New Favorite Activity

Travis travels most weeks, we miss him so much! So I thought he would appreciate a couple videos from this week while he's been away . . .

The wagon walker has always been a hit to push, but now riding is just as fun . . .

We dearly love our Papa. He hasn't been feeling well lately, but he still gives us so much love when we visit. Here he is holding both the boys . . .

(Tyler is on the left, Carter right)

Many Firsts!

Before I share some "firsts" I wanted to start off with this picture- because I love it. I was driving along and heard chuckling in the back. They began laughing so hard that at the next stop I looked back and saw this. I about died- but grabbed my camera quickly to snap a shot. Always have to have your camera handy for moments like these.

FIRST FAMILY TRIP TO THE ZOO
It was SUCH a beautiful day.

Carter wanted down to check out the fish!
The boys pose with the elephant. . .
And then with the Zebra. . . looking at animals, losing shoes, pulling off socks- what a day!

TRAVIS' FIRST BIRTHDAY as a DADDY
We celebrated at Gigi & Popi's with them and Uncle Mike, Auntie Kylie, Camden & Holden.
(Tyler is on the right, Carter left.)

FIRST ST. PATTY'S DAY
Only fitting that our Patty (Gigi) spent the day with the boys while I worked. She showed up in her Irish shirt even though she is %100 German. It was a Notre Dame top, so of course I was in full support.
I walked through the door and entered in on Gigi sitting with both boys on the couch all snuggled in blankets. It was too sweet.
(Above: Tyler on Left, Carter right)


FIRST HAND-ME-DOWNS
Below: Tyler sports cousin Luke's outgrown pajamas
It reminds me of when I used to get my cousins' (Amy & Megan's) clothes. It was the best and saves so much money! Plus, I am sure many will appreciate when they are sometimes dressed differently to tell them apart!

Almost 10 Months!

(Above: Tyler is on the right, Carter Left)
This weekend celebrates the boys 10-month birthday. I realized I never updated their 9 month weight and height. Both are almost exactly the same- a few ounces from 22 pounds and 29 inches tall. They just want to walk and are using their walker incredibly well and now try to turn everything in walkers . . . random toys, chairs, Maizy, each other.

(Carter is walking Tyler)
They can stand but after 10-30 seconds they realize they are and drop. I think they get excited or just surprise themselves!
(Above: Carter showing off his great legs)

(Below: Our first shirtless night after dinner cause Carter made a mess-
and was darn proud of it as you can tell)

Need something to brighten your day? Here's Tyler with the best medicine:


Pat-a-cake is among one of their favorites!

And so is the SNOW! YES we even got some this morning. They zoom toward the window to stand and look out. Snow, really? Do we live in Vail?

Here they are rushing to Dad after work. They hear his voice and just crawl as to beat the other for his attention. Not to mention, Da-Da is heard all day long. It's very cute.
(Above: Tyler is in the red)

Welcome Home Cousins!

We couldn't be any MORE excited that our cousins (Mike & Kylie & boys) will be making Oregon home! Hood River get ready for Camden, Holden and Bartley cause boy are they fun. Tyler and Carter love to watch their big cousins and collect hugs.
Crawling, Standing, Walking (with a walker of course) - these boys love that they can do so much. They always want to play (which is making nap time very difficult) . . . and they are already so tough. They look like they need to be wearing helmets cause of all their bumps and bruises. NOTHING stops them.

(Carter is in front in the above pic, and below walking their wagon.)

The boys weren't digging their sippy cups too much so I got these straw ones. They figured them out immediately.
(Tyler is below)

People ask if our gates are up yet- Look how much trouble we would be in if they weren't?! How cute is this. . . I went downstairs for just a moment and returned to these little guys waiting for me. (don't worry Travis was upstairs with them!)

And they don't just cling to me. Travis was working in the office. . . look who wants in! They seem so huge to me now- but this picture makes me realize they are still my babies- still so small. . .

We woke up to snow AGAIN this morning. This winter has been crazy. Tyler stood at the window over 10 minutes just checking it out.

(Carter is above)
Tyler loves the camera. He just poses . . . but now he has a new pose. I don't know where he got it from but everytime I pull out the camera and it starts to flash he smiles then suddenly does this: scruntches up his nose. Every picture. It's so funny.

Here is Carter's new trick. He does it all the time where as Tyler tries to say "so big" . . .

And this is a video I caught this morning. Their Cackle . . . seriously, they crack me up.

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.