LayneLev.com

We took a nice trip to Avila Beach over the 4th of July weekend. Melissa found a killer place to rent right on the beach, which just happened to have a perfect dual kitchen set up for the impending Burger-Off™. The girls had a nice time overall, but definitely preferred to hang out in the house or at the park rather than at the beach. They had a big problem with walking around in the sand for some reason.

The night of the 4th was the big Burger-Off™ showdown between me and Kathy. I offered my twist on the classic American cheeseburger with patriotic bun treatment and Captain Morgan chocolate shooters while Kathy countered with her Napa Valley Basil Burgers. Due to a grill malfunction we both had to share a grill, which didn’t affect the competition too much even though Kathy used a grill pan (the grilling equivalent of training wheels). In the end, both burgers turned out great but there could only be one winner. See if you can guess who won…

Ok, so I know you’ve all left us for dead. We’ll see if anybody actually notices, but I’m going to post a bunch of catch-up articles to get this blog up to date. Years from now, no one will ever know this blog wasn’t updated for a year. Here’s the latest video, where the girls display their extensive knowledge of human anatomy:

 This year, we spent Easter at No-No and Ga-Ga’s. It was quite different from previous years, the children almost outnumbered the adults. The girls got their first taste of hunting for Easter eggs and we caught a very cute moment:

The rest of the good pics:

The girls had their first birthday party, which was attended by the whole family. Each of them had their own cake, and while Kaitlin eventually got into the spirit, Ella would have nothing to do with hers. Something tells me she’ll get on the cake bandwagon one day soon.

Please be careful when making emotional bets involving your favorite team. You could end up like this Dodger fan:

The girls went on their first vacation, thanks to grandpa Warren. We spent three days at Seascape Resort on the coast near Monterey. The girls had a great time playing on the beach, and Ella even tried her first beer (joking - don’t call CPS).

After the girls’ first swim day was a total bust, their second one went much, much better.

Kaitlin went in to have her head scanned for her new head-shaping helmet today. She had a flat spot on the back of her head, probably from being squished in mommy’s belly with Ella, so she’ll have to wear the helmet for several months to try to correct it. She’s supposed to wear it 23 hours a day. Some babies don’t mind them at all, some have a problem with it. She was a total trooper during the actual scanning, so we’re optimistic she’ll deal with it ok. At least she’ll have some good protection for when she takes a big spill…

Well the girls’ first swim day started out a lot better than it ended. We had a lot of fun dressing them in their new swimsuits and doing an impromptu photo shoot. The actual getting in the water part? Not so much fun. Neither Kaitlin or Ella were having any of it. Oh well, we’ll keep trying.

Well we’re coming up to six months and I guess it’s pretty clear we’re a little busier these days than we used to be. We’ve still got a stack of thank you notes to write so if haven’t received yours yet, just know that I decided to spend the time writing this instead. Here’s a little state of the union on the girls:

Kaitlin
Nickname: Bloobs

Kaitlin’s the more reserved one. Getting a smile out of her takes a little work, so you really feel like you earned it when you get one. We call her Bloobs because the doctor remarked that she had blueberries for eyes and it just kinda stuck. A few weeks ago, we noticed the back of her head had a flat spot on it, something that is fairly common with twins. We took her in for a 3d head scan and they are going to mold a little plastic helmet that she’ll have to wear for a few months to get her head back into shape. Some babies get so attached to the helmets that they don’t want to take them off, while others hate them. So we’ll see which one Kaitlin is soon.

Ella
Nickname: Gizmo

Ella won the race for first tooth, with a little stump poking through in the front just today. She’s called Gizmo because she’s always trying to break things and she turns evil when we feed her after midnight (for those of you that remember the movie Gremlins). She’s a perpetual motion machine. You know how they said Barry Sanders was such a good runner because his legs never stopped churning? Well I think Ella could take him in a 40-yard dash. If she could only figure out how to walk. Also, I’m pretty sure she has Tourette’s but just doesn’t know the words yet.