Auntie Rhonda's in Town!

Auntie Rhonda came to visit and spoiled the boys with another Christmas! They loved seeing her, and by the end, she could almost tell them apart. Just a few mistakes :) She got to witness quite a bit. All of their standing and crawling, and a few firsts!

Above: Tyler is on the left

For instance: First Finger Food
Tyler got the hang of it more. Carter is always doubtful with new foods

Here is Carter. He knows it's something cool. But the moment we put it in his mouth it ended up somewhere else.

The boys love their daddy. Not only does Tyler say "da-da-da" all day long, but the moment Travis gets home from work, the boys just tackle him. They hear his voice and immediately smile. It's the sweetest thing.

Above you can tell Maizy is a little jealous, but she does get to play all day long so she can't complain. Below she is hanging out with Carter.

And it's Exploration Time. I just got asked about our poll and who DID crawl first. It's funny because honestly they do everything at the same exact time. Carter initially army-crawled at a faster pace as Tyler figured out one leg at a time, but they both started cruising the same day. Standing . . . same thing. I think I noticed Tyler do it first but a couple minutes later Carter did, so who really knows?! I think they practice with each other during nap time. . .
Below: The boys hang out in the kitchen while I cook. They follow each other around and take turns leading. It one notices something new, the other races over to check it out too.

They get into EVERYTHING. Especially Tyler! (in left picture) Just everywhere. This next picture is him standing. He's REALLY good at it. Can get down okay and all. He really wants to walk.

And here's Carter. They love that they can get anywhere and everywhere. They think they are pretty darn talented.

And lastly, another video! This one is of Tyler showing off his special tricks and talking.

On the Go!

Above: Carter
Below: Tyler
So they have conquered the sitting, the crawling, the climbing . . . now it is all about wanting to stand and walk! They get their balance on a ledge, pillow, stool, and they attempt to get right on their feet which most of the time, doesn't bode well for them (notice their faces, always a scratch). Such rascals. Their big thing, treating EVERYTHING like a jungle gym. Most of the time- that's me . . . It's cute though- they follow me around climbing up my leg while I am cooking, cleaning. . . whatever it might be . . . but let's be honest. . . Our house is a mess, that "cleaning" statement interpreted: just "picking up" . . . anyone looking for a dusting & laundry job?

I continually tell them, "the world is their jungle gym" . . . ready to just tackle and explore. I hope they always treat life with such adventure & passion.

Sick Week

The hardest thing so far about being a mom: Taking care of two little sickies. Tyler and Carter have had the stomach flu all week. It's been incredibly tough and to say the least, they are no longer "Roly" and "Poly" . . . How overwhelming, depressing, discouraging . . . so these little moments have brought me big smiles and a sense of relief.

The gist: I had to take down the boys' bumpers to clean cause, well, they got sick on them :) Now they can see one another and wake each other up just to talk. Here's me playing Nancy Drew and catching them on the monitor:

Finally! Pictures have arrived!

So excuse the Flashback to 2008 but our camera had a gliche and worked for once transferring pictures onto the computer! Which MEANS that we get to entertain everyone with Christmas Pictures . . . finally!

Above: Maizy tries to teach the boys how to "pose" (Carter is on the right)
Below: The Tree Pre-Santa (Tyler is on the right)
On Christmas Eve we went to the Cheesecake Factory. Actually we were at the mall with Linda so we thought, why not? (Below: I am holding Carter, Travis is holding Tyler)
The boys sat at a restaurant table for the very first time and behaved so well (despite the tongue out, that's Tyler) . . . They even attempted to read (that's Carter) the menu and of course take some bites out of it. But the waiter read the boys' mind and brought them bananas.
Linda loved spending Christmas Eve with the boys. This is her and Tyler.







It was just the five of us on Christmas again. The rest of the family was snowed in or couldn't make it in- even Gigi and Popi got stuck in California!
Below: Gift time . . . the boys just had three gifts from Santa to share but still had to do it in sessions. They weren't used to all the mayhem of toys. But by the time the relatives spoiled them , they got the hang of it.
Above: Carter thinks he can crawl for a couple days then go straight to walking!
Below: This picture cracks me up. Zan gave the boys glow-worms. Tyler looks like his in this picture :)

The Holidays

7 1/2 months old now! This past week they have started to to really start moving. They crawl a few feet, then sit up, crawl, then sit up. it's fun that they do it all themselves. However, the past few days, they have started to climb. They want to climb up on EVERYTHING! Chairs, tables, and especially the dog. Oh My- I am IN FOR IT! We haven't taken a video of it yet, but I will . . . but here's some older stuff from the holidays. . . (our camera isn't uploading right now so a couples videos will have to do until I can fix it!)

Christmas Eve was spent just Travis, me and Linda (his mom) . . . we got out of the house for the first time in a week and a half and headed to the mall but everything was closed due to weather. We decded to ahve dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (not the traditional Uffelman crab and fondue feast which I missed!) and the boys sat in high chairs at the table with us for the first time- they were so good! (we took pictures, I will update when I can!)

Christmas was again the five of us. This time stuck at home cause of ice, etc. This weather really made for a QUIET Christmas!

The boys definitely got spoiled (thank goodness for family!!). They started to get the hang of having new toys- but you will see with their first present- it wasn't that exciting. More overwhelming for Carter. Now- they love all their gifts . . . and I love how busy and entertained they keep them. It's amazing how competitive they already are. They always want the same thing. And when it comes down to things they have two of- they often try to snag both toys as quick as possible to leave the other one empty-handed. Sharing will have to be a 2009 New Year's Resolution.

Stuck in the Snow!

The day before our 10 day stretch (10 days today) of being stuck at home in the snow and ice . . . The Boys met Santa!! They actually took to him. . . looked at him a little confused at first, but I think they will develop a good friendship over the years! At least no tears were involved. . . something we can't promise next year.

Stuck inside and having fun- we have found a new favorite toy in our house! Above is Tyler, below is Carter . . .

Decorating the Tree! The boys love the lights.

And Tyler's favorite activity, romping on his brother. It's pretty funny. He loves to tackle him.
Now for snow coverage . . . literally. We are covered!

This is the view outside our front door a few days ago- we have gotten even more snow!

















Our backyard. Yes, these are the stacks of pavers Travis is installing. You can see that project is on hold. That back wall is about 9 feet high. . . so the drifts- 5 to 6 feet. Incredible!










And lastly, our cars. You can see how much snow is piled on top. We have over over a foot without drifts.

7 Months!

Carter (above) and Tyler (below) wish you a very happy holiday season!

I still can't believe these little guys are already 7 months old! Where does the time go . . . really?! Tyler has already said his first word: he has said "mama" now a couple times when he has wanted to be picked up. Okay, I know he doesn't mean to, and it really doesn't count, but it's still cute and I'll hold onto it till he ACTUALLY says his first word. They are so close to crawling. You'll notice it's two legged scoot right now- Carter shows it off in the video. And their obsession: Maizy. They can't get enough of her.

The Long Awaited Thanksgiving Pictures

Our little men got all dressed up for their First Thanksgiving.
Above is Carter, Below Tyler

Moment of the Day: It wasn't what we are used to! Papa is usually the one asleep and snoring on the couch. But Nana was the one this year! She and Carter were so cozy napping together.

Below is Tyler- loving the Toy Giraffe!

Both boys slept through most of dinner. Carter woke up just in time to join everyone (he is above). And Tyler awoke to join us for pumpkin pie! (for him it was sweet potatoes- see below)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We took many wonderful pictures of the boys on their first Thanksgiving: Enjoying sweet potatoes and falling asleep with Nana on the couch- the list goes on! But our camera is having issues so we have a few things to figure out before they are posted. In the meantime, (and to make it up to all of you) we thought we would leave you with this priceless photo of Tyler:

Happy Half Birthday!

The boys are 6 months old! Gigi and Popi had us over for dinner with Grandma Mack to celebrate . . . Gigi is so creative- notice the "half cake" and yes, as you can see, Tyler and Carter BADLY wanted to taste the Apple Bundt.

Tyler is on the left, Carter on the right
Carter can't get enough of his tongue! It's his favorite thing to do- if he likes you- you get to see his tongue. This picture is nothing- usually he will stick it out as far as possible and just sits there with a smile on his face like he is so talented.

The boys LOVE their high chairs. Every night they sit and play and watch me make dinner. I feel like I have my own cooking show with an audience- we have too much fun. And I get dinner made before Travis gets home- it's a win win!
(Color code for next pics: Carter is in the light blue, Tyler in the navy)

Above: Tyler is on the left, Carter on the right

Below: Tyler

Look at those legs!! I can't keep my hands from just squeezing them! They are getting close to crawling and sit up perfectly now.

Above: Carter

Below: Tyler is on the right