Chop - Chop!

We took Bennett to get his first ever haircut this weekend. While the chicks (and some dudes) were digging the flowing curly locks, it was actually starting to get a bit out of control. And while Kendyll is starting to sport her own sexy baby mullet, we saved her trim for another day (I may even attempt to cut the back a bit . . . we'll see how brave I am).

Anyhoo, we decided to go to one of those kid hair places instead of a "real" barber shop for this first go 'round. We had no idea how B would react and we figured we'd rather go somewhere where they are experienced with dealing with freaking out kids (and fast). So let me tell you, DO NOT go to one of these places if you are not a "kids person". The ladies who work in this joint are angels if you ask me!! They have the process down to a science -- in & out in less than 20 min -- and they are expensive to boot!! But it was totally worth it -- Bennett has a new summer 'do and the lady who chopped his curls was super nice. There was an adorable little girl named Reagan (love that name!!) in the fire engine truck next to B-dude and he was putting his smooth moves on her . . . that is until the lady cutting her hair broke out the dryer and B thought she was getting shot. That was really the only time he got a little cranky.

Here are a few pics:

I tried to snap an "after" shot at Costco, but B wasn't into it (and PSA about Costco . . . as if there aren't already a MILLION reasons why I love that store, they are also the only place in town that has "real" double seats in their carts!!):

And one last attempt at home:

I was able to manage a few other shots (although not right on) . . . but they are on our other camera. I'll try to do another post later today or tomorrow about our fun and busy weekend preparing for our HUGE weekend coming up this week! Stay tuned . . .

Sew Cute!!

Go check out the contest over at The Foster Family!! Jennifer is doing a giveaway for the most adorable little dolls!! :)

Thanks Uncle Mark!!

I know, I know . . . no weekend update. We had a really nice weekend and B&K were able to hang with Grandma Angie & Grandpa Mike all weekend. Thanks so much for coming to stay with B&K (and Tabasco) -- they had a super fun time!!

A while back my brother Mark gave B&K a few gifts -- two were toys and two were outfits to wear once the weather got a little warmer. It was pushing 90 here in Ohio today so we broke out these outfits. Thanks Uncle Mark!! [what might be catching B&K's attention you may be asking yourself . . . um yeah, I propped them in front of the TV to watch Baby Crack so I could get them to sit still long enough to snap a picture or two].



I'll try to write a proper update soon. Bennett is on the move these days (in his own special way) and Kendyll's hair has become a bit flippy in the heat (everyone is always commenting on B's curls).

Happy Father's Day!!

Happy Father's Day to Tim and our fathers, Sam & Mike. I hope they (and all of the other daddy's out there) had a fabulous day today!!

Bennett Tarantino

This was actually from a week or two ago. B&K often get bored in their wicked awesome playroom we created for them. So every so often I'll let them "out" to play in the kitchen while we wait for Tim to get home from work. Bennett had just bonked his head on the hardwood floor (he is still getting the hang of catching himself when he goes forward) so to get his mind of the thumping pain I started to tape Kendyll getting into our towel drawer. The camera has a flip out screen, so he was getting a kick watching K on the screen (and in "real life") and then we turned the camera on us (but flipped the screen so he could still see it). Oh the things that occupy toddlers. So this is actually Bennett's first "work" as a director. Enjoy. (and for the record, Belly Laughs is still my all time favorite video of them).

[ please excuse my stupid voice and K's diaper "plumber's butt". We're klassy like that]

Tim & I have a busy fun weekend ahead. Grandma & Grandpa Z are coming down to hang out with B&K. They are all looking forward to the visit! :)

New Things (FINALLY!!!)

THE NEW CRIBS HAVE ARRIVED!!!! Praise baby Jesus in Heaven (or whomever you raise a glass to) . . . and BONUS -- Tim & his dad were able to put them together this afternoon. I told my boss yesterday if the cribs came while Tim was traveling I was tempted to go pick them up (even if I had to make multiple trips with my car) and then carry them up piece by piece and build them myself. And I know I could have done it, too. But alas, the men put them together. And I hear that they were MUCH MUCH easier to put together than the old cribs, MUCH MUCH easier to adjust the mattress height than the other cribs and MUCH MUCH nicer than the other cribs (a sentiment shared by everyone). Bennett especially seemed to be psyched to be able to stretch out . . . poor long tall dude was having to scrunch up in the PNP or have to lay diagonally to stretch out. Kendyll is excited too (she looks pissed in these photos because it is bedtime and she hates being confined. I promise she settled down as soon as the lights were out).

In other news, we sold our fugly, yucky, 2nd hand high chairs this past weekend in our garage sale. And we purchased new ones (thanks for the recommendation of fellow blogger and twin mommy Jenni). So far we really like these -- B&K can grow with them (they turn into 2 different types of boosters) and the HUGE bonus is that they sort of go with our decor (okay, yes they are still plastic monsters, but they look a bit classier in our nice dining room chairs that we never use).

B&K in one of their last meals in the old chairs:

And tonight in their new chairs:

16 Months Old!!!!

[two days late . . .]

Sorry for the delay on this one! It was another super busy weekend. I had MoMs night out Friday night, we had our garage sale on Saturday, went out with some friends and Sunday did a little bit of shopping. Whew! Nana & Papa W. came down to stay for the weekend (and work B&K patrol . . .along with supervising a mini-play date with Will & Sam, too during our sale). Papa Sam is going to stay with us a few more days to help with a few projects around our house. Project #1 is already complete . . . he hung a new ceiling fan in our play room in record time (we like to keep our windows open when the weather is nice and with the way we have this room closed off it was like a sauna . . . the fan is a much needed addition!!

Here are a few other updates:

- STILL NO NEW CRIBS!!!!!!!! I called BRU on Thursday. They are scheduled to arrive in the shipment this TUESDAY (frick!) and at that they still have to be tagged, blah, blah, blah which means they may not be ready to pick up until later this week. One of the major projects we were hoping Papa could help with was putting together the new cribs. He is planning to return on Tuesday and then Tim flies out to Chicago on Wednesday and won't be back until Sunday afternoon. So yeah, that means it will be at least another week in the PNPs for B&K. :(

- Kendyll used Tabasco to climb onto the couch the other day. He was laying next to it (as he often does). She innocently crawled up to him and started to pet him. Then she used him to stand up, followed by one knee up on his back and then the other. Repeat up onto the couch. Little stinker!

- Bennett is working on three (yes, 3!!!) more teeth. He currently has 10 . . .four on the bottom and 6 on the top, which includes his molars. He is now getting his 2 pointy teeth on the bottom as well as the molar next to that. Poor little dude!!

Here are a few pics (actually snapped the day after their 16 month b-day).

Aunt Sandy

Just a short one. Please keep Tim's family in your prayers tonight. I've mentioned his Aunt Sandy a few times. She has bravely been fighting a long battle with breast cancer and sadly lost her battle yesterday in her sleep. Luckily Tim's mom and her sisters and brothers were able to travel to CA last weekend to spend some time with her, per her wishes. Sandy was a super fun lady, sweet and spunky. Rumor has it she finished all of the "left-over" bottles of wine on the tables at our wedding reception, conveniently while the rest of us were getting down on the dance floor.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Uncle Lou, her boys and Tim's mom and her family. Her services will be next Saturday per her wishes . . . she wanted them to be on a Saturday no matter what so that everyone wouldn't have to take the day off. She was super thoughtful that way.

Aunt Sandy will always be with B&K . . . she sent them these heartbeat bears way before they were born. They were a shower gift from her and have lulled them to sleep every.single.night since they came home from the NICU.

In an odd twist of fate, Tim's parents spent the weekend with us (more on that to come in a later post). I think we're all a little thankful for the distraction of these two (and Tabasco).

Overdue Update

Ack -- sorry it has been a while since an update! We had a busy weekend (go figure!) and I've been frantically trying to get ready for our garage sale this weekend (so excited!!). So here are a few tidbit updates:

- We had a super fun cook-out Saturday night. Our friends Nick & Jodi and Greg, Nicole and their daughter Avery came over to hang out with us. The weather was beautiful and the kiddos had fun playing. We had not seen Avery since B&K's birthday (she is a few months older) and my gosh has she grown and become such a smart girlie! She could say all of our names (including B&K's) and also has a few sentences up her sleeve. Oh and she & her parents were keeping a huge secret . . . baby #2 will be here this fall. Congrats you guys!!

- We went to a 5k on Sunday, coordinated by one of Tim's co-workers (we walked, thankyouverymuch, but Tim was kicking himself for not running in it). B&K were sooo good. Funny story . . . lunch was provided after the race and I was feeding the duo off my plate. While B has inherited several of my family's Italian traits (i.e. talking with his hands), he does not like anything pasta related. Kendyll doesn't seem to mind it as much and she LOVES mac & cheese, which is what I was eating. So they were in their SBS jogging stroller and I gave B a bit of the M&C . . . he proceeded to take out of his mouth, turn to Kendyll and put it in hers (and she ate it). Oh brotherly / sisterly love!

- Kendyll is still only taking a step or two. But she has started to walk on her knees a lot too (she is upright, but on her knees moving them like she would if she were walking). Too funny.

- Bennett has been doing an AWESOME job with PT. His therapist Jen is super proud of him! Kendyll & I took him to PT today and they both had a blast.

I'll try to snap some updated pics soon . . . once I'm done tagging all of this stuff for the sale! :-)

Kendyll Walks!!!

Kendyll has been standing on her own for a while now (she is better at it when she is holding something in her hands). She has been walking behind things for quite some time and will walk if you hold her hands. Last night she took 3 steps all on her own walking towards Tim. And then she took one or two more steps at a time (before she either got excited and fell flat on her face or turned into "drunk baby" as well call her when she is really tired . . . she stumbles an falls all the time). So looks like we may have one taking off quickly!

{she has a cheese wrapper in her mouth . . . and as soon as I put the camera down it came out}

Cribs Update

The 2nd voucher arrived this afternoon. I went to the BRU after B&K went to bed and learned that the 2 different cribs we were leaning towards were only available online. I cannot use the vouchers to purchase a crib online so I would have to purchase them myself and then come into a store once they had arrived with my receipt and they would somehow reimburse / credit me. Oh and they wouldn't pay for the shipping (apparently the voucher wouldn't include that) . . . so right there we were looking at at least $40 - 60 out of pocket (I guess). Fortunately I had an AWESOME BRU employee named Heather who knew her stuff and was kind enough to show me around their little "showroom" for other black crib options that they carry (i.e. where we wouldn't have to pay shipping). Sadly there were only 2 black cribs . . . and one of them was a Jardine. The other was more expensive than the 2 we were looking at online, so I was worried we wouldn't have enough in our vouchers to cover it (and we weren't looking to pay anything out of pocket). But long story short, with their multiples discount we were able to score a more expensive crib and they will hopefully be available for pick-up in 7 - 14 days (and I'm keeping my fingers crossed they are quick like when our parents ordered the former cribs).

Here it is . . . hopefully I'll be able to show pictures of them in B&K's room soon!

Seriously?!?! Lost in the Mail?!?!

When we arrived home on Friday we were super geeked to see a Fed Ex package waiting in the doorway -- it had been delivered that day. It was one of our crib vouchers (and SCORE -- it was more than we were expecting!!). I foolishly assumed the other one would arrive yesterday. Nope. So I bring in all of my documentation to work with me today and call the lovely Jardine Recall Hotline to see what the frick is up (especially after learning that my good friend Debbie -- who is also going through the same issue with her twin daughter's cribs -- told me she received both of her vouchers last week. And she sent in her stuff after we did!). You know it isn't a good sign when the customer service rep goes "huh, that is really odd. Weird" while on the phone with you. Um yeah . . . so our vouchers were both issued & supposedly sent out on the same day, but for some reason only one was delivered. I was given a reference number and told to call yet another Jardine customer service number. She also told me the same thing . . . they are assuming the 2nd voucher is "lost in the mail" (by FedEx? Really???). So they will be issuing a new one and she assured me it would be here in 2 days (don't cha think it would have been nice for her to offer to overnight it to me??).

I'm REALLY trying to be nice and not lose it with this process. I was very pleasant with the CS peeps and thanked them for helping (esp. since I was honestly expecting her to tell me to wait another day or two to see if the other voucher shows up). So hopefully we'll be able to order the new cribs by Thursday or Friday at the latest. Doesn't look like B&K will be in new cribs by the weekend. And I'm totally prepared for a horrible experience with Babies R Us because I royally hate that place (and because Debbie shared that her crib purchasing experience wasn't the greatest!). UGH!!!