Dear Shenzie and Heaten,

Two years ago I was at the doctor getting monitored when they sent me to the hospital. I was prepared to have you, I was excited to meet you, and of course I was dying to get off of bedrest. Your bedroom was ready, your clothes washed and rewashed. The house cleaned, my hospital bag packed, and everything sterilized. I was totally ready to meet you. Just not that day. I was not ready to meet you the day they rushed me into surgery. We had a rough start with NICU, monthly RSV shots, a heart murmur, and general unknown territory, but I think we came out ok. Well, I’m ok, you two are the most wonderful things that ever happened to me.

It is really hard to believe my two tiny little babies who cried and meowed all night long are now my two big kids who run, talk, and sleep all night long. You are both amazing and I could never imagine a day without you.

In the past year you have grown so much. You are so much more. More vocal, more independent, more fun, more loving, more and more and more. It is totally true what they say, you don’t believe you could possibly love anything so much and then love them even more.

You talk up a storm and are constantly asking “dat”. If I don’t guess what it is right away you both have tantrums. Silly Mommy, you need to think quicker on your feet!! You both love being outside. We spent a lot of time at the park or outback sliding and having picnics on the grass. You are both very active and love to run, jump, spin, climb, and slide.

You love each other and always notice when the other one isn’t around. You play together, sit on my lap together, laugh together, chase each other, share toys, hold hands, kiss, give squeezes and melt Mama’s heart. You hit each other, push each other, scratch each other, pinch each other, bite each other, steal each others toys, and fight over Mama’s lap. And every single day you make me happier than I could ever imagine being.

Shenzie Weather Echo,

My little Shenzie Buggle.

Little spitfire so full of sass. You are such a jokester. You make me laugh so much, sometimes even when I shouldn’t. When you very purposely do something you shouldn’t all the while looking at me. You love to tease me and make me laugh. When you first meet new people you are very shy and serious. They would never know how much of a little imp you are under the serious facade.

You are very quick to smile and just as quick to go crazy. You are still very aggressive. Your choice of attack start with the nails and scratching, but pinching and even biting are not unheard of. You share very well and you are very tolerant of your toy stealing brother when he constantly takes what you are playing with.

You love to dress up and every single morning we go through the routine of putting on necnec and bacca (necklace and bracelet). Next we put on your stickers, one on each hand and one on your shirt. You then find a hat, usually of the winter variety even though it is still 98 degrees outside. If I forgot to hide them you find your boots and put those on and then complete the look with a blanket wrapped around you like a dress. It is quite the site!

You love to dance and sing. You love when Daddy dances with you and twirls you in the air. You love to sing along to Mommy’s music which is great since I would lose my mind if I had to listen to kid music in the car.

You love Bindi the Jungle Girl and Elmo. You love dogs, birds, balloons, wearing bows and hats, and wearing shoes. You pick me out a specific pair each day. You love to give me big squeezes and of course you still love your baby Bear. You have started to pretend play and will pretend to eat things from my hand. You still love to feed baby bear and give her a bottle. You are a little Baby Mama and I love watching you “mother” your dolls.

You are very much a Mama’s girl and I love every minute. The moments you want to sit and cuddle with me are precious. You are still a little timid with strangers and get scared from loud noises. A long time ago before you were born I would watch your cousin Alexee run to her Mama when she was scared and couldn’t wait for that to be me and my baby. I don’t mind one bit that every time a motorcycle passes by outside you come running to me. I hope you always come to me when you need something. I hope you always know how much I love you and how very special you are.

I love you Shenzie Weather,
Love,
Mama.

Heaten Grey Myrick,

My little man.

As always, I will say that you are still very emotional. You are sweet, loving, fun, cuddly, and happy. You are very ticklish and I have a lot of fun getting your legs and belly and hearing you laugh so hard you get the hiccups. Your laugh lights up your whole face and causes the rest of us to laugh with you.

You LOVE to watch tv. It is pretty sad that at 2 years old I already have to monitor how much television you watch. You will sit and watch Signing Time for an hour at a time if I let you. You love to sign and know a lot. Since I was not a good Mommy and didn’t keep track of words or signs I don’t know the exact number but I’m guessing you know at least 30 if not more. You also love Bindi the Jungle Girl and It’s a Big Big World. Elmo has made a comeback around here as well.

You are the toy stealer of the house, but you are getting very good at sharing. You are generally sweet natured, but have developed a bit of a temper lately. This results in you yelling and hitting things (just like a boy). You are seriously all boy. While Shenzie picks flowers or plays with dolls you chase around the big kids or play in the dirt. You have recently got over your fear of new things and now scare me daily with your new no fear attitude. You love to slide and go on the big kid slides all by yourself.

You are still a picky eater, but in the last month have really improved. You will at least try something new which usually leads to you liking it. Of course junk food and carbohydrates top your list of favorites. You DO NOT like to get your hands dirty. While eating if you get food on your hands you freak out! You now eat with a napkin to wipe your own hands clean (about 15x each meal). You DO NOT like to get sand in your shoes - you freak out! You love airplanes and yell airplane whenever one flies overhead. Then you wave and tell the airplane bye bye.

You are still very much a Daddy’s boy and the minute he gets home from work you run over and hold your arms up to him. One of your very favorite things to do is sit on Daddy’s lap with a sippy full of milk, your doggy, and watch one of the above mentioned shows. You are a tvholic and need intervention.

You have really come out of your shell these past couple of months and have grown into a handsome, wonderful little boy who lights up my life like no other could. I love you little man, forever.

Love,
Mama.

The babies had their two year Dr. appointment today. I got my days mixed up so Jeff wasn’t going to be able to go. I called my backup Dr. goer (hi Mom!), but she wasn’t able to go either. I was stressing how I was going to manage two very active toddlers through the entire appointment AND shots. Thankfully Jeff was able to make it and all was good in the world.

Shenzie Weather:
33 Inches Tall ¤ 30th Percentile
25 Pounds 10 Ounces ¤ 35th Percentile
48 cm Head ¤ 60th Percentile

Put me down NOW!

Heaten Grey:
33.25 Inches Tall ¤ 25th Percentile
26 Pounds 1 Ounce ¤ 25th Percentile
50.5 cm Head ¤ 90th Percentile

The appointment went good. The babies are both on track and the Dr. has no worries. They are both on the smaller side still (except for their giant melons), but if the eating and sleeping around here is any indication they are having a growth spurt right now that will hopefully continue for a long long time. I LOVE growth spurts. They eat much better and the naps are nice and long!

They had to get two shots today and this was the first time they were actually old enough to understand and yell out. Poor little buggers. What a difference 6 months makes. While we were waiting for the Doctor to come in the babies were running around and looking at everything and asking what everything was. They are such big kids now, I still find it hard to believe they used to be so tiny.

October 2006

I remember sitting in the waiting room when they were babies in their stroller watching the bigger kids play with the toys. In my head I was thinking that my kids will NOT play with the gross, germ ridden toys at the doctors office. EWWWWW. Hahahahah. Jokes on me! Guess who ran right over and started playing with the trucks and blocks. Ewwwww. Gross Dr. office germies. Then in the examination room they were running around in their diapers with no socks or shoes on. SO GROSS! But really, what can you do? They want them stripped down for the weigh in and the babies (toddlers) were NOT content to sit on our laps for the whole time. I made sure to sanitize them really well in the car, but boy have the times surely changed. You think you have it all figured out and in your head you have a list of things that you would never do. Then the day to day hits and you do all that you can just to survive. Times two!

*Yes, I realize I look like complete crap in both of those photos but oh well, you’ll just have to deal with it! =)

Sunday was the babies birthday party. Mostly family and a few close friends. It was a blast! The food was yummy, the babies were in good moods, and everybody showed up (well, minus my older brother, BOOOO)! Of course the babies were spoiled rotten by all of their Grandma, Grandpa, Aunties, and Uncles (and friends!). Our house was already overflowing with toys, now it is to the point of no return!!!!

Here are some of my favorite photos from their party (thank you Kristy for taking all of the photos!) As you can see it was monkey themed. They are my little monkey’s so I thought it was appropriate. =)

I’m loving how cousin Ethan jumped in front of the camera. Haha.

All of the kids (and there were a lot!) jumped in to “help” open the presents.

*The rest of the birthday pictures can be found here.

For a great start to the babies birthday weekend Jeff took a couple of days off of work to celebrate. The babies actual birthday was Thursday which is our story time at the Library so Daddy joined us for his very first story time. We had a lot of fun and it was nice to only have one baby on my lap instead of them both crammed on there. After story time we headed to our favorite breakfast joint The Omlet House where we all pigged out on yummy breakfast. When we got home we let the babies open a couple of their presents from Daddy and me.

Off to bed for a nap and then the real party began. While they slept I got them balloons, ice cream, and cupcakes. Any post nap grouchies were quickly erased when they saw the balloons and treats!!

Then Daddy brought in the rest of the presents. New bikes!!!

They love their new bikes. They don’t quite get the concept of peddling just yet, but it won’t be long before they are riding like pros. We sang Happy Birthday, let them pig out on sweets, and all in all had a fabulous afternoon.

Friday Jeff took the morning shift so Mommy could sleep. When I finally got my lazy butt out of bed we took the babies to The Natural History Museum downtown. It was surprisingly nice, I was really impressed.

There is a Animal Family room full of bears, lions, tigers, monkeys, birds, and tons of other animals. A dinosaur room with GIANT dinosaurs, baby dino’s and eggs, all with buttons you push that make the animal noise (which of course was Heaten’s favorite part).

There is a hands on childrens science center where you can “dig” for fossils, look through microscopes at things, “drive” a submarine, and play dress up.

They have a huge marine room full of fish, sting rays, sharks, snakes, and other live water creatures.

Downstairs is the Africa room which was my favorite. There were hippos, lions, and a bunch of other animals I can’t quite remember the names to. I highly recommend going to the Museum if you have a toddler aged child. Their website has a buy one get one off coupon and all kids under 3 get in free so it is really cheap which of course I love!!

The babies had a blast and Jeff and I quite enjoyed ourselves as well. Stay tuned for more tales of the actual birthday party complete with more balloons, more cupcakes, and of course more ice cream. =)

*The rest of the animal pictures can be found here. Now if only I could really go to Africa on a picture taking safari!!!

Messy Marker Fun:

*Good thing they are non toxic or we’d be in trouble. Apparently eating them is as much fun as coloring with them.

My babies turn two today!

The happiest of birthday’s to my wonderful little people. I love you more than all the stars in the sky x infinity to the nth degree.

Things are busy here at the old Casa de Barr. Getting ready for the big birthday bash, Jeff’s long weekend, and the wonderful weather we have coming up. Things are getting so busy that sometimes I forget things….like say, the stroller in the parking lot. Ooops. First I ran over our double stroller and now I forgot to load up our single stroller after using it. Hopefully someone who really needed a new stroller snagged it up!!

One thing I will NOT forget is Shenzie’s necklace and bracelet. The minute, and this is no exaggeration, the MINUTE she wakes up in the morning she asks for her bow, nec-nee, and bay-ee. At naps I take them all off and have to promise her multiple times when she wakes up she can have them back. The minute she wakes up she asks for them. I am glad I have a girly girl that likes to dress up, but man putting on two bracelets, two necklaces, a bow, hat, and 3 stickers every morning and post nap is a lot for my tired brain to process.

Onto the random stuff:

Heaten ate an apple today. The whole thing. By himself! This is HUGE. I fight with him everyday to eat fruits and veggies. Not only did he eat an apple, but he ate apple/cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast AND a bit of broccoli for lunch! Holy Moly, please let this last!!!

It is October. Holy Hell! Christmas countdown is going to start soon. And I’m going to be 34. Wahhhhhh.

Moron.

I’m just a tad bit competitive (haha) and I really hate to lose. Jeff and I make bets all of the time. I love our bet making and since I win more than he does I love it even more. =) The last bet I won was about some chick on Entourage that Jeff thought was Amber from House in a fat suit. I scored a one hour massage with the works (candles, music, etc.). And then I turned into a moron and lost a bet the other day. The thing is I was CONVINCED I was right. I had no hesitation when Jeff stuck out his hand to seal the deal that he was going down and my one hour massage would become two hours. *I choose a massage for every bet that I win while Jeff mixes his up a bit*. This particular bet was about our new fish Blue.

Jeff: I wonder why it is pronounced Beta (bata) when it is spelled Betta.
Me: What are you talking about, it isn’t spelled Betta, it is Beta. You know a BETA fish.
Jeff: No, it is spelled Betta. I mentioned this the last time we talked about the fish.
Me: I don’t know what you’re talking about, we’ve never talked about this before, but it is Beta.
Jeff: Want to make a bet?
Me: Yeah! You’re going down sucka!!!!
Me: What are you betting for? You already know what I want.
Jeff: Hmmmm. A car wash. (His car is DISGUSTINGLY dirty)
Me: You’re on! Muahahahah, Your car is never getting washed!!!

We shake on it.

He brings me the fish food bottle that clearly says Betta.

Me: No Go GI Joe! I was clearly talking about the bowl the fish came in with the white lid that said Beta Fish on the top.
Jeff: Ok, where is it?
Me: On the counter
Jeff: This lid? The one that says Betta Fish.
Me: WTF?
Me: I looked at that lid all day long and every time I saw it I read Beta Fish.
Jeff: I was wondering why you were so confident about Beta. Hahahahah.
Me: Yeah, laugh it up. You have to pay up on the last bet you lost before you get payment for this bet.
Jeff: Since when?
Me: Since I made the rule up two seconds ago. =)

Every time I take the babies to Wal*Mart we say hi to the Elmo car ride at the front of the store and immediately head back to see the fishies. The babies LOVE the fishies. They love them so much they kiss the tanks - EWWWWWW! Don’t worry, I take sand paper and bleach to their lips after. J/k, but I would like to since that is just gross. Anyway, they love the fishies. They love all animals, but I am a mean mommy and refuse to get them one. I do love animals, but I do not love animals enough to want one. I do not LOVE animals like my sister Ang who takes her “bubbas” everywhere and treats them like her other children. So yes, I am a mean Mommy and the only way my kids see animals is at Wal*Mart. Hahahah.

I had asked Jeff if we could get them a fish a couple of months ago and he said he didn’t think it was a good idea. Booo Daddy. You’re even meaner than Mommy! So no fish for us. =(

But wait! When does Mommy ever listen to Daddy? The babies love fish. Fish are low maintenance. Fish do not require walking, brushing, cleanup detail (well, a little clean up, but not like a litter box or backyard ick). They don’t make noise, they don’t shed, they don’t bark. Perfect!

Introducing Blue! Our new Betta Fish.

Isn’t he pretty. When I picked him out I really had no feelings at all towards the little bugger only that the babies would love him. We picked out a pretty vase and rocks for his new home. We talked to other Betta owners who schooled us in Betta 101, How to Keep a Fish Alive. We brought him home, arranged his bowl, fed him dinner, and watched him swim around. Sometime in there I came to love this little guy. He is our first pet as a family. He is the babies Baby Blue.

Let’s hope I don’t kill him and have to explain the toilet burial to the babies at such a young, tender age. =)
*Jeff informed me I was well on my way to killing him already by putting him on the piano that the babies “play” VERY loudly so I moved him to his new home far away from the “music”.

Video Edition:

It’s been a long while since I posted videos of the Crazies so here you go! Just ignore that in both videos Shenzie is not wearing a shirt (or pants). She is my little heathen baby. =)

Car Rides from lesley barr on Vimeo.

Shenzie and Heaten “driving” their cars. They love to play bumper car. Well, Heaten loves to bump into Shenzie anyhow.

Couch Play from lesley barr on Vimeo.

Shenzie and Heaten playing on the couch. Well, more like Shenzie doing a Take Down on brother.