9 MONTHS OLD AND ALABAMA BOUND!

Well, today is our last day in sunny Florida. Blake and I are so excited to get the boys home to be closer to family. There are a lot of unknowns at the moment which makes our transition a little stressful, but finally having family around will be such a huge help. We have had such a great time in Florida and made some amazing friends whom we are going to miss dearly. They became our extended family. Not only did they take care of us, but now we have the boys that they have grown to love so I know that our moving is not easy for them either. But these are friends we will have for life. It is amazing to think how much things have changed for Blake and I. Just five years ago we were not even together and look at us now. We have accomplished so much in such a short period of time and now we are moving on to the next phase or our lives. It is all about the boys now and I would not change  it for the world. Moving away did wonderful things for Blake and I and our relationship, but moving back is going to do wonderful things for our children. For all of my Florida friends that are reading this, I miss you already and thank you for your love and support. And to my family and friends back home, I am really looking forward to lots of hugs when I see each and every one of you!

Trip Details:
I picked my Mom up from the airport this morning at 1:00 a.m. Today we are getting the truck, packing it up and cleaning the house. Our friends have graciously allowed us to stay at their house tonight so we can get good sleep and we will leave bright and early Saturday and drive to Hope Hull. Mom will ride with me and the boys and Blake and Loli will have the truck with all our junk. Sunday, after some much needed rest we will head to Cherokee. Then, who knows. I feel like a gypsy :)

On another note....The boys are 9 MONTHS!!!! I keep thinking to myself, "I have had them in my life for as long as I carried them in my belly." It's a strange thought. And they are just the cutest things now. So full of personality and love. Their differences are starting to show and I am loving it. Daniel started making a fish face and Dalton has started clicking his tongue or smacking. Daniel takes toys from Dalton all the time and he initiates play more often. As in, he will take off crawling and he will be yelling and then stop and turn around to see if Dalton is following him. Daniel can lay in his crib and be content but Dalton typically cries the minute he wakes up. Dalton is still the ham and Daniel is a bit more serious. They are both pulling up on anything and everything and cruising around. They are working on a 7th tooth at the moment as well.

The doctor said that they are doing great. They are both in the 75th percentile for height, but only in the 5th percentile for weight. So the doctor told us to try to fatten them up. He told me to give them lots of fried foods and to add butter to everything they eat. It sounds disgusting to me  and unhealthy but he said that they can have that kind of stuff until they are two. So yesterday they boys got their first taste of Chik-fil-a and they loved it! Daniel weighs 17lbs 1oz and is 29" tall. Dalton weighs 16lbs. 14oz. and is 28.4" tall.

Daniel and Dalton also had to get their finger pricked and they recieved the first dose of both the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1. They will get the second shot in a month. They both did amazing and only cried for a couple of minutes and slept really well the rest of the day. Only one minor hiccup....I caught Daniel trying to eat his bandaids! :)

Well, that is it for now. I am going to close with Daniel and Dalton's 9 month pictures I took at a park here by the house. They are my little muses.

Happy Halloween!

The boys 1st Halloween was great! We went to a party at our friends house and it was lots of fun. The boys fought sleep and stayed up partying with everyone until about 10:00. They soaked up all of the attention that they could and finally crashed. Blake and I dressed up like Johnny and June Carter Cash. We didn't look much like them, but it was an easy and comfortable costume. This was kind of our last horrah in Florida and we had such a fun time with our friends. We are going to miss everyone soooo much! Here are a few pictures from the night.

And this is Daniel. Since we are packing up the house we have boxes everywhere. I walked into the kitchen and I thought that he was crawling after me. I heard him in the dining room but I thought he was just hitting the boxes. When I went into the room he was standing on top of one box and trying to climb onto the next one. Sneaky little boys!

Cutest Pumpkins in the Patch

Our cute little pumpkins went to the pumpkin patch last weekend at a local park. I dressed them up in their little outfits and they looked adorable. Blake thought I was completely silly for making them wear pumpkin outfits to a pumpkin patch. But once I got them on them and he saw how cute they were he changed his mind. The boys kept checking eachother out though. I think they were defenitly saying "Why do you look like that?" It was really funny watching them. They got lots of attention at the park. And they loved looking around at everything going on. I couldn't get a single picture of them looking at the camera.

8 MONTHS OLD

I now have two babies that can pull up and stand. Yesterday I heard the boys get up from their nap but I left them in their room until it was time to eat. Usually they let me know that it is time to get them by crying or whinning. I never heard them start to fuss so I went to check on them and they were both standing in their cribs just as happy as could be. They were really enjoying looking at eachother. Now, they will not stop pulling up on all of the furniture. Today I was sitting on the couch watching tv with the ottoman in front of me. The boys were playing on the floor and all of a sudden I would see a little head pop up from in front of the ottoman and then a little face with a big grin. I can't help but laugh at them. And they are persistant. If you get on the floor then they are pulling up on you too. We also put up baby gates. The boys don't seem to mind too terribly much but I think they miss playing with the trashcan in the kitchen.

I can not believe that they are 8 months already. Time is flying. I have not been sad about them growing up because I think it is fun. But the other day I opened a drawer and found their first pacifiers and as I was throwing them away, I felt a wave of sadness come over me. They were so small. I was reluctant to throw them away. But then I thought better of it. Seriously, what do I need with old pacifiers? We have enough stuff as it is laying around. I am enjoying watching them grow and change and show affection, so that out weighs any sadness I have of them growing so fast.  As you know, I take pictures of them every month. Here are just a few of my favoites...

DALTON

DANIEL

DANIEL

DALTON

DANIEL

Look at me!

Dalton is standing up in his crib. It happened out of nowhere. It's really cute to walk in his room and find him standing up talking. I am so proud of my big boy and I am anxiously awaiting the day his brother will be doing the same thing and they will be talking across the room to one another.

7 Months

I have not posted in quite a long time. The boys are doing wonderfully and are really a hand full. (I just had to stop typing because one was crawling underneath the computer chair.)Their personalities are changing. I originally thought that Dalton was the more aggressive and talkative child, while Daniel was my sweet baby. Daniel is still sweet as pie, but he is really aggressive and talks all the time now. And he gets really loud. The other day they were playing on the floor and Daniel was talking to Dalton and he was so loud that Dalton started crying. He just has these bursts of excitement and he screams. And usually if Dalton is playing with something he will go over and take it away, or just check it out to see if it is something he wants. I love watching them interact. Daniel has also gotten really attached to me. Sometimes he latches on and tries to climb me. Dalton, is always smiling and generally happy.

They both have 6 teeth now. It really amazed me how fast they came in. And the whole teething process has not been so bad. We had to lower their cribs this weekend since they are so mobile now. They still are not really crawling, but they can army crawl around the house like no bodies business. Daniel is sitting up, but he falls and bumps his head on our wood floors an awful lot, and I feel so bad. But they are boys so I better get use to it. They are still on a great napping schedule and sleeping through the night. They love solids now, even peas. And bath time is so much better now that they enjoy splashing around. They are just the sweetest little things and each day I think about how madly in love with them I am.

Here are some recent pictures. I got a new camera for my birthday which is amazing. I am loving using it. These boys will definitely know what a camera is!

My Growing Babies~ 6 months old

Dalton


Daniel


My boys are growing up so fast. Everything seems to be happening all at once but I am loving it! They are so strong and healthy and it makes me so thankful. At the beginning of the month we started solid foods. They have had applesauce and carrots so far, both alone and mixed with rice cereal. Dalton will eat anything you put on a spoon. He is actually kind of hard to feed because he leans into the spoon which messes me up when I am aiming for his mouth. This really is funny to watch. Daniel, on the other hand can be difficult at times. He will close his lips together real tight and just look at you with a grin. And then I have to pry his lips open with the spoon. I think he thinks it's funny. And then other times he can't get enough!

We went on vacation to see our families in Alabama. It was such a wonderful vacation and the boys meet alot of their extended families. They traveled well and enjoyed all of the attention that they got. While we were there they both attempted to start crawling. Dalton started off by doing military style push ups, and then he would tuck his legs under. Sometimes he falls on his face, and other times he scoots forwards, or backwards. He hasn't quite figured out that he has to move his arms. I know he will get it in no time though. Daniel is pushing up and tucking his legs but he doesn't extend his arms all the way. It's funny to see them trying to figure it all out and the different ways that they go about it. Daniel also LOVES to jump in the jumparoo. He is an animal in that thing!

Last Friday I noticed that Dalton's first tooth came in. It is the bottom, front, left tooth. They have been teething for sure, but it has not been horrible. I was surprised that none of Daniels teeth had come in as well. I guess I was looking in the wrong place because at the Pediatrician's office this morning, much to my surprise I saw that his top, front, right tooth had come in! I am assuming this happened over the weekend. They are going to be so cute with toothy little grins! :)

Both boys seem to have a bit of stranger anxiety, or separation anxiety. Daniel will cry sometimes if I hand him off to someone else. Dalton will cry mostly if I walk out of a room. This is so exhausting and makes me feel bad because I would love to be able to hold them when they are like this, but I can not physically hold them at the same time for long periods. And of course they don't like it if I sit down. And Dalton has the most piercing scream! Sometimes he screams just to hear himself, sometimes he does it when he is happy and sometimes he does it because he is mad. Blake told him, "IF you don't stop that screaming someone is going to put a dress on you!" One thing that can make him happy without fail is Loli, our dog. He is so fascinated by her. And if he is crying I can take him to her and he will stop instantly.

Daniel is so funny and blowing bubbles all the time. He started off by blowing raspberries on his arm. Then out of nowhere he started to blow bubbles, well usually it's just blowing spit everywhere. The things they do amaze me! He is also so thoughtful. He can sit and just stare out the window and be completely content. It's fun to imagine what their personalities mean and how they will develop over the years.

Today was their 6 month well baby visit and it went great. They had to get more shots but it didn't phase them at all. They are completely healthy. Daniel weighs 15 lb. 15 oz and is 26.25" long. Dalton weighs 15 lb. 9 oz and is 26.5" long. They are in the lower percentile for weight but the Dr. says he assumes it is because they are so active, tall and slim. They have gained at a normal rate and are eating well.

We are all very happy and can not believe how fast these first 6 months have flown by. The best 6 months of our life!!!!!


~PICTURES FROM OUR VISIT HOME~

Grandmother Rutland meets the boys



With their cousins and Bubbles and Poppy



Our beautiful Family!



Bush Family



My nephews, Alex & Landon were so excited to each have their own baby


Grandmother & Granddaddy with the newest of their 20 great grandchildren



Daniel & Dalton meeting Nanny for the first time