Daddy Day Hike #5 - Angel Island

Daddy Day Hike #5 - Angel Island

For Memorial Day Weekend, we chose a very memorial hike among the ghosts of long-ago troops. One of the centerpieces of the San Francisco Bay, once an army fort, a missile base and an immigration detention center, Angel Island, dubbed "The Jewel of the Bay," is one of the more beautiful places to capture a full 360 degree view of the area. As natives, it's rare that we fight the tourist mayhem down at Fishermen's Wharf or Tiburon to catch a ferry out to the old island. So, it had been many years (13 for me and more for Paul) since either of us visited. Grandma, who very much liked the idea of going to Angel Island (it had been 5 1/2 years since her last visit) joined us this time. Fortunately for her, we only had 2 packbacks and 2 kids to carry. She got to enjoy the hike without carrying anything but her camera and water.

We took the 11:30 ferry from Pier 41 and arrived after first stopping by Alcatraz and Tiburon for additional passengers. The Ayala Cove was lively with many picnickers, many with older kidlets who ran straight for the beach with their sand toys. After a short picnic, we started our hike around the 5-mile Perimeter Road. We paused to take in many sites and did take in a lot of photos. We were a bit late coming back and we missed the targeted 3pm return ferry, but caught the next one an hour and a half later. By then, the girls were incredibly tired and, thankfully, there were people with a sense of humor sitting next to us. As Tina literally threw herself on the ground in a sleep-deprived temper-tantrum, I'm sure everyone was glad they weren't on the red-eye to the East Coast! Beside that, it was an excellent day!

For all the pictures of our picturesque hike, click here.

One Year - Stats and Habits

"A Day in the Life of a 12-Month Old"

The above video was taken yesterday morning just before their nap and is pretty much how we spend our time. They wake up anytime between 6:15 and 6:30 (but I let them stay in bed playing until about 6:45). We eat breakfast at 7am after getting dressed and then play until 8:30 when we start getting cranky. Naptime! When they wake up from their morning nap (right around 10am), we try to get out of the house and do something. This day, we went to the Ferry Building to watch seagull and pigeons and meet up with friend Mary for lunch (pictures here). After eating parts of a roast beef sandwich, running after pigeons, watching ferries come in and out, and eating a few bites of gelatto (Mary's treat), it's back home for another nap (2pm). Then, after about an hour - sometimes 2, it's walking around the neighborhood (today to get a key cut) and going on a "flower hunt" where we visit, smell and learn about all the flowers' names around our house. You'd be surprised how many varieties there actually are in a 3-block radius in the middle of the City! Dinner's at 5:00 followed by their bath. By 6pm, they're playing with toys again in their sleep clothes waiting for Dad to come home. They are usually back in bed by 7pm.

Stats: (based on the Doctor's office visit, which Paul thinks is completely wrong!)
Ava: Ava is 29 inches tall and 19.5 pounds which puts her in the 50% for height and the 25% for weight.

Bettina: is 29 1/2 inches tall and 20 pounds which puts her in the 75% for height and the 25% in weight. Neither Paul nor Nonna are convinced there is only half-pound between the two girls. "It has to be at least a pound and a half," they theorize (their own experiment with the in-house scale doesn't do them any favors to disprove the doctor!).

Favorites: For toys, anything that has wheels and that can be pushed around like their ride-on car and push-toy. Tina has just started getting on her ride-on car all by herself. She doesn't push it yet with her feet; she just waits for Ava to push it for her. Tina has started to try to get on her rocking horse by herself which makes Mommy very nervous. It's much taller than her car and she could hit her head very easily.

Ava loves music and carries her new MP3 player around with her. They both LOVE the cell phones that Aunt Kathy and Cousin Holly sent for their birthday.

Somedays, they will be very assertive about their independence. Tina will refuse to eat off the spoon; she'd like to feed herself instead. Ava doesn't want Mommy to carry her; she'd rather toddle around herself. In the same breath, I've discovered that their stranger and separation anxiety has reared it's head again. So, it seems that, even though they're longing for independence, it's still so new, that Mommy needs to stick around in case they get a pang of fright.

With food, we've stopped buying the formula and are with cow's milk now. I'm not sure if it's my imgination, but it seems that they spill more if it in bed, so I'm thinking about going back to a slower nipple - a 3 or 2 - to see if that makes a difference. Another adjustment: I didn't realize how much milk we'd go through. Definatley need the Costco sizes of whole milk for the kids, and lots of it! We go through a gallon every day and a half.

One Year Old!! - The Party

The Family on the girls' first birthday (with lots of icing!!)

Well, we finally made it! The girls are now one-year old. Now we can officially give them whatever we want to eat (minus honey and peanut butter), including real cows milk. Gone are the days of buying formula at Costco(at least for now) and really short are they days their carseats face backwards (Ava still has another pound to gain).

The party was lots of fun with 24 little kidlets (only 4 of them over the age of 4). We had a jump house in the front of the house and a kiddie corral in the back where parents could watch them well. We also had the water table, a present from their Aunt Ainsley and Uncle Patrick, out and the girls with their cousin Antonio just couldn't leave it alone.

Everyone's favorite part of watching the girls' first taste of real sugar and icing proved hard to forget. Here's a video clip post birthday-song and deep into the icing enjoyment:


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There are also lots of pictures of the fun. You can find them here.

I had to start my day at 6am and just barely made it ready by 11:30 am after going to Costco and Walgreens and handing off the Safeway trip to my brother-in-law. But, after 18 balloons, 3 cakes (Safeway gives one free round cake to each kid celebrating their first birthday), tons of drinks, sandwich setups and 2 different salads, I felt ready enough to greet the first guests. I couldn't believe that it took as long as it did. I never would have been able to be ready if it weren't for the help from my mother, sister and her husband (a million thanks, guys!).

I'm really glad that I made in advance a couple of mementos: little hand-painted ceramic plates for each of them to use every year on their birthday as well as a framed "official" birthday photo where each of the guests had an opportunity to sign their name and a short greeting onto the matte. We had also stamped their feet with water-based ink on the matte before people signed to make it that much more memorable. I actually forgot to lay the matte out until near the end, so I'm going to try to chase everyone down so that it is complete. I would recommend these little touches; I think we will really appreciate them later down the line.

11 Months 3 Weeks - Our First Mother's Day

Mother's Day

Saturday, the day before Mother's Day, was the local radio station, KFOG's, annual "KABOOM" (aka SkyConcert) free concert and fireworks show. They take over an entire Pier near the Bay Bridge and literally tens of thousands of people congregate for the festivities. The Dodgers were also in town, playing the Giants just a quarter-mile down the road. As I came over the bridge back from and East Bay visit and noticed all the commotion (i.e. traffic), I was reminded of what I was doing just one-year ago. Actually, it was one-year and a week - KFOG must have hosted this year's party a week earlier than last year.

Last year, I was sitting in the same traffic which was compounded by 2 factors: 1) we didn't have a FastTrak pass which helps speed you through the toll plaza and 2) the traffic was worse as the Giants were playing the A's. So, half of the East Bay was trying to get over the bridge to go to either event.

I, on the other hand, had no interest in attending either event. I'm a Giants fan and love the KABOOM concerts, but I was in labor and trying desparately to get to the hospital to have my babies! Last year was a Mothers-To-Be Day (see my blog posting here).... This year got to be our first "real" Mother's Day!!

Our first Mother's Day was spend, naturally, with both our mothers and Paul's sisters, who are also mothers in celebration. We traveled down to a great park in Palo Alto called Mitchell Park. The park includes shuffleboard courts, checkerboard/chess tables, seven tennis courts, two paddle tennis courts, four handball courts, jogging trails, picnic areas with barbecues, multi-use concrete bowl, toddler playgrounds, children's water park, large dog run and restrooms (the restroom by the toddler water park has toddler-sized toilets and sinks - great for kids; a real challenge for their accompaning adults!). Since you need to reserve the picnic tables in advance, we made a giant layout on blankets and tablecloths on the grass under a huge tree, which actually gave us more shade than under the reservation-only arbor and tables. The kids had a great time running between the water park and the sand box (bad combination!), challenged Paul to a water-balloon duel, and played with grandparents and toys under the shade of the tree. Enjoy our pictures here.

God Bless America (or Eat Your Vegetables)!

It all came together for me while sitting in a circle at a newly-formed book club that the local chapter of my college sorority organized. I'd always wanted to join a book club and, since this one allowed me to meet new people of a variety of ages and agreed to meet after my children went to sleep, I hunkered down and ordered the book 4 weeks in advance (and hoped I'd find the time to read between naps, etc.).

The book was "The Handmaid's Tale," one I'd read in college, but enjoyed enough for a re-read. Start the sorority book club off with a book on women's issues! The group was mostly younger women - women about 2-5 years out of school and maybe another one out perhaps a year or two later. I was, however, the oldest of the group, which didn't bother me much at all. I'm sort of used to it with all the volunteer work I do for the local collegiate chapter at UC Berkeley. It was among this group of young women and their irate comments about how dare this society act the way it does that I realized that I, too, had the same reaction when I read the novel some 15 years ago. And, after remembering that, I also realize that my way of thinking within that 15 years has deepened and matured to understand beyond the demand for "rights." With rights, comes responsibilities.

Moira is the only character that many of the women in this book club conversation could relate to. She's the extreme feminist that fights the system as much as she can, with very limited success, I might add. She is constantly demanding rights but never stands up to claim her responsibilities. People try to help her escape, and disappear or are killed in doing so. They help her because they feel a responsibility to do so. I never found it strange that Moira could not relate to her faceless helpers; it just proved my point that she didn't care to take on the responsibilities - she just wanted the rights.

Environmental issues, abortion and dating (the main topics of the book) have a much different meaning after you're established in a family or after you are no longer concerned that you'll "never meet the right guy." You always know the "right thing," but having those roots and allows you to clear up your moral vision and understand why those rights also require added responsibilities just too burdensome for a single, non-married person. Perhaps as we "grow up," we take our responsibilities more seriously and appreciate our rights a little bit more. As I make this point, a completely different tack than they'd read, in the small circle of women, I also see the parallel with immigration.

How is it that someone can demand rights without owning their fair part of responsibility? It's like a child who demands to have their chocolate-covered brownie before they eat their vegetables. My view is that people never grow up and accept their responsibilities if they are just given all their rights and bonuses up-front. Are illegal immigrants valuable people who provide valuable services? Absolutely, yes! However, unless we want a bunch of temper-tantrum children with chocolate-sauce smeared across their faces, they need to step up to the plate, take some responsible measures to become documented, learn English, and eat their vegetables! (just my 2-cents!)

The Girls Discover Water Tables

Splashing Summer Fun

While visiting friends with older kids, the girls discovered water tables. They had so much fun, they were soaking wet before I could notice. So, they stayed in their wet dresses and continued until it was time to strip them down for the car ride home.

My sister called later that night and asked what to get them for their birthday. My response? Yeah, that's right...a water table. I found another twin mom who's ready to part with theirs and can pick it up for a song. We will have it set up, of course, for the girls' birthday party for other kids to discover. We will have to warn parents, though, to bring an extra set of clothes, or wiser yet, a swim suit.

Daddy Day Hike #4

Daddy Day Hike #4 - Bear Gulch in Woodside

Today was the long-awaited "make-up" day for April's Daddy Day Hike. This month, we traveled down to Woodside to hike the Bear Gulch Trail in Wunderlich park. As always, we followed the directions for the coveted "Best Hikes in San Francisco Bay" book which the girls gave Paul for Christmas. However, somehow, we took a wrong turn and didn't quite follow the correct trail. So, instead of the 2 mile hike we intended, we ended up taking one about 6 miles. The only downside was a bit of diaper rash as the girls sat longer than we expected. They hardly noticed, of course!

It was a nice hike anyhow, with groves of redwoods, grottos of sword-ferns and large carpets of forget-me-not flowers. Thickets of madrones and chapparrel sometimes part to amazing views of the and you can view South Bay. You can view our pictures here.

11 Months 2 Weeks - Little Land-Sharks

When I was in college, one of my summer jobs was teaching swimming lessons at Sherman Swim School. One of the activities we'd do with the children to bridge the gap of concept to practice of swimming was to hold the child 3-7 feet away from the wall and, after practicing blowing bubbles and putting their face in the water, encourage them to swim to the wall. The kids were never sure they were ready, but, after realizing they could, they'd want to do it again and again.

This week, I felt like I was teaching those same lessons on land. The "lessons" paid off; both girls outdid their first steps and have officially graduated into walking. The little land-sharks didn't realize they were ready and didn't think they could do it on their own, but, when left balanced in the middle of the room, each of them walks with ease the 1-3 yards to me or the coffee table. It was fun to send them to Daddy at work. Boy, did he have a lot to say when he came home from work. Proud dad wanted show off and to go right away next door to show Nonno and Nonna (who were equally impressed!). Here are a couple video-links to witness first-hand(just hit the play arrow to start the video stream): Ava:
and Bettina:
The girls want to walk all over the place now, however, most of the time they insist that I stoop over so they have a finger to hold. I hope this phase passes quickly as it's killing my back!! In an effort to expedite, we practice our independent walking daily and their confidence is growing. Perhaps by their birthday party, they'll be toddling along, no longer on their knees (although Ava still refuses to crawl). The last video is of the girls enjoying another great toy I found at the last San Francisco MOM sale (biannual fundraising event for the club). Ava, who likes speed, prefers to push while her sister giggles and enjoys the ride.
This whole change has effected our usual play-date structure. I have typically gone walking in the stroller for a few miles to give the girls some air for their activity. However, we now need to find little places where they can get out and walk as just watching the world go by isn't good enough anymore. So, we are exploring the neighborhood and noting places that are safe and interesting for the kidlets on the move. So far, we've found that the little park next to AT&T Ball Park, along the Mission Bay Creek, is very nice.

Enjoying the sunshine at Mission Bay Creek park with Hayden the dog
The girls like to run along the terraces and tumble in the well-maintained grass. Since it's on the water, the breeze is really great on warmer days. Farley's Coffee shop is still a hit. They enjoy running along the bay window and watching the activity on the street (they love the dogs) when we're able to get a booth seat.

Favorite Spot at Farley's: the booth at the bay window

11 Months 1 Week - More Easter Photos

Cute as a bunny!

Here are some cute pictures we took of the girls after Easter, but pretending it still was. The two girls took turns wearing the Easter Bunny outfit and the cute Easter baskets were from my mom's friend Inga. Click here for more photos; Definately worth looking at.

11 Months - Stats and Habits

Easter's Egg Hunt at the church

I am teary today reflecting on the past three days. These girls are no longer babies but little people. Their achievements grow as quickly as they do.

Little Ava did something glorious and terrifying. She took her first 2 steps. From the coffee table at Grandma's house to Rocio. Then again from Rocio to me. She got so excited and it nearly made me cry. Ava still won't crawl, but loves to be led around the house. She only needs to hold on with one hand. It's like walking around with a little toddler, not an 11 month old!

Tina's learned to not only walk her walker down the hall, but to backup and turn it once she hits the wall or another piece of furniture. She's very adept at walking and crawling and using the combination to get around to nearly anywhere she wants.

Ava has a habit of twirling her wrists, but the other day, I noticed they weren't twirling, but she was opening and squeezing her hand...her first sign: "milk." Later the next day, as she sat from my hip looking down and talking to Hayden, Tina clapped her hand against her leg: the sign for "dog." I wasn't sure if it was an accident. I put her down and said, "Tina, where's the dog?" She looked from me to Hayden and slapped her hand against her leg again. There you go! Are they finally getting this? Ava signed for milk again, ironically at the birthday party for one of our Baby Signs classmates.

Tina's been having some teething pain and thus her sleep has been interruppted, but both girls have two glorious teeth and are eatting more finger foods. Blueberries and avocados are their favorites right now.

10 Month 3 Weeks - Mobility and Motion

On the move and not looking back!

What's happened! I missed a week! Well, these girls have started on the move. Tina's crawling, but that's not the beginning of our concern. They are cruising with the confidence of "Chariots of Fire" and, with their new push walker (seen with Ava above), they are literally running down the halls.

They love their new-found independence. They look at each other, running circles around the coffee table, chasing each other around the superyard, giggling and laughing so hard they nearly bring themselves to their knees. It's really very cute.

Time for the outlet covers and more extentions for their superyards. The timing of the bi-annual Twins Club fundraising sale is perfect. We need to convert from gyminis to toddler toys. Amazing - I can't believe that they will soon no longer be infants, but toddlers!

While Tina has found comfort in her mobility, Ava, while enjoying it, has been more dependent. Separation anxiety has transferred from Tina to Ava.

They are also intent on talking. When Tina gets going, she gets very animated and punctuates her multi-syllable sentences by throwing her arm in the air and pointing. During these times, we call her "Little Hitler." There are a few words that they - mostly Tina - are saying: "dog" was one of the first ones, "Mama" in context (Ava's strong on that one), "Yeah," and "Bye/Hi" which they use interchangeably.

10 Months 1 Week - Fun at the Library

Things you should take advantage of but sometimes forget...
Perhaps it's because it's negatively associated with high school and college when you were cramming for tests or writing research papers, but somehow, I think I forgot about the public library!

Well, we've re-discovered the library and it's taken on a whole new breath of life. Our place in the City is about 6 blocks from the local branch of the SF library. At the suggestion of a friend whose boy is about 9 months older than our girls, we went to visit the "Lap Sit Story and Song Time" at the library. My lord, there must have been 20 moms and their kids there all on a giant carpet in an annex room especially for this event. The librarian, a gregarious, energetic, petite Asian lady, knows all the kids and moms by name and greets them with a puppet whom she has deemed the Potrero Library mascot. 30 minutes goes by quickly with about 4 stories and 8 songs that have the kids (mostly birth to age 5) clapping, singing, and waving their arms, smiling to (or at least completely captivated by) the whole experience. I can see why this is so popular!

After the storytime, the girls and I travel to the main library and check out a weeks worth of books. I also find they have a bi-ligual section with many books in Spanish. I check out some of those too, as I think it would be great to read to the kids in Spanish (and practice my skills!). This leads me to an idea about looking for something in Italian. Since I can't read it, I find some kids videos that can do the talking for me. While perusing the videos, I notice they have a video on Infant and Kids CPR and Choking. This is also something I put in our pile - what a great thing to watch and share with other caregivers!

Here's a great bonus: The kids' books, when checked out on their cards, don't have any late fines! So, Ava and Bettina get their first library cards at 10 months old. We check out a Baby Einstein video as well (we don't have "Old MacDonald") and we're finally ready to head home.

Another great tool I never knew about: the SF Library has everything online. You can log on and do a search for specific title or topic. Let's say that you found the book you want, but it's at a different branch. Or, perhaps it's checked out and is also at a different branch. No problem... Just put a hold on it and ask that it be delivered to whatever branch you wish. I have 2 videos and a book already waiting for me.

A funny thing happened while watching the Italian video the other night.... Since I've known Paul I can't get him to utter a word of Italian. He's fluent in both Italian and Genovese (local dialect). Even while visiting Italy 2 years ago, I needed to literally push him to get him to ask someone a question. He will do anything to avoid having to speak it himself, usually answering in English instead. However, while washing the dishes, I could hear Paul speaking Italian to the kids during their video time. Not just repeating what the Italian video encourages or is trying to teach, but having conversations with the kids explaining much more to them. Now, those of you who like to hassle Paul and tease him about the things you all learn from this site (that would be you, Carlos!), please don't ruin my moment here and tell him that I can hear him! I love listening to him find this unique way to bond with the girls.

Other exciting news that happened this week: Bettina's cutting her first tooth! Also, both girls are waving "bye!" They surprized me when their Great-Grandma and Great-Aunt, visiting from Oregon, waved bye and they both waved back! They do this all the time, now.

Daddy Day Hike #3 - The Presidio

Our Daddy Day Hike this month was a historic walk through the beautiful San Francisco Presidio. No longer an active army base, the Presidio is maintained by the National Parks and who keep the 11 miles of historic paths, buildings and trails that have some of the prettiest views of the Bay. We started on the Ecological Trail up to the Julius Kahn playground near El Polin Springs. We picnicked at the playground after the kids swung back-to-back on the swings.
After lunch, we continued through the Cypress Grove to the historic Lovers' Lane.

We encountered a couple of kids selling their "home made" lemonade and cookies from their decorated Lemonade Stand along Lovers' Lane. Who could turn down a couple of entrepreneurial kids?? The cookies and lemonade were good and a bargain at 50 cents!

To see the photos, you can click here.

10 Months - Spring is Springing...and Cruising, too!

Ladybug Girls

Spring has officially sprung and the grass is growing almost as quickly as our girls. So many changes in them this last month, and mostly in their blooming personalities.

Ava is definitely the independent one and a studier and thinker at that. She can play by herself and really find lots of things to do to take up her time. Only when she's tired does she really need Mom. She wiggles more than a jar full of little caterpillars and is constantly kicking. Although Tina's more apt to cruise the furniture (again, neither are interested crawling - it's two-point mobility for them both), Ava takes the risks and has made the larger improvements on balance and standing. She scares Mom to death, but she likes to constantly test herself by taking her hands off the "aid" and stands on her own - no help. Now Mom's more comfortable that she won't fall each time she tries, and instead watches with amazement (not panic) when she stands for 3-4 minutes by herself. In fact, her confidence in this is so high that she will now put both hands on the toy she's been inspecting and focuses now on the object rather than just the act of balancing.

Bettina continues to improve on her "cruising" skills. She can transfer from one piece of furniture to another. This way, she boldly strategizes how to hop from one piece of furniture to the next in order to reach the prized possession in mind (usually the computer or the TV remote control). She moves very quickly and I have to remember not to be gone from the room very long.

They have added asparagus (which the love, who would have guessed?), cottage cheese, chicken and tofu to their menu. You should see Tina's reaction to her tofu... nothing could be any funnier. She squishes up her face like she's just had a sour lemon and razzes and spits everything out! I have to hide it in other foods and she doesn't so much notice. It's a shame she doesn't like it since it makes a great beginning finger food! So easy to just chunk it up and put on her plate. Well, we're also using Cheerios (so many of those!), Ziebeck toasts and chunked bananas. They are having more and more success with finger foods.

No more new teeth for either, but we're hoping it will happen soon for Tina - her drool rash is so difficult to keep in control. We are having to weed out the 6-9 month clothes as they're too small now and the 6-12 month one-piece PJ's (the kind with the feet) are almost getting there too, Tina's so tall.

We are starting to attend a lot of their playmate's first birthday parties, so that's starting to come onto our radar... how did that happen so fast?!?

The Question: To Minivan or to SUV

Well, my trusty Toyota 4-Runner is now up to 202,000 miles. The A/C broke years ago, just before the CD player, so I've been in the habit of driving with the windows rolled down and have started listening to the radio, abandoning my collection of CDs. This worked just fine for me and the kids until about a month ago when the window motors also started to slow, threatening to break as well. Since I rely upon those motors to allow me to store and retrieve my always necessary stroller, it was at this point that Paul and I needed to switch cars. Shortly thereafter, the topic of getting a new car started.

To SUV or to Minivan...that is the question.

Personally, I've always been one to favor the SUVs. They're just more comfortable, taller and, in the back of my mind, I'm still hoping I can pull a horse trailer. However, being open-minded, Paul and I decided that we needed to research 6 different models: 2 were minivans and the other 4, SUVs. A number we decided against right after our first tour of the dealership lots: the Odyssey was better than the Sienna; the Pilot too small with chincy 3rd row seating, the Suburban too big. The Sequoia was pretty much the same thing as the Tahoe, but more expensive. So, down to the Tahoe and the Odyssey.

I test drove the Tahoe and fell in love. The feel was so familiar, it drove smoothly, and I was sold on things like memory instruments and the OnStar system. The back entry, with the Dutch door, also made a lot of sense for the dog. It wasn't until I went to the Honda dealership that I figured out its fatal flaw: in order to gain access to the 3rd row seats in an SUV, you have to fold down one of the seats in the 2nd row. "So, just exactly how do you do that without having to take out a carseat?" I asked the salesperson at the Toyota dealership about the similarly designed Sequoia. He was initially at a loss, but, quick on his feet, he answered, "Like this!" He opened up the trunk and suggested that people just climb over the seat. I was astounded at his unrealistic answer. He may have been thinking older kids, but I was thinking grandparents. How do you tell your adult passengers to just climb over the seat? You don't; it's obnoxious!

The Odyssey is the only car we found that has a solution to this problem. In their 2nd row, you can take out part of the seat, sort of like a leaf in a dining room table, and push the other seats together to create essentially an aisle along the side. They also have the family in mind with other design aspects: build in sunshades on the side windows, Lazy-Susan storage accessible from the front seat or the 2nd seat, the ever-so-convenient automatic sliding doors (love this!), and flat storage of the 3rd row seats so my extra-wide stroller fits easily. It's stiffer and shorter than a SUV and it doesn't come with OnStar or memory-everything, but for the family, especially when you have two or more kids in carseats for the next 5 years, it's really the best choice, we thought.

All being said, here's now the newest member of our Family: our new minivan!

The new Family Car If you need one, visit Kahn at San Leandro Honda - he's a straight-shooter and will make it easy.

9 Months 3 Weeks - Artistic Double Trouble

Trevor seems a bit puzzled by our attempts to forever capture the memory of his little feet.





So, the Twins Group I've been attending, called DoubleTalk II, get together once a week for an activity. Some weeks it's a walk, another for lunch, girls night is scheduled for next week and this week, it was a family activity. It was also my turn to plan. After rainy skies proved a trip to the carousel and park unwise, I countered with a family activity to create a family keepsake. We all visited a store called Color Me Mine in Walnut Creek, chose a piece of pottery (or bisque), and painted it to our fancy. It was rather interesting to have 5 sets of parents and their sets of twins all snuggle into the shop with their strollers, car seats, etc. and try to navigate around the other customers already there and staring with awe at the group congregating in front of them. Most of us did like Gianna and Trevor (above), painting our kids' feet and stamping them on little platters with other sweet sayings. The pieces, after being painted and fired in the kiln, are ready for pick up a week later.


Paul and I did a large, shallow bowl with both the girls' footprints along with their names and the date. The whole experience cost just under $40. Not being particularly artistic, it will be interesting to see what our hap-hazard design will look like. However, it was a bit fun. If you choose to do this sort of activity for your kidlets, I would recommend having a little bit of an idea of what you'd like to do as far as design. It makes the task seem less daunting and you're less likely to get the deer-in-the-headlight momentary-lapse-of-creativity brain-freeze (whew! that's a lot of hyphens!).

9 Months 2 Weeks - Big Sur

Well, this week, the Curletto clan (extended) traveled down to Big Sur, just south of Carmel, for a short vacation. Although the weather forecasted rain, we didn't see a drop until our drive home. We stayed with the Martinez's in a 2-bedroom cabin in Big Sur Lodge, nestled in the middle of Pfieffer Big Sur State Park. Paul and I drove down in enough time to take an afternoon hike through the redwoods to see a little waterfall.

We had a blast horsing around with all the little cousins and took a mini-walk around the complex just before putting the girls down to sleep for the night. The next morning, Paul and I traveled south for another 11 miles to Julia Pfieffer Burns State Park where a majestic waterfall cascades down into the Pacific Ocean. To see all the photos, click here.
Sidenotes on the cabins: pluses - great location; minuses - not enough pots and pans to cook much, the single wall heater is not enough to heat the place and is placed in a terrible place when you've got 4 little kids with you.

9 Months 1 Week - Sea Ranch Celebrations

Sea Ranch Celebrations

For Christmas, my sister gave our mom a "Girls Weekend." We choose Sea Ranch, CA as our get-away destination, researched a great 3-bedroom ocean-front house to rent, and took off for our 3-day girl-indulgent weekend that coincided with Grandma's birthday.

Sea Ranch is a wonderful place for walking, chatting, cooking and connecting. We've decided we'd like to make this an annual event! Click here to see all our photos.

9 Months - Stats and Habits

9 Months
Ava:
Weight: 16.4 = 15%
Height: 26 3/4 = 30%
Head: 44 = 40%

Bettina:
Weight: 17.8 = 30%
Height: 27 3/4 = 60%
Head: 44 1/2 = 52%
Tina's height dictates that she needs to go into the new carseat, the Britex Marathon.

Eating:
Both are eating 3 meals/day with about 6 oz. each (1 1/2 Stage 2 jars)
Foods include: Apples, Avocado, Broccoli, Cantalope, Carrots, Green beans, Kiwi, Mixed Cereal, Oatmeal, Rice, Peaches, Pears, Peas, Potatoes, Prunes, Spinach, Squash, Yogurt
The pediatrician says to start proteins (meats) when we want to. Also, she noted that the Gerber style of puff veggies and fruits - the kind that melt like rice paper in the kids' mouths - is really just a gimmick. "It's like eating air," she says. We are switching to Cheerios.
Ava only has the one left bottom tooth that's still coming in. Tina's still gummy.

Sleep:
Both are sleeping through the night. Well, they will usually wake up - in various stages of "awake," but they are expected to put themselves back to sleep, which they do 99.99% of the time. Their "transitional objects," a little cow-shaped and horse-shaped blanket, help them do this really well and I'm glad I encouraged them to "bond" with them. Bedtime's at 7:30pm and they usually don't get up until 7:00 am. They're still taking 2 naps: an hour at 10am and usually an hour and a half (sometimes 2) at 3pm.

Play:
Their favorite toys are still their sterling rattles that Tracy & Addi game them. They will drop everything when they hear it's distinctive chime. They like their wooden toys by Haba (a horse and a set of twins in a wooden arc) which came from Grandma and me and love the balls that came with their Tiny Love elephant toy which Ava's godmother Lisa gave. They don't drop them into the elephant shape yet - they just like to shake the balls like rattles. They love, love, love to watch Baby Einsteins, which they do just between their baths and bedtime.

Developmentally:
Sitting up is a cinch and both now (instead of only Tina) prefer to stand clutching on to my fingers for support. Tina likes to test herself and will usually let go with one hand, and then both, to see if she can balance. She also likes to lean toward a table or the ottoman and shift her weight back and forth. This is probably her favorite game. They are both babbling with some coherent but still inadvertent words (mama, dada - which really sounds more like duh duh). Both will stand without assistance for a few seconds. It comes easier for Ava but Tina practices it more. They're using pincher grips, but usually, with finger foods, the objects are too small for them to get it to their mouths - most of the object is stuck in the thick parts of their fingers instead. Neither are crawling in the conventional way: Ava's creeping backwards when she's on her belly, doing donuts in the sitting position, and, like her sister, is tri-poding to reach things. Tina pulls herself up and is starting to "cruise."

9 Months - They've Got Cribs!

It's an innate, genetically instilled process triggered by motherhood. You can try to delay it, postpone or even pretend that it doesn't exist, however, like PMS, when it hits, it cannot be ignored. It rears it's motherly head and we all, unwillingly or not, conform...

Most people get to set up their nurseries a month - usually 2 - before their baby/ies are born. However, with all the construction in our house as well as the "creative" use of space, we didn't do this; we didn't have enough room to even set up proper cribs. Our girls first shared a single Pack 'n Play (temporary travel beds/play spaces) and then grew to sleep in their own. They haven't had, however, proper beds: ones with full size mattress, or even a mattress at that! Everything was hodge-podge, mismatched and temporary. This weekend, however, our world - and theirs - grew bigger.


Here is Ava clearly enjoying her full-size crib; one with a full-size mattress, real bumpers, fitted sheets, crib toys, and a beautiful handmade heirloom-quality quilt made by her Great-Aunt MaryAnn...and it all matches! Tina gets another one just like it. I was beaming with pride and a nesting instinct that most moms go through before their babies are born. It was a long time coming, but I, too, conformed. I sat in my little rocking chair and marveled at the "baby things" in all their glory: matching sheet sets! beautiful sleigh cribs! cute crib toys! I'm taking it all in understanding what every mom does when she thinks no one is looking. Isn't this just a wonderful thing?

It's taken a long time - I mean a long time (they're 9 months old, for goodness sakes!), and they are still in the living room and not a "proper" nursery, but I still take pleasure in the sight. My shoulders soften, my breath comes in longer stretches, and my eyes look appreciatively at my husband for giving me a really good nest. Do the girls sleep any better? Well, no; not yet, anyhow. However, I will, and that's a start.