Your new furry friend

At first neither one of you were too sure about Ozzie.



Pam and Grandpa Mike contained Ozzie's exuberance so you could take a closer look.



Roman was not too fond of the barking. Zoe wasn't either, but she warmed up to him.










Meanwhile, I pause to consider that down the line I don't have a chance with my "we aren't getting a dog" position. 3 to 1. Mom loses the battle before it's even begun.

Ozzie, meet Zoe

(Ozzie)

See, aunt Shannon still can't get enough of you

Kokopelli

Roman appears to be an early admirer of the Kokopelli.
Don't worry, we'll get you to Arizona one of these days.



Your dad had these painted on his apartment wall when I met him. Among other things, the Kokopelli is a fertility deity. You'll find him in the SW US. Fertility deity? Twins? Hmmm...

This was at Mike's Uncle Ron's house. He generously hosted the whole brood on the Saturday we were there. You guys loved the attention, but it made for some interesting challenges at bed time. Lots of attention means lots of reluctance to sleeping. Over-tired is a true phenomenon.

Aunt Amanda and Zoe

Here you two are checking each other out.




I get a glimpse of Amanda in Zoe once and while. You'll be lucky if you resemble her, Zoe!

Uncle Jared!

I just KNOW we're going to look back at these pictures and marvel not only at how small you were, but how young Jared is. He took his turn holding you guys.

She can't get enough of you!

That's what your aunt Shannon said to me during our visit. Here she is dancing with Zoe.

Hi.

I'm not sure when Roman's hair got so light. It'll be interesting to see what color it is when it fills out. He's got some strangly mullet like hairs on the side. Dad mentioned a possible hair cut. But we've got a ways to go before that happens I think. He looks so handsome after its been washed and brushed. He looks like a little boy, not a baby.

a-visiting we will go

We broke our journey to Chicago into smaller trips. We weren't so sure how it was going to go with you two in the car for so long.
An hour and a half out we stopped by to visit Sister Helenette (your maternal Great Grandfather's sister) again.


Miss Zoe gave a smile.



Mr. Roman played with his pacifier.


...And then gave a smile!

This was the first lesson in watching the kids outside of our sheltered, safe, childproof world known as home. I think we've taken for granted how "easy" it is to watch them at home. Out on the road we couldn't take our eyes off them for a second. Too much stuff to get into! Way too much fun stuff to explore.

It was good to see you again, Sister Helenette. I'm sorry it took so long to come back!

By the way the kids slept all the way there....

a-visiting we go

Here's our surprise-ee (Lawrida) with Zoe.


We met Lawrida with the outfits she sent back on Easter. Unfortunately
we had a wardrobe change (LOTS of those this weekend) before we took this picture.

Zoe's practicing her wave (about 4,000 times a day and I, for one, am not getting sick of it, or the little "hi" she's learned to say).

You guys are so lucky to have so many people who care about you.

And here's Lawrida, Zoe and Tyler. Tyler is Lawrida's grandson and soon to be a big brother. His sister is due to be born on your birthday (but it going to arrive sooner!!). Tyler's favorite band is Tool. He'll tell you all about them. :)What a cutie!

We made it to Manhattan

It was a lot smaller than I expected.


Oh, right. Manhattan, Illinois.


We went here Saturday to surprise bonus great grandma Lawrida, who had no idea we'd be in town. Her daughter Pam had talked her into going to a parade. She was happy to meet you guys.

Road Trip

Zoe wanted her turn at driving, so we obliged.
Safety first.
Look to your right.



Look to your left...



Oh, Hi Mom and Roman :)


We stopped at a city park for a break in Dubuque, IA on the way back from Chicago. We took the 'scenic' way home, scenic meaning an alternate to I-94...

Brief interlude while we do some visiting out of town...

This is what Zoe will be begging to go on at the fair

We've got the feeling she's going to be the thrill seeker when it comes to the amusement park. She loves bouncing and playing supergirl (she needs an outfit to match her brother! ;) ). She doesn't scare easily. Unless of course you're a stranger who gets too close too fast. She doesn't like that.

The other night I was playing "Boo" with her. Which is exactly what it sounds like. She was on my lap, Roman was on the floor. Zoe didn't flinch when I said "BOO!". After about 3 rounds of this Mr. Roman let out a loud howl and the saddest frown. We'll have to see if Roman joins his sister on the bungee rides...

THE fair

We hit the Minnesota State Fair last Saturday. Personally I kind of go back and forth on whether or not I like the great Minnesota get together. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes I wonder why, oh why, did I pay to walk around and eat junk food? And why do I want to be here with a gazillion other people? I snapped this picture as we were winding our way thru. To be fair (ha! ha!) the parade was passing by and blocking off the street. But it was pretty much like this most places we walked.



We took a bottle break behind the fruit stand.



Fruit stand? I'd never seen that before, but it appeared they had a nice selection of tasty looking fresh fruit. It was here that we heard the mom next to us call to her son, "Roman..." Your dad and I looked at each other. Did she just say Roman? That's OUR name. But we're noticing it more. Someone at work told me she had a family member name their son Roman about 3 months after us. A woman at a sale said she new a little Roman (veni vidi vici). I was watching tv a few weeks ago and a woman introduces "my boyfriend, Roman". Molly Ringwald just named her fraternal boy twin Roman. Cate Winslet (actress) has a Roman. Cate! Roman! And others. More on that at a later date.

We wanted (well maybe I wanted) names that were a little bit different. Not too different, but a bit. Maybe it's because of my own name. Nothing wrong with it, but something to differentiate is good too. And of course Roman is the name of my dad's dad. Your dad liked it. It is now you too.

Back to the fair. We took a spin thru some barns. We saw horses, cows, sheep and pigs. Pretty amazing because your mom doesn't really have the stomach for the barn smell. Every time it reminds me that I'm a city girl. It actually wasn't too bad though.



Like a lot of things it makes me think about how much fun this is going to be when you are a little bit older.



Zoe's sporting her customized Twins outfit. Uncle Andy gave you a matching set last Christmas and you dad personalized them! More on that in the upcoming month as well!

Hi!

It's a miracle!

Zoe grew hair!



Now if mama thought to brush it for the picture, it might look more like this.



But the Snow White 'do didn't last long. Off came the wig....from Zoe's head and on to....



Romaine? Yes, we realize you'll hate us for this later. You didn't like it much either.



Daddy? Is that you? Yes, yes it is. I'd recognize that cheesy grin® anywhere!



Zoe, she's gotta PULL that hair. Off it comes.



That's my dad!

(and that's one reason your mom loves your dad so much. He let me take a picture of him in that wig. And he KNOWS that if I've got a picture it's going on the blog).

I love to clap my hands!

Grandma Jane says Roman was attempting the same yesterday, but I've yet to see it.

State Fair Time