Beach Day!

Today Jack and I went to the beach (again) while the twins stayed home with the babysitter. We love our babies but babies + beach = no fun for anyone. Jack has SO much fun playing in the sand, digging for shells and other beachy items, and (more recently) has developed a love of the water. He fiddles around for hours completely self-entertained. Which means that I was actually able to sit in my beach chair and enjoy the afternoon! Ahhhhh......

Jack is prepared for some beach fun!

Playing in the water.

Catching some waves!

Jack loves the beach (and his new fishy swim ring)!!

More Visitors, July 4th & Standing Up

We've been busy here over the last couple of weeks....More visitors - Aunt Mary Ann & Uncle Dan stopped by on their way to OBX and Grandpa Ron & Grandma Dixie stayed with us over the July 4th holiday. It's always so fun to have guests - we love it!!!

Matthew turning on the charm for Great Aunt Mary Ann & Uncle Dan. He seems to really enjoy having his picture taken!

Twins in their new-to-us (i.e., used) high chairs. I had feeding seats for them but not only did they take up two of my dining room chairs but they weren't at a comfortable height for me. Considering I sit and feed them two bottles and LOTS of baby food three times a day, I decided to invest a little more in our overall comfort! Plus, they gag on anything thicker than a puree so I'm thinking I'll be spoon feeding them for quite some time to come.....

Matthew thoroughly enjoys standing up now and can do it with ease, however, he is unable to get down from a standing position without taking a total face plant. So, he'll just stand there whining (which quickly escalates to all out tears) for me to come help him get down. Much to his disappointment, I'm sure, I only come to his rescue every now and then so he's going to have to figure it out on his own one of these days!

Another of Jack's former toys which has quickly become a favorite.

Jack talking to Jay on the phone. He's getting better at keeping up a conversation with him. It struck me that Jack looks so old in this picture!

Nathan trying to climb up on Jack while he's watching TV. Jack generally has plenty of "helpers" at the ready and he's so good about being patient with their unending curiosity.

Grandpa Ron & Grandma Dixie brought sparklers to celebrate the 4th of July - how fun!!! (notice how all of my nice new green grass now has more of a scorched earth look to it....all our rain came to a screeching halt and I don't have time to water, oh well.)

Grandpa & Grandma Lambert also brought Jay's old boy scout tent which makes a fun place to play in the back yard.

Jack about to go to a baseball game with Grandpa Ron...he was SO excited and had a fantastic time!! (he's showing off a new McDonald's happy meal toy--a white dinosaur with a mouth that opens & closes--and since dinosaurs are his latest obsession this is by far the best kids' meal toy he's ever gotten!)

Grandpa Jim & Grandma Jane Come to Visit

I unearthed more of Jack's old toys and this music table was an instant hit. The babies are starting to pull themselves up to standing too!

Nathan having fun swinging at the park near our house.

Matthew loved being in the swing!

Grandpa Jim & Grandma Jane brought Jack a fishing pole (actually it's MY grandpa's old rod) and he had SO much fun fishing at the park near our house. He's actually pretty good!

Here's one of the fish! I think he caught at least nine over the few days he was able to go fishing with Grandpa. Although he was surprisingly concerned about the fish once he'd caught them!


Jack "helping" Grandpa wash his car. Actually he did a really good job (well, as good as a 4yr old can do!) soaping up and hosing off the car. And he only sprayed Grandpa with the hose once. :-)

Pics from the week

Nathan: "Help me Mom...I got here and now I can't get figure out how to get my legs to go the same direction!"

Jack, ever the great helper, picked up bottles and started to feed the babies all my himself one night when they were too impatient to wait for me!

Matthew being silly.


Jack wanted a tent so this was the next best thing until Daddy gets home and we can buy a real one.

I think Nathan is going to be a thumb-and-blankie kid like his big brother.

Jack (before his quiet time): "But Mom, I'm not tired!"

Pictures for Jay

Here are some pictures mainly for Jay's benefit. This is the best way for him to see pictures because their e-mail is too slow to receive photos. So here are some of the things I've wanted him to see or have told him about. Sorry that they're probably really boring for the rest of you!!

Jack decided to "help" me by unpacking groceries and lining them up all the way around the kitchen counter top....this picture doesn't do it justice, I needed a panoramic lens!

The babies will routinely crawl right over each other in order to get something they want and oddly the one on the bottom usually isn't complaining. In this instance, Nate is the one being mowed over and he actually had a smile on his face!

So when we moved into this house six months ago the back yard was a mess of mostly weeds, dirt, and a bit of grass. Jay put down some grass seed literally days before deploying and I have been trying to get it to grow. I put straw down in several areas and that is basically where the grass grew in. This section right off the deck was literally all dirt so it's doing pretty well! I wanted Jay to see because I was so excited!! No more mud pies for Jack, though, and he is none too happy about that.

Jack playing in his sandbox at the other end of the yard. Notice more straw here....the grass did not fill in very well on this end unfortunately. I think this is where all the water runs when it rains so that doesn't help. But the large tree makes for a great shady spot - just perfect for the sandbox.

Another shot of what was a huge area of dirt. (If you're wondering what that huge piece of paper taped to the slider is, well it's a picture Jack drew to scare away the squirrels because they eat all of the bird seed out of our feeder. They have figured out how to open the top of the feeder and I have witnessed them actually sitting INSIDE the feeder feasting on bird seed. Hence the drawing to scare them away.)

And finally the latest baby confinement device to hit the family room! The twins quickly outgrew the "play pen" so I had to find a way to confine them in here because I simply cannot baby proof the entire upstairs of this house (it's a split-level so our living areas and the master bedroom are all on the upper level while the playroom and kids' rooms are all on the lower level). It seems to work pretty well and the babies enjoy more room to explore so they're not complaining as much. Plus it has a door so it's super easy to get in & out. It is hardware mounted to the wall so I had to pre-drill holes and everything to install it - I'm pretty proud of myself! We'll see how long it stays up....

Last Soccer Game

Today was Jack's final soccer game, and he insisted on wearing the turquoise bandanna you see below. So he played the entire time with this bandanna on which got all hot & sweaty.......and then notice his forehead in the next picture - permanently blue! Even after a shower it's still blue!!



Jack is building with these fantastic magnetic blocks he received for Christmas from Grandma & Grandpa Lambert. These are by far one of Jack's favorite toys and he has played constantly with them since Christmas! So if you have a preschooler or know one you would like to give a fantastic gift to, consider these blocks because they have been one of our most enduring toys. (Also notice the picture frame in front of Jack's place mat; it's a photo of Jay & Jack at Disneyworld last October. The picture now sits with us at dinner every night so Daddy can still eat with us. Awwww!)

So I have mentioned that the babies are on the move, and they are catching on quickly!! I was attempting to wash bottles yesterday afternoon and as I was standing at the sink I looked down to find TWO babies clinging to my pant legs. Literally....one on each leg. I had to step back and take their picture as they surrounded me on the kitchen floor. :-)


These next two shots are for our dearest friends the Binkleys who sent these great onesies to us.....I get more comments on them when the babies wear them out and about! Thanks ya'll!!!

(Matty)

(Nate)

Sitting & Crawling

At nine months old Matthew is still not too big to fall asleep all curled up in the baby swing (he's a little peanut). I'm not sure what I'm going to do when they really do outgrow the swings.....they are a lifesaver when both babies are cranky!!

The babies can finally sit up on their own! I thought it would never happen.... (FYI - Matty is on the left and Nate is on the right, I usually try to do it the other way around)

Now that the twins are on the move but not proficient at it yet, they often get stuck. Such as Matty did here behind Daddy's favorite chair. And while Nathan crawls the traditional way (and IS getting quite speedy), Matty does it more commando style by pulling himself on his belly across the floor with his arms. Not as nice to look at but it definitely works!

Goodbye to Daddy

We said goodbye to Jay today which was difficult (it always is) but made harder by the fact that we had to keep our emotions somewhat in check for Jack's sake. Jack, on the other hand, seems sort of blissfully ignorant as to how long daddy's "long trip" really is and I think this is a good thing!

Jay's ship.

Jack & Daddy snuggling before we said our goodbyes.

Spring in VA

Jack doing his "roar" face.

We spent Mother's Day at this wonderful park (we'd never been there before). Jack had a fantastic time feeding turtles, playing in the river, and as you can see here dragging "big sticks" up "big mountains".

The babies and I watching Jack playing in the river. It was a beautiful day!

Jay and Jack snagged a free paddle boat ride!

Jay & Jack in front of the huge bear carved out of wood (Jack was a little leery at first until he realized it was just a wooden statue!)

Jack wanted to have a tea party....so we turned it into a sweet tea party (I make it with decaf tea and splenda so it's kid friendly - having lived in the south for several years now I have become completely addicted to sweet tea!). Duckie was invited too (that's his seat next to Jack - the stool). And Jack insisted that our cups match our plates....hmmm....apple doesn't fall far. :-)

Jack holding Nathan - he did a great job and had so much fun doing it! Jack really loves being a big brother.

The babies playing - one will bounce and then the other bouces back. I must admit it is kind of handy that they can entertain one another....helps me get more done because I don't feel as bad leaving them to play on their own since they've got each other!

Nathan has mastered going backwards...and often gets stuck! The wood floors certainly don't help the crawling effort either.

Our first experience with teething biscuits. Although you wouldn't know it from their expressions, they actually devoured them!

All my boys are captivated by the TV...wonder who they get that from...oh yeah, Dad! :-)

Nathan.

Matthew.

Matthew smiling even after Nathan just stole his binky right out of his mouth (a new favorite pastime of Nate's even though he sucks his thumb).

Our first date night since the twins were born! How exciting to eat at a restaurant with cloth napkins and NO kids' menu!!!