In Which We Become Famous

We know there are avid readers of the G&E blog out there. A few of you have even been known to hang out by your computers and hit the refresh button obsessively in hopes of a new post. (Ninah, you know who you are.) :-) Well, now you have a reason to obsessively haunt another blog for the next 30 days... That's right, the Goddard Twins are officially part of the Looky, Daddy Month of Mastheads.

During the month of September, our favorite blog Looky, Daddy will have a different masthead everyday. And one of those days...it could be any one of those days...it will be Gabriel and Elias!!!

And really, you should be thanking us for this, because if you don't already read LookyDaddy, you are really missing out on Something Special (and if you don't believe us, we challenge you to read that last link while drinking any fluid. If you don't shoot it out your nose, you have no sense of humor.) LookyDaddy combines twin humor with parenting advice and drink recipes and poetry. If there is a more perfect blog, we have yet to find it.

Happy Reading.

ETA: It's up today (9/3/08). The photo is funny, but the babies are tiny, so here it is again. The duck in his non-aquatic environment:

Portraits of Champions

The boys officially stated walking more than they crawl last Wednesday (8/20) and our little babies now officially seem like little boys. It has been a bitter sweet transition -- one that we have been documenting nonetheless. Here are some of our favorite little boys photos from this month...

Being a toddler is tough -- you definitely have to fall before you can walk. And having a brother is tough -- two babies who love each other will often get a little too physical with that love... Elias' started looking like a roughian a few weeks ago after he got his first fat lip on the tile. Combined with the cut over his eye, it looks like he just went a few rounds in the ring...

Aaaiiidddrriiiaaannnn!!!

Gabe shows off his baby blues

Elias toddlin' tough for the camera

Punk-Rock Gabe looks Mischievious

Elias Passed Out after All That Fun

Field Trip!

Yesterday Kathy and the boys decided to take an all-day trip to the California State Fair. Kathy LOVES the fair. She loved the Rodeo and Stockshow as a kid and never misses a chance to attend a County or State Fair. However, the boys are just starting to walk and become even more independent. Trips out in general are getting more difficult. This adventure might be a disaster or an awesome success... Well, we had a TERRIFIC day. We saw so many exciting animals and exhibits. Here are some of our favorites.

There was a great little park oriented to the little ones. These boxes are filled with feed corn to play in. The boys LOVED it. Below you can see Elias playing with our friends Karen and Ellie on the left hand center of the screen. See if you can also find Gabriel.

Hint -- He's on the ffffffaaaaaarrrr right side...

...And not entirely in the photo.

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

Sponge! Bob! Twin! Pants!

Of course, the best part of the fair is the animals! The boys loved the animals. Gabe seemed to be especially excited to see them. So excited he didn't take a nap...all.day.long.

Karen and baby Ellie looking beautiful and posed with the goats.

Kathy and the boys looking crazy and chaotic with the goats.

I think Elias just realized the sheep has nipples.

Look at all those baby chicks! Do you think any of them are twins?

Gabe mesmerized by the goat. Elias checking out Cows behind him.

Wow. This is closer than we've ever been to a cow!

Cows are cool!

Too Close! Too Close! Cows are crazy!

Of course, Daddy had to get in on this fun. After work, he met us at the fair and introduced the boys to his favorite part -- the MIDWAY! The boys were very impressed with all the crazy people yelling at them, but they were most excited about the prize their daddy won them!

See my frog? Isn't he cool?

Whew! Do we look tired? That's because we are!

Other highlights included seeing a calf being born (wow!), seeing piglets, crawling about in the hay/dirt/other fair stuff, seeing a bat, seeing a sea lion, eating in the Foodstyle center while they judged the jams and jellies, and meeting LOTS of other twins and getting SSSSOOOO much attention. It was such a fun, inexpensive trip! We are planning to go back again next week!!!

Flashback

Remember wwwaaaayyyyyy back in July of last year? About that time, the boys were tiny baby-blobs and we were leaving the house for the first time since they were born. Around that time, we visited Stumpy Meadows Lake for one of the boys' first outdoor activities.
Today we experienced a little Deja Vu as we returned to Stumpy Meadows for a day of fun in the sun.

They boys had a ton of fun swimming and hiking with their Daddy.

Come on in, the water's great!

Gabe Hiking with Dad

Days like today really accent the differences in the boys' personalities. Elias is a little thrill-seeking and always gives 200% to whatever he does. I'm Splashin' I'm Splashin' I'm Splashin' I'm Drownin'

This water looks good, I'm drinkin' I'm drinkin' I'm drinkin' I'm drownin'!

Gabe is our precise explorer. He is curious and checks everything out in detail. He likes to show-off practice new skills over and over. Today, he was far more interested in climbing up and down the steep rocky beach. He was very careful to turn around and back down the steepest parts.

Gabe practices for his future role as the first baby on Mars...

Here he is examining the denisity and feel of the soil.

hrmmm...much more grainy and firm than the goose poop I found earlier. Now for the taste comparison...

As the boys get older, they do tons of new cute stuff...Okay, we may be the only ones who think it is cute, but this is our blog, so now you are forced to look at it. They are really into "forts" lately. Without proper fort supplies, they were forced to improvise a location for all their super-secret meetings.

Roger Baby 1. The Plan Is A Go. Repeat - The Plan is a Go!

Charge!

The boys are also doing a lot of imitating mom and dad. (Yes, scary I know.) Here are two favorites from this week:

Gabriel demonstrating his ability to multi-task

Hey -- Listen, I can't talk now; I'm eating. Sure I'll call later.

Every day in the bathtub, Daddy plays silly games to keep the boys entertained. One of their favorites involves spitting (yes, silly often means gross) foam letters across the room and getting them to stick to the wall.

Gabe is a quick study!

Yeah!

Sassy is home!

She came trotting up the front walk with pep and enthusiasm. She was...well...sassy! :-) Thanks to everyone who kept Ms Sass in their thoughts this week. We may not have her with us for much longer, but we are loving each day she dances her happy dance for us.

Sassy Update

Sassy is still at the hospital. Her ultrasound today showed that part of her pancreas is REALLY swollen. The vet and radiologist put it at a 60-70% chance that this is a large mass (about 2in by 3in). There is a fair chance that it is just pancreatitis, however. This second diagnosis is bolstered by the fact that Sassy seems to be feeling much better. Because she seems to be back to her old self, we decided to see if we could take her home for a few days to see how things go. They are going to take about 24 hours to wean her off the IV fluids with the hope that we can bring her home tomorrow. Her mobility is still really impaired, but Chris and I think that once we get the IV out of her front leg she will be about to move about with no more difficulty than usual.

SSSOOOO, in essence a 24 hour reprieve -- we will really know if she can come home tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who has written and called with words of support. Please keep Sassy in your thoughts and prayers for a bit longer.

Remember This Beautiful Lass?

Nope, I don't mean the pregnant whale... I mean the cute one peaking out from behind mount Gabrelias...

This weekend out older basset Sassy had to be hospitalized. Friday afternoon she was fine -- dancing her little shuffle-dance for cookies and attention. Then Friday evening she was having trouble walking, seemed listless and unsure where she was. She was also sick in about every way you can be sick. We took her to the vet first thing on Saturday -- by that time she could only walk a few steps. She is still at the vet's office there hooked up to IV fluids and medicines. They are doing a bunch of tests on her, but as of this morning, the vet seemed to believe that her bloodwork indicated a tumor or some kind of severe abnormality in her stomach or intestinal lining. We will know more after she gets an ultrasound tomorrow.

In the meantime, please send Sassy all your good vibes/kind thoughts/pink light and keep her in your prayers. She is a sweet old girl who has been a loyal pet through a lot of changes in our lives. As you can see from the photo above, she was the boys first playmate -- tolerating their kicks to her pillow very patiently. Since the boys arrived, she has kept to herself as much as possible but, despite all their poking and prodding, she has never even growled at them. That is more patience than Chris and I have been able to consistently demonstrate.

Gorgeous Goddards

While we were in Maine, Gramps and Grandma hired Jill from Strut Photography to come out and photograph the entire brood. It was a gorgeous morning on the beach. The babies were fussy and I was worried about how their photos would come out, but based on the teaser preview in Jill's blog, I think it will be AWESOME! For the record, I think our Massachussets cousins may be the most photogenic family in the entire world. Seriously -- they look like an Abercrombie ad, but more handsome! Check out all the Gorgeous Goddards at: http://strutjournal.blogspot.com/2008/07/beach-session-ogunquit-me.html

While you are there, peruse more of Jill's work. It is really impressive -- made more so by the fact that she is low-key and fun. She really just lets the kiddos and families do things they enjoy while she captures the moment. If you are looking for an awesome photographer on the east coast, she is the one to see!