Avery was a cute little clown tonight. we had been talking about dressing the babies up as dumpster babies. my MIL thought that was the funniest idea and started talking about putting them in trashbags and burger king sacks for hats....
MIL helped me today with avery while I took BT to his first month check up.
He's gained another 2lbs and grew another 1 1/2 inches these last two weeks
so my little boy is 11.13lbs, and 22 " !!! not so little anymore
i'm exahuasted and heading to bed.

batman and Avery
Benjamin in his bucket

went to the Smith family reuion yesterday. I had a whole funny post and then accidentaly hit the delete button instead of posting.
I'll summarize.
I nursed benjamin out in the open instead of hiding in the powderroom like i did last year with avery.
uncle Kenneth played his bluegrass and Uncle Frank sang like a hound dog
Aunt Margret (a lady that legend has it, almost killed batman as a baby) asked to hold benjamin and imediately ran off with him. She did this same thing with baby avery last year and I hated it. These old bitty ladies need to show more respect or concern for new mommy axiety and not rush out of sight when their holding a little one. its not that hard to simply stay with me while they hold my baby, they dont need to run off but either i'm much more relaxed with this baby or i'm too tired to have made a fuss.

Benjamin has his 1 month tune up on Tuesday.
He's getting super fat and already pushes himself up on his elbows and looks around. much more advanced then avery who spent the first several months in my arms instead of toughing it out like her brother's having too.
i feel like I'm having to make up time with holding him cause I'm so busy helping keep up with avery that he spends more time sitting in his bucket

MIL cleaning my house! I think I married up when it comes to in laws
avery hitting at the pinata from Autumns' Birthday party lastweekend


avery showing her big leaf from outside our home. sitting in the limo (double stoller)



another moment of beauty in my life

Its been a rough couple of days. Fridaynight avery woke with a temp. of 103.6 batman and i thought we would simply treat it at home with fluids and fever reducer till she threw up the medicine so we made another late night run to the ER. The Doctor there was the best ever, so patient and kind with my little girl who was freaking out. they gave her a supository to help drop her temp. and kept shoving themometers up her butt so the whole business at the hospital was super unpleasant .
we were told to just keep her rested and hydrated and monitor her for the next couple of days....nothing was diagnosed as being wrong but we left with a script for antibiotics and told to hold on the meds to see if this thing was really that bad.
Flash forward to This morning when her face was RAshed out horribly. I went and picked up my MIL to assist in babycare for a trip to the Pediatrician. Avery shit in her pants on the drive up there which MIL got to change while I checked us in at the desk and proceeded to nurse Benjamin. Felt weird to be sitting in a waiting room with my boob out but figured it was a medical office for children and I was simply feeding my youngin' so no shame.
Our pedi came quickly to check Avery but kept a good distance for some reason. made me a little nervous thinking it might be contagious. and once the DOc saw avery's pink pinhole bumps covering her chest and face (the rash was getting really nasty looking and spreading everywhere) the doc said there was nothing to do. Avery was on the last stage of "Roseola Infantum". (a fever for 3 days then a rash for 36 hours) AKA 3 day measels!! there was nothing to be done at this point but let the rash run its course.
as soon as we got out of the exam room, I sat back down in the waiting room and finished nursing benjamin while my MIL played with avery and the books. I notice that the rash was already clearing up. its amazing what a simple trip to the Doctor's can do for a person's health.

since I had my MIL with me, we kept her at our house for the day and she cleaned my fireplace and mantle with a fingernail brush. ( i took pictures and will post them) while I actually took a nap this afternoon. WHat a day I've had!
My daughter is getting better, my MIL cleaned my house, I got to take a nap, and my husband will be giving me a footmassage after he returns from the COWboys game I allowed him to go to tonight with a homeboy.
oh, and I've gotten to post on blogger today :)

Thanks to my peeps!

packed the kids up and went over to my parents house mostly to pick up some mail that had been on hold while mom and dad were out of town in Hawaii. Mom brought back matching tropical print outfits for ben, avery, batman and myself (I have a moo-moo...classy!)
the most exciting thing was that I recieved wonderful packages from two different blogger friends. One was a sweet Hat created by Rilah for Benjamin ..its adorable and my lil' man looks way cute in it. will take and post pictures once the camera gets charged back up. We're snapping off pictures left and right these days and remembering to get the camera juiced up doesnt always happen.
But the other most wonderful gift was sent from Belle. I just adore my blogger friends and though we havent met, I seriously care and love my great friends from afar. She sent a sweet babydoll for avery's birthday and a little stuffed bear for Ben and get this...she and lindsey contributed to Ben's diaper expense with a giftcard!
I cant explain how it makes me feel to know there are girls out there that are so big hearted. Its refreshing to know these ladies if only through our blogs.

so Avery's in bed, batman's with a homeboy watching football (there sure is alot of Football going on TV these days) and Ben is farting away next to me in his carrier. What to blog?what to say? I have both hands free at the moment and not a single thought in my head except that I really need to brush my teeth.
I had a bowl of cold cereal for dinner. Took avery to the park this evening and had a "just us girls" time. She had more fun playing in the rocks on the playground then anything. the top surface was dry but once she pushed those rocks aside, there was wet muddy stones and we got pretty messy. Batman wasnt around so I let her just have fun and not worry about getting dirty.
it was terrible when I tried to pack us up to leave. I had to carry her kicking and screaming under my arm while pushing her stroller with my other hand. Avery did not want to leave the park and a excersize/walking couple started to smirk about her tempertantrum. it was pretty funny to see a little girl so upset about having to leave the park and go home

ok ben's not content to fart anymore........not by himself.
talk later

My grumpy little man my oversized daughter
did someone mention boobies?
brother and sister
we went in for Ben's 2wk check up and he's already 9.8lbs. 20 1/2" He's growing like a weed!
How can a newborn stretch 1 1/2 inches and over 2lbs in less then 2 weeks? the answer must be my heavy cream he's suckin down every 2 hours. I swear he's going to be sucking through a straw by the time he's 2 months,,,he's really got some pull
The pedi. checked his pecker to make sure everything after the circum. went alright. Evidently my son has some girth. And is it normal for her to play with his testicles? we have a follow up apointment with a uriologist bc the pedi. thought she felt a hernia.
I'm really craving a coke and rum..... (to give to my babies and a double for me) still don't get to take a bath, I sweat so much at night, I grossed myself out when I opened my nursing bra for Ben this morning. Felt so badly about the stench but he didn't seem to complain. I got to take a shower or at least rinse off in the shower today while holding Avery....So much for relaxation but the stink is temporarily gone.

ben at aprox. 2 weeks trying to nurse with avery trying to "not touch"
watching the tx/ OU gamelast weekend
sharing her crib

batman took avery to work with him this afternoon allowing me to just have benjamin while i went to the OB and had my tape removed. My kids ( I LOVE saying that!) are on opposite schedules. Avery will take a nap in the mornings and though they say I should sleep while the babies sleeping, there is none of that going on for me. Ben had me up till 2am lastnight....it seems as soon as the house gets quiet, He's up and wide eyed wanting boobies.....then again he was up at 5...i think i drifted off again from 6-7ish so I'm working on about 4 hours of sleep/rest (I'm wicked looking but still put on makeup for my Doc. apointment) So we're running the lights and TV all night long hopeing that it keeps Ben in a trance.
sorry if my post is haywire, brain doesnt function well on Diet coke and chocolatechip cookies and NO S:EEP! I'm simply happy to be typing with both my hands.
life is good, I'm learning to stay positive or at least look on the brighterside of things such as the fact that Batman got his third (3rd) speeding ticket in a month yesterday but I'm not going to let that upset me because at least he didnt get arrested and go to jail( like how in the past He would have). Life is Good and I've got beautiful babies and the OB says my insicion looks great (of course he's going to compliment his own work) and my uterus is still bleeding but my bathroom is stocked with pads so Life is good
have some terrific pictures to share but you'll have to wait till I can figure out what's up with the printer to upload them. I seem to have forgotten which button is the power button or else its unplugged and I'm not crawling behing the desk to look right now.

well I was trying to post some pictures however things arent cooperating with my wishes.
tomorrow is my first day to handle the kids on my own. batman goes back to work and I'm left to juggle my 2wk old son and 13 month daughter. I've had a creeping stress over this the last several days. since bringing benjamin home, avery has developed a meaner, louder, more animalistic nature. she grunts and growls with every activity even as simple as setting her sippy cup down. I dont know if its because she's acting out because there's a new baby in the house or if its simply because she's been kept by other's for the last several weeks and is performing. i dont like it and it frightens me. we're going to have to do a little re'adjusting of her personality and make her softer and more gentle. I know she's only 13 months and her leaning on her brother is only caused by her not being aware of herself or her balance just yet but her vocalization is getting to be pretty bad. Its like Animal from the Muppets and while it might be cute once or twice or helpful in her frustration, its unacceptable for everyday , allday. I'm so nervous about being left with her and having to care for the baby...... I'm more stressed about how I'm going to nurse him while I have avery crying to be in my arms. the last two weeks, batman has helped distract her and given me a break but that all ends tomorrow.
I took a shower today so I should be ok for tomorrow except that i've been sweating alot during the night. maybe I'll take one when Ben gets me up at 5am before batman goes off to work. I dont know if I'm going to make it. god knows I cant load them up in the car all by myself.... we're just going to face tomorrow as a 'fun' indoor play day and try not to pull each other's hair out.

Today was my first step away from the new baby. I remember feeling so much axiety the first several times I was apart from Avery. in my head I measure the distance as how many blocks away, or how long it would take for me to return. but today the thought didnt even cross my mind as I walked to the car with Avery on my hip. we went to the grocery store and left her 11 day old brother with "Daddy" to watch Football.
we had to pick up some drinks and chocolate chips for cookies to bake this afternoon and it felt so new to have avery sitting on my unpregnant hip. still not suppose to lift more then 10 lbs but I'm fitting into my prepregnancy clothes and my waistline is starting to reappear which makes a nice little nook for avery to hold onto with her fat thighs. it feels so nice. this is what Ive been missing as her mom.


any suggestions as to a new "username" ?
i'm thinking about something along the lines of "She who wipes 3 butts"

Benjamin Tanner (BT) arrival

Its early in the morning and Avery is messed up with bed head. had to get one last shot of my pregnant tummy before they sliced me open.
Batman was able to see BTs Kicks much clearer when the monitors were attached to my tummy. i think having his heartbeat on loud speaker helped batman realize how much activity i was feeling in my gut for the last several months. we waited around for about an hour doing paperwork and getting monitored. they drew 5 viles of blood and I started getting anxious about the surgery but tried to keep cool
finally our my parents and inlaws arrive right before they take me into surgery. one last happy moment I started breaking down and crying when I hugged avery ...I felt as though i was loosing my baby girl. it was the last time for her to be the ONLY baby in my life and it broke my heart.
the surgery took FOREVER....they gave me the spinal and then started getting the room preped for surgery and I had to lay there for way too long feeling all the nervous excitement and terror of if there was going to be something wrong with the baby. Benjamin Tanner was born and I heard him crying. not as strong a scream as avery gave at birth but still he was healthy and recieved appgar score of 8 and then 9.
Batman was by my side the whole time and held my hand telling me what a great job Iwas doing. i was just trying to hold it together and laughed when he showed me a picture of the themometor plate on my forhead



7lbs 7oz. 19 inches long

part TWo

waiting outside the nursery windows for a first meeting
proud big Sister and Grandmother..........
proud parents.......


my sister in-law ANgela with BT. Guess I was the first to make a GRANDSON for my parents.
.........Batman is so proud and I'm so tired. I just love that I have a son and that he looks exactly like a mini Batman. guess avery is the female version and BT is the boy version of "US"

Avery's coping the best way a 12month old can. She's regressed to being a bigger baby and anytime Benjamin cries, She starts screaming back to show that she's louder.