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:

One-year-olds!

The twins are now one! Hard to believe it's been a year already. We did plenty of reminiscing on the 11th and 12th about what we'd been doing the year previous...

Lots of stuff going on now. I still need to organize my pics, but thought I'd jot down some updates and add some pics (and links to videos) later.

The girls had a great time on their birthday weekend. Mel and I took that day (Friday) off, and we also had three visitors: Grandma and Grandpa Pierce, and Mckaela! Both girls loved having all these great people around! There was always at least one person holding them or giving them attention -- reading, playing, etc. Mel and I took advantage of the free babysitting as well. During the weekend the girls went to the zoo, got their first haircuts, had a birthday party at the park, and went to the swimming pool (one with lots of very shallow areas).

For their party, I had decked them out in little tutu-like skirts -- the first time I have dressed them up in something truly girly! One of the skirts is orange, and the other is brown though, so it wasn't tooo bad. I'll post pics. Their birthday clothes came from their gift from Great-Grandma. We had a few friends with babies or kids join us for the party, and it was a blast. The girls walked around, ate crackers and blueberries, played with the other kids, played with their new toys, and ate cupcakes.

In other news, they are both babbling quite a bit these days, especially Jasmine. She likes to make a combo and repeat it, like "beuda-beuda-beuda" and "tumba-tumba-tumba". They both do a lot of pointing now, while saying "dat?" or "ah?" or something like that. They're starting to try to say words like "dat!" for cat, or "p-tss" for pictures. They're also getting into songs with motions like itsy-bitsy-spider and when-you're-happy-and-you-know-it.

Also, we turned the car seats around! It's great to be able to turn around and look at them, and they seem to enjoy being able to see where they are going, and interact with us more.

We got through their 12-month doctor check-up which went well. Maddie as 90% for height and 70% for weight; Jasmine is greater than 95% for both, but she is getting closer to the curve. The doc says she is more like an 18-month-old size-wise. They are both healthy. Jaz is growing some molars to accompany her 8 front teeth -- two have broken the gums. Maddie is happy with her 6 for now -- 4 on top and 2 on the bottom.

We are having a lot of fun with them these days. They get giggly, proud, curious, focused, cuddly, and adventurous. Sometimes frustrated and whiny. But it's a wonderful experience!

First Steps

The girls are know officially toddlers! A few weeks ago they started taking their first unaided steps, and it's been pretty fun. Mel's created a video montage.

Early August Pics

August has been a pretty fun month. The girls have been going to swim class, exploring more things around the house, chasing the cats, and learning to walk! Here are a bunch of pics from August.

We had a heat wave at the beginning of the month, so we draped wet dishcloths on the girls.

The best toys!

Playing at home.

Ooh, a sleeping kitty cat

Now he's awake!

At the Zoo, Maddie & Mom

Jazz & Dad

Rahr!

Inside "Zoomazium" - an indoor area for tykes

Boise visit

For the Independence Day weekend, we took a car trip to Boise Idaho to visit the Guymons there. It was a 5 day trip -- 3 days visiting, 1 day driving on either end. All in all, it went very well. The car trips were challenging, but not terrible. Maddie did well for the first six hours of each trip, but was a banshee for the final two. I ended up in the back seat with her, trying to keep her from making the driver insane. Otherwise they did well in the car, looking out the windows, playing with toys, and enjoying our pit stops for food, bottles, or diaper changes. It's a divided jury as to whether flying or driving is easier.

The actual time in Boise was great! We had cousins from Aunt Mary's family, Aunt Liz's family, and of course Aunt Rebecca's family, as well as the Aunts themselves, Uncle Rich, Uncle Mike, and Grandma and Grandpa. We stayed at G&G's house which was great. G&G took on a lot of the feeding and babysitting while we were there. The girls had a great time playing with all of the people, playing with the new toys there, and playing with and watching their cousins. It was really sweet to see them with some of their littlest cousins who played with them -- like Reese, Jacob, Michael, and Joseph. Hmm, all boys... Most of the youngest cousins are boys these days - at least the ones in Boise at the time. It was also great to see them with their cousin who is the same age -- Benjamin! At last we got the three of them together. He is a sweetie who is almost always laughing or smiling. Grandma and Grandpa got a kick out of lining up three high chairs and feeding them all together while the rest of the family (including Mel & Shannon) were out at the lake boating and waterskiing.

On July 4th, Mel and Rich set up fireworks out along the driveway at Rich and Rebecca's house. They have a huge front yard, so there was plenty of room for the family to sit on the grass at a safe distance and watch. The girls had not gone to sleep properly so we got them up and let them watch as well. Maddie got scared and had to go inside, but Jasmine liked watching them, as long as I covered her ears for the loud parts. She'd get excited and lean forward, and then as soon as one went off, she'd sit down in my lap, just a little cautious.

During the car trip back, we stopped at a barbeque restaurant for dinner, and put the girls in high chairs there. That's actually the first time we've done that at a restaurant, and I was surprised at how well it went. We had goldfish, water, and baby food for the girls, and fed them in between eating ourselves, and giving them toys to play with. They seemed to like the experience, and Jasmine got a big kick out of smiling at people at the nearby table. They got a kick out of it too, so there was a bunch of smiling and laughing on both sides. She is turning into a little flirt, smiling at just about everyone, and loving it when they smile back.

Playing in Grandma & Grandpa's living room: Maddie with Grandma, cousins Reese (above) and Ben.

Maddie with Grandma and Grandpa

Real highchairs are fun!

Maddie and Jazz with their slightly younger cousin Benjamin.

In Grandma's back yard.

More fun in Grandma's back yard in the lovely grass.

Jasmine with Aunt Mary and Jacob (a sweetheart!).

Taking a break at a rest stop on the drive home.

No July

Whoops, I missed July. Sorry blog readers! I'll try to catch up with a couple posts.

June

Well, the girls have been alive longer on the outside than the inside at this point. They're doing really well. They still haven't really been sick, to speak of. Just a day here or there of a runny nose.

Uncle Michael with Maddie and Jazz on the couch

These last couple weeks have been a whirlwind at our house. First Mel was traveling for work for four days (California and Nebraska), then we had a lovely weekend visit from Uncle Michael (my brother), and then I was gone to India for five days (3 days in India, 2 days traveling). It was tough to be away from them for so long. I brought them back cute little baby saris.

Today we had our first tots swim class. Mel and I each took a baby and got in the pool. We mostly sang songs and played little activities to get comfortable in the water. The favorite was the "Washing Machine" song, which included "agititate" (twist the baby side to side) "spin cycle" (spin in a circle holding the baby away from you) and "air dry" (spin and lift the baby out of the water). Before class we took some pictures of their new swim suits of course.

Just got their new suits!

Waiting outside for swim class

Jazz continues to practice saying "mama" and "dada". Madeleine is laughing a lot these days -- or giggling, really. It's neat to see the pure joyous abandon on her face :) Both girls tend to take spills these days, as they push their limits of standing up and pulling themselves up. That part's a little tougher, but they're resilient kids!

9 months old

The girls turned 3/4 of a year old last Thursday. They surely are getting older! The changes are gradual, but pretty fast, nonetheless. Jasmine continues to be the leader in reaching new milestones. This week she has been saying 'mama' and 'dada' in ways that imply that she knows what they mean... She likes looking at pictures of us. Both girls clearly understand some things that we say -- for example, they turn and look at the "kitty cat" when we talk about him. Today they were both chattering up a storm. Jasmine said "dada" and "tata" a bunch, while Madeleine was digging "papa" and "baba". When I said either of those things back to her, she thought it was hilarious!

They are both delightful. I continue to think of Jasmine as more outwardly focused. She loves looking at interesting things and faces, and tries to get reactions out of the people around her. She was focused on a little boy at the park the other day. Madeleine is more inwardly focused. Often when she gets something that she's been reaching for, she gets a little private smile on her face. She's happier to play by herself without looking up for reassurance as often. They are both super-sweet -- they enjoy hugs and sitting on laps more than they used to, which is wonderful for me! I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

Jazz is now officially crawling. It's exciting but also scary of course. Anything within 6 feet of her that she shouldn't pick up is guaranteed to be in her hands within 30 seconds. I suppose she's teaching me how to baby-proof. I'm hearing the word "no" start to come out of my mouth occasionally which is a little strange. Maddie is happy on her stomach, and will pivot around her midpoint a full 360 degrees, but no inclination to move as yet.

Their 9-month checkup went great. They are both very healthy, and also huge. Maddie is 28 in. tall and almost 20 lbs. That's 75th percentile for both. Her head circumference (47 cm) is 95th percentile. Jasmine is 29 in and 26 lbs. That's 95th percentile and 'way off the charts' respectively. Her head is 1.5 cm bigger than Maddie's -- also off the charts.

These pictures are just a peek into what they've been up to lately!

almost bathtime

Maddie standing with the stroller at the park

At the park - J has succeeded in removing her hat.

playing at home

Jasmine has already played with that trail of toys.

two favorite things: playing and standing

The new "music table" toy

Memorial Day

Mel and I got married on Memorial Day three years ago -- and this year, my folks came out to babysit so we could get away for a long weekend! It was so nice. Here are some pics from their visit (and one pic of what Mel & I were up to).

I think it looks like they had a pretty good time! They were happy campers and didn't throw any tantrums for the grandparents -- which is great, because the grandparents say they'll be willing to do it again!

Mel and I are definitely willing to do it again...

Summer in Seattle

Happy Memorial Day!

We've been spending more time outside with the girls because it is just gorgeous out. And our lawn got fixed so we've been enjoying it. Saturday we took some pictures in our backyard (and a few inside).

Both girls love standing up now. Maddie is starting to push away hands so she can stand up by herself, but she only stays up for a few seconds. Jazz is rolling around the floor and crawling backwards.