Your Questions, Part 2: On Children

how did you know you were ready to have kids??? -Tiffany
Kev and I never talked about not having kids. We knew we wanted to have a big family and to be young parents. We are both really good at living within our means, so we weren't worried about the financial side of things and we agreed early on that I would stay home until our kids are school aged.  Most of all, we felt that there was nothing bigger or greater in the world that we could do other than raise a family. So we did, and have never felt like we missed out on a thing, in fact I am more fulfilled because of it. Having children is such a blessing and has made Kev and I such a better couple. That is my long answer.
 The short answer: once I started noticing pregnant women everywhere. Happened with both boys, I swear pregnant people started following me and then it clicked that I was ready for a baby.

Plus, my boys hold each other's hand in the car. I didn't even know that until I was sitting in the back of the car when my father in law was in town. Be still my heart.

Do you think more babies are in the works? Do you love having boys or secretly wish you had a little girl?  -Eliza
There will be a #3, but not yet. When my weekend reviews no longer involve drinking wine, or I start mentioning that preggos seam to be stalking me, you'll know somethings up. I love, love, love having boys and would totally ok with a 3rd. We didn't find out with either Cullen or Bennett beforehand what they were and I was so happy each time. It would be wonderful to have a girl, but I would be perfectly content with a house full of boys.

This is me in all my preggo glory with Bennett.

What inspired your boys' names? -Heather
In my head, I had decided that Cullen was going to be a girl, so for 9 months, we called my belly 'Nora Scott' (what a darling little southern belle she was). About 2 weeks before he was born, we realized that we really needed to come up with a boy's name just in case. On my original list that we made when I first found out I was pregnant, I had written Cullen after watching a Clemson football game; their quarterback was Cullen Harper and I thought it was a great name. It is Irish for handsome and went great with James, which we had already decided on for a middle name. I had no idea it was also the name of the vampire family in Twilight, I didn't find that out until after he was born. I loathe when people ask me if I named him after that series.

My favorite picture of these two boys. The first time they met each other.

Bennett I thought was a boy the whole time, so we talked about boys names a little sooner that time. I always liked the name 'Ben' but didn't want to use Benjamin, so I looked up other names like it. We fell in love with Bennett and we never discussed anything else. He's my little Bennett (or Bubba, which is actually what he thinks his name is) and I think it suits him just right. His middle name is Paul after my grandfather.

What is the most surprising thing you've learned so far about being a mom? -Heather
This is a great question and I had to think about it for a while. I think, especially as the boys get older, I am surprised by how many of my parents' actions make sense. You know all those time you hated your parents for their rules or opinions or thought that you were really good at tricking them? Turns out, all those rules were for a reason, many of their opinions were right and they actually spent a great deal of time tricking us. Kev and I spend a lot of time talking about the type of parents we want to be and are so grateful for 4 wonderful role models to help us figure it all out.