Rob May

Cousins

2008-08-22T21:39:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of an 11 day period with my only visitation being a 3 hour window. Arriving at Grammy and Grandad's house we met up with cousins Max, Collin and Chloe. We all played hide and go seek more times than I can count, although we played an interesting variation. Only one child hid at a time and the rest counted. Hmmm...these girls like to count. Sliding down the stairs was popular and Alex persuaded Grandad to join her. But climbing up the outside is fun too. Two hours after arriving we jumped back in the car for the journey home. I sure miss those girls.

Woohoo Weekend

2008-08-17T21:42:00.000-07:00

Over the course of this month, I get to see the girls for a total of 18 hours. Although I am unsure how to maximize the portion I have been served, I'll try my best. This past Saturday was the only weekend day allotted so we lived it up. Taking in some beautiful summer sunshine we visited the Seattle Center. Most of the time the girls explored, played, and generally whooped it up at the Children's Museum--a very cool place. Then we had some obligatory time spent in the fountain. When it is over 90 degrees out, water fun seems essential. The girl's smiles, giggles, and enthusiasm are infectious.

Aquarium

2008-08-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen my girls in two weeks. The last time I saw them, we spent the day at the aquarium. They thoroughly enjoy seeing all the fish, octopus, otters and seals. Wandering around the exhibits they know the way to their favorite animals. We've done away with the stroller. When they want to, the girls can cover a lot of ground on their feet.

I love these girls and I am really looking forward to seeing them again.

The Playground

2008-08-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

The girls have traversed the local playground since they were born. It stills holds a special appeal and they dub it "The Rock Park" due to the gravel underneath the toys. As they grow, they play on the same toys but differently. No longer content with climbing up the ladders, they climb up the slides themselves. No longer content with crawling under the bars, they now grab hold and swing themselves around somethings launching themselves down a slide with an extra big swing first. Swings are no longer simply for sitting on, they are for flying on your tummy. I'm very looking forward to playing with the girls again.

Cool Mountain Streams

2008-08-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

We took the girls hiking a few weeks ago to one of their favorite spots. Cold mountain water rushes down granite slabs creating a natural playground for the girls to cool their feet and participate in the joys of rock throwing.

On the way back to the car, the girls walked well over a mile down the trail on their own. Soon enough they will be outpacing their old man. I'm looking forward to hiking with them again soon.

Climbing Vacation

2008-03-27T22:31:00.000-07:00

I took a little vacation recently to the Canadian Rockies to get my climbing fix. Since the kids arrived, I haven't climbed much...or at all. Deciding to climb off the couch, we went in search of some big frozen waterfalls to climb. The Canadian Rockies were perfect. We found what we were looking for and had a blast. A week straight of good climbing was just what the doctor ordered.

One of these days, the girls will come with me.

Up to Date

2008-03-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

It's time to bring this up to date. I've been preparing to go on vacation, then went on vacation, then recovered from vacation. Now I'll try to be more consistent. Let's see, what's happened since the last post...

Braedyn had a birthday party with Isabella and Alex's enthusiastic participation. Mmmm...birthday cake.

Kids Bounce is always a hit.

Isabella was abducted by Little Kong.

And finally, what we hope is the last nasty weather--an inch of hail. Unfortunately this occurred while daddy was out on a bike ride.

The Beach

2008-02-25T21:55:00.000-08:00

Saturday dawned sunny and warm. With a good low tide forecast for noon-ish, we headed down to the sound for some fun in the sun and sand. Unable to restrain themselves the girls trotted through tide pools as if it was August. Thankfully, it was summer-like. Searching the pools and under rocks usually there are countless crabs to be found, but oddly enough we only found one. I'm not sure why. But innumerable rocks were thrown into the water as the girls counted the sailboats going by. I hauled the girls around in the bicycle trailer. The hill leading back from the beach seems to be getting steeper. The girls total around 70 lbs now. Their weight plus the weight of the trailer means I can gain 100 lbs and still cycle ok.

Cousins

2008-02-19T22:36:00.000-08:00

Tom, Rachael, Max, Colin and Chloe came down for the weekend. Everybody rallied at one of the girls favorite places--the Science Center. Not only do they get to practice looking cool in their shades, they get to check out the planetarium, learn about dinosaurs, watch goofball liquid nitrogen antics, see butterflies and think about eating a plate full of bugs. They love it.

The previous day the zoo hosted our clan. Wandering around the animals all day the girls grew enamored with their cousins. That night they not only named their dolls Max and Colin, they also renamed themselves. Max and Colin have practice being big brothers and it obviously shows.

The end of the weekend saw tuckered out kids at their grandparent's house getting a rare treat of watching some television.

Home Run

2008-02-18T20:57:00.000-08:00

Isabella did a good job with a bat and ball the other day. Wearing sunglasses and swinging for the fences she hit the ball. Her mommy and I will be left arguing whose side of the family that comes from.

It's sometimes surprising what the girls are afraid of. Rightfully so, they are usually weary of strange dogs. But oddly enough they sometimes seem completely unafraid of heights. Heights scare me and I've spent a good amount of time being scared by them, often on purpose. But they seem to like physical feats. The other day I walked into my parents house only to see Isabella out of arms reach holding onto the railing and climbing up the *outside* of the stairs. Since I couldn't reach her, I had to ask her to climb back down and she did, giggling the whole way.

So they like physical activity which is cool. Kellie said when they drove on their cousins toy 4 wheeler they pushed it up and down the hill. Good girls. Motors are for wussies.

It's always birthday season

2008-02-03T23:07:00.000-08:00

I don't think we can go more than 2 weeks without a birthday party. By the time their next birthday rolls around the girls will be fully versed in all the rituals. Frequently singing happy birthday (except on cue), they pretend to blow out candles. It's no longer a mystery that good things come in wrapped packages.

We went to a birthday party at a kids music center. They had a variety of instruments for the girls to attempt to break. The cello saw some action (which is one of their daddy's favorites) and keyboards usually pique some musical interest. Someday maybe we'll have to get a piano.

To top the day off, we walked a few blocks to the water so the girls could show us where octopus and sharks live. They were absolutely right about octopus. I am going to have to research how many sharks live there. But since the girls seem to remember everything they have ever heard, I tend to believe them.

Growing Up, Up, Up

2008-01-13T22:54:00.000-08:00

The kids are growing up fast. We measured them over the holidays and they had grown an inch from when we previous marked their height two months earlier. Not only that but their vocabulary grows by leaps and bounds every week. They diligently conjugate their verbs and try to match the correct pronouns with their antecedent. Singing the ABC song is no longer satisfactory, they perpetually ask what words the letters spell whenever they see them in their quest to learn the alphabet. They know most of the letters and can recite words that begin with each letter...when they feel like it. Becoming two introduces an independence streak. They only want to do things when *they* want to. Kind of like our cat. Maybe they hang out together too much.

All in all I'm in awe of what kids go through bootstrapping themselves into the world. We all go through it, but watching it from the outside sure is enlightening.

As for the physically getting taller part...we have to remember their gene pool and they are rapidly gaining on Kellie's height so I suspect the inch every two months isn't going to continue. ;-)

Isabella Logic

2008-01-09T23:05:00.000-08:00

Kids say the cutest things. Isabella strung together a series of deductions starting with noticing the wind outside:

"It's windy outside, daddy"
"That means it's going to rain"
"That means I need my umbrella"
"That means we go zoom zoom in the car..."
"...to the aquarium."
"That means we'll see fishies"

The last time we went to the aquarium it was raining, we did use umbrellas, and we might have gone zoom, zoom. It's rained heaps since then and no mention of the fishies. Perhaps just wishful thinking.

Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy

2008-01-05T23:25:00.000-08:00

Ever since they learned they could bounce on the bed, the girls have loved jumping up and down on things. Perhaps on par with their love of bouncing is their love of slides. There is an indoor bouncy castle center down the road. We took the girls to get their fill of jumping, sliding, and bouncing. Non-stop action ensued watching them climb ladders and slide down the biggest slides in sight. Weaving through obstacle courses jumping over, around, and through inflatable obstructions they never grew weary. Their tops really are made out of rubber, their bottoms made out of springs.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T22:50:00.000-08:00

Santa came to the May household. He must have heard what the girls said they wanted for Christmas--candy. The early morning routine went like this: open stockings, open presents, eat candy, eat candy, eat candy, try to eat breakfast but too full from eating candy, play with presents. Later on, Kellie had to defend herself from a jedi knight armed with her new light saber. Do Santa and Yoda know each other?

Imagination

2007-12-24T08:38:00.000-08:00

The girls imaginations are running full tilt. The games they play expose their creativity and fancy. Whipping up entire meals in their kitchen invisible courses of pasta, salad, tea and plenty of cookies make the rounds. The pictures they draw take the form of every kind of animal from snakes to giraffes to octopus. They play doctor taking our temperature and using a stethoscope (a word they pronounce surprisingly well) listen to our hearts. It's non-stop play in the May household.

I have to say that twins are undeniably the way to go. The house is constantly enveloped by little girl giggles as they wind their way through the toys and furniture making up games and expressing their joy with loud laughter. The level they share and cooperate is utterly amazing. One can draw on the chalkboard while the other one erases, and usually not until a few please and thank yous are exchanged. Soon the roles reverse.

Here they are loving their new umbrellas. Shouting out "It's raining", they hoist their umbrellas over their heads to stay dry. Then suddenly the sun comes out as cries of, "It's sunny" are followed by dropping their umbrellas to the ground. These girls are fun.

Hats

2007-12-16T23:38:00.000-08:00

Hats on heads are a hit. I'm not sure where it came from, but hats sure are popular around here. Two new ones arrived for Christmas so we'll be sporting the cowboy theme this winter.

Flying

2007-12-14T22:31:00.000-08:00

We've been reading Harry Potter to the girls (not really) and they decided they can fly. It looks like they are pretty good at it. ;-) They really enjoy climbing up on things and jumping off (really).

Style

2007-12-14T22:15:00.000-08:00

We often let the girls pick out whatever they want to wear, and then they accessorize. I think alex is getting ready for her yoga class in the last photo.

Chloe's Third

2007-12-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

Cousin Chloe had her third birthday party last weekend. Knowing full well what a party is, Alex and Bella had been anxiously waiting all week. Rachel always out does herself with parties. She made giant ginger bread cookies for the kids to decorate and a wonderful hand crafted Hello Kitty piñata. Chloe seemed to love having other little girls around and of course, our girls loved it too. When asked if they liked visiting their cousins, their eyes grew big as their head nodded up and down in a resounding yes.

Snow

2007-12-10T23:35:00.000-08:00

We were visiting Uncle Tom, Aunt Rachel and the gang in Bellingham for Chloe's birthday when a nice weather system delivered a white present. Playing in the snow for the first time this season, the girls practiced making footprints and catching snowflakes on their tongues (ok, I taught them that one) while their cousins were sledding down the hill. Putting function first, the girls remained fashionable after they demanded sunglasses to keep the snow from hitting them in their eyes.

Books, Books, Books

2007-11-16T00:05:00.000-08:00

As any of their babysitters know, the girls always want to read books. "Read a story, daddy. Pleeeeease." Once you start, another books always appears to read immediately following the current offering. The weekly circuit includes a visit to the library to check out a fresh batch. Library books are always on the top of their list above all the other books in the house. Not letting trivial matters like not being able to read stop them, they "read" the books themselves and to each other.

Continually surprising me with their phenomenal memory, they conjure up the story from the last time they heard it. Picking out books from the shelf, they know the titles and recognize them by their spine. They point at the words "What does that say daddy?". Already having mastered counting to 10, letters are next. But we'll go easy on them.

Science Center

2007-11-15T23:38:00.000-08:00

Science is cool! The girls visited the Science Center for the first time. I wasn't sure if the exhibits would be appropriate for the girls age. It was a hit. Water toys always attract their attention. Similar to the local Children's Museum, they loved swishing, pouring, and splashing water. Then on to the tide pool display to feel anenomes, starfish, and hermit crabs. Combining water with touchable animals awards two thumbs up. After dinosaurs, giant bugs and butterflies the girls approached nap time but summoned enough energy to play with a toy I can only describe as a giant donkey kong structure. Last, but not least, we discovered the Space Needle growing out of Alex's head.

Helpers

2007-11-11T20:50:00.000-08:00

The girls love helping. Eager to participate, they want up on chairs so they can help make dinner. They jump up and down until they can fold clothes. And when the whim hits, they demand the vacuum cleaner. Everything we do, they want to partake. Hmmm...with these examples it sounds like we are slave drivers. It's fun...really.

Leaves

2007-11-05T21:26:00.000-08:00

The girls are getting big enough for chores so we are putting them to work in the yard. They are raking up leaves and packing them down in the yard waste container. Once we teach them how to mow the lawn and trim hedges we will be living the high life.

Trick or Treat

2007-10-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween. The girls donned bumble bee costumes for their second Halloween. Not quite ready yet for making the rounds in the neighborhood, they stayed at home greeting skeletons, goblins, ghouls, fairies, princesses and all sorts of crazies. At first, Isabella thought the costumes were too scary and cried for a few minutes straight. But after a little explaining about costumes, she sprang alive every time the doorbell rang in anticipation of handing out candy. We put the girls to bed but trick or treaters continued to arrive. Cries of "more people" and "candy" resonated from their bedroom so we treated to some extra late night time until all the revelers were done. Of course, turning off all of our lights helped deter them after a while.

Going Up

2007-10-29T21:53:00.000-07:00

Starting with their cribs many months ago, moving on to zoo fences, the girls climb everything in sight (they often call me a ladder as they climb up my front). As a father I need to choose which behaviors to encourage and which ones to discourage. I'm giving the girls a big thumbs up!

Isabella does a cool trick where she jumps off of the top rung and grabs a lower rung on the way down. Not to be outdone, Alex climbs the round ladder thing-a-ma-jig to a platform where she is working on the monkey bars.

Noodles

2007-10-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

The girls love pasta. They play with the uncooked noodles and the cooked ones are pretty fun too. It's so fun to be a kid. They get to eat noodles the cool way. Just stick one end in your mouth and slurp little by little until it's all in. Repeat.

(I'm just realizing this is the second post where the girls have painted faces. One of their daytime haunts has a face painting station that they make a bee-line for)

It's Getting Colder

2007-10-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

Fall is definitely here. We are lucky for the days without rain. When a weather window opens we try to take advantage of it. I'm never sure how to dress the girls, however. I may be comfortable in a t-shirt when Kellie has a down jacket on. We went down to the Sound again but it was too cold for splashing. A fog blanket obscured the passing boats and foghorns pierced the air. Instead of constant cries of "look daddy, a boat", we received constant questions:

"What was that, daddy".
"That was a foghorn", I would reply.
Hooooooonnk!
"What was that daddy".
"That was another foghorn"
Hoooooonk!
"What was that daddy".
"That was an airplane".
"No it wasn't, daddy. That was a foghorn."

This shows another frequent trait. They are mimicking our question game and reversing roles. They ask *us* questions where they already know the answer. If you get it wrong, they let you know in short order.

Stroller

2007-10-19T22:01:00.000-07:00

Toys come and go, but at every trip to the toy store the girls went straight for the little strollers. Whiling away the time strolling around the aisles they became glued to the handles. When Aunt Kim brought two kits over their eyes lit up and grew wide. Pushing them around and around the house they sought passengers. At first little toys, then their dollies, then...each other. Daddy didn't fit, but they sure asked for it.

Party

2007-10-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

The girls are in full party mode--eating cupcakes, unwrapping presents, talking on the phone. They had been looking forward to this for weeks. If it was up to the girls, this would be every day. Girls just wanna have fun.

Balloons and Sun Glasses

2007-10-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

Party season is here. After a birthday bouncing party around inflatable castles the girls brought home balloon souvenirs. They love balloons. Enthralled in every way they hold them, tote them around, jump on them, kick them and play catch. Working on their movie star image, they practiced their cool for the next party with some stylish eye wear. I wish I got so much joy out of such silly things. Perhaps I do, just watching them.

Presents from Aunt Chris

2007-10-05T22:11:00.000-07:00

Presents arrived in the mail the other day. Instinctively, the girls knew the brightly wrapped gifts were for them. Displaying paper tearing skills honed around the house, we all soon discovered the hidden contents all of which are now favorites. Alex claimed the elephant place mat and Isabella the butterfly. Maisey's Amazing Big Book of Words has already been read over, and over, and over again. I've never worn out books before (that I can remember), but the girls read them so often they quickly break down. Like an old pair of comfortable jeans, the girls more often than not go to the most loved book. And Maisey's et al has joined that group.

Painting

2007-09-28T21:29:00.000-07:00

An easel sat sadly unwanted in a driveway down the street waiting for new kids to adorn it with artistic expressions. The garage sale lady wanted $5 for it and Kellie swooped in to bring it home. We obviously have budding painters here and I may soon be able to quit my current job and become their art dealer.

1, 2, 3...Go

2007-09-24T22:51:00.000-07:00

Running, jumping, twirling around. Somersaulting, dancing, wiggling and wriggling. There is no hope of harnessing this energy except for the pure excitement and joy of little girls. Everything is a toy, whose sole purpose is to amuse. Here, the crib mattresses become launch pads for girls earning their wings. Learning daily about gravity, they first piled up the blankets creating a soft landing for themselves. I think they learned that through trial and error. ;-)

Boise

2007-09-23T21:20:00.000-07:00

Kellie and the girls headed off to Boise to visit our friends Grady and Erika. They just moved from SLC with newly arrived baby Harry and the girl's friend Annie. Isabella and Alex had been talking for weeks about this trip. Yet another airplane ride and soon enough they were playing with another long lost sister. Fueled by plenty of sunshine they had a blast, visited a fair and painted a masterpiece. They are anxiously awaiting a visit from Annie and company on their home turf.

Grady and baby Harry

Kellie, Alex and baby Harry

The girls caught sneaking away to read nursery rhymes.

At breakfast, Alex practices for Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Putting on the finishing touches

Blueberry Time

2007-09-15T23:53:00.000-07:00

Blueberries are yummy. And where there are yummy blueberries, the girls are sure to go. The crop has come in well in the mountains and we went on a blueberry hunt. Within a few steps of the trailhead, blue stains of berry goodness encircled their mouths. Able, and sometimes willing, the girls are walking farther and farther when we go hiking. I don't think we will lose the backpacks any time soon but as the girls get heavier I'm sure it seems like a good idea to Kellie.

Ok...these pics are from a few weeks ago. Kellie and the girls are in Boise and I'm left here alone to blog about my cuties.

Counting

2007-09-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

The girls are counting to ten now. They have always understood one, two, and many. Even that numbering system will get you a long ways. But now they well up with pride and gleefully count onwards. At first I thought they were just repeating words without really understanding them as numbers. They have a good knack for remembering long phrases, songs, and nursery rhymes. But then they proved how much I underestimated them by counting actual things they encountered.

I'm not sure I can relate any pictures to this topic, so I'll just post some cute photos. :-)

Daddy's Day

2007-09-11T22:51:00.000-07:00

The women of the family had other things to do, so Saturday was for dads. I loaded up the kids in the bike trailer and rode them down to the beach for the low tide where we met Grandad. Splishing in the streams, splashing in sun warmed tide pools, and poking at sea anenomies, the girls tried their hardest to wear themselves out. Always on the go and running through every stretch of water they ran circles around their Grandad...literally. Kids are so cool.

Potty

2007-08-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

Kellie has always tried to talk to the girls about the potty from day one. We even have a few books about it which regularly get read. No longer expecting any privacy, the girls invite themselves into the bathroom while we are going about our business. They often can't decide which is more interesting, the potty or opening and closing the bathroom door.

A week ago, Alex decided she wanted to use the potty and produced a good sized poo for her effort. We had to celebrate, baking cup cakes and blowing up balloons. Nothing like positive reinforcement, eh? Hopefully by the time they are 12 or we run out of frosting we will be able to stop celebrating each visit.

I'm ambivalent and rather like diapers for the girls. They are super convenient. I'm dreading trying to go somewhere and all of a sudden having to find a bathroom. Then 15 minutes later we'll have to find another one for the other girl. 15 minutes after that, Kellie will need to go. ;-) Right now I'm fine having them pretend they are astronauts and wear diapers. But there will probably be some more parties in our future.

Drinking Milk and Driving

2007-08-17T21:48:00.000-07:00

We are going to have to watch the developing habit of drinking milk and driving. The cars have a perfect place for stashing a milk cup and the girls take every advantage of it. Drinking milk while driving appears to lead to reckless tailgating and driving without pants. I sure hope they haven't learned that behavior from their daddy.

Gymnastics

2007-08-16T20:23:00.000-07:00

The girls are turning into little gymnasts loving to show off their front somersault. After tucking their head down and easing over, they actually do a pretty good job going straight. Then, of course, comes the pose to the judges. Other times they just like to pose--awww, ain't that sweet. ;-)

Bike Trailer

2007-08-09T23:54:00.000-07:00

We bought a bike trailer a couple of months ago to haul the girls around. It works great and doubles as a pretty good all terrain stroller. They seem to like it, although I'm too nervous to take it very far around cars. I used to laugh at the "baby-on-board" signs overly concerned parents placed on their vehicles. I always thought I didn't want to collide with anyone regardless of who or what they were driving around. But when I take my girls out I'm always on the watch with my precious cargo.

I pulled the girls around Discovery Park and visited the beach. The sand was more exciting than the passing submarine. All the while I didn't realize the work I was in for hauling me, my bike, the trailer, and two girls up the GIANT hill away from the water back to the parking lot. As I set my granny gear in the lowest possible setting, I sweated up the hill listening to the giggling girls trailing behind me. No need for an ipod, the laughter was all the music I needed.

Alex, Isabella and Math

2007-07-23T22:03:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon a link the other day: observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2068023,00.html

Girls with “feminine names” are less likely to study advanced math or physics, new research concludes. Abigail, Lauren and Ashley, considered less feminine names by the researchers, are more likely to study high-level math and physics than their sisters with the more feminine names of Anna, Elizabeth and Emma.

The effect is so strong that parents can set twin daughters off on completely different career paths simply by calling them Isabella and Alex, names at either end of the spectrum. A study of 1,000 pairs of sisters in the US found that Alex was twice as likely as her twin to take maths or science at a higher level.

What in the name of weird science is this? I have a hard time understanding that people have so much time on their hands that they complete these studies. I find it even odder that there is so much money floating around that somebody was paid for it. Apparently they came up with a mathematical formula to rate a name's femininity and Ashley isn't very feminine. Hmmm...it looks like they injected their biases. :-(

I know it's just one data point, but I did a little research on my own. I plugged in "Alex Isabella and Math" into Google. The first two links were to the story quoted above. The very next one was for a Math professor named...you guessed it, Isabella who co-authored (among others) a paper with an Alex. Here's what she has to say:

We construct minimal cellular resolutions of squarefree monomial ideals arising from hyperplane arrangements, matroids and oriented matroids.

Yeehaw! Let's ask the twins whose names frame the femininity rating scale what they think of all of this:

Movin' On Up

2007-07-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

Of course I'm pleased to see the girls climbing on everything. They might be afraid of waves, but heights provide no worries. At the zoo, I'm not sure if the animals or the climbable fences are a greater attraction.

Fashion Sense

2007-07-18T00:31:00.000-07:00

We usually give the girls a choice in things. We ask them to choose between oatmeal and eggs for breakfast for example. They like feeling empowered. When it comes to dressing, sometimes they choose before we even get into the room. They might have opened up their drawers and dug out a favorite shirt, or they stand there pointing at a dress hanging in the closet. "That one!", "The green one", "This one", shouts of excitement ring out. Sometimes we might not agree with the decision, like wearing big red boots on a really hot summer day, but we'll usually go along. They have their own sense of style.

Bouncing

2007-07-02T00:19:00.000-07:00

The wonderful thing about tiggers
Is tiggers are wonderful things
Their tops are made out of rubber
Their bottoms are made out of springs!
They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!

Maybe we've been reading too much Winnie the Pooh to the girls because they go around bouncing on *everything*. But like tigger says, it's "Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!"

(Pardon the poor quality, this video was shot with my still camera)

Learning

2007-06-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

Every situation is a learning opportunity. They learn even when you aren't teaching them inviting situations to repeat words like "Holy crap" which exits daddy's mouth every once in a while. Assembling words into phrases is the current game. They know their colors now, shapes including far out ones like octogon, many of the letters and many numbers. They are incredibly proud when they put a phrase together, or tell you what color and shape something is or convey some details about their day. Of course, I love encouraging them.

Everybody who comes in contact with them has an opportunity to teach them something. Here Grandma-Alice partakes in reading as one of their favorite past times. And in assembling this blog, the girls are on my lap pointing at the pictures saying "Grandma Alice...reading with Alex, Bella and baby".

Hiking Season

2007-06-30T09:50:00.000-07:00

It's hiking season again and the girls are loving it. They love water, point at the "big mountains", and are drawn to their favorite toy--rocks. Fully little girls now, they are developing quite an arm. Playing non-stop, they stand at the river's edge picking up an endless supply of rocks and throw them into the current. Each time a laugh and a happy dance simultaneously emerge.

Forks

2007-06-17T21:37:00.000-07:00

The girls are masters with utensils. Preferring to use forks and spoons, the girls have quickly adopted silverware. They stab at their vegetables, ecstatic when a piece sticks, and delighted when the delicious morsel lands in their mouths. Food becomes more interesting on the end of a fork. Things they might not otherwise eat, seem to find their way into toddler mouths when the forks come out. I am thoroughly impressed at their skills of eating cereal with a spoon. Next stop--soup. Well, maybe not for a while, they don't like hot things.

Ice Cream

2007-06-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

It's been unusually hot out. We fired up the ice cream maker as a special treat and created some yummy vanilla frozen yogurt. I think the girls liked it. ;-)

Stunts

2007-06-04T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hats have always been a hit. Somewhere along the line we picked up a bicycle helmet. The helmet looks like a super cool hat to Isabella. She goes running around the house, screaming around on her car and galloping on the bucking bronco showing off her special cranial adornment. But when the going gets tough, she opts for "light is right" and climbs only weighed down by a newly changed diaper.

Mazama

2007-05-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

Alex and Isabella decided that they wanted to get away for the weekend and invited their friends Braedyn, Mike and Talisha to a cabin in Mazama. The journey took us over the North Cascades Highway. At the top, the kids had to decipher the relief map and tell us where to go. This type of high technology is best left to the young.

The daddies snuck off for some backcountry skiing on Saturday and still managed to a tour of nearby Winthrop later that afternoon. The girls don't like horses up close, but since they love the idea of horses the old west theme in Winthrop was perfect. Sitting in a sidewalk saddle bouncing around is as good as it gets. Well perhaps their first ice cream cone is a little better. They still talk about that. "Cold daddy, cold" (as they ask for more).

Shovel and Pail

2007-05-16T22:26:00.000-07:00

The girls love their shovels and pails. In little-girl-speak "shobel" rings out energetically whenever the urge to dig strikes or somebody mentions the word "park". The local park hosts a playground covered in the girl's favorite medium--pea gravel. Gravel loads onto shovels, into pails, into pockets, into diapers, and into shoes. Eventually, we should have an entire park's worth of gravel transported back to their bedroom.

We visited the sound recently and dutifully brought "shobels" and pails for everybody. Elated at the endless sand they went right to work. Girls get hungry playing in the sand. So hungry that they didn't seem to mind too much if their cheese happened to fall into it every now and then. Remarkable, for girls who cry out "dirty" whenever they discover a speck of dirt on their hands.

Now that it's warmer than when we took these photos, the girls are happily enjoying our local beach and discovering the joys of wet sand. So many different textures to explore, and only one shovel.

Kris and Chad Visit

2007-05-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

My twin sister Kris, her husband Chad and their darling daughter Sam were up visiting over the weekend. We tried the hard sell for them to move back to the area.

The girl's vocabulary is growing by several words a day now. Often verbally completing thoughts well enough, they can tell us all about what animals they saw at the zoo that day or inform us that they stubbed their toe after a running screaming arrival into our arms. We warned Kris and Chad to be careful with their words as anything they say can and will be used against them in a cute little girl voice. The words most ingrained from our Utah visit originated from Grady wagging his finger and commanding his dog, "No, no, no, Jelly". It was bound to happen, but now I get regular finger wagging with one of the girls telling me "No, no, no" whenever I apparently transgress an unknown boundary.

I'm unsure which of Kris and Chad's words are permanent fixtures in the synapses of the girl's brains, but observing that they already know and use words for the body's parts and functions it's all up hill from here.

Smiles

2007-05-11T16:56:00.000-07:00

My sister said that this blog lacks pictures comprising smiles. I'm here to fix that. Let the smile epidemic spread.

It's all fun and games...

2007-04-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

...until somebody gets hurt. Even after somebody gets hurt, the girls seem to think that fun and games still rule the day. The first skinned knees have shown up. Excited to play they have been running around relentlessly. The 90 degree temps here brought out the shorts exposing the knees to the elements. When the elements consist of cement, tender little girl knee flesh loses. But that didn't slow anybody down. Plenty of fun has been had with their new friend Annie.

The pool was especially popular. When full of water, the pool held splashing and giggling girls. When drained, it served as a stage for dancing and wiggling ones.

Erika, Grady, and Annie

2007-04-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

We're in SLC visiting our friends Erika, Grady and their daughter Annie. The girls are getting their first real taste of summer in 80+ degree temps. They have been swimming and visited the zoo. Visiting the zoo means saying "Hi" and "Bye" to all of the animals. The big ones sometimes don't get the "Hi" and instead receive a steady stream of "Bye, bye, bye".

Of course, having another little girl to play with is fun. They run screaming around the yard playing chase and finding bugs. They've found another sister.

Tall

2007-04-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

The girls love climbing on top of things and exclaiming "Tall, Tall. Tall Daddy, Tall". Awwww...Daddy's heart softens. The girls don't know it yet but they have climbing in their future. So when glee reigns the day while climbing on top of everything in site, daddy looks forward to sharing a mountain top with his girls. Someday...

Easter Time

2007-04-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

Easter came and went but the rain is the same. The neighborhood threw an easter bash complete with a parade and easter egg hunt. The weather failed to tune in and delivered mild drizzle. The girls didn't seem to mind riding in their wagon during the parade and wandering around with their hoods on searching for plastic eggs with goodies inside. Their friend Braedyn (a new and popular word) came over and helped out too!

Taxes

2007-04-06T21:46:00.001-07:00

Next weekend marks the tax deadline. The mail man brought the latest tax software and I found some of the best accountants. They were cute and reported to be deduction wizards. I gave them all my receipts and mentioned that according to the IRS the forms shouldn't take longer than 7.32 hours.

Hat On Your Head

2007-04-05T21:39:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the girls beg for a hat. It was one of their first words. I'm not sure if they really dig the hat, or the attention that comes with wearing one. When they put a hat on, we sing "Hat on your head, hat on your head, you have a hat on your head". They like it enough to wear things that we wouldn't ordinarily consider hats. When they grow up, I wonder if we should tell them they liked wearing underwear on their head.

Bubbles

2007-03-26T22:53:00.000-07:00

The girls have been having a mild explosion of words. I find it slightly odd to have one of them look me in the eye and actually tell me something. Ok, linking more than two words together is rare, but I am still amazed. Often imitating a sounding board, the girls readily echo words back. So well, in fact, that I really have to be more careful what words I utter after stubbing my toe.

After a trip to the park where a little girl was making bubbles, "BUBBLES" quickly emerged in their vocabulary. Jumping around waving and yelling "HI BUBBLES" whenever the bubbles appeared, and "BYE BUBBLES" as they blew away. I'm writing in ALL CAPS in an attempt to convey their ENTHUSIASM. :-)

So we bought some bubble stuff and had bubble fun on the deck. I love making these girls smile.

Incognito

2007-03-15T20:16:00.000-07:00

Not wanting to give away their celebrity status, Isabella and Alex are wearing glasses. Who is going to tell them that we can still decipher their true identity? Maybe they are just trying to tell us summer is coming and it's time for the beach and swimming.

Skiing

2007-03-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

Alex and Isabella had their first days on skis. They hadn't mastered skis yet, so we let them ride on our backs while we skied. All bundled up in nature's finest synthetics, their smiles radiated excitement. It could have just been my smiles reflected back at me, but I think they make excellent snow bunnies. I am looking forward to many more skiing adventures.

Drawing

2007-03-06T22:45:00.000-08:00

Kellie has been drawing with the girls. She lays out a big sheet of paper and the crayons start flowing. They really seem to enjoy it and Kellie is getting pretty good and drawing kitties and mice--two animals the girls can always recognize and get excited about. Their daddy taught them stars--just about all he can draw. :-)

Slides

2007-02-27T22:55:00.000-08:00

The girls love slides. At the park, they run wildly to their favorite toy--the shiny metal slide. They both try their hardest convincing their daddy to hoist them into starting position and let gravity bring them wooshing down. Attempts at walking up the slide are equally fun.

One of the advantages of having twins is the privilege of buying the largest box of diapers possible. Although I look at the box and imagine what will eventually become of all those pristine diapers, the girls looked at the box as playground construction material.

I don't know how they did it, but soon Alex and Isabella had crafted their own inside slide. Alex repeatedly climbed up the slide, sat down and went for many rides. Isabella begged to let daddy do the work of getting her to the top. But once sliding down, their reactions were the same--huge grins. I need to reclaim that part of my imagination where even boxes are fun.

Faces

2007-02-27T22:22:00.000-08:00

When I scroll through the photos for the week, I am often struck by the different expressions digitally immortalized.

Huh? What?

Look! The Goodyear blimp.

I didn't do it.

Oh man!

Life is good!

Toys

2007-02-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

We could buy the coolest, hottest toys on the market but sometimes simple is where it's at. Their favorite toys are still dolls, stuffed animals and books, but spoons, pasta and bowls provide endless entertainment. Sometimes muffin tins make an appearance providing a baker's dozen choices for the girls to stow their noodles. But of course, everybody knows that noodles really belong on your finger.

Happy Valentine's Day

2007-02-14T20:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day from two little cupids spreading love to everybody over the internet. Hug your sweetie and let the kisses fly.

Dress Up

2007-02-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure what Kellie does with the girls all day long, but sometimes I come home to the girls playing dress up. Accessories grab their attention with purses, hats, and pretty shoes topping the list. A huge bin of shoes sits in closet. At night time I'm sure the girls dream of wearing every single pair. At one point I wondered if they would even like wearing shoes. I now know that they LOVE them. They can't say "purse" yet, but shoes and hat have been words for months now. First things first I guess.

Boat Show

2007-01-28T21:13:00.000-08:00

The Seattle Boat Show brought a few dozen big sailboats to tour and fuel our dreams of sailing around the world. The sun shined as bright as it possibly could for a January in Seattle creating a spectacular day. The playground adjacent to the docks grabbed the girls' attention more than any sailboat could. After a few games of "chase me if you can" and endless runs down the slides (the girls love slides) everybody was ready to move on. Missing naps isn't generally a good agenda but good spirits prevailed and soon everybody was out cold after a day well spent.

Style

2007-01-24T22:43:00.000-08:00

Alex walked out of the room and came back with this hat on. Perhaps she felt a hat made her even cuter. Her daddy agreed. Not to be outdone, Isabella indicated that she wanted to wear her bathing suit. We put it half way on over top of her pajamas until she signalled that was good enough. I called it her super hero costume. The girls may have different senses of style, but I love them both.

Night on the Town

2007-01-24T22:34:00.000-08:00

While cousin Sam was visiting, the girls decided to dress up for a night on the town. They donned their prettiest dresses and primped. At the party, Alex kept the crowd on their feet spinning records as DJ-A. Later she and her sister jammed on Grandma's organ. At the end of the day, the girls regrouped on the stairs reminiscing about the day.

Cousin Visits

2007-01-13T21:12:00.000-08:00

My twin sister is up visiting. Her daughter is a couple of months younger than our girls. I really enjoy watching the three cousins playing with each other. It's like watching puppies playing--laughing, giggling, and plenty of toy stealing. Here sam is trying to fit in by wearing matching clothing. Maybe that way she can be considered the missing triplet. As far as the girls are concerned, she may be succeeding.

Snow

2007-01-13T20:53:00.000-08:00

A cold front moved through dropping piles of snow. The girls learned an important new word--"SNOW!" We took them out and introduced them to the cold wet stuff. This is an important milestone since skiing is in their future. ;-) They loved it. Since the snow is sticking around, cries of "SNOW" are heard everytime they look out the window--music to their daddy's ears.

Merry Christmas

2007-01-03T20:21:00.000-08:00

Words

2006-12-20T23:29:00.000-08:00

The girls love playing with spoons. I really don't know why, but they are happy with big spoons, little spoons, measuring spoons or soup spoons. When they have one, they run around yelling "Spoooon! Spoooon! Spooon!"

Which got me to thinking about how many words the girls use and know. What amazes me is their power to relate abstract depictions of objects with their real counterparts. When they see cartoon pictures of cats they say "kitty". When they see real cats they say "kitty". They saw a wood carving a cat and said "kitty". I looked at it and said, "What!!?? Oh yeah, it *is* a kitty".

They have also been using sign language for 7 or 8 months now and continue to amaze me. Having only been exposed to cartoon ducks, their rubber bath ducky, and a stuffed animal, the first time they saw ducks at the beach both girls started signing "duck". They used a separate bird sign for the seagulls and herons. Isabella's duck sign is now morphing into snapping, but that allows her to keep rhythm with the music on the radio. ;-)

It truly is amazing how much babies must learn in their first year. From learning how to move their little limbs to understanding language. Now when we ask one of the girls to go get a different book from the shelf, she merrily trots over and gets one, a feat utilizing language recognition and motor skills. I really don't know how much they understand, but I suspect it is a lot more than I give them credit for.

Bumper Cars

2006-12-20T23:23:00.000-08:00

The girls love pushing themselves around on their little car thing-a-ma-jigs. They wander over hop on then start running into things. I sure hope they get better before they take out daddy's car.

Santa Claus

2006-12-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

Santa came to the park near the house. The girls couldn't tell him what they wanted for Christmas so it will be up to us to figure it out. A clown making balloon animals added to the scene. There must be some universal appeal for balloon critters. More kids were crowded around him than Santa! Our girls sure loved the balloons but were mixed on Santa himself.

Mike D Visits

2006-12-07T20:09:00.000-08:00

My good friend Mike Davis visited from Colorado while up interviewing with the Death Star. Kellie and I tried the hard sell on Washington to bring him and his family up here. Mike has a darling little boy a few months younger than the girls. He was the one who inspired me to create this blog. Thanks Mike! Mike and Talisha's Blog

Make Like a Cat

2006-12-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

Maybe the girls have been hanging out with the cat too much, but they are adopting some of his ways. They have a penchant for climbing into things, including the kitty bed. Maybe we will be able to leave out paper bags and cardboard boxes and let them romp. Balls of string haven't made it onto their radar yet, but the toilet paper rolls prove just as fascinating.

Walking...almost...sort of

2006-11-17T22:41:00.000-08:00

The girls walk around on their knees now. I guess they are progressing to upright walking in phases, kind of like those evolutionary charts you see. I think they are somewhere between missing link and neanderthal in style. They will walk if you hold their hand, however. Here is Alex walking like a cowboy with a death grip on her daddy's finger.

Fall Leaves

2006-11-10T20:48:00.000-08:00

The leaves are falling. Kellie and I look at the leaves and see the work it will take to rake them up. The girls look and see endless toys strewn about. Are the leaves really big, or the girls just really small?

Cups

2006-11-04T20:23:00.000-08:00

The girls have never liked sippy cups. They merely tolerate them. The guzzling begins when the real cups come out. Sometimes they still miss their mouths and dump liquid down their front. But their daddy has been known to do that too, so from my perspective they are doing just fine.

Halloween

2006-10-30T21:50:00.000-08:00

Work hosted a Halloween party for kids. Kellie jumped at the chance to dress the girls up and take them out. Ok, I like showing them off too. :-) Isabella strutted her stuff as a cow, while Alex played the part of a bunny rabbit. Neither of them liked wearing the hood portion of their costume, but they both had a good time nonetheless. There were throngs of little ones running around in great costumes which I'm sure will inspire us for Halloweens to come. The girls also got their first introduction to a clown making balloon animals. They loved it! If every kid has the same reaction that Isabella and Alex had when they received their balloons, that guy has a great job.

Tunnel Vision

2006-10-29T20:17:00.000-08:00

The girls have been crawling into and under things lately, so we decided to buy them a toy made specifically for that. A tunnel! It was a hit. Alex sent the maiden voyage with Isabella hot on her heels. If one of them pauses and sits in the middle, the other just crawls right over her. Daddy has to slither through, and the girls can't crawl over him because he fills the tunnel wall-to-wall. ;-)

Play Ball

2006-10-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

The girls love their soccer ball. They hit it, kick it, roll it around and chase after it. I try to imagine what it would be like to play with a soccer ball as big as my body. Here Isabella lifts it over her head. I wonder if I could do that with a huge ball.

Fall Hiking

2006-10-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

We took the girls into the mountains again. This time they had a wonderfully sunny fall day. Unfortunately we chose a hike in the shade. :-( We changed plans at the last minute, and the entire time we stared into the warm sunny valley that we were originally planning on hiking in. I think the girls were a little cold and we were without more insulation for them so we turned back early. But not before we took some pictures with their big hats on.

Make like a Pumpkin

2006-10-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

Halloween is coming and a pumpkin hat surfaced somehow. Here is Isabella is doing her best pumpkin imitation. She doesn't have a candle to complete the jack-o-lantern image but I think her face lights up well enough. Cutie.

Bath Time

2006-10-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

In the beginning the girls didn't like taking baths. But now as soon as they hear the water running, they come like gangbusters down the hall. They get so excited standing at the tub's side that I fear they will jump right in. Their arms outstretched and splashing, they lean as far over as they possibly can. All that excitment, wiggling, laughing, screeching and splashing isn't conducive to actually cleaning them. But is sure is fun.

Winter is Coming

2006-10-11T22:09:00.000-07:00

Winter is coming and the evening air is getting chilly. We tried out their winter jackets on a just-before-bedtime swing session at the park. They were very over dressed for the conditions.

I bet that over the course of the winter, the girls will grow into and then out of these jackets.

Aunt Mea

2006-10-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

The girl's Aunt Mea was on the mainland visiting her mother. The girls made the trek over the mountains to join her. Alex and Isabella have a tremendous ability to make me smile. When one of their faces lights up, mine does too. I thoroughly enjoy it when I see them having a similar effect on others. It looks like Mea took good care of them, and vice versa.

Party Time

2006-10-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

When October started, it was party time. And look, we unwrapped two little girls. The guest of honor, Christa, proudly displays one of her treasures along with our two beautiful girls none of whom would be around without her.

Either the girls are becoming more distinctive, or I am developing skills to distinguish one from the other. I can actually tell from the photo that Alex is sitting on Kellie's lap and Isabella is wedged between Christa and Ruby. But sometimes I can't. ;-)

Flexibility Helps

2006-09-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Big people wouldn't conceive of eating with their feet. But one advantage of being little is to be completely unencumbered by preconceived notions like the idea that eating with your feet is gross.

Meeting Sam

2006-09-30T09:54:00.000-07:00

The girls have another twin of sorts. My twin sister's daughter was born a couple of months after Isabella and Alex. So if twins are transitive: Alex and Isabella are my twins, Chris is also my twin, so Chris' daughter is a twin of my daughters. Ok, there are logic holes large enough to drive a convoy of trucks through.

Anyways, I was in California and stopped by to see my new niece for the first time. She met pictures of Isabella and Alex. The real thing will have to wait until after the new year.

Denny Creek

2006-09-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

We loaded up the kids and headed for Denny Creek. The girls really seem to enjoy getting out and about. Although when you think about it, I'm not sure why they would. First they get strapped into the car for 1/2 hour. Then they get strapped to us for hours and jostled around while we climb over rocks, under trees, and through the bushes. Then they get strapped into the car again. When we got home, they had a lot of pent up energy to run off before going to bed. Sleeping in those backpacks must be hard work. Ok, we let them out of the backpacks for a little while to play around the creek and in some puddles. They weren't restrained all day...just most of it. ;-)

Dancing

2006-09-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

As previously mentioned, the girls love music. They light up when the music starts and jiggle their little bodies around. Alex will often start the music herself, start dancing and get the biggest grin on her face. I'm not sure where she gets those moves. But if you saw her daddy dancing, you might figure it out.

Pick Me Up Please

2006-09-16T12:05:00.000-07:00

In a continuing saga of learning how to get what they want, the girls tug at daddy's heart strings when the urge to be picked up strikes. Who can resist this pose? Resistance is futile as they will soon clamber over and up anyways. Cuties, for sure.

Music

2006-09-10T21:34:00.000-07:00

The girls have always shown a fondness for music. Whenever a tune plays, their little bodies shake back and forth as they dance and get into the groove. It's pretty cute. They have their favorite tunes but like a wide variety of artists. Here, Alex displays her devotion to one of her daddy's old favorites.