I'm typing today's blog post from my new Ergonomic keyboard and it feels like when you replace the shocks in your car. My fingers say, "Ahhhhh". Some keys on my old keyboard required a stern elbow drop from the top ropes to work. That gets tiring after a while. Thanks to Joanie for my birthday gift! Now every time I sit down to my computer I'll appreciate the special gift of exactly what I wanted.
Ma and Pa's visit is officially over and I'm mourning their departure since we watched them drive away. After an entire week of time together I didn't have a single picture of us together. Those are the consequences of being the guy behind the camera all of the time. I'm sure Ma didn't like the candid timing of it, but I really wanted a picture of the three of us together.
The weather cooperated for the second half of their visit. We took full advantage of it to wash our cars and let the twins play in the water. Layla wore her new princess swimsuit and Easton did wore his new too-big swimsuit. He spent most of the time holding his pants up until Nana cinched them together with a safety pin. We'll have to add another nickname for Easton: Mr. Tiny Hiney.
This next picture turned out well as an action shot. You can see Easton preparing to high jump over the water and Layla springing like a gazelle.
Washing cars with Pa was one of those regular, everyday things I had way more fun doing than you might imagine.
For my birthday dinner we ate at Pei Wei's because it is one of my favorites. The twins sat in the take-out chairs while we ordered because it's difficult to keep track of two roaming toddlers and order at the same time.
We sat down and Easton immediately noticed the jar full of chopsticks. He asked for a set and of course Layla, miss how 'bout me, wanted chopsticks also. The chopsticks were free and it never hurts to try new things so I agreed they could give it a go.
I'm not sure exactly what Easton was planning to do with three chopsticks... It would have taken all night to eat at their rate of one grain of rice at a time, but I'm proud of them for trying.
The twins are officially potty trained! (cheers, hooray, clapping) One day during Ma and Pa's visit Easton decided it was finally his time to really do his business in the potty. He didn't even ask or tell us. He just ran over the potty and sat down all by himself. The tiger shark airplane has been sitting on the shelf for SIX MONTHS as a promised gift for potty training. He held up his end of the bargain so we held up our end. Thanks, Nana, for the excitement and encouragement during the big event and short parade afterwards.
I also promised him a remote control car so the next day he discovered the joy of radio controls. Layla wore her new summer dress and looked like a little spring angel.
I took the twins to the very crowded lizard park and watched as they played according to their personalities and genders. Layla found a group of girl scout 5 year olds and joined right in as if she was one of the group. As a matter of fact she did her best to take over the leader during a round of follow-the-leader.
Easton dumped his bag of sand toys and dove into the dirt. Another boy came along and Easton happily shared his toys as they sat quietly digging and pouring.
I'm not much different than Easton even today. I played in the dirt with my buddy, Judson. We rode our bikes on the mountain side for a couple of hours and had a blast. Even though we have 30 years difference in age between Easton and I, we both like to play in the dirt with a friend. I guess some things never change.
Our friend's son's birthday party turned out well. Layla found new dress-up clothes and transformed into a princess fairy for the evening.
Then for dinner Kendra stripped them down to their undies because we ate a spaghetti dinner. It's not like we do that in a restaurant, but at our friend's house she was more concerned about spilling red sauce on clothes than what anyone thought at the party. Easton and Layla didn't mind at all because they knew what came after dinner... cake!
Layla seems to be settling down a bit over the past few weeks. I know this because she recently started cuddling up with me as we sit on the couch and read. She used to not stay still long enough (15 seconds or less) before wanting her space by sitting beside me. Lately I've noticed she is willing and able to rest for a couple of minutes at a time now. I soak up those moments like dry sponge thrown in the ocean. She did the same thing for April's mom at the party and I'm happy to see that.
The house is void of grandparents for the first time in 14 days. Makes me sad... I wish their stay were twice as long. Even if we didn't have the twins and they were just parents to us, I would still feel the same about wanting them here to share our lives together. We made the most of the time we had and I'm grateful for the sacrifices they made to come and visit.
See you soon!
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