Garden gnomes and baby photos

I am developing a profound respect for those brave souls who make a career out of photographing babies. It is a much tougher thing than one may imagine.

I've been trying my hand at for the last few months with mixed results. Following Eric's wedding on Saturday, Callie and I stopped by a flower garden in the park. She posed the babies and I took the photos.

To be honest, the results were not that good. It was nearly dark so the lighting was poor. The flowers were pretty tall, which meant that there were a lot of stems between the babies and the blossoms.

But I shot the shots I could get and in the end I got a decent one. At least, I think it's pretty good.

So here they are, my little garden gnomes:

Gaining a new sister

Well, Saxon and Ella have officially lost their position as the newest members of our family. It was a nice three-month run, but they joined the rest of us in welcoming their new sister-in-law to the family on Saturday.

It was quite the day for everyone, but the ceremony went off without any major hitches and Nikki and Eric are now officially man and wife. While the babies didn't have a part to play, they watched as Tyler served as groomsman and Amanda and Nick were the flower girl and ring bearer, respectively.


(The gang's almost all here. Sara couldn't make it.)

As for the rest our life, things are thankfully same-old same-old. We had enough excitement this summer to last me well into the holiday season. (Which I'm sure will have more than enough excitement to last me until the twinfants' birthday.)


(Ella dressed in pink for the wedding.)

Everyone in the house has been immunized against the flu, even me. The kids all got the nasal spray, but I had to get the old fashioned needle in the arm kind. The things we do for our kids! Actually it wasn't that bad getting the shot. It just left me wicked sore in the arm the next day.

Despite our best efforts to keep the babies away from sick people, they did come down with some light colds in the last few weeks. It basically made them a little more fussy than usual and they had some sneezes and boogery noses.

Callie and I have decided that with flu season coming on full force, it's time to stop taking Saxon and Ella out in public as much as before. People can't seem to control themselves, they just have to touch the babies.

Once, at Wal-Mart, a Hispanic woman kept rubbing their heads and faces. She didn't speak English, but through her young daughter we learned the woman had six children of her own. I didn't gather whether she had done the face rubbing thing with them too.


(Saxon went with blue for Eric's big day.)

It's a little sad for me to have to cloister the twinfants away. Callie and I have both noted how much joy they seem to bring to people, even strangers. At mass today, we met up with women Callie had gone to water aerobics with while she was pregnant. They oohed and aahed and they happiness they felt was evident in their faces.

I suppose the world will just have to wait until the end of flu season to be enchanted by my beautiful babies. HA!

Busy life

As I finally have a bit of time to sit and update this blog, I'm struck by how busy my life is and how trivial its details seem to me. When the babies were first home, it seemed like there were a million things to write about, but now, topics are a little more difficult to find.

The good news is that the babies are doing very well and are still growing growing growing. At their last check up on Wednesday, Ella was weighing 10 pounds 6 ounces and Saxon was about 9 pounds 1 ounce. They've both moved out of newborn sized diapers now and we are setting aside more and more outfits that no long fit.

The twinfants' little personalities are also starting to emerge.

Ella is much more level emotionally. Most often she is a chubby little ball of happiness, content to eat and toot the day away. She is the gasiest baby I've ever seen and she can really let some rippers go.


(Ella gives one of her heart-melting smiles.)

Saxon, particularly after a good breastfeeding, is also a little joy. He gets a serene look of peace on his face as the last of the milk runs down his chin. He's also got the cutest little crooked grin. (I haven't been able to get it on camera yet, but I'll keep trying.) However, when there is no question when Saxon is not happy. He lets you know with a piecing wail that he pulls up from the very bottom of his being. Add to that the most pitiful facial expression you've ever seen and it will absolutely melt your heart. There's no way not to feel sorry for him, even if he is doing it at 3 a.m. when you just got to sleep 20 minutes prior.


(Saxon still isn't sure why dad has to take so many photos.)

The twinfants also continue to be a hit sensation where ever we go. The most commonly asked questions remain: (in no particular order)
1. Are they twins? To which I think: How many people have two babies that aren't twins?
2. Are they a boy and girl? To which I think: Gee did the blue and pink outfits tip you off?
3. Are they identical? To which I think: You must not have been paying attention to question 2.
And
4. Are they good? To which I thik: Good How?

This last question has been asked a lot more of recent and it kind of throws me. They don't talk back. They don't steal or lie. They don't cuss, drink, smoke or gamble that I'm aware of.

Of course, Ella has been known to whack Saxon a good one in the chops from time to time. Both babies have developed a knack for hiding their binkies. And they do seem to have developed a system whereby only one of them sleeps at a time, thus ensuring that neither Callie nor I will get a good night's sleep until 2011.

I'm sure we'll field these questions and more this weekend. We have a soccer tournament and the Arrow Rock Craft Festival to attend.

We're also gearing up for Halloween. Callie has been busy with her new sewing machine making costumes. Saxon is going to be Yoda while Ella dresses up as Princess Leia. I'll likely be a Jedi/Sith character of some sort and Callie is making plans to combine her Great Pumpkin costume with a light saber to become the Great Jedi Pumpkin. I'll be sure to get some pictures of the costumes once they are finished.