Dr. Seuss challenge

Good evening friends and family,

It feels like Easton and Layla are getting heavier by the day. I should start measuring my biceps for growth because carrying them around in the car seat is a pretty good work out. At least I have twins so both arms should grow equally. I see moms of single babies carrying the lone baby on one hip and I have to wonder how they don't develop problems from leaning so far over all the time to balance the weight!

Seeing the picture of Marisue and Easton really shows how big of a boy he's getting to be and Layla seems to be continually behind by a couple of pounds. The pediatrician says the current size of the twins doesn't have much correlation to how tall or large they will be when they finish growing in the teens, but who knows. I'm all about statistics and percentiles, so I want to know as much as possible about what to expect.

Anyway, today we went shopping all over phoenix for a double jogging stroller and I gotta tell you, they are NOT easy to find. Some places have single joggers, but that doesn't do us much good. We still need to check REI, but already looked at Babys 'r us, toys 'r us, Dicks sporting goods, a local bike shop, and some other places. And by the way, we need to find one with a drink holder. It's Ar-I-ZON-A people! it gets hot here and I'm not sure who designs the baby joggers, but they need to make them with cup holders so we don't pass out as we run around the neighborhood... We found one online that we like, but it is $660. That's correct, I didn't goof on the price. We'll probably end up getting the $200 model from the sporting goods store that we both like. Also, we are looking on Craigslist every day and hopefully will come across a double that is even cheaper. One thing I learned very quickly is that baby gear is expensive and I can't figure out for the life of me how some people have 5+ kids and are still able to survive. Here's picture from cyber space that seems appropriate with that last comment and puts things into perspective on how privileged we live:



After that I went to martial arts practice and then Kendra went to her gym so we each had some alone time to get some activity and alone time with the twins. Nana and Papa Webb were on Skype last night and we are so glad to have that capability now with them (yeah)! We see and talk to Oma and Opa Burgess every day and it's so much more meaningful to communicate that way. Today we were able to put the microphone up to Layla's mouth as she sucked on the pacifier with perfect cadence. Oma and Opa could hear her very clearly and it sounded a lot like Maggie from "The Simpsons". Very humorous, but I guess you had to be there. Feel free to look us up on Skype and I'll be happy to share the laughs with YOU as makes the squeaky noises with her pacifier!

During one of the naps I had to get a picture of the twins sleeping. For one thing, they do that OFTEN so that is the perfect opportunity to sneak a picture. Layla gave up on her pacifier in the middle of the nap, but you can see it is still close by! If you click on the picture and see the bigger version, you can notice Easton's looooong eyelashes (he gets that from me). I've never heard a girl say, "wow, look at the long eyelashes on THAT guy", but I like to think it adds to how good looking he is. :)



Here's two more pictures, one that shows how Easton (known occasionally as chunky monkey 2) is really plumping up like a little grape and looking cute as ever. The other picture shows Layla's big, thoughtful eyes and her tiny fist clinched and showing the "power to the peanut" sign as always.

My sister, Joanie, gave me a new writing challenge so I want to let you know what I'll be working on for the next few days. Here's what she wrote:

Thing 1 and Thing 2, as they are known in the Cat and the Hat...remember them?? The little ones who cause havok in the house with the cat? Dust off your Cat and the Hat book. I bet you could write your very own rhyming blog, Dr. Seuss style, about your adventures with your own Thing 1 and Thing 2....ok--sounds like I've just issued a challenge..... If you hadn't written all about yourself and your underwear, I wouldn't have to make you think about rhyming prose, BUT you did it to yourself!!! So, I challenge you to higher standards of writing composition....

She is coming to visit in 5 days {cheering from a crowd} so I'll try to get it done and posted before then, although we might be able to make some serious improvements on my "rough draft" while she's here. This will be exceptionally difficult because not much rhymes with "Peanut" or "Layla"... I'll look for comments once I get it posted!

Tomorrow is a big day for us as we become members of our church. We're very excited to finally settle in and start to do something for others. We've been floating along too long soaking in the work of what others put into the church. We're not sure what area we will get involved in to serve, but it will be nice to give of ourselves in whatever way we are needed.

Have a great Sunday and go to church. It's good for you. :)