Three sisters

Almost a week ago, I had the pleasure to shoot three sisters - twin girls and the proud older sister, who lavished them with kisses and affection! Very sweet!


What a challenge it was! In addition to the obvious, the light coming from outside wasn't very bright, so it further complicated things. But all in all, we capture some tender moments! We couldn't have done it without all the hands on deck - both grandmothers and mom! Hayley, my hat is off to you! With your calm nature, you make it look easy!

P.S. This was great practice for me when my twin nieces arrive this summer!

Chubby Babies

One of my favorite things is wrinkles and rolls on a baby. Mine fortunately havemany! Well every time that someone says that Teagan is getting more and more chubby, I have to think to myself, "If you only knew Presley at this age.." So I thought I would post some chubby pics of Presley and Teagan at the same age.


Here's Teagan in her bumbo eating on a plate, thinking, "Bring on the food, woman!" Her legs are just now getting stuck in the leg holes!

Here's Teagan just out of the bath all greased up with baby lotion. You can see some rolls starting to form.

Here's Presley in her "I love Sushi" outfit that we basically had to put on her in the dead of winter so that she could wear it at least once. This is a great shot of her arm rolls.

This shows the greatness that was her legs. She might be a little older than Teagan is now. But I look at this picture and no wonder a Walmart checker once said to me, "She's so big. Does the doctor say that's okay?" I kid you not, she said that! Me, being the nice, laid back soul, just smiled and said yes. I should have asked what her BMI was and how the doctor felt about that! But I can never think of witty rebuttals to other people's ignorant comments, and if I could, I wouldn't say them....

Gangsta Girdle

I'm a little hesitant to reveal my secrets, but this picture was too cute not to share.


I do HAVE to tell you how it came to be before I completely air all my laundry. So, I had just had Teagan (my second), so my bod wasn't exactly like it was, and really that should be - "was, was", because it wasn't like it was before I had Presley, if we're getting honest. And honestly, we're about to.


Anywho, in more simple terms, I had bulges where I didn't want to bulge, and sags where they should actually bulge. That sentence should really not be in past tense, but I'm moving forward.


So after I had Teagan, I was walking in Bed, Bath, and Beyond and came across a girdle type thing that sucks everything in and pulls some stuff up. Well it's a work out just to get the thing on, and actually it's so uncomfortable, I've never worn it out of the house. But it was 20 bucks, and I thought it was going to solve all my problems. Unfortunately it just cuts the oxygen off to my brain, which is one way to solve your problems, I guess, but wasn't really what I was going for.


So Presley finds this contraption and wants to put it on and then wears it around for a while. It fit her way to good to believe that I could even get one leg in it! She enjoyed it!






This picture is not nearly as personal and revealing, but we put Price's hat on Teagan and she really enjoyed wearing it. She looks like such a little gangsta with the hat and her little arm all hanging over the back of the bumbo (and her pink leopard sleeper adds a little flavor, too).






This is the smile with the tongue sticking out I referred to in a previous post, of Teagan's favorite things. She's actually starting to stick it out further and further when she smiles and gets all excited. Oh what I would give to know what is going on in her little mind when she sticks out her tongue.

Family Dedication

About a year ago, almost to the day, we started attending Christ Church in Rockwall. We had known about Christ Church for a while. At the time they were meeting in the living room at the pastor's house here in downtown Rockwall. Well we weren't brave enough to bust in there with Presley, then 10 months old. (Plus we are kind of chicken like that.)

We had chose a few churches in Rockwall to attend three times each and then we would decide which one we wanted to join. We started with Lakepointe. It was a great church, but so massive, and we felt lost in the bustle. We then went to Christ Church with my sister and brother-in-law who had already gone a couple of times. Christ Church was on the complete opposite end of the spectrum and we felt so welcome and Presley did great in the nursery (she was crying each time we picked her up from the nursery at Lakepointe - which was mainly due to a conflict in her naptime and feeding time). Well after going to Christ Church, we just felt at home and didn't even make it to the last church we planned to attend before making our decision.

Well, today at church, we dedicated Presley Anne and Teagan Astelle to the Lord. Lord, may we continue to have Your guidance and wisdon as we nurture these precious girls in the name of Jesus, Amen!

It was a very special service and our entire family was there along with our church family. The sermon was entitled "It takes a church to raise a Christian," which was very fitting. We are so fortunate in so many ways, but one that speaks the loudest, is our loving and supportive family.

Here's the whole fam. Thank you all for being there!


Here's us with our friends (and pastor), Andrew and Rachael Daugherty.


Thank you, Andrew and Rachael for making today very special for us!

The girl's favorite things

Presley's top 10:

1. "Pappy" - That would be her pacifier. We have started putting it up and reserving it just for nap time and night time. When she asks for it, we tell her that she's a big girl. So far we haven't had any melt downs. You know when she is too old for her "pappy" when it falls on the floor, she picks it up wipes it off three times with her other hand, and sticks it back in her mouth.
   
2. Snapping together clasps/belts/buckles - They call out to her and she MUST snap them back together. She'll ask (or more appropriately, demand) you to "opey" the buckle so she can do it over and over and over. She can not pass it up, and likes to help me when I put Teagan in anything that has a buckle.
   
3. Suckers - Big fan of anything in the candy family.
   
4. "Bobo" - She calls powder "bobo" (because Price calls it 'bobo juice') and you must shake a little on her tush after each diaper change. She'll remind you if you happen to forget.
   
5. Doodlebop CD - If we are in the car, we are listening to the Doodlebops.
   
6. Monkey book - And after each monkey falls off the bed, she helps read "no mo monkey" jumping off the bed, while she wags her pointer finger.
   
7. "OE" - Her cousin Chloe. She can't just say "OE", its "OE, OE, OE." She'll be fine and playing by herself and not even playing with Chloe, but when OE is about to leave, she has to cuddle and hung Chloe's neck really tight and practically make a scene.
   
8. Babies - She loves to play with all her babies. She's particularly fond of this little baby boy cabbage patch (which was actually Price's when he was little). She brushes his hair while they watch Doodlebops. By the way, she doesn't like them to wear clothes.
   
9. Taking off her diaper - She loves to take off her diaper off all by herself. And one very special day, she took it off after she had pooped and brought me a new diaper and a single wipe. However on her way, the dogs started barking, and she tee tee'd on the floor. I happened to have had my hands full at that exact moment nursing Teagan and pumping at the same time.
   
10. Going anywhere - Whether its for a stroller ride, somewhere in the car, a ride in the wagon, or just out in the backyard, she is the first to grab her shoes and head to the back door. Never have to ask her twice.
    

Teagan's top 10:

1. Nursing - She likes to eat! She has gotten to where she gets distracted and wants to partake in the conversation going on around her and not finishing her breakfast, lunch, dinner, or 5 or so snacks. She especially likes her 3+ night caps!
   
2. Smiling with her tongue sticking out - Lately, if she's grinning, her tongue is sticking out at a point.
   
3. Sleeping horizontal - She insists on being in her (or our, whichever) bed with the fan and all the other pre-rec's. She'll sleep in her carrier, too, sometimes...
   
4. Dogs - Teagan shows a big interest in our dogs, Sassy Mama and Foxy Lady, when they come up and want some attention of their own. It's instant smiles (with her tongue sticking out).
   
5. Cereal - She still loves this oatmealy concoction with a lumpy-clumpy consistancy. She opens her mouth wide and tries to grab the spoon, and can really put some back!
   
6. Grabbing hair and face - Obviously not MY favorite, but she grabs the little hairs on your neck and a fist full of face and tries to eat the rest of your face. All I can say is OUCH!!
   
7. Changing table - This child loves her changing table. She laughs and smiles and is gaga for a fresh diaper. This has stayed a favorite from since she was newly born!
   
8. TV - This child is quite the couch potato. And I seriously don't use it, unless I really need to. I will say, I think she's Doodlebop's No. 2 Fan!
   
9. Face kisses - I've kissed this child to sleep on more than one occasion. If she's fighting sleep, all I have to do is break out the face kisses and she gets really still, her eyes get heavy and she's sleeping before I know it!
   
10. Presley - I catch her smiling at Presley all the time. In the mornings, she tries her hardest to get over to touch Presley. She'll roll over and grab her hair. And when Presley smiles back, Teagan squeals in delight! Sweet sisters!

Here's Presley after she fell asleep with her baby. You can see Teagan taking a nap at the same time



Here's Teagan in the "Rear Naked Choke" (for all you MMA fans). The look on her face tells me, she's trying to tap out! Here's Teagan playing on the mat with her cousin, Madden!

Tomorrow they are getting dedicated at church, so hopefully we'll get some cute pictures of them!

Bitter Sweet

Tonight Teagan had her first taste of grub - cereal! The signs of readiness have been there - grabbing for whatever you have, watching us intently while we get our grub on, waking up a bazillion times to eat at night, and eating a lot during the day (I think those are all signs anyway). She loved it! I was really surprised at how much she liked it! She was reaching for the spoon and opening her mouth really wide. I pretty much had to cut her off, I wanted to start out in baby steps.... Presley has been such the little helper, she had to get a piece of the action and help feed Teagan too. She also had to have a bite and decided she liked it (but I could tell she really didn't).
My baby's growing up and although I look forward to seeing Teagan master each stage of development, I know I'm going to miss her being a baby! It seemed like yesterday that Presley had her first taste of food.

The anticipation - just look at those rolls!





Yummy!
See her reaching!!
Sharing the love.
T is for Tummy...I mean, Teggie.

A few more engagements

I wanted to post a few more pictures from the engagement shoot from this weekend. They turned out so good (if I can say so myself)!!