Sliding Through Summer

Greetings friends and family,

The question each morning from Easton and Layla is, "when are we going to swim?"  Notice there is no question of IF, just a matter of what time.  As in, when daddy gets home from work!  Blue goggles, blue swim suit, and blue noodle for Easton.  Pink goggles and pink swim suit for Layla.  Wonder where they got that idea?  They like when I swing them around by the armpits across the top of the pool like motor boats.  Guess who wins?  My back muscles win because it's a workout and a half dragging these two around.

Seems like only yesterday I stood nervously at the end of the little slide as they stumbled up the steps and down the slide.  

My, how the times change quickly.  They convinced us to bring the slide inside the house because it's too hot outside to do anything else besides swim.  To my surprise they're playing on it every day for 15 minutes at a time.

Layla paused at the top of the slide when she saw me take out the camera.  She automatically does that soft, head-tilt thing like a model.  Awe yeah...  That's my girl!

Easton is more concerned and focused on the task at hand.  Having the most fun possible while getting to the bottom of the slide.  Luckily I have a fast enough camera to capture the moment as he flew by.

The twins are both very interested to review each picture I take.  After each shot they both run over and say, "can i see the picture?"  I can tell I'm getting OLD because my first thought was:  "When I was your age we had to send off our film to Walmart for 7 days before we could see the picture of what we took!"

Then I turned on macro mode to capture close-ups and they howled with laughter after each picture.

Their expressions are developing vividly more and more each day.  Although Easton looks like an aggressive rap star spittin' lyrics he's really just a kind-hearted good boy making crazy faces just for a laugh.

The other regular comment from the twins after I take a picture is, "Send that one to Ouma and Oupa!"  Like this one showing his newly acquired garbage truck.

He wants to show them the inside because it holds so much trash.  This was a reward for filling his fuzzy jar.  Aunt Mary is in town for a week and she was kind enough to buy it for him.  He's been wanting this exact garbage truck for three months or so.  Sure hope he doesn't really want to become a trash man...  Whatever he likes though!  I hear sanitation engineers make a nice living.  :)

I took a hiatus from making paper airplanes, but threw the idea out just to see if the twins would be interested.  They answered with a resounding "yes, please!"  We had the best time creating and decorating the airplanes with markers.  Throwing the loopty-loop planes around the house is a surprisingly loud experience.  You'd think an activity like paper airplanes wouldn't make much noise, but as they loop through the air and hit unexpected objects (like people), loud laughter and bragging ensues.

See you soon!

Fast Dump Truck

Greetings,

The last few days were fairly uneventful because I spent most of them at work in my office taking care of business.  I had a few long days, but my perspective is so narrow compared to the rest of the working parents.  I was up early and out the door for work before the rest of the Webbs were conscious and then arrived home just in time to sit down to dinner.  That left only about 90 minutes to play and take care of the "B's", which now consist of bath, brush teeth, books, and bed.

Welcome to reality, right?  I know I'm spoiled with my flexible work schedule.  These few busy cycles where I have to put in some extra hours during peak play times highlights how spoiled I am.  I just can't imagine having such limited daily interaction year after year.  I can see how people are blown away by how fast their kids grow up.  If I were rarely around and only had time to rush through the necessities of daily hygiene and meals, then it would be easy to miss out on moments like this:

Easton convinced me to bring in his big, dirty dump truck from the garage.  He requested a ride because Layla drives a little too fast.  Then miss "how 'bout me" requested a few laps around the house.   This is what I call interactive parenting and if I were to die tomorrow these are the two pictures I hope would describe me as a father.
 

Of course, everyone has their own perception of what parenting should look like, but my take on it is fairly clear.  Simply being in the same room or car with Easton and Layla is not considered "doing my part" as a parent.  I've seen too many disengaged parents ignoring their kids who are begging and nagging for their attention.  However, I also understand it is a fine line between giving a child the attention he/she needs and making a child feel like he/she is the center of the universe (a.k.a. bratty).

Layla's play date with her friend Lulu was eventful.  Unfortunately since she went to Lulu's house I have no pictures to share.  When we went to pick her up she had pieces of grass from the slip-n-slide as well as crayola marks from the coloring time.  That's a good sign!  While she was having her friend time I took Easton to the public pool to cool off and have father-son time.  He bravely agreed to go down the biggest water slide, but was turned away at the top because he's still 1/2 inch too short.  Maybe by the end of summer???  I am proud of him for the courage to go do it though!

We missed the Venus transit yesterday because I couldn't find glasses to look at the sun and I didn't see the live viewing website until it was too late.  Better luck next century.  I walked into the den and found Easton balancing his Sonic binoculars on his face.  These were a great gift from cousin Daphne and still get used frequently.  I'm continually baffled by which toys Easton and Layla keep in the rotation.  Some are very expensive or thoughtful and some are considered remnants of packing material.  None of that is taken into consideration when it comes to deciding if a toy is fun or not.

More power to him!

GAM is coming for a visit and we are excited to share our daily lives with her around. The twins are both expecting tornado stories because they believe tornadoes are a daily occurrence in Oklahoma.  Time and frequency and probability are tough concepts for a 4-year-old.  :)

See you soon!

Birthday Girl

Howdy friends and family,

During the past week I was caught using the word "y'all" three times and I haven't been back to Missouri in quite a while.  Not sure what that's all about, but my accent and vocabulary seem to be reverting back to childhood.  Nothing wrong with that though...  Kendra says it is attractive.  

Layla is getting some great kitchen time and hands-on training from the expert herself.  Layla did the a good majority of the work for our holiday dessert, which she calls "fruit pizza".  It tasted like a sugar cookie with cream cheese frosting and fruit on top.  Easton and I ate it up, but Kendra said it didn't turn out as well as she hoped.  It's all in the eye of the beholder I suppose.  

For Kendra's birthday dinner I grilled up bacon-wrapped filet mignon.  The twins asked, "what animal did this meat come from?"  The question is normal at meal time since we eat almost every known meat available.  seafood, turkey, pork, beef, chicken, iguana (ok, maybe not that last one).  The variety we expose them to is a tribute to Kendra's breadth of cooking ideas and abilities.  We are working diligently to create well-rounded eaters who are adventurous with their palate.  

One of the many values I'm actively instilling into the twins is based on the Bible verse "You do not have, because you do not ask."  I want them to freely ask and to be specific in what they want.  Many people never get what their hearts desire because they simply refuse to ask or are not specific enough when they ask.  Any time Easton and Layla ask me for something I thank them for asking and encourage them to be more specific if their request is vague.

An example of this is what Easton did when he looked into the drawer with long balloons and an air pump.  He asked, "Dad, will you get a yellow balloon for me?" Layla in the back ground chimed in with "me too!  I want a yellow one!" Easton said, "blow them up with this pump and give them to us so we can have sword fights...  please."

I look for these opportunities to grant them simple requests exactly as they ask.

Does that make them spoiled?  Absolutely not.  It gives them confidence and trust that Dad wants to grant them the desires of their hearts.  We DO say no and give them valid reasons why.  Sometimes we give them what I call a "managed yes".  We say, "yes, we will have popcorn, but since it is bedtime we'll have it tomorrow afternoon when we watch a show on TV."  For many people the spirit of lack begins with a lazy or close-fisted father.  After years of being told "no" for simple requests, why would a kid continue to ask?  or ever think to ask the impossible?  I want to be as far on the other side of that pendulum as possible.

There is no story behind this picture other than I had my camera and let them make a funny face.  Their personalities are growing even faster than their bodies.

I put the camera on the table and they instinctively put their chins right on the top.  We laughed at this picture several times when I pointed out how we could see their reflection in the table top.

And the birthday girl's special day...  I bought her a gift that is probably in the "don't buy this for your wife's birthday" list.  Most women will roll their eyes, but it was a great gift in my opinion.  Kendra spends hours per day on the phone.  I'm not exaggerating.  I have the cell phone bill to prove it.  We are on the "Holy cow, I can't believe one person talks this much" plan with AT&T.  Between mentoring several ladies, her family in California, out of state friends, and me she is on the phone often.  So I bought her a Jawbone Bluetooth Headset.  Yes, I know it isn't romantic, but it's a nice-to-have accessory and her neck will appreciate it.

I also booked a 4 day vacation for us to be alone in a cabin.  :)

One of her dreams is for me to cook her a cake from scratch for her birthday.  I knew that, but due to lack of planning and coordination it'll have to wait until next year.  She wound up making her OWN angel food cake with strawberry topping and whipped cream.  That is a way healthier version of cake than I was planning to make so it all worked out for the better.

See you soon!

Memorial Day Down Time

Greetings friends and family,

The three-day weekend was satisfying for all 4 Webbs.  We didn't spend much time together as a family because Kendra and I chose to give each other a break for time with friends.  Kendra hung out with her NYC friend visiting, I took a day trip to Sedona for mountain bike riding, and the twins had quality time with us individually.

Easton and Layla are so corny!

First time eating it straight from cob and they even learned how to shuck it!  They are 2% of the way towards becoming country farmer kids.  The other 98% of their make up is desert rat.  Here's a scene from Kendra's relaxing birthday afternoon watching the twin stay cool.

I put together a collage of Easton's pics just for fun.  He is very expressive and builds his reputation every day as a happy, big boy.

The weekend was jam packed with Easton and Layla quality time, but the best part of my vacation day from work is how I actually took a vacation.  David and I took a day trip up North to mountain bike ride.  Taking time to relax during the drive was awesome.  Sometimes I forget what it's like to just have an extended  conversation with a guy friend.  The three-hour heart pounding ride was incredible.  Perfect temperatures, no wind, and lots of scenery.

We did some serious trail riding for 11.4 miles of dirt and rock.  Felt like we accomplished something, but maybe we just burned off the hamburger calories?

I took the twins to the strawberry train park for one last trip to the playground before the summer hits.  Seems like there are lots of pictures where Easton and Layla are eating.  I know, but what you don't see is that they are rarely next to each other and still unless there is food involved.  Once the food is gone, it's off to the next adventures of playing and learning.

The height measuring scale at the train was useful to get a gauge for how close Easton and Layla are getting to the magic 42 inch mark for Disneyland.  Layla is close.

Easton is there already! He's been 1 inch taller than Layla since they were born and is still that way.

I'm proud of Easton for taking a more active role in leading.  Layla has such a strong personality that Easton doesn't have to step up, but he is voluntarily doing much better in this area.  They were climbing the slide together, but neither were able to reach the top.  Easton said, "I can do it!" and climbed ahead of Layla.  She gladly let him give it a try and sure enough he was able to conquer it.  I know the accomplishment isn't like winning the Nobel prize, but it's a step in the right direction and that's all I ask for at this age.

The sun was setting as we left the park and the train chugged by for one last trip of the day.   Their favorite part of the park trip was riding the train around while waving to all the neighbors.

Even through the summer we are continuing the consistency of bed time.  Every night at 8:00 PM we are both spent anyway and need the time together and chance to unwind.  They wake us up at 7:15 like clock work, but I'm happy with that.  There is no better way to start each day than with the sound of little feet coming into our bed room for morning cuddles.

See you soon!

Comicon and Symphony

Greetings friends and family,

The 4 Webbs snagged free tickets from my work to attend Cirque de la Symphonie, which they describe as, "The Magic of Cirque at the Music Hall" unfortunately they don't allow any pictures and since my iPhone - Picasa - Photoshop - Blogger.com combination will NOT allow me to rotate the picture and successfully upload it to the post, you get to see this one upside down...

We arrived early to get good seats, then asked around to find out what we can do to waste time.  With 4-year-olds it is a bad idea to sit down for an hour before sitting down for 90 of a show.  We noticed lots of bizarre costumed people wandering the streets, but I thought it was just Phoenix getting weird.  We found out Comicon was in town and free to go check it out!  I have no idea why there were so many zombies, wolfs, vampires, and other creepy costumes.

Too bad we missed seeing Wil Wheaton, but right off the bat we saw a great costumed Darth Vader who gladly held Easton and I captive with his litesaber up against our neck for dramatic effect.

I'm ashamed to admit I only recognized about one out of every 20 costumes.  I guess many of them are online gaming characters or TV shows I've never even heard of.  Luckily Easton and Layla recognized only the prominent ones as well.  Layla has a new superhero to add to her imagination.

And on the way out we were in a hurry, but Layla saw Jasmine across the room and I gladly took the time for her to get a picture.  Disneyland is going to be off the hook!  I know this because Easton and Layla's excitement for the random recognizable character brought smiles to Kendra and I.

We sat patiently in the symphony hall and when the lights went down, show time was amazing.  There were many children there and the dress code was ridiculously lacking (even for casual Phoenix).  It was an odd atmosphere compared to my experiences with the  symphony, but perfect for introducing the twins to the classical music genre.  We often listen to classical in the car and I make a game out of identifying the correct instruments playing.  This was a whole new level of interactive compared to my games.

The circus acts provided a good visual stimulation to keep Easton and Layla interested while the symphony played with excellence.  Easton liked the man and woman who flew through the air on what looked like drapes hanging from a rope.  Layla liked the strong men who slowly positioned themselves in extremely talented balancing postures together.  I realize most 4-year-olds don't get these kind of opportunities.  Most people of ANY age don't get these opportunities.  We are so blessed and grateful.

We arrived home satisfied from the energy-draining day of activities.  Easton filled his "fuzzy jar" through exceptional obedience (and the ability to get the largest available fuzzies from the storage bag).  His reward for good consequences sat enticingly in the den where he saw it every day for the past few weeks.  Now it's time to show him the magic of RC 4x4. 

I bought this on clearance from Radio Shack after Christmas and stored it away for this occasion.  He picked up the RC skills fairly quickly, but his small hands don't quite reach the trigger yet.  I would say, "He'll grow into it", but I know this thing will be trashed before the end of this year.  There is a price to pay for learning...  In this case it is $24.95.  I'd rather do it this way than buy him an expensive one and see it demolished.  :)

Some things haven't changed in the last few years including the entertainment value of hanging on my legs as I walk.  I need stronger legs...



Easton's Strep Throat is cured and we are all healthy for the long weekend with bonus vacation day Monday.  I can't believe May is almost gone already and summer is finally here!  Kendra's birthday is only a few days away.  She celebrated with a few different girl friends in different ways.  

See you soon!

Air Traffic Control

Hello friends and family,

In the immortal words of Ferris Bueller, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."  As cheesy as that sounds I keep that nugget of wisdom in my thought process as I make decisions.

Kendra had plans to see a so-called friend who turned out to be not so good of a friend because of hurtful words instead of speaking life into Kendra.  There are very few things I dislike more than  someone hurting Kendra or Easton or Layla.  As a show of support and a chance to take advantage of an available evening I scheduled a neighborhood baby sitter for the twins and we went out for a gourmet dinner.  I chose one of Uncle Dave's favorite Italian restaurants because of the fond memories and we even ate Tiramisu, his favorite dessert.

The part I enjoyed even more than not having to tell someone "please eat your food" is giving Kendra my full attention in conversation.  What a breath of fresh air to sit for 90 minutes and be served.  It was worth every penny of the unscheduled expense and $20 for the baby sitter.  How much is Kendra's happiness worth?  A lot more than that.

After weeks of playing phone tag and busyness I finally nailed down a date for a tour of the control tower of a local Municipal Airport.  The last time I took only Easton to watch the planes fly, but for this trip I included Layla also.   I took a (really) long lunch from the middle of my work day and we had a great time.

The experience started with lunch on the outdoor patio of the Hangar Cafe, which sits directly on the tarmac.  We conversed with two pilots who started up their biplanes about 10 feet away from our table.

We climbed flights of steps up into the control tower, the tallest structure in town.  We met the air traffic controllers and spent 35 minutes seeing the flight patterns and watching them work.  Easton sat on shoulders so he could look down on the runway.  I could barely get him down because he was having such a great time.  Layla was happy to be there and very impressed.   However, I made the mistake of telling her she could get her picture taken while sitting in airplane once we finished the tower tour.  She begged me for the tour to be over so she could sit in a real plane.

As we walked across the tarmac I took a second to get a self-portrait.  I know the picture is poor quality, but trying to get two kids, my big head, and a flight tower all in a self-portrait was asking a lot.

The record heat was starting to set in as we took the really long walk across the pavement to the hangar where the several planes were.  An elderly pilot took an interest in Easton and Layla (big shocker) because of their friendly demeanor.  Layla burst out saying, "Can we get a picture in one of the planes?"  the pilot said, "sure!  You pick.  Any one you want."  Layla chose this one so I helped them climb inside.

They each grabbed the yoke between their legs and wrenched it back and forth in tandem.  The tail rudder lurched up and down, but since they were inside the cockpit they had no idea what was moving as a result of their actions.  I removed Easton and turned him to see the tail and he made the connection between Layla's motion with the yoke and the tail rudder movement.  Talk about light bulbs going off...

Then Easton wanted to choose a plane.  Of course I was more than happy to keep things fair so he picked this blue biplane.  The pilot flipped a switch to light up the dashboard.  I had to physically hold Easton's hands because he wanted to touch every knob and gauge.

Both of them wanted to stay at the airport longer, but unfortunately it's not an amusement park.  I just made it into a fun experience so they would enjoy it.  :)  Mission accomplished.  The car ride home was filled with the usual conversation, right on queue.  The twins both said, "I wish I could be a pilot".  My response, as usual, was, "You CAN be a pilot!  You can do anything you want."  Easton thought for a moment then said, "Yeah...  I can do anything I want."

I smiled and breathed a huge sigh of success.  It's about time he started believing the truth because I've been working daily since the day he was born to convince him of this.  Of all the recent adventures, this seemingly small response was my biggest success and reward of the year so far.

See you soon!

Dance and Party

What's up friends and family?

The 4 Webbs just wrapped up the most action-packed day since I can remember.  My Saturday started off with an early morning bike ride because the scorching afternoon heat detracts from the enjoyment.  

Arrived home to pancakes and a shower to rinse off the crusty salt patches (yuck).  Easton and I suited up to celebrate Zander's birthday with a boys only back yard bash.  Just add water... and a slip-n-slide.  

Easton was the youngest of the bunch, but jumped right into the action.  Then they started sucking mud into the super soaker water guns.  Things turned messy quick, but the Dads just spectated, laughed, and encouraged.

Somebody said it smelled like a swamp, which Easton has never experienced.  He said, "Dad, is a swamp where Yoda lives?"  His assessment was right on, which means Mommy is exposing the twins to short, age-appropriate clips of the Star Wars movies.  Creating a mud pit, you are.

The other activities included a balloon toss where Daniel partnered up with Easton.  He did really well catching and throwing, but once he learned how much fun it was to break the balloons on the ground he lost interest in winning the game.  I gave him a 2 yard penalty for intentional grounding and end-zone celebration.

Allow me to introduce the titanium dragon pinata. This thing took serious abuse from several rounds of beatings.  No visible effects other than a missing hand.  I held my breath for each swing as the mass of boys stood dangerously close to a blindfolded, bat wielding wild child.  Good times.

We left the birthday party right after cake and presents so we could get ready for Layla's dance recital.  Layla was beaming as she sashayed through the house.

We walked into what I can only describe as controlled chaos.  Dancers, Mommies, and glitter everywhere.  I mean everywhere.  Easton grabbed my belt loop with a death grip because he getting pushed around like a mosh pit.

Layla was overwhelmed with excitement to be in this environment.  About 100 fairy princesses like her all fluttered around preparing for the performance.  The most awesome take-away for me was seeing the twins in the same environment, but having polar opposite experiences.

Layla was so calm and comfortable that she was able to give us a few eye flutters during posing.

And her school friends were all in the same mindset:  laughing, energetic, loving every minute.

Then it was show time.  Layla performed masterfully.  She was the star of the show.  Kendra and I were beaming proud parents, but the better indicator was the packed auditorium's response to her actions.  Hip shake and stiff-armed shoulder rolls...  Show it off, girl.

Talk about exuberant, she controlled the stage like a rock star.

I know her dancing talent is inconsequential because it wasn't a competition.  However, even the other dancers from different schools were watching Layla dance in the middle of the performance because she was doing so well!

Kris, Kylie, and Morgan were so kind to join us in supporting Layla.  Seeing them after the show really meant a lot to her.  I can't wait to purchase the video.

I expected the 90 minute performance to be boring and difficult for Easton to sit still.  My baseless expectations were proven completely wrong.  I really liked watching the groups of little dancers prance around and Easton sat in my lap and cuddled the entire time.  The only trouble I had with Easton was keeping him and myself quite because he tooted.  We tried to stifle our chuckles, but in the process he blew boogers out of his nose and we both lost it.  Luckily during a loud dance routine.

Several memorable experiences I'll never forget all in a single day.  These are the days where parenting is on a whole new level of exhausting, but worth every minute.

See you soon!