Monday, December 28, 2009

Christmas in Wichita Pictures

On Christmas Eve, Grandma Ruth came over.  We got out the puzzle the girls had gotten from Granny and Grandpa Vogts. 

Kayla, Grandma, Megan

We had a peaceful evening together, until I tried to drive Grandma Ruth home. I thought it was too windy and snowy for her to walk through the yards. Little did I realize how big of a snow drift there was right in front of our driveway! We got stuck when we backed into it. We later learned there was a sheet of ice beneath it, so we were doomed from the start. Luckily, with a great deal of effort and the help of a kind neighbor, we got back into the garage and our neighbor drove mom home. (Thanks, Ian!)

If only Santa had come earlier, I'm sure the girls would have been happy to drive Grandma Ruth home in their car!


Megan


Kayla
The don't quite have the hang of it yet, but the did enjoy it when daddy helped them around the living room!  At the end, Megan did push herself backwards a little, so with a little more practice, they'll be driving like race car drivers!

Santa also brought them a "Choo Choo Wagon".  No longer in production, these wagons are treasured among parents of multiples.  When you have a double stroller, the kids are seated close together -- and the one in back inevitably begins kicking the one in front.  And grabbing bows out of her hair, in our case.  If you use a side by side stroller, you take up entirely too much of a walkway.  Put them in a big wagon, and you still have a shared space. 

Megan and Kayla
But with this wagon, each one has their own car (with seatbelt)! Each one can see more easily than in the stroller, too! Great for trips around the neighborhood or the zoo! But now I'm turning into a commercial for a product you can no longer find except on ebay and other used merchandise outlets!  It won't replace the stroller, but we're looking forward to using it this summer and taking them on their first trip to the zoo.

The girls did get the hang of unwrapping presents!  Aunt Karen, Uncle Carl and Cousin Nathan used pink and purple dotted paper - in keeping with our pink/purple theme for the girls. Kayla tore right into it!  No stopping them now!

Kayla

Later in the day, we changed into clothes -- and Aunt Karen loaned Megan her Santa hat.  Megan found a Wii remote, and was ready to play!

Megan

Uncle Carl loaned his Santa hat to Kayla, who had found another Wii remote to play with, and they sat with Grandma Ruth!  But getting all three to smile and pose at the same time proved to be a challenge, so I picked one where the girls were closest to ready.  Sorry, Grandma!



Megan, Grandma, Kayla

Cousin Nathan played the Wii, while Kayla just thought she was helping...or was she?


Mike, Nathan, Kayla

Uncle Carl and Megan had a nice talk.  We're not sure anyone understood what Megan was saying, but she was definitely engaged in the exchange and enjoying the conversation.

Megan and Uncle Carl

And finally, the girls proved the age-old fact, that kids like the box best of all.

Kayla, Megan


Merry Christmas!








Christmas in Canton in Pictures

It's always fun at Christmas time, to go to Mike's parents' house in Canton for our family celebration. It's even more fun now that all the kids are old enough to participate!

We shared a few videos in earlier posts, but a picture brings back memories in a whole different way.

The girls were wearing their pink and purple Christmas dresses to Granny and Grandpa's house.


Kayla


Megan

The girls couldn't wait to get in Granny's lap for her to read to them.


Megan, Granny, Kayla

Megan and Kayla both got pink KU Jayhawk caps for Christmas -- and even figured out how to put them on themselves, for the most part!


Granny and Kayla


Megan

Kayla wasted no time occupying herself with a puzzle Granny and Grandpa had given them.  She'd lost one of her slippers by then, though--but it didnt slow her down one bit!

 
Kayla
Jalen decided Great Grandma Vogts should hold all his presents, and nearly buried her in her chair!


Jalen, Great Grandma Vogts

Grandpa helped Jalen and Kayla with a little snack.


Jalen, Grandpa, Kayla

I think everyone enjoyed the evening.  While everyone appreciated the presents, the fun was definitely in the company and watching the cousins and grandparents interact.  When all four cousins were lined up on the couch, it was a wiggly giggly time for the girls, and the boys were an encouraging audience.  Maybe next year the twins will be as good at sitting still for a picture as the boys!


Sunday, December 27, 2009

Canton Cousins Picture

Taking the annual cousins picture in Canton...



Christmas in Canton 2009

Christmas in Canton

2008 vs 2009 - The Cousins

Christmas 2008
Kayla, Megan, Jordan, Jalen


Christmas 2009
Kayla, Megan, Jalen, Jordan


Saturday, December 26, 2009

Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning with the twins!



The Choo Choo Wagon!

Twin Challenge

Can you tell who I am?









Now can you tell who I am?








What if I show you my sister?






I bet if you see us both together you can tell!



It's Megan on the left, and Kayla on the right!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

The Twins That Stole Christmas

Last night, we enjoyed an evening with Mike's parents, Grandmother, and sister Linda's family. (We'll share more in a later post.)

The cousins were all playing with a play nativity set throughout the night. Evidentally, when we were packing things up, the girls decided to continue their play at home. We're sorry, Granny!

They stole Joseph and the cow.



Friday, December 11, 2009

Scenes in a life

For whatever reason, we seem to have a lot of random, girls doing something silly pictures saved up on the camera from the past month or so.



Not a whole lot going on recently, we're sort of just in a holding pattern waiting for the holidays. Had Thanksgiving of course, though I was stuck in town, due to being on call for work. Nice dinner with Ruth that day though, and some relaxing.



Girls have been doing good, though all of us have been sort of bouncing between sick and well since the first of November. Girls have both had bouts of pink-eye, or pink-eye type symptoms anyway, as well as the typical colds/runny noses.



Girls continue to be very active and inquisitive, of course. We still have them corralled in the living room for the most part, but this may soon have to end. They're definitely not happy to be left there most of the time, and are always happy to be allowed to explore other areas of the house. We still have to go to the "No No" once in a while, as seen with the chair, and also when getting up on the fireplace ledge, but it seems like this has been less frequent lately. Perhaps they're just instinctively being good for Christmas.



Learning continues as a frantic pace as well. Girls know what's going on when told it's time to get something to eat for supper, get nightly bottles, change diapers, and go to bed. Ironically they're always eager to walk down to their rooms at night when told it's bed time, only to be shocked and saddened when we put them in their crib. I suppose at some point they start running the other way when told it's bedtime though, so we should enjoy it while it lasts.


Girls have also learned to give hugs and kisses to each other, as well to mommy and daddy as well. Megan, as always, loves to be held at almost every opportunity, but lately has taken to reaching her arms up almost to the point of dislocation, whenever someone gets within 10 feet of her. Of course we cannot resist.



That's all for now, see you later!