Mini-me's

It is always interesting to hear who people think Avery and Ryan look like. Occassionally, we hear that they both look like Andy and sometimes we hear that they both look like me. Most of the time, we hear that Ryan looks like Andy and Avery looks like me, which we agree. For comparison purposes, take a look at the photos below and let us know what you think by taking a poll at http://www.doodle.com/n6kdhrd2ry7d8zy2. We will share the results in an upcoming post.



Avery and Ryan during tummy time




Andy and Josh during tummy time

Avery chillin in her bouncer

Me chillin on the shag carpet

Busy Weekend

The weekend started with Bunco on Friday night. I had Bunco, which is once a month in our neighborhood, and this time was only 2 doors down from us. The girls always have a good time eating, drinking, and throwing the dice. Andy played golf with his monthly group from Qwest on Saturday morning. The played up at Keystone, so he left at 7am after giving both Avery and Ryan their bottles. And, I "slept in" until 7, which was nice. I had a nice day with the babies and Raleigh and we got in a good walk in the morning. Andy got home at 4pm and hopped in the shower, and then we were off to Little Monkey Bizness for Jack's 2nd birthday party. We hadn't been before, but had heard great things. All the little kids had a blast running around and enjoying the play area. Avery and Ryan enjoyed watching all the activity and you could see that they couldn't wait until they could get out there! After play time, we had pizza and cake with the birthday boy! After getting Avery and Ryan fed and put to bed that night, Andy had to do some work, so I decided to run to the store to get groceries for the week. The store is so empty at that hour! Sunday morning, was my turn to play golf. I had a tee time at 7:12 am (oh how things change once you have kids!!) with a friend and 2 of her friends. The weather was great and it was so nice to be out on the course. We were all sad that the 9 holes went by so quickly! One of Andy's friends from b-school was in town with his 4 month old baby, so they came over for brunch. It was crazy that there were 3 of us and 3 babies 6 months and under. We had a nice time catching up and Avery and Ryan enjoyed meeting a new friend. Sunday afternoon, Avery and Ryan enjoyed checking out all their new toys that Annabelle and Gwyneth have outgrown. It is so fun to see their faces light up when they discover new things. We also did webcams with my parents and then Andy's parents. Sunday night, we enjoyed a night out on the deck grilling out. The kids were exhausted from the weekend and konked out in their highchairs while we ate dinner.

Ryan and Daddy

Jack Carlson - the birthday boy

Avery enjoying her first balloon


The four of us (stolen from Kelly's blog- thanks!)

Ryan in his highchair

Avery asleep in her highchair

1/2 Birthday!

Avery and Ryan are 6 months today! It is amazing how much they have changed, especially in the last month! We are having so much fun. They definitely have very different personalties. Ryan is very smiley and will smile for anyone. Avery likes to make people work for her smiles. Overall, they are both great babies and enjoy playing, eating, and sleeping.

Highlights/Milestones during month 5:

-went on their first vacation

-got to spend time with their grandparents

-Avery started eating cereal (Ryan started at 4 months but Avery had no interest)

-Both made it through all the Stage 1 veggies (peas, green beans, squash, and carrots)

-Sleeping a longer stretch at night - we are at 10 hours right now

-They both love standing when we hold their fingers

-They both mastered rolling from the tummy to back early on, but Avery hasn't done it lately and Ryan does a few at the beginning, but then gets tired. They have both rolled from their back to tummy a handful of times

- Outgrew their swaddles

-Avery loves grabbing Raleigh's tongue when Raleigh licks any leftover food off of her

-Ryan loves to kick when he is laying on the floor, maybe he will be a great swimmer or soccer player

-Avery sometimes blows bubbles and sucks in her bottom lip

- They are starting to notice each other more and Raleigh

- They outgrew their swings and have moved on to the exersaucer and jumperoo


Ryan in the exersaucer and Avery in the jumperoo



Avery and Ryan in their new highchairs


Video - http://silvermans.shutterfly.com/922

Morning at the Zoo

We met the Carlsons and Meyers at the zoo right at opening this morning, so 6 adults and 6 kids 2 and under. We brought our side by side Maclaren stroller as Avery and Ryan both enjoy being able to look around, especially Ryan. We used it for the first time around the neighborhood last night and it worked well. We also decided to break in Andy's daddy diaper backpack. Jack and Annabelle enjoyed running around and leading the way. Annabelle even helped push the stroller when she took a break from pulling GG in the wagon. The Carlsons and Meyers headed out before us and so we did a stroll through the primate section. Ryan and Avery were asleep by the end. We headed to uptown after the zoo to grab something to eat and ended up at Steubans for brunch. There was a little bit of a wait, but it was worth it. They both did great at the zoo and restaurant and took a long nap this afternoon.
They have now been through peas, green beans, squash, and carrots, and are doing great. This week, we will try some sweet potatoes and move to fruit. We have also just changed from 5 to 4 bottles a day with 8 ounces per bottle so we can get them to bed sooner, so far it seems to be working well. Even though they turn 6 months on Thursday, our dr appt isn't until the 19th since Dr. Middlemist is out on vacation until then. We are anxious to see how much they weigh now!

Mommy with the babies in the Maclaren (Jennifer in the background)


Annabelle helping push with BJ helping guide



Ryan and Daddy's backpack at Steuban's (Avery is on the other side of the backpack)

Peas Please!

Andy's parents spent Friday night with us before heading back to DC. They had a nice few days in Aspen, but missed their precious grandchildren. We figured it would be easiest to just eat in, so we grilled out. Avery and Ryan tried peas for the first time on Friday night and both did great. We were very impressed. They also both took their first spin in the exersaucer. The Meyer's youngest daughter, GG, just turned 1. Since she has outgrown the exersaucer, they are letting us borrow it. How nice of them! It has a lot of bells and whistles and Avery and Ryan just love it and will be getting a lot of use out of it.

Saturday, we went to lunch with Barbara and Sandy and the babies, before they headed off to the airport. We had a great visit with them and will see them in Sept when we fly out to DC. What are we thinking?!? We had to miss GG's 1st birthday bash on Sat. morning, but will catch up with them next weekend at the zoo. Saturday night, we had invited our friends, the Rockwoods, over for dinner. Their youngest, Ashliegh, was sick so she stayed home with her dad and Kristen and Jordan (7) came over. Avery and Ryan got lots of attention and just love older kids, as does Raleigh.

Avery not so sure about the peas

Ryan helping Daddy feed him

Ryan checking out the exersaucer

Avery hanging out in the exersaucer

Sandy, Andy, Barbara, Avery, and Ryan on the porch

Jordan and Avery

Beaver Creek Vacation

We had our first family vacation earlier this week! We headed up to Beaver Creek on Saturday, which is about 15 minutes past Vail. Packing for all of us was quite the challenge, at least we were able to drive. Andy's parents met us up there and we stayed at the Hyatt Residences in the village for 3 nights. The first night we cooked in and went out later for some gelato. We were able to have them put in 2 cribs in our room and were amazed at how well they slept in a new location. Sunday, we went to Vail to walk around - they had a Farmer's Market and Art Show that day. Andy and I fed Avery and Ryan on a bench outside and after we finished feeding them, Avery had a blow out and there was poop everywhere. I had to strip her naked while Andy held her. It was quite the scene. We got her cleaned up and a fresh onsie on her and we were good to go. Sunday night, Barbara and Sandy watched the babies while we went on a date to Spago at the Ritz in Bachelor's Gulch. They had a great deal (for Spago) on a 5-course meal and it was delicious! We decided to splurge since we didn't know when our next date night would be and we had sitters for the evening. Monday morning, we had an early tee time as we needed to take advantage of the free "sitters" again and they got to spend quality time with their grandchildren. Andy and I weren't paired with anyone, which was a good thing as neither of us played well! The only good thing about the round was it was over in less than 4 hours! Monday night, we gave Barbara and Sandy the night off so they went out to dinner in Vail and we went out to dinner with Avery and Ryan in Beaver Creek. We took them to their first sushi restaurant. We had a great table outside that had 2 small benches and we each took a side and a car seat. The three tables around us commented on how well behaved they were. We figure we have to take advantage of it while we can! We had a great time in Beaver Creek, just wish we could have spent another day or two! Barbara and Sandy headed to Aspen for a few days and will come back on Friday to spend the night with us before heading back to DC.


Avery helping mommy pack





Ready to stroll around town

Grandma and Avery

Mommy & Ryan

Andy on the 18th tee at Eagle-Vail

Mommy, Daddy, and the twins having Sushi

5 months

Avery and Ryan turned 5 months today!! They are definitely growing and have started wearing some 3 to 6 month clothes. Ryan has done a great job of working his way through the various cereals, but Avery really hasn't shown any interest. We are thinking maybe Ryan will catch up to Avery in size, but we will see.

We had a quiet July 4th as it was a little rainy. We had some friends over on Friday for a bbq as we all had the day off. The weather was good and all the kids got to play in the backyard and Raleigh was surprisingly well behaved for her. Avery and Ryan did good with all the guests. Saturday morning, we went to the Cherry Creek Arts Festival and arrived first thing as they eat at 9:30am and the festival started at 10am. We grabbed a table outside at Starbucks so we could get some coffee and Avery and Ryan could have a bottle. Avery ended up spending the whole time in the stroller and Ryan got antsy after a bit and went in to the Baby Bjorn. He just loves looking all around. A couple people we passed thought we had triplets since we had the double stroller and Ryan in the Bjorn- nope, just twins! We ended up buying this year's Cherry Creek Art Festival poster and plan to get it framed and hung in the office.


Matt with the kids (Audrey, Luke, Paige, Jacob, and Clara)



Daddy and Ryan at the Cherry Creek Arts Festival