took about four hours to do both pumpkins. As is standard with every pumpkin we do, there's a design on the front and name on the back. Overall, I thought the pumpkins turned out great...and so did Evan and Taryn...they were each thrilled with their very first pumpkin! And as an added bonus, we got tons of pumpkin seeds, which Gena baked up in Spicy and Halloween flavors...totally yummy!
Well, there's no way we'd let all this fun go by without capturing some of the moments on film. So Evan and Taryn dressed up in onesies that their GMaw and GPaw in Helotes sent to them. Here's a few bookmarks of the fun time with pumpkins '09.



















Evan and Taryn with Herby (left) and Nave (right)



(Casper (Evan) holding hands with his "Friendly Ghost" (Taryn) :-) )

During his photo shoot, Evan was asked by a local news reporter what he thought of Avacados...to which he signaled:

Two E's for Two T's

Last weekend was an adventure-filled milestone for Evan and Taryn; with mom and dad both working the guard weekend for the first time, it marked the first time that TWANGELcare was needed. Having done an "orientation" of sorts with their care-team a week prior, we had as much of a comfort level that any first time parents could have when they have to leave their children under the care of someone else for the first time...which, yes, was VERY nerve-wracking :-) But they say that care, whether it be of the home or day variety, is harder on you than it is on your children...really, it's just an opinion because in our minds we want to be there for every second of every day!

All that being said, we were set up for Team Emily to watch Evan and Taryn. The Emily's are juniors at Warner Robins High School; I (Chad) work with one of their dads on the base and that's how we initially got things going. The two of them are extremely sweet and reassuringly responsible. They did great during their first trial visit, and Evan and Taryn had no problems taking all the extra holding, hugs, kisses, and attention that came with them being here.

Day 1 was Saturday, and the girls arrived early in the morning (7am)...that says a lot for two teenagers who are willing to get up at 6:15am on the weekend. Gena and I left the house while E-man and SweetPea were still sleeping; having left a list/schedule for the Emily's, we promised we were just a phone call away and to call if they needed anything. The first morning went great...Evan and Taryn ate well and played well...and minimally napped. Gena stopped by the house around lunch time for a bit, as we planned to bring some pizza to the girls for lunch. She arrived to find Evan and Taryn happy and recieving a great deal of attention from Team E.
It's kind of a double-edged/Catch-22/Good&bad scenario...you want Evan and Taryn to cry their heads off because they miss you and do the same when they see you come home because it makes you feel extra special and important to them....all the while wanting them to do great in the absence of the both of us because it means that they are getting good care and that they can rely on each other to make things good until mom and dad get back. So their lack of over-elation when Gena got back to the house was an admittable downer...but also reassuring in the necessary context...as if to say "we're good MOM...we love you and will keep playing until you and daddy are done working for the day."

Day 1 ended at about 3pm, and the rest of the evening was back to the 4 Tutts. Day 2 was a shorter of a day, being from 7:30am to 12:30pm. Once again, Evan and Taryn did great with the Emily's.

Overall, it was a good experience. Most of our apprehensions and fears were put at ease (don't know that you can ever get by ALL of those)...we both appreciated and felt extremely good about the care the Emily's were providing to Evan and Taryn. It's cute to see that they each have "their" baby...while it makes it easy for scheduling and duties, it's fun to watch them with their "favorites" and tales of "mine finished their food first!" Taryn still analyzes everthing for her Emily...and Evan flirts with his Emily every chance he gets...and he LOVES her long hair (we've "warned" her about his grabbing prowess and grip strength :-) ) We think we've got a good thing going here with the Emily's and are glad to have that in place for when we need it.
This time, it was a milestone both for Evan and Taryn and the two of us....and we made it without too much worry/stress :-). We found it extra comforting to see how much love our babies were getting in our absence and really that is all that matters.

TWINZ Kickin' it....6.5-style

What do you do when your 6.5 months old? The answer is probably "whatever mom and dad want you to do"...though I am sure that with all the "talking" that the twangels have been doing they have intentions of their own; but it being too early to see the fruits of sign language and even farther from the first real words, the two of them settled in for what we had planned. So the day began with a trip out to the Mossy Creek Barnyard festival (love you Aunt Megan!) It was a chilly day today (high 30's), so we bundled them up tight and headed out:




They had a grand ol' time, cooing to each other and all the people that passed by. And if we had even a dime for all the "Oh look, it's twins" / "Awww, how cute" or looks and points that the twangels get, we'd could have bought a new car after leaving there! It's so endearing, but you also learn that you "have to keep moving." ...if you stop for everyone that stops for you, you'd never get anywhere. So we exchange smiles as we continue strolling the lines of arts of crafts. It was a fun couple of hours and we left with a few goodies and gifts...'cause it was nearing nap time and that was a must for what we had planned for the afternoon....
A trip back to Portrait Innovations for another round of photos (had to catch those "official" 6-month-old photos.) It was rainy and cold, and when we arrived we got stuck in their backlog...which meant a 45-minute wait (even with an appt.) With each passing minute, we prayed the SweetPea and E-Man would remain in their extremely good moods (they were both laughing and smiling and "talking" up a storm when we got there.) Just as the mood pendulum started to swing in the "unfavorable" direction, they called our name and off we went. Overall, the twinz were real troopers and did great. The staff was patient through momentary spurts of fussiness and kept snapping away...multiple shots are great, but you really only need that "one" to make it worth it...extras are icing on the "6.5-month-old-cake." After finishing up the photo shoot and picking out the ones we wanted, we topped off the long day with a dinner at Chili's. It was a great day and gave us some more "photographic memories" to add to the scrapbook. Ah, yes, and to not share them here would be a crime....so without further adieu:

Happy 1/2 Birthday Evan and Taryn

Our babies turned 6 months old today and I can hardly believe it. Where did the time go? It has been an amazing journey thus far and I am so looking forward to the next 6 months w/ our little twangels. It has been so fun to watch them grow and change and learn new stuff every day and to see their little personalities emerge for them to become who they are...it is such a gift and a wonderful, wonderful blessing.

Evan is a sweet, sweet loving little boy. He loves his mama and daddy, and he loves to be cuddled, and he LOVES to EAT, he especially loves to nurse. He talks and sings constantly. Chad and I chuckle all the time as he just goes on and on...so cute. I often wonder what he is really trying to say. When he catches a glimpse of us from across the room he will flash us a super cute smile and lift his arms to be picked up....so hard to resist him.

Taryn is our beautiful, precious little girl. She is different than I would have imagined my daughter being but in a good way. She is serious and analytical. She doesn't have much to say (yet anyway) but you can tell her mind is always processing...she just sits back and takes the world in. She LOVES her DADDY...the way she responds to Chad is like no other...it is so precious to see. I am sure she loves me too, she loves to cuddle w/ me before her naps and after nursing...she loves it when I give her hundreds of kisses in a row...she giggles and squeals w/ delight...such a wonderful sound :-).

What an amazing blessing it has been thus far and I cannot wait to see what the next 6 months bring as we get to watch them grow and change even more. To see the little people they are becoming it is simply amazing to be able to have a front row seat to their lives.

"Evan and Taryn you are the best blessing God has ever given us. Daddy and I love you so much and you fill our hearts with so much joy and love...more than we could have ever imagined. We are so humbled and forever grateful that God chose us to be your parents. We love you with all our hearts and more than you could ever know. Love, mommy and daddy."

In honor of their 1/2 birthday I went a little crazy w/ the camera this morning but had a blast taking pictures...and they did awesome for me. I am so happy they put up w/ me as well as they do LOL :-)