Fur Rondy

Today Steve and I ventured downtown to check out Fur Rondy. The outhouse races were taking place when we arrived. We tried to watch, but as you can imagine this was a pretty popular event. It isn't every day you can see outhouses (occupied outhouses at that!) be maneuved through downtown Anchorage! There was an entire collection of Machetanz on display in the Sunshine Plaza that Steve and I enjoyed and we also stopped by a few of the art galleries downtown. Last but not least we attempted to tour the ice sculptures. It was a bit icy near the sculptures though (imagine that!) and the tour was cut short due to driving difficuties. We had a wonderful day and hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to check out the running of the reindeer:) Bundled babies looking at the Fur Rondy carnival
The ice sculptures downtown

The babies were amazing today, hopefully they will travel this well on our trip to California!

Who Loves Baby?

For Valentine's Day everyone in the family received a little present. Payton helped the babies and picked out a new book for them. It's called Who Loves Baby? and has room for six pictures. While the book hasn't been filled yet Mima & Papa are a huge hit! Every day they look at their book and while I can't guarantee pronunciation they will definitely recognize Mima & Papa when we see them in 12 days.

Patrick & Cassidy "Reading"
Cassidy decides Papa needs a little pat
In her quest to itch Cassidy has learned how to roll over. She started out in front of Aquaduck, scooted a bit, and then decided she could scratch her head better if she was on her back. Patrick doesn't seem to have any desire to move but he sure is wonderful when it comes to smiling for the camera.

The High Chairs Are Here!

Yes I did say the high chair(s) are here however since Cassidy doesn't really eat yet my time was devoted to constructing Patrick's new throne. As you can see Patrick was delighted with this new addition and not only does he eat here but he gets to watch me try to cook and clean.

The itching continues

This week Cassidy seems to be itching worse. It seems no matter which cream or formula she has the eczema persists. I had to break down and make her a few new suits:( Now we need to add cotton tights to the contraption because little houdini has figured out how to work her way out of her arm holes and scratch those thighs. How much can this poor little girl endure? Hopefully the California sun will make a difference; I hear warm weather works wonders for eczema. Payton and Patrick snuggling before school
Look at those big blue eyes!
Cassidy is trying to itch her arms, Patrick still loves those feet
Oh my goodness she does smile!!!!!!!!!

Sweet Sixteen

Tonight was Ceara's sixteenth birthday party. We had fun spending time with our family......it has been a little while since we've gotten together! The twins with Uncle Jimmy and Monica
Mommy, Daddy, and Patrick
Payton, Ceara, and Steve
Happy Sweet Sixteen Ceara!

Hockey Games are fun

This weekend was packed with hockey and family gatherings. Friday the All Stars played Mat-Su and won 3-2. Payton had a fantastic goal as well as an assist. He almost had two goals but hit the post. I felt a bit silly cheering for him- I realized a bit late that the puck really hadn't gone in the net. Oh well, at least he knows has a fan club.

Gabe and Patrick at Payton's game.........can you tell they're related???

Sippy Cups

The twins were fascinated today with the introduction of sippy cups. While they haven't come close to mastering the art of bottle holding they grip toys exceedingly well. As you can see Patrick was happy to play and hold his sippy cup.........hopefully in the near future he will discover the cup isn't just fun to grip and wave around, there is an actual purpose for this new "toy". Cassidy has been constantly on the move since she was in the womb. She was always the kicker and has become the itcher......moving her arms and legs incessantly. It has been reassuring the last six months to know when I put the babies down they will stay relatively put. Today, however, my peace of mind was shattered. She scooted off the blanket and would have traveled farther had the fireplace not stopped her. She repeated this remarkable feat so I'm pretty confident it wasn't a fluke. Watch out house the twins are almost on the loose!
Payton and Steve having a little fun before bed.

Deal or No Deal

Payton received a belated Christmas present superbowl weekend, the game Deal or No Deal. Let's just say the present was a hit and our family has been playing nightly! Payton even won a million dollars (he doesn't quite understand why Howie won't send him the money he wins). The twins playing on their playmat
Payton playing Deal or No Deal with a not so willing Patrick (he was sick from his shots) Daddy playing Deal or No Deal and holding Cassidy

Six Month Check-Up

Today the twins are six months old. It's amazing to think six months has gone by so quickly yet I can't imagine life without the babies. Our six month appointment was supposed to be at 3:20 today however after being shown into our "room" the nurses disappeared for an hour! Who leaves two parents (thank goodness Steve was there!) and two hungry babies alone for that long? Finally the doctor came and checked the babies. They are doing quite well, although Steve and I are convinced Patrick must be larger than the 50th percentile. He is just so chunky.......and his shirts hardly stretch over his head! He smiled and cooed for the doctor and was proclaimed to be in perfect health.

Poor little Cassidy decided to go scratch crazy during her nap today and so I took her to the doctor pretty bloody. Her ear, head, and knee were really bad. Although not exactly encouraging the doctor said the worst case of eczema he has seen lasted for three years. I can't imagine scratching and itching like this for three years!!!!!!!!!!!! The one part of her body which was problem free happened to be her little butt however the medicine for her ear infection gave her really bad diarrhea and despite my best Desitin efforts she now has terrible diaper rash. So the only skin that doesn't have problems are the soles of her feet and palms of her hands. I feel so bad for her!

My greatest challenge lately has been how to evenly divide my time between the two babies. Patrick was the cranky "needy" baby for the first three to four months of his life and now is the most content happiest baby around. Cassidy on the other hand started out content and happy and as her skin has gotten progressively worse has become very clingy. It is really hard because I know how miserable she is and I just want to try and make her as comfortable as possible. At the same time it isn't fair for me to spend more time holding her than her brother. Ahh, the challenges of twins.

Here are the official stats:

Patrick

Weight: 16 lbs 9 oz (25%-50%)

Height: 26 inches (25%-50%)

Head size: 44cm (50%)

Cassidy

Weight: 14lbs 5oz (10%-25%)

Height: 25 inches (25%)

Head size: (25%-50%)

Formula is Wonderful!

Cassidy woke up this morning with a smile on her face and wasn't itching! She has been on formula for three days now and we're hoping today is the turning point for her terrible bout with eczema. It looks as though her skin is finally beginning to clear up and most importantly she doesn't seem miserable. We even took a chance and let her have her hands ungloved for the first day in months! I may have pushed my luck a bit and put her to bed without her suit.........she was enjoying the freedom of her fingers so much. It just seemed plain mean to restrict her! We'll see if this was a good idea or not in the morning.

Look at me I'm not crying!

I can even talk.........enough pictures mom!

Spending time with my daddy

Feet, Smiles, & Friends

Lately I've been slacking on keeping this up to date! My apologies to Mema & Papa! I start a post and then someone starts crying or needs to be fed and I never get back to what I was doing. Here are some recent pictures and perhaps later tonight when everyone is sound asleep the stories will follow:) Patrick & Cassidy playing yesterday.........and both sitting!!

Today we had our first playdate in a month! We usually see Jackson & Genevieve on a weekly basis but between kids being sick and our playmates taking a vacation we've missed each other. The babies seemed to interact today and lovingly patted (or dare we say hit?) each other. We can't wait to see them next week.

Here is my attempt at art on Picasa. Patrick recently discovered his feet and LOVES them. As long as he has easy access to his feet he's a happy camper. The credit for the actual picture goes to Payton. His new favorite pastime is taking pictures of the babies:)

Look mom I've got my feet!

It seems like Payton and Patrick are always together so to even things out here is a picture of Cassidy and Payton. She loves her froggy and her brother!