July 2011
We took you guys to Grammy Jayne and Grandpa Colonel's farm for July Fourth. You absolutely loved their peach trees Ryan. Well, loved pulling the peaches off the trees, anyway. Grammy and Grandpa put up swings for you and you were so delighted. We had wonderful weather while we were there and you both got to spend time with your Great Grandma.
We got you all decked out in festive outfits and hung out on the patio and barbequed. It was a pretty relaxing weekend. Back in those days, Ry, you used to massage your head when you were eating. You also moaned. LOUDLY. I have a video of that too. We'll have to watch it together...with your prom date someday :)
Shortly after we got home Reesie, you hit another milestone. Unassisted sitting. Well, you were doing more of a tripod, but we were so very proud! By the end of this month you were both sitting in a tripod. I know I keep saying it, but such BIG babies. You were so proud of your new skills.
Summer was fully here and we got to play outside all the time. Gracie was gracious enough to share her pool with you guys. The bumbos came in handy a lot back then. You guys loved having your toes in the cool pool water. Given that it's about 14 degrees outside right now, I could sure go for some July weather!
You guys really worked me to the bone last summer. You were very awake by now, and you wanted constant contact and attention. Your inability to really be mobile and communicate frustrated you (and me) to no end. I felt so bad for you guys. It's not so easy to console two crying babies. But the three of us spent many afternoons walking around together, me holding the both of you while bouncing and singing and loving you with all that I had to give.
One good thing about your crying was I was able to get some good shots of your new teeth! Two each! And Ryan you were working on your top two by then.
Reese you had crazy Cindy Lou Who hair back then. I guess for some babies (like your brother) they are born with hair and that hair falls out and new hair grows back. Well, some of your hair fell out. But some of the original hairs you were born with never fell out, they just grew and grew and grew! I swear some were 8" long! It was crazy. I'm not the best photographer, so it's not easy for me to get pictures of things like this, but I tried my hardest.
Your face was so much rounder and smooshier back then. Gosh, you are such a little girl now, I had forgotten this baby face! After your six monthday, Daddy and I took you to get your ears pierced. You were such a trooper, you laughed instead of crying. And you were so good about letting me clean and take care of your ears every day.
Even though the weather had finally broken and the sun was out, the days seemed much longer back then. Probably because you guys were awake SO much. We would take walks during the day to get outside, but I was always worried about messing up your naps. So to help fill time we did A LOT of photo shoots. I would spend the afternoon bathing you, dressing you up and taking pictures of you and it was exactly enough time to get us from one nap to another. I'm so glad I did this then too, because now I can't get you guys to sit still long enough to take your pictures!
By July you guys were interacting with each other all of the time. Constantly reaching for one another, sharing and stealing toys, holding hands, laughing and giggling.
You were both rolling fools by then. You could both manipulate objects with both hands and you both discovered you had feet! You loved to chew on your toes and grab your ankles. Ryan you were very shy and cautious back then. Whenever we took you somewhere new you would hide your face and bury it into our shoulders. Puff, you were just the opposite. You were like "look at me world, here I am". You were constantly touching new things and new people and exploring as much as you could.
Ry, you were obsessed with the exersaucer and Reesie was a jumping fool. You would seriously jump for a half hour at a time. And laugh every second!
When Daddy and I talk about what your lives will be like, we are always so shocked at the idea that you guys will never know of a world without the other one in it. What a cool thing and what an unbelievable gift.
You are both our gifts. And if you end up being our only children, we are so happy to have given you the gift of each other as well. We love you both so very much. Thank you for being our babies.
