Home Coming

We are home after a nice week with the grand parents. The kids had such fun and are both tanned. I think I got a nice tan too. What a trip! I thought I'd have more pictures to show but we played in or around water a lot so I didn't get that many pictures. On the last morning, we went to the yard (the kids' favorite hang out) and took some nice shots.

Check out my twins.


Now the girl looks much bigger than the boy.


The girls.


Nanny and the kids.


Group shot. "Wait... one more coming!"


Real group shot. I took this shot three times and this is the only one with almost everyone looking.

Sun and Fun

I haven't swam in open water since I went to Hawaii 6 years ago. I have forgotten how nice it is to watch the waves come in a dive for it. What a fabulous day we had at the beach.

"I love playing with sand!"


I tried very hard to take a picture of the two little sillies together and this is the best I did. They were both kinda looking.


Check out the color of the water and the sky. It was so turquoise it was unreal.


Do you think he was building or demolishing?


Here is the answer.

Wading Pool

One of the things the kids were really excited about is the promise that they'll get to swim when we visit Nanny and Papa. They don't get to go to the pool very much back home because I can't be in the water with two little ones. So, they got what they wished for - they got in the water one way or another every day during this trip. We were in the lake a couple of times; they played with the sprinkler in the yard; we went to a water park and we went to this little wading pool.

"Splash!"


"Em... nice and cool."

Lake Time

We were invited to spend an afternoon at a cottage by one of Nanny's friends. It was wonderful!

The kids were fascinated by this little kitty.


Sitting by the water.


Watching the adults play in the lake.


"Want my stick?"


After much planning and improvising, we got the girl on the air mattress with swim flotation thingies tied to her legs and off she went for a swim with Daddy and Nanny.


After all the sun and fun and a scrumptious meal, the baby parked himself on the couch and said, "feed me pie, please."

This Boy Is Going Places

We started out on our adventure across the continent. The kids traveled very well. They slept on demand on the 6 hour plane ride and watched a DVD peacefully on my computer during the 3 hour car ride. We we finally arrived, they went straight to bed and slept until 10:30 the next morning. Yep, we are super lucky parent.

The boy on his throne. I used the crazy straps again and they worked great.


Here is a picture of the goofy boy while we were picking up our rental.


He was ready to go places. What a jet-setter.


Finally, a short little video of the silly head. I tried to take pictures of the girl silly head too but she's been super camera shy.

Healthy Eating

I am still working hard on getting the kids to eat a more balanced diet. I have to say that I haven't been very successful. Once in a while, when they eat a meal like this one, I get all excited. Very pathetic on my part, I know.

On the menu: Strawberries, grapes, pasta with ham, peas, corn and a light cream sauce. I have all the food groups covered, right?


The boy inhaled all the fruits before I even had a chance to pick up the camera.


The girl ate all her food with a little help from the baby. The baby, however, didn't finish his pasta. He ate all his fruits and then some from the girl's plate and starting throwing the pasta around. I don't know about you, but I don't allow food throwing or general mess making in my house. So lunch was over for him.

Apron Photo Shoot

I think it is hard to photograph my aprons. I make them for my shop and the pictures are always just "Meh..." I made 8 aprons this weekend to be sold on consignment at a store near our house (more on that later) but I thought it'd be great to photograph them for my own record in case I need some kind of portfolio later. Plus, I am really happy how these aprons turned out. They are really cute. (okay, done tooting my own horn)

So, I asked hubby if he can take some pictures for me. He thought for a while, asked for some Scotch tape and set to work.


Here are some of the pics he took.

The Cupcake Apron.


The Open Road Apron


One happy apron family.


Aren't these cute? Thanks, Hubby Master Photographer!

Before and After

Before


After


Back


Perfect haircut to go with the Tinker Bell costume.


For the record, I let her tell the hairdresser how she wanted to get her hair cut and she said, "Short, like baby's". Baby wasn't even there but this is what we got. She loves it.

Fairies

I seriously did NOT dress the boy up this time. We went to dance class and the theme was fairies. There were tutus and wings for the girls and armours and helmets for the boys but he didn't want anything to do with those. He went right up to the teacher and said, "I want lellow". He didn't get lellow because none of them were lellow but you get the idea. He wanted it!


Here are the two of them.


Here are the fairies doing their magic:

Do Re Me

Green Thumb

I don't have a green thumb. I have the exact opposite of it. So, hoping the kids will do better than I, I signed them up for a gardening class.

"I don't know about this, Mommy. Looks dirty and messy."


Pack in the dirt.


Loosen the roots.


Get the plant in.


"Ah... so much fun."

Baby Talk

Here is an expert demo of the material:



And here is evidence that the boy really talks:

Wishlist

Can we have 100 more of these laundry baskets for Christmas, please?



"We are laundry!"

I.D.2009

To celebrate I.D., we went to a county fair. (Thanks for the recommendation, Carolyn.)

The girl is born to be served. She loved having her face painted and sat still as a stone.


Here is her first face painting.


The boy waited patiently with a hay stack while the girl had her makeup done. I can totally see this trend continue in the years to come.


The girl was barely tall enough to go on a bunch of rides. We thought she'd be scared but she wasn't at all.


The boy, however, was not tall enough. It was very heart breaking to watch. He'd watch the girl leave with daddy and a whole line of bigger kids pass by him. Then some even bigger dude would come and close the gate and tell him "no". He quietly steps back while holding on to the fence looking at the girl's back longingly. Finally, the ride would start and he'd watch and rock the fence gently while calling out, "Kiki-iiii, Kiki-iiii..." Luckily, there were two rides he could go on - the carousel and this train.


There was a kid's craft/science room and they had these giant bubble wands. So much fun!


We spent about 5 hours at the fair and both kids collapsed on the way back. I guess that meant they enjoyed the day.

Picnic

This was no ordinary picnic. Nothing like a basket filled with sandwiches eaten on a lawn somewhere. This is a seriously fancy picnic. Hubby's company hosts a family picnic for all its employees every year. All you have to do is to RSVP and bring a salad. They provide bbq ribs, fried chicken, chilis, burgers, hotdogs, dessert and beverages. In addition, they provide entertainment. Does anyone remember this picture? That was our first year at the picnic. Last year, the girl was grumpy and we had to carry the boy who was heavy and hot. This year, we truely enjoyed the party.

First, the pool!


"Seriouly, how long does it take for mommy to change us both and get us in the water???"


After spending an hour, maybe longer, at the pool, we were ready to explore other things.


Clearly, I didn't take this picture. I couldn't understand why the photographer did either. I was clearly having some difficulties putting the girl in and the boy just face planted. So, what is the deal here?


A little rough start but the ride was a hit with the kids.


"Yeah! Play area for toddlers!"


"aaaaaaaaahhhh!"


The girl got super attached to this bunny. It was kind of weird. This bunny, a real hopping breathing bunny, just sat in the top hat and didn't move a muscle while kid after kid came to pat/poke/spin/kiss/jab/manhandle it.


"Let's start our own biker gang."


"Yes, yes, I had a good time at the party. See you next year!"