Exciting News from Texas Instruments

I went to Texas Instruments' International Conference in Dallas about 3 years ago. Not only was it a great weekend for feeding my teaching needs, but I was also able to spend time with my good college friends Janina, Colette, and Ben.

This past weekend the conference was held in Austin. Leading up to the conference, TI sent out quite a few teaser emails saying there was exciting news. I was a little sad that I couldn't be in attendance, although I would be heart-broken to be away from the boys that long. Well, TI didn't disappoint me. They've finally come out with a color display graphing calculator! I know. How exciting! I can't wait to get one of these, even though I have no idea when it's coming out or how much it will cost. I told my students about it today and I prefaced it by saying I had exciting news. Leave it to my last class of the day to ask if that meant I was pregnant. Ah, teenagers. They say whatever they are thinking. I assured them I was plenty busy with the two babies I have and then I revealed the calculator. Judging by all their eye-rolling, they think I'm the ultimate nerd. I'd say that would be a good sign that I'm doing my job right.

Even though my degree in Statistics would be against this move, maybe I'll start playing the lottery. For $5000-$10000 I think I could get a classroom set of calculators, a Navigator system to connect the calculators to my computer so I can send files to the students and collect from them, and finally data collecting equipment. I would teach quite a bit differently if I had my way. Unfortunately, the rest of my department feels more comfortable using the OLD 20th century technology.

Must. Win. The Lottery.

Some Close-ups + Outstanding Efforts

Reading "electronic" books from Auntie Jennifer.


I'm still doing a double-take when I see Aiden up on his knees. He has now figured out how to lower himself down as well. Today he pulled himself up to a sitting position in his crib and was trying to figure out how to get to a standing position. That move resulted in a pretty big knot on his head.


The boys LOVE door stops. We've now removed all of them within their reach.

I took these pictures this past Monday when I was home for Presidents' Day. I was pleased to be able to take advantage of the great lighting in the nursery.

Aiden:







Reid:






Practicing standing in the upstairs hallway.

Almost 10 Months Old

Most of the time, we've been practicing standing in the boys' nursery. Eric and I started using the rails in the upstairs hallway as well. One of the reasons why the boys love this location is because it looks out over the two-story living room. When they squawk and screech, their voices echo. Loudly! They think it's the funniest thing to hear.




I took these two pictures today and combined them into one photo for a cute Valentine's frame I found at Target. It has a picture of a weiner dog and says "Doggone crazy for you." I sure am crazy about these two!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The latest and greatest:
Adien can now pull himself up to a kneeling position. While he's pretty smooth getting himself up, the getting down is a little more difficult. He's acquired a few bruises this week.
"Hola, Daddy!" The boys and I chatted with Eric via the computer while he was in Mexico City this weekend. Aiden spent the rest of the day saying "Dada, dada, dada,..." after this chat.
Besides my handsome husband, my favorite part of this picture is seeing the two little heads in the bottom right-hand corner as they were trying to figure out what was going on.

Reid and Aiden received THE CUTEST monkeys from Grandpa and Grandma Brusven for Valentine's Day. They're soft and cuddly and the boys already love them. I brought the monkeys upstairs to the boys' nursery so I could take some pictures of them after their naps. While I was changing Aiden's diaper, Reid started chattering away. I turned around to see this:
Four little monkeys!




We also worked on some more standing. As soon as I have the boys take a rest and sit down they want to pop right back up to try some more standing.



Aiden always stands on his tip-toes. Just like Uncle David?
Sandy, Dani, and Kacey came over to visit this afternoon. The boys loved seeing their "big sisters". I can't believe how old Dani and Kacey have gotten. You may remember them as the flower girls in our wedding. We always said it was a sad day when Kacey stopped calling me "Kewi" once she could pronounce her "r's". Once the boys are done with bottles in a couple of months, I think it will be easier for me and Eric to actually go on a date. Considering the last time was the Rockies game in September, I'd say we're WAY past due. We're lucky Dani and Kacey are excited to be babysitters.
Dani and Aiden:
Dani, Aiden, Kacey, and Reid:
Aiden, Kacey, Reid, and Sandy:
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

To Our Friend, Madeline

In honor of your 1st birthday, we present....
stuff on Aiden's and Reid's heads!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Madeline!