Bedtime Giggles

I used to worry about Landon and Elliot waking each other up from their crying. Now I am dealing with them keeping each other awake with their giggles. For the past two nights when I lay them down for bed, I hear giggling coming from their room. I had to peek and see what was so funny. They were standing up in bed reaching over the edge of the crib or through the crib slats to touch each other. They swap pacifiers and stuffed animals this way and they both think it is hilarious to reach through and get each other. It lasts about 15 minutes before they doze off. For now it is cute. I might change my mind as they get older and it lasts longer or leads to someone getting hurt. I am just waiting for them to pull each other over the edge so they can share a crib.

Evening Bike Ride

Last week after our family bike ride, Brooks went for a ride by himself and took a few pictures.

This bridge is right by our house. They are completely redoing it and it is shut down for the next couple of years.

Enjoying the Outdoors

Last week, we had perfect weather for a few days and we enjoyed being outdoors. I took Elliot and Landon to the park. I put Elliot in the swing by himself because there was only one swing open. The lady pushing her daughter on the swing next to me said she saw someone with twins put them both in the same swing. We tried it out and it worked perfectly. I only had to push one swing and they enjoyed being by each other. Some of the other kids at the park thought Landon and Elliot were cute and we had a little entourage following us around asking questions and trying to help.

sharing the swing from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Later when Brooks got home from school we ventured out for our first family bike ride. Landon looked concerned for most of the ride, but Elliot was trying to lean out and see everything.

Mohawk, Beans and the Whisk

Landon's hair is getting so long, but I am hesitant to cut it because I love it so much. Brooks helped Landon out with this Mohawk in the tub. What do you think? Is it time for a haircut?

I don't think Elliot got any refried beans IN his mouth.

The wire whisk is the new favorite toy around here. I don't know why, but they love it.

Big Boy Construction

Elliot and Landon have outgrown some of their pj's and so I pulled out the boxes of clothes to find the next size up. These matching footless pj's were part of stash and I love how cute they look in them.

11 Months

I can't believe my little guys are almost a year old. In some ways the time has flown by and in other ways it seems like they were born a long time ago. They are at such a fun stage and it seems like they learn something new everyday. Both Elliot and Landon are walking and this keeps me on my toes. Yesterday at church, they were horrible. Now that they can walk, they just want to get down and move. I was in the halls for most of church. Just 7 more months until they are nursery and I can sit through an entire Relief Society lesson again. Both Elliot and Landon are sleeping well other than the fact that they like getting up earlier than I would like. They still take two naps a day and this is when I actually have time to blog. They recently discovered that they can feed mommy and think it is hilarious to try and give me their food. Another thing they both do now is dance. Their moves are slightly different but they both get down when they hear music.

Landon is walking everywhere. He rarely crawls anymore. Although he seems unsteady still, he doesn't fall much anymore and has even mastered turning while walking. A few times he has really picked up speed while walking and looks like he is running. Landon enjoys eating but is very particular about food. He will only nurse, no bottle, and he will take the sippy cup as long as it does not contain formula or breast milk. He likes water or watered down juice. I can tell already he is going to have major weaning issues. Next month should be fun for all of us. He also enjoys solid foods, but once again is quite particular. He is very stubborn about trying new things and wants to eat bananas and sandwiches all day long. I put veggies on his tray everyday and when he occasionally tries them, they just spill right back out of his mouth. The only way to get him to eat vegetables is if I give him the pureed baby food. At least he will still eat that. I am just hoping he outgrows this. Landon has learned how to catch and throw a ball. Brooks love playing catch with the boys when he gets home from school. We have a mini basketball hoop and Landon attempts to put the ball in the basket sometimes. I think we have a little sports star on our hands.

Elliot is walking, but also still crawls quite a bit. He will take 15-20 steps and then stop and crawl. His body shakes a little bit when he walks and he is still figuring out his balance. He walks like a mummy with his hands out in front of him. So cute! Elliot will try just about any new food and will drink from most everything. He has really liked peas, bananas, pasta, crackers, dry cereal and sandwiches. He takes a while to chew his food, but he is a great eater. Brooks and I have been trying to teach the boys how to wave and Elliot got the hang of it. He waved back at me today! I love watching him learn new things! Elliot is quite the little dancer. He moves and rocks his whole body when he hears music. He also will dance to the sound of the dishwasher and other random noises around the house. When I turn the music on, Elliot will start to dance. Then he gets bored and moves on to playing with something else. As soon as a new song comes on, he notices and resumes dancing. This happens over and over again. I guess he is paying pretty good attention to the music. Elliot loves to have thing in his mouth. He is constantly crawling around with something in his mouth: his bunny, a lid to the baby food jar, a toy, a piece of clothing. He looks like a little puppy carrying around his bone.

It is crazy to watch their little minds work. We will see what changes the next month bring.

***After I posted this, I noticed a few other things I had to write about. Elliot decided to start walking like crazy. He is still a little wobbly, but he gets around quickly. He also figured out how to push chairs all over the house: dining room chairs, high chairs, and the office chair. He just laughs and laughs the entire time. Landon decided that he enjoys tackling Elliot. He grabs on to the back of his shirt and just takes him down. Elliot does not like it at all.

In the past, they have taken each other's toys from each other without a lot of trouble. That recently changed. If Elliot has something Landon wants, Landon goes and takes it. Elliot used to try and take it back, but now he just cries and lets me know he has been wronged by his brother. If Elliot takes a toy from Landon, Landon just takes it back without too much complaining. I am amazed at how different they are!

Easter Egg Hunt

We went to a big Easter Egg Hunt with 3 wards in our stake. They had an egg hunt for the kids and a potluck dinner for everyone. There were eggs everywhere, thousands of them. Behind the house was a forest area and there were acres of land covered with eggs. I ended up picking up most of the eggs for Landon and Elliot and then they enjoyed dumping them out of the bucket. Once they found the candy inside, it went straight to the mouth, wrapper and all.

"Mom, can you please open this?"

Afternoon at the Park

With the perfect weather we have had this week, I decided to take the boys to the park. We went to Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane and they loved being outside. They especially liked watching the birds and the ducks. They were both fascinated when I pushed the stroller over by the water. We walked around the park, got yummy donuts from the donut stand, and Landon and Elliot got out to play. There were people everywhere, but it was still fun. Maybe next time we'll try out the carousel.

I don't know why he was pulling this face, but I love it.

So many fun things to play with



Elliot figured out that he could push the stroller in circles. He probably pushed the stroller for 15 minutes and laughed the entire time. Landon and I just sat and watched.



Stroller in Circles from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Silly Elliot

E Using His Head from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.

Elliot has been doing some pretty funny things lately. He figured out how to use his head to push this car around. He also enjoys head butting Brooks and I. Where does he come up with this?


E Banging Dishes from Shelci Crandell on Vimeo.


And here he is with the dishwasher. He really wanted those dishes out of there!

Backyard Steps

We are loving the exceptionally warm weather for this time of year and have been going outside every chance we get. I laid out a blanket on the grass to sit on, but the boys are off it in no time flat. The problem is they go right for the concrete steps and want to crawl up them. The main problem with this is they don't know how to get down. Instead of relaxing on the blanket, I am working up a sweat keeping them away from the steps. I love this picture of them sitting on the step and looking confused as to how to get down.

Sights and Sounds of Spring

Living in Arizona my entire life, I never experienced the change of seasons before. It has been fun to watch summer change to fall, fall to winter and finally winter to spring. Up until a few days ago, it was snowing and cold. All of sudden, it is warming up. Today was in the low-mid 60's and we ventured out for a walk after conference. As soon as I stepped out my front door, I was surprised by everything I saw and heard. The streets have been empty and quiet for months, but not today. The neighborhood was alive.

We saw people in shorts and short sleeves, people washing their cars in the driveway, garages and front doors wide open, people on walks, kids playing baseball, and people mowing their lawns and other yard work. The grass is starting to return to its green color although I am still waiting on all the flowers to bloom. I am looking forward to going on walks again and we can finally try out the bike trailer when it gets just a bit warmer.

Too bad it is only going to last for a few days. It is supposed to snow again this weekend.

I Looked Out the Window

We found a new activity that Landon and Elliot enjoy: looking out the front window.