Sleeping Like a Baby

The kids are doing pretty well sleeping unswaddled. Timothy is completely on his own and Cameron is being gradually let out of her swaddle. But she is doing so well I think we'll take it away this weekend. They can now get to their monkeys and they love falling asleep holding the tail. Timothy usually end up on his tummy but still wakes up a little scared and cries a little...he used to always wake up with a smile on his face. But I'm sure he'll get used to it.

On the Move!

Timothy is seconds away from crawling...he is everywhere! He can get up on his hands and knees but can't quite get the forward motion going. But he is a skilled scooter...especially on the hard wood floors. And he sometimes gets himself stuck in the strangest of places...
I came into the dining room and found him under the table. He was having the best time exploring down there but couldn't figure out how to get back out between the chiars. And anther one he got his feet stuck under the sofa...
This one he grabbed the laundry basket and put it on his head...it got stuck and he couldn't figure out how to get it off.

Fun in the Kitchen

While we were having lunch at my friend's house in LA, we put the kids on the kitchen floor and she broke out the Tupperware and plastic cups for the kids to play with. What new, fun toys for them! So I decided to start putting them in the kitchen with me in the afternoons as I get their dinner ready. They love it. I break out new pots, bowls, cups, etc each day for them...hours of fun! And who knew checking out the floor could be entertaining??

And while we're on fun, cheap, easy toys...never underestimate the fun of an empty box!

Afternoons in the Park

We are lucky here in SF to have our summers during the fall. And we are blessed to live right across the street from Golden Gate Park so we head over there every afternoon to enjoy the lovely weather. I take a blanket, a few toys and we spread out in the green grass to play and people watch. Here are a few pictures from our afternoons.Daddy blowing bubbles and the kids trying to catch them.

I found another way to keep Cameron on her tummy...she loves to pick the grass.

The other day the sprinklers were on in our usual spot so we had to park across the street. The kids just stared at the sprinklers the whole time!

update on Timothy

Our little boy had a big week and weekend last week...here is a progress report.

Unswaddeing...going OK. The first night was really rough but it seemed to get better with each sleep, nap or night time. He is taking longer to settle down to sleep, he crawls all around his crib exploring every inch of it. But he eventually falls asleep and Cameron doesn't seem phased by his rowdiness.

Teething...The tooth is coming up. It's above the surface and pretty sharp! It's only a little way up and I can't get a picture b/c he won't hold his mouth open. Just one so far but I think I feel the bump of the one next to it. He doesn't seem to be as fussy anymore, so I think the worst of this tooth is over.

Young and I swear that Timothy grew overnight...he looked much bigger Sunday morning than he did Saturday night when we put him to bed. Is that possible??? He is growing so fast!!!

More Moments From San Diego

Here are just a few other pictures from our trip I wanted to post...
This is a huge statue outside the USS Midway...we tried to replicate it but I thought Young was gonna drop me! And a family photo in front of the Midway.

Daryl and Mindy with the twins and dinner with our friends Mark and Stacey.

They served breadsticks at this Italian place we had lunch at and the kids loved to chew on them...kept them quiet almost the whole meal. Cameron took her's with her and fell asleep in the car still eating it...so sweet.

The kids relaxing after a day of antique shopping and Mindy making fun noises reading to Timothy.

Sunday brunch with the Bryants...and Timothy trying to eat the offerings of daddy's french toast!

Ronald Reagan Library

On our way back home from San Diego Young wanted to stop in Simi Valley to tour the Ronald Reagan Library...which is really a museum. Despite my hesitations, we had a really nice time and it was fun to see history that I was around for and remembered. I was most fascinated by Nancy Reagan...realizing what a very classy first lady she was. Amazing wardrobe. But the best thing at the Library was seeing Air Force One. Young really enjoyed himself and wanted to buy the kids so much stuff from the gift shop...we walked out with Air Force One onesies and a Ronald Reagan zip up hoody for Timothy. There was no flash photography allowed so some of pictures are kinda dark.

Timo and me in front of Marine One and Young seeing what it's like to be president in the Oval Office.
Air Force One...the exact plane that Reagan flew on. You can tour the plane but no photography. And this is the view of the valley from the plane hanger. Much more beautiful in person.

The kids were wiped out from seeing all of Reagan's belt buckles and short films on Air Force One.

USS Midway

The USS Midway is an aircraft carrier in San Diego that is now a museum. Commissioned in 1945, the Midway served in WW II, Vietnam and Desert Storm. It was so amazing to tour the ship, see the aircraft and experience the enormity of a vassal that large. We took a ton of pictures so it's hard picking out which ones to post...but I'll try to give you an overview of our tour.
This is the aircraft pilots trained on and here we are taking a tour of the inside of a fighter plane.

Cameron and I take a simulation and Young trying to imagine life sleeping in the bunk beds
I can't remember all the different planes we saw but here we are on the upper deck...so many aircraft.

Timothy and Daryl were buddies the whole trip...and here we are aboard a helicopter.

Our journey down to San Diego

We're back from our vacation and I'm going over our enormous amount of photos, trying to decided where to start.

We left last Thurs and drove about 6 hours down and spent the night just outside of LA. We stopped every few hours to let the kids stretch or feed them and just relax. The hotel we stayed in was really nice, we got to spend time with the kids and they got to take a bath in the big tub together! Su much fun!! And they had a blast playing with the plastic cups come in the room, go figure.

Friday morning we headed to Pasadena to have lunch with my friend Mary Beth. Cameron took to her right away and they were fast friends. It was great to see Mary Beth and her meet the twins. Mary Beth has a apple pie company so we talked pies most of the time while Young played with Timothy outside...the weather was perfect sunny and warm.Then we headed down to San Diego to see Daryl and Mindy. Within an 30mins of arriving the kids were leaving their mark their carpet! We had a spit up almost immediately of sitting them down and then Timothy had a giant poo...that I didn't know was giant until I was changing him and noticed it got all over his clothes...that got on their carpet...sorry guys! The kids know how to make an entrance!
We were all wiped out once we got there so it was an early night. We had to get our rest for the big day of visiting the USS Midway the following day!The kids did great sleeping in the different environments. Luckily we still swaddle them so we don't need cribs, we can just put them on the floor or bed. (but we'll start unswaddeling them this weekend so pray they won't have a hard time adjusting)

OK, I know we are on vacation and I'm not susuposed to post..but I snuk into Young's work laptop just to let you all know....we have a tooth!!!  Timothy was chewing on me today, as usual, and I felt something sharp cut into my finger.  I pried his mouth open to examined his lower gum...and there it was...just starting to break the surface.  I should have known something was up because he woke up around 4am last night, which he never does, and just couldn't settle himself back down until around 5:30am...after several stints in the rocking chair with mommy.  I also noticed he has been pulling on his ear the past day or so too.   It all makes sense now.  And I don't think the worst is over yet.

So there you have it...my baby is growing up...boo hoo!  I'm gonna miss his toothless smile...

Vacation

We are headed to San Diego tomorrow to visit our friends Daryl and Mindy Bryant. Daryl is Young's best friend and they used to live here in SF but moved a few years ago to pursue his desire to plant and pastor a church. We're excited to see them and can't to soak up some southern California sun!

But alas, I won't be posting while we're gone. I'll come back with great stories and photos...as well as an 8mo update.

Here are the twin's 6mo portraits I forgot to post a while back. They weren't really in a smiling mood that day. They are at the age where they are trying to figure everything out, so they were really perplexed by the big camera...wondering what was going on...

The second picture is of them with their favorite toy at this age.

Baby Fat!

Out of all the pictures we take of the kids...I love the ones in diapers the most! You can see all their cute fatty rolls. But it's getting cold now so we can't let them hang in just diapers much longer...I gotta get all the pictures in now while they're still babies! By the time it warms up again they'll be toddlers and all their baby fat will have melted away...whaaaa!!