Am trying out this blogging from mobile thing. It's snowing again.

First Snow

It's been a while since I personally experienced a snow storm. Was very excited at the thought of having Timo and Cameron have their first experience and seeing the expressions on their face. We had a such a great time the last time we were in Tahoe in September, we decided to come back... but this time, for the snow.

We were getting a bit concerned driving over here as the temperature outside was running in the 50's. And when we did arrive, there was very little snow on the ground. However, that evening, the snow storm hit. I couldn't remember that last time I saw such huge cotton balls drop from the sky. It was amazing and beautiful.

The next morning, we woke up to a winter wonderland. Timo and Cameron thoroughly enjoyed themselves in the snow. I'm sure Sara will be posting more when we get back, but I wanted to share some early pics and hopefully a video (as long as I can get it loaded up).

Hope you enjoyed your first snow Timo and Cameron. Daddy loves you.

Presents!

We all know the best part about birthdays are the presents! And the kids had no shortage of gifts this year...filling our house to the brim even more!

They started a few days earlier with gifts from the Grandparents...Granny and Grandpa Cameron gave them the super cool basketball goal and cash register, both have been broken in nicely. Harmy and Habachi Ko sent them the most adorable clothes for the spring/summer. My mother-in-law makes sure we have the cutest dressed kids on the block! Cameron was totally into checking out all the new clothes...

Even though for the kids party I asked for no gifts please, there was no shortage of packages for the kids to open. We decided to wait until after the party to open gifts...it's been my experience, with toddlers, if you don't have one for everyone...it's not a pretty sight. So we put them up and waited till after naptime to open gift. The kids are definitely getting the hang of opening even though Timo like to rip a piece of paper off, say uh-oh, and continue with another piece. The gifts in bags are the easiest...and instant gratification!

At some point, Cameron started asking for another piece of birthday cake (her third of the day) so we took a little snack break and then got right back to work.

We're 2!!

We had the kids 2nd Birthday party this past Saturday and I must say, it was a success! We had about 12 toddlers here, the twins' friends from various activities they belong to. We had a blast and managed to not have any melt downs, tantrums or crying...which is practically a miracle with 12-two year olds. Here is a collage of the guests that Sharona made for us. Check out the diversity among all the kids...we had Korean, Chinese, Caucasian, Indian and Filipino races all represented....gotta love living in San Francisco!

The biggest hit of the party was our puppet show. Major props go out to Young and Yang who handled the puppets with ease. Elmo was the main character and had all of his "friends" stop by for a short song. All the kids seemed mesmerized by them. Caleb kept trying to go up and give Elmo books! Cameron and Tmo really enjoy the show, as you can see on their faces.

I tried to have two separate themes for the party, reflecting each one of the twins' personality/interest. Timo had trucks and Cameron had an ocean! They both really loved their cakes I made but the trucks on Timo's cake were the biggest hit with the kids. Each child in arms reach grabbed a truck. All us mom's tried to wipe frosting off the wheels as fast as we could!

For most of the party, Timo hung out with his buddy Graham. Graham played balls with him so Timo didn't have much use for any of his other friends...

Cameron on the other hand, ate her way through the party! Every time I turned around she was shoveling something in her mouth...not to mention two pieces of cake!!

She did take some time out to enjoy her friend Lexi...they are best beds. She also caught Olivia tasting some more cake but let it slide...

I have lots of video from the party but need to move it from our video camera to the computer...and who knows how long that will take...I'll try to do it this weekend.

Tilden Park

Last Saturday we got our first gorgeous, sunny day in months. We wanted to do something outside so decided to check out the Steam Train ride in Tilden Park, Berkeley. As we entered the park we saw a sign for the Little Farm and decided to check it out first....and never made it to the steam train. The Farm and nature trail lasted all morning/lunch, we ran out of time.

The Little Farm is a cute little farm (ha,ha) in the middle of this huge park. They have cows, chickens, goats, rabbits, etc...all the important animals. We noticed everyone around us was feeding the animals celery or lettuce which we later found out they brought from home. I guess those in the know, know to bring food with them and make the experience much more enjoyable. Timo really wanted something to feed the cows so he pick up a piece of lettuce off the ground to feed Mr. Cow but was too scared to get close enough to actually feed him! Oh well. Next time we'll bring long celery for him.

Timo thought he was so tough that he climbed this big rock by himself..."I'm king of the world!"

We decided to take a short walk down this nature trail that led to a little lake and waterfall. We started out all gung-ho and the kids were running/walking on their own. You can see the progression as the walk went on and on...running to walking holding Daddy's hands to being carried. The lake wasn't really that far but it seems a lot further when you're carrying toddlers!

But the trek down to the lake was worth it. We saw this family of turtles on a log! Timo found lots of rocks to throw in the water and Cameron got a bird's eye view of the waterfall with Daddy.

It was a trying experience getting Timo away from the water (we had the one screaming kid on this peaceful nature trail) but finally convinced that climbing on the ladder at the playground would be much more fun than splashing rocks in the water.

By the time the we made it back to the playground, it was time for lunch. Because the weather was so nice, we just pulled a blanket out of the car and had an impromptu picnic in the grass. You could tell the kids just loved being out in the sunshine. After lunch, again, it was difficult getting Timo away from the playground and back in the car but he did much better knowing there was a big green field to run through. The kids passed out in the car before we even got out of the Berkeley...what a great morning!

Backpacks!

The kids officially have backpacks and I officially have my purse back!! Their gigantic diaper bag has been my "purse" for the past two years but recently I've noticed I've needed the diaper bag less and less and needed a my own purse more and more. So....my amazing husband got me a new, beautiful grown up purse for Valentine's Day and I haven't looked back! But on to the backpacks...we got the backpacks a while back for a plane trip but thought it was time to get them out again and start using them full time. They are big enough to carry one or two diapers each, a few wipes, snack trap, crackers and a sippy cup. I carry a few more needed items in my purse but nothing they need with them 24/7. We made the change a few days ago and the kids love them. (I think their new love of Dora the Explorer and her backpack helps) They ask for their backpacks now before we leave the house, Cameron gets upset to take her's off in the car, and it's so much easier having them carry all their stuff...not me!

This is them getting ready for co-op on Thursday...I must say, the backpacks make them look sooo much older..sniff, sniff...