Happy Easter and Other Weekly Events

Wow, what a week. I've intended to blog all week, but I haven't had the chance. Greg has been gone part of the week and I don't have a chance to upload pictures and blog when he is gone. I think I had more time when I was working. That was partly because I would upload pictures at home and then blog at work the next day.

We had a wonderful Easter with family. The four of us went to church on Sunday morning and then joined Greg's family for brunch after church. Kent and Tara came over for dinner and hid Easter eggs for R and L's first Easter Egg Hunt. The boys got Easter baskets from their Nana and Grandad and cute Gymboree clothes from their Grandma and Grandma. We got the boys toy cars, toy trains, play food, and play house cleaning toys. Below are pictures from the day.

L in his Easter best.

R at the church nursery. I couldn't get a good picture of his face, but he's so cute in his little pants and belt.

The boys' Easter baskets.

R and his Easter breakfast with his basket from Nana.

L putting all of his Easter eggs in his breakfast bowl.

Uncle Kent and Aunt Tara helping L put an egg in his basket.

R didn't really get into the Easter egg hunt. He would pick up an egg, but then put it back and move on to something else.

L, however, as you can see, really got into the hunt. He collected almost all of the eggs and claimed both his and his brother's baskets.

Nana and Grandad also got the boys a toy of their choice for Easter. So the three of us went to Toys R Us last week and picked out an Inch Worm ride-on toy. R really likes it. When they get the hang of it a little more, then they can bounce up and down and make it move. In the meantime, they can scoot it along with their feet. R actually took quite a tumble on it this week. He started at the top of the driveway and pushed himself forward. I didn't realize the slope of the driveway and before I could get there, he went all the way to the end of the driveway and flipped over the toy and landed on his face in the street. He cried for a few seconds, but didn't hurt himself at all. The tricycle comes from the hundreds of dollars we have spent on diapers and the countless reward points I collected from the packaging. The payoff resulted in a top of the line Kettler Ketrike for the total cost of $15 to cover shipping. Below are pictures of the boys playing with their new toys.

We had wonderful weather on Tuesday, so Greg and I took the boys to a park that Stephanie and I found last week. It has a toddler play area that is designed for smaller children. It is a really cool park pretty close to our house. It might be where we have the boys' birthday party because it also has a covered pavilion and picnic tables next to the playground. Both R and L had a blast climbing, sliding and swinging.

I also took the boys to a mall in Denver that has a large indoor children's play area, but I forgot my camera for that. They had a great time playing on the giant breakfast food toys. L loved to climb on the waffles with syrup and R loved to slide down the bacon. Both boys really liked to climb in the bowl of shredded wheat with blueberries. I'll have to take my camera next time.

Things the boys are doing the week:

R is in love with the movie Cars. He could sit for hours and watch it. The boys got a Lighting McQueen car and a Fred truck in the Easter baskets. R is in love with both of them. Yesterday he held them both while watching the movie, brought them both to the table for dinner, took a bath with both of them, and went to sleep with one in each hand.

L has become my little diva. He insists on picking out his own socks in the morning. He usually picks out 3 and has me put them all on him so he can pick out which one he'll wear for the day. He also loves to wear his jeans. This morning the only jeans that he could wear were his new ones that are too long (3T). I had to roll them up and he threw a huge fit because he couldn't see his socks over the cuffs of his jeans. I ultimately took his jeans off and put on sweatpants, he then was put in his bed until he could calm down. R could care less what he wears.

I leave with a video of the boys wrestling this afternoon in our bed. It is mostly of L rolling on top of R, but they were both having a good time. We're going to the car show tomorrow, so I'm sure I'll have pictures to post from that. Have a great weekend.

Great Week with Friends

We had a wonderful week with our dear friends Tim and Stephanie from Texas. It was their Spring Break and they came up to Colorado to see the boys (and Steph's family). Greg and I met them on Tuesday at Copper Mountain for a day of skiing. We haven't skied since at least the year before I was pregnant. But fortunately, skiing is like riding a bike, you can pick it up again quickly. R and L were thrilled to see them again. They both have always had a great time with them. On Wednesday, we went to the Children's Museum. It was great to have 2 extra people to go with me. Besides the first time that we went, I take the boys by myself. There is an entire upstairs area in the museum that I don't take R and L by myself because I can't keep them in a contained area. But, we were able to go up on Wednesday and R had a wonderful time with the trains and L had a great time playing basketball with Tim.

L and Tim creating gears. Tim especially had alot of fun with this.

R and the train room. I think this is what we'll get the boys for their birthday.

L and Tim scoring 2 points.

Steph and R making a slam dunk.

Yesterday we all went out to eat at a great Italian restaurant that we stumbled upon.

L had the best dinner he's had in weeks.

R settled on yogurt.

L ate so well that it took 2 people to clean him up

I leave you with 2 videos from this week. The first is of Tim and Stephanie playing Ring Around the Rosie with R and L. The second is of Tim teaching the boys to juggle.

Happy Easter! I'll post pictures of the boys' first Easter Egg Hunt sometime soon.

First Professional Haircut

The boys got their first real haircut today. I've trimmed around their ears a few times, but that didn't really count (or look that great). We took them to a kid's haircut place and they got to sit in these cool taxi cab chairs and watch Sesame Street at the same time. We thought R would totally break down, but he did fine (at least until the buzzer at the end). L had a great time. They were surprisingly not at all scared about the experience when they were put in the chair. They really enjoyed grabbing the steering wheel and pretending to drive. They looked great afterwards and much older, too.

And here they are afterward:







We went out to dinner last night and the boys each got a balloon to take home. These were their first balloons and they had the best time playing with them. So did our cat, Davis, who you can see in the picture, as well.



Things going on with the boys:

I don't think that I've mentioned how L is completely and totally obsessed with shoes. He asks for his shoes when he wakes up in the morning and from his nap every day. He only wants to wear his tennis shoes. He throws a fit if we don't put shoes on or try to put on his brown boots or Robeez. We've gotten to where we use his shoes as a form of punishment also. All we have to do when he is doing something he is not supposed to is to tell him that we're going to take his shoes off if he does what he is doing again. It works! He is also quite concerned about everyone else wearing shoes. He loves to pick out my shoes in the morning while I'm getting ready. I usually take his suggestion, but not always. But he's fine with picking out something else for me to wear if the first choice doesn't work.


R is really good at pretend play. He can entertain himself for quite a long time by playing with his cars or airplane. He likes to dump his toy baskets over and turn them into runways for his plane. As for his cars, he likes to take several of them and line them up on the table. He then will drive one around at a time and then park it back in place.


L knows his numbers. Last week I was putting the boys in their stroller and L pointed out the V6 on the back of my car and said "Six." He hasn't counted to 10 on his own yet, but he does like for me to say 1, and then he says 2, I'll say 3, he'll say 4, and so on.


I'll leave you with a video of L building a tower earlier this week.

Wonderful Weekend with Family

Grandad and Nana visited us this weekend from Lubbock. We all had a wonderful time together, along with Kent and Tara who live here, as well. R and L loved spending time with their Grandad. It is so sweet to hear them try to say "Grandad" it comes out a little like "Dee-Da." We had such a busy weekend, I can hardly remember everything that we did. Mom and Dad came on Friday morning, and we all hung out for a while and then went to lunch. On Saturday, we all (minus the boys) joined Kent and Tara for a thing that they have been a part of for awhile. That night, I made dinner and then we played a really fun game called the Settlers of Catan after the boys went to bed. On Sunday, we all went to the Downtown Aquarium. The boys had a good time watching all of the fish and walking around the complex. On Sunday night, we ordered pizza and then played cards. Today, we drove up into the mountains to check out the beautiful views. We ate at an Indian/Nepali restaurant for lunch (where dad ordered a hamburger) and then we had to head home to get Mom and Dad to the airport. It was a wonderful weekend and it was great to be able to hang out and do fun things together.

Below is Mama and her boys. I never would have gotten one picture of me with the both of them at the same time, but this will work.







R and L and their super-cool Uncle Kent and Aunt Tara. Kent said this weekend that the boys are his favorite toy. It is funny watching him act just as silly as they do.






Grandad, Nana and little R boy.




Grandad and Mr. L, looking like a little orange marshmallow.

Below is Grandad, Greg and the boys posing with a shark outside of the aquarium. I forgot my camera, so this is with my phone.

Neither of the boys have been eating great lately. They used to eat almost anything that we gave them, but they have become pretty picky. L will eat enough fruit for 5 grown men a day, but he picks around most everything else. R has been much worse and will hardly eat anything. So I made sloppy joes this past week because they've been known to eat them before. They loved them, R in particular. He ate and ate and ate. You can see from his picture below that he has sloppy joe all over his face and he is giving me the "more" sign. L, as you can see was just thrilled to eat and get messy.

I took this picture yesterday of L coming down the stairs from his bedroom. He found a paci out of his bed and his sunglasses, and I caught him in this pose as he was coming downstairs. The boys only get their pacis when they are in bed, but they sometimes sneak into their room and try to steal one.





New things:

Both boys have finally started clearly and consistently saying "Mama, " which is now my new favorite sound to hear. L said it once months ago, but they usually just smile when I try to get them to say it. They've been saying Daddy forever, but Mama must be harder, or they didn't feel the need to say it. Now L walks around the house and calls for me. How can you resist that?

They continue to say new things every day. Some of which only I can understand, and some of which no one can understand. But they are always talking.

The boys are enjoying their Gymboree class. They've been playing with circles the last couple of weeks, which is L's favorite shape.

I leave you with their artwork. L's is the Count and R's is the very colorful Mr. Potato Head.

Day at the Zoo and More

We had a pretty good week. R and L both slept through the night almost every night all week. It is so wonderful to get a full nights sleep. G-Nanny got the boys robes for Christmas and they absolutely love them. Before I can even get them out of the bathtub, L starts asking for and pointing at his robe. There must be something in the fabric of these robes that makes both boys totally hyper. Once they put them on, they run around and scream at the top of their lungs.

I took the boys to the Children's Museum again on Wednesday. The boys had a great time. We went during story time, which helped with the crowds. This time, the boys played with the Lego's and cars. I have never known any child more obsessed with cars than both R and L. R loves to line cars up and play with them and have them crash into each other. He also pretends that his food and his fork are a car during meal time. If he is not interested in eating, he picks up his fork and moves it around his placemat, complete with the appropriate car noises (beep, beep and zoom). L has one particular car that he loves the most. It is the 99 cent car from Target that Nana got him. He must have it before he takes a nap. Their favorite new car sound to make is the siren sound of an ambulance or firetruck. It is my most favorite thing they say.

We all went to the zoo today. Kent and Tara gave us a membership for Christmas and we made our first of many journeys today. The weather was great and the boys had a good time. We saw the penguins, elephants, sea lions, monkeys and the fish. The boys loved the fish the most. But that may have been because they were able to be out of the stroller and run around. They are both doing a good job of learning and mimicking the sounds that animals make. The are even using them at the appropriate times when they see the animal. For an elephant, the stick one arm in the air at their nose and make a noise (which they did today when they saw the elephants). Their favorite noise to make is a monkey, complete with the arm movements of scratching their armpits.

We had a scare this week of thinking that R had climbed out of his crib. He did actually get out a couple of times, but he was only able to do that because his bed was close enough to the dresser to pull himself onto that and get climb down. Our first reaction was "Oh crap, now what?" I pulled his bed further from the dresser and put it next to the bookcase. During nap the next day, I heard a ton of noise and figured he had gotten out again. When I went to check on him, he was asleep, but with every single book from the bookcase in his bed with him. So, we rearranged the room and his bed is now all by itself lonesome. It has at least bought us few days.

The boys and I will be on our own next week since Greg will be going to New Mexico. I've done this alot, but I don't think that it has been since before Christmas. We have our routine down, though, so we'll be fine (especially since this time I'm not working). I'll probably take the boys to Gymboree on Monday to play and the Children's Museum on Wednesday and then they have their Gymboree class on Thursday. Greg will be back on Thursday night and Nana and Grandad will be here on Friday.

I leave you with a short video of the boys playing around during snack time. Have a great weekend.