2 posts in one night!!!

That's what happens when we have help. It frees up some time so I can share the girls with the world.

I was downloading the pictures from today and couldn't resist going ahead and posting them too.

First...I thought these two photos were hilarious. When we first left...Terri was sitting next to Alyssa who was being a little fussy. I heard Lisa and Terri laugh about what they described as..."Alyssa gave Terri the stink eye". So as I was going through the photos, it looked like Lisa got the look.

Now look at Alyssa's expression on this one. Classic.

So after lunch. The next stop was Glen Alps, the scenic trail head to a popular hike up to Flat Top. It was 41 degrees and blowing 10 to 20 mph so the girls weren't too comfortable. It's the first time they've actually complained a little bit while they were in the bjorns.

Even with the little digital camera, you should be able to tell just how brilliant the colors are.

We saw a total of 5 large bull moose who were looking like they wanted a fight. It is rutting season so if we stayed long enough and watched, I'm sure we would have seen two bulls go at it. If you haven't heard the story, 2 years ago Lisa and I watched two bulls fight in the same area.....to the death!! We had never seen anything like that before and it left quite a mark on us. I hear that fighting to the death is very rare so some day it'd be nice to watch a couple bulls go at it again and hope the next time it doesn't go that far. Anyway, none of that today. Just some wandering bulls seeking out a fight or a mate.

This guy was on the trail heading toward Powerline Pass (another AWESOME trail). The 2nd photo is zoomed in so you can kinda see how big he was.



And then we drove down to another favorite spot just outside of Anchorage...Beluga Point. No Beluga Whales this time but we did see Dall Sheep way up high on the mountain side. I'll probably end up reposting all these photos once we download Lisa's Dads pics from his really nice digital camera. I think he got some great photos. We also saw a bald eagle soaring way up high and then on the way home, several swans landed in the marsh just off the side of the road.


So the final count today...5 moose, 1 bald eagle, 6 dall sheep, 8 swans, and 2 beavers. The beavers are a whole other story...I'll save that one for tomorrow.

Alyssa...Tarzan baby

We're having a blast with Lisa's dad and stepmom...who are visiting from Texas. It's been pretty relaxing being able to hand off babies and sit back every now and then. Especially since both girls were having a real hard time Saturday and Sunday nights. For the first time in more than a month, both girls could not stay asleep. It was a constant battle..up and down...up and down until around 3am, then they were both up just after 6 for good. BUT...last night they were down for the count at 10:30 and didn't stir until 8am. Not sure what happened but hopefully tonight will be more like last night.

So today was the first time we've really ventured out. Anchorage fall colors are peaking and it is GORGEOUS! We went up to our favorite hiking area and saw 5 enormous bull moose looking like they were going to fight. It was a spectacular view with fresh snow on the peaks, the yellow, reds, and greens on the mountain side, and the full view of Anchorage below us. I'll have to download those pics next and share.

Pictures. Here are the girls doing some floor time. They are both really thriving on the floor. Katy has flipped over from her front to her back twice and Alyssa has done it once. In this picture...the girls were facing each other and smiling at one another.

Just a cute moment this past week where Lisa was finished feeding and was holding both babies. I grabbed the camera to capture the cuteness.


Lisa's dad and stepmom enjoying the grandkids.

And Alyssa...Tarzan baby. Her latest vocalization sounds like Tarzan swinging from vine to vine. Once she gets going, it's pretty hilarious. This video was last night during dinner. The girls were doing great in their chairs while we ate but Alyssa was serenading us with her nature call. I tried to capture some of it with the camera.

Alyssa showing off

Alyssa has become the more vocal one. Recently this has turned into a lot of squealing. Pretty cute.

Fashion Show!

The girls put on a fashion show to show off some of their new outfits and outfits that they are going to outgrow soon.






And here's Katy, the queen of the booboo lip. They each have their own way of getting upset. Alyssa does a lot of sniffling. Katy sticks that bottom lip out as far as she can. Both methods are very effective.
*CORRECTIOIN* evidently, I'm the only one that thought both of those pictures were of Katy. The first one, I am told, is Alyssa sporting the booboo lip. I still think my theory holds water. I'll say that Alyssa will sniff leading up to a cry 9 out of 10 times...the one exception being when Christin took that picture.

Photos with family

How bout some pictures of the girls with their Aunt Christin and Uncle Tom.



I like this one of Christin taking over so Lisa could get a quick bite to eat. We have to eat in shifts around here.

Sister's gone...but LOTS of great memories

We had a blast with my sister and bro-n-law this last week. They were able to get out of Anchorage for a couple of days and see Denali Nat'l Park and then take the train down to Seward. Between and after the trips, we did some local sight seeing and spent a lot of time loving on the girls. I have LOTS of pictures to share so I'll have to start posting more often.

These first set of pics are from our day trip to Girdwood. Girdwood is an awesome little hippie town about 40 minutes from Anchorage. In the summer, there's lot of hiking and mountain biking to do. In the winter, it is a skier's heaven.
We all squeezed into the Durango. This is the view from Lisa's seat in the back of the bus.

We took the tram to the top and enjoyed the view of Turnagain Arm for a while.


Lisa lookin' goooood.

View of Turnagain Arm. One of the few places in the world where you can ski and watch the tide come in and out.

Could be my new favorite picture of Alyssa.

After an hour or so of walking around, we went down to the lobby of the resort and Lisa fed the girls. Katy was really tired from all the walking.


And on the way home...it was pretty much calm on Turnagain Arm which is very rare. Just a day later, it was blowing 70 mph or so where we were standing. But the calm waters made it very easy to spot Beluga whales. It's the first time I had seen them, 2nd for Lisa. Most of them were pretty far out but a few surfaced 50 ft or less from the shore. They were amazing.


More videos and pics to come.

another video

Lisa grabbed the camera when Alyssa accidentally got ahold of her binkie.

We love company

My sister is here! Well, not here here but Alaska, here. My big sister arrived Saturday evening and ate up the girls. She immediately draped herself in babies and loved every minute of it. We used that night to plan their vacation and decided that Sunday-Tuesday would be the best time to go see Denali National Park so off they went. I believe the weather has been great for them up there so I'm sure they're enjoying themselves. The fall colors should also be peaking up there so I'm looking forward to see what pictures and stories they bring back with them.

The girls are doing what they do best...eating, sleeping, and well eating some more. Lisa took a video that I'm downloading right now and will post probably tomorrow morning. She's also been working with them a lot on the floor lately. Alyssa has caught back up with Miss Katy with her head control as you'll see. Alyssa has also become quite the little talker.

She will look us right in the eye and work so hard at making sounds. This is just in the past week where she has really taken off. It's not happening regularly enough to easily get a video but we'll try. It's pretty cute.

So here's some recent floor time with the girls. Sorry about the red-eye...their eyes are still very blue.


And here's one that will haunt the girls for a loooong time. There's actually a series of very funny pictures but...maybe a little too risque'.
Katy

Alyssa