Meet Brayden at One

You've already met Julianna at One so I thought it was about time to tell you more about my sweet Brayden.  He too has come a long way since I wrote about my expectations for him when I was pregnant!  

Brayden Harrison

Nicknames: Bray, Bray-Bray, Brady, Prince Charming, Brady-Boy

Size: Currently wearing 12 months
Favorite Song: Old McDonald
Favorite Food: Grilled Cheese
Favorite Toys: Gymnic Rody Horse, Little People (especially Princess Ariel), VTech Spin & Learn Top, LeapFrog My Pal Scout
Favorite TV Show: Bubble Guppies, YoGabaGaba or Spongebob (not that Mom is too fond of the last one)
Favorite Animal: Giraffe
Vocabulary: Mama, Dada (which has evolved to Da-ee), Nana, Baba, Bap, Uh-Oh
Tickle Spots: Inner Thigh, Right under Ribs

Brayden is a rambunctious, snuggly and hilarious little boy.  He is on the brink of learning to “run” and loves to walk in a room, catch your eye, and run out – only to repeat time after time for minutes on end.  He loves to laugh and has this contagious giggle that not even the most stoic could resist smiling for.  The most random things will get him going – the word “hundred,” a fake sneeze or hiccup, Mom crying hysterically, Dad bumping his head on the chandelier, and “alligator chomps” are some of his favorites about which to laugh. 

A warm, fluffy bed is “his spot” especially snuggled in between his parents.  He can have a conversation with his eyes and is such a little “flirt” when it comes to all the ladies he encounters as we go out.  He surely has his daddy’s charm.

Brayden is intense and at times can have a temper.  It’s obvious that he knows what he wants, and gets frustrated when it doesn't work how he expects.

 

He loves to carry around a balloon, and to pull ribbon off the spools.  He dances to every song he hears – bending his knees and bopping up and down.  His soft voice will sing along to a lullabye or song on tv when he’s getting drowsy.  He loves princess Ariel’s red hair with a passion and we joke that someday he’ll marry a red-head. He is my little Irish imp that stole my heart the moment our eyes met.  I am so incredibly lucky to be his Mom.

Meet Julianna at One

As our blog "restarts," I thought it might be the perfect time to reintroduce each of my "two."  Since she is technically my oldest (by one minute) I'll give you an update on Julianna first.  How far she's come since I last introduced her, about a month before her birth!

Julianna Marie

Nicknames: Julie, Julie-Bean, Beanie Baby, Beans, Princess, Beaners, Honey Bean (basically anything BUT Julianna)

Size: Currently wearing 18 months - will update with height and weight after our upcoming doctors appt.
Favorite Song: You Are My Sunshine
Favorite Food: Mandarin Oranges
Favorite Toys: Gymnic Rody Horse, Fisher-Price Little People Disney Princess Songs Palace, Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Learning Home
Favorite TV Show: Bubble Guppies
Favorite Animal: Dogs
Vocabulary: Mama, Dada, Uh-Oh and most recently "Hi"
Tickle Spots: Shoulders and Feet

Julies' spirit is just so joyful, silly, and spunky.  She always has a smile, and is filled with wild noises.  She loves to hold her hand in the air and holler like she's proclaiming something for the world to listen.  Julie's born to be a performer, hopping on every "stage" (ie box) that she can find.

She just began walking a few weeks ago, and is already tottering around everywhere.  She's a girly girl with bows in her hair, and pretty dresses, even giving us a "twirl" in her Christmas dress.  Julie despises socks, and likes shoes even less.  "Bling" is one of her favorite things, as is every texture of fabric that she comes across.  Julie's giggles are the most beautiful noise in the entire world.  God made her so perfectly, just for me. :-)

A Long Time Coming

This post has been a LONG time coming.  Last week, we celebrated the twins first birthday.  I feel like shouting "WE MADE IT!" from the highest mountaintop.  In the same way though, it is bittersweet to think that each new step my babies take is one of independence and the beginning of their own life journeys.  It has been an amazing year watching them transform from these little needy lumps (don't judge - that's basically what they were), to these incredible tiny people with their own ideas and true emotions.

While our year seems to have gone so slowly in some ways, it's flashed past in others.  One of the biggest sunrises for me is my own personal growth within this past year.  I've gone from a perfectionist with a major need for control, to a ... ... ... person who really misses perfection and still struggles with these feelings of being "out of control."  Needless to say I have lots of room to grow!  And despite my mother spending the best part of a year with us (I just couldn't let her go until she'd been here a whole nine months), I can hang my hat on the past four months of getting through each day with my kiddos and finding a strength that I didn't know I had.

Sure, there were moments of frustration and feelings of being overwhelmed.  But they are so overshadowed by the total bliss of feeling my babes unconditional love, watching their successes, and seeing their twin bond really begin to blossom.  They are such cool little people and I am so fantastically blessed to be their Mama.

As we begin our second year as a family, we also cross into a "New Year."  One of my resolutions has been a recommitting to my blog in order to capture these moments for my kids, to connect with other moms, and share our experiences.  In the past months there have been so many things I've WISHED I could have blogged about, but they seemed so silly and the hurdle of writing too great.  A fresh start is surely in order.  It's so easy to focus on the time lost between posts, that the black hole of absence begins to swallow your potential posts.  I may have missed recording some of our time, but instead I was busy living it.  Better late than never though right? While there's lots of work ahead to "restart" My Tales with Two, I'm looking forward to the challenge.    

Where oh where...

"Where oh where has that Twin Mamma gone - oh where can she be?  With her blog abandoned and with no excuse, oh where oh where is she?"

About three months ago, I alluded to just how busy things had become in our house, and about two weeks later, I celebrated father's day with a note about my awesome dad, and then - silence.  

I think the problem was that I got SO excited to be a stay at home Mom, and started dabbling in everything. Blogging, freezer cooking, ancestry, playgrouping, hairbow making, consignment shopping/selling, and most of all photography.  All of these "hobbies" could have made for a full time job as it was, let alone the two wild and wonderful babers that I'm responsible for.  I had to choose just one, and it ended up to be photography.

So a little update is in order...  Grammy is STILL in residence here with us - for one more week.  Then we hit the beach for a much needed vacation.  And upon our return, she'll officially be going home.  I'm TERRIFIED but I do think we'll survive.  Boy will we miss her.  We would have never ever ever been as sane through this process without her.

I bought a fabulous camera in May, took a fantastic class through the local community college throughout the summer, and have built a little photo studio which has taken over what will eventually be our playroom. It's filled with light stands and umbrellas and strobes and all sorts of goodness of which I've just begun to learn the capabilities. I just finished up a set of portraits for the babies that I am so proud of and will be sharing lots of pictures soon.  Now that all of this research and purchasing is done, I'll have way more time to get back to blogging.

The babies are doing so so well.  They're growing up so fast!  Brayden is moving all over, crawling all over creation to get where ever he wants to go.  Julie's just beginning to seem motivated to move, but boy can that girlie talk!  She has mastered Dada, Mama and Baba.

We'll be doing a combined 6-8 month update (oops) later this week to give all the details on our sweet little ones.

It's so so good to be back!

My Dad

It’s almost Dan’s first official Father’s Day and the celebration has got me thinking about my own Dad. Although I didn’t always appreciate him as much as I should have, his unconditional love and support has been there from my very first day.

The earliest memories I have with my dad are of reading books all snuggled in the nook of his arm, exploring the worlds of my picture books.  Those colorful illustrations gave way to American Girls, Sweet Valley Kids, Box Car Children, Indiana Jones and every historical fiction book for children ever written.  Through the investment of his time, he opened up my imagination and creativity which is so much a part of who I am.

As I got older, I certainly offered my dad my share of “challenges.”  Boys, teenage hormonal drama, overspending, and unstable college majors all took their turn at changing Dad’s hair from dark brown to silver.  I’m sure I left him scratching his head wondering “what did I say that got her so upset?” on more than one occasion.  Looking back, despite it all, I know that more than anything, my dad wanted the best for me.  His reminder to “wear a coat” was only because he wanted me to be warm, and not really an intention to control my life (regardless what the rebel inside said at the time).

My dad has worked so hard all of his life in order to give me everything I could ever need or want, including my mom’s ability to stay home and care for us.  I know he thinks that because she spent so much time with us during the day when we were little, that she had the most influence on who  my brother and I have become.  And while my mother is a huge part of who I am, I think my dad underestimates what he has given me.

My dad believes in me.  He always always has.  He believed that I could be the best little mouse ballerina in the nutcracker when I was four.  He believed I could be the best singer in my high school choir.  He believes that I can have an awesome blog and religiously votes for me on Top Baby Blogs every day.  Whose Dad does that?  Mine – my awesomely supportive and proud Dad. 

Because my dad has so much confidence in me - because he truly believes that I can - I start to believe that it’s true, and that I can get through whatever challenges me.  I’ve learned to trust his words as truth and that gift of confidence is one of the best things a parent can give their children.

And most importantly, my Dad believes that I can do this Mom thing and will be able to give my babies all the love and care that they need.  Every step of the way he’s there.  He was waiting with a hug the morning before I went in for delivery, the day the babies were born.  He was there during my pregnancy when I was scared we were having issues.  He was there when I desperately needed him the other night when Julie was in the hospital, holding my hand and telling me it would all be okay..

As I sat there watching him hold my little girl, I could see his love for her spill out all over.  That love is the same love that he’s had for me my whole life, and I am so very lucky to be the recipient. 

Happy Fathers Day Daddy…