Garage almost done!

Happy LibbyMellyka!

Libby and Melly are now 3. An advanced 3. I told them to stop, but no one listens to me ;)



We let the girls "help" Nana bake cupcakes for the party, and they got to decorate them!





























Melly is really in a repair things phase now. She loves to "fix" things (just like Daddy). Here she is "fixing" nana's armchair.
She loves "her" new tools that she got for her birthday.


Mel and Libby both received these really cool doodle pads (a cross between an etch-a -sketch and those old pads that had a plastic sheet over a black wax board (draw on the plastic, lift it up to remove the image)). So they can draw, move a slider and draw again.







"I'm 3 Birthdays!"











"Oh cake, where have you been? I've missed you!"











"Read to me Daddy! Read to me!"












All my girls reading.









Two of the VERY cool toys they got were a toy bi-plane and a backhoe that has all of these plastic bolts that the girls (ok and Daddy) can take out, disassemble the toy and put back together'












"In the name of the Hundred Acre Woods, I capture you!"






Ok, this next set of photos make me simultaneously Happy, proud, and a bit sad (a feeling I'm aware I am going to have a lot from now on, with both girls).












Melly can now ride a bike (with training wheels).




















At age 3. I was like 10 when I got my 1st bike.












"Look Daddy! Elephant! On a stick!" (ok, anyone besides me know where I got that joke from?)








After we opened stockings, Daddy put on "Olive, the Other Reindeer" on the computer so the girls wouldn't get too bored waiting for the slowpokes to wake up so they could open PRESENTS!"










insert witty caption here







We had a Christmas DOUBLE rainbow this year. Very cool.













Nana reads to the girls to help them wind down from a hectic day.

update from Sue

Just a few pics, halloween and garage update. The garage is almost done but I can't figure how to get the pics from the camera untill Rocky gets home.

Late Summer Fun Part 2

We have decided that the time has come to tackle the back yard, a huge space that just isn't able to be used any any worth while way.

So we are putting in a large 2 car garage that is going to be both garage and shop space for Sue and I and a concrete patio extending from the garage to the back steps. It will give us a place to entertain and a place that the girls can play and ride trikes and what not.

First thing that needed to go was the apple tree.

















































Big machine 1 Tree 0.





















These 4 photos are the "before" shots of the rest of the yard........






















































The next thing that had to happen was getting rid of the brush and the downed tree. While the "tree guys" were here, I had them clean up and prune the remaining tree. It was WAY past due for a pruning.
































A Big change......












































Our tree looks so much better with a trim.
























































More digging














































































Still doesn't look like much, does it?



































Now the pre-foundation prep begins......






Forms for the foundation "pour" are going up!

They should be about ready to pour the concrete when the rains let up.

Late summer fun Part 1

We were over at our friends Lee and Tina for a farewell dinner for their daughter Diana, who was leaving for college.

The girls discovered the "bestest thing of all time". See for yourself. :)






















































When we were in Seattle, we visited the zoo and got (among other things) a little plastic zebra. Libby has decided that "Giraffe" needed a house to sleep in.
So we made the zebra a barn.....





























The girls discover the joy of raincoats.

Sue's Birthday 2008

Ok, 4 months is a little long, But WE have been a bit busy

Around the House

At the Beach

Visiting Family In Seattle

At the Seattle Science Museum

AT the Zoo

Tempera Painting

Melly's Masterpiece











Libby has a different style

Around the dinner table

How did it get to be almost the middle of May? Oh, yeah.....

"Look Mommy I dressed myself!"











"Look Mommy I dressed myself and I have string! Willow No string."












"Balloon!!!!!"
You may be able to see that Libby has had her "First Haircut".





Libby has decided in the last couple of days that her bath towel is now her security blanket. She can't go anywhere without it. I wonder what happened?







"I'm the Frog Princess!! Happened a couple of days ago."













"Come my tadpole minions! We must conquer the world, or at least the living room."


This is the year for home maintenance and improvement. We were in the backyard and discovered that the house paint was peeling something awful, so now we have a freshly painted house. With Oregon spring time weather, it took the painters a bit over 6 weeks to do a 8-10 day job. It's really nice, tho.

More on the Improvement part later.




Mel also had her "First Haircut". Hers is more of a Page boy cut and it is so cute on her!






The weather is getting better and we can play in the yard more often. If the forecast holds, we may be playing under the sprinkler by the end of the week.

And Daddy may be able to tame the thicket that our back yard has become. *SIGH*





Mel: Plane!
Libby: Willow drink?











I don't think a caption is really needed here, do you?











"Yep, this is a mighty fine batch of moonshine, er, milk."

Why is my life suddenly in Fast Forward?

The weather in Oregon is powered by a random number generator, I've come to believe. One day rainy and cold, the next sunny and warm(ish). We go to the park sometimes on those days. Mel just LOVES the swing. She would live in one if we let her I think.




Libby, on the other hand,
prefers running and climbing (both up and down). She likes the swing but usually wants to slide (or as the girls call it, go WEEEEEEEEE!).










Mel is getting to the place that riding on Daddy's shoulder is great fun. It makes Libby uncomfortable however.




One weekend when Nana and Poppa were up to visit, Sue heard that the temps were going to be in the 50's and decided that a picnic was in order. In the Morning. In Oregon. In the Winter. I decided to stay home and work on Nana's computer. Two hours later, everyone was home, very cold, but happy to have gone to a new park. This is the "at home" picnic. It did reach the low 50's that day, around 4 pm.



The girls and I (sometimes Mommy gets in on the fun) have been passing cold germs back and forth for a month or so now. This photo and the next are from the 1st go round of the bug.








Oh, we have a brand new couch now, it's very comfortable as the girls are showing here.







We have been trying our hand at crafts now. The girls love Play-doh (or paydough as Mel says). Mellie would rather tear it apart than make anything, so she is more into the texture phase.








Libby, on the other hand tries to make things, with Daddy's help she can make Peas and plates and a cup and snakes.





I am so proud that we are raising such polite, clean eaters.








For being Two, that is.









"Now where did I put that spoon?"










Pity Libby is not a fan of pancakes and homemade strawberry sauce,






Libby and Mel are really into coloring. Hardly a day goes by that they don't color. Their favorite color is Blue. Of course, at the moment, every color is "blue" or "green". They know the names of the primary and some secondary colors, but haven't quite mastered the knack of matching name and color yet. But they will soon.






Easter, 2008

The year the girls discover Easter baskets.








And Chocolate.








Did I mention that they discovered chocolate?









did I mention, oh never mind.










They also discover hunting for Easter eggs. Last year Daddy found some "Willy Wonka anti-gravity" eggs. So Melly found one stuck to the door.








"Mommy may I have some more chocolate?"







"Thank you. "












It took some doing, but I managed to get a picture of Nana and Poppa and Mel and Libby all facing the same direction.

Going into Easter I kept up saying that I didn't want the girls to have too much sugar and chocolate for Easter. Sue didn't believe the stories.
Once we finally got the girls down for naps, an exhausted Sue looked at me and said "Ok, you were right and I was wrong."
Not that it was a contest or anything. LOL.





This is the new laundry hamper for the girls clothes. Or it will be once Mellie gets back from the moon in it.

It HAS to be a coincidence......

I was talking to Sue this morning at breakfast and I spelled out B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Not 2 seconds later Libby says Banana (or her version of it :) ) Banana Banana. Sue and I just look at each other and go. "Oh no, she didn't... it was just a coincidence. Has to be." We look at Libby "You are not starting that yet."

I love my Life. :)

Another Toddler Milestone

This morning Melly came up to me and started babbling as she usually does early in the morning, but THIS morning, I was able to understand her (mostly)! She was recounting what had happened moments before...."Daddy in" "Mommy Potty" "Mommy Daddy sit" All we had just finished doing :)







This is my favorite photo of Libby

A New "First"

Today Mel Managed to get out of Bed, open the door to her and Libby's room and comeinto our room to get us up!

Libmelika 2007

These are the words we know!

The girls have really been picking up a lot of words lately (seems like at least 1 a day of late). What they lack in pronunciation they make up for in excitement ;)
Here is a (partial) list, with definitions (most of which Sue and I are "pretty sure" are right.

Poppy/Puppy--any non-human animal
Shhh(uu)--Shoe (usually means I want to wear shoes NOW!!!)
Lill-o--Willow (the doggie)
WOW--I just discovered something really cool (ex. when Libby discovered snails for the 1st time)
Baba--context based usually means Bottle sometimes means Granpa.
E-I-E-I--Please play "Old McDonald's Farm" on the See-N-Say
Pa(sometimes Par)--Park
WEEEEEEE--a playground slide
Nana-- well, Nana
Uh-Oh--Dearest Father/Mother, something is not as it is supposed to be. Please be so kind as to fix it. (Usually it's a gate or door not closed as it usually is, or anything else that is out of place--sadly, toys on the floor don't qualify lol)
Bibby--Libby
Dank-u--Thank you
Mommy
Daddy
Mama/Dada-- I need your attention and I am in too much of a hurry to remember the right name.
Wha-der--(I need a drink of) Water.
Ba--Ball
Apbee--(May I have an ) Apple (to eat) {Actually, can be most any fruit)
Ice--(I want some crushed) Ice (to eat)
Bye-Bye
Pah-tee-- I have to go Potty
Yeah-Yeah-- Yes Yes, usually used when they konw a response is needed, but they don't really know what we're asking
No
Egg-- I want eggs to eat
Hi
Ah-AH--Look! Look! or a Bird or a puppy (they are barking like doggies)
Tika-Tika--Tickle Tickle
Sisder--Sister
Stay
Bukkkk--Book

big girl news!

Well, we had an unexpected milestone this evening!! Melanie went pee-pee in the potty! TWICE!!

They have had a little potty in our bathroom for months, and have been sitting on it sometimes. Also Rocky and I have been excusing ourselves to go "potty". Mel has been saying potty for a few weeks, and over the past few days she has been grabbing her diaper and saying potty. A few days ago I took her into the potty and sat her on it, without any results. Tonight she did that, I took her in there,sat her on the potty and pottied myself, explaining myself. She stood up after a minute and looked in the potty, and looked suprised. She had peed!! We then took the insert out of the potty, poured the urine in the toilet, and said byebye, and flushed! She then did the same thing a few minutes later, and I took her back, not expecting anything, and she pee'd again!! We did our goodbye thing, and she was so tickled with herself!! She wants to sit on it all the time!!

Just thought I would share this big girl step, can you believe she is only 20 months old!! WOW...
Of course Melly has not liked having her diaper changed for a long time, and often pitches a fit during the change.

Libby enjoys having her diaper changed, and asks frequently for her diaper to be changed. She has been uncomfortable with a dirty diaper for a couple of months. I had been thinking this would mean that she would be the first to use the potty. We now know that we are going to have to have two kids potties... Libby was heartbroken she couldn't sit on the potty too especially after Melly got such an excited response!

Boy, these kids are remarkable!!
(Sue)

The Potty (Baby Bjorn Potty Chair) has been ordered and will ship "Real Soon Now". Gotta Love Babies R Us.

new Photos!

Stuff I should have posted before but didn't.....

What We did on our summer vacation Part 2

What We did on our summer vacation

Yeah,yeah I'm late posting

spring stuff

This is by Sue

Well we are excited about spring!! You can tell how excited the girls are! This is the first time this year they have been able to wear springtime clothes!!

The girls have been growing like weeds! They are both walking and really trying to talk. Suddenly they can understand much of what is being said to them... and respond apporopriately!! They are exploring the house, and trying to explore outside as much as possible!






Mel is climbing on everything she can, and is so cool about everything!














This is the first meeting of the girls with the dolls I made for them! Mel loves them and likes to carry one around when she leaves her room. Libby is not sure they are all that interesting!





Some pictures from the Grandparents' most recent visit.








Mel climbing on more things
The girls' new fire engine that Nana and Grandpa brought to them! They love this toy, they can climb on it, ride it, push it, and it has lights and music and moving parts!!

Photos old and new(ish)

This is a photo of
me with Dad taken yearly 1957 I would guess. Don't I look a lot like Mel?









This is my Mom and Dad on their wedding day. I think. I wasn't there ;) I hadn't been aware that this photo even existed. This would be Sometime in May 1955 (I think). I was born some 16-18 months later.













This is my Mom. From the clothing, I'm guessing that this is my Sister Kate. She was born in November, 1957.










I'm guessing mid to late '60s for this photo. Pictured are Aunt Vivian (Mom's younger sister), Uncle Joe, Diane, my younger cousin Pam, my cousin Craig, and my maternal Grandparents. It must have been a great day, I don't ever remember my Granddaddy and Grandma being as happy as they were in this photo.


Ok, now some random photos from christmas time to the near present......





"You are the funniest doggie I have ever seen"











"Am I cute or what?"








"Is this how I use the toothbrush? Wanna you mean this is a spoon?"











"I think I see the problem. It's a box, not a spaceship."










"Ready or not, here I come."













"What color is purple, again?"








"Piggy, you are my bestest friend."












"Who put that wall there?"










"Wake up Libby. I wanna play and all Daddy is doing is taking pictures."











"The Queen of the toy box surveys her Queendom."








Mel and Libby climbing stairs.....

MelLibaka 2006

These are the 1st set of photos from christmas. I'll have more later (as well as words for the photos!)

In Memory

I had planned on posting photos of the girl's 1st birthday, and I will in a day or so, but I got some pretty bad news yesterday (Jan 1).

I got a call from my youngest brother, Larry, that my Dad had died. He had just moved to a new place in rural Florida and no one had heard from him in days, so the police went out to check on him. He was found dead on the floor from an apparent heart attack. It looks like that he had been dead a couple of days.

It's only been in the last few months that I had begun to reconcile with Dad, and he was SO happy to know that I was ok and had married and he got to see pictures of Libby and Mel. I'm happy that I've talked to him and that there was no ill feelings between the two of us.

I think that he knew his time was short over Christmas. When we got home from Sue's folks, he had left 3-4 messages, each a bit more frantic than the last wanting to know if we were ok.

Sue spoke to him that evening (her first time ever to talk to my Dad) and I was to call him the next day. I never got a hold of him.

My brothers (Steve and Larry) are going down today to tie up the loose ends and to cremate the body. The memorial service will be decided on later. I'll keep you informed on that.

I've been going through the roller coaster that is the grief cycle and its tough as I've come to realize that I have never really grieved over my mother's death 28 years ago.

*sigh* Sometimes being a grownup sucks. But then I look into my girl's faces and all seems so much better.

Hi Auntie Mel!

Don't the girls look cute? Their outfits were made by their auntie Mel (Sue's best friend from Nashville). Libby and Mel are just now big enough to wear them. This is one of the few photos in the set that has them looking in more or less the same direction.

Thanksgiving

We're planning on having photo Christmas cards this year. This one has my vote.
Yes, I said Christmas, not Seasons greeting, not Holiday but Christmas. I like Christmas. I like Santa Claus. I like finding the perfect present.
If you don't celebrate Christmas, that's cool and if you want to wish me a happy Chanukah or Kwanza or Joyous Solstice or whatever you observe I'm happy to receive it. But I am not now nor do I ever think I will pass as "Politically Correct".
Sorry about that.








"Uncle Steve! Uncle Steve! Can I help? Please! Please!"







"I'm helping my Uncle Steve!"








"Daddy, what are all those good smells?"












Thanksgiving dinner. This was the first time the girls have had dinner with the rest of the family. It was so much fun and I swear that Mel was about 3 pounds heaver the next morning.

They (and we lol) had roast turkey, dressing (Mel, Libby and I anyway...Seems I married into a "stuffing family" but they baked some stuffing for me which I shared), peas, mashed taters, mock mashed potatoes (made with califlower), mashed parsnips (which the girls just LOVED), baked pearl onions and yeast rolls. I know I forgot something, but I was too busy putting food on Mel's tray (oh yes, the girls fed themselves!)

The Giving of Thanks

I have so many things to be thankful for. A beautiful wife, 2 fantastically beautiful and intelligent girls. This has been the best year of my life.


Mel is doing her darndest to walk and Libby is beginning to crawl.




























Nana got to feed the girls breakfast on our 1st full day in California.







I'm not sure how gets more out of me getting down on the floor and playing with Mel and Libby. I think it may be a tie.








Then again I might be wrong ;)










Shoes are baby magnets. Trust me on this. This shoe belongs to my niece Angelina.











Nana and Granpa live on a bay. the girls got almost daily strolls.

Big News, Pics to follow (I Hope)

Today at about 6:04 am Mel WALKED for the 1st time! We were all in the nursery, Mel was standing, holding on to Mommy's Robe when Mel decided that she wanted to go see Daddy and let go of Mommy and took 3 steps before falling into my arms.

My Life is ever so much more fun now.

3:10 pm PST: Not to be out done, Libby figured out today how to sit up by herself. A major accomplishment , as Libby has a larger than normal head (just like Daddy) and it's been making her too top heavy.

As these photos show, she has a very unorthodox style but it works for her :)

NICU Reunion

Every year around Halloween, The Sacred Heart NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) has a reunion of everyone (and their Families) that have been under their care. Yesterday was the 21st one (and the girls 1st).

We have been planning on going ever since the nurses told us about it when we were in NICU.

Nana had found these cute Halloween onies and Sue made pants and capes for the girls.
















The girls weren't quite sure what to make of all of it (and it was a LONG day, what with the time change and all) but everyone had a good time. We got to see some of our favorite nurses and have our picture taken with Tigger ;)






Oh, and the girls discovered Helium Ballons!

If you have a baby, BUY THIS BOOK!!!!!

First off, The only thing I get out of this is knowing I've helped someone else ;)


The Girls have been sleeping through the night since they were 3 months old. That's when I started using this book.

I'm not talking 6 hours a night I mean 8-9-10 hours plus naps.

Why the author hasn't won a nobel prize or been made a saint beats me. LOL.

If you are a new parent or know a new parent or need a baby shower present, THIS is the "must have" gift.


Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child

Quick Update

Sue has made it home safe and mostly sound (She's exhausted and has (so far) a mild cold). I and the Girls are SO happy to have her home.

What I did on my summer vacation (er, while Sue was out of town)

It's now Monday and Sue is due back tonight. While we ALL miss her, I'm proud to say that I managed to survive pretty darn well. Even if I am exhausted, its nice to know that I can take care of the girls (short term) by myself.

We even managed to make a couple trips (once to Wal-mart and yesterday we went out for coffee and the Sunday paper.

But the really big news is, that after 15+ years, I called up and talked to my Dad. It was probably one of our better conversations. Ever.

It's going to be nice that Libby and Mel will be able to know my side of the family.

More Later.

Three is a magic number

Early this morning (3:30 am AKA Oh-Dark-30) I kissed Sue (AKA Twin's Mom) goodbye as she lunged her suitcase to the car to head out to Eugene to catch a flight to Kingsport, TN. She and her mom (AKA Twin's NANA) are going to visit her mom (AKA Twin's Great-GrandMa) for a few days.
So far, the girls (AKA Da Twins) and I have had a great time, we've slept in (all the way to 6:15 am!) had "baby finger food" for breakfast (cauliflower, tofu, steamed carrots, toast squares)

I'm not worried (much) about be2ing left with the girls (I have a couple of back ups in place) as it's really only a few extra "awake hours" with them. Sue will be back monday night.

More later!