on a roll

I'm a winner, again. First Obama, then the Utes....now this....I think Maya and Max are good luck.

Thank you to everyone who helped save our sweet little babies' heads.

The Obama, Utes reference is for you, Emily. You know you secretly love them both.

Go Utes!

No, I didn't go to the U...but Lonnie did, and that is what is important here. I had never attended a college football game or even really watch one on TV until I started dating Lonnie. Since getting married I have managed to learn to enjoy a good football game (as long as I don't have to sit out in the freezing cold). Our home is a much happier place when the Utes win....so go Utes!

(thanks Lee Mercer for the great photoshoping)

we love daddy, yes sir'e

six month check-up

The kids did great at their 6 month check up. They have both grown more than 10 inches in the past 6 months as well as gained over 10lbs. They have almost quadrupled their birth weight. Lonnie had a meeting planned so I took them myself to the doctor's appointment. Thankfully they didn't even cry much when they got their shots and they eve feel asleep waiting for the appointment.

The kids are growing like weeds. Max now has two teeth and the doctor said she thought that his top teeth wouldn't be far behind. Maya has one bottom tooth that is just starting to poke out and the second one is almost there too. Max out weighted Mays for the first time. We were also all quite surprised to find out that somehow Maya is also in the 90th percentile for height. The doctor even did a second measurement just to make sure.

Maya-
height: 26 3/4 inches 90th percentile
weight: 15 lbs 1 oz 25-50th percentile
head: 17 inches 75-90th percentile

Max-
height: 26 1/4 inches 25-50th percentile
weight:15 lbs 41/2 oz 10-25th percentile
head: 17 1/4 inches 50-75th percentile

(the percentiles are different for boys and girls)

First Half Birthday

The twins just had their first half birthday last Friday. It seems like they've grown so fast, and yet it seems that the last six months have comprised a huge chunk of our lives. Funny how life is that way. Anyway, we put together a short video of the twins to mark the occasion. Enjoy.

Or you can click on this link to youtube and watch the video in higher resolution, if you select the option below the video.

the list

Emily had this on her blog and I thought it was a fun and interesting quick post.
The things that I have done are green.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the changing of the guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79. Visited the Grand Canyon

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

clarification...#3 I didn't play in a band but I sang in a blues band, once. They didn't ask me to sing again. I got a lot more nervous than I thought I would.

71 out of 99...not bad, but I am still glad that I have a lot of life left. If I were making my own list I think it would add a couple of other things like visiting a country where I don't speak the language, falling in love, been in a parade, climbed the tallest mountain in your state or country, run for public office, etc...but that would be another post. What about you guys, what have you done? What would you like to do? Leave me a comment about your list.

mommy time

Ian and Maya playing together.

Max and Maya thrilled to be able to jump to their heart's content.

The kids had their first time hanging out alone with out Mom or Dad. Emily watched the babies for an hour and half while I tried to get done some of the projects that I stopped working on about 12 months ago. It looks like the kiddos had a great time and didn't even realize that I was gone and I finally started to paint the back entry way.

Thanks Emily for documenting the important event!

kicking my brother

One of Maya's favorite activities is kicking, especially her brother. Now that she has gotten better at rolling she likes to use him to help propel her even further. Thankfully Max doesn't seem to mind too much and just enjoys his sister's attention.

elmo slippers

Thank you Auntie Laura for sending us these great Elmo slippers. They provide hours (in 5-10 min increments) of entertainment!

three babies in the wilderness

One of the benefits of living in southeast Texas is the warm weather. After surviving a hot and humid summer, we are now enjoying a mild fall. The weather has been in the 70s and 80s during the past couple of weeks.

Feeling brave and possibly somewhat crazy, we decided with our friends Heather and Sam Cosby, and their 6 month old baby Anna, to take a camping trip. We went camping on Friday to Stephen F Austin State Park. The park is only about a 30 min drive from our house.

Camping with babies required a lot more preparation as well as a lot more stuff. Heather, the babies, and I drove out the the campsite Friday afternoon. Between the two of us, we filled up the back of the truck with two pack and plays, air mattresses, a hammock, food, clothing, sleeping bags, extra blankets, and who knows what else we brought. This was a far cry from the single days of throwing a sleeping bag and tarp in the car and driving into the canyon.

The campsite had screened shelter with electricity.

Our babies don't have many warm clothes because there is not much need for them here in Texas. We decided that the warmest thing to put them in would be their Halloween penguin costumes. Temperatures were probably about 50 at night.

Nursing one of the penguins.

Sam, Heather, and Anna hanging out with two penguins sleeping in the hammock.

Quietly sleeping penguins.

After the guys got to the campsite, we built a fire. The raccoons at the camp were especially precocious and came climbed all over the screened shelter trying to get at our dinner. Sam and Lonnie had a good time chasing them away. Thankfully they didn't run off with any of the little ones and we managed to only lose a bag of marshmellows from the back of the truck. Max loved riding in the baby bjorn and helping his dad start the fire. He eventually wore himself out and fell asleep while hanging from Lonnie's chest. He looked like a puppet. Maya seemed content to sit in my lap and look at the fire. We put the babies well wrapped up into the pack and play to sleep for the night. Maya woke up at 1am (which she has started to do occasionally no matter where she is sleeping), and we brought the babies in to snuggle with us. It was a long night with all four of us trying to stay on the air mattress. On Saturday morning, we cooked breakfast and then headed home.