California Pictures

There are so many pictures from California. Here are just a few: Payton riding the gondola in Seaworld
Steve & Payton: Penguins?
Patrick without a double chin!

Payton & Cassidy with Donald Duck in California Adventure
We love our stroller!
Mommy likes us riding in the stroller....in California Adventure
The Hyatt had a very soft comforter
Cassidy enjoying her first amusement park ride in Knottsberry Farm (Patrick was taking a nap and if there is one thing I've learned about parenting it is not to wake up a sleeping baby!)

Baby Proofing?

Now that the babies are mobile our house is in desperate need of baby proofing. This morning the twins went from happily playing with their toys to gumming on cords. Cassidy especially has developed quite an interest in cords and has become very speedy in her efforts to crawl toward them. Little do the babies know that their free reign of the house is about to come to an abrupt halt. Baby gates here we come!

Birthday Boy

Payton's 10th birthday party was this weekend. He had a some friends over for a sleep over party........yes we are crazy. The boys played hockey for 24 hours straight: outside shooting pucks, inside playing hockey video games, and knee hockey tournaments. They had a blast and so did we. Payton is growing so quickly and is officially in the double digits now!!!!!! Here are a few pictures of the party. They are candid shots because it just isn't cool to pose for pictures anymore:( It's a good thing the babies still indulge my need to document every moment! Shooting pucks outside
Happy 10th Birthday!!!! Opening presents.....
Not too happy about pictures.
The babies in cord heaven

MaMaMaMaMa

The word I have been waiting for has finally been uttered! Of course be careful what you wish for......... When the babies are happy you here this lovely babble of Dadadadada. They just love their daddy and they love the word. The first time Patrick said mama he was screaming on the floor and wanted someone to come pick him up. My careful coaching for so many months clicked and there was Patrick big alligator tears, rocking back and forth on his hands and knees, pitifully crying mama..........mama. How could I possibly resist picking him up? Well I just couldn't. Cassidy followed suit a day later and now they both cry mama when they are upset. Babies are so smart, they already figured out what a sucker I am when they cry and when you add Mama to the mix I just can't resist them. Pull on my heart strings some more! As my husband reminds me........I need to toughen up.

Patrick Crawls!

Cassidy started crawling on Wednesday, yesterday Jackson and Genevieve came over for a play date, and today Patrick decided to crawl. It left me wondering what part infant peer pressure played in his sudden decision to move forward. I must confess there was a snickers bar involved in the first forward movements......I say it was the shiny wrapper that caught his eye while Steve contends his son is just like his daddy (Snickers are one of Steve's favorite candies). In any event both of the twins can "crawl". I say crawl because they can both move forward....although by no means is there any efficiency to their attempts at scooting forward. It looks like Patrick will be more of a traditional crawler while Cassidy still prefers the army method. Here are a few pictures of Patrick!

Talking and Sleeping

The twins started "talking" about a month ago and much to my chagrin their first word was DaDa. Cassidy has expanded her vocabulary and added BaBa to her impressive repertoire. I'm convinced that one day soon the elusive MaMa will be added to the list............so far not much progress has been made in that department. Here are a few pictures of the babies playing and "talking" to each other.

While we were on vacation Mima & Papa spent lots of quality time with their grandchildren. Mima would put Patrick to sleep by patting his back and singing to him. When we came home Patrick decided he preferred Mima's sleeping method and now rolls over onto his stomach as soon as I lay him down.

Cassidy Can Crawl!!!!!!!!!!!!

For weeks now Patrick has been able to scoot backwards. Lately he has been rocking back and forth on all fours. He then does a little yoga, sticks he bottom in the air with his feet and hands firmly on the ground, tries to figure out what to do next and after pondering his options comes crashing back down on his stomach. Recently he has taken his ability to "reverse" one step further and has become quite adept at doing circles to maneuver himself next to an object. So far forward mobility has escaped him. Every day however, I have been watching him like a hawk convinced that this will be the day he discovers how to crawl.



Cassidy on the other hand hasn't exerted the same amount of effort into her crawling ability. She prefers to sit and play with toys, not lay on her stomach. She shocked us all today (herself included) and discovered the army crawl!!!

Happy Easter!

We had a wonderful Easter with our family yesterday. The Easter bunny brought all kinds of goodies for the kids and a family friend gave us a tent! The older kids had an Easter egg hunt and played all day inside and out. They made themselves so scarce that I don't have many pictures of them! Patrick hasn't quite mastered the concept of doors. Here he is making his escape through the wall. We're expecting him to start crawling any day. He scoots backwards and can do circles to get into the correct "reverse" position to get what he wants.

The twins enjoying their Easter treats.
Cassidy's all dressed up with Mommy!
The tent was a HUGE hit!
Cassidy talking away....
I just couldn't resist another picture of the bunny ears.......:)

Back from Disneyland!

We're home! Yes, we survived 10 days and four plane trips! Amazingly enough it wasn't that difficult.........in fact it was a fun, relaxing vacation! Traveling with twins isn't (or shall I say wasn't) that difficult. We enjoyed the sun, the beach, the pool, the zoo, and many amusement parks. It was a picture perfect family vacation. Here are a few quick pictures on the plane......it may take me awhile to post pictures from the trip, there are sooo many!!! All the kids playing:)
Patrick taking a nap with his daddy

Getting ready for our first flight!

Happy Anniversary!

Yesterday was our anniversary! This past year was certainly an eventful one with a new house, new car, and most importantly the addition of the twins. I don't know how we could possibly top it (not that I'm suggesting we'd ever try!). Happy anniversary dear husband, I love you!

State Champions!!!!

Payton's team won the squirt B state championship yesterday! After an incredibly long four day hockey weekend the boys worked together and beat the Mat-Su Eagles 4-0. Yesterday Payton had to be at the rink at 7AM for the crossover game against Kenai. The All Stars won the game 3-1 and Pate had an amazing game with two goals. The team advanced to the championship game and after 15 years the All Stars won the Squirt B Championship. Congratulations Pate!!!! We're so proud of you and your team!!

Countdown to Cali!

Three days and we'll be in the sun!!!!! Not only is the warm weather going to be wonderful but we'll get to see Mima & Papa! My mom is usually great about helping with the twins but the last three weeks she has been incredibly busy:( By the time we see Mima & Papa it will have been almost a month since we've had anyone watch the babies. The pantry is down to bare bone essentials and I seem to be making multiple runs to the store during the week. I can only get as much food as will fit in my arm basket as I push the stroller down the aisle, which isn't very much! We had one adventure to Wal-Mart for diapers and formula where I pushed the double stroller and pulled the cart behind me.........lets just say a few items fell off the shelves. How I long for Mondays when I could lazily stroll through Fred Meyer (the one I knew my way around!) for hours if I so chose. Three days and then we'll have sun and Mima & Papa........tonight I can't imagine how life could possibly get better!

Go All Stars!!!

The hockey season is coming to a close and tomorrow will decide who the squirt B state champions are. We are of course slightly partial in cheering for the All Stars!!! This weekend has been packed with hockey games. Payton's team won their game Friday afternoon against the Arctic Lions, beat the North Stars 6-1 Saturday morning, lost 3-2 to the Southcentral Wolves Saturday night, and won their game this morning 7-0 against FAHA. Tomorrow morning at 8AM they play Kenai in the crossover game and hopefully will go on to win the championship tomorrow afternoon. Good luck Pate!!!
Payton after his game today Payton decided Patrick was old enough to learn how to play hockey today. He isn't a worthy knee hockey competitor yet but he did manage to hit the ball a few times!