Hangin' with our Old Grandpa Man

This week we have had the distinct pleasure of hanging out with our Grandpa Beck.  He is one cool dude! He likes to hold us and he isn't afraid to feed us either, what a guy!  Here we are when we went swimming together:

This is what we look like after a refreshing dip in the pool.  With our robes on, Grandpa thinks we look like Rocky, ready for a round in the ring.  We told him we're a little too young to start boxing now, but as you can see in this picture, Elyse is already practicing her right hook.

I've had enough!

Elyse: I've had enough!  My family is crazy!  How did I end up with these folks?  Sometimes, a girl's just got to throw in the towel.  I've tried to make them normal, but to no avail.  Here I am, at my wit's end, in the throws of exhaustion.

Twin Mania!

On Saturday, we went to a really fun BBQ at our friends' house.  It was a reunion of some of the twin families we met in the hospital.  5 families were able to make it (there are about 10 families in all that we met).  We had so much fun seeing our twin friends all together!

Here we are all hanging out on the same blanket for a photo op.  Can you find us? 

These boys are our very good friends, Ryder and Trey.  We've known them since the day we were born!  They were hanging out in the NICU with us for a while.

Felicity: This is Nella and Keegan. We had the BBQ at their house.  I really like them, despite my screaming in the left of the photo.  Nella and Keegan's mommy and daddy hung out with us in the NICU before they were born (because their mommy was on hospital bedrest--yuck!).  

This is Nissa and Allison, also friends of ours from the NICU.  They were checking in right when we got to check out of that crazy place.

Here we have Lena and Will.  They were born right on schedule, so no NICU time for them.  This was the first time we've met them and we were quite pleased to make their acquaintance.

Here's another pic of Trey. 

Trey and his mommy and brother go with us for walks on Tuesdays and Thursdays so we know them really well.  Mommy would not have survived the NICU without their family's friendship!

Below is Trey's twin, Ryder.  And yes, that is a mohawk you see.  He is one cool dude!

Here's Keegan again (we think).  Keegan and Nella are the only set of identical twins in our group.  They look so much alike, it's hard to tell them apart (yes, that point is an obvious one to most of you, but still, we figured we'd highlight it anyway!)

This is Nella (and once again, we think!).  These girls are our best twin girlfriends!  They have stellar wardrobes like we do and are very stylish.  We will probably have more pictures to come with them because they have some of the same cute outfits we do and our mommies both like LOTS of pictures!

Here's the whole gang together.  Most everyone was crying, but we were pretty calm and collected until Trey was crying right next to Elyse and she figured she might as well join in the chorus.  

Where are we?

Elyse: Mom, I am so unsure about this whole thing.  Does my look of concern and apprehension not entice you to pick me up?  How unfortunate!  What does a girl have to do to get some love around here?

Felicity: Hey, Nella!  What's up?  Is this an ear you have?  How amazing, I have one of those too!  Come to think of it, I think I have two of those!

Hola!

Hola from your favorite ninas! Our Grandma and Grandpa Butcher went to Guatemala in February and brought us back these beautiful dresses.  We are finally big enough to wear them and the Colorado weather has been pretty hot lately, so they are just perfect!

And yes, that is both of us smiling for the camera!

Okay, enough smiling for pictures.  Now let's get serious Mom, are we done yet?  We have things to do today...like roll over, and sleep, and read books, and sleep some more...

We do love our hats, but only when we're wearing them outside and they shield our eyes from the sun.  Mom put them on just for these pictures--how ridiculous!

Alright, lady, put the camera down slowly and no one gets hurt.

And to all of our grandpas...

Happy Father's Day, Grandpas!  We love you so much!

This is our Grandpa Beck.  He is going to teach us about the value of a good pen and just what kind of leather makes the perfect wallet.  He will also teach us how to keep our shoes in perfect order and condition.  We're sure he'll give us lots of chocolate, as long as we promise to be neat and clean :0)  We love our Grandpa Beck so much! 

He is visiting us soon because he's coming to CO for work.  We can't wait to see him again!

Here we are with our Grandpa Butcher.  He will teach us how to save our dollars and coins in a sophisticated piggy bank and when our coins get stuck in the bank, he will have just the right tools to fix it!  He will also teach us how to figure things out and fix them when they break as he is very handy!   We are going to see him for the 4th of July and we are looking forward to it.  We're going to have so much fun!  We love you Grandpa Butcher!

This is our Great-Grandpa Butcher.  We are especially lucky to have him as a great-grandpa as he is the only one we've got! He is going to teach us about life at the farm, about the sugar bush, about the Breakfast Club, about the value of small rodent wildlife and what to do when they get into one's garden, and basically tell us all kinds of silly stories of the crazy family we are a part of!

Happy Father's Day Grandpas!  We love you so much and can't wait to see you soon!

Happy Father's Day!

We just want you to know what a great daddy we have!  He loves us very much and takes such good care of us.  Here are a few reasons we love our dad:

He is so strong.  Even strong enough to get up in the middle of the night and feed us (but we think he's pretty happy he doesn't have to do that any more!).  

Despite his stoic demeanor, he is gentle and has a very big heart.  He is so gentle that he came to the hospital night after night when we were in the NICU and held our little bodies close and we knew just how much he really loved us. 

 

He is cool.  We think that not many dads are taking their babies to Starbucks, but our dad is.  How cool is that?  (And Mom thinks it's pretty awesome too!)

And finally, our daddy is spectacular because he loves us and we love him.  He takes such good care of us and we want all of you to know that we are very lucky little girls!

Breaking News!

Elyse is now able to roll over on her own!  Her first big solo roll-over occurred on Thursday. (More pics to come)

Yee-Haw!

At the Denver Art Museum they have a "hands-on" corner within the Western Art exhibit that you can explore.  We thought it would be fun to model a little cowgirl attire and test our skills on a saddle.  Clearly, we were a little apprehensive.  We pretty much think we're city girls like our mom.  We'd rather explore the Magnificent Mile than the Wild West...but of course, we can still look cute in these Cowgirl-Chic hats! 

Elyse: Seriously, I am not amused.  Riding a saddle in a dress?  I don't think so!

Elyse:  Well, red may be my color.  This hat is starting to grow on me.

Felicity: Yippee!  I think I could get used to this.  

Felicity: So how do I look?  Like a cowgirl?  Nah.  I don't think I'm ready to give up my cute pink outfit for the open range.

A Visit from Grandma

Grandma Beck was able to get a great ticket and visit us for the past week.  We have simply LOVED having her here.  We've gone shopping at two different malls, went to a doctor's visit together, had drinks at Starbucks (of course, it's our favorite place!), went for a walk around the lake, went to the bookstore, explored an art fair in downtown Denver, enjoyed the Denver Art Museum together, and all around had a marvelous time!  Grandma even got to baby-sit us while Mom and Dad went to a Rockies' game.  We just love having her here (and Mom doesn't mind the help either)!

Elyse: This is Grandma and me hanging out at Starbucks.  We had fun here after a long afternoon at Barnes and Noble looking at fabulous books.

 During some of our forays around the art museum we slept in our stroller, but when we were awake, Mom and Grandma took turns carrying us around to look at the art work.  We loved looking at all of the interesting paintings and drawings that used lots of colors and had big contrasting shapes.  

While at the museum, we pondered the question "What is Art?" We're still discussing this amongst ourselves.  When we come up with an answer, we'll let you know. 

This is Grandma at the art museum between two Georgia O'Keeffe paintings (she is Mom's favorite painter). 

Our 4 Month Check-Up

We had our 4-month check-up yesterday.  We are getting so big!  

Elyse: 10 lbs 11 oz

23 3/4 inches long

Felicity: 12 lbs 7.8 oz

23 3/4 inches long

Just like dolls

One of our relatives in MN made us these beautiful sweaters and hats.  We got them when we were born, but we haven't been big enough to wear them yet.  The other day, it was pretty cool and rainy outside, so we wore the sweaters and hats to stay warm.  Grandma and Mom think we look just like dolls!

Elyse: Make the pictures stop!  Can't a girl get any privacy around here?

Our first swim

When it was 90 degrees outside, Mom and Dad decided to take us out for our first swim.  The pool was pretty cold, so as you can see, we weren't too excited about it!  It probably took longer to get ready to go outside (getting our sunscreen, hats, towels, etc.) than the time we spent in the actual pool!  We did put our feet in a few times, but mostly, we weren't interested!

Instead of swimming, we had a much more relaxing afternoon of napping in the shade.