One Huge Meltdown and Two Hours Later.......

Yes you read that right. We waited in line for almost 2 hours to see the "Best" Santa in Orlando! Why you ask? Oh I don't know...because I'm an idiot maybe!! LOL!! He is a cool Santa...very vintage old school Santa! But worth waiting 2 hours to see him only to have your children totally traumatized? Ahh I don't think so!

We all did great (I say all because Daryl was there too and not so thrilled about waiting) right until we were about 2 people away from meeting the big guy! I don't know what happened exactly but Carter threw an official temper tantrum right there in the front of the line! I mean threw himself down on the floor, screaming and kicking! Nothing would help so I knew we were pretty much S-O-L for the Santa pic! Well of course as expected all hell broke loose as soon as we sat them down!! All we could do was laugh about it and hope for a better outcome next year!

Our Attempt at Holiday Photos

Being a photographer, you are always behind the camera...never in front! So my Mom met up with us in downtown Winter Garden yesterday for some cool family photos. Alan, April and Hayden also met us so mom could get some shots of them as well! They have really revitalized this area and it really shows! It's an old historic district so the buildings are old and aged which I just love! They have an old train and old tractors set up as well! It's a great backdrop for photos!

As expected the boys were not having any part of any kind of group photo with mommy and daddy! They wouldn't sit still for one second...not surprised! They were more interested in running up and down the sidewalk then exploring the Choo-Choo!! Oh well I think we got a few decent ones..I hope!!

Quick Update

I just want to pop in and give a quick update because things have been crazy around here lately. I am up to my eyeballs in picture editing thanks to all of the mini sessions I did with the business. I had 6 families come out over two weekends and I have two more shoots this coming weekend as well as a newborn shoot on Wednesday. AAGGGHH!! I wish I could hire an assistant this week to help me!! Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining because busy means money and Lord knows we all need that these days!!

The boys are doing great! I think we are finally shaking the last of this cold/cough. I swear the nurses must be sick of me with as many times as I have called them over the last month now! We have just been doing the normal stuff lately with our playgroup! Daryl and I have taken the boys to a couple of art festivals over the last few weeks as well and that's really about it! I know, nothing spectacular or news worthy that's for sure:)

This week we are gearing up for Turkey Day! I am running my first 5K in over 6 years and I am not too happy about it! hahaha!!! We will be having Thanksgiving at my brother's house this year. That's great for us because the boys have a blast there with all of cousin Hayden's cool toys! They are entertained for hours which translates to mommy and daddy relaxing for hours:)

I know I won't have a chance to get on here anytime before the holiday so I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble Gobble!!!

18 mth Check up

We had the boys 18mth check up today and Thankfully Daryl was able to come with me! Going to the doctor is now quite a traumatic experience for all of us...including the staff!! The boys now know where they are and from the minute we enter the room it's full on pandemonium!! Screaming, kicking, crying...you name it!! This was the first appt. that Daryl had been to since the boys were just teeny tiny babies so it was good for him to see the HELL that I go through every time we go to the doctor!

The boys have both had colds now going on about two weeks. We took them in last week and was told the same old same old routine of humidifier, saline drops and lots of fluids. Well here we are another week later and still in the same boat. So my regular doc gave us some antibiotics to help kick this infection!

They are growing fantastically!! Here are their stats

Cameron
Height-32.5 inches
Weight- 26.4lbs


Carter
Height-33.5 inches
Weight-26.12lbs


They both grew about 3 inches from their 15mth visit and gained almost 2lbs!

This visit is also a developmental evaluation . We had to fill out this very involved questionnaire basically to see where your child is at with all his communication, gross motor skills and things like that. We were a little behind in a few areas, more Cameron than Carter but none the less we have some things we have to improve on. She did say that it's normal since they are only 16mths adjusted due to their prematurity but as a parent you never want to hear things like that. Honestly I know they are behind on talking but other things I think they are doing fine. We will re-evaluate the situation at 20mths and see how they are doing and to see if speech or some kind of other therapy is necessary.

Storytime

On Monday I met up with some of my twin mommy friends for story time at Leu Gardens. They do it every first Monday of each month and the best part is that it's free! I knew we were in trouble when I pulled in to the parking lot and they were directing traffic! Once we got in it was total chaos for us! The boys don't handle crowds very well and this day was like no other! It was probably the worst I have ever seen them! I was mortified because everyone was staring at us and I could not get them to calm down. These are the days where having twins becomes very difficult! These are the kinds of things that parents of one child get to enjoy where as parents of twins do not! Days where I actually envy a mom that can do these kinds of activities and not have to try and calm two babies!
After story time we headed out to a local park where I surprisingly ran into my brother and my nephew so we had a little impromptu playdate with them too. We were all exhausted after we got home and I think the boys slept for like 3 hours! Guess we won't be doing that again anytime soon!!

Happy Halloween 2009

We had a great time on Halloween this year! Not only was it the boys first time trick or treating (we didn't' take them last year) but the Gators beat the snot out of the Georgia Bulldogs and that always makes me happy!!! Once the game was over we got the boys all suited up in their Batman and Robin costumes and that didn't go so well. Carter hated Batmans wings so we had to tape them down. Neither one of the boys would wear their hats or masks but I knew that would happen! Once we got moving outside they loosened up and had a really good time. They were up way past their bedtime but managed to get up right on schedule...7am! I think it was because of the time change though! I hope everyone had a great Halloween! Enjoy the pictures:)

Pumpkin Patch 2009

We took the boys to our favorite pumpkin patch over the weekend. A little different this year with the two of them running around and me trying to get pics. And family pics, well you can just throw that out the window for the next few years!! Enjoy:)

18 Months Old

Seriously? They are a year and a half! How did that happen??

The boys are your typical 18mth old toddlers these days...into EVERYTHING!! But it is amazing how different their personalities have become! Carter is the sweet, lovable, snuggle bug and Cam, well....not so much!! He is a spitfire! Defiant, mischievous, but funny as all get out! He's turned into a bit of a bully to his brother. Whatever Carter has, Cam wants and will get no matter what. My friend Amber gave us a train table a few weeks back and they are totally obsessed with it! We finally had to glue everything together and glue the tracks down to the table because literally every hour the track was destroyed and all parts ended up on my living room floor. For a neat freak and an OCD organizer that becomes a HUGE problem for me!! LOL!!

Carter's vocabulary has literally exploded over the last few weeks. He tries to repeat pretty much anything you say which amazes me because Cam was the one who showed signs of talking first and now he has kind of slacked off a little bit. And that's how it's been for every developmental milestone around here. Some of Carter's words are Choo choo for his train, Ball, Pablo (from his fav. show), Go, Banana, mama, dada, dog, moo (for cow), boo (for book) See, Quack Quack (for duck) and MMM (for good when he is eating). We are working on Gator but all I get is Didi. Oh and they both like to put their shoes on and wave and say bye bye but it comes out as Dye Dye! So cute!!

They have conqured the stairs thanks to cousin Hayden showing them the way! They will climb all the way to the top but haven't figured out the way down just yet! Not to worry though, this only happens if mommy is on the stairs with them. Otherwise the stairs are gated!!



They have also become obsessed with books and their See and Say. Finally!! Before if you gave them a book they would just bite it and try to eat it. But now they sit on the floor, empty out the book basket and "read"! They love for you to hold the See and Say and pull the lever but don't ask them to do it...they will not have it! YOU have to do it for them!! Which you can imagine sitting on the couch for hours pulling a lever to hear animal sounds and Old McDonald play over and over again can become a little annoying!!

Much needed update!!

Once again my Grandmother has scolded me for not updating the blog in over 2 weeks!! I'm sorry!!!!! But the word BUSY does not even begin to describe what life has been like in the R household!!

So much has been going on that I really don't know where to start. So lets see, a few weeks back we had our twins group fall festival and that was lot's of fun! I took pics for the event and they came out great. If you want to see a few check out my photography blog at www.andrearichburgphoto.blogspot.com.

The following week was filled with playdates and the usual weekday things that keep me ridiculously buys. That following weekend we had a bit of a speedbump. See I was scheduled to hold my pumpkin patch sessions that Sunday. Daryl came home that Friday with news that he would have to head up to Alabama first thing Sunday morning to be with his family for his dads emergency surgery. I am happy to report that his Dad seems to be doing much better now!! yay! But that left me alone with the boys for 3 days with a full day of photo shoots. Thankfully my wonderful friends stepped up to babysit! But let me just give a shot out to single moms!! That is tough, I mean REALLY tough to do and I hope to God I never have to experience that full time!! And to mom's whos husbands travel all the time...big props to you too!! Whew what a weekend! And of course after the photoshoots I had photos of 6 families to sort through and edit. I am FINALLY finished with all of it! Learned my lesson on that one and I will never do that again! 6 in one day, 6 in 4 hours is CRAZY!!! Oh well live and learn I suppose!! So that has really occupied the little bit of free time I have had over the last few weeks!

Another Succesfull Splash Park Trip

And I have pictures to prove it this time! We met up with our friends at a local splash park today and had a great time. The weather has been sooooo HOT here this week. Such a bummer seeing as it's October and supposedly Fall and everything! We have record breaking highs this weekend...yuck! I am ready for some cooler weather around these parts! So hopefully this will be our last trip to a splash park until next summer.

Carter loved it once again and Cameron continued his disinterest in the water. Cam did however get a bit of a shocker when he didn't realize he was standing right on top of a fountain that was about to splash water up on him! It was the kind that go down for a few seconds (maybe 10) and then splash back up. I saw it coming but when you have two toddlers it's nearly impossible to save them both from all the little things! Let's just say he was none to thrilled about it going up his nose!

First Trip to the Zoo

A few other twin moms and I met up at the Sanford Zoo today. I have to say I was not impressed. I have not been to this zoo since I was in grade school and I can tell you that not much has changed! I think the little ones had fun but it was very hard for them to see the animals sitting in the strollers. We spent some time watching the elephants, the kids seemed to like them.
The zoo has a cute little splash park that we tried out as well but myself and Kristy spent the whole time chasing all the boys around since there was no gate....note to all splash park and playground operaters....please GATE OFF your areas!!!

As we were leaving we hopped on the little train that goes around the zoo and the boys seemed to enjoy that too. They were a little hesitant at first but after a few minutes on the train they came around! All in all it was a fun day with our twin friends:)

Spaghetti Face

It never gets old. I love a good spaghetti faced baby picture!!

We have a Molar

Finally...I was starting to think they weren't ever getting molars!! It's only one and of course it's Carter to get it first. Luckily I can say that I had no clue because he showed no signs of "teething"!!

My little Couch Potatos

I had to run upstairs for something yesteday and when I was coming back down this is what I saw.......




They were cozied up next to each other watching their favorite show, The Backyardigans!!

Winnie Palmer Miracle Miles Morning

We got up nice and early today to show our support for tiny babies at the Walk around Winnie. Winne Palmer is the hospital that the boys were born at and spent a month at while they were in the NICU. They had a couple of races as well as the symbolic walk, which is what we participated in. There was a group of us from GOMOTT (twins group) that all had NICU babies so we met up and walked together! It was a nice morning minus the heat and 110% humidity. I can't imagine running in that this morning..yuck!

There was also a block party with lots of festivities planned for later in the morning but the boys were hot and stuck in the stroller so we had to call it a day and head home earlier than expected!

Splash Park Success!!

Finally!! It has only taken the entire summer to get these boys convinced that the splash park is fun!! It took about 10 minutes but once Carter was in....he was IN!!! He had a blast just running in and out of the fountains! It was so funny to watch. What is so shocking about it is usually Carter is the one hanging all over me and not wanting to do anything and Cameron is the adventurous one. Well not today! Cam got in the water one or two times but other than that he wasn't feeling it so much! But I still feel accomplished with Carter!! I have some pics on my cell phone that I am trying to upload but having some difficulties!
Yay Carter!!!!

Best Buds

We took the boys outside to play after dinner tonight and let me just say...they LOVE being outside! But it has to be pavement and not grass, they don't like grass whatsoever! Something I am sure they will grow out of! They kept running up and down our neighbors driveway for some reason. It was hilarious to watch and you will see from the pictures just how cute it was. They are really starting to interact with each other more and more. They love chasing each other around and playing tag...they giggle so hard when one catches the other!

When it came time to go inside...well...umm... let's just say it was a bit Nanny 911ish with Carter. Screaming, Kicking and whaling while I tried to carry him in! Tell me that is not what I have to look forward to the next few years!!!

Popsicle NO-GO

What kid doesn't like a popsicle? The Richburg kids that's who!!!

Been Crazy Busy

Wow what a week/weekend we have had around here! I was fortunate, if that's what we can call it, to be given FREE Britney Spears concert tickets for the show here last week. I took my friend Amber and we had a great time! Then the next nite my mom and I took a useless Photoshop class at a local art school. I say useless because I didn't learn much of anything, it wasn't interactive and we had the most annoying people in our class that felt the need to ask pointless questions on a non-stop basis!! Ugh so frustrating and a complete waste of time!

We had a little playdate last Friday at a local splash park. The boys are not into the whole splash park think just yet. They are still a little timid around the water which I can not wrap my head around! They love the pool, they love the bath but not a puddle of water or a fountain of water!

Of course we all know that this past Saturday was the start of College football in the Richburg house! GO GATORS!! The boys and myself wore our jerseys all day and got many compliments on them!! My game was not on until later in the evening and Daryl's game (Alabama) wasn't either so that left us all day Saturday to play and boy did we! My favorite place for the boys these days had their grand opening party and it was free to all! IT was a total zoo but the boys had a great time! AR photography (that's me) gave away 3 prizes that I have yet to hear who won but at any rate it got my name out there! After that we headed over to Tracy's house for an awesome BBQ! Boys again did great! Then to wrap up the evening I went out to meet my friends to watch the Gator game and since Daryl knew that he wouldn't have a chance to watch his game amongst the obnoxious Gator fans he elected to stay home and watch his game!! Thankfully!!

Sunday was brunch with my family at BaCCo's then errands the rest of the day and today has been "Labor Day" literally!!

Another GOMOTT playdate

WE had a great turnout today at our playdate, about 17 kids and 8 moms! Some of the GOMOTT moms met up at Amaya Papaya and all the kids had a great time! Carter was a little cranky, rephrase that, a lot cranky for most of the time but after he had lunch he loosened up a bit. Cameron loves playing in the play grocery store that they have and Carter likes to hang by the train table! Cameron also loves pushing the little chairs all around the place. His friend Chase decided to join in on the fun and they had a little race! It was adorable!!

Wow I need to update!!

Sheesh I have not posted a blog update in 2 weeks!! I'm surprised I haven't recieved an email from my Grandmother yet!!

A lot has been going on here, mostly stuff that's work related for both Daryl and myslef. Daryl got a new postition at ADP, well it's the same position with additional responsibilites. So that has required him to spend a lof of time studying for his series 6 test coming up this Monday. (He had a series 7 that just expired a month before he got the new position...grrrr)

And the other big news on the Richburg front is the start of Andrea Richburg Photography. I have been playing with the idea for over a year now and just over the last mew months really settled down and started working on it! The website is up and I am open for business...officially! And unfortunatley for my friends that means no more free photo shoots!! haha!! sorry gang!!! Wish me luck because I am quite nervous about it!

The boys are doing great! We have been doing a lot of playdates but I have no pictures from them! We have been spending a lot of time at a very cool new indoor play lounge that recently opened up near our home. The boys have a blast there and it's nice and "somewhat" relaxing for me. It's pretty much baby proof and there is so much for the boys to do that I don't really have to worry about chasing them around somewhere!

Cameron is desperately trying to talk! Everything is DAH- then some other syllable at the end. Dah is for the following...Dadda, Doggie, Thank You, Eat, Juice....you name it!! It's really cute! Carter still isn't trying to talk all that much but they say that' spretty common for twins!

Pics from the weekend

Last weekend we got up nice and early and headed out to a local Farmer's Market. After meandering through the crowds of people with our double wide stroller we decided to let the boys run around the park for a little while! I got some great new pics of the boys. Every day Carter starts to look more like Daryl and Cameron becomes more and more mischievous! I swear you can see it in his eyes!! LOL

The Logo for my Photog Biz

Many of you already know this, but I have decided to start a Photography biz! I am very excited about this new adventure/chapter whatever you want to call it! I will be specializing in family, child, baby and newborn photography.
I was lucky enough to have a former colleague and friend design a great logo for me and wanted to share it on here! I hope to have the website up and running within the next two weeks...but not making any promises here! haha!!

Trouble Making at it's Finest!

So for a few weeks now the boys have been getting into the cabinet where I keep all of the plastic containers. It didn't really bother me, well except the mess I had to always clean up or the fact that I almost broke my ankle about 100 times in the kitchen stepping over all of the containers! Now keep in mind we had latches on these cabinets. Unfortunately the little stinkers figured out how to get them open so they did not good! Good news is I got some new latches over the weekend that work MUCH better so no more cabinet play for the boys:( I know I am such a mean mama!!