daddy's girls, momma's boy

He doesn't stand a chance against these two... And he's my late night snuggle buddy.

oh goody...

It looks like we've got another freak sleeper in the making...

dear dad, wish you were here

the closest we got to dad holding his grandchild, Dec 2008

Have you stopped laughing up in heaven yet because I have twins? I didn't think so. I thought you may want to know some things about your grandchildren now that you have been gone from us for exactly 4 years:

1.  Jack is you with red hair -- which I find absoutely hilarious, given your constant picking on anyone redheaded. He'll smirk when introduced to any male, but his eyes light up and he smiles and giggles when he meets any female. SUCH a flirt, and he has about seventeen women who all claim him as their "boyfriend."

2.  Erin is starting to be a charmer, too. She takes a while to warm up to some people, but then grins ear to ear. She doesn't like being left alone, and boy will she let you know it. But I have a feeling she would have been the one to snuggle with you the most.

3.  Mary Beth can do no wrong with these two. Jack could be in mid-scream and pain, and the minute she walks into the room he'll stop, track her across the room with her eyes and give the biggest open-mouthed smile. And now Erin smiles too at her, and giggles when Mary Beth dances for her. Their interaction reminds me of listening to the Rosies talk about you.

4.  There is no doubt in my mind that you would be spoiling the crapola out of these kids. And giving Mary Beth lots of sugar and then handing them back to us, laughing as you drive away.

5.  Mary Beth is such a little athlete it makes me smile. She runs across the house with such enthusiasm and speed that it just makes Bob and me laugh. And though we've never really "taught" her how to play soccer, she dribbled the ball across the field on Saturday when we went to watch Kim play. (I'd use that term "play" loosely - you would have been laughing hysterically at Kim!) You can tell Mary Beth just has this inherent ability to play soccer, and it makes me wish you were here to watch her play. And fix her socks every Saturday before a game. Auntie Kim will have to do that instead.

We miss you dearly down here. Though Mary Beth says that she sees you and Heaven Grandma when she goes to sleep sometimes. I tell her to tickle you and get your nose. Hope you don't mind. 

Love,
Your second-favorite redheaded child

six months???

How is that even possible?! Six months?! Gees.

Jack is THIS close to crawling. Well I think he's happy with the army crawl actually. And Erin is starting to be a little rolling over fool. No matter where we put them on the big area rug, they roll/crawl to each other and, well, beat the crap out of each other. Not on purpose, but Jack did have a bruise on his arm today from where Erin was flailing her arms around and hitting him. Oops. The sign of things to come, I'm sure!

So the photo is our normal monthly photo-- with anything but normal results. I didn't expect them to both fit or smile. I love when they prove me wrong!!

army crawler

Oh we're in trouble. Not only does he army crawl... he likes the phone.

Sigh.

At least I have a good video of it.

our little artist

I suppose I should be thankful she did this with pen and not a permanent marker. Or to her brother and sister...

well hello 5 month cuties!

So the last month has been a whirlwind. We left Grapevine, moved back here to San Antonio, the kids all started a new school, I started working my job remote from home, we've tried (somewhat unsuccessfully) to get the new house in order, and I even went back up to Dallas for a 3 day planning meeting.

I got tired just even typing that.

Mary Beth is as cute as ever, always running into the twins' room to give us diapers and wipes. And she seems to have this incredible ability to just walk into the room and Jack will stop all crying. Man does he love his big sister! The smiles he gives her just melt our hearts. It's seriously adorable.

Erin has really opened up in this last month. Sometimes SHE'S actually the quiet, chilled out baby. And she is smiling up a storm now too. (Well, but not smiling in these photos...) All the teachers at their school comment about how beautiful she is. Well, I can't argue with that.

And how cool is it that we created three blue-eyed redheads? Go go recessive genes!!!

So I'm not sure that we will be able to take their 6 month photo in the lamb together next month. As you can see from these 5 month photos, it's not exactly a happy fit. She was VERY MUCH not happy. But it's still funny to look at, eh?!

Gotta love the progression here...

my little super heroes

Our new home in San Antonio is very well protected by Super Girl, Wonder Baby and Bat Baby.

I myself am Super Mom--able to carry two car seats in a single trip! No costume required.

4 months!

Dear Erin and Jack,

I can't believe it, but you're 4 months old today. And we're all still alive! Laugh if you will, but lately this is no small feat. We're now officially within one week of all of us being under the same roof in our new house in San Antonio, and it CAN'T COME SOON ENOUGH.

Seriously, Mama's tired and Dad misses you both so much during the week.

When he got to the Grapevine house on Saturday, you both greeted Dad with the biggest smiles in the world. I'm pretty sure it made his week. The open-mouth smile you see in the photo above is your newest look, Jack. And it makes all of this single-momdom almost worthwhile.

And Erin - you have actually started smiling now. It's absolutely adorable. Unfortunately the smiles come sporadically within bouts of cries/screams, but we still love ya. Don't believe me? Here's an outtake from our monthly photo session:

Don't worry - there are a TON of photos of me like that when I was your age. Your Auntie Kim and Uncle Rob will be glad to show you those.

So let's review how far we've come now!

 

Please keep up the smiles! We love you!

Love,

Mom and Dad

our drinking problem

This is one day's worth of bottles.

I wish I was kidding.

kim and jack

Apparently Kim and Jack have a bond only the quiet twin would get. I sent her the picture above and here is the conversation that ensued: 

It's hard to argue with her, though. Here are Erin and Jack the other night...

And here are Kim and me with Geimps when we were their age.

I'll let you guess which one I am.

I see her point.

all smiles...

oh really?

This morning I was told my outfit didn't match because my shirt wasn't green.

By HER. Wearing THIS:

On a good note, I love her creativity and sticking to what she really likes!

three months!

Yeah, it's getting harder to get them in the lamb together...

3 months

2 months

 

 1 month

 

couple of days!

you mess with the bull...

...you get the horns.

Seriously, she looks like she's about to punch someone. Tough girl, she is. But then there's Jack, who doesn't look like he enjoyed how loud she was getting.

Can't you see I'm trying to relax here?

Oh this is getting fun...

jack--the chillmeister

So the twins' personalities are starting to shine through. And while Erin can be, um, a handful, Jack is the epitome of cool and relaxed. He kicks back and watches Erin yell, and it's almost as if you can just hear him saying "Yo sis. Chill."

Even the pictures are starting to show it:

Stay cool, Jackey-Jack!!

mary beth's baby

Mary Beth calls the twins "her babies" or "her twins." Though I haven't seen her feeding them at 4 in the morning, but hey. Anyway, what do little girls do with their babies? Play dress up, of course! Especially with her shoes. Just so you know, they didn't fit Erin...

boo!!!

mary beth decided to scare us last night...

erin was not amused.

but jack was.

:-)

the babes, they are a' growin'...

Twinkies on day 1. Yeah, they don't look like this anymore...

I took the munchkins to the doctor today for their 2 month appointment. Well, Mary Beth came too, but she escaped the necessary immunizations that the twins had to endure. Poor kiddos. Actually, poor me. I think it hurt me more. Jack cried until I picked him up (exactly 2 seconds after the last shot in his leg). Erin cried just a bit longer, but for the rest of the time there she had a look on her face like I killed her puppy.

There is no puppy.

We joke that Jack is a "Chunky Monkey" because he feels signifcantly bigger than Erin. Well, he definitely is bigger, but I was happy to find out he's not "chunkier" than most other babies his age. As if Bob and I could produce a chunky child...

So here are the stats:

• Erin is now 9 pounds, 13 ounces. WHAT?!?! Remember, she started at 5 pounds, 5 ounces. Poor princess was in the 2nd percentile then. Now she's in the 23rd. Milk - it does the body good.
• She's also now 20.5 inches long. Not going to tell you the wimpy percentile that is because it's just sad. But none of us kids are winning any height contests and we all turned out just fine.
• Jack is now 11 pounds, 7 ounces. That's right. Almost 2 pounds heavier than his sister. No wonder my arms are getting ripped. He is in the 43rd percentile - was born in the 27th. That boy can eat!
• And he's 22.5 inches long. That puts him right at the 42nd percentile. Consistent, isn't he?
• BONUS - I joke that the Francisco boys have big heads, but I'm usually talking about attitudes. But in this case, JACK HAS A BIG OL' HEAD. Like 72nd percentile. Goober.

Dr. Z said everything else looked fantastic, and sang my praises for making it more than 9 weeks without giving them any formula. Mary Beth never had formula and we went direct to whole milk at a year. I can't promise that with these hungry, hungry hippos, but I'll do it as long as my body will hold out.

Poor body... good thing they're cute.



two months...

dear erin and jack,

last week you turned 2 months old. hard to believe it's only been 2 months, and it also feels like just yesterday you were born! i'd be lying if i told you it's been an easy time -- one day we'll fill you in on how your dad started at a new golf course right before you were born. basically i've been doing the single-mom thing for a while now, but dad comes home on the weekends to shower you with kisses. soon we'll all be under the same roof and maybe i'll get more than 2 hours of sleep at a time!!

so far you two are as different as you can be. and once we get used to one of you being one personality, you two switch and throw us for a loop. right now jack is the "chill one." and erin, well, you're quite loud. and belive me it's ironic for me to write that because i believe your grandpa would tell you i was not a quiet infant myself.

your big sis mary beth LOVES having you two around, though yesterday i did hear her asking for erin to stop crying... she hands me diapers and wipes and is constantly giving you "kisses AND hugs!" she even holds the hand of whichever twin is next to her on the way to/from school. it's not easy for her to have so much of our attention given to you two, but i think she's handling it like a champ.

this thursday you two have a doctor appointment that i'm not looking forward to. it's shot time. boooo. this is the one that hurts me more than you (hopefully) because i know the shots are coming. i may have to hand out earplugs for erin's screams though...

and we have continued our tradition of nicknames... the first night we came home from the hospital with mary beth she was donned "baby love." well, erin, you are "sweet pea." and jack, you actually have two nicknames. first, mary beth named you "HER jackey-jack." and i hate to break it to you, but you're also "chunky monkey." you'll understand when you see the pictures. but you're OUR chunky monkey and sweet pea, and we couldn't love you any more.

love,
mom and dad

jack tells erin to back off for his photo op...

 

yeah, you try and get both twins to look at a camera!

 

princess erin FINALLY asleep.. and little jackey-jack shows off his cheeks!