Happy Birthday Paige & Ethan!

Friday Paige & Ethan turned 1 (Abby & Jake's cousins)! Yeah!!! They had their party on Saturday so we made the trek to Arlington for the festivities. Paige was so cute running around in her little dress and Ethan was really trying to figure out why so many people were at his house. I didn't get to enjoy the party as much as I'd hope as I was trying to keep an eye on my guys - making sure they didn't drink someone else's sippy or get into anything they weren't supposed to be in. There were 3 sets of twins at the party (including the birthday kids)...with the oldest set at 15 months old. All three were girl/boy twins which I thought was neat. There were plenty of other kids (and adults) at the party too and everyone had a lot of fun. Thanks for hosting such a great party Paige & Ethan!!!

Bathtime!

We are getting closer and closer to taking baths together, without our big duck so I wanted to grab a few pictures since I don't have any yet. Right now, we give them baths alone in this big inflatable duck that sits in the tub. It's been a great tub and they still have room in it, but they are wanting to take baths together now and want to explore the rest of the bathtub. Abby will try to crawl out of the duck sometimes and Jake always plays outside of the duck. I've been putting off this big transition mainly for me. The problem isn't bathing them together now since they're both sitting well and moving around just fine, but rather once I'm ready to get them out. It'll be tough getting them both dried off and dressed for bed at the same time. I usually do all that on the diaper changer in their room, but will have to do it all on the bathroom floor once we make the switch (which will kill my back!!!). I know they'll be more happier as they'll get to play in the tub and stay in longer since I won't have to switch them out. I still have to get two more things before we move out of our duck - a bath mat for inside the tub to help soften falls and a hand held shower sprayer to help hose the suds off the kids once we're done. After I get those, I guess we'll be ready. To be honest, I'm a little sad to see the duck go. It's been a great tub for us.

Sitting Poolside

This afternoon I broke out our pool and the kids got to play in the water a bit. It wasn't as warm as I thought it would be for 85, but the kids still wanted to get in and play. I had set it up earlier in the day during their nap so the water could get warmed up from the sun, but it was cloudy most of the day so the water was pretty chilly. However, when we went out to play this afternoon after dinner, the kids couldn't keep away from the pool and started to climb in with all their clothes on. So, I brought them both in, got all their stuff and headed back outside to play in the pool. A note to all...be sure to get EVERYTHING you think you'll need...including clothes and diapers to change into after the pool fun. I forgot things and kept having to get the kids out drag them soppy wet in the house and then bring them back out. They had a blast though. The pool was just deep enough that they could sit and have fun splashing around. They could also crawl around and not drink up too much water. Abby looks to be our "fish" in the family. She wouldn't get out and kept crawling around in the water having fun. Jake would crawl out, go play in the ball pit and then crawl back in the pool. We only stayed out about 45 minutes then I noticed they were getting chilly so I wrapped them up in their towels and headed back in to dry them off and get them changed. They really weren't happy about that. They were having so much fun. They pitched a fit for at least 20 minutes...until I put a movie on for them. Now they're watching a video in their chairs (a nightly ritual...we have movie time from 6:30 - 7, then get in our PJs and have our last bottle before heading off to bed at 7:30). I can't wait for it to warm up more so we can have fun in the pool more often!!!

Digital Scrapbook

Most of you know I love to scrapbook. However, I am quite a bit behind and find it difficult to scrapbook now. Even when I do have time, I have to try and find an area the kids don't get to as they love to pull everything out of my bins and "help" me scrapbook. So, I decided to try my hand at digital scrapbooking. I recently completed my 2007 album and got in in the mail a few days ago. It turned out great. It's super easy to do (and much faster than regular scrapbooking), but I do kinda miss flipping through pages with real pictures on them. I will probably make the shift to digital scrapbooking and only do the "old" kind for special occasions (such as the kids baby books). I used the Creative Memories software and I have to say I definitely learned a few things along the way...like I should have done an 11 x 8-1/2 book vs. 12 x 12. Most things are offered in this size and I think the printing quality of the pictures would have been a bit better at this size. But I was used to working with 12x12 pages in my old scrapbooks so I thought this would be okay. CM also offers a lot of freebies in the 11 x 8-1/2 size. Oh well. Since I've already purchased templates at the 12x12 size, I'll probably continue with this size, but for those of you thinking about making the switch, keep that it mind.

Daddy's Boy

Lately Jake has "preferred" his dad and has become quite the daddy's boy. Anytime John's around the kids want him to hold and play with them. Abby has even been known to swat at me when John's holding her...her way of letting me know that she doesn't want me to take her from her dad. This morning he played with the kids a bit and then took off for work. Only the kids really didn't like that. John left all three of us on the ground with the kids screaming. Especially Jake - he had a melt down that daddy was leaving. John left smiling knowing the kids loved him. I however was stuck picking up the pieces trying to console them both.

Zoo day!

Tuesday we made our first trip to the zoo. My mom got us a year pass for Christmas, but this is the first chance we've had to use it. We got the pass to the Dallas Zoo vs. Fort Worth since it's closer and the kids don't really know it's not the better zoo at this age. Plus when they get older, maybe we'll switch to the Ft. Worth and it will be a whole new experience for them. :-)
Anyway, we had a blast today. We met a friend of mine and her kids for a picnic lunch and then cruised around the zoo for a bit. Since this was my first trip to the zoo, we mainly just got an idea of where everything was (on the north side of the zoo at least). They have a great children's area that the kids will have fun at once they're walking, but for now, they just hung out in their stroller. I think Jake liked the elephant the best and Abby preferred this little crested bird. They were so cute. At first they didn't really look at the animals (just the people), but once they figured out "things" were actually in those cages, they started to look a bit. When we got to the elephants, Jake stretched his arms out and laughed. Abby couldn't get enough of this one little bird that kept pacing back and forth just looking at us.
It was really warm and humid today so the kids got hot (but I remembered my sunscreen today!) and by the time we got to the car, they gulped their water down. I'm hoping to make it out to the zoo at least twice a month since we have the pass (free parking and admittance!). It will give us something new to do and once they're walking they can get out and play in the playground a bit.

Bowls of Laughter

Okay, so blogger was down yesterday afternoon / evening and I had a lot to say. So you'll just have to pretend it's still Tuesday!

This morning after breakfast the kids were playing as normal. I have some plastic dishes on the bottom shelf of my sideboard in the kitchen that the kids love to play with. This morning they cleared the shelf and thought it was so much fun to sit on the shelf. All was great until Jake slid off the shelf and into the big bowl. He was so frustrated that he couldn't get out. Of course after assessing that he wasn't injured, I snapped a few pictures before helping him out.

Things are getting hairy!

Jake reached a huge milestone today - HIS FIRST HAIRCUT!!! For those of you who have seen him recently, you know how long it was getting in the back. He really needed this haircut. And I had planned on getting it cut before his birthday, but first the hairdresser was sick, then Jake was sick, yada yada. So, we finally made it in today. He did really great, but started to get a bit nervous when the shears came out. They had this great chair for kids and he thought it was the best thing. It had handle bars so I think he thought we were going to wheel him around the shop as if he was riding one of his cars. He wasn't too keen on the cape either, it kept covering his hands and they'd get "lost" underneath. He looks like such a big boy now with his new haircut!
After he was done, Abby thought it was her turn and wanted in the chair. We put her in for a minute while the hairdresser and I chatted. She thought it was fun too.

Before....look at that hair hanging over his ears!

A Little Spring Cleaning!

I have one cabinet that is open for the kids to play in and they really haven't figured out that that one cabinet is open yet. But today Jake found it and decided to do a little spring cleaning. They cleared everything except for the massive phone books and through it out of the cabinet, thinking it would be a perfect place for them. This entertained the kids for almost an hour (probably longer if I would have let them continue, but it was bath time). They had so much fun; I'm curious to see if they'll remember it tomorrow.

Notice Jake is trying to figure out the lock in this picture!!!

Picnic in the Park

The kids had their first picnic today! I met a friend of mine and her children at the Frisco Park (which is a great little park that I never knew of!) and we had a picnic, walked down to the pond to see and feed the fish then headed up to the playground for some fun. I had brought the kids' beach toys and turned them loose in the sand. Abby mostly ate it, but Jake played a bit in it. He didn't want to venture too far. Abby on the other hand wouldn't stay put. She was off in every direction.
I also wasn't too sure how we'd do at eating since we'd just be eating on the blanket, but they did pretty good. A bit messy, but good. I just sat their plates in front of them and turned them loose. They dumped their plates, ate out of each others, and even sat in each others food. But they did eat most everything. We all had a lot of fun and the kids got a little sun. Their cheeks and noses are a bit pink. I should have put sunscreen on them I guess.
I was worried this morning that it might be too cold for a picnic, but once we got their, the weather was perfect. You couldn't of asked for a better day.
Once we got home it was time for their afternoon nap. I think they had so much fun that they really didn't want to go to sleep because they really only slept for about 20 minutes after they played in their cribs for over an hour! Oh well, we may be going to bed early tonight if they start to get really fussy. :-)

1st Birthday Pictures

We got the pictures in this past week that we took for the kids' first birthday. They turned out great! I'm still waiting on a book we ordered of all the kids' pictures, but when it comes in I'll be sure to show it off to everyone. We had to narrow the field down from over 500 pictures. I think we got it down to about 75. From there we narrowed it down to about 8 or so favorites and ordered pictures for the family. I'm working on getting those in the mail and will try to have them all out by Monday at the latest so you can enjoy them. In the meantime, the photographer sent me a few to post (see left side slideshow). Enjoy!

Also, the photographer uploaded the top 75 or so pictures to her website so we could view and see if there's anything else we want to order. Feel free to view as well. I think you can order from her website as well if you would like to do so (but wait till you get your pics in the mail so you don't order duplicates). To view click on the link below and enter the following password: wendy (all lowercase)

http://studiocloud.net/29?albumID=1713&eventDate=1206124200000

Happy Meals!

Okay, the kids have been Americanized. Today they had their first Happy Meal from McDonald's. I didn't really want to give that to them, but we were on our way home from my parents and I wasn't sure we had anything in the fridge for them to eat. I knew they'd be chomping at the bit to eat as soon as we got home so I picked up happy meals for them. They liked them as I knew they would (they have had burgers and fries before). Then at dinner it was back to our normal stuff and Jake fussed the entire time. I don't think he at anything!

"Normal" Days

I haven't posted in a few days so I really wanted to get something up, but we've been having just "regular, 'ol normal days" lately. Saturday a friend of mine came over for lunch and to see the kids. We hadn't seen each other in a year so it was great to catch up with her and as it turns out, she doesn't live that far away! Sunday was a pretty quiet day, but the kids and I did get out a bit for a walk since the weather was so nice. John's been traveling and I think Abby is missing her dad a bit. She's been waking up about an hour after she goes down for the night crying every night since John's left (which isn't normal for her at all). She calms down pretty easily once I go in there and rock her a bit, but I don't want her to get in the habit of doing this and it's been going on for 3 nights now (in my world, 3 days equals a habit :-). So, I may have to let her start crying it out. Although we'll be going to my mothers for a few days so maybe that will break the habit. Anyway, I am thankful for "normal" days. I know it won't be long until the next round of colds/teeth/etc. crop up.

Grill Masters

Yesterday afternoon I found a great little grill that I had to get the kids. I got a good deal on it so I couldn't pass it up. I figured they had a little kitchen in our big kitchen to play with when I'm cooking, so I'd get a grill for them to play with when John grills. Of course we're playing with it indoors at the moment. I cleaned it up last night so they could play with it today and they loved it! It came with little ketchup and mustard bottles and Jake new exactly what to do with it...he started putting it on the burger and hot dog!!! What a smart boy. :-) Abby went straight for the fork and started chewing on that. At one point, she thought the grill needed a bit of work and brought the hammer out to fix it. They were so cute with it. Although I've noticed the toy doesn't have a volume control and it's rather loud. Also, there's not off button so sometimes it randomly comes on when no one is around it. It may soon become an outdoor toy sitting next to daddy's grill.

Making Music with Dad

John worked from home today since he's leaving in the morning for work. I think he'll only be gone a week this time which is good, but he wanted to get some extra time in with the kids before he left. This afternoon he pulled out his guitar and played a bit with the kids. Jake loves it when he plays the guitar and tries to play as well. He watches John closely and tries to mimic his movements and watches to see just how he plays that big thing. Abby was interested at first, until she discovered the case at least. Then that looked to be more fun and she climbed all over it.

Going to the Gym

Grandma BB & Grandpa John would be so proud! I took the kids to their first gym class today. We are thinking about getting them a "gym membership" at a kids gym and they let us come for a free trial class today. It was just me with the twins, but the staff was really helpful. There was even another set of twins there just 2 months older. Jake had a blast and was never by my side. He was off exploring and loving every minute. Abby was a little overwhelmed at first - the music was loud and there were a lot of strange people, but by the end she warmed up to it a bit. Normally she's my independent player and Jake's the one with separation anxiety at home - but not at the gym! They were both opposite of what I thought they be. I'm not sure if we'll join or not, but I think they are getting to the age where they need a little more external stimulation. The kids would be able to get out and "exercise" twice a week which might be nice for them.
We also went on a long walk tonight after dinner. I've gotten out of the habit of doing this through the winter since the weather wasn't always nice, but I need to get back into walking so I can get ready for our Hawaii trip at the end of May. I'll never be able to hike up that volcano if I don't! When the weather's bad I guess I could go to the mall - I know a lot of people do that, but I'd shop vs. walk. Hmmm.