HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

OMG Owen and Ethan are 1! How did that happen? Yesterday they were babies and today not so much. Every day they are closer and closer to little men. Ethan is walking more than crawling now. He also has 3 teeth. Owen decided that he was not to be outdone by Ethan in the walking department and he RUNS (video coming soon). He has 2 teeth. They are completely off bottles and we are now trying milk (at least til the GI says otherwise).

Today the immediate family came for a little gathering. Grandpa and Uncle live far away and wouldn't be able to attend the big party in Jan. We had lunch then opened gifts. The boys are getting good at opening gifts as long as they are interested. Once again they were spoiled rotten. From there we sand to the boys. Each of them got sang to on their own. We tried to get them to blow out the candle. I had been working on it with them for weeks. The cake was just way too tempting and they didn't care about the candle. By the time Owen was done with his cake you couldn't tell it was Owen and you really couldn't tell it started as a cake. Ethan on the other hand was very clean and ate the cake in order from left to right. He only got about 1/3 through the cake before he sat back finished. After a quick bath it was play time while the adults talked.

It was a wonderful day for my wonderful boys. Happy Birthday my beautiful little men. You cannot imagine the joy you bring to my life on a daily basis. You mean the world to me.

Fall

All over my online community I was seeing these cute pictures of babies with pumpkins and fall pictures. I thought man I need pictures of the boys with pumpkins. So we went to the local farm here and put the boys in the pumpkins like we did Chloe last year. This is what I got....






And how can we forget this one....


So we move to the grass thinking maybe little pumpkins are better and we can get some good ones with the little pumpkins... We got these...




Then they figured out that they could pick and eat the grass or crawl away.




So in my mind I gave up on cute fall pictures. I mean you can see what I was dealing with. Erick and I decided that we were going to take a family trip up to Apple Hill. I hadnt been sense I was a kid and Erick had never been. Well we missed our chance to go with friends but when we did go we found a really good farm (#20) and got some GREAT shots. (oh and the boys love apple donuts)






I am so happy with these pictures and that fall is officially here!

9 months old

Today my babies are 9 months old. I dont know where the time went. They are getting so big and going new things all the time.

Today we went to the Giants game in SF. The weather was warm...80*. It made for a crazy morning and a log day but it was fun. It was especially nice to see Craig and Marylou (thanks for the tix guys). The giants won... woo hoo. Ok but really you dont want to hear about that you want to hear about the boys.

Ethan is now pulling up to a full stand. Owen is getting brave and letting go. We have been on tooth watch for awhile now. Every morning I check the boys mouth. I knew they were coming. This morning was no different and still no teeth. While at the game I guess I made a good chew toy because I was being gnawed on. I had to check his mouth because there was something in there. Guess what at exactly 9 months old, at the game the first tooth came through. And who did that tooth belong to you ask.....ETHAN. He finally beat Owen at something. Oh and he has another one that will be in any min. Owen is working on it but not even as close as Ethans second tooth.

This week is a busy one we get the keys to our new place and we move. The boys have their 9 month appointment. Ethan has PT And OT. We are still waiting on insurance to say they will pay for Owen's helmet so we are also waiting for that call. It has been 4 weeks sense he was measured. Oh and we have officially started planing for the boys 1st birthday.

Whew that is a lot. OK I will post new pics after the boys appointment this week.

Fathers Day

Yesterday was Erick's first fathers day and the boys had big plans for daddy. Erick got tickets to the Giants game. So for fathers day he got to take his boys to their first baseball game.

In the car and ready to go.


Owen trying to steel Ethan's bib while we picnicked in the car before the game


The game was great. The boys got little certificates for it being their first game. They loved watching all the people. They even took a little nap in our arms. They did not however like when the crowd went wild. This resulted in big pouty lips and a few tears.

At the game


After the game we headed to Erick's choice of dinner locals, Bubba Gumps on Pier 39. This gave a chance for another first for the boys.

First time in a restaurant highchair



While at the restaurant the boys decided they were hungry too so we tried more puffs. here is the reactions



When we noticed this next pic we decided it was time to go


We headed back to the van and fed the boys while sitting in the back. As we fed the boys we got a great view to end a great day.

Part 1

Part one of our trip went off without much of a hitch. The drive to Idaho wasn't nearly as long as we thought it would be. We got there it a little over 9 hrs after stopping twice for gas and once to eat. The boys kept to their schedule fairly well though they didn't really take great naps. We had a lot of fun visiting Auntie Barb and Uncle Frank. For mothers day Erick took us all out to breakfast and the boys got me a card. Then we drove around so we could be shown Idaho and I feel asleep in the car OOPS. So we are home for today and part of tomorrow and right now Erick is sleeping (he drove all night) while I am up with the boys who think it is time to start the day.

Coming soon pics of the boys with their new favorite toys from auntie barb

busy busy busy

Yesterday the boys got to spend the day with Grandma (Erick's mom) while Erick and I watched Wicked in SF. The play was entertaining, the costumes were AMAZING, and the music was good. What I don't understand is how they can change the story so much as to take the dark ending and turn it happy. There were a few other aspects that bothered me like the scarecrow and tin man.

After the play we went and got the boys and headed to dinner. We went to the Rainforest Cafe. The boys loved it (well once they were both awake). It is like sensory overload in there but the boys absolutely loved having everything to look at. I was just happy we were in the under water area because there weren't all the scary monkeys. From there we headed home and they boys went to bed.

Today is miss Chloe's first birthday party. I put off my job for the party til today so I am doing it now. After the party we are going to get our first family pics done.

Tomorrow is a nutrition class and lunch with a high school friend. Then I get to spend the rest of the week getting ready for our 2 week vaca. yep busy busy busy.

Easter and more

For Easter we went down to Salinas. It totally messed with the boys. First off being in the car on the drive there made the boys nap later then they normally do. When we got to the house they were just waking up. They knew it was time to shower and eat (we hit traffic and the drive took a little longer than normal). So I go to bathe them and they are not happy. They want to eat. This task is not made easy by people that want to make sure all is well and see the babies. Finally I get them bathed, dressed and downstairs to eat. I had the bottles made before we left the house and in a cool case but that meant I was offering cold bottles. That didn't go over well but they didn't want to wait for warm ones. To add to it when we are at home we don't have company during baths and bottles well you cant help that when you are the company. So while feeding the boys we had eager grandparents wanting to ooo ahh and fawn. Which is fine but distracting. Once we got the boys fed and down (took almost 45 min longer than normal). WE got to eat. Once we got to bed we were in for it. Ethan woke up at midnight screaming we would just get him down and he would do it again. This went on every 45 min from midnight to 7 when they got up. We hadnt had a night like that sense maybe week 3.

Saturday we went to visit Erick's grandma. She was excited to see the boys and we hung out and watched the Giants game with Erick's dad. When we got back to Erick's moms we were informed that more company was coming tonight. In my head I am envisioning a repeat of the night before. See our boys know the schedule and the bath, butts, books, bottles and bed pattern isnt something we EVER mess with. Im sure I wasnt as nice as i should have been when I found that out and was trying to get the boys routine done but we did bring them down for family to see. Then we had pizza and played cards. Erick won. Then bed.

Sunday.... slow morning then lunch at Erick's grandmas. The boys got a chance to meet family they had not yet met and i got a chance to show off a little. Erick's family was impressed that I could tell the difference in my boys cries and what the cry was for. hehehe that was fun showing off. I am with the boys all day every day of course I know what each cry means and who is doing it. When we left there we headed to Erick's best friend's house. He had a little boy the month after our boys were born. This was our first meeting. He was so small compared to my behemoths. From there we headed home. We made a quick stop at my mom's so she could see the boys on Easter. Ahhhhh Home!

Monday... Nothing interesting.

Tuesday...ahhh another busy day. The boys and I were out of the house by 8 am. Why you ask because we wanted to have some fun. We were to meet my MoMs group at the Oakland zoo. First we had a little stop to make. My friend Ariel (from wishing for my miracle link on the side) need some adult interaction too. I went a little out of my way to pick her and her son R (20 days older then the boys) up. We had a great tiring hot cold day at the zoo. Then went back to Ariel's house and learned some moves and took some pics.


The boys and R on the floor

On the way home I had even more fun. I hit traffic. Why did I hit traffic? Well for one I left late and it was rush hour. But the biggest thing that made my drive home taxing is that people are afraid to drive in hail. Yes you read that right there was hail.

Wednesday...One of the coolest things happened. Erick came home from work and I was showing him some of the new baby yoga that I learned (from a book Ariel suggested). Well the boys, Erick and I were on the floor and Owen laughed. I mean a real honest to god laugh. I am so happy Owen did that for the first time with Erick home and he got to witness that first with me. It was the best sound. He did it for about 3 min and now refuses to do it again (little stinker).

Daddy's day off

Erick had yesterday off and he asked me what I wanted to do. So I decided it was time the boys visit the city. Erick was a little hesitant but then he saw that we got out state refund and it was going to be clear and 74* in San Francisco. He agreed that it would be nice and Monday night I packed the bags after putting the boys to bed at 7.

The boys decided that Erick and I needed an even better treat then the zoo and they slept til 7:20 am without a peep. We fed the boys, ourselves and then got ready. By 930 we were in the car.

Before getting to go to the zoo there were a few things we needed to do. My mom left something she needed in m car so we needed to drop that off. I had made a few returns and "needed" to pick up a few things at the Carters outlet. By the time I finished shopping the boys needed to eat again. We fed them in this really nice little relaxation lounge at the outlets. By that time it was 11 and we were hungry. We ate and got of the road again.

The boys slept the whole way to the zoo and only shifted a little when we got out of the car. We were really happy to find that the news didnt lie to us and SF really was beautiful. The zoo was almost empty. Im not just talking about no people there. The staff was missing too. The whole time at the zoo we never passes a snack cart that had anyone working it. but enough of that. We walked the whole zoo. We even saw the tigers with their fixed habitat. We got to see the new baby giraffe. The boys ate again, we talked to a few MoMs, and finished our walk around the zoo. (we should have set up our own exhibit with the amount of attention we were drawing.)

When we left the zoo and got on the freeway traffic was almost stopped. It was then we looked at the clock...almost 430. Crap rush hour going out of SF not going to happen. Our plans changed and we decided to take the boys to Pier 39. We walked the Pier, fed them again, changed them and pointed out Alcatraz. Then we decided to have dinner at Bubba Gumps. It was so good. I dont know how I ate that much shrimp. By that time Owen had decided that was enough excitement it was after 730 and the wind was picking up. So we headed home. I wont bore you with tales of Erick changing a poopy diaper on the bed of the van or my acrobatic moves to get into the third row to soothe a crying baby while Erick was driving but lets just say the trip home was interesting.

A few things I learned:

-Owen is A LOT more effected by change than Ethan
-If Ethan is tired he doesnt care where he is
-Thank god Pam gave us jackets because the boys needed them (Pam look how cute they are in the pics below)
-Never leave the bag with the extra blankets in the car
-Dont bother asking Erick which thing the boys should get to "remember" the trip (BTW they got hats and monkeys that hang on)
-Dont forget yourself when packing water for a day away

Now for the pics: