A Campin' We Will Go

So last weekend my niece Carolina celebrated her 14th birthday party with a weekend camping trip. We decided that the boys weren't quite ready for overnight camping quite yet, so we made a day trip out of it. We spent the usual 2 hours or so prepping for the excursion, making sure we had enough food, clothing and entertainment for these two busy boys. Once we got there, though, it was well worth the energy used in making the trip a reality! The boys were so excited to be out in nature. And, let me tell you, these boys were so dirty that when they sneezed, you can only guess what color it was!

Blakey playing in the dirt, of course.

Nicolas was entertained by the big girls until he saw a pile of leaves.

I managed to wrangle them up for a quick picture. Blakey was not interested in being confined....so much to explore, so little time!

Found the leaves!

"Mom, I almost got it...just hold on, give me a few more minutes and I'll have this thing working....." Well, I'm sure if he had been given a few more minutes, Mr.Determination would for sure have had water gushing everywhere!

We took the boys in the pool and they both liked it a lot. Nicolas was more comfortable with the water but of course, after Jeff got out with Blakey, all he wanted to do was hang over the edge and put his hands in the water.

They enjoyed a little "ride" in this portable hammock.

After our dip in the pool, we decided to break out the backpack that my dad got for us and attempt to take a little hike. We were in the middle of the Santa Ynez countryside on a beautiful 75 degree day and it sounded like a great idea! This picture was taken before we embarked on our trek---- uphill!!!!!

I think Blakey had the best view of all! He really loved being in the backpack. Nico was in my Ergo carrier and it was somewhat comfortable for me. I think I got a pretty good workout when you take into consideration that I was hauling an extra 22 pounds on my left hip!

Yes, Nico HAD to bring his blankie on the hike. It was around their afternoon nap time and we both hoped that the walk would put them to sleep....yeah, right...what were we thinking?

We lasted about 1 mile uphill and then we turned around. Although we were a bit exhausted, it did feel really good to do something that we use to enjoy prebabies. We hope to find another backpack and take more hiking trips. We have several really nice hiking areas near us and we really should be utilizing every part of our expensive zip code!

The hour ride to the campground turned into a two hour ride home with traffic. Two tired, hungry boys did not make for an enjoyable end of the day. They did, however, sleep very well that night and we have our first "camping" trip under our belts!

hugs,

Rebeca

Toddler Time

Hello out there! As I'm sure you can imagine, life with two toddlers keeps us pretty busy and exhausted around here! So, please accept my dearest apologies for not updating the blog for soooooooooo long! The boys have definitely turned into little people demonstrating their distinct personality traits.

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and the Dr. was very happy with their development. In fact, after Nicolas gave Dr. Pecht a big hug and Blakey seemed very interested in the doctor's ring, watch, etc, he told us that our boys were some of the most social 15 month olds that he's seen a while!

And the 'fro lives on! You know it's almost bath night when it gets this bad!

Nicolas sporting the mohawk.

For their birthday, my sister Teresa got the boys this cool slide! They are still learning how to climb up it and go down. Here are some pictures from the first time tried it out.

A happy Blakey anticipating what is about to happen next.

Nicolas goes down a little faster due to his big belly! Oh, and yes, those are his socks rolled over his sweats. Don't know how that happened...One boy is in the 70s and one is in the 80s!

Of course, after they went down the slide a few times, our future engineers had to flip the slide over to figure it all out.

A sleepy Nico on the way home from a busy day.

Blakey excited to go play basketball at our neighborhood park. They both LOVE watching live sports. Happy Daddy!!




Our friends Tami and Craig came to visit us a couple of weeks ago and we headed to the beach!

The boys LOVED being there. Nicolas played in the sand while Blakey explored his surroundings.

Emma taking Nico down the slide.

Blakey playing soccer.

A VERY happy Nicolas....I see many trips to the beach in our future!


Hope you are all well!

Love,

Rebeca

Walking, Walking and More Walking

Yes, here are some pictures of our boys in motion! Enjoy!

Nicolas enjoying the bubbles.

"Catch me if you can!" says Blakey, running off with the markers. And yes, we do feed him 3 meals a day in addition to several snacks and he is still THAT skinny!

Nicolas "helping" me cook my Easter lasagna.


We've been busy, busy, busy...lots to catch up on but lots of sleeping to do, so bye for now!

Hugs,

Rebeca

You'll Have to Just Believe Us for Now

Okay, these pictures and the text is all out of order! I had it all nicely organized and then added more pictures and everything got moved around. I don't have the patience to move everything around so enjoy the maze of a story!

Our Bookworms- They really do enjoy their books!

"Cool lighting mom!"

"Happy Easter!"

Nope, we lied. We have not recorded the boys walking yet. We do have "pictures" but of course it just looks like they are standing. But, believe us, it is true and we are not big, fat liars. They are walking! In fact yesterday, Blakey was walking DOWN the street and to his and my surprise, he was actually running. I had to help him put on the brakes, as they are both still mastering this skill. Around here we call Nicolas Frankenstein because he walks with both arms up and out. It is really quite comical!

So, you'll have to just enjoy these "non-walking" pictures for now!

Now we have pretty much baby-proofed the inside of the house but outside is a different story. We originally had the yard on two different levels but we are currently working on making it one level. Jeff was out working the other day and we all decided to join him. The boys LOVED playing in the water!

I brought them in and stripped them down to their diapers. They continued to watch daddy work through the window.

The boys got a wagon from Grandpa Jim and Grandma Nancy and they LOVE going for walks in it.

Blakey looking all cute with his long 70's hair. SEVERAL people keep asking us when we are cutting their hair and the answer is we don't know. They both have long hair and Nicolas kind of looks like a girl when not in blue. But you know what, I don't care. I'm not ready for my "babies" to have big boy haircuts quite yet. I think as their mommy I have every right to delay this for as long as I so chose to! (There, got it out! I feel much better now!)

Right after I took the first picture, Nicolas had to crowd Blakey's space as usual.

Hugs,

Rebeca

It's Official!

We are happy to announce that we are proud parents to two WALKING boys! It's really quite entertaining to watch them walk in a "drunken" fashion through the house.....We'll try to get some good video footage this weekend. Wish us luck as we now face a new chapter in this novel called Parenthood!

Just the pictures, please.

I've been having so much fun taking pictures of the boys recently that it's time for a post of just my images!

Blakey and I have been working on his posing.

Nicolas showing off his two lower teeth. More coming soon.

I was outside watering and the boys were distraught.

Blakers was begging me to come inside. Yes, I had the hose in one hand and my camera in the other.

Blakey really loves the couch game! I do too because I can shoot with our super-cool yellow wall as a background.

Nico's version of The Thinker.

As Blakey studies his tooth brush, he's amused when we explain that this really is something that we want him to put in his mouth!

On the other hand, Nicolas loves brushing his teeth. You have to fight him for the toothbrush when it's time for bed. Seriously.

The boys and Rebeca at our first family easter egg hunt! Brought to you by VCMOMs.

The boys were thrilled with their eggs! I'd like to say that they were sharing, but more likely they were whacking each other on the head with their eggs (and laughing about it).

I suppose "hunt" is a bit of a strong word for it. The eggs were just kinda lying around.

And finally, Blakey waves goodbye with his egg full of goldfish, and says "Dada!"

Until next time...when we post pictures of the boys walking -

Jeff