Vacation in Phoenix?

I know, what was I thinking? When Josh was out of town, I packed the kids up to head down to Phoenix to meet Josh for the weekend between trips. Talk about an adventure. We got down there on Friday around 3:00pm, unpacked into the hotel (very organized), and Josh met us at the hotel at 8:00pm. This day was pretty uneventful!! And, then Ben woke up in the middle of the night with a fever. Really makes life fun when you are going down to the warm to swim in the pool, plus being in a closed in space with babies that aren't supposed to get sick. So close that the babies got back to their roots and slept together (if you call this sleeping).

On Saturday, Ben was a trooper and swam for all of 30 minutes and then wanted to be out of the pool, because we think he had too much fruit for breakfast, which meant an afternoon in the bathroom. Yet another sickness. I think the most exciting thing about the afternoon was the ladybug he found.


Will and Kate enjoyed their time in the sun and having their bellies in the sun. Mommy enjoyed taking the pictures of one of their first adventures outside - at least for an extended period - since it is too cold in Flagstaff this time of year. Oh, I also enjoyed the margaritas!

Britney, a friend of ours, came down to help with the kids and Josh and I were able to go out on a date. Then, Josh left early early on Sunday morning for his next business trip.

Since Ben was sick, I decided that we (me and Britney) would take the kids over to the Tempe Art Festival on Sunday. Brilliant decision, since it is hard to push the double stroller on an empty street, but add about million people to a closed street and boy is it fun! We did have a good time and I certainly could not have done it without Britney. Ben got his face-painted, like Batman of course. I think superheros are inate in boys. And being a superhero sure is tiring, he passed out and slept in the bottom of a stroller all the way back to the hotel. Even missed the return trip on the lightrail (transportation new to Phoenix and very cool).

Then, our friends Jason and Helen came down, met us at for lunch at Tempe and spend the night with us at the hotel. It was so nice to have them there. They played with Ben a bunch, broguth me take out and helped me load up the kids and all of their stuff the next morning, just in time to pick my mom up from the airport. Mimi came to visit.

Play Hard - Sleep Hard

We have really been having a good time at home. Thank goodness, since that is where we spend most of our time these days. With Will and Kate's developing personality and Ben's continued craziness/personality, life is pretty fun around here. Enjoy some of the pictures and videos of our play time.

Well, we finally have some news to update with the twins. Will has moved from .2 liters/min. to .1 and Kate from .3 to .2. At least after this oxygen challenge, they went in the right direction. We will hopefully test them again the beginning April and look forward to saying goodbye to all the equipment and live life as "normal" kids.

Also, we had a home visit from the nurse with NICP (Neonatal Intensive Care Program). She follows-up wth us once a month to make sure the kids are doing well. And, she says that they are doing great. Not only have they gained a lot of weight (Will is now 10lbs 14 oz. and Kate (aka Bacon according to our neighbor) is 11lbs. 2 oz.), they are also developmentally above their adjusted age (which is determined from their due date of Jan. 10th). And for other stats, Will and Kate are both 21 3/4 inches long and Kate's head measures 38 cm and Will's measures 42.5 (big noggin for such a little boy - lots of brains). They have both started smiling and interacting a ton, which is awesome and makes it all worth it. They have even discovered each other. Ben even thinks it is pretty cool to get them to smile. And one time, Will lost one sock, so he took his off and gave it to him - it was so thoughtful! Fun to start seeing some interaction between the three of them.

Ben is doing well and seems to be adjusting to having to stay at home. His dad bought him some new batman pjs with cape and all and he does not want to get out of them. Thank goodness TV is so educational!! He's also been spending quite a bit of time playing games online from his favorite cartoons and has recently been trying his hand at typing. So far he can handle "Ben" and "MH" pretty well and is working on "Josh". This will one day be followed by "Mary Hampton" - Mimi and Poppy didn't do him any favors with a name like that!

We have been trying to get out more and my dear friend, Jenny, picks him up once a week so that Ben and one of his best buddies, Ezra, can play together. We have made a trip down to Sedona, where 7 of his friends and their parents met us, and he has begun a gymnastics class on Fridays, which he and I both enjoy. It is nice for him to have some instruction, because he is missing school and it is the first class that he has taken not requiring parent involvement, so allows me to sit with Will and Kate and actually watch and take in everything he is doing. Gosh, he is growing up!!! He has even started writing his name, which I think is pretty good and is reading some words. Amazing!!!

I hope that you all enjoy the slideshow below. To get more pictures, take a look at Mary Hampton's Facebook account. See ya!