Cafe with Mommy

I've been delaying posting because I've wanted to wait until I had a long post complete with pictures, but I've decided to try to post more frequently even if I don't have pics or it's just a short note. With that in mind...

I had a nice time with Jasmine this weekend when we went down to the local cafe together. Along the way we looked at many flowers, and saw a snail eating leaves. When we got to the cafe I was amazed at how "grown up" Jasmine was -- and she's not even 2 yet! We waited in line together, and then she wriggled out of my arms and sat on a nearby chair. This involved pulling the chair away from the table (by herself) and then climbing up onto it, and resting her elbows on the table. She stayed there quietly, looking around at the other folks in the cafe, and occasionally looking back at me.

After I ordered, I came and sat next to her with a scone, and she seemed to enjoy breaking pieces off the way I did. She was happy to "eat food!" in this grown-up setting. I picked up my latte, and her kids hot chocolate, and she was quite thrilled to have her own drink in a cup like mom's, and was very careful. She mostly drank it by herself, and only spilled once. She helped me wipe up by dunking a napkin in water (following my example) and wiping her face. She was careful to put the cup on the napkin on the table in between drinks (announced with "put on napkin!").

After this, it was time to explore. I let her get down and walk around the cafe by herself. She quietly walked around the edge, looking over at me when possible. When she got back around to our table she had a big smile when she saw me. It's a memory I hope to keep!

After that we headed home, and I played with Maddie for a while. Mel and I are trying to get more 1-on-1 time with each toddler.

In other news... I haven't posted since the twins' little sister Zoe was born, back in May. This means that the title of this blog is now a bit problematic... I'll likely be moving the blog to a more inclusive address as soon as I think of a good one.

Christmas 2009

For Christmas this past year, we had a fun, low-key family Christmas at home -- just the four of us.  It was the girls' second Christmas, but the first one where they had any awareness of the events around them.  They're still just getting used to the idea of presents, and weren't really ready for any concepts like Santa, but they were definitely old enough to enjoy new toys, boxes, and paper!

As you can see in these pics, their loot consisted of pint-size armchairs, trucks, pull toys, books, and stuffed animals.  They seemed pretty pleased :)  I've been happy to see that all of the gifts have had staying power, and some of them that weren't as popular initially (the pull-toys), have been getting more use in recent weeks.

As parents, it's kind of nice that the girls are breaking us in slowly on the Christmas thing.  We did stay up late wrapping, but we didn't have the same pressure to carefully hide presents in advance that we will in future years.

It was fun being together at home for Christmas, and we are thinking of making that a tradition (one I had at home growing up as well).

December and a Grandparent visit

We got some good pics in December, thanks to a visit from Grandma and Grandpa.  The girls were 15 months old, and started really getting into being outside.  The weather doesn't always permit, but when it does they get a lot of time at the park!

They're getting more and more into books -- both being read to, and flipping through pages themselves.



December slideshow and album

Halloween

I'm obviously way behind on posts here, so I'll play a little catch-up.

Halloween this year was pretty fun!  Last year the girls were just 6 weeks old or so, but this year they were ready for costumes!  We got them little puppy and kitty costumes and had fun.  They came to the office where both their parents work, and had some fun running around there.  Then on Halloween itself, we went to a local outdoor shopping center with friends of ours for trick-or-treating.  The girls didn't get to have bags or baskets, but we let them eat the candy that they carried around in their hands.  Maddie found a particular affinity for tootsie rolls, while Jasmine sampled more of a variety.  M&Ms were also a hit.

with friends Aidan (Batman) & Kellen (The Dark Knight)

After the shopping center, we joined Mel's cousins family for an event in their church parking lot with a bunch of costumed kids running around.  In both places, the girls seemed to pick up on the energy of the kids around them.  They didn't really get trick-or-treating, but they loved seeing all the kids in costumes, and being able to reach into buckets to take a piece of candy!  By the time we got to this event, they were pumped up on sugar and just ran around smiling and laughing.  It was a blast.  We got some cute pics with them and their 2nd cousin Troy (dressed as a dragon), who is 5 months older.

with cousin Troy the dragon

You can see a bunch more pictures from Halloween and see the evidence of sugar intoxication yourself here.  Ooh, and let's try a slideshow: