Holidays 2008

For our boys' first Christmas, we first celebrated a brunch with Gr. Alan, then a Christmas eve with Gr. Miriam, then flew to Utah. The little guys were as cool as ever on the plane and Grandpa/Dad picked us up, welcoming us to a perfectly snow-covered holiday. We loved hanging out with Gr. Wayne and Gr. Taffy and our sibs and appreciated their hospitality. We wish we'd been able to visit with more extended family and friends, but John and Luke seemed to keep us busy at all hours - and I mean all hours. Looking back, it's kind of a haze. Great to have aunts and uncles around to help.

The boys made a quantum leap in the past few weeks - first Luke pulled himself to his knees and his feet in the crib, then he and John both fell out of crib/off bed for the first time, in separate rooms, within 2 minutes of each other. WHUMPwanh..WHUMPwanh. They didn't hide their shock and pain but were tough about it.

John's turning into a Robin Williams sound machine, and Luke's going to be climbing sheer rock faces soon.

And now they're both crawling - getting speedier every day. Lateral and vertical mobility is a huge change for them and for us. We're learning firsthand why new parents are so paranoid. It's unbelievable how quickly these little squirts can get into not-good situations.

I don't know how Julie does it but she makes caring for them look graceful and easy all the while. Seriously, with Mom always singing and reading to them (and feeding, etc.), these guys are living a gooood life.

2008 was a radical year for us. We're so blessed. We look forward to the multiplying misadventures that 2009 will bring.

You Ready for Christmas?

You bet.

Thanksgiving '08

Things 1&2

Things 1 &2

Half a Year Old

Order above, top to bottom: J, L, J, L. The boys are now half a year old - man that arrived quickly. We couldn't be happier and don't think the guys could be any cooler.

These days John continues to amaze with his vocal repertoire. And while for much of the early days, John seemed less interested in people than did Luke, John is now quite the happy charmer. John actually looks for opportunities to laugh - he loves it and has a dang cute chuckle. Oh, and two bottom teeth have broken through. Julie's reeeally thrilled about that. And John's a major binky-raider - takes the bink right out of Luke's mouth whenever he can.

As he has from the beginning, Luke continues to have an unshaken belief that if he just pushes/pulls/squeezes hard enough, be it a swaddling blanket, piece of furniture, or big person, whatever he's trying to break out of or bring closer to him will indeed cede to his will. This kid is all about brute force and he is incredibly STRONG. We've had to adjust the way we handle him because of it. He's turning into a squirmer. We fear for the safety of all untethered objects and small animals once he's mobile.