Zoo

We bought zoo memberships last spring and went nearly every week this summer. Since it was sunny yesterday, I decided to take advantage of that and our free zoo passes and take the girls by myself. It was a really fun trip! It was nice to just have the girls and I in our party so we could take as long as we wanted at certain exhibits (ducks) and skip other exhibits (bats, snakes). Also, this was the first zoo trip that Laurel took where she could actually walk, so that was nice. However, the only shoes she has with a hard sole for outside wear are WAY too big for her, so she had a little bit of a problem with them. All in all, it was a very fun trip!

Laurel wanted to go join the polar bear cubs! They have this neat cave that kids can play in next to the exhibit (with a picture of polar bears on the back). Erika wanted to know why Laurel couldn't go in and play with the real polar bears.

Erika enjoying the zebras....and a Ritz.

The trees are starting to bloom here! It looked like a spring day, but felt much colder.

Hi Ho

Erika loves to sing, "Hi ho!" like the dwarfs in Snow White. Yesterday, she was playing with Daddy and Laurel tried to get in on the fun. She's not quite as fast as Erika, so she always had to bring up the rear. Kind of like Dopey.

Girls Night

Laurel had her very first sleepover with Aunt Sarah and Erika on Friday night! I am told that they did well and were a lot of fun. Here are some of the photos to prove it:

Laurel spent her time eating,

lifting weights,

reading,

and taking all the wipes out of the container.

Erika spent her time not eating,

reading books,

watching movies,

playing with the fake bug that I hid in the suitcase to scare Aunt Sarah (it didn't work due to the fact that the girls found it, not Sarah),

and eating popcorn.

Laurel also enjoyed playing with the light up ball in the kitchen.

Dating

I am dating again! He is the most handsome, caring, loving man to have graced this earth. And, his name is Matt Hammar! Yep, I am dating my husband.


We are so blessed to live close to our family who act as free babysitters. Sarah has volunteered (poor soul) to take our girls OVERNIGHT for us. That's right, she is keeping both girls so Matt and I can have a night where we don't have to get up at 1:45am to give someone a binki. Or get up early because someone has to go potty or is ready for breakfast. This has not happened since October 2008. I am so excited!


So, my date, which doesn't come around too terribly often, has been on the forefront of my thoughts lately. I was remembering when Matt and I first started dating. We would make plans to get together and I would spend quite some time picking out the perfect outfit (read: one that made me look skinny) and spending time doing my hair and make-up. It was fun and exciting and it gave me butterflies in my stomach! Our dating quickly turned into spending every free minute we had with each other. When we were engaged, and for the first four years of our marriage, a date could be planned on the spot. Since we were both working, often I didn't feel like cooking dinner so we would just decide to go out to eat. We were fancy free to pick up and do whatever we wanted, and that was fun! After Erika and Laurel, dates became much less frequent. We've learned to be happy just being with each other for the 3 hours between putting the girls to bed and putting ourselves to bed. And that time is the best time ever! We talk about our days and our future and laugh and work out problems and it is amazing. But, the time when we get to eat dinner without people throwing food on the floor or putting food in their hair is the best. And now, getting ready for a date is much the same as it was when we started dating. Our dates are planned well in advance (usually a couple of weeks) so I get to look forward to something for quite some time. I think about what outfit is the most flattering (read: makes me look skinny) and spend time doing my hair and make-up. Of course, the outfit goes on about 5 minutes before we leave for our date so no sticky or snotty hands get a hold of it. And sometimes it takes all day for me to actually finish getting my hair and make-up done, but it is so worth it. And I love my husband. And I love my sister for giving us this time together. And I love my girls, but I love having a break from them.


So I'm going to go start doing my hair.





But, before I do that, here is a video of Erika singing her new favorite song, "Zaccheus".

And here is Laurel eating her cereal this morning.

Look Who's Walking!

Ok, so Laurel has been "walking" for about two weeks, but I just managed to capture any of it on video. She still stumbles, a lot, but now the majority of her mobility is walking rather than crawling. She is getting much more adventurous about it and is letting go of the furniture or our hands to get from place to place. Her favorite thing to do is chase Erika....pretty soon it might be an exciting chase!

On a side note (ha ha!), I did Erika's hair like this last weekend.

Matt made me take it out before we left the house. He said it was too much like Napoleon Dynamite. I thought it was crazy cool!

Lab Rat

On Monday, Sarah and I drove up to the University of Washington Medical Center to take part in a research study being conducted using twins. It wasn't weird or demented like twin studies in the past (circa 1940s) and was actually kind of fun! We had been wearing a monitor on our wrist for a week and collecting saliva samples as part of the study. When we got to the hospital, we did a number of different tests, both physical and survey type questionnaires. The research study is on chronic pain (of which neither Sarah nor I have, so we must have been the awesome control group). It was a really fun couple of days with just Sarah and I, staying away from home - which means not having to get up in the middle of the night if Laurel can't find her binky - and eating pretty decent hospital food, room service style. The best part was when one of the nurses informed us that we could order whatever we wanted whenever we wanted....so we took advantage of the Haagen-Dazs ice cream they had. I liked that nurse. We talked and laughed the entire 36 hours we were together. For being a lab rat, it was actually a lot of fun!

While we were in Seattle, Matt stayed home with the girls. He said they did well, but I think he was pretty excited to be heading back to work yesterday morning. They were all healthy and happy when I arrived home and I found some pictures of a fairy dress up party they had!

Sisters = Best Friends

Today after lunch, Erika raced over to Laurel's high chair and said, "Look at me, Laurel. I'm your best friend!"

Winter 'One'derland

We had Laurel's birthday party Sunday afternoon. She enjoyed playing with all the kids who came over and really loved her birthday cake! Her big sister did most of the present opening for her, but luckily she's pretty easy-going so she didn't mind much. Erika is also doing a good job of breaking in all of Laurel's new toys for her....we've only had a few disagreements about who gets to play with what. A perfect first birthday bash!

Laurel's snowflake cake and the regular birthday cake.

Laurel with her cake.

We decorated the house with snowflakes and icicles and other winter-themed items.

Enjoying birthday bean soup.

Present time!

Erika "helped" Laurel open her gifts. She also wanted to be a princess for Laurel's birthday.

She started daintily with the cake.

And then ripped into it!

Party guests.

Happy Birthday Laurel

Our sweet little girl, Laurel, is one year old today! She is such a blessing to our family. It still amazes me how much babies change in their first year of life. Laurel's personality is developing so quickly and, luckily, we are loving it!

-She is so sweet. She smiles at everyone and everything. When Matt and I play with her, she crawls in our laps and gives us her huge, four-toothed smile. I love that!-She talks a lot. Kind of takes after the other female members of our family!

-She is tough. She has to be with Erika for a big sister. Things don't seem to bother her much. She shares her toys really well and is content, at least most of the time, with Erika forcing her to play whatever game it is they are playing.

-She is daring. Laurel is constantly climbing on things and pushing the limit with how high she should be.

-She loves to explore and learn new things. She will point to things around the house to ask us what it is. And, she will examine new toys or objects to see how they work before playing with them.

We thank God every day for little Laurel and are so fortunate to be her parents and guide her as she grows into a beautiful girl!

January 2009

January 2010