beach babes

We drove down to Galveston on Saturday to give the babies their first trip to the beach. They loved it. The water was warm, and the waves and sand were soft. We didn't get to stay long because a thunder storm blew up.

cowgirl and cow-twins

Please vote for our babies on the Chick-fil-a cow photo contest: VOTE HERE!!! Hopefully we will win more free chicken. :)

Yes, we all dress up like cows, along with our friends the Cosbys, just to get free lunch at Chick-fil-a. It was pretty fun. Almost the entire restaurant was dressed up and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

The babies didn't seem to bugged by their cow ears, tail and noses. Maya even wore her sunglasses almost the entire meal (maybe she was hoping that no one would recognize her). I only have a short while before the babies start asserting their Independence and making wardrobe choices of their own. I've got to take advantage of the cute factor while I still can.

ranch house

We had a wonderful weekend at a beautiful ranch house in Blanco, Texas with some of Lonnie's friends from his BYU days. It was so nice to have adult conversation with some wonderful people while the babies slept. Although it was very hot it was also very nice to leave behind the humidity of Houston. Saturday morning we sat out on the back porch and the babies loved being able to hang out outside. I should have taken more photos.....

king and queen of the hill

The babies are learning how to climb and they are thrilled about it. Thankfully they are also learning how to get down from their conquests. They are both getting pretty good at climbing down the stairs on their bellies and they even know how to get the off the bed after they breastfeed in the morning.

slideshow of max and maya's first year

Click here to expand

how to give a toddler a hair cut

I gave Max his first real hair cut today. His hair was getting a little out of control and with the heat it ended up getting all sweaty and gross at times.

Pre hair cut photo:

Supplies:
Scissors, comb, cardboard box and some sort of entertainment.

Sit baby in the cardboard box with some sort of entertainment to distract them. I used the laptop with youtube.
Maya kept trying to take the scissors away from me so I put her in the box with Max. (It is going to be a while before Maya gets her first hair cut.

All the hair left in the box

The finished product:

car seat advice

As I had mentioned earlier we are on the verge of needing new car seats for the babies.

We have started doing some research on car seats and we are a little overwhelmed at the options. My first inclination was to find the car seat that would last the longest, thus saving us from having to buy yet another set in another year or so. Some seats have weight limits from 5-100lbs. Meaning that your child can go from the hospital and them almost to college all while sitting in the same car seat. This seemed a little extreme. According to most growth rate charts, most babies will not reach 35 lbs until they are about 3 years old.

In our research we have also found that the AAP is now recommending that, while 1 year old and 20lbs is the minimum recommendation for moving a child into a forward facing seat, children should stay rear facing for as long as possible.

• Read the AAP article.
• Click here for an article explaining the benefits of keeping a child rear facing for as long as possible.
  

What else should I take into consideration when choosing a car seat? What have been your preferences, etc?

she's got the whole world in her hands

going to the grocery store

Getting out of the house is hard with twins. oing to the grocery store is one of our most frequent adventures. Yes, it may sounds strange to say that we go to the grocery store for entertainment, but that is what we do. Of course it also has the utilitarian purpose of providing food for our family but I must admit that there are times when I

new skills

We are behind on our blogging. But I decided to post a couple photos to keep my mom and our other baby fans happy for a couple of days while I get caught up.

The babies are getting more and more mobile. Which also means they have a greater ability to antagonize each other. For several months when Max would take something from Maya she would patiently wait until he was done and then pick her toy back up and act as if nothing had happened. Well, it seems those days are over. Max is still trying to take away anything that Maya is playing with (there is nothing more fun than something sister has), but these days Maya will either fight back or throw a fit.

Here is a photo of the babies after Max took Maya's sippy cup.

Thankfully the babies also seem to enjoy each other even more. Yesterday while I was reading on the couch I heard the babies both laughing. I leaned over and saw Max pinning Maya down and they were both playing with each other's faces. For some reason they thought it was hilarious. Unfortunately they stopped before I could get a photo.

Max's new favorite place to sit is on the bottom shelf of the living room built-in bookshelf. The babies are never far apart in the room. They almost always will play right next to each other.


Maya has also started walking. She isn't as steady as Max yet, but she loves to strut her stuff. She started walking just two days after her one-year-old well -baby check up.

Max's newest skill is pointing. He points at anything he wants. He will even point towards his bed when he is tired or ready for a nap.