Pumpkin Patch

This year's trip to the pumpkin patch was so different with little ones along for the ride. It was freezing outside so we went to the big red barn first with the twins bundled up in the stroller. Tytan jumped in the big ball pit and went through the corn maze, but by the time we were ready to pick pumpkins, the line for the tractor ride was so long we had to get the babies back in the car. We headed out the the WSU Tukey Orchard to find our pumpkins. We kept the twins in the car and first, Shane and Tytan picked our family pumpkins and then, Tytan and I went on the tractor ride around the fields. It was fun but a little wierd to not do all of the activities as a family.

Boys bath

Believe it or not, these are the first pictures we have taken of the boys bathing. I guess bathing two at a time keeps your hands too busy to snap a picture. The boys have become very fond of the bathtub. If I leave the bathroom door open, the two travel down the hall and stand on the side of the tub yelling at each other. Jaxon is very calm in the tub and plays with whatever toys float his way. Madox on the other hand is like a chipmunk on coffee. He stands, sits, spins, turns, lays out flat and twists faster than I can keep track of where I scrubbed. His baths end up being about 1 minute and he has about 5 bumps on his head before he gets kicked out. Hopefully the thrill of the bath with come to an end soon and they will just hang out with the toys like their big brother does. Tytan would spend hours in the tub if I would let him.

Swim lessons

Tytan finished his first session of swim lessons last week. He loved the water! He was very brave in the water and when it was his turn to swim one on one with the teacher, he listened well and can now put his "turtle up" (hands up above his head to dive), stroke forward and backwards and float on his back. During class the teacher would take one child out into the water to work on a skill while the others were expected to stand on the dock and hold onto the metal bars. Just to the side of the pool a lifeguard sat and reminded the kids to hold the bars. Tytan got time outs on the side of the pool every lesson for not keeping his hands on the bars. He was having too much fun splashing the other kids, scaling the bars like Spiderman and dunking himself. Once he even dunked himself too long, swallowed water and puked big time in the water. They had to evacuate the pool and clean it before it was open again. Yuck!

Helping Daddy in the kitchen

The twins love to stand up on anything they can grab on to. They are helping Daddy load the dishwasher, but pull the plastic cups out faster than he can put them in.
Shane and Tytan installed a new kitchen sink and faucet. It is so pretty, now we just need pretty cabinets and countertops to go along with it.

Our new house

Our big backyard where 8-10 deer hang out and eat our apples every morning and night.

The purple kitchen, and yes this is all I will show off because the sink was full of dirty dishes and the cabinets, countertops and floor are on our list of things to do!

The living room.

I love the number plate. It is so cute!

Babies' room

Tytan's orange room

It has taken me so long to post pictures of our new house, but we have been busy painting and slowly decorating. Here are a few... The babies' room is blue with construction trucks and Tytan's room is orange with big cats. The living room is a sage green, the kitchen is purple and our bedroom is halfway painted tan. It is nice having a bigger house, but managing three kids and trying to do any home improvements has proven to be challenging!

8 Month Comparison

Madox eating lunch.

Jaxon decked out in his Cougar jersey playing in the saucer.

Tytan crawling through the kitchen with his Easter bunny ears on.

I found this picture of Tytan at about 9 months old and wanted to see what he looked like compared to the twins. Everyone here thinks that Jaxon looks identical to Tytan, however in these pictures, I think Madox has his nose and smile. What do you think?

Movin' and Shakin'

Here's a picture of the twins crawling together. It seemed that Jaxon was just going to lay around while Madox was terrorizing the house, but three weeks ago he literally woke up crawling. It's a race to the toys on the carpet and Madox may be in front, but Jaxon beat him there! Notice Madox does everything with his tongue sticking out.

Shane's first journal cover

Shane took this photo while working with rat prostate tissues and fluroescence. He submitted it along with his article, "Comparative anti-androgenic actions of vinclozolin and flutamide on
transgenerational adult onset disease and spermatogenesis," and both the photo and article were chosen for publication in this October 2008 issue of Reproductive Toxicology. We are so proud of all the hard work he does! Good job Daddy!