Shirt and shoes required.

Around the house the cubs are usually sans shoes. However, shoes are required when we go out, even though I know after two minutes in the car I will hear the velcro rip and the shoes will come off. I think it's hilarious that for the past two days Emily has gone to her room, found her shoes, brought them to me, and then tells me "bye bye". (Even though she can put on her own shoes, she still brings them to me to make her point - she wants to go somewhere.) Just like her Daddy...always on the move and always wanting to go somewhere.

It's not all fun and games at Cub Central.

It's not all fun and games at Cub Central. Sometimes we throw in some learning too.

Zach working on his numbers.

Taking a closer look.

Emily pointing out something to Zach.

Emily trying to take over. "Look Zach, the alphabet is on the back."

Learning is hard work, now I have to eat! (Mom is so thrilled to see Zach eat "adult" food that she wanted to share this picture! He's using his spoon too! Way to go, Little Man!)

Mr. Potato Bucket Head

The picture is a bit dark, but Emily has discovered a new way to pass her time.

So much better than Mr. Potato Head, it's Mr. Bucket Head!:

Mr. Bucket Head on the phone.:

Emily has to get the bucket on there just right. Daddy is such a good sport.:

Fans of Thomas the Train

Emily and Zach have discovered Thomas the Tank Engine. For some reason when I turn it on TV, they calm down long enough to watch the entire 30 minute show. So lately I let them watch it when I am trying to cook dinner (if the show doesn't put me to sleep first) and it usually entertains them enough to keep them out of the kitchen. They love the theme song and when I pick up the remote Emily says "Toot toot". Hilarious. So earlier this month I bought the cubs a wooden train set. This is their starter train. Grandpa Bear has already bought them two more elaborate train sets but I know they are not quite ready for such fancy sets yet. They would demolish them in a matter of seconds. My dad had a really awesome train set-up when I was a little girl, so I love them and can't wait until Emily and Zach can appreciate them. Until then, it's the basic wooden Thomas the Train set.

Hugs and kisses

Not quite sure if this is a hug or her newest wrestling move.:

But afterwards she followed it up with a kiss.:

Cubs playing and having fun!:

This is Emily's reaction when you ask her to give her brother a hug. She expects Zach to come to her.:

Surprisingly, sometimes he does. Aren't they the sweetest cubs?!:

Always playing catch up!

Cub Central is trucking along. Zach is still attending the feeding clinic at TWU. Tomorrow is our last day. It seems that we take one step forward and two steps back. Every time we make progress we seem to always have a small relapse. Now we're on the uphill again and I am thankful for that. He hasn't wanted to eat much in the last week. I think he may be teething and that has really affected him. He is so very fussy...to the point that when he doesn't get his way he attaches himself to my leg. So annoying. Today was a better day. We finally got to go outside to play (cold front has brought the temperatures down a bit) but he threw a grand hissy fit when he had to come inside. Emily threw a fit because we went outside, Zach threw a fit because we came inside....could these cubs be any more different?

Feeding the animals cubs has become a challenge, even with Emily. Foods she liked last week are left on her plate untouched this week. Zach still sticks with his standard foods: yogurt, taco bueno refried beans, mac and cheese, and the cheese topping off of pizza. He is on strike with his chicken and rice....WHAT a bummer! He still takes Pediasure and I still give him pureed veggies and fruits since that is the only way I can get him to eat them. He does like the tostada toppings from Taco Bell and he even eats the lettuce and cheese, but not the shell. He has improved on trying foods. He actually tried some rice-a-roni and a leaf from a brussel sprout. He'll try spaghetti but doesn't like spaghetti sauce. He is using his spoon/fork more even though I don't complain if he eats with his hands because at least he is eating. Emily is a mixed bag. She enjoys eating Dad's sloppy joe, but refuses (screaming refuses) to eat it off of her plate. The girl still LOVES bananas. Monkey. She likes fresh strawberries, grapes, and even shared a peach with me. Mandarin oranges are a favorite of hers too. She is a total fruitarian. Veggies are another story. She is on strike with the potato unless it is in french fry form. Yesterday she had some chicken fried steak even though she generally refuses meat. She is also on strike with cheese slices. WHAT??? No cheese??? This can't be my cub.

Last week I hosted an informal play date. I had four little guys come over to play. It went really well. Emily, always the hostess, wanted hugs from everyone as they left and then she would watch out the front window as they drove away. So cute. She was totally outnumbered but it didn't bother her a bit...she is quite the little tom-boy.

Emily is still keeping up with her routine at nap time. Zach goes to bed first as Emily blows him a kiss, waves, tells him bye, and closes the door. I love getting them up in the morning, except when it is unbelievably early. Since moving into their own rooms they have been sleeping pretty well. Emily is usually the first up (which is a surprise) so I get her out of her crib and we walk into Zach's room together. She is always so excited to see him. She always bursts through the door with a big smile and says "HI" and runs over to Zach's crib. Zach always jumps up and looks down at her with the biggest smile. It is so sweet! They are also playing together now. Zach follows Emily everywhere. They were running through the house holding hands earlier this week. Too cute for words!

I still enjoy my nights out with my friends. Things are calming down enough around here that Steve even gets to go to the golf course every now and then. He tries to get out at least once a week depending on the cubs' moods. You never know how their afternoons are going to go.

Additional information....per your request

I love reading the blog comments but I have been neglectful in answering the questions they sometimes contain. So, here you go:

1. "How has the cat adjusted to the new house? We haven't seen any pictures of Whiskers in the new home."

Hmmm, yes, I suppose I have neglected to mention Steve's cat. Previously my cat but that's another story. Whiskers is now nine years old. She has moved with us five times. She's a horrible traveler but luckily these last moves have been over short distances. She quickly acquaints herself with her new surroundings and finds "her places". She loves to be outside. Unfortunately she is not allowed out because she can fit through the iron gates. So she darts out every time a door is opened. This stinks! She never did this before and I hate chasing her. Other than that, I'm pretty confident she likes the extra space and living in air conditioned comfort snuggled somewhere in a random corner. This cat has it made. We ask nothing of her. We know she won't deliver. She is not interested in catnip, milk, tuna, chasing bugs or any of the "normal" cat activities. Often I wonder if she is truly a cat.

Here she is after an exhausting day of doing absolutely nothing.:


Receiving a little Emily love. Spoiled cat:


2. "Do you think there might be some "monkey see monkey do?" This is in response to the blog about my cubs taking off their diapers and being proud of it (July 8).

Yes, I "see" my monkeys "do". Lucky me. I'll let you guess which monkey is the leader.

3. "What did she do when she escaped? Rampage the toys? Escape the room? And was she proud to have escaped?" These are all referencing my "Escape Artist" blog from June 28.

Here are the additional details. On Emily's first escape, Steve and I tucked the cubs in for the night and then we went into the backyard (with the baby monitor) to do a little lawn work. Zach (aka security alarm/motion detector) started crying so Steve and I went into the house and there was Emily standing in the living room. Caught red-handed with her paw in the toy bin. She looked at us and smiled. Yes, she was very proud. VERY PROUD! We were very shocked. Her second escape was during nap time one afternoon. I was sitting in my recliner working on my laptop and looked up just as she was walking around the corner of the sofa. She raised her hand HIGH above her head and waved at me, again with a huge smile. I'm happy to report that there have been no escapes since being moved into separate rooms although I have witnessed a few unsuccessful attempts on the video monitor.

4. "We heard that you have an "escapee" living at your house. Has Officer Cheer Bear come by to investigate?" This comes from my June 7 blog. Apparently there was a news leak prior to the posting of the "Escape Artist" blog. This was one question I actually answered...Cheer Bear has sent her Head of Security, Weldon, to assess the situation. I'm still waiting for his report.

Thanks to everyone for reading our blog. Keep the comments and questions coming!

In memory of Alli-gator

Cub Central is mourning the loss of our beloved Alli-gator. Alli-gator was reported missing early this morning. It is unknown whether he was kidnapped or left on his own accord. The weather may also have played a factor in his disappearance. A search and rescue mission was launched in the neighborhood but efforts have not been successful. At last report, as hope for a successful rescue diminished, Cub Central authorities have called off their search.

Happy times with Alli-gator. RIP.

Another sweet Emily moment

Every now and then little Emily Bear surprises me with a sweet gesture. Another one happened today as I was putting the cubs down for their nap. We went to Zach's room first and I put Zach in his crib, gave him a kiss and headed to the door. I turned around just in time to see Emily blow Zach a kiss, wave and say "bye", and then she walked out of his room pulling the door closed behind her. This is our normal evening routine and it was so sweet watching Emily do this for her brother at nap time today. Such a sweet girl!

Catching up!

I want to thank my Mom for spending two weeks with us and helping out with the cubs. She pretty much handled every diaper for me, not to mention all of the other "chores". Thanks Mom! I also want to thank my Dad for letting my her come...it left him fending for himself. When my dad came to pick her up he brought these sand buckets for the cubs. What a hit!!


Grandpa Bear also brought this cool electronic drum set.

The obligatory Baxter photo.

Emily with Baxter.


Operation Separate Rooms
After much debate, Steve and I decided to separate the cubs. Naptime was going very poorly and it was starting to take a toll. The cubs would choose to talk and play instead of sleeping during their naptime and then they were miserable throughout dinner and the early evening. They would end up going to bed early and waking up the next morning even earlier. So we put Emily in her own room last Thursday. Much to my surprise it went very well. There was not much fuss and both cubs slept through the night. The true test would be naptime on Friday and amazingly it went well too. I have declared Operation Separate Rooms a success. Emily is still in her crib as I am still not brave enough to have her in a toddler bed yet. Luckily she hasn't tried to escape recently. I'm sure that time is coming soon though.

Her first night in her own room.:

His first night alone in his own room.:


Cold front
The weather here has been dreadfully hot. Today it was 105. I am looking forward to the cold front expected on Friday. The temp should drop to frigid 96. Gotta love Texas summers.

Emily's first haircut

Emily had her first haircut on Saturday, July 11. We took her to Sweet and Sassy....how appropriate. I'm proud of my little cub. She did a great job sitting in the "big girl" chair. After her cut (mainly just a trim to even out the length in the back) the stylist put her hair in the cutest little piggy tails and even sprayed glitter in her hair. Such a little diva! I wasn't too sure about the glitter, and would have probably told the stylist that we would pass if I were given the chance, but I have to admit, my little sweet and sassy diva looked pretty cute!

I was a little worried, but once Emily got her hands on this little flower sucker, she did very well in the "big girl" chair.

"Sassy Diva" still with her sucker.

Little cub with her dampened fur.

Putting in the piggy tails.

Getting glitterized.

Safe, secure, and sassy in Daddy's arms.

How cute is she???

July 4th; Happy Birthday, America!

So I am way overdue on this blog, but we did manage to take some cute pictures while at the town's Fourth of July parade. I wish it weren't 172 degrees outside but we did manage to find some cover under a tree.

Mommy's three favorite people:

Check that out, Dad!

Emily's favorite part of the parade. She said "hi" and waved to all of the horses.:

"You think your job stinks?!"...this poor little guy...he followed the horses in the dreadful heat.

Emily in her patriotic dress.:

CHEESE!!!

Making a very important call.:


I was hoping the cubs would be able to stay awake that night to view the fireworks but unfortunately they crashed around 8PM. Lucky for us, we had a tremendous view of the fireworks right from our back porch. Steve and I both had to admit that for a town this size, the fireworks show was VERY impressive. I took a few photos...my camera has a fancy little setting just for fireworks, but everything came out looking a little psychedelic so I'm only going to post this one photo. I'll aim for better pictures next year!

Bowls and Spoons

I love that Emily is a clever little girl. Her brain is always working. It's only 8:45 and the girl has already been up to no good. I am always very mindful of the two bathrooms that are accessible to the cubs, especially when it comes to having the toilet lids closed. However, I sometimes fail to do this in our master bath because the cubs are rarely in there. I didn't really think too much of it as my little red-headed shadow followed me in as I went to brush my teeth. Until I noticed she was no longer by my side. She was very busy using my favorite makeup brush as a spoon in the big white porcelain mixing bowl commonly known as the toilet. ARGH!!! This is going to be one of THOSE days. Another lesson learned.

Twin Speak - a proven theory and Mom needs lessons

I have always heard that twins speak their own language. I had my first real lesson in this earlier today. The cubs woke up at 6am. Dreadful. I blindly stumbled to their room, changed their diapers and put them back in their cribs. It was way too early. I went back to my room and tried to get a few more minutes of "shut-eye". Unfortunately the cubs were very busy chattering so I just listened to them on the monitor instead. There was a lot of chattering but not a single word was understandable to me. Not one. Around 7:30 I headed back to their room to start the day. I was shocked at what I found. Lately Emily has been taking off her own diaper. Not shocking to me, I was just really relieved that it was clean (I had just changed it an hour or so before). What shocked me was that she had not only her diaper in her hand, but Zach's diaper too. Two half-naked babies greeted me with big smiles on their faces. Interesting....considering that not once did I hear Emily say "Hey Zach, take off your diaper and hand it to me". Emily also had Zach's pajama bottoms in her crib too. So both cubs managed to wiggle out of their pajama bottoms and take off their diapers, and then Zach turned all his grub over to "the boss". I'm pretty sure I would have made a bee-line to their room if I would have heard anything remotely sounding like "let's strip". I really need lessons in twin speak.

Going Bonkers - take two

On Saturday, June 27th, my mom, Steve and I took the cubs to Going Bonkers. We had been there once before and learned some very important lessons. First, arrive early. Second, and more importantly, the older kids WILL run over the younger kids. This just reiterates the first lesson. Arrive early and avoid the older kids. This is exactly what we did and it worked perfectly. We arrived shortly after opening and it was fairly empty. Steve, Emily, Zach and I tackled the jungle gym for ages 4 - 104 (Emily felt the gym for the 1-3 year olds was too amateurish for her) while my mom watched from the seating area. The cubs loved it!! Steve could barely keep up with Emily. The girl just went Bonkers in there. Such a huge difference from the first time we went. Zach just wanted to run. He didn't care where, jungle gym or not, he just wanted to be free. We were there for two hours and we were exhausted by the time we left. The cubs had so much fun that they both cried when it was time to leave.

Contemplating his next move.

I'll race ya, sis!

Barely squeezing through.

This is so much fun.

A rare moment. Both cubs in the same place at the same time.

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

Zach telling Emily to hurry up.

Daddy and Emily at the top.

Emily made a little friend.

Our sweet cubs!