Lunch With Daddy

Last Friday the kids got a special treat to kick off their birthday weekend (yes, we believe in dragging out celebrations as long as possible), lunch with Daddy and visiting his office! We met Young at his office before and we were a little early so he put us in a conference room to get into all kinds of trouble. Once the excitement of the keyboard and calculator wore off they discovered the sliding doors. Open and shut, open and shut...each time getting slamming them louder and louder.

Then I caught the dry erase board on the wall...oh, tons of fun with the markers and eraser!

I can see Timo is going to be a computer geek just like his Daddy!!

(for some reason we didn't get any pictures of lunch...hum, I thought I took a few but can't seem to find them...sorry)

Our Birthday Day!

The kid's actual birthday was quite a busy day...a Sunday (church activities), Valentine's Day, Chinese New Years and a long President's Day holiday weekend....oh, and the opening ceremonies to the Olympics. Needless to say, most of our friends had previous plans, so we pushed a birthday party back till the next weekend. But that still didn't stop us from trying to make the most of their actual day...

We had to preassemble their birthday gifts the night before because there were so many pieces to put together...it would have been a nightmare trying to do it while the "watched" or rather took the various pieces all around the house. So we had them together and waiting when they woke up.

Timo took to his workbench right away, hammering everything and Cameron became an instant mommy to her new baby. I'm SOOOO glad she finally has some little girl toys! She has been playing with her baby non-stop the past few days...takes her everywhere.

The kids passed out as soon as we got home from church and slept a monstrous three hours! Maybe turning 2 takes a lot out of you...so there wasn't much of a "day" left by the time they got up. We did want to get some pictures of them all dressed up in their "Valentine's" red outfits (which look suspiciously like their Christmas outfits...), so we had a little impromptu photo session on the sofa. Here's what we got...

Happy 2nd Birthday Timohty & Cameron!

Happy Birthday Timothy & Cameron. You're the sweetest Valentine gift anyone could ask for! Mommy and Daddy love you so much and have been incredibly blessed these past two years. I can't believe it's been two years already...if feels just like yesterday...

Timothy, at 9:41am today you turned 2 years old! I can't believe how you have grown from just 6lb 6oz. And oh, how you fit the total model of a two year old little boy. Your life is centered around truck, trains and cars. Nothing makes you happier than pushing your dump trucks or building a new train track adventure. But I can already see what a kind and gentle nature you have, especially toward your sister. Though she may not always understand, you are ready and willing to take her toy and show her how it works or how to fix it, then quickly returning it. I love how you always need to let me know information..."Mommy, tister crying. Mommy, uh-oh, mess. Mommy, ball over there. Mommy, look! A tractor!" You are free with the kisses and always have a smile or belly laugh for anyone willing to look your way. But the moments you are so upset you can't see straight, you only want your mommy. You lay you head on my shoulder and just let me love you (this might be my favorite part about being your mommy.) I hope your love of saying "dear Jesus" when we pray and shout "Hallelujah!" at the end lasts a lifetime. And as long as you have your monkey (Pappi) and your paci, you can sleep anywhere. You are constantly surprising us with your words, athletics and unending love. I can't wait to see you grow up to a young man...just not too fast!!

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Cameron, at 9:42am today, you turned 2 years old too. My little 4lb 14oz punkin has grown into an independent toddler...and doesn't mind letting you know that. As I think about what to write about you, I feel like I'm writing about myself. You are so much like me, it's unbelievable. Still as shy as day one, you take a while to warm up to strangers. You prefer hats to bows and you can keep up with your brother almost step by step. I feel you make my job as a mommy so much easier by telling me what you will wear, what you want to eat and do and do not want to play with. You're spirit has really come alive as your vocabulary grows, almost like your fussiness as a baby was because you couldn't talk. But now you are constantly letting us know something, anything, just to be talking. And when you're not talking, you are singing. The number one thing everyone says about you is "wow, she knows the words to a lot of songs!" I love how you adore your brother, always making sure his needs are met before you meet your own needs. You never ask for a cookie, snack, drink, toy without asking for one for "bruder". And when those terrible two moments strike, we've learned to just let you work it out yourself and have your blanki and loving arms ready to hold you. I hope you always enjoy praying as much as you do now... squeezing your eyes shut tight and folding your hands together...I hope you always enjoy talking to Jesus. Your are so emotionally mature, I feel you are already a teenager, but I hope we can hold those years off a little longer and enjoy watching our little princess grow.
Happy Birthday Punkin!

Clean Up

I've stated a new thing with the kids where we clean up one toy before we pull out another....we're about 40/60% on it working. I'm also trying to get them to pick up toys before meals, nap, dinner, basically anytime we are walking away from the toys. Well, it was lunch time the other day and I told Timo he needed to pick up the toys before he could eat. I walked in the kitchen to make their lunch, came back out and found this....guess they are picked up! I'm not sure how long it took him to balance airplane on the truck...but good job Timo!

Cat Nap

The week or so I've let the kids watch Dora in the morning so I can take a shower and get some dishes done. They love to sit on our bed and are still a bit too scared to get down by themselves...so I know they are in a safe place for at least 20min or so.

Monday morning Cameron woke up really early, I think because of a bad dream or something. She woke up very upset and it took a while to calm her down. Anyway, I guess she was tired because this is how I found her when I got out of the shower...asleep at 9am, all cozy in our bed, taking a little cat nap.

Once Timo saw the camera he lunged for it, waking her up...gotta love having a brother...

Hair Cut

Just so I'm not constantly bragging on Sharona, I'll start bragging on the Lord...for Him sending us such a blessing in her. She is a jack of all trade and we're adding hair stylist to her list! I mentioned I needed to take Cameron to get a hair cut and she piped up and said "I can do it, that's how I made a living in collage...cutting hair!" It didn't take me long to take her up on the offer...that night after bath time we plopped Cameron up on the table, turned Fireman Sam on the TV and listened for the sounds of "snip, snip". She sat relatively still through the process...as did Timo...

We didn't dress Cameron after her bath, just a diaper, so she was really cold. We used our fleece blanket as a cape and she loved it. The next morning she was looking for her "clip and cape" to put it on again.

Mash Ups!

Per my last post...the kids LOVE the Revolutions Organics Mash Ups! And talk about convient...you just twist off the cap and let the kids suck out the goodness. They especially love the Spinach/Peas/Pear Mash Up which is great...they haven't liked spinach since they were about a year old.

They were walking around before bedtime the other night enjoying the peach/mango pouch. I can see these fitting right in for our future road trips...

Free Loot!

There are so many reasons to love our roommate Sharona...and we just added one more to the list. She is doing temp work while here waiting for her visa to head back to London and happened upon a job at an all organic baby food company!! Once they found out she lived with two toddlers, they loaded her up with tons of snacks, food and beverages! This is after her first day...she came home and dumped out a whole grocery bag full of goodies for the kids. I can tell you now that the kids love the squeezable fruit and vegges as well the whole grain Pop Alongs. Let's hope Sharona has a few more days of work left at Revolution Foods & Plum Organics.

Keeping Up With Technology

Young calls his parents almost every Saturday and lets the kids talk to their "Harmy" and "Habachi" (Korean for Grandmother/Grandfather). This past Saturday Timo decided he wanted to be like his daddy and use the bluetooth. Of course once Cameron saw him using it...she just had to follow suit. I can't believe the technology these kids have these days...

My Own Words...

The more and more the kids learn to talk, communicate and interact with each other, the more I hear my own words coming out of their little mouths...sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Here are a few examples...

-Both kids were in the bathtub and Cameron broke a hard fast rule we have of no throwing toys out of the tub. After she hurled a quirt toy across the bathroom floor Timo pointed his little finger at her and said "Don't throw...time out!"

-Timo was reaching for a crayon under the coffee table, bonked his head and started to cry. As I was coming around the corner to console him I saw Cameron patting him on the head saying "Mimo, don't cry...it be OK"

-We were strolling back home from the park yesterday and Cameron was whining/asking for her Daddy..."Where go Daddy, see Daddy?" Timo turned in the stroller to face her and said "Carmon, Daddy work"...and she quieted down and ate her snack.

-I was cooking dinner one night and Timo started playing with the knobs on the stove...the knobs are child proof but still a major no, no in our house. Before I could discipline Timo, Cameron grabbed his hand and yelled "Mimo, Don't touch! Hot!"

-Timo was playing with the sidewalk chalk while Cameron was pushing her dump truck today when Timo decided he wanted Cameron to come draw with him. He came over and asked me for another piece of chalk, walked over to Cameron and handed her the chalk saying "Sister draw, here chalk." She took the chalk but kept playing with the truck. Timo got very frustrated and yelled "Sister! Draw! Here! Now!" as he pointed to the sidewalk. It work...she came running over and they happily colored up our sidewalk.


I could go on and on...I'm so happy the kids have each other. They may not always use the exact words I would like them to use (we're working on it) but at least they are getting guidance and comfort from each other. I almost feel like I have an extra pair of hands and eyes now...almost...

Tunnels Just Her Size

Both kids are discovering tunnels now but Cameron especially loves to walk in them. Anything can be a tunnel to her...even under the coffee table or between mommy's legs. Here are some pictures from the Discovery Museme where she explored a varity of tunnels.

Bay Area Discovery Museum

Long before the rain and our sickness, we spent a morning at the Bay Area Discovery Museum with some of our other twin friends from our SF Twins Club. We used to all hang out on a pretty regular basis but because of busy schedules, it's been a long time. We all marked this date on our calender before Christmas just so we cold carve out some time to see each other and the kids.

I love this museum...the kids are at a perfect age to really enjoy all it has to offer. We spent a good part of the morning with the hula hoops, xylophone and listening to the guitar.

Cameron and Lexi enjoyed the tot spot, jumping on the lilly pad frog "pond"

There is this really good room called the bay room...every thing San Francisco. Of course Timo was totally into the train and Cameron was all about the fish and trying to catch some crab!

We headed outside and played in the "river" and construction yard. Trevor and Cameron worked really hard together to put rocks in the hat!

(I've been working on this post for a long time, trying some new features from Blogger and it's a trail and error process. Sorry for everything being scattered...I need more practice!)