9 Month Photo Shoot...

Well, it was time for our 9 month photo shoot and after how wonderful the 6 month pictures were, we went the cheap but far superioir route of using (and abusing) my sweet friend Amy. Where else would someone have the patience and, most importantly, perseverance to take pics for over 3 hours?! Not to mention Jackson was in some kind of boy heaven playing Star Wars with her son Liam for that long. Let me just say that trying to get 2 mobile babies to cooperate much less smile was EXHAUSTING! Getting even one picture would be amazing so this many great ones are nothing less than miracles!

These are the pictures Amy couldn't wait so e-mailed me tonight. I haven't even seen all of them, but here are my 20 or so favs:

Will with a rare serious face:
More like the Will we all know and love:

Wesley talking. This child has found his voice and is so excited about it he woke up at 5 a.m. talking and didn't stop until I finally stuck a bottle in his mouth at 6:30. This week alone he has learned to say, "bye-bye, uh-oh" plus know who Dada and Mama are.

Can I just tell you again how hard it is to get two babies to be still for a picture? We finally stuck them up high on a seat so they had to be still or fall off. I wish you could see me frantically spotting them and Jackson and Liam being goofballs to get these smiles!

All the previous grief was well worth it for this picture where Will put his arm around his brother!

I just find this picture absolutely beautiful. I love his little lips pursed:

Another favorite because #1 Wesley is doing the splits which is how he tends to stand and #2 Will looks like he's telling him something:

This is quintissential Will. We didn't mean to take their pictures on the stairs, but he crawled away to there and this is his all too familiar "oops, I'm busted maybe if I smile real cute she won't be mad" face!

After realizing the best way to get their real smiles was to let them think they were getting away with something, we let them pose on the stairs:

I've never really seen him (Will) do this before, but it made for a cute picture:

Guess whose nap time it was? I love that lip:

What a sweet genuine Wesley smile;

Wasn't it nice of Amy to paint her playroom walls the exact blue of the boys' outfits? Will was working this hat which was funny because he usually throws them on the floor in 1.2 seconds:

This picture had me floored because he looks so old. When did that happen?

Wesley wasn't crazy about the hat which is the opposite of how they usually roll:

The blue walls really brought out their pretty eyes:He too looks like a boy and not a baby :(

Amy disappeared for awhile, and I found her playing model with Ashton. She could be a model because she has the poses down, not to mention the required attitude! Check her out:

More pretty eyes:

My favorite overalls shot:

Amy asked Jackson if she could take his picture, and he happily obeyed. I don't know if that was because he's so used to having his picture taken, he likes Amy that much or he actually enjoys it? It doesn't matter why he did it, look at the great pictures I ended up with:

What a cutie!

OK, all you blog readers= PLEASE leave comments and tell me which ones are your favorites. If you've been to my house you know I'm running out of wall space so I need your help deciding which are wall worthy (though I think we all know they will all be scrapbook worthy!).

Wow, what a stressful but SO worth it day!

My Daughter's First & Hopefully Last, Sobriety Test...

Ashton had to have her nose cauterized yesterday due to her frequent nosebleeds. We kept trying to get her to tell people she was having her nose done! The scary part was they had to put her to sleep in order to do it well. Jon and I left all the boys at home with Nana, at 5:45 a.m.! It was nice getting to spend some time with just our baby girl. She was so brave.

We were all having way too much fun, especially when they brought her the giggle juice. I'm embarassed to tell you how much fun we had laughing at our silly girl. We were having her do the sobriety test of touching her nose and counting backwards from 10. It got really funny as the medicine started kicking in. She asked Jon why he had 3 eyes! When counting she got to 6 and said, "I didn't know there were so many 6's!" In true Ashton fashion, she never stopped talking though the words got more and more slurred until she said, "This stuff makes me talk weird." We took lots of sad, but hilarious videos. The highlight was Jon and I trying to get an inert girl on the potty! I wish I had a video of that.

Anyway, the procedure went great, though she doesn't remember much. It was the most fun and most expensive date Jon and I have ever had! Wow, scary!

Anyway, you know I had camera in hand, so:

Here she is at arrival with her comfort doggy she got to bring from home. Every time a nurse asked what its name was it changed from Carlita to Carla and more. Her puppy even got her own armband and got to try out the giggle juice first! Sporting the "costume":

It was quite a job for mommy to fit all her hair in that flimsy hat!

Those of you who know my aggravating husband probably think he insitgated the DUI test, but I'm afraid this photo proves otherwise:

His laughter: at his silly, drunk daughter (again, hopefully the 1st and last time!);

Her laughter- hey, they don't call it giggle juice for nothing!

Here is our brave girl giving the princess wave as they took her back.

And here she is all fixed and no worse for the wear! Everything went great and it didn't even seem to slow her down. The only thing was that right after we got home she just got mean. She went through the house turning things over then destroyed Jackson and Daddy's game. After she and I chilled out in her room for a little while, she was great!

Things really did great, and she is going to be so much better without all those nosebleeds. Jon and I are looking forward to another entertaining trip when she possibly goes to get her tonsils out!

Hanson Brothers Watch Out...

I thought it would be fun to post this series of photos that show what happens when the boys both want the same toy, in this case a microphone. Please watch carefully and see how many times it changes hands...

Wesley has it: Will has it:

Not sure who has it here:

Will is holding on tight:

This is after Big Sis took pity on them and gave them another mic, but the grass is always greener- so kept wanting the other's.

Isn't this a sweet duet as they gave into each others eyes? Of course, they are probably just trying to figure out how to steal their toy.Wesley is making his move, but Will is holding on tight:

Wesley prevails, but don't count Will out yet!

Will has control and Wesley has a guilty look:

Time for another duet:

Now Will steals Wesley's:

Now they have swapped and are ready for another duet:

I love my two boys! They are at such a fun age. I love watching them discover things. Yes, they were fighting over a toy in all these pics, but at least no punches were thrown and no one cried. It's almost like they don't know any better than to have a toy taken away. I'm enjoying these innocent days while they last and before the wrestling matches begin!

When A Woman Tells You She Needs Chocolate...

if you value your children's lives- GIVE IT TO HER!

A little background, Jon and I have been trying to eat healthier for the last 8 days which means that I, Tonya Dodd, have had NO Coke or chocolate for 8 days. If you know me, you know this is not going to have a happy ending! That added to the new fun stage going on here in twin world. Good ole' 9 months=seperation anxiety. But, like everything else with twins, there's an added twist: speration anxiety=JEALOUSY! So, for the past weeek, not only do I have two babies screaming and crying every time I am out of their sight, but a happily playing baby will start crying when they see me holding their brother. Therefore, I am constantly holding one until I have to put them down and go running across the room to see what the other crying-whie-crawling baby has put in their mouth (the list of things they have eaten will be saved for another day as it is a lengthy post in itself). Plus the fact that they have started waking up again in the middle of the night. The doctor informed us that it is part of seperation anxiety. They wake up and remember that Mommy is somewhere and want to see me- at 4:00 in the morning. Isn't that sweet??!!!

Back to the story at hand. Not to brag, but I think I've done fairly well with a few meltdowns to be expected (by me, not the kids, or rather in addition to the kids). I have stuck to the diet with the one exception of a poptart Wednesday as I was trying to feed the babies, fight with Ashton about which pajamas to wear to pajama day, and assure Jackson's asking 5 times that I with 2 babies who should be napping in tow would be at his field day though we'd be late because I had to take Ashton to school at the same time.

Anyway, we went to have lunch with Jon yesterday (Subway again-so over it). While we were getting Ashton McDonald's I told Jon I really needed some chocolate. He frowned his-I'm-too-stubborn-to-cheat look which made me feel bad so I resisted. After 3 hours at home where I couldn't leave the living room because the babies had come-aparts, I told him he needed to go the grocery store and I HAD to have chocolate (which is really why I sent him to the store in the first place and not really for the kids need milk line that I told him!). Then he had the NERVE to come home saying we had M&M's so he didn't get any. After a big fight, I went upstairs to be in the dark for the safety of everyone, Mommy time-out.

In a few minutes I hear him yelling and come down to a smoke filled house. You see I got these super cute trays at Target. I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE them. It makes serving dinner fun trying to think of healthy things to put in all the compartments. After dinner Wednesday, I put Jackson and Ashton's in the oven hoping they'd eat more after our walk knowing I was going to forget they were there when I did it! So, last night I turned the oven on to preheat and went upstairs...

Before: After:

The worst part was the fumes. Jon said it wasn't healthy for us to be breathing it so we grabbed 3 naked kids, threw clothes on them and ran to the car. I had to go in for something only to realize that I had left the bathtub running! Not only did I almost burn the house down, but I almost flooded it too! Which brings us full circle to the moral of our story: if a stressed woman asks for chocolate- give it to her without judgement!

Though something conspired against it as there was a wreck in front of that we had to reroute for (we brought the bad luck with us I guess!), we all went to Sonic for dinner where, you'll all be happy to know I got a hot fudge sundae! Sadly, the fun didn't end there. As I was getting Wesley out of the car I felt my leg get wet. He peed all over me even though he had a diaper on. I climb in the tub with him. Ashton sees and jumps in where I find a tick on her. As Jon was drying Wesley off he poops all over his towel. Seconds after getting out of a bath to wash pee off me, I'm scrubbing poop out of a towel because my husband's poop in stuff theory is to throw it away we'll buy more but I'm too cheap! When all 4 kids are finally in bed, just as I am drifting off at midnight I hear Ashton crying and going downstairs. I turn the light on to see her standing on the stairs covered in blood. She had a really bad bloody nose which meant a lot of midnight clean up for me. Finally, about 1:00 a.m. the awful day ended. And now, you'll be glad to know, this bad-news-post is ending!

I'm going to watch Jon and Kate Plus Eight because it makes me feel better. Does anyone know where we can get a new oven? Seriously, I think we ruined it....

Go to http://daddydoddsdailydoses.blogspot.com/ for Jon's watered down because he was threatened by his grouchy wife version!

Those on the Road BEWARE...

Yes, you better be watching your bumper because these 2 speed demons will be on it in a flash!

But, sadly, Wesley had his first wreck!

I got these out of storage and was, frankly, quite proud of myself thinking, "This will keep them busy for hours!" They loved it when I was pushing both of them, though my knees didn't! Then one minute later, they were back to getting into things they shouldn't and the toys were being raced and abused by the big kids! Oh well, at least I tried...

Pappy Mother's Day to Me...

No, that's not a typo. My son just handed me a book he made in first grade that said "Pappy Mother Day". I told him it was by far the best Pappy Mother Day card I ever got! I love first grade writing! For those of you who know about the 7 love languages- mine is acts of service. That's how I feel loved. Therefore, Jon gave me the great gift of getting up with Wesley at 3a.m. and is currently changing a dirty diaper! The kids have both given me hand made gifts and flowers (thank you to their thoughtful teachers), and I told them all I wanted was for them to get up and get ready for church without me having to fuss at them!

Anyway, today in church was very emotional for me. I tease Jon because for the past 3 years on Father's Day he has left the service and went to one of the kids' classrooms to be with them because he got so emotional and needed to see them (I love that about him:). Well, today it was my turn. I really appreciated the fact that the video and Melissa's letter both included all women and those desperately trying to be moms. I was boo-hooing. Jackson looked up at me and asked why I was crying. I just hugged him at the time. When we got home, I sat his long-legged body in my lap and explained to him why I was crying. I explained to him that 8 years ago I sat in a Mother's Day service in our last church and they had all the mothers stand up. I cried and cried because I wanted so desperately to be a mommy. I told Jackson that God is so good that 1 month later he was in my belly. Today, I was crying because God is great! God is also way smarter than me because if I had gotten pregnant when I wanted I'd have a 4th grader in a few days, and I am having a hard enough time adjusting to having a upcoming 2nd grader-wow!

I was really moved today thinking that God planned the children He had for me. Like most women, I am always really hard on myself and don't feel that I do a good enough job. My house isn't clean enough;I fuss at them too much, I don't read to them enough, I need to do a better job teaching them about the Bible, etc. etc....

Yet, as I sat there today I felt God tell me that not only did He create these 4 precious souls to be my children, but He created me to be their mom. I felt Him tell me that I was good enough, that I am exactly who He chose for the job of mothering them. I need to, we all need to, remember that to doubt ourselves is to doubt God's wisdom in giving us this job.

So, I think it is important that we have this day, not just so others will appreciate us, but to give us a chance to appreciate ourselves. I was watching a family in front of us that I don't even know. The 12 year old daughter needed the back of her dress tied. The dad did it, then a few minutes later the mom pushed him aside and retied the dress more to her liking. Everyone says that God is in the details. I think that is why he needs moms. Moms specialize in details. Dads may know that the kids need a bath, but only mom knows girls' hair needs conditioner. They may know to feed them dinner but only mom knows one likes ketchup and one likes honey mustard, one baby needs thick cereal and one runny. Yes, I believe the Bible in that men should be the spiritual leader of the household, but we mommies are God's detail people. And what would life be without the details?

I guess I'm being very sappy today and that really isn't like me, but it was a very powerful burden lifted to know that more than anyone, God thinks I'm a good mom and am the one person he wants as Jackson, Ashton, Will and Wesley's mom. This isn't to say that I'm not going to work on being even better, but for now I'm going to let go of the guilt and pat myself on the back. Then I'm going to end the day by letting Jon massage it. Oh, lovely day...

How Much Cuteness Can One Post Handle?

To get this cuteness party started, what can beat a warm, fluffy ball of kittens? There are 3 in that pile. They are so good and Scarlett is such a great mommy that sometimes I forget they are here. I love them so much already, uh oh! And in my book, right up there with kittens is my girl! Here she is dressed in her Gymboree best (LOVE that place!). She's dressed for indoor beach day at school. You know me, it has to coordinate- cherry suit, cover-up, flip flops, bracelet, watch, and sunglasses!

Enough sweetness for one day, I'm off to bed!

Did We Enjoy...

tonight's Dancing with the Stars 100th episode where the judges picked their 10 favorite dances of all time?

You be the judge... Please note the costume changes, a different outfit for every dance.

For last season's fans, an ode to Cameron and Edyta's Superman dance:

My girl can move her hips on the cha-cha-cha...

Big finish, after which the twins and I have to give them their scores- perfect 10's, of course!

We LOVE this show, and I love watching my little stars dance the night away!