Luke's Diary: Our First Halloween
Hi Mommy's Blog Readers!
Today Mommy said I could tell you about our Halloween. I thought Halloween was a one-day affair, but I must have been misinformed.
First, there was the visit to the pumpkin patch, after a nice leisurely lunch downtown with Mommy and Daddy at the Rockslide Brewery, sitting outside on their patio on a nice fall day:
Then, there was Costume Try-on Day, to make sure everything fit and that we liked it. Our Grandma Charlotte made these costumes from scratch, can you believe it?!? She didn't have a pattern or anything, she made them up out of her head. As you can see, I was a sock monkey pirate (arrrrr!) and Sissy was a peacock:
Then, last Saturday, we put on our costumes, loaded up in the stroller and went downtown for the Halloween parade! Super fun! (That big buffalo statue in front of Mommy and Daddy's bank...that's called "Chrome on the Range," by the way...)
And then--finally--Halloween! Grandma augmented the mouth on my sock monkey costume so it was even cooler:
After pictures, Mommy and Daddy walked us around to the neighbors we know, so everyone could see how cute we were.
I also heard something about Halloween and candy, but Mommy said we're too young for candy. She said maybe next year.
It was the best Halloween ever!
Love,
Luke
Zoey's Diary: Seven Months
Hi Hi Hi!
Zoey here, to tell you all about the past month. In a nutshell...we are moving around like crazy...and in high chairs at restaurants and carts shopping (instead of our stroller), sitting, scooting, pulling ourselves up to standing, giggling and making all sorts of noise. Mama says we are growing up so fast!
Earlier in the month, I got the scooting (or army crawl, I guess they sometimes call it) thing down, and Bubs had sitting, but we caught up to each other and can both do both now. When I was the only one scooting, Daddy used to put me on the floor on my belly and see how far and fast I could go.
"Sissy!" he'd say. "It's time for the Scoot Scoot 500!"
Also when we each could just do one thing (scooting or sitting), Daddy said we each had our own special super powers.
We hang out in our new playroom lots. This is one of our favorite toys, from Uncle Ben:
Daddy still likes to stick a pacifier to my head and call me his little unicorn:
If me and Bubs have been apart, our faces light up with a big smile and we laugh when we see each other. We are best friends. And we play together so nice right now...side-by-side, and also we share things, like this day at Grammy and Grandpa's when we passed a rattle back and forth, back and forth:
Oh, and Daddy has our crib set up with a breathable mesh bumper down the middle, so it's like we each have our own little cubicle. That way we can sleep together, but don't bump into each other and wake each other up. Mommy came in one morning when we'd been awake for a while, and we had smushed down the divider in the middle so we could hold hands and play together. She said it was the cutest thing...
Also, we've been getting new nicknames. Of course there will always be Bubs and Sissy, but Daddy has started calling Bubs "Skelly Bubs," because he has PJs that have the bones of a skeleton on them. And Mommy has been calling me "Sugar Pie Pudding Pop."
One night, Grandma Charlotte was over helping us get ready for bed, and Mommy had two sets of yellow PJs out, and Grandma put the one with the ducks on me, which was cool, but then there were flowers for Bubs.
"Just put him in flowers," Daddy said to Mommy.
"No," Mommy said.
"He's man enough," said Daddy.
And then Mommy said to Bubs, "Are you man enough, Sugar Pie Pudding Pop?"
And Daddy said, "He won't be man enough if you keep calling him that."
And then Mommy said, "What do you want me to call him? My little Ice Road Trucker?"
"Or Puppy Dog Ear," Daddy said.
Here's Bubs asleep in the stroller. I generally sleep way better than him...Mommy and Daddy say he's tricky. But they say that's OK...different babies need different things.
We're all about using Mommy as a jungle gym:
So that's the update! Life is so, so, so, so good for us. :)
Love,
Zoey
Dear Luke and Zoey (Mommy and Daddy's 4th Anniversary Edition)
Dear Luke and Zoey,
You guys were up at 4 AM this morning to eat (you're supposed to be sleeping through the night by now, but we'll talk about that some other time). Your Daddy and I lay in bed with you, him giving one a bottle, me breastfeeding the other, and I said, "Happy anniversary, sweetie. Tell the kids about our wedding day."
"It was cold," he said. "It snowed. And your mom looked beautiful. It was the day we became a family."
And it was.
I'm so glad I married your dad. He has been so sweet and loving since day one, I met him just after your Uncle Luke died and I needed a lot and he was there for me. He was there for me then, and then all through the things we had to do to bring you into our lives. It wasn't always easy, but I figure if we can survive those two things together we can survive anything.
And now, he's not only my husband, he's also your daddy. You guys are so lucky to have the daddy you do.
We didn't plan it this way, but you were born just before he finished school, and these first months he's been job hunting and so has been able to spend SO much time with you. It won't be like this forever, but we've treasured these months together.
Your dad knows how to make you laugh, he kisses the tears away, he knows how to get you down to sleep, how to get you to eat when you really don't want to. He takes you out and about, strapping you to his chest in the Baby Bjorn. He takes you for walks in the stroller. He eases you into your afternoon nap with Phineas and Ferb. He helps your mommy so she can work, and also get to yoga, and get her nails done and such occasionally, so she doesn't feel like she's completely lost herself and can be a better mother. And he's a sucker for cute clothes for you guys...he told me before you were born that all babies needed really is white onesies, but he's the one that can't resist cute raccoon hats, and red coats with orange foxes on them, and skater shoes and baby Uggs...
But most of all--and really all that matters--he loves you more than anything. And I love him more than ever because of it.
Happy anniversary to us!
Love,
Mommy
Luke's Diary: Fall Colors
Hi Mommy's Blog Readers!
Today Mommy said I could tell you about our Saturday. We went up on the Grand Mesa to see the leaves changing! It was totally rad!
Here are me and Sissy in our car seats, all ready to go! How cool is my hat?!? Daddy saw it a week ago and said I MUST have it!
The leaves were so pretty, although a lot of them had fallen off the trees already...
One of the places we stopped was Powderhorn, which Mommy said is her favorite ski area EVER. It's really small and just a locals place...Mommy said nobody flies to Colorado to go to Powderhorm...but she said the snow is the best and there are no crowds. Even on the weekends there's barely a line for the lifts, and on weekdays she said you can have a run all to yourself. She said as soon as we're old enough, she will bring us here to ski and snowboard.
Mommy said when she was on vacation in Key West a bunch of years ago with her friend Sam, they went on a ghost tour of the town one night, and the guide said if you have spots in your pictures that means there are ghosts. So Mommy said whenever she sees spots like in these pictures of Sissy, she always thinks our Uncle Luke is with us and it makes her happy...
After Powderhorn, we got way up high on the Mesa, which Mommy says is either the biggest flat-top mountain in North America or the world, she can't remember. She said she dated a pilot once AGES ago and he said it's a huge landmark when you are flying across the country...you can't miss it.
ANYWAY, we got up high and the Jeep said it was 37 degrees and Mommy and Daddy bundled us up and we went walking and it was so pretty.
AND, we saw our first moose from the car on the side of the road! It was ENORMOUS!
Here's Grandma Charlotte, who came with us. (This is back down the other side of the mountain, when we got back into the aspens again.) She's here for the month to help Mommy and Daddy and to hang out with us, which is so rad!
I love it when Daddy does this with me...Sissy does too...
So that was our trip! It was really fun, and the best part was we all got to hang out all together for the whole day...so awesome!
I can understand why Mommy says fall in Colorado is her favorite...
Love,
Luke
Zoey's Diary: A Day in the Desert
Hi Hi Hi!
Zoey here and guess what? Last weekend, Uncle Ben and some friends came to town, and the Blue Angles were here, and we all went out and spent the day in the desert! So much fun!
Mommy and Daddy and Granny stayed with us, but everyone else went riding. Mommy said me and Bubs (that's what I call my brother Luke) can ride quads one day with Uncle Ben, but not motorcycles (even though she knows one's not necessarily safer than the other), because something happened to our Uncle Luke on a motorcycle, and Mommy said she's be too scared the whole time.
People came back to visit every once in a while:
And then there were the Blue Angles. We were scared of the noise at first, but Mommy told us there was nothing to be afraid of, and then we were OK.
Mommy watched with Bubs:
I actually fell asleep in Daddy's lap right before the good parts. Hopefully next time I'll get to see the show!
Thanks Uncle Ben for coming to visit us!
XOXO
Oh, and PS, Mommy asked me to say 'Please vote for our blog on "Top Baby Blogs"!' All you have to do is CLICK HERE, and then click on the left of the screen that pops up, and that's it. Our blog is currently ranked at #30...and Mommy says to say THANK YOU so much to everyone who has voted. (And also FYI you can vote once a day if you want to vote again.) Mommy's going to ask for votes all week and then quit bugging you all, she promises!
Luke's Diary: 6 Months
Hi Mommy's Blog Readers!
We--me and Sissy--turned six months old last Saturday! So exciting! So much has been happening, too!
We got a new playroom, with white shaggy carpet...Mommy will show you some more pictures sometime soon. Everyone calls it Baby Land, and it's the perfect place for us to play...so nice to have all of our toys in one place, too. Mommy says it's child proofed--whatever that means. And Mommy says the house...things are finally starting to get back to normal...I mean, there are still babies, she says, but the whole house and everyone's life being totally dominated every inch and every second...that's starting to mellow out a little.
Oh, and now Daddy is playing a game called "Berlin Wall" with us. There is a wall on the back side of the couch that separates the living room from our playroom (which is enclosed, and Mommy says originally used to be a small screened-in porch.) Anyway, Daddy will say, "Let's play Berlin Wall," and he'll lift us up over the partition and lower us down into the playroom on the other side and say, "Good job Bubs! You made it to West Berlin! You're free!." And Grandpa will join in with, "Checkpoint Charlie!" and Mommy will laugh so hard.
Mommy hasn't been TOO busy with work, so some days she and Daddy can walk with us downtown for lunch...it's so fun...
We're changing lots, me and Sissy...Mommy says we're changing every single day...pushing WAY up un our arms, starting to sit unassisted, so close to crawling, really Mommy and Daddy expect it any day now.
We've also really discovered the dogs. Any time one of the boxers comes close, we squeal with laughter. Really, is there anything more fun than a boxer? They're so sweet and gentle with us, too.
And we're starting to sleep in the crib...Daddy partitioned it off with a breathable bumper so we each have half...Mommy says it looks like we each have our own little cubicle.
And we're moving around like crazy these days, rolling over and scooting backwards, the up on the arms thing like I was talking about before, going way up on our tiptoes and jumping up and down when somebody holds us. Daddy says it's like we're Mexican jumping beans.
Mommy's friend Marco sent both of us these great red hats...here I am in mine...it's starting to get cold enough in the mornings where we can wear something like this out on the days Mommy walks us downtown to get her and Daddy coffee...
I love hanging out with Mommy in her office and helping her work...
And then there are always stories in the evening...
And we're starting to hold our own bottles, me especially, although Mommy is still breastfeeding us too as much as she can...
Oh, and we LOVE mirrors. Endlessly fascinating.
And we've started on some vegetables...here's Sissy after carrots. I don't really understand why Mommy and Daddy will only feed us right before a bath, but there you have it.
And some pictures of Daddy. Gosh, we love our Daddy. Good things have been happening with his job hunt, Mommy says, which Mommy says is important. But we have SO loved having him around for--as Mommy says--these first few precious months. Even if he does the nap ogre thing on us (holding us tight to him until we go to sleep for our nap.) If we cry, he says we're singing the Nap Ogre Blues.
Daddy says mushy things sometimes, too. Like the other day he said about Sissy, "The only way she could be sweeter is if she had cream filling."
Also, he's always making Mommy laugh, although I don't always get the joke. Like the other day:
Mommy: "There's a Mommy & Me yoga class starting up. I'd love to go. But what do I do with the twins? I guess I'd just take a different one every other week."
Daddy: "Yeah, but then they'd forget the moves."
Mommy laughed so hard at that one. I love it when Mommy laughs.
So that's the update. All is well. We are just the happiest, smiliest, mellowest little babies you could imagine. And Mommy says every day we are making all of her dreams come true.
Love,
Luke
Luke's Diary: Our First Camping Trip!
Hi Mommy's Blog Readers!
Today Mommy said I could tell you about the camping trip we took for our first Labor Day weekend! I don't know what Labor Day is about; all I know is Mommy got an extra day off so we got to spend LOTS of time with her.
We got hungry on the ride over, but Mommy fed me as soon as we arrived. That's Uncle Ben's motorcycle in the background...Mommy didn't get any pictures of him this trip, but he was there and it was so fun to see him!
Grammy and Grandpa were there, too. They helped hold us, so we didn't have to sit in the dirt:
The grown-ups made a fire pit for campfires. I've seen fire before at Uncle Ben's...I love watching it...just stare at it, totally mesmerized.
Me and Sissy and Mommy and Daddy had our own tent. Mommy and Daddy bought it used from a friend of Uncle Ben's last weekend. Mommy says she and Daddy went camping in California last summer right before she got pregnant with us, and they camped in her backpacking tent like always, but a friend of Mommy's had a big comfy tent and ever since Daddy saw it he's wanted one. Mommy figured it was a good investment as we'll probably all be car camping--not backpacking--for a few years at least. (Plus, she says, how awesome to get one used and not have to spend the money on a new one.)
And then Uncle Ben and his girlfriend and Grammy and Grandpa stayed in Uncle Ben's camper:
Here's the inside of our tent. We all slept on this air mattress with two sleeping bags zipped together...it was pretty cushy. Mommy says to tell you I'm using the term "sleep" loosely...being in a strange place, we didn't really sleep all that much.
We camped RIGHT next to a pretty little stream...it sounded so nice. Grammy took me and Sissy and put our feet in it. I loved it; Sissy started crying, but I understand...it WAS pretty cold.
Daddy napped me, like he does at home:
There were also these rock cliffs on both sides of our campsite. We saw a marmot on the rocks one morning. And Mommy went out on the ATV with Grandpa that same day and told me they say two big deer--one with fuzzy antlers--and a red fox. She also said the aspen were just starting to turn, with little bits of yellow.
Oh, and Daddy brought our swing. Good call, Daddy!
Our boxers came camping too. Here's Newton keeping the ball away from all the other dogs:
Oh! And Mommy and Grammy took us on our first hike, too! We went on the Colorado Trail, just off of Marshall Pass:
Mommy said that's Mount Ouray, and that maybe we'll all climb it someday:
Sissy got hungry on the trail, but Mommy was prepared, and Grammy fed her a bottle while we walked:
It rained most of the hike...Mommy did her best to keep me dry:
Sissy was in the Baby Bjorn and I was in the Moby Wrap, both of which worked pretty well for hiking. I can't say that we LOVED our first hike, because it was raining and frankly, me and Sissy were both a little bit cranky. But everyone made it back safe and Mommy says we'll try again soon.
Whne we got back to camp, Daddy had made a spit out of willow branches and was roasting sausages. The grown-ups had Smores that night, too. Mommy told me when I'm a little older I can have a Smore too. She said that they are divine.
<<Insert second sleepless night in a row here.>>
And then it was morning and the last day of the trip. Grammy held us and then Mommy held us while Daddy and Grandpa broke camp. (Uncle Ben had to be back so he had left the day before.)
My conclusion of camping (me and Sissy both): We love being outside! Camping was super fun! (Although hiking in the rain is kind of for the birds.)
And Mommy says to tell you her conclusion of camping with two five-month-olds, and I quote: "A lot of work, not much sleep, but sooooooooo fun and worth it!"
Love,
Luke
Zoey's Diary: Five Months
Hi Hi Hi!
Can you believe me and Luke--we're five months old! Fair warning: Mommy went a little crazy with the pictures this month...
Lots of tummy time lately...we're getting so strong...
We're smiling and laughing, talking and cooing and making lots of noise overall. I make these high-pitched squeals that Mommy and Daddy say make me sound like a baby teradactyl.
Toys are a big thing now...but our attention span isn't very long...
I call my brother Bubs you know...here's Bubs with Grammy and Grandpa's dog Jack...we're getting to be such good friends with the dogs in our lives...
Bubs is holding his own bottle some of the time these days. I do, too, but not as often:
And Bubs racked out at Grammy and Grandpa's. We're doing better with naps, and sleeping at night these days...
One of Grammy's best friends came to visit a few weeks ago...Sandie...Mommy said she remembers Sandie so well from growing up. Sandie brought Mommy and Daddy a meal when we were tiny babies...it was so good to see her again.
We've been spending lots of time with Grammy and Grandpa. We love them so much.
Here's Grandpa and Bubs. Grandpa will pick him or me up and say, "Hey! Do you want to ride to Texas? That's what my Grandpa used to do with me." And then he sits us on his knee like we're riding a horse and jiggles us up and down. Mommy says it makes her so happy to see previous generations living on. She told us Grandpa's Grandpa was from Sweden, and came to Texas and was a cowboy, and then moved to Seattle and became a blacksmith...that's where our Grandpa knew him.
Grandma Charlotte came to visit us this month, too. We love Grandma Charlotte!
Grandpa is drying fruit right now from the orchard:
We got a taste (even though according to Mommy fruit is not allowed yet as we are JUST starting on solids.)
I've got this eating-upside-down thing going on:
Here are me and Grandma Charlotte and Mommy in Palisade...we went there for lunch one day and then drove back through the orchards and vineyards...so fun.
Our Mommy works sometimes, but she's usually with us at the same time. She loves us so much it's hard for her to be away from us. Sometimes she really has to concentrate though, and when that happens she gives us to Daddy or Grammy for a little while.
Here's some more pictures of me and Bubs with Mommy:
And us with Daddy. Oh my gosh, we love our Daddy soooooooo much! He's got some new fun stuff going on with us. Like letting us ride on his shoulders. And he's been watching Spider-Man cartoons with Bubs, and the other day he held my brother up to the ceiling and wiggled him along it like he was crawling on the ceiling all the while singing a made-up song that went, "Spider-Bubs, Spider-Bubs, doing everything that a Spider-Bubs can." Mommy laughed so hard. She said we need a video of Spider Bubs.
Daddy doesn't do Spider Man with me, but his nickname for me is Cheese and he also calls me his princess. The other day he called me Princess Cheese, of the Pouf Pouf Clan. Daddy has the best names for me! He also calls me Cranky Pants sometimes (of course he's been calling me Sissy Pants since Day 1). Lately, he and Mommy have been talking about Freezy Pants, which Mommy says is my potential little brother or sister, in the freezer at the fertility clinic in Denver.
Mommy loves these pictures of me.
In the mornings, Mommy hangs out with us. Sometimes we go for walks, but sometimes we just hang out in our PJs:
Or get dressed and just chill in the bed. Mommy plays songs on her iPhone and we sing and she helps each of us dance to the music one at a time.
Afternoons during the week Mommy often works, and Daddy will nap us. (Afternoons on the weekend--really pretty much all weekend--Daddy says it's one baby per customer.)
Sometimes he holds one on either side of him and lets us fuss until we all fall asleep. We call him the Nap Ogre when her does that. We cry really hard for like a minute and then go right to sleep.
And now, we come to the rice cereal part of this post. We love rice cereal, but Mommy and Daddy only give it to us right before our bath. Mommy says she knows rice cereal can be messy, but this is ridiculous.
I'm pretty much focused on eating while I'm eating. Bubs sometimes makes noise, though. He'll go "num, num, num, num," which makes Mommy laugh so hard.
The mess is made worse by Daddy's "Eat It or Wear It" policy (although we get just as messy when Mommy feeds us):
So that's been our month. Fun, fun and more fun!
Bye for now!
Love,
Zoey
CORRECTIONS DEPT.:
My husband/Zoey's daddy read this after posting and said, "First of all, it's Princess Cheesy Poof Poof spelled "poof" not "pouf". And, it is not Princess Cheesy Poof Poof of the Poof Poof CLAN, it's the Poof Poof EMPIRE.
"Mommy doesn't fact check before she posts."
Luke's Diary: Palisade Peach Festival
Hi Mommy's Blog Readers!
Guess what we did this weekend? Palisade is one town over from where we live...it is full of orchards and vineyards, and this weekend was the Palisade Peach Festival, and we got to go!
Friday night Mommy didn't take any pictures, but we went and sat on the grass and listened to some music...the night was warm and the air smelled sweet and Mommy and Daddy had gyros and a beer each with peaches floating in it and there was a bluegrass band and then a rock band from Austin, Texas, which Mommy said sounded just like the music she used to go see on Sixth Street when she went to college down there. Grammy and Grandpa were there too. We had such a fun night.
And here we are Saturday morning...here's Sissy in what Mommy and Daddy call the "playpen" while they were getting us packed and ready. (By the way, I overheard Mommy saying that before she had kids she would never have considered buying something like this and putting it in her living room. But we have so much fun in it...she loves that we have it.)
And here I am in my car seat, ready to go:
Palisade is this really pretty town right at the base of some buttes:
There was quite a line for the pancake breakfast:
And then after the pancake breakfast...and oh! I almost forgot! While Mommy and Daddy were in line for pancakes, we hung out with Grammy and Grandpa, who had gotten there earlier and already had their pancakes. And Grandpa GAVE US BITES OF PANCAKES! (Even though Mommy says all we're supposed to be eating right now is rice cereal.) All I can say is, YUM.
Anyways, after the pancake breakfast, there was a PARADE! It was our first parade and it was so cool. We watched it sitting with Grammy and Grandpa, with Mommy and Daddy standing right behind us:
Oh, and by the way, has Mommy told you about Sophie the Giraffe? Me and Sissy, we each have one, and we LOVE them. They go with us pretty much everywhere.
There were two marching bands in the parade...they were loud but they were so cool:
And the Shiners riding in circles on thier motorcycles:
And the Peach Festival Queen and her court:
And my favorite, obviously--the fire truck. In the fire truck was the Town Grump, which Mommy thought was hil-arious. Apparently, it's an elected position.
So that was the Peach Festival. It was so fun! Grandpa says he hopes wherever Mommy and Daddy move it is a small town that has things like this. I agree.
Love,
Luke
First Solids--Too Good Not to Share :)
Hi Everyone! Happy Tuesday!
So last week we introduced Luke and Zoey to rice cereal...oh my gosh, how cute is this?!?
Since that first time we've learned to feed them in their washable Bumbos only, on the wooden kitchen floor, in just a diaper, right before bath time. It's also not a bad idea to be wearing something you're prepared to have rice cereal on.
Every day they're loving the cereal more. And--may be coincidence, maybe not--Zoey is starting to sleep through the night. :)
XOXO
Naming a Son After a Brother Who Died Young: Some Thoughts
Interesting article in the New York Times a few days ago, entitled Naming a Son After a Brother Who Died Young, by Linda K. Wertheimer. In it, she talks about her reasons for NOT doing this, which seem to boil down to the pain it would cause her and her family, and the undue burden it would place on her son.
As some of you know, I have experience with this as well. My brother Luke died in an accident at 27, seven years ago now. We were living together at the time, and his death was by far the hardest thing I've ever had to deal with.
I'd thought about if I were to have a boy I might want to name him Luke, but I always assumed that my husband wouldn't want to. He never knew my brother (I met my husband a few months after my brother's death), and it's been hard for him, how sad I've been for so, so long about what I for years saw as not only the end of my brother's life, but the end of my life, too.
When we started talking about names for the twins, though, it was my husband who said, "Let's name our son Luke." I was so excited to do so, and feel like that encouragement to use my brother's name was such a gift from my husband.
I did have a few reservations, though, some along the same lines of those held by the woman who wrote this article. Would it make me sad to say my brother's name all the time? Would it be too big a burden to place on my child? Would we have expectations that my son would be like my brother?
My son Luke is just four-and-a-half months old, but the experience so far has been very positive. It's not painful to say his name; on the contrary, the name "Luke" is no longer tinged with such sadness...it's easier than ever to say it, hear it, see it written, and I like that my brother Luke is living on in some small way. It's like he's more a part of our world than he has been in a long time, and that makes me very happy.
And while I still think of my brother, it doesn't happen every time I use or hear my son's name. My parents are now in the habit of saying "Our Luke" and "Your Luke" when there needs to be clarification of who we're talking about; I think we all see them as two very separate people, their name being a sweet and loving connection.
I understand making the decision not to use a brother's name. But for us, it's worked. I'm so glad we did it.
XOXO
Zoey's Diary: Mommy's Birthday (Glenwood Springs, Colorado)
Hi! Hi! Hi!
Mommy said that today I could tell you guys about the trip we all took over the weekend for her birthday. You guys! It was SO FUN!
Mommy's birthday was Friday, and she took the day off. She told me that years ago when she was a surf instructor she had to work on her birthday and was so bummed about it (even though being a surf instructor was fun work, it was still work, she said). Anyway, she has taken her birthday off ever since.
That morning, we got up early with her and hung out upstairs and laughed and played and danced like we do lately most mornings. And then me and Bubs took a nap TOGETHER--which we almost never do--so that Mommy could pack.
We stopped for lunch just me and Luke and Mommy and Daddy, at a burger place called Vicco's...Mommy says they have the best hamburgers ever!
We hung out in our stroller and had bottles at the end of the meal.
And then for Mommy's birthday Grandma and Grandpa got rooms for us and them and Uncle Ben and his girlfriend at the Hotel Colorado...it was my first hotel and Mommy says it's one of the good ones. Mommy says she has a thing for hotels...not expensive ones, necessarily, just ones that are cool and have some character. She said it was SUCH a treat to get to stay here.
The hotel is right across from the Glenwood Hot Springs. Mommy didn't go there this trip, but she did go with Grandma to the Vapor Caves, which Mommy says are like a natural steam room. Mommy got a massage, too. Meanwhile, Daddy and Grandpa were watching us, and we screamed and screamed, Daddy thinks because the room was kind of hot. But by the time Mommy got back, we were sleeping like little angels.
Here are some pictures of Glenwood. We walked downtown for dinner...everyone ate kind of late because we were waiting for Uncle Ben to get here. Everyone but me and Luke had Italian food at the Italian Underground. Luke and I slept in our stroller.
Mommy got lots of presents, like some books and this trip from Grandma and Grandpa, and a ruby necklace from us and Daddy. Oh, and she wanted me to show you how Uncle Ben wrapped his gift. (The flower was added on by his secretary.)
The next day was so fun, although Mommy didn't take many pictures. We all went to breakfast together, and then Luke and I went walking with Grandma and Grandpa. Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Ben and his girlfriend went and test-drove the new car Daddy wants to get once he has a job, and then they went up the canyon a little ways and sat on rocks by the river in the sun and waved to the people going by in rafts and kayaks and on paddle boards. Mommy says she can't wait until we are old enough to go on the river.
The last part of the time together was supposed to be going to Uncle Ben's favorite Mexican restaurant ever...but when we got there, it was shut down for nonpayment of taxes. Mommy says hopefully it is open again soon.
And then we drove home and all slept and slept. Mommy says the trip was sooooooo worth all the effort--and one of the best birthdays she's ever had--but she was tired afterwards. I'm sure that had nothing to do with the fact I woke her up at 2 AM and spent the next three hours trying to play. I was so cute...it was hard for her to be firm with me about going back to sleep. Finally, I got fussy, and when that happened Daddy woke up, and Mommy handed me to Daddy and I went right to sleep. Honestly, how hard is it to figure out when a girl just wants her Daddy?
Anyway, it was a super fun trip, and I can't wait to do another one!
Love,
Zoey
Luke's Diary: Four Months
Hi Mommy's Blog Readers!
It's my turn to tell you about all that's been happening!
Well, first of all, it's summer, and Sissy and I have been spending LOTS of time outside. (But in the shade, of course. Mommy says we're not ready for sun yet.) Here we are on the lawn at Grandma and Grandpa's, one of our favorite places:
Here's our boxer, Newton. He's always looking out for us. Mommy tries to keep him from licking our faces, but I don't really mind.
Here's Grandpa Steve! We love Grandpa Steve!
And here's Grandpa Steve playing airplane with Sissy. We both really like airplane:
Uncle Ben was over visiting us, too. We love seeing Uncle Ben!
We're doing a bedtime routine that involves baths now, but earlier in the month we were sometimes taking baths in the morning over at Grandma and Grandpa's. They have a nice big tub where we would take baths together. We love to kick and splash!
Here's me and Sissy on a blanket that used to be our Mama's when she was a baby:
You know what's the coolest thing? FEET! I just discovered mine, and nothing else is as entertaining:
Sissy's more about her hands. Sometimes she gets me when she's waving them around, but I know she doesn't mean anything bad...it's just her way of saying hi!
And here's our Mama holding us. She went back to work about a month ago (but only part-time, she wants me to tell you), so we don't get to play with her 24/7 anymore, but she's still with us a lot. She takes breaks if we need her. And the weekends are really special now, because we get to spend all day together.
Mama tries to get us tummy time every day:
Me and Sissy, we're both rolling over...here's Sissy caught in the act!
Mommy and Daddy have been taking us to lots of outdoor music. Here I am with Grandma Peggy at the Samples, which is a band Mama used to see when she was in college. This was our fourth outdoor concert!
And here's Sissy with Daddy that same night:
Isn't Daddy's hat cool? Mommy says I need to be sitting up before I can have a hat like that.
Speaking of Daddy, he's taking care of us the part of the day when Mommy is working. We loooooove our Daddy! You know how a lot of kids are really bonded to their mothers? Me and Sissy, we're pretty much bonded to Mommy and Daddy equally, because they both spend so much time with us. Mommy says we're super lucky it's like this.
Daddy is so fun! His new game is Bongo Drums, where he lays Sissy and I side by side and then plays the drums on our tummies. Sissy smiles big smiles for him, but I'm the one who laughs and laughs. The other day, I was laughing so hard Mommy had to leave her office and come into the bedroom to see what was up. We let her sit and play with us for a while. Daddy's also really good at airplane, and of course making us dance. And he's been playing Unicorn with Sissy, where he licks the back of a pacifier and sticks it to her forhead. It's hil-arious.
Like I said, Sissy and I are getting baths every evening these days. We like our baths (most days). After baths we get baby lotion massages, and then we eat, and then Mommy sits with us and we say thank you for all the good things that happened during the day, and then sometimes she sings us a song, and then we go to bed. We've been pretty good about going to bed at a decent time; Mommy says the routine is good for us. Sometimes I don't want to do a routine, though, and those times Mommy and Daddy let me hang out with them until I get tired.
While GOING to sleep is going well, STAYING asleep is not guarenteed. Daddy says we heard the Beastie Boys singing 'No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn' and we took it to heart.
Mornings are our time with Mommy. Sometimes we go for a walk, sometimes we go downtown and get coffee or breakfast, but sometimes, especially lately, we just hang out in the bedroom while Daddy gets a little sleep in the guest room downstairs (he's tired because he stays up with us lots of nights so Mommy can get some sleep so she can concentrate at work).
We nap sometimes, and eat, and Mommy plays music for us so we can dance (this morning it was Katy Perry), and we read stories and play with toys. We are really starting to get interested in toys. This is Squidly, and he rattles and makes crackle noises. Sissy has a pink-and-gray stuffed mouse named Pinky, but she still takes Squidly from me sometimes. The other day she did it and I cried. I know she isn't doing it to be mean....her hands just run into Squidly and get tangled up. Still, I wanted Squidly back.
So that's what's been going on. We are having the best, best, best time...happiest babies ever.
Love,
Luke
Jeff + Luke
The resemblance between my husband and my son is amazing. Check it out (you can tell which photos are from the '70s by photo quality):
Happy Monday!
XO
Zoey's Diary: Fourth of July
Hi! Hi! Hi!
Mommy said I could tell you guys about our first Fourth of July. You guys! It was so fun! Except there weren't any fireworks because of all the fires in Colorado. I don't know what fireworks are, but Mommy said it's not really Fourth of July without them. She says next year we should get to see for ourselves. I hope so!
Fourth of July was a Wednesday, which means we got to go to Grandma and Grandpa's...we always go over there on Wednesdays. They live in this area called the Redlands, and all along the streets up there there were flags:
Mommy and Grandpa went for a hike like they always do, and we stayed and played with Grandma. Here are some pictures Mommy took on her hike:
Mommy said there's been some construction going on to the west of this lake, and she and Grandpa jumped the fence to see what it was all about. (It was Grandpa's idea, she said.) She says she thinks it was fish ponds, lots of square ponds side by side with rubber lining the steep edges. She says Grandpa's dog Jack and our boxer Newton jumped into one of the ponds and couldn't get out, so Mommy had to go into the pond and help. Mommy says going anywhere with Grandpa is always an adventure!
After the hike, Mommy came back and hung out with us and Grandma, and Mommy took a nap in the hammock with us. Grandma made lunch and we sat on laps while they played Upwords, which Mommy says is Like Scrabble but you can stack letters on top of each other. Grandma and Grandpa are already teaching us how to play. I think they are pretty hard to beat, though...Mommy almost never wins.
After that we went home and hung out with Daddy! Mommy and Daddy took us out to the yard and played with us on the grass. Here's my fourth of July outfit...isn't it cute? It's red, white and blue with the red bow in my hair:
And here's Bub'ses outfit...he got stars and stripes:
Grandma and Grandpa went to the parade, but Daddy said it was too hot for us. After, they came over and Daddy made dinner, teriyaki burgers and all the sides, and red, white and blue parfaits for dessert. Daddy said next year we can have some! Yay!
So that was our Fourth of July. I thought it was pretty great, even without the fireworks. :)
Love,
Zoey
Luke's Diary: Father's Day Weekend
Hi Mommy's blog readers!
We had such a fun Father's Day weekend...I can't wait to tell you all about it!
On Saturday, we went to our first festival...the Bluegrass Festival in Palisade. Uncle Ben came to visit, and Grandma Charlotte, and Grandma Peggy and Grandpa Steve were there, too. Sissy and I lay on our monkey blanket in the grass and listened to music and there were lots of people to play with us, and when we cried nobody was disturbed because the music was louder. Mommy says music festivals are a good place to bring babies! Mommy and Daddy and Uncle Ben had beers, and everyone ate good food, and Mommy and Daddy even got us tie-dyed onesies...Mommy said it was the perfect day for us to be little Colorado hippie kids! Oh, and Uncle Ben held me for a while and you wouldn't believe all the women that came up to talk with him! I'm going to have to hang out with him more often...he needs a wife so me and Sissy can get some cousins! It was warm and the cottonwoods were letting go of their cotton...Mommy said it looked like snow, but I don't know because I haven't seen snow yet (although I can't wait to see it because Mommy says she's going to take me and Sissy skiing the first chance she gets.)
The next day, Sunday, we spent the day at Grandma Peggy's and Grandpa Steve's, so we could let Daddy sleep in extra long. Here we are in the hammock. Mommy always lays us next to each other...and as often as not we end up all entwined:
We got to meet somebody new, too--Jane, who was visiting Grandma and Grandpa on her way from Nashville to Jackson Hole, where she lives in the summer. Mommy says we're going to get to go to Jackson Hole and Yellowstone when we're a little older. She also said to tell you that Jane blogs here. I liked Jane a lot and so did Sissy!
Daddy finally came over after his nap, so we could tell him Happy Father's Day! Our dad is the absolute best! (And Mommy's not so bad either.)
Here's everyone between dinner and presents, except Uncle Ben had to leave early to drive home. Daddy and Grandpa Steve both got tools, and me and Sissy also gave Daddy stuffed animals, an owl and a piglet, that he can use when he plays with us.
Father's Day was so fun! I can't wait for next year!
Love,
Luke
Zoey's Diary: Three Months
Hi Hi Hi!!!
Here I am, because Mommy said I could tell you all about the past month! So much has happened!
My brother and I, we're laughing and smiling and cooing all the time. And I even have started to roll over. And Bubs (that's what I call my brother) is not very far behind!
We're doing all sorts of new things, like sitting in the bouncy chair:
And the Bumbo...we like our Bumbos, but just for short periods of time:
Our coffee table has wheels and is round, and sometimes Daddy will sit us on it in our Bumbos and rotate the table all the way around so we can take in everything that's going on.
Baths are so fun:
And we're doing Tummy Time all over the place! We're both getting so strong!
Here are some pictures of me:
My hair has been going crazy sticking up in the back. Daddy calls it peacock head:
And of Bubs:
Mommy loves us so much. She's still nursing us as much as she can, although we have to have bottles too because she doesn't make enough milk for the two of us. When Daddy brings me over to her to nurse, he says like he is talking over the intercom at a restaurant: "Zoey! Reservation at the cow for Zoey! Your cow is now available!"
This was Mommy's last month of maternity leave, and she spent a ton of time with us:
Mommy lays with us in the hammock at Grandma and Grandpa's some:
We also hang out there just me and Bubs a lot, because we spend every Wednesday with Grandma and Grandpa, and sometimes other days too:
This flower quilt is the one Mommy's OB/Gyn made for her...isn't it beautiful?
We went on our first road trip this month, to Uncle Ben's, up in the Colorado mountains. Here I am with Uncle Ben on his birthday:
And with Grandpa Steve:
The dogs we live with--mom calls them boxers--like us a lot! Mommy tries to make sure they don't lick us, but there are a lot of close calls:
Daddy has been home with us, since he just graduated from college and he's job hunting. He stays up with us all night, so Mommy can sleep. Mommy says he's her rock. We love our Daddy!
Daddy snuggles us lots. He also plays with us lots. Like he'll hold me up in the air on my back and wiggle me forward and say "Backstroke!" It's hil-arious! I'm going to have to get Mommy to take a video of it. He also helps us do funny dances with musical sound effects, punctuated by "Dance, Dance Cheese!" (Cheese is my nickname) said loud at the end of it.
And we got hats! Check out Baba's (that's my other nickname for my brother):
And here are some more pictures of me. Everyone's always taking pictures of me. Sometimes Daddy says in my voice, like I'm talking to him, "Daddy! Please take care of the paparazzi, Daddy! Make them stop, Daddy!"
Here's me doing a cheerleading pose. I kick and sqeal a lot! (By the way, Daddy says of the squealing that I'm a girl, and so of coure I have to talk about EVERYTHING!)
We are such happy babies! We are having the best time!
Love,
Zoey
Graduation
My husband graduated with his engineering degree on a beautiful, sunny Saturday.
He wanted to keep things low-key, so we had a barbecue after, just family.
(In fact, he told me he didn't even need that.
"But I want to make it special for you," I said.
"Every day hanging out with you and the kids is special," he replied.)
Love the pics at the end with the kids in the graduation hat...
XOXO
P.S. I just realized I don't have any pictures of his mom in here. She was taking the pictures...lovely to have her with us on this special this day...
Luke's Diary: Month 2
Hi!
Luke here. :) Mommy said I can do the two month update, since Zoey got to do the one month one. Things are pretty great! Daddy was finishing with school this month, so Grandma Peggy spent lots of time with us...it was so fun...we love Grandma Peggy!
Here's Sissy in the basket we used to share:
We're really too big to fit in it together now. These days, we make the rounds between the basket, the swinging chair and the bouncy chair. I miss sleeping next to Sissy, though.
Speaking of sleep, Daddy has been staying up with us from 10 to 4 or 5, and then Mommy hangs out with us in the morning while Daddy sleeps. They are so much more rested than they were when they were both feeding us at every feeding.
Here's another picture of Sissy:
And a couple of me:
And some of us together:
Everyone says me and Sissy are such easy babies. Except she wants what she wants when she wants it. Daddy made up a voice for her when she gets like that...kind of like an old-fashioned diva movie star, like Katharine Hepburn.
"Daddy!" Daddy says in his Zoey voice. "Feed me now, Daddy!"
Or: "Cuddle me, Daddy."
I just have a normal baby voice when Daddy does me, because most of the time I'm like, whateves. I do get some uncomfortable gas sometimes, though. Daddy says that's because my gasometer is broken.
We went on a picnic at the lake a little while ago, and Sissy got fussy and Grandpa Steve took her so Mommy could finish her dinner:
Grandpa Steve took her to the playground, and when they came back he told us they had had a career talk.
"Zoey doesn't want to be a writer like Mommy or an engineer like Daddy," he said. "She told me she wants to be a pediatrician or a fireman or maybe a pharmacist."
Grandma Charlotte came out for Daddy's graduation. I was so happy to see her again:
Here are some more pictures of Sissy:
And here she is with Daddy:
He does stuff like turn us upside down all the time. We love Mommy, but Daddy's the one who makes us laugh. Like when Mommy reads us a story, she just reads the words on the page. But when Daddy reads us a story, he makes up other stuff to go along with it. Like when he reads The Very Hungry Caterpillar, he gives the caterpillar a silly name like Federico McFuzzy Pants. And we get asides on stuff like caterpillar backstory and motivation.
And one night, we were crying for food and Daddy and Mommy weren't moving fast eonugh for me and Sissy and Daddy said in my voice: "Stupid cows." (He calls himself the man cow, and the formula he gives us fake moo. He calls Mommy the Mama Cow, and her milk the real moo.)
"Stupid cows," he said in my voice. "What does a boy have to do to get some milk around here?" And then later he looked up on the internet to see if there was a song named Stupid Cow and there was and it was a techno song and he did a little dance pretending it was me...my same jerky arm movements and everything. He made Mommy laugh so hard!
Or sometimes he'll make jokes. Like Sissy has a birthmark on her leg, and you know we were in the freezer as embryos before we got put into Mommy's tummy. Daddy says the mark on Sissy is freezer burn.
Mommy can be funny too, like when she and Daddy race to see who can get their baby buckled into the car seat the fastest. (They double and triple check for safety, afterwards, though.) But mostly she just hugs us and cuddles us and feeds us and burps us and changes us, gives us baths, rocks us and generally loves on us. (Daddy does all that too. Except for the bath part.) Mommy reads to us a lot, too, sometimes age-appropriate books, but she's also been reading me and Sissy poems out of her Poetry magazine, and I think she's been reading Sissy Vogue, too.
Here's Mommy and my grandmas on Mother's Day:
Daddy helped me and Sissy with presents for Mommy. She said it made her sooooooo happy.
Those outfits we have on are outfits Mommy wore when she was a baby, by the way. Don't we look cute in them?
Bye for now! (And Mommy says to say thanks for stopping by.)
Luke
A Psychic, a Birthmark, and Some Thoughts on Reincarnation
Hi Everyone! Happy Tuesday!
I'm getting all hippie and "new agey" around here today...be forewarned...
So my mom went to see a psychic a few years ago, in relation to my brother/her son's death. Recently, she told me about it, and let me listen to a recording of the session. Lots of really interesting things in there, including something really remarkable about my children that I want to share.
The psychic was talking as though my brother were communicating with her, and she said there was a little girl with him, a real chatterbox, and that that little girl would come into our lives. And it's easy to think that that little girl was Zoey, because, no question, she is our chatterbox.
But here's the cool part. The psychic said several times throughout the session that my brother kept pointing to his left leg...she kept asking my mom did he have a scar or tattoo there? Or did Kristen? (They talked about me quite a bit in the session.) My mom said no, but it kept coming up.
Well, Zoey has a very prominent birthmark on her left leg. And I know it could just be coincidence, but I get goose bumps thinking about it.
On a related note, I wrote before about the possibility that my brother could be reincarnated into one of my children, and I thought before they were born that it would be very clear to me if that happened. The reality...you know, some days I think maybe my son Luke is my brother's soul or whatever you want to call it reincarnated. I like to think of him and Zoey together, like the psychic was saying, and then coming down to be with me. It's like Luke (my son) brought a friend with him, to travel through life with him, and that makes me smile.
But other times, I'm not so sure...I feel like my brother is watching over all of us, and will be there for me when I die, neither of which can really be the case if he's been reincarnated, right? Also, my son is so very mellow and laid back...whereas "intense" is the word I would use to describe my brother. There was nothing mellow about him.
Either way, it doesn't really matter. I will always see and treat my son as his own individual and unique person.
Who knows if there's any validity to all this, anyway. It just gives me comfort to think that there might be...
Hope everyone's having a lovely week.
XOXO