Christmas is coming

Merry Christmas!

Today we are celebrating Christmas at Oma and Opa's house because Kendra's brother, Logan, is only able to be in town until tomorrow. He moved to So Cal last summer and has to head back for work. He's a master of Rock Band and Guitar Hero although having a baby or two tugging on your back pocket makes it more difficult to concentrate. it's obvious Easton looks up to Uncle Logan already.


and of course Layla jumped in on the action as well by whapping Logan's leg as he drummed to the beat.


Now that Easton and Layla are wondering around the house at will we are much more careful as we walk in and out of the rooms so as not to step on anyone. If you stand around long enough in the same room as the babies, you're bound to feel their little hands tugging on your pants or legs as they pull themselves up. Looking down at her cute face and hearing her "goo, goo, gah, gah" noises would bring a smile to even the scroogiest person.


Days off work seem to disappear with every blink of my eye. it should be the opposite where vacation days filled with doing absolutely nothing except playing with babies and eating should drag on endlessly while work days should fly by quick. i'm doing my best to make the most of the time babies are awake. I sat on the floor with a baby in each arm as they watched their video for the day. unfortunately the video was much more interesting than Logan trying to take the picture so Easton and Layla are looking around him at the video.


They are still right on schedule sleeping from 7:00 to 7:00 with two naps during the day. No complaints from us! Yesterday we gave Easton his first matchbox car. He was mildly interested in the wheels going around, but as with everything else at this stage he just checked it over a few times and stuck it in his mouth.


There was nothing symbolic about the type of car, but it's a Bentley in case you are wondering. This will be the only time in his life that a Bentley costs as much as a Camero so I may as well pick the superior car, right? We also bought Layla a dolly, but that wasn't much of a success. Kendra showed her how to rock the dolly, feed the dolly, and kiss the dolly. However, Layla immediately tried to bite the dolly's face so we have some serious work to do there.

See you again soon with holiday pictures from our Christmas dinner and games.

sky high

Hello friends and family,

We've had a fun-filled past few days and it looks like the party is just getting started. No more work for me until a few days into the new year, so it's time for the 4 Webbs to do some serious hanging out. First we had to do a little more child proofing at Oma and Opa's house because everything off limits was on the top of their list. We plugged all of the electrical sockets and gated the stairs since the twins would head over to the stairs every few minutes and we' have to retrieve them back to the play area. Now they stand at the gate and shake it back and forth like prisoners.


Bath time is always exciting and joyous. Nothing smells better than a freshly washed baby (or two). After strategically placing arms and hands, here's Kendra with Easton and Oma with Layla getting them ready for bed.


Opa is getting some good laughs and play time from both babies. They are really starting to interact and respond to the silly faces, dancing, and games.


One of Layla's new things is the "bob and weave" move where she dips her head down and around. It's a variation of the groovin' move and Opa taught her how to use it as a wrestling headlock kind of thing. You can also hear the full range of her extraordinary voice and a few of the many sounds she comes up with.



Kendra's brother, Logan, invited us to join him and his friends for a night out. Being the adventurous ones we agreed. The place we went was called Sky High and it's a recreational indoor facility with huge rooms of trampolines covering the floor and the walls. If either of our babies ever say mom and dad are no fun, i'll just show them this picture as proof we ARE!


and one other humorous one of Logan and I where he's showing me his skills.


That black thing on my waist is my cell phone. We wanted to make sure Oma and Opa could reach us if the babies woke up or if anything happened. There's nothing I can think of they couldn't handle, but we're still paranoid first-time parents so it was more of a security blanket for us than anything. I used to do front flips and back flips with no fear in my friend's backyard when I was a kid, but something is very different now. my equilibrium and balance was way off and I had a hard time getting up the courage to try even the easiest flips. Must be getting old, huh...

Just after these pictures some random guy landed wrong and broke both of his legs! i mean compound fracture through both bones and they were sticking out of his skin. That was without a doubt the most disturbing thing i've ever seen in real life.

I get the creepy shakes just thinking about it... Anyway, we walked to breakfast yesterday morning just for something to do since it was sunny, but still really cold. Plus we feel less guilty for drowning waffles in syrup if we walk to and from the restaurant. :) When we arrived home we stood on Oma and Opa's back porch pointing out ducks and water and trees for the twins. They did their best to communicate back with all kinds of noises. The only recognizable word was still "light" from Easton. They're trying though and that's the important part!


Another adventure was attending Kendra's friend's baby dedication and party. We've come to expect exceptional gatherings since they are always such great hosts. Easton and Layla came with us and we ended up quarantining off the living room as a coral of sorts to keep the twins from roaming around under everyone's feet. Several of the younger attendees of the party came over and played with us. As it turned out, Easton was a ladies man surrounded by all the girls who thought his toothy smile was adorable.

\
Easton is growing a sweet natural mullet and Momma threatens to give him a hair cut every day. :) Meanwhile, Layla was having an intense conversation with this boy using dragon voices.
She would wave her arms around in circles and make her loud noise then the boy would imitate her noises and motions.


That's about it for the exciting parts of the last few days. Watching TV and rain on the windows while sitting by the fireplace has been wonderfully relaxing. That's goooooood use of my time right now.

Home Sweet Home

Good Day Everyone!

I am so happy today. The babies are feeling better, woohoo, no more snotty noses. This morning Bronson was so great and let me sleep in. He did it all changed them, feed them and played with them. Uncle Logan was around to help out too.

After we woke up Uncle Logan, Bronson, the kids and me all went X-Mas shopping for my Dad and a baby gate. The twins are obsessed with the stairs. But before we started we had to get a Jamba Juice, I mean what are we thinking? It is 47 degrees outside. Oh well! It was sure tasty and the babies love it!

I love coming back home during this time. It is jacket and scarf weather. It is a nice break from always sunny and warm. When I come home I always have to stop by my favorite eats. I mean doesn't everyone do that. For me, it is Big Dip with their awesome fries and frosties. For my husband it is Andy's Famous Frozen Custard in Springfield Mo. I am sure that everyone has their home town fav's.

Below is a picture last Sunday of my BFF Megan and I at Fat's Chinese Restaurant. We had fun without the bambino's and hubby. Just us girls! Eating, laughing and talking.


Well it is time for me to take care of the babies. Love and Miss you all!

Kendra

Fears of the Father

Howdy folks,

I'll consider this "Confessional Wednesday" to get you in the right mindset for my post today. No one has ever asked me, "what is your greatest fear as a new father?", but after many months of avoiding posting my feelings about this question I thought today was as good of a day as any to write my thoughts. That was a really long run-on sentence...

Anyway, based on my knowledge of good and evil I know worry and anxiety and fear are not from God. I've gone back and forth in my head whether I even whisper the words to describe the fear in my head. I wonder if it is more wrong for me to have this fear and keep it from Kendra and the world or is it more wrong to speak the words and go against my core philosophy of "speaking life" into my children?

Obviously if i'm writing about this then i've decided sharing is a less egregious sin than the alternative. My biggest fear is losing one of my babies. I don't obsess about it all the time or have ulcers from the thought, but it IS there and it does cause my heart to race occasionally. Since these are my first (and only expected) babies, I don't have that "old hat" mentality someone with 5 kids has. So where did this start and what are the realities of my world? It started back when Kendra was still pregnant and I was doing lots of reading in preparation for the birth of the twins. I ran across SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) and the idea has perplexed me ever since. How can something so prevalent and devastating have NO answer as to the cause? sleeping on their stomach or too many blankets resulting in suffocation are a few of the unfounded causes, but how can I avoid such a disaster when no one knows what causes it? My concern heightened when one of my not-so-close friends lost his 5 month old boy to "SIDS", which is codeword for: no one knows the real cause of death. That's real. that's scary. Sadly enough, hitting so close to home in my personal circle of friends increased my fear.

The other root of my concern I identified is Kendra's false motherly insticts. Any time I come to bed late and accidently wake her up as I climb into bed or if she wakes in the middle of the night, she frantically asks, "where is Easton?" She tears the covers off the bed and tosses pillows around searching with her hands. Apparently she thinks he is in bed with us and he has rolled off the bed or worse, she's lying on him. Nothing has ever happened to cause this kind of reaction and I assure her every time he's safe in his crib. I can't tell if my fears have bled over into her subconscience or if her montherly instincts are affecting me? Either way, it's something I'll eventually get through because our babies are over 10 months old now and won't be considered "infants" much longer.

That's all I can think of to write about those feelings for now. I'm sure other fathers felt the same way occasionally. I just love my babies so much that I can't imagine anything like that happening to them. The "power of positive thinking" part of me continually prays against those thoughts and I speak words of life over them daily, but I won't lie... the fear of losing a baby is there. Part of the reason I am excited for them to turn 1 is because that is supposedly a milestone where I don't have to worry about SIDS any more. I know, I KNOW! I can't avoid them ever getting hurt. I'm not THAT naive to think I am "in control" and can keep them 100% pain free. They will scuff their little knees and bonk their noggins, but I'm ok with the accidental bumps and bruises. Every morning I walk in and find Layla jumping up and down while Easton rubs his eyes and squints up at me. That's the happiest part of my day... knowing they made it safely through another night and are ready to play the day away.

OK, back to the happy side of life and babies. We discovered a cute way to convey what happens every night between 6-7 PM for Easton and Layla. We say, "it's time for the 4 Webbs to have the four "B"s: The four B's are (in order) Bath, Books, Boobs, and Bed. The same routine every single night and it seems to work well for us all.

We went down town tonight for pizza and window shopping with Oma, Opa, and uncle Casey. Layla is continually intrigued by Casey's beard even though he chopped it down and shaved yesterday. I forgot he had dimples...


Even in the pizza parlor we had the obligatory anonymous smiley mom stop by and say, "Are they twins??? They are SOOO cute. I have twins also!" After dinner we walked the streets and kendra kept the babies laughing with her antics of singing and dancing. Here's a picture I'll call: Happy Bears (thanks, mom, for the laughs)


We are on to the second DVD in the "Your Baby Can Read" series and the twins love it. Layla learned a new skill of stomping her feet appropriately timed with the song, "When you're happy and you know it stomp your feet (stomp, stomp)..." She's got great balance and coordination for sure!



last night i captured another pic of Layla doing her stand up, sit down routine although once she stood upright she turned decidedly unhappy before sitting back down. The last one of her in the tub doesn't show her face because she had arms flailing around. Still a cute, funny picture even though I feel bad when she has her pouty lip...


OK, that's enough for me tonight. kendra still suggests she'll chime in for her own blog soon, but tomorrow night we are hosting dinner with kendra's grandparents so her free time may be limited.

Time for bed! Bye bye for now.

Let There Be ight

Greetings from Cali once again,

The 4 Webbs are together and I was counting the minutes until I could get my arms around them this morning. I took the day off work and spent the whole day watching the babies and the recent accomplishments I've missed while away.

Easton frequently looks up at the lights, points, and says, "ight! ight!" I was fortunate enough to catch his random occurence of the new word as the twins were taking their nightly bath:



Layla climbs the stairs! Unfortunately she hasn't learned to come back down the stairs, but she's completely fearless with her lack of respect for gravity. Luckily we are right behind her with our arms as she turns to face the downward direction of the stairs and virtually stage dives into our arms. Here she is making the turn at the midpoint of the stair case. Wow, she's fast!


Layla's other new trick is to move from the crawling position, to prairie dog, to standing up right! Then after 10 seconds or so she realizes she can't walk yet and gets back down gracefully to crawl wherever it is she wants to go. While in the bath tub she let go from the edge and stood upright long enough to wave her toy around frantically, which gave me time to get this picture


I know... you can't see her face. sorry about that, but her arms flailing around made it difficult to capture her smiling face. better luck tomorrow i guess. Another bath-time photo we laughed about was this next jewel of a beauty showing how their extraordinarily long cracks prove they are twins.


It looks like Easton is doing his best to keep up with Layla's skills because he's trying more and more to crawl on his hands and knees (as opposed to commando) and he's holding himself up on objects with one hand.

Kendra managed to take one lone picture during the 5 days I was gone. I'm not too hurt though since I know she had her hands full. Even her mom, Oma, said her body is sore for keeping up with the twins (lifting, playing, helping, etc.). Kendra bundled up Easton and Layla for a walk outside and used their bear zip-up outfits for the first time. they are flannel feeling on the inside and like a lamb on the outside. very toasty, from what I can tell!

I'm very grateful Kendra and her parents gave me a few days without babies. I did absolutely nothing and it was everything I'd hoped it would be. Seriously, I slept in for the first time in 10 months. I stayed in my bath robe for almost 48 hours straight. I even finished reading a book, which is a rare occurence at any time in my life since the third grade. Every day I battled with the difficult emotions of missing the other 3 Webbs terribly, but enjoying the quiet and relaxation. I'll try to get Kendra a similar "time out" from the babies during the beginning of next year sometime.

Unfortunately, both babies still have a runny nose and a slight temperature. One of the crucial items I had to bring with me from home in AZ was... the snot sucker! apparently the specific kind we have is hard to come by. :)

Have a good evening and Kendra suggested she might make a guest appearance on the blog tomorrow so stop by again soon. No promises, but a boy can hope...

signs of intelligence

Hello friends and family,

We're starting to see many signs of intelligence from our twins. After 10 months of life. As much as Easton and Layla babble on endlessly with each other, there hasn't been much English spoken. They both do "mmmmmma ma ma ma" when they need anything and occasionally I've convinced myself they say "dada", but that's just wishful thinking. However, Easton is progressing along with two important milestones. He points to a light and says, "ight". Pointing is a good measure of progress and saying something resembling "light" is a big step in the right direction. Of all the things I thought would be Easton's first official word, I am not surprised it is "light" because he is endlessly entertained by looking up at ceiling fans and lights no matter what house or restaurant or building we take him.

Layla is taking a different route to show her intelligence. After 1 month of watching the Your Baby Can Read video almost every single day Layla knows what "Arms UP" means! Now she does it on command almost as a pavlovian response. Anyone within earshot of Layla can say, "Arms UP" and her arms will spring to life as she sticks them up over her head. She also does the sign language for "more". She does this only because it allows her to get her way (more food) faster. :)

So there you have it... words, motions, signs; it's all coming together and I started thinking how odd it's going to be when they actually DO something I tell them to. Prior to our latest breakthrough I considered the twins as just off in their own world with no ability to communicate between us. They cry... kendra fixes whatever the problem is (hungry, poopy, tired) and all was well in the universe. I didn't feel much bonding or that I was adding anything to their lives other than fetching balls that roll away or holding down their little head while Kendra sucks snot from their nose.

Layla is standing on her own now! I know this is true because I saw it on Skype just today. :) I couldn't believe my eyes, but there she was like a drunken sailor standing up for a few seconds all by herself.

I'm really looking forward to the interaction part of having kids. I know this next statement will come back to haunt with a vengeance, but: I can't wait for them to ask questions and learn from our conversations. My sisters boys, Eli and Silas, were sharing their latest vocabulary words over Skype and I was amazed how smart they are and how much they know. I'll be learning just as much as my twins will if they follow the same pattern of smarts as Eli and Silas.

Kendra collected pictures and videos over the past few days of these exciting events, but can't quite get them posted within the blog. I'll take care of that tomorrow when the 4 Webbs get back together in Cali!

Bye bye.

Blue cheese

Howdy,

I'm back in AZ alone now for a weekend of events and I haven't seen Kendra or the twins in almost 24 hours. The house is quiet and empty. I don't mean that not a comforting way either, but a sad, lonely one. Yes, I did sleep in (without waking up even once) all the way to 8:45 this morning! That's the only silver lining though. Other than that, I'm already fiercely missing the other 3 Webbs. :(

I miss waking up with Easton and Layla's voices running through scales of tones and sounds as they babble back and forth to each other. It's very similar to hearing an orchestra warm up as they individually tune their instruments prior to an event... well, kind of. Anyway, walking into their room every morning to see two sleepy eyed grins and Layla bouncing up and down as if she's riding a galloping horse is always a highlight of my day. I pretend they are excited to see me, but I'm just the "milk man" who immediately walks them over to Kendra who is waiting to provide their morning meal. By the way, our double blessings nursing pillow is the single most vital item in our house. I have no idea how mothers of twins survive without one. I'm not sure who recommended we get one of those even before the babies were born, but that thing is worth it's weight in gold.

I'm here in AZ, but the camera is still with my family so that's why there are no pics with this post. I'm fully confident my wife is technologically savvy enough to TAKE a few pictures each day and SEND them to me over email. If she does that i'll be sure to post them.

In the mean time, here's one picture of Layla from last week I've been holding back. Looks like she's staring straight into your soul, huh?


Kendra figured out a good response to the most common question we get. At least once per store someone comes up says, "wow, what beautiful babies. Are they twins?" Kendra answers, "Yes". Then they say, "A boy and a girl?" Kendra answers, "Yes". Then about half of those people ask, "Are they identical? They look so much alike!" This is where we used to just say, "no they aren't identical" and leave it at that. However, now Kendra says, "Well, the plumbing is different, but they do look a lot alike." We KNOW they don't look alike, but it's just more polite than saying, "Are you kidding? They don't look anything alike and it's impossible to have boy/girl twins be identical." Kendra's mom said she's starting to feel like a semi-celebrity when she's out with the twins because of how almost every walking past smiles and points and talks about how cute they are.

A couple of days ago during a conversation about someone's choice of salad dressing Kendra said something that made us all laugh and I just had to write it down and share it as today's "Deep Thoughts -- by Kendra" Here's your moment of Zen for this week complements of Kendra:

Blue cheese isn’t moldy cheese. It’s cheesy mold.

See you soon!

family fun

Good morning everyone!

The last couple of days included an exciting new routine. We all wake up at 6:00 AM and I catch a ride with Oma and Opa to work since we all work so close to each other. It's so hard leaving Kendra home alone with the twins and even more so when the THREE of us have to leave with a barrage of hands waving, kisses, and "bye byes". Kendra is making the most of her days while we are at work by visiting Megan and Isabella as well as shopping and errands. The Oma and Opa taxi picks me up from work and we all ride home excited to see kendra and the twins. She has her hands full and here is a typical scene of Kendra holding both babies getting ready for going out into the cool Sacramento air:


Neither one of them dig hats much, but we did our best to keep their heads warm. Their little booties feel like a sheep on the outside and have rubber bumps on the bottom for when they start to walk at some point in the not-so-distant future.

Here's our latest purchase:


The Chariot CX-2 is the best thing we ever bought, but unfortunately it is too heavy and cumbersome for Kendra to take it in and out of the trunk when she goes by herself around town. We had the snap-n-go thing where we snapped in the car seats, but Easton and Layla are getting too old for that to be comfortable. So we searched for months on Craigslist in Arizona for the one stroller that met our needs, but never found even one. resigned to the fact we would have to pay retail (yuk) for it we decided to just buy one here in Sacramento. However, i did a quick search of this area and BINGO! We found a couple selling one about 20 minutes away so we drove over and bought it for about 40% of what it would have cost new. Hooray for technology. It's a Combi Savvy LX in case you are wondering. Our main criteria were independent shades that fold WAY down over the babies face so that it keeps the AZ sun off their cute faces.

Anyway, Easton and Layla are having loving this much attention and so many arms to hold them. Especially kisses from GG:


and story time with Opa is always a big hit:


I did my best to spontaneously corral everyone to get a picture of the FOUR generations of ladies, but it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted:


There is GG, Oma, Kendra, and Layla all four together. What a great family heritage and character to pass down through so many generations! I'll have to get a more formal one next week when I get back from my weekend back in AZ. I'm heading back home for a few days to take care of the house, do some work, and have some fun hanging out with my friends. It'll be weird to be away from kendra and the twins for that long though. I already miss them. :(

Oma has been showering the babies with "early christmas" gifts and these personalized pajamas are awesome:


They have a real button-open hatch in the back, but don't worry because they also have snaps along the inseam of the legs to change diapers. Easton and Layla are spoiled and we are lucky to have friends and family who love to spoil them. I know I never had outfits with MY name embroidered on them!

In other news... Layla found the stairs in Oma and Opa's house and of course she MUST conquer them.


She's already started climbing them a few times while Easton is literally one step behind. Time for a baby gate to block off the stairs!

Daddy says, "Goodnight"!

Safe and Sound in Cali

Hello from California,

We're here and we're safe! The 4 Webbs sped, i mean, drove through the night through darkness and extremely dense fog. After 12 hours on the road, Easton started crying about 5 minutes before we arrived. Apparently 12 hours is his limit. Nothing exciting to report from the trip other than it was quiet and we were all tired the next day.

Let me start off by showing you how Easton and Layla improvised once they found out we returned the sit-down baby walkers, which they hated.

Yes, those are their highchairs with the trays hanging on the back in the storage position.


Easton and Layla both were smiling and walking around throughout the kitchen. The funniest moment was Layla pushing the highchair with Easton sitting IN it looking over the edge at her as they moved across the kitchen floor. Apparently there was no need for expensive walkers, just something with four wheels they could push while standing!

Evan as broad as Opa's shoulders are, there is only room for one of our twins up there at a time. They weren't practicing for playing "chicken" next year in the pool, but it's never too early to start learning pool games!


There is Kendra's mom, Oma, keeping Layla from falling backwards and there is Kendra's dad, Opa, holding her up on his shoulders. The 4 Webb's took over their house and turned it into baby central. Since they knew we would be here for such a long time, Oma and Opa had plenty of toys handy like this big stand-up toy with about 30 different buttons and moving parts on the top that all make various noises.


and this next "toy" held the attention of both babies for at least 15 minutes:


It's just a door stopper, but it makes that really cool "doooooiiiing dooooiiiiing" noise, is virtually indestructible, and vibrates back and forth when they hit it. The ones at our house are just solid brass rods, so the ones here at Oma and Opa's house are WAY cooler.

One other toy they bought (as an early christmas) was a sit-down rider thing. You can see Easton's 4 teeth as he grins and rolls along.


Unfortunately the wheels keep falling off so we need to exchange it for a sturdier version.

Kendra's mom strongly suggested we DON'T buy coats for the twins even though we knew they would need something warmer than the sleeveless onesies they've been wearing in Arizona since they were born. I expected she bought jackets for them based on what she said, but that was NOT the case. She MADE jackets for them! I was very surprised and grateful she took the time to make these cute, reversible jackets. Especially since they are pink and blue. :)


We spent yesterday napping and resting. The twins have slept surprisingly well in their pack-n-play cribs and adjusted to the 1-hour time difference without any problem. I'll be working from our corporate building here in California all of next week and leaving Kendra at home alone with the twins. I'm relieved to see them sleeping well and having happy days.

In the words of Oma, "Holy buckets it's cold out there!" We are so used to hot and sunny in Arizona EVERY single day. This cold and foggy weather is surprisingly enjoyable and refreshing.

Easton and Layla received their first balloons today while we ate at Red Robin. They thought the balloons were cool, but eventually became frustrated because the balloon wouldn't fit in their mouth and we were so afraid they would pop it.


The only downer of the trip so far was Layla's little tantrum where Kendra had to tell her no for trying to attack Easton who was sitting quietly next to her. In their highchairs at home, the trays are so huge the twins are a few feet away from each other and not able to touch. In the new highchairs at Oma and Opa's house (the kind that strap down to the chair) we sat them too close together and Layla was "all up in his business" as Kendra says... Layla was even stealing Cheerios off his tray. This video clip is sad, but funny as you hear Layla's little voice quivering as she tries to get her way.



She may be on her way to getting an Oscar for such good acting. Layla is figuring out very quickly how to tug on mom and dads heart strings. Time to go for a walk in the brisk evening and grab some chinese food for dinner.

Thank you for the prayers and for stopping by to catch up with the 4 Webbs! We'll see you again soon!

On The Road Again

sing the ole' Willy Nelson song along with me, "I just can't wait to get on the road again".

The 4 Webbs are leaving this weekend to drive through the night for our extended stay in the Sacramento area. Apparently the Governator wants to spend a few days reviewing my economic advice for the state of Caleeeforrrrrneeeee-uh. Nobody is asking for my opinion, but several friends and family ARE asking to spend some time with the 4 Webbs!

There are no new recent pictures because we've been running around like crazy people trying to get our house in order. This is a few days old and a very colorful display of Layla's determination and happiness. You can see it in her eyes as she tries so hard to stand up and hang on to daddy's leg!


Easton had a 104 degree temperature last night, but the fever turned out to be a short, 24-hour bug or something. Now he's back to his old self again. We've been extra cautious to keep the twins healthy. OK, the truth is we've been compulsively paranoid and borderline maniacal about keeping Easton and Layla germ-free lately.

I've been waiting for an opportunity such as this (where no new pictures exist) to revisit the "favorites" of those who left comments for the blog back on November 5th. My personal favorite is this one:


Obviously my favorite because... well, it's me with the babies where they are looking extra cute. And here are the rest of the favorites in no particular order. "Easton the pirate" is easy to see why this humorous picture is a favorite. Arrrrrrrggg!


and this one truly does reflect their personalities. This scene of Layla crawling over Easton happens at least once a day even still.


My sister is right that we should have lots more pictures of father-daughter moments like this one. Layla is so great in front of cameras and such a cutie that almost any picture with her turns out well.


Having My Ma and Pa here with us was a special treat and I wouldn't trade those days for anything in the world. Grandparents rule!


Please keep us in your prayers as we take the long journey West and North. I'll keep the camera handy, but hopefully the trip will be uneventful.

Later.

9 Month Checkup

Hi baby fans,

Yesterday nothing exciting happened so I have no stories or pictures... OK, maybe just one. Kendra went over to Aunt Mary's to finish our clean up effort after the turkey tornado feast last Thursday. Layla didn't go to sleep and was crying loudly so I went in to see what was going on. I found Layla standing in her crib with the pacifier AND her Nunu on the floor in front of her. Easton was sleeping through it as though he were deserted alone in a cabin where a foot of snow covered the ground and absorbed every sound within 100 miles. I have no idea how he does it.

Anyway, I rocked Layla in our big leather chair with the lights out for about 15 minutes. That may not seem like a big deal, but if you know Layla, then you know how she is always so active and exciting that cuddling isn't one of her virtues. She just laid there against my chest and played with my goatee by running her little fingers back and forth under my chin while making cute, little "guh, guh" noises until she drifted off to sleep. That was the highlight of my Monday.

Today, however, was a big day with tons of fun. We'll start off with my proof that our twins look up to Daddy. At least this one time I can say it.

In this next similar "side-view" photo of them moments later shows BOTH Easton and Layla are pulling themselves up and cruising. "Cruising" doesn't mean driving down main street with the music turned up. It means they use sideways shuffling steps to carefully move along the edge of whatever they are holding on to for support. Sometimes they use each other for support. :)


Times are getting crazy around the Webb house now that both of them are cruising around the house by pulling themselves up on the water cooler, the TV credenza, even their own high chairs! We've baby-proofed the house as much as possible, but it's a constant battle to keep them corralled in the designated baby areas (living room, family room).

Bath time is the rowdiest part of the evening with all of their splashing and carrying on in the tub. We had a little fun of our own with Easton's hair since it is getting Sooooo long now:


Kendra was making her cockatoo noises while spiking his hair up with baby shampoo. After the tub drains we dry off the twins with matching "hoodie" towels. Yes, I know they are both BLUE, but the pink one was dirty... Layla doesn't care much for the hood over her head, but it sure makes for cute pictures:


In other news: Easton and Layla experienced their official 9 month checkup today and everything about them is healthy! Easton is: 28.5" long (55th percentile) and 18 lbs. (15th percentile) for weight. I wonder where he gets those long, thin proportions?


OK, I guess I can take credit for SOMETHING about Easton. Man, that picture was from a long time ago! Yes, daddy used to look like that. I had to dig way back in the archive to find a solo picture of me and my skinny legs. No chicken jokes in the comments, alright?!

Layla 27.5" long (50th percentile) and weighs 17 lbs. 11 oz. (30th percentile). The pediatrician didn't have a scale big enough to measure her intensity. Instead they just made a new scale: Small, Medium, Large, and LAYLA.

Exhibit "A" (picture below) is titled: "HERE! TAKE THE NUNU!"


You can see her tiny top two teeth poking through like little vampire spikes. She was giggling and squeaking with joy during that picture. By the time I switched the camera to video mode to capture the moment, she switched to "sweet, little, innocent" peanut as she tilted her head as if to say, "Oops! was that me being so exhuberant?":


The 4 Webbs are making our list and checking it twice. No, not for gifts... for packing! Kendra is planning every so we can take all necessary supplies for our extended stay in Sacramento starting this Saturday. Don't worry, I'm taking my blogging gear with me so there won't be any interruption in service, ok?

Have your pet spayed or neutered. Oh, and stop by again soon. :)