Benhamtwins

HALLOWEEN

2010-11-07T19:30:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a fun time this year. Here were are in our outfits. Ellie is a little cowgirl with her pink hat and cowboy boots and Connor is a sheriff with a "badge". He showed that badge to everyone trick or treating.

We went to our twins club party on Saturday and it was a beautiful day for lots of fun. Here we are cutting up for the camera. On Sunday, we went to the Hoffman's for a party and trick or treating. This was the first time they actually got to go to houses and get treats. Fortunately for us, the really don't know what candy looks like. Ellie still gets spooked easily so all of the scary decorations made for a challenge. Connor charmed everyone with his badge. It was a fun filled weekend.

My little helpers

2010-11-07T19:00:00.000-08:00

Connor & Ellie are growing up so fast these days. We have all been sick for a week since the Halloween festivities. With help from the little ones we made waffles for breakfast AND Ellie helped me set the table. There was plenty of time to play waiting for each waffle to cook but they sure were good. I still can't believe my babies are old enough to help me cook in the kitchen. Last night we made pizza together. Making pizza was something I did growing up with my mom and it was very special to have Connor & Ellie helping. I can't wait to continue pizza nights forever.

Here is Ellie all dressed up for church in her cute little outfit from Miss Darla. It feels like winter outside so we work our pretty pink boots.

Potty Training

2010-10-20T13:19:00.001-07:00

We started potty training and the kids are 2 1/2 years old. They have been going on the potty occasionally and I just woke up and decided now is the time. After 2 weeks I am here to confess that there is much more to this process than the three day of boot camp that I thought. I think Connor is pretty much there and I am not quite sure about Miss Ellie. No pee pee accidents ever but she doesn't seem to mind poopy pants. I think she wants to tell me "but mom, I have been going there quietly for 2 1/2 years what is all the fuss about now".
I think all of this "big" kid stuff is really messing with nap time. Here is how I found Ellie the other day when she decided that she didn't need a nap. That is her clothes hamper. Once I took it off I found about 3 shirts AND short over her head. Deep breathes is all I can say for this house in October.

Fall Fun

2010-10-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Fall is finally here in Florida. The weather is a bit cooler but the best part is that the humidity is down. Sure makes being outside much more enjoyable. Here are pictures from our trip to Sweetfields Farm pumpkin patch and corn maze.

Ellie wasn't too sure about posing for pictures but my little man was showing off his big boy haircut. There was much fun with all of their friends too.

Daddy's new boat

2010-10-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

After waiting several months for our boat to be made just like daddy wanted we finally have a new boat. It is a 17 foot skiff which is a shallow water boat. I like it because there is lots of area for the little ones to play and it is very easy to get in and out of. I can see lots of weekend fun in our little boat.

We took it out with the little ones for an afternoon run and they just loved it. Strolled down the river to Rick's on the River and had some dinner and then back. We got to watch the sun set and it even got dark before we got back to the dock but everyone was still happy.

Vacation to Tennessee

2010-05-19T17:39:00.000-07:00

Mom and dad took us to Tennessee to see Gamma & Pappaw for Mother's Day and it was an adventure. We got started a bit late because our cousin Tanner was born a bit early and mom wanted to go see him before we left. We finally got on the road at nap time and drove to Valdosta GA where we ate and played for a few hours. Then on to just South of Atlanta for the night. We got up the next morning and went to the Georgia Aquarium where they have the biggest whale shark. We actually had the most fun running in circles in the green space outside the aquarium. Here we are having a blast.

We finished the drive during our afternoon nap. Gamma & Pappaw live on 10 acres out in the country and it is so pretty. They have lots and lots of cats because on stray kitty keeps multiplying. We were all about the cats.

Gamma had fresh strawberries and we had so much fun picking them. We ate lots of "strawberbies" as Connor says. Here we are with Gamma picking and eat them. It is lots of work, you have to go out every day and pick and eat.

There was so much to see and do. We could look out the front window and watch for the horses, the cows came to graze next door each afternoon, we ran circles around the flowers or looked for snakes in the creek. It was a fun lazy time. Here we are looking at some of the flowers and the creek is just down at the bottom of the hill. This is right outside Gamma's back door.

On Wednesday we all piled in Gamma and Pappaw's mini van and drove over to Murphy, NC to see our dear friends Mark and Kate. They chucked it all here in Tampa and bought a cabin in the woods and opened a bakery. Here we are with Mark and Gamma in front of the bakery.

Our cousins came to visit us and they are twins too. Well really almost like triplets because their baby sister is not too much younger. Here we all are looking for lizards and cutting up for pictures with Pappaw.

The last night of vacation mom and dad watch the movie "Avatar" with Gamma and Pappaw. Ellie's first sentence was "I see you" and Gamma really wanted mommy to see that movie. Of course she was in tears. It was pretty neat. The week was so much fun. We drove home over two days just like the drive up and boy were we glad to be home.

Trip to Nanny's Educational Zoo

2010-04-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Our twins' group had a playdate at Nanny's Educational Zoo and we had a blast with all of the animals. Here we are with the bunnies. Connor was so sweet and loving to his precious bunny and I was holding that little guy for all it was worth. If mom had of let us we would have held onto them forever. She was a little worried that I was going to squeeze my little bunny to death as I would get so excited and hold him tighter.

Our friends call Connor the goat whisperer because he always gets down and just loves on the goats and talks to them like they are friends. The zoo had ponies to feeds and turtles and peacocks and lizards and snakes. It was a really fun place to visit.

Easter

2010-04-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here is what the Easter bunny left for us (with a little help from Aunt Connie and Uncle Doug). Mom let us try a peeps and we didn't know that there was other candy in the baskets. Ellie liked licking off the sugar from the peeps and leaving them for mom to find.

We are on our way to breakfast and the big egg hunt at church.

This year we can actually look for eggs but we still don't know what candy is so mom confiscated more candy out of the eggs. Her friends at church did sneak us some chocolate but we don't have a taste for it yet.

After church our photographer friend managed to capture a rare photo of the family. What a great Easter day we had.

Playdates with friends

2010-04-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Here is the Easter egg hunt and playdate at our house. There were lots and lots of twins and one set of triplets that came and played with us.

Here we are with our friends coloring.

Ellie really enjoys her coloring time.

Here we are at the zoo with our besties.

Fishing with Dad and Uncle Chris

2010-03-13T18:53:00.000-08:00

Mom and dad's friends, Uncle Chris and Aunt Laura, have a lake with fish in their neighborhood and we got to go fishing. We picked up some crickets to fish with and they were pretty cool.

Here I am holding the cane poll with daddy.

Here is Ellie looking at the little fish that we caught. It sure was a fun time fishing.

Spring is coming

2010-03-08T17:21:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful day with our friends at Weedon Island today. After a so much cold and rainy weather it was such fun to get out and run in the sunshine. Here we are with our friends G & R.

This was the first adventure we have gone on with no stroller or wagon. It was a long walk on the boardwalk but we are big kids and it was so much fun to run and see things. At the end of our walk we all had a picnic. Such fun.

January 2010

2010-01-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

The new year brings many new things for us. We are learning to talk and express our feelings. Sometimes those feelings come in temper tantrums and lots of nos and other times we are just plain happy. Here we are with dad at the zoo checking out the birds.

Mom decided that we have grown up enough so that we can move to booster chairs for dinner. Now if we would just stop throwing our food on the floor and actually eat some of it she would probably be happy. Of course, it is now our job to test mom so making her happy is not on the adgenda for the next year. Dad tells mom that not eating what mom cooks us is our way of exerting our independence and independence is what it is all about these days.

Here we are when we climbed up on the bar stools and mom let us color with crayons for a bit.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

Here we are first thing Christmas morning. Santa brought Connor a train and Ellie a dolly and stroller. Connor was mesmerized by his train for hours and I thought the wrapping paper was especially fun. Grama and Pappaw came to spend Christmas with us and that was very special.

Here is Ellie with dad and with mom opening presents. Mom and dad got a new screen enclosure for Christmas. Their present was too big to open.

Here is Connor showing off his baby blues. Can you tell that is one happy train operating boy?
And here we are enjoying Christmas breakfast out on the patio in the new screen enclosure. It was a gorgeous day. Of course it got cold and rainy the next day.

Christmas Pictures

2009-12-25T17:44:00.000-08:00

Our favorite photographers took the pictures for our Christmas card. On the original day, Connor who is normally all smiles for pictures screamed the whole time. There were no pictures with both of us together. My left the shoot just crying. The deadline for getting pictures done in time for Christmas cards was right around the corner.

I, Ellie, who doesn't really like the camera thought I would cooperate since Connor wasn't.

So the photographers re-schedule the shoot for another day and we try again. Connor has decided recently that all sticks should be a fishing pole. Of course this makes daddy very happy. The week of the second shoot, Connor has also decided that "bankies" should go EVERYWHERE. So we go to the second shoot and there is no getting that blanket away from Connor and the stick is his fishing pole. In the end mom decided that it was a great picture, just not what she had envisioned for the Christmas card.

Thanksgiving

2009-12-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

We traveled to Maryland for Thanksgiving to see Aunt Connie & Uncle Doug. It was very cold but we had lots of fun. Here are a couple of pictures of Aunt Connie's yoga room turned into a nursery for our stay.

While we were visiting we went to the National Zoo, took a walk on the Potomac River and had a picnic at the playground. For Thanksgiving dinner we got to eat with the adults and even eat off of the china and silver. Ellie really likes "bubbles" just like aunt Connie. Mom and dad aren't really good at the picture taking thing so there are no pictures of our thanksgiving dinner.

Halloween

2009-10-31T17:17:00.000-07:00

Today was a busy day. We started with the twin's club Halloween Party which mom was in charge of. That meant that we had to get out of the house really early today. All of our friends were at the park and we had lots of fun but it was really hot. We had juice pouches for the first time and they were really good.

After our naps and dinner we went out trick or treating in our neighborhood. Well really dad pulled is in the neighborhood and we waved to everyone. Here we are at the house on the way out. And here we were goofing with our candy buckets. Mom and dad didn't let us get any candy. I think they even forgot to give us a cookie at the party.

Ellie's First Kiss

2009-10-16T13:49:00.000-07:00

We had our friends over today for a play group and the kids were sharing the love. Here is Ellie giving her friend R a kiss. They were so sweet.

18 Months Old Already!

2009-10-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

We are officially a year and a half already and getting bigger by the day. We went on vacation to Sebastian Florida with Gamma and Pappaw. It is a small community over on the East Coast of Florida down near Vero Beach. Our timeshare was on the Sebastian River at the Inlet to the ocean. We went on our first boat ride. Here is a picture of Connor sleeping on the boat. We went out two times and both times Connor slept.

We spent every day at the pool. I love the water and by the end of the week could jump from the edge all by myself into my inflatable ring. It was so much fun. Connor would rather spend his time on the steps of the pool playing with toys or even more fun was greeting all of the guests at the pool.

Here are pictures of us in the pool.

At the end of the trip Gamma and Pappaw had to go to work showing their pieces of art at the Hyde Park Art Show. Here is a picture of Ellie looking at Gamma's pretty stuff.

We are having fun with words and our sign language. Butterflies and octopus are our big words and "more please" gets us lots of treats. Mommy only had to drive us for 2 naps. The rest of the time we slept good. It was lots of fun. We can't wait until the next trip.

www.holdmymemories.com

2009-08-22T11:25:00.001-07:00

We had pictures taken today and here is one and we think a link to the rest of them...

http://www.holdmymemories.com/my_familywebsite/moment_page/1121852?familyname=nataliebenham&page=13

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To Church we go

2009-08-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here we are all dressed for church and Connor walking with daddy like a big boy.

Life has been busy. We opened our first bank accounts with Aunt Nancy on Friday. Being the good CPA that she is, she taught us to feed the pig. That means that we have to ask mom and dad for all of their coins so we can make money feeding the pig.

Saturday we went to the park to try out our new wagon. What fun it is. We are big kids and can almost get in and out on our own.

16 Months

2009-08-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Wow time sure is flying by. This has been a fun filled month even though Mommy has been very busy with her office. After 17 years with her office they are merging with another firm. She will have work with her old office for awhile but not too sure that there will be work at the new firm. We are keeping our fingers crossed.
Here we are saying hi to the puppy outside our door. We are big kids now and hold mommy's hand when we walk to the car.

Ellie is starting with words and surprises us every day with more words. I have been a bit more reserved, just tossing out a word or two every now and again. The other day Ellie said "hi daddy" on the phone to daddy and he was so happy. Mommy loves it when we sign "baby". She says it looks so cute. It looks like they are holding a baby. We still love to read our books and climb on the couch. We are down to one nap a day and I sleep the longest.

Trip to Daytona Beach to see the Cousins

2009-07-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

Here we are with daddy at Daytona Beach. We still don't really like the sand on our feet but we love the pool. Well I do but Connor is not too sure. Connor had much more fun touring the pool area and seeing how many people would look at him.

We got to spend the weekend with our cousins from California and that was fun. Mom and her cousin Lisa didn't meet until they were 13 so they are trying to make sure that we get together more often.

Here I am with Alexa, who is 2.

Here is a picture of all of the cousins together. Daddy was making the funniest faces at us to make us laugh.
There are a few more pictures of the family here .
We had a great time and can't wait to go to California next.

New things this week, Ellie says Duck and Ball and Connor likes experimenting with toys = putting the ball in something and taking it out. He is also the little kitchen helper while Ellie is the climbing girl.

Um Cereal Good

2009-06-26T05:26:00.000-07:00

Mom finally decided to let us use our bowls and spoons with our cereal. This is so much fun. We didn't wear quite as much today as yesterday. Ellie still likes to have mom feed her but I really like my spoon.

Our favorite things

2009-06-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Here we are in one of our new favorite toys. These baskets used to hold our diapers but we found a better use for them. We also like playing cards with our diapers. Mommy is going crazy picking diapers up all over and she found a new hiding place for them.

Here we are playing on one of our new outside toys. We can climb up and go down the slide. Mommy and daddy also bought us a house and a water table. We have lots of stuff to play with outside. Some of our twinkie friends came over last week and we hope to have them back again some time soon.

Lately we have been working on our baby sign language. Ellie is really catching on good but we both know how to sign "all done" and "duck". Mommy is trying to teach us please but it has been challenging. Ellie also knows "more" and "fan". She also says a few more words than me but I can eat with a spoon and she can't.

This and That

2009-06-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

Mommy hasn't been doing very well keeping the blog updated. She has been working an extra day at work here and there and then grama came to visit and we don't nap as much anymore either. Here is a picture of us at our friend's house. Ellie has her hair in dad's favorite hair do. As you might have noticed in another picture, her hair is getting really long.

We spent mommy's birthday at the aquarium with our twinkie friends. Here is a picture of us at the waterpark at the aquarium.

Here is a cute picture of Connor.

Trip to Sanibel

2009-06-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

Aunt Nancy and Uncle Glen invited us to spend Memorial Day Weekend with them at Sanibel. It was our first trip to the beach. We really had more fun at the pool. Here is Connor with his cool shades with daddy and Ellie with Aunt Nancy.

It was pretty neat, daddy could walk right out the sliding glass doors and fish on the bay and then walk right around the end of the island and fish in the gulf . Here he is fishing.

We did go out to the beach but Ellie didn't really like the sand and Connor wasn't sure about the waves. Here we are with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Glen.

Happy Birthday Daddy

2009-04-27T13:36:00.000-07:00

We took daddy to Animal Kingdom for his birthday and Aunt Connie and Uncle Doug joined us for the weekend. We got there Friday night in time for dinner at Boma, the African themed buffet. We ate all kinds of fun new stuff. The next day we were off to Animal Kingdom and Connor didn't want to nap so he slept in some of the strangest places. Here he is on the bus on the way to the park:

Here he is napping thru the park for 1 1/2 hrs and here I am after helping Aunt Connie with her chocolate ice cream.

On Sunday we went on our first boat ride from the resort to Downtown Disney. We ate at Rainforest Cafe and there were too many things to look at. You can see the rest of the pictures here .

Easter Pictures with the Bunny

2009-04-20T08:41:00.000-07:00

We went to have our formal Easter pictures taken with the real, live bunny. Connor wasn't so sure about that bunny but I thought he was fun. He felt just like my touch and feel books. This is Connor not so sure about that bunny.

We have been cruising all over the place. We each took 2 steps without holding on so walking is right around the corner.

Happy Easter

2009-04-13T20:06:00.000-07:00

Here were are looking for Easter eggs at the church hunt. It was a busy weekend. We went with Aunt Nancy and Uncle Glen to their church egg hunt on Saturday and there was a picnic afterwards. It was a fun time. Sunday started with our Easter goodies.

Then we were off to church for breakfast and the hunt. This is Connor standing on his own looking for an egg. We aren't walking yet but we will be soon.

There was no nap for us but we were happy babies. Connor is FINALLY getting one of his top teeth and I am working on tooth number six.

Here is a picture of Connor hanging with his friend Kerry looking cool in those shades.

We turned 1!

2009-03-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

What a fun time we had on our first birthday. Here we are eating (wearing) our cake. Ellie was so dainty but I really had fun with mine.

Mommy made us cupcakes and there were ladybugs for Ellie and bumblebees for me. We each had our own smash cakes. It was a beautiful day and we celebrated outside.

Here are a couple pictures of the day and you can see more by clicking here for more pictures.

Trip to the park

2009-03-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

Mom and dad took us to the park and we had lots of fun in the swing. Who knew that we could both sit in the swing together.

Our first lolly

2009-03-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple pics from our Valentine photo shoot with our favorite photographers. We both got lollypops for the first time and they were awesome. Family and friends, email me if you would like to send you a print of one of the pics.

I love my brother

2009-03-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

We are having so much fun these days. Daddy got mommy a Flip video camera for Valentine's Day and she is finally figuring out how to take some video's of us. At the end of they day when we get tired we are very loving. Here is a video of us giving lovies. We haven't mastered the art of kissing yet, so we bump heads instead.

Dressed up for Church

2009-02-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

Here we are after church. Mommy found this cute vest for me in some hand me down clothes but dad says that it is called a weskit. Grandpa Lorenzen would be so proud. When he was alive he wore weskit's all of the time. Ellie had a cute hat with her outfit but she didn't want to wear it.
Today was the first time that Ellie went to the nursery during church. She had lots of fun playing with her friend Cole who is a couple months older than us.
The ladies after church noticed that Ellie has two new teeth. They are the lateral incisors (the top two teeth beside the missing front two teeth). Mommy noticed that she had been playing with her finger in her mouth around that area but was watching for the front two teeth. They are the ones that usually come in next; nothing usual about this household.

We went to the Aquarium

2009-02-21T18:04:00.000-08:00

We woke up early today so mom and dad decided to take us to the aquarium. We looked at all of the fish and played outside on the animals. We had a great day today. We still only have 2 teeth each but we are over our stomach virus. Cruising the furniture is our main source of joy these days.

10 Months Old

2009-02-09T07:25:00.000-08:00

We are into so many things these days. These pictures were taken after church when we were all dressed up. As you can see I can stand and so can Connor. We pull ourselves up on just about anything, even somethings that fall over. I climbed up on the ottoman to see dad Saturday morning but could not figure out how to get back down. Mom really has to watch us now.

Besides learning all kinds of new stuff like clapping our hands and waving, we seem to be sick a lot. The last cold left us wheezing and the dr prescribed breathing treatments with a nebulizer. This is not much fun but we feel better afterwards. We are still working on the top two teeth and the teething pains pick up in between colds.

9 Months Old

2009-01-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

We finally got too big for the kitchen sink and mom and dad are almost finished re-doing the bathroom so here is our first night in the bath tub. This is so much fun. Ellie can crawl to the tub and just waits until you let her get in. Dad gets home from work just in time to finish playing with us and off to bed it is at 7:00 pm.

We can also stand up in our cribs now and we stand all over the place. At our recent doc visit I weighed 21 lbs 11 oz am now 29 inches long and Ellie weighed 18 lbs 2 oz and is 28 1/2 inches long. We are both going to be pretty tall.

Our First Christmas

2009-01-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

Here we are on Christmas morning in front of our little tree. We had so much fun opening presents and playing with the paper and boxes too. Click here for more pictures from the day.

After we opened our presents, we went to spend the afternoon with Aunt Nancy and her family. Ellie decided today was the day that she was going to take off crawling.

It was a fun filled day enjoyed by all. Mom and Dad said that we were the best Christmas presents ever.

Pictures with Santa

2008-12-24T07:53:00.000-08:00

Here are our pictures with Santa.

Our First Teeth are In

2008-12-22T14:26:00.000-08:00

We finally got our first tooth. It sure has been very painful with a few sleepless nights. We have been chewing on anything and everything for days (mom says it seems like weeks). Here are pictures of us after church last Sunday. We don't really show off our teeth yet so look for another picture to come later on. We might even have more teeth by then.

38 Weeks

2008-12-22T14:15:00.000-08:00

I have been working on crawling for the past month. I started rocking and it took me at least 2 weeks just to get my knees up under me. Then I learned to get my self to a sitting position and finally I got it all together. I still don't go very far without sitting and resting for a bit. Mom is real happy about that.

Here are a couple of the places that I found that are fun to play in.

Connor doesn't really even try to crawl but he sure can get around. Here is a picture of him following me in our play area.

Christmas Pictures

2008-12-13T08:54:00.000-08:00

Here is a slideshow of our favorite photos from the Christmas Photoshoot. These were done almost a month ago now and Brinker-Freed Photography met us on the grounds of the University of Tampa. Dad and Connor were getting sick again and Ellie was trying to feel better. It was the most humid day but that humidity sure helped with curls. Enjoy!

We are 8 Months Old

2008-12-01T17:12:00.000-08:00

Connor is still not quite well so I guess he is letting me go first trying to crawl. After a week I can almost get my legs under me but I keep going backwards. Here is a picture of me in my crib practicing. I have been practicing a lot instead of napping and mommy is not too happy about that.

Connor is working on standing instead. Here is a picture of him holding on to daddy's head.

Two weeks ago Connor started saying "ba ba ba" and mommy thought it was the prettiest sound she ever heard. She would just look at daddy and grin. So I decided this week that I would start with "ma ma ma". Boy you should see how happy mommy is now that we are both speaking.

We are practicing on "da da da" just to keep everyone happy.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T17:01:00.000-08:00

It was our first Thanksgiving and Grandma came to visit. Mom cooked all day and we tried to stay out of the way and even napped like we were supposed to. Here is a picture of all of us at the table. We got some turkey, potatoes and cranberry served in a glass dish. This was the first time that we sat at the table with our trays and everything.

Here is Ellie with her baby spoon that Grandma made. This is the first time that we have been given spoons and Ellie knew just what to do; well almost. Mom let us play with our food and everything. There is a close up picture of our silver spoons from Grandma; aren't they pretty?

I, Connor, was still not feeling so well due to the antibiotics for this ear infection. It has been a month since we first got sick. I can't wait to be over this. Mommy says that she is enjoying the cuddle times that I give her when I don't feel so good. Maybe I will humor her some when I feel better.

33 Weeks

2008-11-20T13:47:00.000-08:00

We have been sick since Halloween and dad got it too. First Ellie was really sick vomiting up all of her food and it was coming out the other end too. Mom and Dad had to feed her little sips every five minutes for days. Here is a picture of Ellie sipping her formula out of a glass because she didn't like the syringe that the doctor suggested. She got also got two earaches and had to go to the dr office for 3 days to get antibiotic shots.

Our family photo shoot was planned for last Saturday and first the a/c went out and it was so hot and humid. Then dad started getting the intestinal portion of this bug and mom was at the drugstore in the middle of the night for medicine. We woke up to rain and this was to be an outdoor shoot. Mom was melting trying to put on her makeup and dad wasn't feeling so hot - it was kinda crazy at our house. Little did I know that I was getting this stuff too.

We drove thru rain to get to the grounds of the University of Tampa and we couldn't believe it but the skies were clear. Of course it was really hot and humid now. Here is a picture of Ellie in her little red shoes for her Christmas outfit. We survived taking the pictures and mom seems happy with them too. While we are waiting for the pictures, the photographers posted a collage on their webpage: http://www.brinkerfreedphotography.blogspot.com/ You will probably have to scroll down a bit to find our stuff.

Hopefully every one will be well soon.

Our first Halloween

2008-10-31T09:31:00.000-07:00

We had a big Halloween playdate party today and we both woke up with colds. Well, we really didn't sleep last night. Mommy decided to let us go and just not play with any of the other kids because we were having our pictures professionally taken at the party. We can't wait to see what those pictures turned out like.

Ellie has decided that she might start smiling for the camera. We don't really have costumes this year but I have a ghost outfit and Ellie has a mummy like outfit.

We came home from the party and slept the rest of the afternoon. When dad got home from work we walked around the neighborhood and saw some of of our other twin friends.

For some more halloween pictures, click here.

30 Weeks

2008-10-27T07:16:00.000-07:00

Look mom, I can sit up all by myself. I can play with my toys and see things from a new perspective. When I get tired I am not too sure what to do so mostly I just fall over and play with new things. Ellie can't sit up by herself yet. She bounces around too much and doesn't sit still so she just falls over. Mom and dad got us this cool play mat but we like to roll off and see how long it takes them to come move us again.

No more swaddles

2008-10-17T07:22:00.000-07:00

We have been in our swaddles since birth. Around 2 1/2 months we were only in our swaddles for nite - nite time. For the last couple of months we have been breaking out of our swaddles in the middle of the night. Some nights Ellie gets all tangled up and cries for mom to come get it off of her. I, myself, learned to flip over to my side in my swaddle. I think mom finally decided that she was tired of getting up every night between 2 and 4 am so no more swaddles.

We now have sleep sacks. Here were are in our sleep sacks.

We can now roll all over our cribs in our sleep sacks. I have been having fun in my sleep sack and wake up tired each morning. I am really quiet so mom doesn't know that I am playing all night. Ellie likes to sleep so she is a good girl.

29 weeks

2008-10-17T07:13:00.000-07:00

Here we are 29 weeks old sitting in our bumbo chairs. We can almost sit up on our own but still need someone there to keep us from falling too hard and bumping our heads. We are rolling all over. We like to roll to each other and "share" our toys but Connor likes to play with my hair and he pulls hard. Mom is trying to teach him gentle.

Connor scootches on his tummy and I scootch on my back. Mom says that it is amazing how fast we can get from one side of our play mat to the other. We also "feel" things with our feet. That means that we must kick whomever is closest to let them know we are there. Oh the joys.

We are teething like crazy but mom hasn't seen narry a tooth. In this picture we both are chewing on our razzberries, which is some teething thing that feels great and looks like a raspberry pacifier. We will also chew on anything and everything that comes close to our hands. Stay tuned for teeth.

Trip to Yellowstone

2008-10-06T12:28:00.000-07:00

We flew across the country to Bozeman, Montana for 10 days of vacation near Yellowstone County. It was a long flight and Connor didn't want to sleep but we made it. The next day we drove down to the timeshare in Island Park, Idaho which is near famous flyfishing waters and dad got to fish. Grandma and her sisters joined us for the week. Here we are at Yellowstone in front of an errupting Old Faithful.

To see more pictures of our trip click here.

There are not too many pictures because Mom and Dad were always holding us and never had a camera handy. They even took the video camera and never even got it out. Go figure. Hopefully Grandma and Aunt Louise will send us a few more pictures when they get home.

6 Months

2008-09-25T14:38:00.000-07:00

Here we are with our new books. Ellie read so much that it put her to sleep just like it does mom. As for me, I am just getting started. I find that chewing the book helps me to learn about the dinosaurs.

Well we are now 6 months old and got some more shots this week. I weighed in at 17 lbs 15 oz and Ellie weighed 15 lbs 5 oz. Mom was sure glad that I only gained 1 pound this month instead of two. I measured 27 inches long and Ellie was only 1/4 inch longer. People still say that she looks longer than me but I have a bigger head :)

BenhamTwins for President!

2008-09-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

Here we are contemplating all of the world troubles. Connor decided to take a break and chew on Ellie's toes. This is his way of thinking about the next problem. Mom and dad don't let us "watch" tv but we sure hear all of this stuff and we can't wait for election day to come and go.

In the meantime, here is a harmless plug:

24 Weeks

2008-09-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Well it has been 24 weeks since we were born; almost 6 months now. Today mom decided to show me how to use my sippy cup. I could hold it with both hands and drink all by myself and that was cool. The other day dad let me sip from a straw and that was fun too. Mom has to watch what he is letting me drink - no wheat beer until one because wheat might cause allergies.

Sissy tried too but she thought it was a fun, new toy.

23 Weeks

2008-09-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

We went to the aquarium on Saturday with mom and dad. Connor enjoyed looking at all of the fish and wildlife and I (Ellie) thought it was very relaxing and had a nap. Here we are with dad after lunch, sitting under the misters. The outdoor water area is awesome. We can't wait to get bigger and enjoy more stuff. I may think about staying awake next time.

Since we are considering rolling over, Mom and Dad decided that we probably should loose the swaddles at night. Connor thinks this is okay but I am not too sure about it. On top of that we are both trying to get a tooth and that requires much drooling, crankiness and general overall irritability. Don't tell Mom, but she has a new gray hair.

Other pictures

2008-09-04T03:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the picture Mom took on her cell phone of me and sissy in our swim suits. I must say that it is not a very flattering picture. Of course when I (Connor) smile at the camera, Sissy never wants to smile. Can't you see, I finally got tired of smiling.

Here is a picture taken by a friend of Grama Cecile's when we were in Tennessee. Her name is Jennifer and she gave us our favorite lovies. Don't we just look like angels, especially when we are sleeping?

5 Months Old

2008-08-28T05:25:00.000-07:00

We are 5 months old today. Here we are looking at each other from a whole new perspective. We both want to be sitting up more and looking at the world. Connor figured out rolling from tummy to back overnight and still surprises himself. Ellie has been rolling to her side for quite sometime but hasn't quite figured out the rest of the way; though she tries hard. Ellie finds her hands most interesting and just sits and stares at them as if they are the most magical thing in the world. It is quite precious to watch.

Play time with Cole

2008-08-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

It was church circle night and here we were playing with our friend Cole.
I think there was supposed to be a program but we babies stole the show. We are 21 weeks old and got our 5 month vaccines today. Ellie hasn't been eating well but she gained some weight so mom may not worry so much. She weighed 14 lbs 7 oz. Connor has been eating like a champ and he weighed 17 lbs.

20 Weeks

2008-08-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

This week we went to Cocoa Beach to see Grandma and Grampa again. We went in the water for the first time and saw the ocean. My couldn't find the camera when we had on our cute swimsuits so she had to use the cell phone. The picture is not the best and she can't figure out how to get it downloaded. This week Ellie found her toes and Connor started laughing.

Connor goes to work

2008-08-20T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here is Connor with mom's boss, Senator Arthenia Joyner. She just loves it when the little ones come to visit. Who knows what important business is being done besides feeding, of course.

Trip to Tennessee

2008-08-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

We flew on an airplane to go visit Grandma and Grandpa in Tennessee. Here we are in the hotel room and Connor is sitting up like a big boy. The next picture is Connor with his cousin who is also a twin. Lastly Ellie is with Grandma and Grandpa.

17 Weeks

2008-07-25T20:11:00.000-07:00

Just ask Mom, we are growing up. The dr says it is time to start eating baby food. I started with peas. Yeah peas. Connor started with cereal because he doesn't have it in his bottle already. He wasn't so happy with the cereal but I like my peas.

16 Weeks

2008-07-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

We are growing like weeds. At our 4 month dr visit Connor weighed 15 lbs 1 oz and Ellie weighed 13 lbs 12 oz. Ellie's reflux is getting better and she is able to eat more at each feed and she is catching back up to Connor. Connor's head strength is a bit more than Ellie's so he is the first to try out the new play station. He is basically sitting in a seat with his feet almost touching the ground. And here we are sitting up in our Bumbo seats. It still takes a lot of work to hold our heads up so we can only take about 5 minutes here. Our next adventure will be trying out our high chairs and eating from a spoon.

Our First Professional Photographs

2008-07-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of pictures from our first professional photographs taken on July 7, 2008.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

2008-07-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Our friend Larinda gave us both outfits from the book "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" and here we are posing for the camera. Mom really likes to read this book to us.

14 Weeks

2008-07-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

Here we are chillin with dad and enjoying the 4th of July weekend. Mom found this cute Surfer Dude outfit for Connor and he really likes posing for the camera. Sissy on the other hand doesn't like giving smiles to the camera. She does, however, give lots of smiles to anyone that smiles at her.

3 Month Birthday

2008-06-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

We are three month's old today and mom and dad want to get some pictures of us in our baptismal gowns. We went down to church and here are a couple of pictures. You can click to our web album to see more pictures.

Loveys

2008-06-13T11:52:00.000-07:00

We are 11 weeks old now and mommy had her first birthday since we came. She says it was the most wonderful birthday. Daddy bought mommy a beautiful necklace and she was very happy. Here is a picture of us in our cribs with our favorite loveys - Lovey the lamb and Hairy the horse. Oh and we had to go to the dr for Ellie this week. Ellie now weighs 11 lbs 10 oz and Connor weighs 12 lbs 2 oz.

Visit with Laura and Audrey

2008-05-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

Today we went to visit with Audrey and her mom Laura.

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T10:31:00.000-07:00

Grama and Grampa are driving back to Tennessee today. Here is a picture of

Grampa with Connor.

Later in the day we went to Uncle Bruce and Aunt Juanita's house but we don't have any pictures - mommy forgot to take the camera. I think she was tired from the long weekend.

Baptism Day

2008-05-25T09:07:00.000-07:00

Today we are being baptized and this day is really special for my mom and dad. They are even having a party to celebrate this day. Mom and Dad picked special music for the service with a little help from Grampa Jim. "For the Beauty of the Earth" was a great suggestion from Grampa Jim. Here is a link to hear the hymn http://www.songsandhymns.org/hymns/detail/for-the-beauty-of-the-earth.

Aunt Connie and Uncle Doug are the godparents to William Connor and Aunt Nancy and Uncle Glen are the godparents to Eloise Rose. Grama Cecile and Grampa Jim were in town and Uncle Bruce and Aunt Juanita also came to our baptism along with lots of friends.

It was a special day.

Texas Benhams Visit

2008-05-24T09:01:00.000-07:00

Our cousins: Chris, Nick, Casey Joy and Jake came to visit us for the Memorial Day weekend with their dad, Brian, and stepmom, Stacey. They all hung out with us for the day and it was great fun. Here is a picture of Uncle Brian holding Connor with the cousins looking on and Aunt Stacey holding Ellie. See more pictures here.

Two Month Pedi Visit

2008-05-20T11:02:00.000-07:00

Today was our two month visit with the doctor. We are growing like weeds and Connor is about to catch up to Ellie. He weighed 9 lbs 11 ounces which is an increase of 4 lbs since birth. Ellie weighed 9 lbs 15 ounces which is an increase of 3 lbs. I swear to look at them Ellie still looks bigger - all that hair must make her seem bigger :)

They also got their first shots today and we such good sports - a little cry and that was it. Mom was really worried about those first shots and glad they are behind us. Mom and Dad have decided to make things a bit easier on us and have opted for a stretched out vaccination program so we get shots every month. This means that we will only ever get 2 shots at a time instead of 4.

Here are a couple new pictures - Mom is still trying to learn how to make us pose for pictures. It sure helps when dad comes to entertain us.

Mom goes to work for a few hours

2008-05-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

Mom went back to work for a few hours and left us home with our dear friend Amy this week. It is a good thing that mom has known Amy for so long because she was a basket case leaving and she was only gone for 4 hours. Of course we were great little ones and peacefully sleeping when mom got home.

Big Social Week

2008-05-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

Mom was very adventurous this week and took Connor to her book club meeting and left Ellie home with dad. They were going to go work out in his shop but she had other plans. They were not especially fun plans for dad - projectile vomiting. Ellie is struggling with reflux and some days are better than others.

On Thursday, Mom tried again and took Ellie to her PEO meeting and left Connor home with dad. He was more inclined to work in the shop and dad and Connor had a lovely evening.

Here is a picture of us for tummy time. We are playing on one of the beautiful quilts that our North Carolina friends, Mark and Kate, sent to us. We really like tummy time because it helps our nexts to become stronger and we are really strong kids. Watch out mom and dad cuz we have places to go...

Five Weeks Old

2008-05-02T06:40:00.000-07:00

Our first day by ourself with the babies was wonderful. That doesn't mean that it is not hard because it is. The babies want to eat many times at the same time or one starts crying while you are feeding the other one but in the end it all works out and we have happy babies. Of course, having 2 boppies to prop them up and feed them at the same time is a god send.

Grama goes home

2008-04-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

It was such a joy to have my mom here for 2 weeks. She was so helpful with the babies and we could not have done it without her when Bill got sick. I was sad to see her go. This picture is us on the swing in our back yard the morning she left. Tomorrow begins my first day with the babies all by myself. I am excited and scared all at once.

We are three weeks old already...

2008-04-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe how time flies. I must say getting wee little ones to pose for pictures is not the easiest thing in the world. I thought - oh how easy this should be - we have lovely babies and we will just take a few nice pictures. Well the truth is, either they wish to cry or sleep. This must be why people pay to take their little ones to the photo studios. This is us after our first tub baths all clean and snuggly.

Grama comes to help for two weeks

2008-04-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

Bill got to stay home with the babies for two weeks and a couple days. It was a wonderful time for just the four of us to get used to our new lives. Now Grama is coming to help out for the next two weeks. Just in time as our sweet babies move into a growth spurt and a very, very fussy time. Here is Grama after taking feeding duty for a night so that Bill can get a good night sleep. Unfortunately the sleep is a bit late and he comes down with the flu. This picture is taken while he has a sore throat and doesn't realize that he actually has the flu. He spent the next 5 days sleeping in the workshop quarantined and away from the babies. We were all very lucky and no one else got sick.

Aunt Nancy and Glen visit

2008-04-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

Here is Aunt Nancy feeding Ellie with Glen looking on. They were so kind to give Grama a break while she was here visiting and took her ball room dancing. Grama got to sleep for a night with no little babies crying - oh what a relief.

Our first doctor visit

2008-04-08T15:24:00.000-07:00

Here we are in our car seats for our first trip out of the house. We are 2 1/2 weeks old already and off to see the pediatrician. Trying to get mom and dad dressed, the babies fed and dressed and into the car is a lot of work for the first time. We are only 15 minutes late for the doctor so I guess that is pretty good.

Aunt Connie comes to visit

2008-04-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

This is the weekend that the twins were supposed to be born and Aunt Connie was scheduled to come visit. Lucky for her they came early and she got to spend more time with Connor and Ellie at home. Proud dad looking on as Aunt Connie feeds her namesake.

Our first sponge bath

2008-04-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

Our angel, Pam, is giving Ellie and Connor their first baths and showing a tired mom and dad how to do this the right way without drowning the babies. Boy she makes everything look easy. For those of you who have never heard of a doula, she is a very loving and gentle person trained to take care of babies as well as mom and dad. In our case, she helped to take care of the little ones, was a great resource for all kinds of information and generally helped out around the house. Having Pam around gave me a chance to sleep and heal while the babies were being well taken care of.

We're Home

2008-04-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

We are home and settling in to our new lives. Here is a picture of dad feeding Connor with our bird, Sohpie looking on. Sophie is not too sure about the twins - they might eat her so she keeps a good distance. Funny thing, the twins were so used to hearing Sophie's shrieks while in utero that they are not bothered by her now. This is a really good thing.

This is us all swaddled and sleeping in our bassinet in mom and dad's room.

Going Home

2008-03-31T10:45:00.000-07:00

After three days in the hospital, mom and the babies got clean bills of health and they sent us home. We were doing great on 3 hours feeds but having trouble with breastfeeding. It was scary at first to leave but wonderful to have our new babies home.

Grama Made it!

2008-03-30T10:35:00.000-07:00

Since our c-section was a few days earlier than expected, Grama had to jump in the car and drive from Tennessee to Tampa. She got in at 7 am to see the babies and spent a whirlwind 30 hours with us and had to leave. It was wonderful having her there!

From the beginning

2008-03-29T19:29:00.000-07:00

Our precious twins arrived via c-section on Friday, March 28, 2008 at 6:44 and 6:45 pm. This was an emergency c-section due to pre-eclamsia. Connor came first weighing in at 5 lbs 9 oz and Eloise weighed 6 lbs 13 oz.