March Of The (Halloween) Penguins

This was our second family Halloween with Dominik & Scarlett and this year they got to go trick or treating. In this picture we got our family portrait in front of the same house we got it in front of last year. Does everyone look the same? I’m pointing at the camera so the twins will look at it but babies are pretty much into doing their own thing.

Although you can’t see it in this picture Dominik was able to do a fair bit of waddling.  Given that he only really started walking a couple weeks ago he did great!

At our first stop Scarlett took a piece of  candy we’d put into her bucket and tried to add it into the bowl of candy being offered up by our neighbor instead of taking one from him and adding it to her bucket. After a little tutorial from Mom and Dad she understood that she was supposed to take a candy and add it to her bucket and got it right the rest of the night.

All in all they were able to visit about 10 houses about 50% under their own power and seemed to have a really good time doing it.

Pumpkin Time Is Coming

This will be Dominik and Scarlett’s second Halloween and they’re already very excited. This year was their first trip to the pumpkin patch so we can show them how to make jack o’ lanterns.

Scarlett picked out her pumpkin right away.

Then after some very thorough inspection Dominik made his selection too.

Spring Break #2

The week following my Spring Break Grandpa and Grandma came for a visit. I was a bit worried because Scarlett developed what the baby books call “stranger anxiety.”  She basically screams her head off if anyone but me or MJ holds her. Luckily, this didn’t happen.

Scarlett and my dad became fast friends.

And Annette and Dominik got along swimmingly.

The twins’ week was packed full of activities including long walks in the stroller, eating in restaurants, shopping for cute outfits, and their favorite: the bucket swings!

It was so nice having family in town – we look forward to the next visit!

Happy Easter!

Great Grandma Evadne hand knit these beautiful sweaters for the twins which were perfect for Easter morning.  As a beginning-intermediate knitter, I know how challenging these sweaters were to make, and she did it all with an injured hand!  Thank you, Evadne.  These will stay with us forever (and we use the blankets every night.)

Spring Break in San Francisco

San Francisco was a culinary adventure for these young palates. Up until this trip we’ve been exposing Dominik and Scarlett to foods regularly from our local farmers market. Their favorites have been: strained blueberries, avocado, sweet potato, cauliflower, carrots, steamed diced apples, Cheerios, Ritz Crackers, green beans with mint, and mashed potatoes with butter. On our trip we really pulled out the stops and let them try: pancakes, french fries, olives, mac n’ cheese, grilled asparagus, roasted potatoes, hummus, pita, tuna salad, split pea soup, mango juice and feta cheese crumbles.

When we checked into our hotel Dominik and Scarlett were really excited to crawl around the room and check out their new environment while we unpacked. They especially enjoyed the slippery bathroom floor which Dom could easily army crawl across.

The twins also got to meet their great -aunt Candace and great-uncle Pete (the reason for our trip) and second cousin Zach. They also got to meet and go out to eat with our friends Mike, Karin, and Lily, and Chaz, Rochelle, and Amanda. Candace and Pete very kindly volunteered to baby-sit one night so we could go see a movie which was awesome for us but more than a little nerve wracking for them since Dom n’ Scarlett wouldn’t go to sleep without yelling and crying for about 45 minutes.  But as the ol’ timers say, it’s good for their lungs. Thanks! (Sorry).

Really the trip was a smash hit. We have so many pictures that there’s too many to upload so check out the slide show on flickr.

Here’s a couple of our favorites if you don’t have time for the full show.

Spring Break Road Trip: Part 2

Driving from Los Angels to San Francisco usually takes about 6 hours.  With (almost) 9 month old twins in the back seat, we knew we’d need to take a lot of breaks, but didn’t know how they’d respond to being cooped up for so many hours. Luckily, they maintained their usual eating and napping schedule and we only had to listen to about 25 minutes of crying.  We also had several fun and exciting experiences along the way, including their favorite new restaurant, Andersen’s Pea Soup.

The twins loved the split pea soup so much they finished the entire bowl in record time.

And shortly after, we made our destination!

Spring Break Road Trip: Part 1

M.J. and I decided to take the kids on their first road trip for Spring Break to visit friends and family in San Francisco.  Because we chose not to buy a mini-van we were forced to pack light.  We didn’t bring our double stroller or any of our big equipment like excersaucers or bumbo seats.  Our hotel provided us with two cribs, so we didn’t even have to use our pack n play. Still, for a three night trip, this is what we had to bring.

We let Scarlett drive

until her nap time.

Since we left early in the morning we had to take several food breaks on the drive.  Our first stop was IHOP where the twins had their first pancake.

They were very excited about the IHOP flavor sensation,

and I was even more excited that I didn’t have to clean up.

After a horrifying experience attempting to use the IHOP’s changing table, we decided to use our car (that is definitely not a mini van) to change diapers.

Twin Valentine

We had the best Valentine’s Day ever.  See for yourself!

More Christmas Photos

After we opened presents, we headed over to our friend and neighbor Louise’s house for brunch. Scarlett and Dom were very social and had a great time. We got to eat tons of tasty home cooked food and enjoy spending time with good friends.

A Few Holiday Photos

The twins got one billion presents for Christmas.  Thank you, Santa Claus! We had so much fun and took so many pictures that it’s taking quite some time to get them posted.  Also, MJ has some great video that he’ll be sharing soon. Here are a few photos from Christmas morning.