You Are the Mother of a Devil-Child!

I put my kids down for a nap at Grandma's house.... Grandma agrees to watch them while I run a quick errand; "Be back in half-an-hour," I call behind me....

I get back and Tina, not surprisingly, is not asleep and chatting away in the other room. As I enter the front door, my mother tells me, "You are the mother of a devil-child." Oh, no... what's she done now?

Not only has she figured out how to disrobe and take off her diaper (we knew that part already), she's also found out how to unzip the crib-tents that are suppossed to keep her from climbing out and creating additional mischief. Appartently, when my mother found her, she had tried to release her sister (she got Ava's tent unzipped - she just wouldn't climb out like Tina does) and was sitting on the floor playing with the electric fan -- plugging it in to and out of the wall. Tina looked a Grandma, peed on the floor and ran out the open door, giggling. The devil child for sure!

"How long since you put her back in?" "Five-minutes." "Well, you know she's got to be out again." Crash!! I go in this time. Tina's out, diaper-less again. Her smile turns to a solemn face as she sees me over the electric fan she's tipped over onto the floor. Wordlessly, I put her back in, strap on another diaper and look for a safety pin and lock the zipper closed. "That will do it," I think.

Ten-minutes later, more footsteps can be heard in the room.... "Couldn't be Ava," I think. I open the door -- it's Tina again. She's found a hole between tie-downs and has somehow squeezed through them.

Nap-time isn't working today. So, we go outside to express some of this creative energy in another way. You think we got that accomplished??

Jon Leaves for His Deployment

My cousin, Jon, left for Iraq this weekend. He flies a C-2 (nicknamed the "Greyhound") airplane for the Navy. He will, fortunatley, have shorter deployments and will live off the ship, but still within what is considered a war zone. We're still hoping he will come home when scheduled so he can see the birth of his second child, a son this time. Above, Jon stands with his wife (far right and preggo) and daughter, the curly strawberry blonde directly under him in the wagon.

We saw his mother (my Aunt) Saturday, and she told us that he's outfitted his house, his mom's house and the laptop he will take to war with him with webcams and everything they would need to communicate with each other and see them as often as possible. She also said that his aircraft also has some communication systems that will allow extra opportunities to chat, gratis. I hope to keep in touch via email to hear about his adventures and views about life abroad and at war.

His wife sent this email out to friends and family:
"At least he has started his 2.5 month Detachment/deployment and now it's just a matter of time before it's OVER! I took him to base this morning at 5:30. Ella in her pjs and Rudder excited to go for a ride in the car but concerned because Daddy had suitcases and he knows what those mean.

He should be on the ship as I write this, where he will stay for 3 days. Not sure what time his plane left but the carrier was a 2-3 hour flight off the coast. I'm not expecting to hear from him until Monday or Tuesday when they get to Roda, Spain. The rest of July he will be traveling the Med. in places like Roda, Sicily, Italy, and Souda Bay, Greece.......yeah, google that one......
Also recently and "possibly" thrown into the mix is Cairo, Egypt. During the first couple days of Aug. they will arrive in Bahrain where he will stay until October 1st when his current orders say he'll be returning to me! As Jon's job does not usually require him to fly missions that put him the middle of warfare, his job flying much needed cargo (such as parts for other air crafts, and other equipment that breaks) as well as high ranking dignitaries of military branches around the world, he certainly doesn't leave him out of harms way all together. Not to mention Bahrain is considered a war zone and he will be living there for 2 months. With that said I ask you to please keep him along with the other 5 COD pilots and their 35 or so crew in your thoughts and prayers.

His leaving hit me a little harder today than I thought it would. I'm used to him working all the time and being gone on weekends but I can at least look forward to seeing him some. The house feels very empty today and I realized it's not going to be full again until he comes home in October. Other than that I'm perfectly fine, we've got fabulous neighbors and friends and Aunt Judy and Lee so close by. I am nervous about this baby wanting to come too early and him not being home in time. I do know that if I do start labor before October 1st the guys taking Jon's place will already have arrived in Bahrain and the skipper will likely get Jon on the first flight to the states to be with us. I can do labor without him, I just don't want him to miss it. "

Our prayers will always include him (and Emily, Ella and baby) and all our hopes of a quick return at the end of his deployment.

Ainsley & Patrick's Bundle News

In case you weren't convinced before by everyone's (Aunt Linda, Grandma Dent, our Mom, my, and Ainsley herself) premonition....

IT'S A BOY!!

Ainsley and Patrick should receive their little boy on or around December 4th. We're so excited and are already thinking of nicknames should they decide to name him Braxton, after our paternal grandfather. I say Jack, the same nickname our grandfather had. We'll see if they decide that the name they had in mind at the beginning of their pregnancy seems to fit him and them come December.

Be careful, though, Ainsley....the story we heard growing up is that Grandpa weighed 14-pounds at birth!! (as seen below)

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Montana Pictures & the 4th of July

We arrived back from Montana safe and sound (although there were a few times we almost lost our sanity!) and had a great trip. Here are some pictures to share: click here.

On our way home, we decided to meet Paul at my sister's house in Tahoe. Her husband is a fireman and it's always fun to stay for their Pancake Breakfast, tour of the firehouse and of course, the 4th of July parade. Ava and Bettina get the choice position sitting next to Uncle Patrick as he drives the Fire Engine to start the parade. This year, however, Ava decided she didn't want to go last minute. So, Grandma got to ride with Bettina who really loved this annual ride. She took her hostess job seriously and waved to the crowd from the fire engine with a beaming smile!! We took a chance with the kids' bedtime and brought them with us to see their first set of "real" fireworks at King's Beach. They watched with wonder, commenting on the colors as they exploded in the air and slept all the way home! The 4th of July photos can be seen here!

This is What It's All About

We've been taking turns watching kids so that two of us can go out kidlet-less for an extended activity. Liz and Lisa went out mountain biking a couple times and I watched the 7 kids (aged 9, 7, 5, 3, 2, 2, and 2). Yesterday, Lisa watched all the kids while Liz and I went on a horseback ride. We went out the dirt road and took a right at the last fence-post at the end of the road and, following a deer trail, climbed the hill up toward the mountain. Sagebrush, juniper trees and lupine dominate the rocky terrain and, from the hillside, we see the entire Ruby Valley from Virginia City all the way toward Twin Bridges with the pine-laden mountains growing from the drier hills. We pause at the top of our hill and take in the view amid our conversation. Snow-capped peaks can be seen and the well-irrigated grass field sway in the afternoon wind. I can see how Lizzie can spend her entire summers here without missing the Bay Area a bit.

We lead the kids double (and sometimes triple) on Jay and Woody around the driveway when we get home. Ava just comes running when she sees a saddled horse. She loves to put on Brynn's riding helmet and cries when it's time to share a horse or put him back. She knows the horses by name and always says goodnight to them (as well as the rabbits) individually when we walk from the main house to the guest house where we're staying. She likes her new routine and there's much hope on my end that she'll follow directly in her mother's footsteps.

With all the little kids asleep and the bigger kids watching a movie in the house, Liz, Lisa and I retreat to the back of the porch that overlooks the rushing creek and each of us plops down in a log rocking chair, cushioned, of course, with a Pendleton southwestern pillow and blanket, with a beer each and finish our easy conversation. We are amazed the week has just flown by and acknowledge with dread that tomorrow is our last day here together. We plan for next summer - this time with husbands. However, knowing it would be different with men, we also plan that we should arrive a few days in advance of our husbands so that we can get our "girl time" in.

So, today we will go to the swimming hole or try some fly-fishing (the rivers here are actually reknown for their fly-fishing). It's sort of a lazy day in which we will have to work out opportunities to clean out the car, repack our stuff and get organized for the 1,000-mile drive back home.

Road Trip - Old Faithful

We're on the road - a girls' weekend while the men stay home, impossibly embedded in "real life."

We traveled 4-hours Friday, after stopping by to visit newest cousin, Brody, in Sacramento for a couple hours and to visit Ainsley and Patrick in Tahoe, to Reno where we stayed with soon-to-be road-trippers, Lisa, Brooke and Brynn. The next day, we traveled 7-hours through Nevada to Twin Falls, Idaho. The kids did fairly well, considering, and we rewarded them with swimming in the indoor pool until all were justly exhausted. All feel asleep well (whew!). Sunday, we traveled 4-hours to West Yellowstone, Montana. Lisa and I have discovered that we'd created a bit of a groove finding that the 3rd row carseat, which we first thought would be a separation anxiety problem, is proving to be a great place for the little ones to rotate to take naps. Ava takes the morning shift as she can always fall asleep shortly after 9am. Brynn follows after lunch and, usually, Bettina gets the last afternoon shift. Today, however, there was no late afternoon shift with our shorter drive. So, when we arrived in West Yellowstone at around 1pm, we wandered the touristy streets a little bit to stretch all our legs until Bettina (who didn't get a chance to sleep during the day) convinced us it was time to do some more swimming. We are quickly realizing swimming pools have huge advantages for travelers with small kids.

Monday morning, we packed up and drove into Yellowstone park. Not 10 miles into the park, and we had already seen a herd of elk grazing 150-yards off the road, a young moose who crossed the street just in front of us and a herd of 150+ bison (buffalo) lazily enjoying the sunshine right next to the street. We made it to Old Faithful around noon-ish and watched the amazing natural geysers. Again, we ended up timing everything just right, before a sleep-depraved tantrum from Bettina. As we headed out of Yellowstone and Montana, Lisa and I peered through the read-view mirror to the most amazing site of all: four children all fast asleep at the same time! This was a first in our 1,100 mile excursion! We enjoyed our grown-up-girl time during the rest of the 2-hour drive to Aunt Lizzie's.

As we were coasting down Aunt Lizzie's driveway Lizzie was coming up, leading Blake and Katherine on Jay for a quick ride around their 14-acre property. After some visiting, dinner, and a few beers for the moms, we settled the kids down for the night. We look forward to showing you more of the house nestled in a grassy valley between two mountain ranges later on in the week.

Raising Cain & Cowgirls

The girls and I went to see Misty this week. The intention was to meet a friend who was going to watch them as I got in a quick ride, but she'd forgotten to tell me she couldn't make it. Well, let's take Misty out for a nice brushing...

The intention was to see if Ava was nervous in the saddle by herself or if Mommy could get a cute picture before she wanted down....she never did want down.

The intention was to see if both girls could share a saddle and take a cute picture before one of them wanted to get down....neither wanted to get down.

We ended up walking around the barn for 1/2-hour and the girls singing, laughing and chatting excitedly about the whole thing. Seems we've got ourselves some confident little riders who need some riding helmets now. Was that my intention?? Perhaps...(wink, wink).

Oh, Give Me a Home!

One week and counting...

In one week, the girls and I will pack our bags, and the minivan, and head out in search of buffalo. We're taking a quick stop in Reno to pick up my long-time friend Lisa and her 2 girls. Six of us, four five-and-under, making our way across the buffalo plains to Yellowstone (with plenty of DVDs and VHS's!). A cowgirl trip with kidlets!

After Yellowstone, we drive north a couple hours to our other friend's "ranch" in Sheridan, MT (most locals don't call a patch of land a "ranch" unless its 5,000 acres+. Us Californians, however, like to call their 14-acre spread a "ranch" - they must mock us so!) . She'll be there with her rabbits, horses and her 3 kids.

We're so excited to sit our bandana'ed little bodies down on the river bank with our feet hanging in the water, watching the horses graze and making all kinds of wonderful western summer fun. Montana, here we come!!

Ainsley adds #11

Great-Grandma Dent came down for a visit last week and gave us an opportunity to take some pictures with her two youngest great-grandchildren. Ava & Tina are the youngest by about 6 years, which is one of the largest gaps in the geneology. The same day we went to take this picture, we got a call from my sister, Ainsley, who was just back from the doctor and finally confident enough to make the *big* announcement (which I forced her to do over speaker-phone while we were all sitting down for lunch)....

AINSLEY'S PREGNANT!!

She and her husband, Patrick, should expect little newborn sounds sometime around December 4th (which puts her at a little over 12 weeks now). And, yes, she made sure there was only one baby in the sonogram (this will be Great-Grandma's 11th great-grandchild). This is great timing for me as I now have an excuse to have her store all my little baby things while Paul and I still scramble to figure out where to store everything during our house transition.

Funny story -- I'd bought her some maternity clothes at the last twins sale I went to and sent them up as pre-mother's day presents. Her comment [paraphrased]: "Thanks, but I'm never going to get that big. Those clothes must be made for mothers expecting twins. Besides, they're short-sleeved and it will be too cold to use them."

Didn't we all think that we weren't ever going to get "that big" when trying on clothes (and as much as we might have liked, they don't make maternity clothes in 'twin' sizes -- you will get that big!)? How long will it take Ainsley to figure out that pregnant women never get cold! In fact, they're always too hot, forever suffering from hot flashes! Layering works well with soon-to-be Moms. Well, she still "doesn't feel pregnant," but don't worry, Ainsley, the ride, and learning curb, is only beginning! Congrats!!

Two Turn Two! Butterflies & Bees

Yesterday was the girls' second birthday party. Today is the actual day. Here's montage of all the fun and festivities... (now to write some thank yous!)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ramping up and Practicing for the "Big Day"...

The girls are really getting ready.... Here's Ava practicing her singing, accompanied by her musical Birthday Bear....Bettina's decided to be like her Mom and capture it all on her toy stuffed camera. "Cheese!" Two more days until the big day!

Bettina Also Goes Pee-Pee in the Pee-Pee Chair

Pee-pee in the Potty

We've had a couple of the Bijoin training potties for the girls around for awhile. They know what they're for. They call them "pee-pee chairs."

The girls have been very interested in Mommy's pee-pee for awhile: "Mommy pee-pee?" as they spread my legs to watch it fall. (It never ceases to amaze me how little they understand about privacy and personal space!) They like to say bye-bye to the pee-pee before I flush as well. I just need to make sure that the public restrooms I use are singles and don't have stalls in them...could cause some public embarrassment!! Up until today, we've used the pee-pee chair as a toy of sorts. I've always been under the impression that toilet training doesn't start until they are 2-1/2 or 3 years old.

This morning, however, Ava was wandering around outside diaperless (a bit of rash we're trying to let breathe). She started talking about the pee-pee chair. I just changed her diaper 5 minutes ago and don't think she needs it, but, what the heck, I think. Let's bring it out for kicks.

I warn her, "Your pee-pee may not be ready to come out yet, but that's OK. You can wait or try again later." She sits down, repeating "pee-pee," then stands up and runs away. It wasn't until 2-3 minutes had gone by that I bothered to stand up from my chair where I watched her "practice" her potty. "My God," I think, "There's pee-pee in there! She actually did it!"

I'm so excited I call both girls, and Grandma, over to see the pee-pee sitting in the potty chair. All sorts of pomp and circumstance follow as well as Ava being able to call Daddy on the cell-phone to tell him herself that she went pee-pee on the potty. We call Grandpa too, just for good measure.

After our celebration around the pee-pee chair, we take the pee-pee to the toilet and tell it "bye-bye." The ritual is complete. Ava has gone pee-pee in the potty, and just before she's turned 2! Could it be that they'll be trained before the end of the summer? How ideal would that be! I'm thinking again that May babies are the way to go. Potty training during summer is just another benefit.

Yee-haw! Cowgirl up!

I've been looking forward to this weekend for 2 years....

One of the only drawbacks about getting pregnant was that I'd have to miss out on my favorite annual event for a couple of years. A number of my close girlfriends - girls I've grown up with - and I have been going horse camping with a group of women on different California ranches, and it's my absolute favorite thing. Playing with horses, cows, and girls friends with gourmet meals, open bar, commemorative gift, riding on guided trails, Calcutta, team penning, barrel racing timed events, live and silent auctions...even massages and facials -- everything a sophisticated cowgirl could ever want. Las Estrellas del Valle is a 3-day event benefiting the Salinas Valley Medical Hospital's Level III NICU (a cause close to any twin-mom's heart).

My dad - a saint among saints - gives this to me as a Christmas gift, but being pregnant and a new mom, I couldn't go the last 2 years. This year, I got it again and he flew down from Seattle to watch the girls to ensure I had a really great time.

You always meet more fabulous, funny and exciting people and it always renews my love for cow-chasing and country living. We have yet to see (and buy) the professional photos, but here are a couple snapshots and rough videos taken on my camera.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Mommy and the Terrible, Horrible, No good, Very Bad Weekend

Alexander had it easy. His day only lasted a day.

Mine started Friday after I packed up all the things for the Twin Valley Mothers of Twins Consignment Sale and the girls into the minivan bound for Grandma's house. We were in a rush... I still needed to tag all the toys at Grandma's house that the girls have outgrown/ignored as well as feed them and have them ready for a nap by 12:30pm. Cruising at 65mph, I all the sudden heard a "POP!" As the minivan started to float a little, I heard a different sound like I was driving on the outside of the lane - the sound that's intended to wake up drivers who may be sleepy and wandered off the road a bit. "I bet I've got a flat," I think, merging right while neither using the brake or the accelerator. "Great!" I'm only a mile and a half to Grandma's, but with two kids - feisty ones at that - in the car with me, walking to the nearest exit - less than 1 mile - isn't an option in my book.

Thank goodness for cell phones! I call my husband first, who is unfortunately in a meeting for the next 3 hours and won't hear my pleas. I call Grandma next who is supposed to be at a class rather than her house. Cell phone's off. Already in class. Hummm... Insurance agent (Paul had me cancel AAA since the roadside assistance was cheaper through our car insurance) is next....apparently I'm not covered....Paul told them to cancel it since I had AAA. Miscommunication #1,452. Nearer to tears, they assure me they'll send someone out for an additional $50. A bargain. I'm told to wait an hour. I'm no woozy, but it's really scary being on the side of the road --- each time a big car or truck comes by, it shakes the whole car. I pray that they girls don't find it intimidating.

Time passes - thank goodness I packed a lunch for these two. They are relatively calm and finally, 15 minutes late, help arrives. I look in my rear-view mirror and know that doom is short-coming. It's not a tow-truck. It's a locksmith who does tire changes on the side. He tells me to open the middle trap door so he can get my spare out. I know it's not there - that's where we store extra toys and my Ergo carrier. After looking for 10 minutes, my help tells me that I have no spare and that he can't help me. I sense stupidity in his face and I scan the owner's manual to prove him wrong. However, they don't tell me where to find the spare, just that it's there and how to change it. The girls are starting to act up. Every time I leave the car, they panic and scream. We've been on the side of the freeway now for 2 hours. I'm pissed my "savior" is unqualified and I call my insurance hotline to tell them so. They will send out a proper tow truck, but it will take another hour. Unacceptable. A CHP car drives up behind me and quickly my locksmith guy is driving away. The CHP tell me 3 options: hitch a ride with them and abandon the car, they're call for a tow truck will come within 15-minutes (and will cost an arm and a leg), or they will follow me low-speed to the exit and ensure I'm safe. Screw the alloy rim -- it will cost as much as the tow truck anyways! I am flustered and an emotional mess for the rest of the night. Yuck! However, lessons learned: 1) the spare is in the back side-compartment, shaped like a wheel, on the drivers' side. Had my van not been full of stuff for the sale, I may have seen it in my rear-view mirror. 2) always check your insurance policy for coverage even though someone says they've already done it.

Saturday: Paul leaves to work saying he'll be home early so that we can go to this wedding. "Good," I answer. "I need to take a shower before we go." Girls wake up on the wrong side of the bed and I load the screaming pair into the car after breakfast to pick up Paul's pants from the tailor. The challenging part is that I have to get there using backroads as you're not supposed to travel more than 50 mph with a spare. I don't know these backroads of inner-Oakland, but actually navigate them relatively well even though there are some tough neighborhoods. I get there and they don't have Paul's pants. Could it be that he actually remembered to pick them up himself? Nah - look again, please. I realize I left my cell phone at home and go home empty handed after their second and third look. Now I realize I'm going to be late getting back for my very important date with the shower!! But, as I come home, I find Paul not there, but his pants in the closet. I wait 2-more hours with still-cranky kids who won't let me put them down without crying. I'm stuck on the sofa one on each knee. One-half hour before we need to leave, Paul comes in late for his own shower. I throw on a dress, fuming that I don't have the time to clean the kids' snot out of my hair or eat something myself.

Sunday: Bettina's been up since 11:30 last night. She can't sleep and won't let me either. Finally at 4:30am, she starts to drift off. Ava wakes up, I enter and see that she's covered in puke. I change her sheets and draw a bath and clean both kids when Tina wakes. I think I know why Ava got sick - I'm starting to feel it too and it explains why everyone was in such a foul mood yesterday. With all these distractions, there's no time for church. Neither is there food or milk in the fridge, so I put the kids in the car again and drudge out to the store. I have to start the laundry before we go otherwise Ava will have nothing to sleep on or with (both "moos" got hit with puke). They're both shrieking by the time we get back and I throw on the clean sheets and put the kids on top of them. "Night-night," I say, looking heaven-bound, praying they will sleep even though it's an hour before their regular nap time. It's quiet. I head for my own bed after putting in earplugs (just in case) and we all sleep for 3 hours. I just have to endure 4 more hours of "playtime" with a bad headache, a stomach that is about ready to hurl and a sore throat until I get to put the kids in bed again. I watch with contempt as my husband comes in to shower and then out again, after asking if I'm feeling OK and hearing "no", so he can watch the basketball playoffs in a box seat with free food and beer. Can you tell I'm still fuming?

Well, that's my rant. Mommy and her Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad weekend. Lord be praised that tomorrow is Monday and blessed Rocio will be here at 9am. All I'll have to worry about for 5-hours is myself and my work.

23 Months

I was just reviewing the last couple of months and found this entry about the girls' vocabulary 5 months ago. Wow! A lot has changed since then! Back then, they could say 25 words. I made a list the other day and stopped when I got to 200!! I also stopped counting animal noises as words as well (the list is obviously too long to list here, but I've kept an electronic copy as a keep-sake). They have also added to their sign language vocabulary as well; they've outgrown what I know. I contemplated going to Barnes and Noble to buy a sign language picture dictionary so all of us could learn more. Ava in particular is more interested in it than Bettina. Waffling on the "why now that they can talk" argument, I've found there still is some use for it as sometimes a number of words, especially if I'm not right next to them, sound similar in their not-yet-precise diction. Often, when I can't make out what they're saying, they will also sign the word and I understand immediately. It helps a lot.

Butterfly Town, USA

Last year, we went to Sea Ranch. This year, our all-women's retreat (Grandma, my sister Ainsley, my girls and me) was at Asilomar in Pacific Grove (aka Butterfly Town, USA for their flocks of migrating monarchs). We had a fantastic time, visiting the monarch butterflies, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and the ocean.

The girls are picking up so many words, now... just over the weekend, Ava added squirrel, blue jay, waves, ocean, otter, and jellyfish, among others. While being approached by some pretty aggressive begging-squirrels on 17-Mile Drive, Ava, after finding that just backing away wouldn't deter the fiesty squirrel, shook her finger and said, "Out, squirrel!"

The girls were very excited to see all the waterlife at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Word to the wise: they have a 2-day pass that can be purchased from hotels for the same price as a normal ticket at the door. Not only do you get twice the opportunity to visit, but you can beat the line at the counter and walk right in. Tickets are now $25/per person. Kids under 3 are free!

We rented the Director's Cottage, one of the cottages on the Asilomar property. It, like many of the buildings here, was designed and built by the infamous Julia Morgan. Asilomar was the stereo-typical UC Berkeley brain-child. Crunchy, functional, and geared toward connecting with nature. The rooms, on top of it, are very reasonably priced! We enjoyed it so much, we looked into having a Dent reunion and at least another all-women's retreat here sometime next year. Leisure guests (most rooms are occupied by various groups and conferences) can make reservations 6-months in advance. You have to be in-the-know to get a cottage. They don't do reservations for them online; you need to call and ask.

All the groovey photographs of the whole 3-day trip can be seen here.

Home Updates

Hurray! Look at the front of our house!!

It looks finished - the scaffolding's gone, the plywood's gone from the windows, it's painted, new windows installed, the gargage floor is poured and, hey, a new low-profile carriage-style garage door is attached.

Inside, we're still down to studs. Paul's passed the electrical rough inspection and still working on the plumbing. We need to install the water heater, HVAC, floors and handrails on the stairs, pass the plumbing inspection, and hang and tape the 150+ sheets of sheetrock before we move in, but it should start moving faster, especially since we're hiring a sheetrocker and a floor guy.

After we move in, there will still be a lot of work to do: finishing the 2 new bathrooms, building the stairs outside between the decks and putting the balcony railings, painting the interior. Plus other things that I'm sure aren't even on my radar yet but will surely rear their heads.

Family Reunion

We had a really nice opportunity to celebrate lots with my mom's family this weekend: birthdays, pregnancies and impending births. Lots of food and sets of little footsteps abound. The fun photos can be found here. It was particularly special because my cousin Jonathan and his wife Emily flew in from Norfolk, VA with their daughter. Emily's also one of the expecting. It's rare we get to see them because Jon's work schedule is so demanding and his time off so last-minute (he's a pilot in the Navy).

While chit-chatting, we discovered the new news that Jonathan will be deployed for Behrain, near Iraq, in July. It's only a 3-month tour, they say, and I'm hoping it stays that way. Otherwise he will miss the birth of his second child in October.

Jon is piloting a *bus* of sorts called the C-2 Greyhound. He's with the Det 4,VRC 40 Rawhides (this is like reading Greek for me right now - don't understand most of it, but hope to become fluent by July, with the help of his wife Emily). He ferries supplies back and forth from the main land to the carriers. Although he'll be stationed on the USS Enterprise, as I understand it, most of his time will be spent away from the ship since his plane is way too large for them to want to keep it there. He graduated near the top of his class and thus had many choices as to which type of plane he wanted to fly. I'm proud to say that he put his testosterone-dreams of flying fighter jets aside for an "out-of-the-way", less hazardous assignments and shorter deployments, knowing he wanted to be a family man and to be there for his family. Serving his country and still able to look beyond personal dreams - that's a real man for you.

Anyhow, my uncle Dave, Jon's dad, just sent out this YouTube video to all of us (he's the biggest Navy cheerleader you can find). It is not of Jon's bragade; but they are currently out there doing what Jon will be doing from July to October. It can give you an idea of what he'll be doing out there - besides making YouTube videos :-)

Diaper Discipline

It's too bad that the microphone on our video machine is on the back and not close enough to pick up Ava's conversation.

So, Daddy comes home and in an attempt be helpful, starts to change Bettina's diaper to get her ready for bed. Bettina, however, is slow to acknowledge Daddy as an authority and refuses to allow the new diaper to be put on. He tells her to come over here to put on the diaper and she giggles and runs away, evading his every request. They continue this 'game' of sorts until Mommy comes in from cooking Daddy's dinner trying to figure out what's so complicated with this process.

Ava decides that she's going to straighten out the whole process. She grabs a diaper, unfolds in on the ground and demands, "Be-tti-na, sit! Be-tti-na, sit here." It works and Bettina sits very easily next to Ava until she realizes that the next step involves wearing a diaper. Then she takes off again.

Quick on her feet, Ava attempts to tempt her back with the extra reward of getting some diaper medicine (for some reason, 'medicine' makes everything more appealing in this house).

Bettina is also manipulative and a quick thinker... she reaches for a toy which makes music and very soon, Ava is also distracted and dancing with her shoulders. Too cute!

Our Entry Into Fit Modeling

So, we got a call from one of the more well-known Talent Agencies in the area asking if I could bring the girls in. They believe the girls are the perfect sizes to become fit models. What is a fit model? Well, here in the Bay Area, we are home to many children's clothing companies (Gymboree, Janie and Jack, Gap, and Old Navy, to name a few). While these companies are designing their clothes, they want to see them on actual children before they are mass-produced. Is the brim of the hat too long - the kid can't see from under it; are the thumbs in mittens too small - the kid can't get their thumb in; etc., etc. You'd hate to find this was the case after purchasing something, wouldn't you? They're smart - they "baby-test" them before they market them. So, fit modeling has nothing to do with marketing or photographs; only production. If you're kid has the "right" measurements, they could become fit models, visit corporate headquarters, and get paid to try things on. They don't have to have stunning looks, just be very co-operative. Having a curious and easy-going personality, as well as being somewhat of a ham, works well in this niche.

So, in we went. Bettina had this by the horns. "You want me to stand here against the tape measure? No problem. You want to put a tape measure around my tummy? Whatever. Stick out my arms like an airplane? That's silly, but I'll humor you."
"She's a natural!" the talent agent says as Tina laughs and proceeds to sit in the stranger's lap playing with the tape measure. "She also has the perfect measurements for a Gymboree model."

Ava, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with that funny looking tape measure. "No!" she protested as she ran away from the agent and hid behind Mommy. That was the end of her fit-modeling career. At least for now.

We went the following day to Gymboree for a "Look/See" - basically, the client (Gymboree) wants to see the model in advance and make sure that the measurements, and the temperament, of the model is just right. Our agent wanted to give Ava one-last-try and said that she could go to the job (normally, siblings aren't allowed) to see if she'd warm up to the industry with a little experience.

The girls really enjoyed meeting our contact, Lilly, who's name the girls will always remember since they have a doll they adore (Lilly the Leapfrog doll) with the same name at home. With Ava in a backpack and thus out of the way, Bettina walked into the giant double glass doors of Gymboree Headquarters like she owned the place. Out the elevator she strode and followed Lilly into a room decorated like "Where the Wild Things Are." Lilly showed Tina what the real fitting would be like - got her familiar with the hats and gloves that needed testing and in turn, tested Bettina and her tolerance to trying on clothes. Not a one problem. "Well, we'll see you tomorrow for the real thing!"

Twenty-minutes later, we're getting back into the car and are signing a 2-year contract with the talent agency for Bettina to be a fit model. (Now, that's not to say that we'll be doing this that long, or working for this client for that long, but, the agency looks to find work for Bettina for that long. Should her size change so that she's no longer appropriate for fit modeling, if they can't find her work for over 3 months, or something else, we can agree to break the contract.)

Bettina's first day on the job:
It goes just like yesterday's rehearsal, only there is a full audience of designers and seamstresses talking about logistics and what/how they want to change, if anything at all. She tries on one hat and 4 sets of mittens. Bettina likes the hat (a little pumpkin beanie) so much, that she insists on wearing it the whole time. Even though they take it off her head, she walked over and put it on again. The mittens (2 of which just have to be Janie and Jack, they are so cute!) are a new concept for her and she doesn't understand that her thumb is supposed to go in the little pocket. She quickly learns (sort of) and they decide the bunny paws need shorter pile material, the raccoons need bigger thumbs, the bull dogs are perfect and the basic knit is good, too. Seventeen-minutes later, we're walking out the door and Bettina's nearly $90 richer.

Things to remember:
For now, I've learned that it's good to pack a couple key things when going to a fit model session. I think it's wise to bring a couple of their favorite toys. Sunglasses and books, for example. Bring a sippy cup, but make sure it's only water. Don't want to mess up the client's project with cranberry juice!! Bring extra diapers, wipes and diaper disposable bags. The one embarrassing thing that did happen is that Tina took a giant dump in the beginning of the session. I was glad to have the baby-powder scented disposal bags!

So, this is new ground for us and so far an interesting path with insight to a whole new industry. We'll see where this takes us and what sort of amusing and interesting stories it brings.

Pre-Easter Photos

Little angels show off their Easter dresses a bit early for their 22-Month photo.

Let the Birthday Season Begin!

Well, the season has started... Ava and Tina's friends have started having their 2nd birthday parties. One of their closest friends, Dean, started it all off this year. Dean's parents were smart enough to host their party outside the home at a children's play place called Habitot (one of our favorite spots). Hilarious to watch a room full of little people run around and get high on sugar while Moms and Dads kick back with awe wondering how the time has flown. Here's a little montage that I put together for the Birthday Boy...

Photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com

22 Months

Wow! Twenty-two months. Actually, it happened two days ago and I only just noticed now. That's good - we're finally getting ready to transition from counting their age by months and start with just years.

Here the girls are with their friends Brynn (2 yrs) and Brooke (almost 4 yrs and wearing the other fuzzy crown - also one of my god-daughters) who were visiting from Reno the other day.

So, what are the girls like now?
They love to put on (and take off) shoes. Those trendy Crocs shoes and rain boots are their favorites because they are so easy to do on their own. They know how to take off nearly every shoe, but they can put on the Crocs and rain boots by themselves as well. They also love to wear other people's shoes. Daddy's are the funniest to watch them wear since they look about as long as they are tall.

They love to feed themselves - give them the bowl of applesauce or yogert container and a spoon - they want to do it themselves. It's a big mess a lot of the time, but with the warm weather, just take off those clothes and put their toddler table outside. Not to worry - all you have to do is hose them off afterwards.

They still love their Wiggles - either VHS, DVD or CD. They dance, do the hand motions and sing along. Bettina is starting to be able to jump. Ava's way beyond that and has taken to skipping as well. They get a number of the words and phrases right. They have also started to import some of the Wiggles hand motions into their sign language vocabulary. Recently, they have shown interest in Little People videos as well.

They have started to put personality and stories into their play things. Graduating from just simply dumping out all the food/food utensils from the bins in their kitchen, they will pass out cups then come around with a tea pot to "fill them up." They get a kick out of hearing you slurping up the pretend tea. They will pick up play food and make eating noises to indicate they are pretending to eat it. Their bath tub animals and the animals from their Little People Farm move with hops and a "boing" or "clip-clop" sound. They will "stop" and make their animal noise (moo, neigh, ribbit, etc.). Their frog loves to "go night-night," hiding between the shower curtain and it's liner.

They love to name things - living at the ridge of the hills overlooking Oakland International Airport, we see a lot of airplanes as they run their landing patterns over the Bay. Everytime we go outside or into the car it's, "Airplane, airplane, airplane, car, car, birdie, birdie, neigh-neigh," etc. Today as we left the Nordstrom Rack parking lot, past all the new car dealerships, toward home, both of them excitedly exclaimed, "boo-dah, boo-dah (balloon)" for a whole 3 minutes straight.

They have taken a keen interest in gardening and bug-watching. They know what ants, bees and butterflies (called just plain "flies") are, but everything else is considered a bug. They love squatting down to watch ants move and get very excited when they find larger bugs. Tina has even gotten into the habit of looking under rocks for sow-bugs and beetles. Their idea of gardening is pulling off the flowers, which is probably what they think I'm going as I thin out the dead daffodils and prune other greenery so that the next set of bulbs (currently bearded irises and lilies) can come out. I bought a couple little windowsill vases for all the tiny flowers they bring me so we can enjoy them in the kitchen a bit longer than watching them wither on the ground. I don't worry too much about this bad habit of plucking flowers. I figure the garden will only get demo-ed in a couple months anyhow and by next year, I can teach them a more refined definition of helping in the garden.

Bettina surprized me when, at the doctor's, she weighed in at nearly 28 pounds! I though she was nearer to 26, which is probably more where Ava is. We have started to put away the 18-24 month clothes and most of their 2T dresses and shirts are unpacked and ready for wear. They have nearly all of their teeth, now. Ava's last set are coming through now. Bettina's got another set that need to break through, but both have very toothy smiles.

Things I Learned at the Doctors This Week

Just a cute picture of Tina wearing my 3-inch espadrille shoes. There are another 4-frames or so after this picture in various states of falling forward and out of the shoes, swiftly followed by her putting them on and attempting to walk in them again.

Last week was tough - the girls (and I) were sick and had fevers. We decided to take them to "The Wiggles" concert anyhow and still they had fun. They spent the first half swaying, dancing and wiggling in the aisles to the music. The second half, they were worn out and just watched from our laps. They were cold-asleep by the time we left the parking lot. They clearly had fun, but I'm sure would have had much more fun had they been feeling their best.

Two days later, Tina hadn't shaken her fever, so I took her in to the doctor. I told the doctor about Tina's fever (Ava's only lasted 2 days) and learned something new: when you take a kid's temperature under the arm, you are really suppossed to adjust the result up a degree. I was floored that I had allowed Tina to have a temperature of 103 for 2 days (I thought it was really only 101.9). I was embarrassed and shamed still to find that on top of that, she'd been suffering from painful ear infection as well. "She hasn't been complaining about any pain?" the doctor asks. (Now, we're talking about a girl who will run straight into the wall without blinking and only adjust her angle to go off again.) "No," I responded, "but her sister has been saying her ear hurts." Two prescriptions of antibiotics later, we're heading to the pharmacy. While there, I looked into getting a vaporizor to help the girls sleep. They had some vaporizers, but not any that had the matching medicine buckets. So, I decided to buy these vapor-scented inserts that fit into a nightlight. A much cheeper solution, even if they only last one night. They worked wonders and I'm glad we tried them.

Spring Fever

Three girls on a horse... we won't be able to fit well for much longer. We may have to start using Lolly's (the barn manager's) two little ponies sometime next year -- perhaps Lolly's girls will have outgrown them by then?

Our house is next to a couple of barns. We drive by them and everyday, the girls ask to see "neigh-neighs." They want to stop, pet and feed them "flowers." Grass does much better.

Today we went down to our barn to visit and ride Misty. Lolly watches the girls while I get to saddle up and ride. While I got to wander the Pacifica hills, florecent yellow with sour grass, and feel the breezes staight off the ocean water, the girls got to spend time with the brand new litter of rabbits and some goat-kids only 2-weeks old. After Mommy's ride, each girl gets to take a stroll down the lane riding Misty-mare with Mommy . They love it (and so I!!) click here to see more barnyard photos, including the baby bunnies and goats

With the weather warming up, and the girls interested enough in the barnyard animals, we will start to make these regular "therapy" sessions for mommy and play dates for the girls.

Not Even A Nice Day for Ducks

Can you believe it? Yep, this is snow in our backyard. Today we watched as storms rolled up the hill toward our house like sand storms. They came with gusts of very cold air and, for at least 2 minutes, left snow behind. Ordinarily, I don't mind rain - equipt with rainboots and warm sweaters, bad weather can be fun. Not today! Just too miserable!

First Haircut

Now, if this isn't the ultimate in a baby day-spa, I don't know what else you need!

Miss Karen's Place in Lafayette does the whole dog-and-pony show for first haircuts. They get to sit in a yellow car while watching their favorite video (you got it, The Wiggles for these girls) so they sit nice and straight for Miss Karen. The kids left with personalized "First Haircut" certificates with a keepsake baggie of their lovely locks for Mom's memory book, a beautiful hair do with pixie dust and ribbons, a balloon and a sucker.

The perfect place to visit for their first official haircuts and later as we continue to curb Tina's (much less noticeable) mullet.

21 Months Old - Where has the time gone?

Reflecting on 21 months, here's a photo/video montage to account for all that time....

Make video montages at onetruemedia.com

Who's Watching Who?

A lovely photo from this weekend's trip to the zoo with our friends the Fluegels. You can see a couple other photos by clicking here.

Going to the Zoo

The girls were so excited to see the animals at the zoo. Because of the bad winter weather, we haven't been putting our zoo memberships to good use and the last time we went, the girls were only 16 months old or so. Now, with their vocabulary as well as their curiosity exploding, they get excited each time they make a connection between theory and reality. They've been avidly *studying* animals in theory for some time now - their favorite book right now is a picture dictionary of sorts and they love to play the "find it" game; you tell them the animal, and they will find and point to it. When the animal is live and so close to them, the game takes a whole other dimension.

Take for example the bears:


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This of course makes it really fun for moms. With the weather improving, many more trips to the zoo will certainly be forthcoming.

Flower! Spring is Springing in Winter

So, Grouper won't allow me - now that I've *upgraded* to Blogger-beta - to post individual movies. They haven't figured out how to communicate with the beta version yet. They say they're working on it - great! Anyhow, I wanted to post this little video proving that spring has sprung in our backyard. Daffodils and narcissus are in full bloom and the irises are on the rise.

Like the endearing baby Bambi as he explores the *wild* in springtime, the girls have started to call everything "flower." They are learning to enjoy smelling the flowers and, so far, have been very gentle with the delicate things. Likely, they'll start eating them when I'm not looking...all the more reason to make sure you've got nothing poisonous in the backyard as this time of year arrives.

Little Angels?

Getting ready for Valentine's Day...the obligatory photos for grandparents and god-parents. Bettina was a champ and wore her wings with no problems. Ava, however, say "no" to just about everything. No to people looking at her, no to wings, no to sitting next to her sister, no to the barrette for her hair, no to staying out of the picture. Reverse psychology was what finally worked in getting both the girls in the same frame.. we "ohh-ed" and "awe-d" over Bettina by herself until Ava wriggled out of my arms and in front of the camera again. Geeze! This is changing my mind again about getting them back into modeling. It's been a year since their last photo shoot. I thought Ava would be the better one with her cute little ringlets and head of hair. She looks feminine and not as androgonistic as Bettina with her mullet hair-do. Paul still won't let me cut her hair, but perhaps if we trim it over time she'll look a little more girl-ish without offending Daddy.

Ava's still having a hard time adjusting back to her normal sleep routine after our visit to Grandpa. Still panicky and a bit of a cling-on. She's only slept though the night twice in 3 weeks. Mommy's getting tired and loosing patience with her. I keep thinking that she'll grow out of it - especially if I succumb to her whims for a short while and we share the bed in the spare room. After 2 weeks, though, I get worried about it creating a new routine. I've put a call into my friend Karen Pollak who's a sleep trainer to hear what advice she can give. With Noelle Conchran taking a leave of absence, Karen's been getting a lot of business from San Francisco, so I hope she can fit me in.

Traveling with a Toddler

Ava was such a sport during our visit with Grandpa. It's difficult to ask a child to totally forget that they're the center of the universe and that everything should happen according to their schedule. The week Grandpa was sick, we had to do everything according to my schedule and Ava was just along for the ride.

Our flight over was very full. Even though we got an aisle seat, Ava was terrified of all the strangers in such close proximity of her. The flight attendant was nice enough to move us where an extra seat existed, but Ava was not in any mood to spread out. She was attached to me like a barnicle, arms thrown around me so tightly, I thought she'd give herself sore bicepts. She was also exhausted (we had about 4 hours of sleep from the night before). She actually managed to quietly fall asleep in her barnicle state and I tried to make her more comfortable by laying her cross-ways to better support her head/neck. "No," she managed to whisper from her slumber. I waited a bit longer in the hopes her sleep would get deeper and tried again..."NOOO!!" followed by lots of kicking a back-bending - which knocked the drinks off the tray-table and made a big mess. Fine...sleep in your barnicle position, which she happily did.

(Ava mindlessly waits on Mom's back with a sucker given by another patient during Grandpa's cath scan and stint procedure)
Things were easier once we got into the rental car. Ava's always been a good car-seat sleeper; one of the many reasons I chose to bring her rather than Bettina. Seeing Grandpa with all the leads on him in the ICU made her nervous and she chose again to stay close. The hotel was great, especially since it was large and had a flat-screen DVD player with a couple different Wiggles videos on display. She came with us early the next morning to the ICU where we waited for doctors' rounds. Ava started to get bored and, to keep her from visiting other people in other rooms or getting us otherwise kicked out, Ainsley and I start challenging her to say new and familiar words (she loves this game). We start out with words she knows: apple, pony, nose, etc., move on to newer ones: Ainsley, window, rain, etc. My sister and I are taking turns with suggested words; it's Ainsley's turn to think of a new word. "Can you say, 'pain in the ass?'" We're floored when she repeats it back, clear as day! She was good for Juanita, a friend from Dad's church who soon after came by and offered to help the family by watching Ava, allowing me to attend important doctor visits and meetings. She ate a lot less than usual and it seemed that even in sleep she was aware that she wasn't home. She'd contantly wake asking where I was (which was always in the bed beside her). Finally, I just brought her in with me; it was easier than reassuring her every hour and a half.

She ate whenever I remembered to feed her and slept on the go and in a different room every night. What an angel.

The plane ride home left near her bedtime and was unfortunatley delayed and was also completely sold out. 20 minutes before the scheduled take-off, Ava had come to the end of her rope. Tired and bored with the toys we had, she entered into a state where nothing was going to make her happy. Temper tantrums sprung up at every topic and I was powerless to improve her world one bit. I had been told just a few days earlier of a three-year old whose tantrums got her entire family kicked off their flight at their transfer point, and nightmares of a similar situation ran through my head. "Come on, Ava, lighten up for Mommy...only 15 more minutes and we can board." Just then, the gate attendant approached me advising where the "family waiting area" was, suggesting I bee-line it over there. I implored, "If you can just show me where a power-point is, I can plug in my computer and she can watch her favorite video." The Wiggles save the day; I have a distracted and happy kid within 3 minutes...at least until we need to power-down for boarding.

Amazingly, she is happy again while we settle in onboard. After watching the land disappear beneath us at take-off, she starts to relax and sleeps for the first hour of the flight. We play the Parrot Game again for the second half and she is very excited to see Bettina and Daddy waiting for us in the car.

She still has problems sleeping. Last night, she woke up every half-hour needing to know where I was and at church today, she was inconsolible at being left in child care. They though she wasn't feeling well, but I explained her prior week and just took them both to the "mothers' room" to watch the service via TV. I wonder how long this re-adjustment at feeling comfortable at home will last and hope that by sleeping with me for a few nights, it will hasten the process along.

Grandpa's Broken Heart

Here's a picture of Grandpa's broken heart. The encircled area shows where the blockage was before they stinted it. It was an 80% blockage, but quickly fixed with one stint.

A Fairytale Ending to a Nightmare

We had a call early in the morning. The early kind of call that makes you think,"Now, who would be calling at this hour?" Yeah - it was one of *those* calls - the kind you don't want to get...something's wrong. Grandpa (my dad) has collapsed of apparent heart failure and is in the ICU. After much panicked planning and reservations with the airlines, I decided to take Ava rather than Tina with me.

Dad's OK now, but it was a very dramatic few days. It went from "He has no heartbeat or pulse" to "you can go home now." The ambulance that came to transfer him to a bigger hospital contained one of the EMTs who was there at the initial scene. He was so happy to be there: it's not often we get to ride with someone again after a call like that (meaning they usually die. In fact, Dad only had less than a 15% chance to make it. Even then, they expect some heart damage, which he sustained none!). The only thing different about Grandpa now is that he suffered a number of days of short-term memory. Here's some video from the ICU before we had him transferred to get his cath scan and eventual stint. Prime example of him not remembering...he looks at this video now and doesn't remember it. "I look coherent," he says, "but can't remember this at all."

Monday, January 22, 2007


After a number of days everything was "fixed" and calm enough for Ava and I to return home. Paul and Tina met us at the airport. We opened up the door on Tina's side so she could see Ava. All week, the two of them had been asking where the other was. Upon first sight, Tina let out a giant, "AVA!" and opened her arms wide. Daddy held Ava in front of her and there was a great big hug and about 10 minutes of giggling on our drive home. Ava insisted on holding Daddy's hand (who she hadn't seen in days) and Tina insisted on holding mine. Both Paul and my arms fell asleep in that awkward angle, but we didn't care. It was nice to see the girls so happy to have their complete family around them once again.

Winter Wonderland

Man, has it been cold or what?!? We recently went up to Tahoe and happen to plan it so this giant cold snap, which brought freezing tempuratures to the Bay Area for a week+, started during our trip. Some mornings were only 7-degrees...before the wind-chill had been taken into account!

Uncle Scott and Auntie Nicole along with their baby Victoria (one of my god-daughters) came out for another visit last week. We arranged to rent a cabin across the street from my sister's house again and had a really nice time. The girls have become more interested in wearing gloves and sunglasses since our last visit in Novemeber. And, this time, they got to enjoy a little bit of sledding. Here are a couple of videos:

Monday, January 8, 2007


We took some nice photos as well - the best ones were when we went over to Sugar Bowl ski area. While Uncle Scott skied, we played in the snow and then ate at the lodge reserved for the Ski Club (Ainsley and Patrick are members). You can see them by clicking here.

Wiggly Exciting!!

Well, mark your calendars! The Wiggles are coming...and we're going!

The girls can't seem to have a conversation without bringing up The Wiggles. They know which songs on their mixed CDs in the car are theirs and will tell you (as they've memorized the order) just before they start singing ("Wiggles, Mommy, Wiggles!! Dough, Dough, Dough..." etc, etc.). When they are on vacation with friends, the other families will learn Wiggles songs before the weekend is through. The melodies will haunt them for days afterwards. At other people's houses, they can see where The Wiggles videos are kept and will ask for them.

So, does it surprise you that Mom and Dad are really interested to see what Ava and Bettina's reaction will be if they see The Wiggles in person?? They're coming to San Jose. We've got great seats - just 10 rows back - and though we'll have to wait 2-months for the "big day," it should prove momentous in their short little lives. We wonder if they'll notice that Greg - the yellow Wiggle - will for now on be a totally new person, since he has been diagnosed with a circulatory disease that prevents him from preforming. Sam, his understudy, and a "no-name" to us, will permanently take his place. We think they're too young to notice the difference. What do you think?

The Wiggles - March 12th at the HP Pavillion. You can buy tickets early by using "Wags" as the promo code.

Happy New Year!! Resolution: a new house

I gave my mom a tour of the building in progress during New Year's Day. (We were having lunch up the hill at Sylvia's house) Here's a New Year's tour of the home-remodel/addition (for some reason, DropShots will only upload the first 2 minutes of the 9-minute tour - you miss the entire 3rd floor - sorry!):

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One...Two...Nine...Ten!

Counting is the new thing, now. One of their favorite books is "Rainbow Fish Counting" - it was included in the free tote bags that CPMC gave out to all the babies born at their hospital. Attached to it was a flyer about reading early and often to your baby. The girls especially like it when Daddy reads this book because he likes to count and point to the sea-animals on the page really fast and loud - like it is a race. His erratic and exaggerated counting always gets them giggling.

Even when Daddy isn't home, the girls will pick up that book, open it and start counting like they were Daddy. You can tell they're counting because of their methodic, monotones and synchronized pointing. When they read, they're not in any race, but, like Daddy, they often count the same animal multiple times and miss other ones entirely!

We also count when we're waiting for the milk to warm in the microwave. Tina will stand at the foot of the microwave, her finger pointing and waving methodically up and down saying a combination of gibberish and numbers. I suppose this ritual gives her some comfort or distraction of how soon the milk will actually come to her. When the timer finally beeps, both girls throw their wiggling hands in the air and say, "Yea!" just like their sign language.

From their car seats, they have also starting counting. The more they practice, the better they get. They know that to start counting, they use the word "one." They also know that "two" comes after "one." However, after that, they get a bit lost and just make up a bunch of numbers. The funny thing is, though, that when they're getting done with their counting, they always end with "nine, ten!"

Christmas Morning

How many presents can one child (times 2) get for Christmas?? So many that we felt it would be best to open only a few a day...

Here's the beginning of the gifts on Christmas morning...the "big" gifts too big to wrap... their play kitchen, wagon and tricycles!! Watch them as they come out of their rooms Christmas morning.

Note how Bettina steals the phone from Ava straight away. Ava just stamps her feet in frustration and finds something else to play with. You can hear the sizzle sound when she puts the fry pan on the "stove." The pot makes a boiling water sound (so cool!).


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To view more pictures of the day and the following festivities, click here.

For Christmas, Why don't you Elf Yourself!

This is a pretty funny website...We sent our an email saying that these clips had unfortunately ended up on the floor of the editing room before "Elf," the movie was released, but these long-lost video clips are still pretty funny.....

Here's Tina's: click here

For Ava's, click here.

We even did one for Daddy!! (shh!) Look here.

Month 19 - Bettina Shows Real Preferance

Tina loves animals. She's quite clear about it. This little bunny was not allowed to leave Tina's lap without her screeching for it to return. Fortunately, this bunny is very special as he enjoys attention from people and was grateful for the opportunity to fall asleep on Tina's lap. She's in heaven as she watches him snuggle into her jacket while she ever-so-gently strokes his fluffy angora fur.


Tina and Ava both have also found new joy out of visiting the doctor as Dr. Maria has added a pot-bellied pig to the menagerie in her waiting room. Besides the pig, a chihuahua dog, a snake, guinea pig and fish populate the waiting room. My girls play with the animals more than they do the train table and toys. This week we visited the doctor and "Basil" the pig was running around the waiting room, not confined to his pen just now. Smiles spread across two little faces and 2 sets of feet go running down the hall toward the little pink snout and a new word, "pig," is exclaimed in stereo.

This is why I love this pediatrician - I'm not sure how I got to be so lucky to find her. Not only does she love animals and give kids an opportunity to forget their fears/hurts by touching and playing with them, but she also has twin children (B/G, now much older), gives out her home and cell phone numbers as well as excellent behavior advice. I'm usually discussing the later with her after we rule out any physical reason for powerful temper tantrums. The biting and low-frustration level and intense tantrums of Tina has us trying soy formula instead of milk (only thing we could point to was a grumbly tummy).