Games we play

Greetings friends and family,

Our lives have been a little extra busy over the past few weeks so I'll have to catch up on the posting to the blog through smaller posts more frequently until I catch up.

One question I have yet to ask Kendra is about flossing kid's teeth. At what age do you start flossing a child's teeth? We regularly brush their teeth (almost) every night. But i started thinking that if they eat the same things we do and require brushing, then why not flossing also? If the answer is we need to floss their teeth, then my next question is, "How?" We have a tough time getting Easton and Layla to hold still long enough to brush their teeth and I am certain flossing is much less "fun" than brushing... Do they make kid floss? Is there a technique for strapping kids down so they don’t cut their gums on the floss? This is one area I never even thought about when considering what issues I would face when raising toddlers.

As the twins get older I notice there are certain behaviors and routines which develop. One of those is the interaction between Easton and I each night at bed time. I sing their songs, cover them up, and place the sippy cup of water in the crib. Then as I walk away from Easton's crib he inquisitively says, "Daddy?"


I believe he wants to be comforted knowing I am there for him! One night last week when he said, "Daddy?” I rushed over to his crib and said, "yes? daddy is here." He thought that was funny and now it's a game we play where I do that a few times back and forth. I caught one of those humorous exchanges on video just for fun.



Another recent phenomenon is the Old McDonald craze. Easton and Layla are extraordinarily crazed over the Old McDonald song. Every night before bath time I just say, “Old McDonald?” and they go absolutely nuts even before the song starts. We go into the TV room and they place their soft personal couch chairs back to back. They wait impatiently for the song to start. At this moment they look and act like a bottle of soda being shaken. They jump up and down giggling ready to burst. Once the song starts they cheer as though their favorite team won the BCS bowl and then they run around the chairs like wild monkeys chasing each other. Here’s a video clip of that lovely, daily event:



And that's life with toddlers! Kendra and I are reverting back to childish ways together and having a lot of fun doing it. I've been waiting for 25 years to play with Match Box cars and run around in circles singing silly songs again.

Here are a few caption photos to instigate a chuckle or two from you.

Opa, when are you coming to show me how to swing these golf clubs?


as she grabed the camera in my hands she said, "Layla do it! Layla do it!"


Then she proceeded to take 10 pictures of the grass in the green belt only stopping long enough between pictures to laugh hysterically about it.

*FLASH*


(hee hee heeeeeee)

*FLASH*

See you soon!

On the tracks

Greetings friends and family,

Kendra played soccer this evening with her championship co-ed soccer team and that gave me the chance to have some daddy only time with them. After dinner concluded with flinging beans and rice I had a spare hour to burn before the whole bath-books-bed cycle so we went for an adventure. While playing in our front yard I occasionally lift Easton up on my shoulders where he can see over the cinder brick wall across the way where the train sits on the tracks. He is still in awe of train related things so I decided we would go touch it instead of just looking over there. I mean, there are NO other advantages to living next to train tracks other than having the ability to use it as an up-close and personal learning tool.

I had to figure out a way to transport the twins from our house through the neighborhood, along the main street, and down the rocky path along the tracks to where the train sat. The only way I was going to beat the sunset was to hook up my bike to the chariot and hope they forgot about the last time was tried to go over rocky terrain where they cried the whole way. As it turns out, they loved riding behind daddy's bike and the faster I rode, the more they giggled.

There is a common saying from days gone by where elderly people would tell young, energetic kids to "go play on the railroad tracks!" That's exactly what we did.


Easton was enthralled by the enormity of the train. His smile and talkative nature proved he was loving the experience. However, he only felt comfortable with the situation if I was holding him in my arms, so that's why the pictures are mostly of Layla. I even convinced Layla to sit up on the step of the train and smile for a picture.


After seeing sister up there I hoped Easton would go along with duplicating the scenario, but as soon as I moved him towards the step he hung on my neck with a death grip and said, "No, daddy!" so I immediately called off that effort and kept holding him close.

I was able to convince him to stand next to Layla and smile while I took a picture of the two of them with the train in the background.


Sorry the pictures are so dark. It was barely sunset, but my camera is a cursed thing and the thorn in my side. I have my eye on the new Canon S90, but I'm saving up for it so who knows when I'll either get so tired of my current camera that I throw it in the duck pond or when my camera savings funds get large enough to buy it. Which ever one comes first. :)

My friend, Judson, and his family came over on Friday night for dinner and hang out time. The twins played their hearts out with his two kids. Layla was more than happy to show off her new tutu and push Riley around on the bus.


She wears the tutu daily now, but we don't let her take it outside because it would be instantly dirty and shredded on the rocks.

Easton had his second hair cut ever and it went much smoother than the first one. Kendra still had to hold him the entire time as he cried. This time he didn't scream as though he were in pain. Thanks, in part, to the Thomas the Train video they had playing at the kid's hair salon.

I'm working on a few T-shirt ideas and will either search for it on Ebay or create it on my own. One idea is to put: "You have my parents permission to discipline me" or some variation of that. The other idea is to copy the tuner auto industry where they normally have "Powered by Nismo" for example. I was thinking we should get shirts for Easton and Layla that say, "Powered by Apple Juice". It only funny because it is true for our twins. Even though we consistently water down their apple juice at a 1 to 1 ratio, they still ask for it by name all day long.

We received exciting news that my parents, Nana and Papa, are coming to town for a visit during the twins' second birthday! I'm really happy they are choosing to be here now so they can leave the -20 degree wind chill, snow, and ice at their house and bask in the 70 degrees of sunshine we experience here in AZ this time of year. Hooray for upcoming family time! Hearing their plans to be here with us was music to my ears.

Have a great Monday and I'll see you soon!

tutu and zoo lights

Howdy folks!

Occasionally I have to question what Kendra teaches the twins while I'm at work... One teacher with two toddlers means they are taught the same thing. Layla is preparing to twirl around like a fairy princess and Easton is just doing stretching exercises. Or so one would guess.


But it is very clear who is the pretty princess. Layla!


Any time the words "cute face" are heard she immediately does her cute face, but her head and body contort more to the side as the months and years go by as she tries to really emphasize the cuteness.

Tonight we spontaneously went to the Phoenix zoo. With the yearly passes we received tickets to the Zoo Lights display, which ends this Sunday. Since the rest of our weekend is booked up with other fun, we decided to get some use out of the zoo lights passes since it was "free" fun.

The highlight of the night was riding the carousel.


I am extremely proud of Easton for being brave enough to jump on the spinning animals. We sat patiently watching others go around and around. We used our own excitement to hype it up as the most awesome experience ever known to man. Our enthusiasm must have cheered his bravery on to new heights because after seeing other kids ride the ride and dismount alive I asked, "Does Easton want to ride the tiger?" He thought for a few seconds and said, "OK!" That was all we needed to hear and it was off to the races standing in line praying for it to go quickly so we can get the twins onto the carousel before either of them had the chance to back out on the deal.

They both loved riding on the animals. Layla shouted, "Hiiiii" and waved as Easton shouted, "Byyyyyye" and waved. Both were technically correct because on the carousel we were coming and going nowhere at the same time. Great fun had by all and it only cost $25 for the night (popcorn, a water, and a pretzel). Ouch... Next time I'm packing a fruit rollup and a gatorade from home. :)

See you soon!

Sharing and Dreams

Sharing:

I am a big fan of role modeling behaviors we are attempting to develop in the twins. I make it a point every morning before leaving for work of getting their attention to watch as I verbally say "huuuuuuug Mommy" and "kiiiiiiss Mommy" as I do the actions that go along with the words. I want them to see us being affectionate hoping they will get the hint this is the way they should be towards each other and us.

However, the philosophical discussion around how to role model sharing is in question. The concept of sharing has pushed me out of my comfort zone because Kendra is much more open to sharing than I am. So where do I draw the line? Sharing my house slippers? OK, but they are broken in just the way my feet fit them perfectly. Sharing my lollipop? Yeah, we kiss regularly so that's not a huge deal. Sharing my toothbrush? now it's getting seriously questionable... Maybe I'll have to draw the line at sharing dentures when we get old.

Easton and Layla do a great job of sharing most of the time. Sitting on the park bench seat together is a happy occasion.


And so is standing on the couch before bedtime. Oops! They aren't supposed to be standing on the couch. I guess Mommy will reprimand me for not holding the line on that boundary.


There are a few things Easton and Layla don't share well and a soccer ball is one of those things. They have yet to comprehend the concept of playing cooperatively where they kick the ball back and forth to each other. Instead of fighting the battle, we were lucky enough to get a second soccer ball for Christmas. When I say "we" I mean Kendra and I. The two of us are lucky because it saves arguments by having duplicate items. The same concept goes for tooth paste and the tooth brushes. Anyway, back to soccer... Easton much prefers to throw things rather than kick them, but he figured out the concept of soccer and has great coordination.


Layla has a natural knack for being athletic so she runs and kicks the soccer ball with awesome technique and grace. and speed. man, she's fast...


Dreams:

We all have dreams. Some of us are lucky enough to have spouses who do their best to help us achieve them. There are many things Kendra and I do well together. One of those is enabling each other to achieve dreams. Marriage is about sacrifice and enabling the other person to reach their dreams. I dreamed of earning my black belt in martial arts. Kendra dreamed of running a half-marathon. We dreamed of going to Hawaii to relax on the beach. These personal (non kid related) desires are probably the top three for us over the past several years. Oddly enough, all three are going to be realized within a month!

I'm preparing for Tae Kwon Do Black Belt testing in three weeks. I've dreamed about becoming a black belt for over three years now and the dedication and hard work are leading to my promotion to Black Belt. Reaching this dream required sacrifice on the part of Kendra. The time I spent training was time where she cared for the twins and meals and the household without my help. She enabled me to get where I am and that is a testament to her unselfishness.

Kendra is running a half-marathon in 2 weeks so she is keeping up with her running schedule while juggling everything else related to the raising the twins. I take care of the house while she trains. Her accomplishment in completing the race will be her award, but I feel like part of the "team Webb" who enabled her to succeed.

We've talked about going to Hawaii since before we were even engaged! We are beach lovers and adventurers so Hawaii is going to be the paradise we have dreamed about together. All of the pieces lined up within days so we feel it is the right timing and plan. We have only taken two extended vacations in 8 years of marriage. That sucks and I'm the one at fault for not planning regular get-aways. We did attend the marriage conference last year where we spent a night alone, away. But attending sessions and lessons wasn't exactly relaxing or vacationing.

Anyway, to make a short story long, Kendra's parents are going to spend a week here with Easton and Layla at our house while we spend a week in Maui, Hawaii! Our friends hooked us up with an incredible place on the beach, my work gives me Gold card privileges with Hertz (convertible Mustang), and researching the airlines yielded a sweet deal on the flight to Maui. We have a layover in Guam, but at least we have a choice whether to sit next to livestock or terrorists. Just kidding... I found out our vacation rental place has free wireless internet so I plan to continue bloggin' even as my feet are buried in sand.

Daniel Fast:

We are participating in the Daniel Fast along with our church. This means three weeks worth of eating only what comes directly from the ground (nuts, beans, fruits, veggies, etc.). I've never eaten so healthy in my whole life and I'm doing surprisingly well thanks to Kendra's creative cooking. There is a higher likelihood I'll lose even more weight (as if there is anything left of me to lose). My gym at work is closed due to remodeling until mid-February so I'm back on the P90X bandwagon just to keep up my level of fitness.

See you soon!

Welcome home

Happy New Year to you and may all your dreams come true in 2010! We have some dreams of own coming true over the next couple of months and I'm excited about what the next few months will hold for us.

We were able to connect with Kendra's cousins, Mark and Colleen, who have two kids of their own. They have a loft area will lots of open space and boatloads of toys for our twins to enjoy along with their cousins. No one was injured and as you can see by this picture, everyone got along famously.


One of their Christmas gifts was a mini-trampoline built just for kids. Easton jumped a few times, but Layla nearly bounced through the roof. the height of her jumping is hard to see in this picture because of an optical allusion, but believe me, she was really giving those bungee cords a workout.


Easton and Layla are rarely still enough to capture on film, but every day during snack time they pause just long enough to cram some cheese puffs and slam some apple juice before resuming their laps around the couch while listening to "Old McDonald Had a Farm" for the 30th time that day.


This is what happens when you give a camera to a toddler:


He turned it around towards his face and took several pictures as he giggled at the camera. I was impressed he knew how to hold the button and snap the shot. Go Easton!

The 4 Webbs packed up and drove home to AZ a few days early because my work this coming week is expected to be very heavy. Driving all night in the middle of the week tends to halt to my productivity. The summary of our trip shows it as a great success and the two of us discussed how well it went as we drove home.

The highlight for Kendra was knowing the twins and her parents bonded so well together. Eventually Easton just shortened his sentence to, "Oma come!" That's all he had to say to get Oma to join in whatever he was doing. The only regret we have is not connecting with Kendra's cousin Dustin and his family. We had high hopes of a Sunday afternoon get together, but our split decision to leave early put a damper on that one. We expect to be back in NorCal this summer to escape the heat so hopefully our ability to plan will make that connection a reality.

We did have time for one more trip to see the fish hatchery and ducks before leaving town. It was a good way to let the twins run around and give Oma and Opa one last window of opportunity to hold their hand and wander around. Easton is without a doubt Oma's number one fan. His world is perfectly aligned if Oma is within sight.


Everyone slept well during the drive home and slept in this morning as the two of recovered from the all-nighter. We unloaded the Honda Pilot into the house like a dump truck dumps a mound of garbage onto a heap. It will take us a few days to sift through the ruble to get everything squared away. We took a break from the sifting to go play in the park and eat Pei Wei's Chinese food on the outdoor patio. Mommy and the twins are already back to their silly ways as we bask in the sunny sweetness of AZ winter time.


Wish you were here... :)


The only difference between a dream and a goal is a plan. There is your moment of Zen for the day... Here are some of our plans for the next two months:

- Kendra will run a half-marathon
- Bronson will test to become a black belt in Tae Kwon Do
- The two of us are booked at a resort in Maui, Hawaii for a week of kid-less vacation.

also Easton and Layla turn 2 years old!

I ran out of time tonight to dive into adventures coming up, but I'll get back on my normal blogging schedule since we are rapidly settling back into normal life.

See you soon!

One last 2009 post

Greetings! One final post for the year just to show you how the 4 Webbs are ringing in the new year. Kendra went to bed by 9:30 and I'm hanging out with the in-laws and their family watching the Rockin' New Years Eve program and conversing. Tomorrow morning we have the dual alarm clocks. Both of which will go off at 7:00 AM no matter how late we stay up. For this reason, and several others, I don't feel like I am missing out by not celebrating heartily. I'm content staying at home, but I'm also getting old... :)

Anyway, a recent adventure took us to the Sacramento train museum. I was unable to go because it was a work day, but I heard it was a huge success because of Easton's love of trains. How's this for excitement being displayed through his facial expression?


Easton and Layla were well behaved and spent the whole time yelling, "wooooooowwwww!"


The weather has been pleasant, but rainy and cool for us Arizonans. Layla discovered Oma's slippers were much more fun to walk in than her soccer slippers.


I'll leave the year with a picture of the twins that show how the 4 Webbs party... sunglasses and smiles all around.



See you next year!

What a year!

Happy New Year to all our friends and family,

The latest polls show the majority of Americans are glad to see 2009 go, but the 4 Webbs are in that minority who thought the year was "good" or better. I describe 2009 as the year of foundations. We built the foundation for Easton and Layla's learning. We strengthened our spiritual foundation through several deep studies and serving others. We reworked the foundation of our marriage through some very positive experiences and understandings. As far as I can tell, all other foundations or what we perceive as foundations are not worth the time and effort in comparison.

I'm adding a short, grainy video clip strictly for the value of the audio. Easton's vocabulary is incredible for a 23 month old.



Easton and I are outside because looking at the moon through the sliding glass door just isn't good enough! Easton learned the concept of moon a long time ago. However, he recently discovered the meaning of "reach it". When he put the two together and sweetly asked for daddy to lift him up high enough to reach the moon, I was speechless.

The fact that I hesitated and actually spent brain power trying to think of how I can make it happen for him shows how much I am willing to do anything for my boy. And I mean anything... Also, I blanked on how to explain the concept of distance in a way he would understand there is no way humanly possible to reach out and touch the moon. The best I could tell him was, "you need to get a space shuttle, a space suit (like Buzz Lightyear), and become very smart so you can be an astronaut". He paused and said, "OK!"

Christmas picture comparison – Last year at this time I snapped one of my all-time favorite pictures of the twins. This year I wanted to imitate that picture and setting for comparison’s sake. Last year they were in Santa and Mrs. Claus outfits. This year we didn’t bother with outfits because of their propensity to stain and destroy clothing. Those novelty outfits are not meant to survive the kind of abuse Easton and Layla give to their clothes. Last year in front of the Thomas’ Christmas tree:


And here is this year in front of the Thomas’ Christmas tree:


Half-marathon – Kendra is planning to run the half-marathon (13 miles) next month. She is continuing to train during our vacation and runs with her friend, Laura. Go wife!


Mommy is doing a great job of staying disciplined so that she can reach her goal. She has a dream of running 13 miles and enjoys the feeling of pounding the pavement. I do not. The only reason I ever run is if I am being chased.

Teaching how to whisper – Over the past few weeks there have been situations where one or both of the twins are awake while someone else is sleeping up stairs. We began tossing in the idea of whispering just to see if they could figure it out. One morning Layla and I were the only ones awake so I took a short video clip of a whisper lesson. You have to turn the volume up to hear, but at the end she sweetly whispers, “I love you daddy”. That just melts my heart in a way words can’t describe.



Trust of a child – One can clearly see faith and trust in action by watching how a child interacts with parents and grandparents. Here is Layla leaping off the top of the slide into Oma’s arms with no hesitation or holding back. She bails off the top with a big smile and confidence Oma will catch her.


Layla is becoming more girly all the time as Kendra exposes her to things like bows in her hair, lip gloss (which is really edible chapstick) and painting her toe nails. I’m excited about how she has enough hair to clip the bow…


She's my little princess, for sure.

See you soon!

Woody and Buzz

Greetings friends and family,

The discussion I had today regarding "transition kids" is leading to a more in-your-face example of how much I am not in control of my kids. Some kids, like Layla, require transitioning between activities or during times of change. For example, you have to say, "Ok, we are going to stay for another 5 minutes and then we will leave!"

I believe marriage as well as kids are supposed to teach people how not to control and instead learn to accept people for who they are. The question is: does parenting create or enable a child to become a "transition kid"?

Based on what I have learned so far I think the answer is no. Easton is so easy going that he has no problem stopping one activity and moving on to the next. We say, "OK, Easton, we are done with the park, time to go eat!" and he will calmly seek out the car and happily look forward to the next activity.

However, Layla throws a fit so boisterous she's been nominated for an Oscar this year. What we learned is she needs several words of pre-warning that the situation is about to change. Another data point in this area is my sister's son who is similar in this description as a "transition kid", but her other two kids are not.

Other than a little fussiness I consider the past few days to be successful. The movie "Toy Story" is a big hit for the twins and they routinely ask for "woody and buzz" by name. The day after Christmas we gave Easton And Layla the movie-sized dolls as a belated Christmas gift. You can see how excited they were.


They were amazed at Buzz Lightyear's wings popping out as they did in the movie. Kendra does really well, but my attempt to imitate Tom Hanks for Woody's voice is atrocious. I need to work on my passion, for sure.


We took an adventure to visit the locally famous Dovewood Court. Last year when we did this Easton said his first word, "lights!" after we finished walking through the neighborhood. This year they were chatter boxes and we did our best to keep them from touching every light and display along the way.


Easton is Oma's fan club president and as long as she is near (a.k.a. holding him) then all is right in the world no matter what is going on around him.

Oma + lights equal happiness.


The next day our main adventure was to go feed the ducks. Oma and Opa recommended a large park on the American river. Boy, were they right to pick there! That was duck (and goose) heaven. We had a small bag of bread and a huge flock of birds. I was most proud of how Easton and Layla were brave enough to interact with those large fowl.


With the help of oma, Layla was even brave enough to let the big goose take bread from her hand!


There were other gull's there and the twins continually said, "mine! mine! mine!" as a reference to the Sea Gulls in the movie, Nemo.


The fog and rain are exciting for all 4 of us Webbs because it is rare for us to experience it. During the light mist of the evening, Easton stopped in the middle of the street and placed both hands down on the ground like a celebrity making a hand print on the walk of the stars. He stood up, turned his hands over to see them dripping with water, and giggled like a mad scientist discovering a new chemical. What a thrill to see toddlers discovering the world around them and thriving from the little things in life.

See you soon!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

The 4 Webbs wish everyone an awesome Christmas day and weekend.


To say we experienced "family time" over the past few days is the understatement of the year. Having a few days off work (so far) is giving me the chance to have quality time with the twins and much more is expected as I take vacation days to have more adventures.

This next picture shows what happens when Daddy is left alone a home with the twins during lunch time and tries to capture the moment in a picture. I moved Easton and Layla's chairs close together, crouched down between them and said, "put your head on daddy's head!"


They must have thought I said, "put your HAND on daddy's head." Realizing the mis-queue I took the picture anyway and it turned out special enough on its own.

Christmas eve was special as the 4 Webbs shared it with Kendra's immediate family (minus her brother Logan and adding Great Grandma, GG). Layla is more entertaining every day with how she puts on a show for whoever is around to watch. I told her to show us her cute face and her head tilts further and further all the time.


The gifts for the twins were amazing and they had a blast tearing through the wrapping paper and playing with all the toys and gifts. I've been trying to figure out for months now what instrument to get them as a first taste of music. The elecrtic piano is a big hit, but we'll have to work on "gentle hands" instead the forceful hand banging we experienced last night.


Uncle Casey showered the twins with several winners and one I know they will use to its fullest extent is the gargantuan Tonka dump truck. here is Layla sitting in the dumper.


While playing at a park last month, Easton and Layla convinced some boy at the local park to let them play with his Tonka dump truck and they loved it! Nothing is more exciting to a toddler than loading and unloading so I am certain there will be many more pics and playtime in the future involving the dump truck.

I'm not sure what the thing on Layla's head is called, but she looks like an angel with it on her head.


No doubt this will be part of the items we've collected for a dress-up box. After a full day of family madness in the house Easton and Layla hit their limit for staying awake. Oma was more than happy to pose for the official Night Before Christmas picture while cuddling with the twins.


Christmas morning was not too exciting since we opened gifts the night before, but Easton and Layla were able to dig through their stockings to find Mommy's hidden gems.


Easton was still half asleep after rumaging through the stocking, but even behind his thumb sucking it is easty to see his sweet little smile.


After stockings and breakfast we packed up the family and drove over to Aunt Suzie and Uncle Jeff's house. Easton was amazed by all the cows we passed in the open fields on the way their. He pushed his sunglasses up in order to get a better view of the herd of cows up ahead.


Our morning at Aunt Suzie's house can only be described as structured chaos. Cousins and nieces and nephews were hustling through the house filtering between the groups of people standing around talking. We decided to join the family outside and luckily we practiced on the try-cycle at home because Oma found great success pushing around the street.


Layla was less interested in anything with wheels and focused on the relationship building aspect with her free time. After meeting her cousin, Rowan, for the first time, she did her best to become instant BFFs including (but not limited to) good old-fashioned hugs.


The 4 Webbs headed home, but realized too late that we had no house key to Oma and Opa's house. Since they were several minutes behind us on the road home we parked in front of the house and wandered through the neighborhood... With our sunglasses on, of course!


This is what Christmas in California looks like (for those of you who are snowed in or have seen any temperature in the single digits lately). Layla looks like a movie star!


We are so blessed and almost every day Kendra and I say to each other how much we want the twins to stay in this stage of life forever. OK, I could do without diapers, but other than that I am soaking up their love even as they drain the energy out of my body just trying to keep up with them.

See you soon!