what's happenin' with the harrisons...

I know, I know... It's about time...

2008-06-11T01:50:00.002-05:00

I don't even know who checks this site anymore. Regardless, I've just added about 16 posts. So, pull up a chair and catch up with the Harrisons...

We have a Space Jump!

2008-06-11T01:27:00.000-05:00

How crazy is that? My brother got it for the kids... It's a huge hit! Thanks Uncle G!

Memorial Day in Madison

2008-06-11T01:24:00.000-05:00

We spent Memorial Day with Scott, Lauren, and Davis. First, we had a fish fry at their house, which also included playing the in the sprinkler. After naps, they headed over to our neighborhood to catch some fish. The kids tired of the fishing after a while, and I was able to catch them in front of the sunset. Then things went downhill... Literally.

Memorial Day weekend in Vicksburg

2008-06-11T01:18:00.000-05:00

After swimming, the kids watched a little TV then played some T-ball. Hank was put in time-out, which is why he was pouting in the last picture.

Water Bugs

2008-06-11T01:16:00.000-05:00

The kids went swimming for the first time this summer during Memorial Day weekend. They LOVE the water!

Fishing Trip #2

2008-06-11T01:14:00.000-05:00

The kids now have their own fishing poles and are so fired up about them. They love going fishing. We went out one evening and caught about 50 bream, some of the biggest Jay's ever seen. Somewhere along the way, two of the fishermen pooped out, so Jay was left to fish with Hayden's Barbie pole. He may have gotten some funny looks, but it worked!

Backyard T-Ball - Hayden

2008-06-11T01:07:00.000-05:00

Here's Hayden playing T-ball... Check out her pointed toe in the last picture. She is SO prissy...

Backyard T-Ball - Hank

2008-06-11T01:04:00.000-05:00

We bought the kids a t-ball set, and we have had SO much fun playing in the backyard. They are both fairly good at it! Here's Hank...

Popular Playground

2008-06-11T00:59:00.000-05:00

The playground has seen lots of play since its construction. Cousin Morgan from Vicksburg came over to play one afternoon, and Maw Maw Gilbert (who'll be 88 next month) took a few swings on it. And our neighbors on both sides of us come over regularly to play. Even though our kids are only 4, we've attracted all ages of neighborhood kids.

First Boat Trip

2008-06-11T00:52:00.000-05:00

Our neighborhood has a really big lake, and we took the kids out in the boat for the first time. They loved it and were actually pretty good. We even caught a fish!

Silly Sleepers

2008-06-11T00:48:00.000-05:00

Sometimes, we never know quite how or where we're going to find our kids sleeping.

Cousin Davis

2008-06-11T00:45:00.000-05:00

Hayden & Hank love that their cousin Davis lives just down the road. Here they are posing for the camera after a fun night of crawfish and playing outside on our new swing set.

Playground - Finished!

2008-06-11T00:43:00.000-05:00

Playground - In Progress

2008-06-11T00:38:00.000-05:00

We bought and put together (all by ourselves!) a swing set for the kids. They call it their playground, and they love it. Here is the beginning of the process. The kids ate lunch outside in the driveway while we worked. It only took us two days. We've had it for a couple of months now, and it hasn't fallen apart. I guess we did it right!

Silly Folks

2008-06-11T00:34:00.000-05:00

Spring Break to the Smokies

2008-06-11T00:28:00.003-05:00

We took a quick trip up to Gatlinburg for Spring Break. On the way, we stayed in Chattanooga and met up with our friends Cheyenne, Dalton, and Clara Tatum, whom we hadn't seen since they moved from Vicksburg in June 2006. Click below to enlarge the slideshow.

March in McComb

2008-06-11T00:17:00.000-05:00

We took a little trip to McComb in March, and the kids went fishing with Mr. Dennis, TG, and Maw Maw. Hank loved all things fishing. Hayden loved catching the fish, but she wasn't crazy about touching the fish. She was a great sport, though. We finished off the weekend by playing in the leaves at Maw Maw's with Uncle G.

SNOW!

2008-03-08T08:01:00.002-06:00

Pics of Hayden & Hank playing in the snow with cousin Davis

Click the slide show to make it bigger.

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T21:41:00.001-06:00

Don't send a lame Valentine's Day eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Tea Party Day

2008-02-05T01:04:00.000-06:00

Last week H&H were studying the letter T at school, so they had a Tea party with their Teddy bears. I snapped their pictures before we left for school and the big tea party. Hank was a less than willing participant, as usual... oh well.

Look for more pics next week after their field trip to................. the RODEO!

Happy 4th Birthday, Hayden & Hank

2008-01-20T18:37:00.000-06:00

Hayden & Hank's 4th birthday was Thursday, and we celebrated today with a big family party at our house... They also had a party at school on Thursday, and we took them to Gattitown on Thursday night. We've had several days of celebration, and we are pooped. Next, is Valentine's, then my birthday, then Easter, then Jay's birthday in April. Will things slow down by then? I doubt it!

Notice that their cake matches their shirts - Thanks Suzanne!

Merry Christmas from the Harrisons!

2007-12-23T18:20:00.001-06:00

SANTA!

2007-12-18T21:09:00.001-06:00

We finally saw Santa tonight. Hank was not thrilled about it. In fact, we pretty much had to talk him into it. Hayden was so excited. She thinks Santa is a friend and is not shy at all with him.

When I told Santa that one of his elves was at our house, he immediately asked which one (apparently, someone has clued him in on the Elf on the Shelf). I told him it was Zeppy, and he said, "That Zeppy! He's such a crazy elf. I bet you've found him sitting on top of your fridge, haven't you?" Hayden loved this. Her eyes were big, and she just nodded her head like "Oh. My. Gosh. Zeppy and Santa really are big buddies!"

Here's the pic. You can see just how happy Hank was - he wouldn't even sit on the big guy's lap.

100

2007-11-28T08:20:00.000-06:00

Last night, Jay celebrated his 100th career win as a varsity soccer coach. He was very surprised after the game at the hoopla - a banner from the cheerleaders, a personalized clipboard and cookies for the team from me, a signed picture from the players, and confetti. He was also surprised that we were there (I had told him we weren't coming). And H&H got to enjoy their first cold soccer game. Thank goodness Jay's parents were there to help me keep them in line.

There may be more pictures to come - there was a photographer there, and I'm hoping to get those pics soon.

Happy 100, Jay!

A Special Holiday Visitor

2007-11-26T23:55:00.000-06:00

Zeppy, our Christmas elf, made his first appearance at our home on Saturday night. Apparently, Santa sends his elves out to some of the homes of little girls and boys during the Christmas season. These elves are adopted and given a name by the family (Hank named ours). Each night after the family goes to sleep, the elf flies back to the North Pole and reports to Santa about all of the day's activities and whether his family was naughty or nice. And when we wake up each morning, it's a race to see who can find Zeppy in his new spot in the house. He's been on the mantle, on a shelf, and on top of a lamp. Rumor has it that he will get into the cookie jar tonight, even leaving some little crumbs around him! So far, Zeppy has provided us with lots of fun, not to mention a little leverage during discipline times. I'm really glad Zeppy chose us as his family, and that we have started this fun tradition. You can check into adopting one of Zeppy's friends as your own special elf by going to www.elfontheshelf.com

Note: There are a whole bunch of new posts below - I got a little 'blog happy' tonight!

Fun with Food

2007-11-26T23:40:00.000-06:00

One Saturday morning, Spiderman and Hank helped me make cupcakes. Then Spiderman tried to help Hank lick the batter.

Here's Hayden peeking through her Happy Meal box.

And we (meaning "I" for the most part) made a gingerbread house. It was my first time to do one, and I LOVED it... I might just do another one before Christmas.

Zippity Zoo!

2007-11-26T23:34:00.000-06:00

We took the kids to the zoo a couple of weeks ago... The kids loved it. Their favorite part was watching the elephant tinkle and poo (he chose to do so RIGHT in front of us). Also, everyone within shouting distance knew that, apparently, this particular pachyderm had a tallywacker - something the kids just HAD to point out and haven't forgotten about since. Lovely.

Cousin Fun

2007-11-26T23:22:00.000-06:00

Jay's cousin Scott lives just down the road. A few weeks ago he, Lauren, and Davis came over to watch football and eat pizza. The kids had snacks outside, played a little soccer with the big kids, then settled in for some VeggieTales during half-time. H&H love having Davis nearby!

P.S. In case you didn't make the connection already, you Ruston peeps know who this Lauren is. I don't want to divulge their last name in case they might freak out having their name on the 'net, so I'm trying to think of a good hint: RHS, AXO, Temple... got it?

School Picture - Fall 2007

2007-11-26T23:08:00.000-06:00

Where's Hank?

2007-11-14T18:41:00.000-06:00

That's a question I find myself asking quite often these days...

The other morning, I couldn't find Hank for a few minutes. I passed by the laundry room and noticed some clothes on the floor in front of the dryer. The door to the dryer was cracked, and I knew I had found him. So, I ran and got my camera and when I walked back into the laundry room with my camera raised, I heard a tiny muffled voice from inside the dryer say, "Cheeeeeeeese".

Busted.

Neat News

2007-11-06T10:28:00.001-06:00

One Saturday afternoon Jay, the kids, and I hopped in the bed for a little nap. We had just moved into our new house a week earlier and our mattresses were still sitting on the floor! Anyway, I was the only one who didn't fall asleep, and when I got out of bed I noticed everyone looked so peaceful that I decided to take a picture (of course).

Later that afternoon, I read online about a photography project called America at Home. They wanted everyday pictures of homelife in America. The topic for photograph submission that particular day was "Your Sanctuary". On a whim, I decided to submit the photo of Jay and the kids sleeping (which by the way was not one of my favorite photographs, but I thought it fit the topic). Imagine my surprise when I learned today that it will be included in the America at Home book to be published in March 2008!

Here is the photo... To learn more about the book and the project you can go to http://www.myamericaathome.com/ Now I wish I had submitted more pictures - y'all know I have tons!

Halloween - Part 3

2007-11-01T20:10:00.000-05:00

As we predicted, our no-nap kids were not in the partying mood last night. Actually, it was pretty awful. It started out great but just went down hill. They were so whiny, but we did have fun for about an hour.

Here are the kids with their cousin Davis, the peacock.

Hayden petting a goat!

H&H riding the horse and buggy (I guess that's what you call it).

Halloween - Part 2

2007-11-01T20:01:00.000-05:00

Afterwards, 48 three-year-olds went to Pizza Inn for pizza, kool-aid, dessert and pretended to play video games. They were all exhausted when they returned to school. When I picked them up that afternoon, I was stunned to find out that none of the children had napped. My first thought was "Oh No! How are we going to survive tonight?!?"

Halloween - Part 1

2007-11-01T19:53:00.000-05:00

Hayden & Hank's class went to a local retirement home to celebrate Halloween with the residents. It was so cute. The kids sang a few songs, then went around the circle and "trick-or-treated" for candy. The residents told a couple of stories and surprised the kids with a haunted house they had created - complete with a fog machine and black lights... a little scary for 3-year-olds, but we survived.

Here is our little pirate. He actually wanted to be a 'pirate ship', but settled for just the pirate.

Hayden was a Madison Central cheerleader. I didn't have to instruct her on the pose - she just does this when she puts her 'cheerleader' on (which she almost had a stroke today when I told her she couldn't wear it again).

Hank didn't meet a stranger at the retirement home. He loved on every one of the ladies. Hayden, on the other hand, hid behind me the entire time.

Some of the kids showing off their costumes at the retirement home.

Caught Orange-Handed

2007-09-27T11:36:00.000-05:00

We've moved!

2007-09-20T21:45:00.000-05:00

I added more pictures to the Sept album below (9/22)

We made the final commute to Madison last Friday, closed on our house that day, went to McComb for my grandmother's surprise 75th birthday bash, and moved on Sunday and Monday. I took a few days off of work to get the house in order, but you'd never know I did anything - we still have a garage full of JUNK! One of these days it will get organized or thrown away. But for now, we are really enjoying our new home and neighborhood. The kids are loving their new upstairs playroom, mainly they love walking, hopping, sliding down the stairs. Jay and I are enjoying the peace and quiet of our new neighborhood. The neighbors have been wonderful and welcoming, and we can't wait to meet more of them.

I don't have a lot of time for blogging right now, but here are a few pictures to pacify you until the next post... Enjoy! Oh, if anyone wants our new contact info for Christmas card lists or whatever, just email me at sallyfharrison at gmail dot com (I didn't want to type the actual address out so I won't get spam and viruses and such).

September 2007

Click the picture above to open the album.

Way off topic...

2007-08-26T22:36:00.000-05:00

I love a pageant - I don't want to be in them (my first and last was when I was three), but I LOVE to watch them. I used to make up score sheets and "judge" the Miss Mississippi and Miss America pageants when I was growing up. One of my favorite things about living in Vicksburg is that it's home to the Miss Mississippi pageant, and seeing it in person is way better than on TV - not to mention all of the hoopla that goes on during the week (parade, autograph parties, newspaper coverage) - love it. I don't have the time to do the whole score sheet thing anymore (plus, it's probably just a little bit weird), but I still love to watch. If there's one on TV, you can bet I'm watching.

So, Friday night was the Miss Teen USA Pageant. I TiVo'd it (since I don't have the time watch anything LIVE anymore), and finally sat down to watch it tonight. Y'all... it was so bad. The girls were cute (a bit too sexy for a TEEN pageant thanks to Mr. Trump, but whatever) and who can resist a little A.C. Slater as the host? But poor Miss South Carolina BADLY screwed up her on-stage question and tainted my whole Sunday night pageant experience. It was like a trainwreck - you really don't want to keep watching, but you can't help but be riveted! Jay had to cover his eyes midway through her answer (I rewound it and made him come watch). Bless her heart, she was my #1 pick up until the interview. Afterward, I quickly changed my mind, moved my #2 (Colorado) to #1, and thankfully she won. Sweet Carolina ended up as 3rd runner up (should've been 4th, though).

For your enjoyment, I've included a clip of Miss South Carolina's transformation from my #1 Miss Teen USA pick to the #1 Most Viewed clip on You Tube. Watch at your own risk.

Good old-fashioned fun

2007-08-21T23:00:00.000-05:00

Playing with the hose Saturday afternoon...

Pics from the new school...

2007-08-21T22:53:00.000-05:00

These were taken on the first day. I didn't make a big-to-do out of it, b/c I didn't want them to freak out about the whole 'this is your first day at your new school' thing. So, I just snapped some random shots and ran out!

A change is gonna come...

2007-08-19T23:58:00.000-05:00

We've found a house!

Click here to see a little video provided by the realtor. The first part of the video is of the neighborhood amenities. Our soon-to-be new house is brick - so don't be thinking that we live in that huge yellow house on the water - that's the clubhouse! Anyway, we'll be moving sometime before September 14. We're so excited!

Also, H&H started their new school on Monday. I was nervous all day, thinking of them in their new surroundings with no familiar faces or places. But when I picked them up that afternoon, Hayden ran to the door and announced, "Momma - I HAD FUN!" It's been smooth sailing ever since.

Here are just a few recent pics...

Saturday fun

2007-07-24T21:49:00.000-05:00

We made hand puppets Saturday morning...

Then we went to the playground...

Just some cute pics from yesterday...

2007-07-08T10:04:00.000-05:00

We are having some ceiling work done in our den, so our house is totally upside down. The only furniture in the den is our ugly coffee table (that I refuse to throw out b/c it was $15 and is super heavy. I plan to upholster it when we move.) Thankfully, we have a huge playroom, and that's where we moved our den furniture until our ceiling is finished. But for some reason a vacant room with only a coffee table just screams "Kids! You should really hang out in here - not in the BIG room with the TV and all of your toys!"

SURPRISE - It's a post!

2007-07-02T21:46:00.000-05:00

I am well aware of how long it's been since I've posted anything. My new job has kept me VERY busy and in the middle of the road, commuting back and forth to Ridgeland each day. My company has just completed a major portion of the project we're working on, so things are fairly calm for the time being, and I have had some free time to get some pictures posted. You can check them out at http://picasaweb.google.com/harrisoncrew New photos are in the March, April, May, and June albums.

Around the house, we've been busy as well. We're trying to get our house ready to put on the market, but it's so hard to do that when you have 2 three-year-olds running around. And I do mean RUNNING around. They are non-stop. Hayden is totally potty-trained now. We're still working on Hank. He just WON'T go - he would rather hold it in all day, dancing around when the urge hits him.

Hayden is interested in all things grown-up. She wants to help/watch me cook, clean, get ready, etc. She's constantly asking "whatcha doin'?" I wish I could think of all the cute things she's been saying lately, but there's just so many. She's still as skinny as a rail, but her appetite is getting better. She is liking tacos these days and "floppy joes". We still can't get a vegetable in her. She surprises us weekly with a new sleeping location. We put her to sleep in her bed, and when we go check on her, she's not there. And there's no telling where she is - she's in the room, b/c we have a gate at the door, but you just never know where you might find her (check the photo link above to see some examples). She is quite the artist, drawing pictures of every guest we have and sending them home with their likeness (sometimes complete with green & brown boogers drawn underneath the nose). She's really into boogers these days. And poop, too. We had company the other day, and she excused herself to the bathroom. Then I heard her holler, "Hey everybody! Wanna come see my honey?" Yikes! (P.S. My children call poop "honey". I never realized that I did this until they started talking, but whenever I would change a poopy diaper, I would say, "Oooo Honey!" I guess it could've been worse.) Hayden is also our town crier. She's going to soak in everything that happens at school, home, wherever, then report back on it. If someone gets in bad trouble at school, she's the first to let us know. If Hank is doing something he's not supposed to be doing, she's going to rat on him. On the other hand, if she's doing something she's not supposed to be doing, she has an excuse for it. She's also gotten very sassy. When we tell her to do something, she spouts back (in an almost teenager-like tone) "Okaaay. Just a minute." She also likes to take care of Hank, telling us "Don't tell my buddy no again. Understand?" And I've heard her telling her doll, "You look at me when I'm talking to you. Do you hear me?" We are so in for it with her.

On to Hank.... dear Hank. We spend so much time talking about and gushing over Hayden because Hank is so laid-back and just Hank. Fairly predictable, cool Hank. Things that stand out more about Hank are things that aren't noticeable to others (whereas Hayden is a showstopper wherever she goes). Hank is SO intelligent it's almost scary. His memory is incredible - remembering random things from months ago out of the blue (in the car the other day, he announced that he watched King George and the Ducky in the hospital with Hayden - that was in March). He also sings beautifully, not missing a word, right in tune. He doesn't do it often, but he surprises us every now and then, and it's so precious. Precious in the priceless-sense, not the cute-sense. Most things with Hank are priceless considering the prognosis he was given. Anyway, he can read. I think I may have mentioned this before, but he can spot a word he knows a mile away - big words like xylophone and motorcycle. When we pass places, he will spell the name of the place (T-H-E-H-O-M-E-D-E-P-O-T). He loves to read books, any kind of book, and he loves to play the piano. He's also quite the catcher, and has a really strong, fairly accurate throwing arm. He surprises us with the things he builds (see his grocery tower in the April photo album) and the accuracy with which he builds things (see the truck - with four wheels - in the March photo album). I'm sure that some people take little things like this for granted, but not us.

Both kids are spelling their names and know where they live. They are swimming (with floaties), and loving it. They only have a few weeks left at their school here in Vicksburg, then they'll start at their new school in Madison. We went ahead and got on the list at a church there back in March, and they had spots available in August, so we jumped on it. We know we'll be moving eventually, so we had better take advantage of it. I hope they'll transition well. It will be sad to leave their present school - they've grown so much since starting there, and Hank is really attached to his teacher... so, we'll see. Our bedtime routine has gotten a little longer these days - we're probably the only family in America who says the Pledge of Allegiance before bed. I hold the little flag, and the kids start with "Attention. Salute. Pledge", and off they go with the rest of it. I need to find a little Christian flag and work on that one next. After the pledge, we drop to our knees and say prayers. Jay & I get so tickled watching them try to peek (especially Hank).

I'll close for now and hop myself into the bed. I promise I won't wait another 3 months to post again! Y'all hold me to it!

In other news....

2007-03-14T14:40:00.000-05:00

I've got a new job!!!

After 7 1/2 years at the Corps of Engineers in Vicksburg, I'm changing jobs. Ever since Jay took his new job at Madison Central in August, it has been our desire to move that direction. I've been job hunting in the Jackson area, but I haven't spent a whole lot of time on it (mainly b/c I don't HAVE alot of time) and have depended on word-of-mouth. Well, the word spread, and I start my new job on March 26. I'll be working for an IT consulting firm, TCS, in Ridgeland. We'll spend the next few months preparing to sell our house, throwing tons of junk away, and finally packing up to move. Jay & I have been looking at houses for months, so we sort of know the neighborhoods where we want to live. But now it's time to narrow it down to one house. We're so excited!!!

Vicksburgers who still read this blog: It's not going anywhere! I'll still keep you updated on what's going on at our house, whether we're in Vicksburg or Madison (not that I've been doing that great a job in updating). Maybe this will jumpstart me to do better.

Hayden is doing well following her hospital stay. She gets breathing treatments three times a day and does really well. She doesn't like that she has to stay still, but we just put a movie in, and she's good to go. Hank surprises us each day with big, long sentences. Oh My! How could I forget? Hank can "read"! Okay, so it's not really "reading", but it's recognizing words. Who cares what you call it, it's remarkable! He knows little words like bowl, cup, spoon, nose, cat, dog, etc. But he also knows big words like tomato, grapes, butterfly, and xylophone. And he knows every television show and movie that he watches, from Oobi to Franklin to Cinderella and Little Einsteins. And I don't mean the logos either, he can tell you what it is in regular print or even when I write it by hand. It's so amazing since he's had so many developmental issues, plus the hydrocephalus and shunt. I can't tell you how proud we are. I'll try to catch him on video and post it one day (don't hold your breath, though!).

The kids are going down to McComb for the weekend, while Jay & I take a much needed get-away to Beau Rivage on the coast. We're going to see Kenny Rogers on Friday night (don't laugh, I LOVE me some Kenny!) and a Cirque du Soleil type show on Saturday night. And it's all FREE!!! I won this trip when we were the ambassador family for March of Dimes last year. How sweet is that? Y'all have a good rest of the week.

We're finally home!

2007-03-10T07:59:00.000-06:00

After 5 long nights in the hospital, Hayden is finally at home. Apparently, the pneumonia was worse than we thought, plus Hayden's prematurity caused her lungs to not recover as quickly as most kids would have. Regardless, we are SO glad to be home and be a family of four again! I took some (okay, a bunch) of pictures while in the hospital and have put them in the album below - just click on it to open.

Hayden did a great job in the hospital. She had everyone eating out of her hand - she was the princess of the 4th floor. You would have never known she was sick after the first day. She had the best disposition and was so much fun to be around. We played lots of games and colored a bunch (she's on a sunshine kick, so we mostly drew sunshines... of EVERY color). She never tried to get out of the bed until Hank came to visit, and she wanted to get down on the floor to hug him, which soon led to her wanting to run around with him, but we just plopped him up on the bed with her, and that solved the problem.

For those of you who are lucky enough, enjoy your Spring Break. And enjoy the pictures...

March 2007

Princess Hayden has a new castle...

2007-03-04T18:04:00.000-06:00

THE HOSPITAL!!!

She was admitted this afternoon with pneumonia... She's acting fine - being spoiled and getting everything she asks for. We'll probably be there 2-3 nights. Keep us in your prayers! I'll update more later.

A quick post...

2007-02-23T16:21:00.000-06:00

For those of you who are hounding me about blogging: Here are some random pictures to view until I can find the time to write an update...

Click the pic to open the album. Enjoy.

February 2007

Busy as bees.... three-year-old bees, that is

2007-01-22T21:30:00.000-06:00

January is such a busy month! I'm going to try to give you the condensed version of what's been going on at our house.

First, Hayden & Hank had pneumonia to start out the new year. We kicked the pneumonia, but junk settled in their ears, so we had ear infections. Now, let me clarify: you can never tell that my children are sick. They play and act like normal, which is crazy. So, while I've got them home from school, they're climbing the dang walls! Hank's ear infection is still present, so we've pretty much been on antibiotics since right after Christmas, and I need a vacation!

After the holidays, Hayden started wearing panties to school. She's only had one accident at school, BUT she's holding it the whole time. She won't even go in the potty - she loves to SIT on the potty, but she won't DO anything. She waits until they put a pull-up on her at naptime, then she fills the sucker up. Any ideas, moms??? Will she not DIE when she's older and finds out I put her potty training woes on the world wide web?

Somewhere in there, I had a job interview in Jackson. I really think it's something I'd be interested in, and I'm excited to see what happens.

Then, last weekend, we had Hayden & Hank's 3rd birthday party (YES! THEY'RE THREE!!!). I really can't believe it's been three whole years since I first met their tiny little selves. They are such miracles! Most of the family was here for their Buggy Birthday Party (it's hard to find party themes for both girls and boys!). We had a great time, and the kids got a bunch of loot. On their actual birthday (Wednesday, January 17) we had planned a small party at their school for around 2:30. Well, at noon I got a call from the school saying that Hank had fallen and needed at least one stitch in his forehead. So, I rush to the school, then rush to the ER (which is another story), and get his head stitched up. He ended up needing two stitches, even though I asked the dr to make it three to commemorate his third birthday :) He never even cried until they held him down - he HATES to be restrained. Afterwards, we got some nuggets and fries (which will cure ANYTHING), and we went home thinking that he would take a nap. Wrong. The kid was raring to go. So, I went and picked up their birthday cupcakes and headed to the school to have the party. Why not?

I'm sure I'm missing some other things that have kept us busy, not to mention we're in the thick of Jay's soccer season with playoffs just around the corner (Go Jags!). And did I mention that I also work full-time???? Whew!

Anyway, here are some pictures from this month (click the picture to open the album). Kind of a hodge podge of things but enjoy, nonetheless.

And thanks to those who are still checking on us after THREE years!!! Comment and let me know who you are!

January 2007

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T22:40:00.000-06:00

Okay... So, I'm a little late on my holiday greetings. Would you believe me if I said we'd been busy? Hayden & Hank are so time-consuming these days - so curious that we have to watch them closely, but so fun that we don't want to miss a minute of being with them. Everyday they say something new and funny. Tonight Hayden proclaimed that "Daddy is gross!" after smelling his foot. That one had Jay & me cracking up. The other day, I yelled to the back of the van, "I. LOVE. HAYDEN!" to which she replied, "I. LOVE. PIZZA!" As you can tell, it's mostly Hayden who entertains us. That's not to say that Hank doesn't do his share, he's just so much more laid back than she is. He is content to sit and read a book, watch a movie, or play with cars. Hayden has to be performing for an audience at all times. Check out the following pictures from Christmas, and you'll see what I mean. She's in four different costumes over the course of a few days, and the majority of the pictures are of her. I'm usually pretty fair about the number of pics I post for each child, but that's not the case with the latest set of pics. Hayden was a show-stealer! Enjoy!

Christmas 2006

Click the above pic to open album.

Since Christmas, the Harrison house has been more like a hospital. Hank went to the dr on the 26th and got a shot of rocephin and came home with some antibiotics and cough meds. The dr said it was a chest cold but didn't do any xrays or anything. Within a couple of days, Hayden started sniffling and coughing, and we tried to fight it off, but it didn't work. Jay took her in on Saturday morning, and the dr DID do xrays and determined that she has pneumonia. So, she too got the same shot and some different and horrible antibiotics along with cough meds. Somewhere along the way, I ended up with something similar. You know, that yucky-can't-breathe-through-your-nose-while-sleeping-so-you-wake-up-with-a-desert-in-your-mouth stuff. How fun. And tonight Jay went to bed at 9:30 complaining of a sore throat. Lovely. Since tomorrow is a federal holiday (Ford's funeral), I'll keep the kiddos home with me for one more day before sending them back to their little germ petri dish at daycare. Unfortunately, their sickness hasn't slowed them down at all. They are still going a mile a minute, while I'm about to sputter and die. But it's still just so darn fun.

Happy New Year (a little late)!

Spreadin' a Little Christmas Cheer...

2006-12-16T21:59:00.000-06:00

Click the following pic to see a picture from our visit with Santa and some others of H&H just hanging out at home today. The Wiggles were on, so H&H were looking at the TV in most of them... at least they were still!

Merry Christmas to all!

Pre-Christmas

Too much Blue's Clues?

2006-11-30T16:59:00.000-06:00

Here's a picture of the shirt I put on this morning. It is a shirt from the school where Jay coaches. When Hank saw me, he took one look, pointed, and screamed, "A clue! A clue!"
(If you aren't familiar with Blue's Clues, just disregard this post!)

Movin' On Up...

2006-11-21T15:33:00.000-06:00

We converted Hayden & Hank's cribs to toddler beds the other night. Hank had begun to climb out quite often, so we figured it was time. I bought them each a pillowcase that I thought would excite them enough to want to stay in their beds. Not so. We started trying to go to bed about 8:30, and they were both finally asleep by 10:30 (after several spankings). Here a few pictures of where they started out and where they ended up.

This was Tuesday night, and we've been pretty successful since then. That's not to say that they haven't gotten out of bed and gotten in trouble, but we're working on it.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

Happy Halloween, Pardners!

2006-10-31T15:29:00.000-06:00

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

October stuff

2006-10-08T23:47:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics from the last week. Hank had an EEG on Monday (it was normal), and we had to stay up all night the previous night so that he would sleep through it. It was definitely an interesting night. I was beat. The kids school pictures also came in on Monday (see the post below). Hayden wore panties for the first time on Saturday (we weren't all that successful, but we'll try again), and we went to one of the local playgrounds this weekend to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Enjoy the pictures!

School Pictures

2006-10-08T23:06:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay...

2006-09-05T17:19:00.000-05:00

Things have been a TAD busy these days... With Jay teaching in Madison, and the kids starting school, it's just been crazy...

Here are some pics of our weekend at the great-grandparents' to hold you over until I can post something... All you really care about is pics anyway, right?

Spotlight on Hank

2006-07-12T17:41:00.000-05:00

Hayden is usually the one who gets all of the attention (mainly because she DEMANDS it), but I've posted two cute videos of Hank below. The first one is of him eating a pizza. The second one is of him going down a slip-n-slide. He had a blast! Hayden was content just watching the action. I've also uploaded some pics, so check out the July album by clicking HERE

Things are great around here. Everyday they say something new. Hank loves to tell you to "be careful". And when we put them in the car each day, we usually put Hank in first because we can trust Hayden not to walk away from the car. She'll stand next to the car and say, "doooooon't moooooove". They have surprised us by being able to sing all of the words to Twinkle, Twinkle (must have learned it at school). Hank is doing something strange these days - when he points to an object or says a word, he says the letter that it starts with first. For example, he says "p-potty, d-daddy, b-ball" etc. I'm not sure where this is coming from unless his speech therapist has been doing that with him. He's VERY good with his alphabet. He can tell you every letter of the alphabet if you point to them - even randomly. Hayden is not as interested in that kind of stuff as he is, but they both love books, and can even recite a few of them. We're just amazed at all they can do, considering the odds that were against them. Right now, they're doing just fine!

Enjoy the videos!

Ring Around the Rosy

2006-06-11T20:44:00.000-05:00

First Day of School

2006-06-06T23:57:00.000-05:00

Hayden & Hank did great on their first day of school - so great, that we left them all day instead of the originally planned half day. We took them about 7:45, and they walked right in and started playing. They didn't even miss us. The teachers said that Hank whined for just a couple of minutes when it was time to come inside from recess, but that's the only time either of them was unhappy. They went right to sleep when it was their naptime (I think it's because of the comfy sleeping bags I sewed them) :) They have swim time on Monday afternoons, and they both loved it yesterday. We picked them up about 4:30 (Hayden saw us, pointed, and said "Oh! Look!"), and they were filthy! The playground is mostly dirt, and I think H&H must have just rolled around in it. After we picked them up, we took them to McDonald's for a sundae to celebrate their first day of school. They were both so tired that they just laid their little heads down on the table. Then Hank realized where we were and started chanting, "French Fry, French Fry..." So, we went ahead and got them a happy meal for dinner. After that, we came home and dunked them straight in the tub. You should have seen all of the dirt at the bottom of my tub when we got them out. Yuck! Hank was ready for his bedtime milk at 6:00 - he was just so tired! I kept them up until 8, but they were yawning like crazy. They crashed once we put them in the bed.

Today, Hank cried a little when I dropped them off, but when I picked them up, the teachers said that they had a great day. Again, they were dirty, dirty, so they got a bath first thing. I think it's confusing them a bit, because baths were normally right before bedtime, but I just can't stand them being so dirty.

On another note, Jay was approved by the Madison County School Board last night, so he is officially the head boys soccer coach at Madison Central. There was a nice article in the Vicksburg Post today about his leaving. Click HERE to read it. He held his first tryout tonight and was so pleased with the talent that the kids have. I think he had about 42 kids show up, and there are several who were unable to attend due to vacations and camps. He's so excited!

I took some pictures at the reunion this weekend, and I also took some pictures of their first day of school. Oh, and before you look at them, I need to explain something. There are a couple of pics of Hank with what looks like a fake ear attached to is head. However, it wasn't fake - it was his real ear. Something bit or stung him on Friday morning, and it swelled up to inhuman proportions. It was the biggest ear I've ever seen. We went to the doctor, and she gave Hank a shot of decadron, and the swelling had actually started going down by the time I took the pictures. He felt really bad on Saturday at the reunion, but by Sunday he was back to normal. Click HERE to see them. Enjoy!

Monday is the BIG DAY...

2006-06-01T23:06:00.000-05:00

...for two reasons.

#1. Hayden & Hank start school on Monday! We've found a great church daycare, and we'll take H&H for a visit there tomorrow, just to warm them up. Then Monday, we'll actually leave them there. I'm not really sure how this is all going to play out - will they have fun? will they freak out? Stay tuned!

#2. Jay has taken a new job, and it will be official on Monday. He is going to be the new soccer coach at Madison Central High School in Madison, MS. We are extremely excited about this opportunity for Jay - Madison is a great soccer community, and the school is wonderful!

We're headed to McComb this weekend for the Foreman family reunion. I haven't been in YEARS! I'm not even sure I'll know that many people, but we're going nonetheless. A little Foreman history for ya: My great-grandmother (Daddy's father's mother) had 12 children - 6 individuals & 3 sets of twins (one set of girls, one set of boys, & one set of boy/girl). Of these 12 children and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, I believe that Hayden & Hank are the first set of twins in the family since my grandfather and his twin brother were born nearly 80 years ago.

I've uploaded some pictures from this month. Click HERE to see them. It's been a fun month - we had Mother's Day, the kids went to McComb for 2 different visits, we went to the NICU Reunion at Baptist hospital, and I'm not even sure what else. The NICU reunion was fun but HOT. We saw several nurses who took care of H&H during their 3 months in the NICU. H&H played some games, won some prizes, jumped in the space jump, and ate McAlister's cookies. It was a good time.

Enjoy the latest pics and check back to hear about H&H's first day of school!

A Cheerleader & A Football Player

2006-05-18T11:29:00.000-05:00

Hayden likes to do cheers, and Hank... well, Hank likes to tackle...

Watch...

Long time, no post

2006-04-28T12:10:00.000-05:00

Well, we made it through Easter, and the kids had a blast. They went to see the Easter Bunny at the mall and had their picture taken. They thought he was great, but it took the photographer (if you can even call her that) five minutes to snap the picture, and by that time Hank had scooted down into the bunny's lap and was getting comfortable enough to take a nap. They both looked pretty bored in their picture. We hunted eggs after church on Easter Sunday, and Hayden loved it. She picked up each egg, proclaimed them to be 'dirrrty', then tried to pluck each piece of grass and dirt off the eggs before putting them in her basket. Hank, on the other hand, only found one egg. He picked it up, then chunked in out in the street (like, what's this trash doing in our yard?). We had a fun day, though, and the kids crashed for a nap on their bedroom floor amongst all of the pillows we have outside of Hank's bed in case he decides to jump out again (which he hasn't done since the first time - must have scared him!).

Hank is talking like crazy. He (and Hayden, too) can count to 12 (then they start saying 'uh-teen, uh-teen, uh-teen'), and they can say most of their alphabet, too. Hank will shout "H-I-J-K" just out of the blue for no reason. Hayden said "uh-oh spaghetti-o" this morning. It was so cute. We're just having a ton of fun with all of their new things they come up with. Hayden gives the best hugs - she wraps both arms around your neck and pats your back and says, "awwwww". So sweet.

I've finally got some new pictures to show, so click HERE to see them. I've also got a video of them fingerpainting pictures for Jay's birthday. Let's just say that there wasn't a whole lot of paint on the paper. Here it is...

Video Hosting - Upload Video - Photo Sharing

What a fun weekend!!!

2006-03-26T23:04:00.000-06:00

We had a ball this weekend... First, we went over to Ruston (which is where Jay & I went to college) for Jay's cousin Alan's wedding to India. Everything from the rehearsal dinner to the reception was beautiful and perfect. The kids were really good (considering that they are two years old), and they had a great time. The rehearsal dinner was at Squire Creek Country Club. When I was in college, I babysat the founder's grandchildren, and the now championship golf course was just a cattle farm. Jay even drove a hayride through the property for our church's Fall Fest. Now, the grounds are gorgeous, the clubhouse is huge, and there are neighborhoods popping up all over. What a change! Hayden danced for everyone at the dinner - even though there was no music whatsoever. She is such a performer. And we couldn't contain Hank. Everytime we put him down, he headed off to explore. He's fast, too! Hayden loved the ketchup that came with her fries (we had a more formal dinner), and Hank ate his fries with no hands. He'd put one in his mouth, then chew it on in without using his hands. You'll have to watch the following slide show to see what I'm talking about. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel, and Hayden slept with me, and Hank slept with Jay. They did really well.

The next morning, they watched the cars on the interstate go by outside the hotel room window. Each time one went by, they'd yell "CAAAAAAAAR!" That morning, we went down for breakfast then over to my adopted family's house to visit. No, I'm not really adopted, but my church in college (Temple Baptist Church), where I also worked for 4 years, had an adopt-a-student program where families in the church would "adopt" a college student. These families would invite the students over for lunch or dinner, let them wash their clothes at their houses, or just provide a quiet place to study. It was a wonderful program, and I was lucky to be "adopted" by a wonderful family - the Coxes. Three of the family members weren't around this weekend, but we got to visit with the daughters, and Hayden & Hank loved them. I can remember when these girls were so young - in fact, Mallory was about 4 when I was adopted, and she's almost 15 now. Bethany was 8, and she's almost 19 now. Time sure does fly.

The wedding that afternoon was beautiful, short, and sweet - just how I like them. H&H stayed in the nursery during the wedding, so Jay & I really got to enjoy it. Afterwards, Hayden danced her little tush off at the reception to a wonderful little jazz band, Equinox Jazz. I know two of the guys in the band, so if anyone is looking for a great band, talented and entertaining, you should check them out - and tell 'em I sent ya! We left the reception, and the kids fell asleep in the car immediately. I took a quick trip through Tech's campus to see all of the changes that have occurred in the 7 years since Jay & I left.

On Sunday, the kids and I drove up to Money, MS, to meet my old college roommate Janie who is down here from Boston. I got to meet her son Tucker for the first time, while we visited at her in-laws' hunting camp. Hayden loved baby Tucker, and Hank was really interested in the stuffed alligator head.

Now our normal schedule returns tomorrow, and it's back to work for mom & dad. It was a fun weekend, but not a restful weekend... We'll have to wait another week for that. In the meantime, enjoy the following slideshow of the weekend, and click here to check out Hayden dancing at the reception.

March 2006 Slide Show

2006-03-24T10:38:00.000-06:00

We took the animals to the zoo...

2006-03-21T14:07:00.000-06:00

Hayden & Hank had their first trip to the zoo on Friday. We went to the one in Monroe, LA, and we had a great time. The kids really liked the monkeys and the ducks. We started to leave them in the monkey cage, but decided that it would probably endanger the REAL animals.

Saturday the kids were horrible. They were definitely practicing their "terrible two" skills. Long story short: they both dumped their lunch of mac-n-cheese in their laps, then they got punished and sent to bed for a little while, where they took their diapers off, and Hank used the bathroom in his bed. They were definitely trying our patience.

They redeemed themselves on Sunday, though. Jay & I had to keep the nursery during church, and they were really sweet. Hayden found a little boyfriend named Peyton, and they flirted like crazy. They chased each other around the room and giggled and giggled. Hank was mostly interested eating his snack and reading books. That's our boy! Laid-back Hank!

This weekend will be Hayden & Hank's first wedding. Jay's cousin Alan is marrying India over near Ruston where Jay & I went to college. It will be great to be back in our old stomping grounds. Maybe I'll get some good pictures this weekend. Stay tuned...

Back to normal...

2006-03-05T00:23:00.000-06:00

The kids are back from McComb, and we have resumed our normal schedule with no hitches! They fell right back into routine, which shouldn't have surprised me because they've always done well with change. They changed formulas several times with no problem and never knew the difference when they changed to regular milk. They got off of the bottle and pacifier and didn't bat an eye, so I'm hoping potty training (whenever that happens) will be a breeze!

Here are some sweet pics taken today. We had a full day of eating out, shopping, and playing in the backyard. Enjoy!

Return of the Kids (plus a new feature)

2006-03-03T11:46:00.000-06:00

We're getting the kids back today! We're really excited about seeing them... it's almost like Christmas morning! They've learned lots of new words while they've been gone and have provided continuous entertainment for the family.

I know there are alot of you who still check this site (after two years - AMAZING!), but I don't update it quite enough for you to keep checking it everyday. So, I've added a new feature to the site. I'm not sure how well it's going to work, but we're going to try it out. If you'll look on the right side of the page, down below the individual pictures of Hayden & Hank, you'll see a place to enter your email address. Once you do this, you'll be notified each time I update this site.

I'll be updating this weekend on our reunion with the kids, and I'll be posting some pictures soon, too.

Oh, I almost forgot! Today is the last day of the Blair E. Batson Hospital for Children Radiothon. This is where Hank had his shunt surgery, and any revisions to his shunt will also take place here. I've known many kids that have been treated at this hospital - Mississippi's ONLY children's hospital - and it's a wonderful place, specially designed for children. So, if you feel so inclined, please donate by clicking HERE. Also, those of you from McComb may know that my good friend Ashley Jones Garner's son is at Batson and will be for some time. You can read about him on their website by clicking HERE. He & his family would surely appreciate your prayers!

Have a great weekend!

The Empty Nest

2006-02-27T19:12:00.000-06:00

Our house is so quiet! The kids are in McComb with my family for a few days, and Jay & I just don't know what to do with ourselves! This is the first time in nearly a year since we've been without them. We certainly miss them, but after Captain Rotavirus staged an attack on our home, we needed a break. Hayden ended up catching the virus and strep, too. Then Jay got strep, I ended up catching some sort of fever virus for a few days, and our house was one big infirmary. We finally got back to normal toward the beginning of last week, but we had it rough there for a while. I'm sure the kids are getting spoiled rotten by all of the grandparents and great-grandparents, and we'll have lots of damage control to do once they get home, but it's all worth it. Jay & I get the break that we need, plus the kids get a break from us, too. I've not been doing very well with my picture-taking lately. Actually, I've been taking them, but they are just random, silly pictures that no one would be interested in. I'll try to take some when they get back from McComb and post them for all to see. They sure are getting big!

Germs, germs everywhere!!!

2006-02-11T20:40:00.000-06:00

Don't come to our house... Don't even come down our street... We've got GERMS!!! Hank has been fighting strep & rotavirus since Wednesday, and Hayden just threw up a little while ago, so the rotavirus must have gotten to her despite all of our precautions. For Hank, the virus started out with a couple of throw ups on Wednesday followed by about 7 - 10 diarrhea diapers each day. So, Hayden's little incident tonight is either a sign that the rotavirus has found a new host or it could mean that she had the play screwdriver stuck a little too far in her mouth. Either way, she got a bath and a suppository and should be out like a light shortly. After talking to the nurse on the phone both Wednesday & Thursday, we decided to take Hank in yesterday when we got the two diagnoses. Hopefully, the shot of penicillin he got yesterday will keep Hayden from getting strep, too. Regardless, we are homebound for the next several days... Which doesn't bother me... it's too darn cold out there! I've taken a few pictures and put them in the February album for all to see... Click here to see... Have a great week and stay healthy!!!

Masks & Muscles...

2006-01-26T14:53:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of cute pics from last night... First, Hayden ran through the den with a hat all the way over her head... Out of the blue... It was so funny & cute... And the next picture is of Hank, hanging out shirtless...

Happy Birthday H&H!!!

2006-01-22T19:40:00.000-06:00

Hayden & Hank turned TWO on Tuesday, January 17!!! We celebrated with my family in McComb at my Nanny's house on the weekend before their birthday. The kids had SO much fun eating cake and playing with the balloons. It was such a good time. Then, we celebrated here in Vicksburg on Thursday the 19th. They ate more Doritos than cake and had a really hard time going to bed that night... they were really worked up! Here are some pictures from this month, including their birthday parties... Click here to see

Both H&H are talking up a storm. Hayden more than Hank, of course, but Hank is really starting to progress. We got a new speech therapist who is really helping out a lot. Hayden's favorite things to say are "Hey Bubba" (Hank), "WannaGet Down" (out of her chair or bed)", "Whoa", "Gone Gone" and for some reason she says to everyone (even strangers in the store) "Hey, Doggie!" Not sure about that one... She knows her basic colors and LOVES to draw. Hank is saying things like "Kix" (his cereal), "bear", "chair", "cake", "circle", and can do lots of animal sounds like "meow" and "roar". Hayden weighs about 21 pounds, and Hank weighs about 26 pounds. He's probably an inch taller than her, and from the pictures you can tell that Hayden is still pretty bald... definitely MY child!

That's all the update I have for now. It's 8:00, which means it's time for our 30-minute, full-out, no-holds-barred playtime in their bedroom. This is the time of night that we turn all of our attention to the kids, don't answer the phone, and play, wrestle, sing, and do whatever else comes up for the next 30 minutes. We wear them down, then they get a cup of warm milk and hit the sack. Hayden is so funny about bedtime. Once she finishes her cup of milk, she sets it down and announces "night, night!" She blows kisses to whomever is in the den at the time and says "night, night" all the way down the hall until we put her in the bed. She is the queen of bedtime. Hank, on the other hand, isn't so excited about it. He cries about half of the time, but it's usually for less than 5 minutes, and he's out. Then they wake up between 8:30 and 9:00 in the morning.

Y'all have a good week!

It's almost official!!!

2006-01-15T17:08:00.000-06:00

Although Hayden has been pronouncing that she's two for a few weeks now, it will finally be official on Tuesday the 17th. Tomorrow, it will be two years since Jay rushed me over to Jackson, not having a clue that our babies would arrive about 30 hours later. Wow, does time fly!!! We had a birthday party this weekend at my Nanny's in McComb. We had a lot of family in attendance, and the kids had a blast! We hit two milestones this weekend... well, sort of... Hayden dialed 911 for the first time & both kids climbed out of their pack-n-plays that they sleep in when we're staying away from home. Neither of them hurt themselves, but it scared us to death. Hank did it first, which was surprising since Hayden is usually the instigator. Jay ended up taking Hank to bed with him while I stayed up late visiting with my grandmother. About 11:15 Nanny & I were talking on the couch, and all of a sudden Hayden just appeared! So, now we don't know what in the world we're going to do. As for the 911 call, Hayden loves to play with phones (real ones, not toy ones - and yes, she knows the difference). She was playing with the real phone, and Nanny took it away from her. Two seconds later, the phone rang, and it was 911 calling us back to see if we had an emergency. No emergency, but it definitely was an action-packed weekend! I've got pictures from their party that I'll upload when I get a free minute, but I'm sure you realize that there aren't many of those around here. I promise to get them uploaded before their next birthday, though! I'm off of work tomorrow, so hopefully I'll find the time. Until then, just keep checking back (those of you who are still checking this thing two years later!).

Happy New Year from the Harrisons!

2006-01-02T12:48:00.000-06:00

I have new pictures posted HERE from Christmas and other stuff. I have more pictures from Christmas that I haven't sorted through yet, so I hope to have those up soon. Happy New Year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

2005-12-22T19:26:00.000-06:00

H&H's first visit with Santa!

2005-12-06T16:19:00.000-06:00

After the Christmas Parade Saturday night, we took the kids to the mall to see Santa. You can't tell by the picture, but they loved it. They smiled a bunch, but the lady taking the picture was always a few seconds late capturing the smiles. Oh, well.... It was their first time to see Santa (other than when Jay dressed up last year), and smile or no smile, I couldn't not buy a picture of their first trip to see Santa (even if he was 17 years old and 120 pounds soaking wet!). Merry Christmas!

Long time no post...

2005-12-02T15:06:00.000-06:00

Sorry it's been so long.... There's hardly any downtime around our house, AND our computer died, so getting updates to y'all hasn't been easy. Let's see, where do I start???

The kids are healthy and doing great. Hank had a check-up with his neurosurgeon, all was well, and he doesn't have to go back for a year! Hayden is really growing up and becoming such a little priss pot. We are still seeing glimpses of the terrible twos, but things aren't all that bad just yet. Hank has yet to utter a real word, while Hayden says something new each day. Maybe he just can't get a word in edge-wise! They are both getting speech therapy, and I guess it's going well. Hank is definitely more vocal, but nothing really meaningful. Hank is also getting occupational therapy to help him learn to use a spoon and stuff like that. The therapists come to the house twice a week, and H&H seem to really like it.

Now, on to food.... We basically haven't found anything that Hank won't eat. He LOVES to eat, especially veggies (lima beans are his fave!). Hayden is picky-picky like her mom. She's also very fickle - she may like green beans today, but not on Tuesday... They LOVE cheetos and animal crackers and peanut butter sandwiches.

They are really interacting with each other these days. They play chase and can get so tickled at each other. They just laugh and laugh. Hayden loves her "bubba" and tries to hug on him, but he isn't interested. One night, we were staying with my Nanny in McComb, and both kids woke up in the middle of the night. Both of them were in bed with me, and I thought they had gone back to sleep. I eased up, scooped up Hank, and started tip-toeing him over to his playpen when Hayden sat up in the big bed and hollered, "BYE, BUBBA!" So, Hank woke up, and we were all up for another hour.

I've uploaded a few pictures to the Shutterfly site that I've kind of abandoned lately. Click here to see them. I'll have to explain the last two photos (I'll include them at the bottom of this post, too). We have this dog/child pen that we trap the kids in at home. With two kids, they never want to go in the same direction, so when there's only one parent at home, it's easier to just contain them. So, I was at home alone with them, and I fixed them some ravioli. They absolutely wouldn't have it. So, I put them in the playpen and went to the kitchen to find them something else. I forgot that I had left the ravioli bowl on the coffee table, and when I went back into the den, they had pushed the playpen over to the coffee table and were feeding each other the ravioli. Remember, they wouldn't dare eat it when I was trying to feed it to them! Oh well, at least they ate...

Notice the quilt on the floor. That's where the playpen had originally been - almost perpendicular to where it is in the picture.

That's all for now... We're getting all geared up for Christmas. The kids don't have a clue what it's about, but it sure is fun for us big kids! And they still haven't touched my tree, either! Whew... maybe that's a bullet we'll dodge...

Happy Holidays!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2005-11-01T00:18:00.000-06:00

We had such a fun time on Halloween. Hayden was a ladybug, and Hank was a bumblebee. We visited our old neighborhood and followed along while our friend Dalton trick-or-treated. We made it back to the car just as the first raindrops in over a month began to fall. I've added two new videos to the links on the right side of the page. One is of Hayden in the hotel room when we went to Little Rock at the first of October. She discovered herself in the mirror and didn't stop talking to herself the whole time we were there. The other video is when Hayden first saw Hank in his Halloween costume. She literally fell out laughing.

Enjoy the following pictures. Click each photo to enlarge.

Let's go Krogering!

2005-10-09T16:39:00.000-05:00

If it weren't for these cool race car shopping carts, we wouldn't be able to go to the store... They can both sit in the buggy, and they LOVE to "drive"... However, by the time we make it over to the frozen foods, they are beginning to get tired of sitting so close to each other, and Hayden starts sticking her finger in Hank's ear, and Hank starts trying to eat Hayden's shoes.

It takes forever to shop - not because of the kids being bad, but because of strangers stopping us to say:
1. Are they twins?
2. How old are they?
3. Can they walk?
4. Do they get along?
And my favorite: You must have your hands full! I'm glad it's you and not me!
To which I reply, "Me, too! I wouldn't have it any other way!"

Showtime!

2005-09-28T14:48:00.000-05:00

I uploaded some videos for y'all... They are listed on the right side of the page under "Videos" (duh). One is of Hayden doing this thing with her tongue that's really cute. And there's one of Hayden & Hank at McDonald's (Hank bumps his head at the end, but he was OK). "Ring Around the Rosie" was playing, and H&H kept touching the nasty floor whenever the song would say, "they all fall down." Then there's one of Hayden from last night - using a spoon for the first time. We're working on Hank, but he's not quite ready yet. Enjoy!

Today has been a fun day...

2005-09-18T18:02:00.000-05:00

Today started off with breakfast at McDonald's. We woke up late this morning, and by the time we got in the car, we were already 20 minutes late for Sunday School. So, we decided to go eat breakfast, and then be early for church. H&H had never been to McDonald's before, and they loved it. We had the indoor playground area to ourselves, and they ran around it a million times. They're still too little to play on the playground, but they loved the bright colors and the kiddie songs that were playing through the sound system. Here are a few pictures that I took while we were there. You can click the pictures to make them larger.

After breakfast, we went to church and got our church directory pictures that we had taken last month. Some of them turned out really cute, see?

Then after their naps and Jay's soccer game, we went to our friend Dalton's 4th birthday party down the street. The kids had a blast and loved the dinosaur cake and ice cream. Most of all, they liked playing with this bat (Dalton's daddy is a baseball coach):

And here's a cute picture of Hank.

I hope that's enough pictures for y'all! Hope you enjoy them...

Just a few pictures

2005-09-15T23:46:00.000-05:00

I took H&H to Pizza Hut tonight, and they had their first taste of pizza. They both loved it, but Hayden went overboard eating a piece and a half all by herself! Here are some pics. (Click on the pics to make them bigger)

Hayden has started doing this thing where she pulls her pants down. See?

And Hank threw a fit b/c I wouldn't let him feed himself ravioli the other night, so I finally gave in, and this was the result...

What a week!

2005-09-05T12:35:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's hard to believe everything that has happened in the past week. Thankfully, we were only without power for about a day and a half. Jay's parents are still without power, and one of his sisters has a tree through the middle of her house. We were all very lucky.

The kids didn't miss a beat through the whole storm and afterwards. They even got to eat out twice, since we didn't have power. When we thought all of Vicksburg was still out of power, we decided to head to Tallulah, Louisiana, to get some McDonald's or something. But before we got out of Vicksburg, we noticed that a local restaurant on the frontage road had an OPEN sign lit up. We thought we'd see if they really were open before we used the gas to get to Tallulah. Sure enough Fiddlesticks Catfish was open, and not only were they open, but catfish, fries, and drinks were on the house until they ran out! We couldn't believe it! We were so grateful and promised to visit him again and spread the word about his generosity. So, everybody go eat at Fiddlesticks and support the folks who fed many of our Vicksburgers for free.

Later that evening, we went to eat Mexican. Hayden and Hank loved their cheese quesadilla, but loved even more playing with the extra straws the waiter gave them. Hank even figured out how to poke his into the right hole in the plastic top on his cup. Hayden simply just chewed on her straw. We saw lots of friends and family in what appeared to be the only open restaurant in town. Then we got the phone call that our power was back on. By the time we returned to our house, the A/C had cooled it off, and it felt so good. 95 degrees with no A/C is not fun.

Not much new is going on with the kids. Hank is sporting a mullet and needs a haircut badly. I'm think I'm just going to take matters into my own hands and do it myself. It can't look any worse than it does now. Hayden is talking up a storm, but we have no idea what she's saying, though. Hank is waking up from a nap, so I'll have to close now...

Please remember the folks of our region in your prayers.

Another new video

2005-08-06T16:33:00.000-05:00

I posted a video that I took of Hayden a little while ago shakin' her tail feathers... Not sure where she learned this move, but it's cute...

Thanks so much!

2005-08-05T16:35:00.000-05:00

I reached my fund-raising goal for the March of Dimes WalkAmerica, so I had to raise it!!! It only took 5 donors for me to reach $250, so now I'm counting on all of you H&H addicts to help me meet my new goal of $1,000. I don't think I mentioned before that we are the ambassador family for the Vicksburg WalkAmerica. I've had to speak to a couple of groups about our story, and I'll be doing some radio spots as the Walk nears. If you're in the area, keep your ears on! Remember to go to http://www.walkamerica.org/harrisonfamily to donate if you haven't already! Thanks so much for supporting us!!!

Other news: H&H had their developmental re-evaluation on Wednesday. The therapists determined that Hayden was right on target for her physical skills. But even though Hank is walking now, his muscles are still pretty tense, so they left it up to us to decide whether we wanted to do physical therapy or not. We decided that it definitely wouldn't hurt him, so he's about to start receiving physical therapy once a week for some stretching exercises. Also, both of the kids were borderline for speech delays. Hank was a little more delayed than Hayden, but we decided that a little speech therapy wouldn't hurt either, so they'll get that once a week, too. We just want to get them up to speed with their peers. We'll let you know how it goes!

Another something new...

2005-07-31T22:09:00.000-05:00

Shutterfly is doing something different with their site now, and I'm not so sure I like it yet. I'll get it figured out, though. One thing that I do like is that they now offer an address where you can see all of our pictures, divided into albums. So, for those of you who are still addicted to H&H, the link to all of their pictures is http://harrisoncrew.shutterfly.com. You can bookmark that or make it a "favorite", and you can always find our pics! I haven't uploaded any new pics lately, but I hope to in the next few days.

New video clips

2005-07-28T22:34:00.000-05:00

I uploaded a couple of new video clips from today. One is of Hank walking. He's just started, so he still looks like a drunk, old man. The other clip is from right before bedtime. A typical scene in our house: Hank's got a toy. Hayden steals the toy. Hank chases Hayden. Somebody gets hurt. Hayden was fine, though.... She's really tough and didn't even cry. The video clip links are on the right-hand side of the page. Enjoy!

Help us save babies from Premature Birth

2005-07-28T11:41:00.000-05:00

Did you know that premature birth is the leading cause of newborn death in the first month of life? It affects 1,305 babies a day in the United States, and Mississippi leads the nation in premature births with 1 out of every 6 births being pre-term. Those who survive may have lifelong health problems. And premature births are on the rise -- up to 27% since 1981.

Hayden & Hank were born 14 weeks early and spent as many weeks in the NICU. Both of them received the benefits of March of Dimes research. Hayden received indomethicin (a drug researched by MOD) to help close an open valve in her heart. And Both Hayden & Hank received surfactant, a substance discovered by MOD research to prohibit premature lungs from collapsing after birth. If it weren't for the research of the March of Dimes, we may never have brought our children home.

That is why I am asking you to support me in March of Dimes WalkAmerica. Because premature birth can happen to any pregnant woman. In nearly half the cases (including mine), the causes are unknown. The March of Dimes is leading the way to find answers by supporting research into the causes of premature birth. I am joining the fight, and so can you.

Your support helps fund:
-Research into stress and other factors that may trigger preterm labor.
-Programs to educate pregnant women to recognize the warning signs of preterm labor.
-Tools to help health care providers find better ways to detect women who may be at risk for preterm labor.

Please join in and help fight prematurity. Visit my March of Dimes webpage at http://www.walkamerica.org/harrisonfamily and sponsor me in the Walk that saves babies! And please pass it on... You can even email this post to your friends and co-workers by clicking the little envelope below this post.

Thank You!

Welcome to our new home on the web!

2005-07-26T22:38:00.000-05:00

The blogging world is really catching on, and being the computer dork that I am, I couldn't let it pass me by. Plus, the kids are getting older, and soon the domain "babiesonline" won't really fit the bill. They need something more mature... HA! So, here's where you can find us now. The other site will remain up for a while, I guess for as long as they let it stay up, but I won't be updating there anymore. If this site doesn't work out, then I can always go back there, but for now, this is our new home!

Something great about this site is you can comment on each post, unlike the old guestbook at the other site. Don't worry, I already have all of your old guestbook remarks saved for the kids' scrapbooks, so they aren't going anywhere. To post a comment, just click the word "comments" after this post. A box will pop up, and you will click "post a comment". Another window will open and you can type in your comment. You should also click the button for "Other" (unless you, too, have a blog - in which case you'll click "blogger"). Fill in the blank for your name (please, no anonymous comments), and click Publish Your Comment. Done! Feel free to let me know what you like and don't like about the new site, and if you have any ideas to make it better, do tell!

You'll also notice that I've added videos to the site (on the right-hand side), and you can also go back and read the updates from when H&H were first born by clicking the month links under Archives. I've also posted some new pictures in the Jun - Jul photo gallery.

Not much new is going on at our house, yet there's always something new. Strange? Yes! Basically, the norm at our house is somebody doing something for the first time each day. Hank is taking more and more steps each day, but he usually has to be enticed by something. Hayden is learning new words and is beginning to copy us when we try to get her to say things. "Where's Hank?" and "Where's Hayden?" are big games right now, along with Pat-A-Cake and giving people "five" (or sometimes "ten")!

Thanks for still checking in with us. I'm hoping this site will work better for us, and I might start posting updates more often, so check back soon!

Stupid computers...

2005-07-09T17:17:00.000-05:00

I just wrote a big update, and then it got deleted. I'm frustrated now, so this one will be short. Hank took his first steps last night! We were so excited. The play pen that Grandma Harrison got H&H has really helped Hank tremendously. He is able to hold on to the sides and walk around, so he has really improved his balance. Hayden can say "nite-nite" now, and a few other things. Last night, Jay stripped all of her clothes off and told her to go get in the bathtub. She pranced herself right down the hall, into the bathroom, and tried to climb in the tub. We had no idea that she knew what "bathtub" meant! Everything is going great around here, and we're having tons of fun. I'll try to put some new pictures up in the next few days.

Hank is home!

2005-06-29T17:17:00.000-05:00

It's Wednesday afternoon, and we're home. Hank is doing really well. His fever finally broke, and he is back to his old self. We still don't know what was going on, but all signs point to it being something viral. "Something" did show up on his first chest x-ray, but since our ped had never seen his lungs before, she wasn't sure if it was scar tissue from being a preemie and hooked up to artificial respiration and oxygen or if there was a little pneumonia in there. He had another x-ray this morning, but I'm not sure what the conclusion was. All I know is that she said everything was "alright", and we got our walking papers. Hallelujah! Free at last! We HATE being in the hospital, especially with a 17-month-old hooked up to an IV and doesn't understand that he can't teethe on it or jerk it or any of the other tricks he tried. Jay stayed with him the first night while he was all sick and pitiful and groggy. Piece of cake. I stayed with him last night when he was starting to feel better, and he was bouncing off the walls. I thought he would never settle down and go to sleep. I called Jay and told him I wanted to switch, but he didn't go for it. Oh, well. I'm headed to the couch for a nap. Thanks for all the prayers. I'll post some pics of Hank in the hospital later on. Check back.

Hank is in the hospital

2005-06-27T17:16:00.000-05:00

We're not really sure what's going on, but he's been running fever (103) since Saturday afternoon. We went to the ER Sat. night, which was a really bad experience that I won't even get into, but they seemed to think that Hank's throat and ears were red, so they sent him home (after 5 hours) with an antibiotic. The fever never went away, plus we wanted a second opinion from our ped, so we went in Monday afternoon, and she decided to put him in the hospital with IV antibiotics. The main reason was that the blood culture that the ER did came back positive Monday afternoon, so it appears that he's got "something", but we don't know what. His white blood cells are normal, but his lymphocytes are up, which is consistent with it being viral. Hopefully, we'll get to the bottom of it soon. The combination of his prematurity and his shunt is causing our dr to be very cautious, and we are so thankful for her. Hank's fever was gone for most of Monday but returned to 103 late Monday night. Please keep us in your prayers, and we promise to keep y'all updated.

H&H are 17 months old!!!

2005-06-17T17:15:00.000-05:00

Hayden is walking everywhere now, and Hank is beginning to show some interest in walking. I think he's still convinced that he can just go faster by crawling. Hayden says "light", well, just the "t" part of it, and she points to the light, as well. Hank won't point (it's not polite to point anyway!), but he does look at the light when you ask him where it is. He plays peek-a-boo, and Hayden beats her chest when you ask her where Hayden is. So cute, both of them! Jay & I just got back from vacation, and H&H stayed in McComb for 8 nights. They had a blast and gained whole pound each on that good ol' homecookin'. I'm sure they're bored being at home now, since there were always so many people around to entertain them (or to be entertained!). We took them swimming at Grandma & Grandaddy Harrison's today, and I got some fun pics. Hayden wasn't too sure of the pool - the first time we've seen this side of her. Usually, she's the daredevil. Hank loved it. He splashed and splashed until we were all soaking wet. Check out the June pics to see the latest.

C.R.

2005-05-31T17:12:00.000-05:00

H&H's great-grandfather (Sally's mom's dad) passed away on the 19th. We always stayed with them when we went down to McComb, and we had just had a great visit with him on the weekend prior to his passing. Here is a really sweet pic that was taken of him and Hayden four days before he died. I have so many friends that have lost grandparents at a young age, and I am so blessed that I have 30 years of memories with CR. The last year has been so wonderful, seeing him interact with my children. They really put a spark back into him, and he called us everyday to remind Hank not to drive too fast on our next trip to McComb, and to make sure that "Haney" (aka Hayden) wasn't eating all of Hank's food. His mind was still very good, those were just his little jokes with us. I think my grandmother is going to turn his room into a room for H&H, and I don't think that anything would please him more. On a lighter note, H&H are 500 days old today. They are both doing so well. Hayden is walking up a storm, and Hank is finally getting close to standing on his own. We went to church again, and they had a great time (so we hear). We went to eat Mexican afterwards with some friends, and H&H had a cheese quesadilla and some rice. They loved it. There were two birthdays while we were there, so the waiters came out clapping, clanging pot lids, and blowing a big ol' horn. H&H thought it was great! Hayden will "say" light (she actually only says the "t" sound), and she will point to the light, too. And when we sing, "Where is Hayden, Where is Hayden? Here I am, Here I am!" She pats her chest. Hank will clap when we sing patty-cake, and he will snuggle up to me when I ask him to "love Momma". They are so much fun, and we are so excited to be out and about with them now. They will be in McComb all next week while Jay & I go on a vacation to Washington DC. If you're in the area, stop by either of my grandmothers' houses... They've each got joint custody for the week! Thanks for checking in. I'll have some new pictures up soon.

Mother's Day

2005-05-09T17:10:00.000-05:00

We had a great Mother's Day. First, on Saturday H&H went to the soccer field for the first time. They had a blast. They played with their soccer ball, and loved crawling around in the grass. We were so worn out! Then, Sunday they got all dressed up to go to church for the first time! We had baby dedication and lots of family came for the service. H&H were great--nobody cried or got upset. We left them in the nursery for the rest of the service, and they had a ball. Hank ended up crashing in some sweet lady's arms, but Hayden (of course) wouldn't dare miss anything by falling asleep, so she played and played, then passed out in the car. We took them to a restaurant for the first time, and they behaved so well. They ate all sorts of food, and they both discovered strawberries. Hayden had about 6 of them! We all came home and took a 2-hour nap. We were exhausted. It was a great day, and we were so glad to get out and about with the kids. It's a start of a new chapter! Enjoy the pictures that I put in the Feb-May gallery. Hope everyone had as wonderful a Mother's Day as we did.

A wedding, some shoes, sweets, and church

2005-05-02T19:54:00.000-05:00

H&H have had a fun few days. Friday they went to their first big party! Ms. Donna, who takes care of them each day, got married, and we all went to the reception. The kids were great, and Hank loved bouncing and clapping to the music. Then he promptly passed out and slept through most of the evening! I've posted pictures in the Feb-May gallery below. Today, we took Hank for a checkup with his neurosurgeon. He had a CT scan, and his ventricles look great. They have definitely decreased in size since his surgery, and the dr was very pleased. Afterwards, we all went shopping and got H&H their first pair of shoes! Since we haven't been allowed to get out of the house much, we haven't had the need for shoes. Imagine going 15 months without shoes! I've got a pic of Hank with his on, but Hayden's are being ordered. They also had their first chocolate chip cookie today. They LOVED it! They also tried a little bit of mom's ICEE, which they thought was so much fun to sip through a straw. This Sunday (Mother's Day) will be baby dedication day at church, and H&H's dr has given us the okay to start going to church and leaving the kiddos in the nursery. We are so excited about that! So, this Sunday will be a big day for all of us. We are ready to get out among the living. Enjoy the new pics and check back next week for pics from Mother's Day. I hope to have some cute ones of the kids all dressed up.

Overdue Update

2005-04-13T19:54:00.000-05:00

I know it's been forever since I've updated, but as H&H become more mobile it seems that our free time is getting more scarce. These little boogers are everywhere! Hayden still isn't really walking, but she'll take a step here and there. When she realizes that she isn't holding on to anything, she just sits down - chicken! Hank is getting more and more steady on his feet. He's cruising well, and can get anywhere he wants to go. He was 20 lbs at our 15 month checkup Monday, so he got to turn around and face forward in his carseat. Hayden was a petite 17 lbs 11 oz, so she'll have to stay rear-facing for a while. Both kids are healthy, and we got the go-ahead to get out a little more, although we were advised to still limit our contact with children until May or June, then it will be back on house arrest once the cold & flu season starts in Sept/Oct. Hayden is a champion bye-bye waver. She says bye-bye whether we're coming or going. She knows where Mommy's nose and mouth are, and she loves to clap for herself. Hank is learning to drop things and will entertain himself forever just picking things up, dropping them, and doing it all over again. He, too, loves to clap for himself and still uses his mouth as a third hand to carry whatever he doesn't have room for in his hands. They eat grilled cheese sandwiches, pasta, veggies, mac-n-cheese, scrambled eggs, and anything they can pick up. They are so much fun, and when people remark that they don't know how we do it with two babies, we just say that we don't know what we'd do if we just had one. How boring! :) Thanks for checking in with us after all this time. We're doing great, and I promise to keep updating--even if it takes me a few weeks. Y'all check out the new pics in the Feb-Apr gallery.

Videos

2005-03-12T19:21:00.000-06:00

I've got some great videos for y'all to see if your internet connection is fast enough. Hayden took her first steps on Thursday, and I have a video of it. Also, we went to the playground for the first time today. Hank laughed the entire time he was swinging with his Daddy (it sounds like he's crying, but I promise he's laughing.) That video is out there, too. I'm going to start sharing more videos as time goes by. The links to the videos are on the right of this page. Y'all enjoy!

Happy March!

2005-03-01T19:20:00.000-06:00

Where does the time go? Not much is going on here, but I thought I'd post since I got in trouble yesterday (by Ms. Pat) for not updating enough. My 30th birthday was Friday, and the kids got me the cutest cards. Jay & I went out to eat and to the school play, which was really good. And when we came home, the kids were already in bed, which was the best present ever! They have been so fun to watch lately--chasing each other around and interacting with each other much more. Of course, Hayden is still the boss, but Hank is becoming more assertive. Hayden has had nightmares a few of times, but they are usually around 6 am. And we think Hank is scared of the dark. We can put him down for a nap during the day, and he is fine to play in his bed until he falls asleep, but he will NOT do that at night. We aren't really sure what's going on there. We have a little friend named Hays who is very sick right now. In fact, he's been in the hospital since right before Christmas, and it's been very grave at times. Hays was a preemie, and is a few months older than H&H, so you can imagine what it's like for him and his sweet parents to be stuck in a hospital for months, especially after they have already endured a very trying NICU stay. Please put him on your prayer list, and if you live in our area, there will be a benefit for him on Saturday from 1-5 at Maxwell's. There will be children's games, crawfish, door prizes, etc.

Fun day in Jackson

2005-02-24T21:24:00.000-06:00

Hi, friends! Since our last update, Hank has had a checkup with his neurosurgeon who couldn't be more pleased with his progress. Hank will have a CT scan in May to give us a look at his brain and how well the fluid is draining. We spent a long President's Day weekend in McComb, staying with both sets of great-grandparents. The kids had so much fun! The weather was wonderful, and H&H got to play in the grass for the first time (which also included eating it!). Hayden hated the grass. Hank loved it. I've posted pictures in the February album so you can see for yourself. Today, we had a long, but very fun day. We went back to Baptist Hospital for their developmental appointment with the folks from the NICU. They were amazed at how well the kids are doing and told us that they didn't need to see us anymore! They also cleared both H&H of any cerebral palsy--this had been a strong possibility for Hank with the degree of brain hemorrhage he had at birth. After visiting the therapists in the clinic, we saw Dr. Temple, one of the neos that cared for them in the NICU. He did a quick health checkup on them and was extremely pleased. We were asked right before the babies were delivered to take part in some research regarding breathing assistance techniques at birth for babies born at 26 weeks and under. The doctors at Baptist were so excited to have us sign on for the study last year, and they will continue to track H&H to see how often they get sick, and if they end up with asthma or allergies. Dr. Temple walked us up to the NICU so we could visit all of the nurses that took such great care of the kids while they lived there for 94 days. It was so good to see those ladies, and it made me so proud everytime someone said how pretty H&H's heads turned out to be (I worked so hard rubbing and positioning their heads so they wouldn't have the preemie-peanut head!). To our surprise, Dr. Temple also rounded up Dr. Perry (high-risk maternal/fetal specialist) and Dr. Gebhart (my OB)--both of whom delivered H&H. We were so happy to see them, and I think they were also happy to see us and know that H&H are doing so well. One of the ladies at Labor & Delivery even looked in the computer to see if the nurses that were assigned to me during my stay were on duty today, but they weren't. We felt so special, seeing all of these folks who became like family over the course of 3 months. We came home and ended our day with a fashion show, put on by Hayden. She got a new bikini and modeled it for us. You'll have to check out the pics in the February album. Enjoy!

Happy February!

2005-02-07T17:24:00.000-06:00

Time is flying by! Hank is healing well from his surgery. Other than the scars, you would never guess he'd had anything done. Dr. Parent told us to expect some developmental improvement in the weeks to come, and we are already seeing it. Last night, we found Hank standing up in his bed! That was a big first for us. We have felt that Hank's gross motor skills were lagging a bit, so it's great to see things happening in that area. Hayden has had a couple of firsts herself. She has begun saying her G's and sounds quite frustrated when she does so. This is what it sounds like: "god, god, god, god, god, god, god". It's really funny to hear come out of her sweet, little mouth. She also has begun to play peek-a-boo now. She's always loved for us to play it for her, but now she really takes part. She pulls her bib up over her face, then lets it down. She is SO cute! She loves to clap her hands and has learned to "strum" her lips to make noises. Both H&H are enjoying feeding themselves finger foods. Jay & I never know what kind of treat we'll pull out of their cracks and crevices (slices of cheese can fit in the strangest places!). Hank likes to share pancakes with me in the morning, while Hayden loves pasta dishes. Hank is like a chipmunk, storing food in his cheeks for up to an hour! While Hayden is the fastest eater on the planet. Hayden got slighted on having her photos posted to the web while Hank was in the hospital, so I made up for it tonight and posted some of just her. They're in the February album below. I hope you enjoy them. We are having tons of fun, and I wish each of you could experience just a teaspoon of the joy we have each day. Thanks for being great friends!