Our Old Stomping Grounds

Today we traveled back to our old 'hood to meet friends Syd and Alex G. and their Mommy. We had a great lunch at Baja Fresh, where Alex and Ari devoured their very own cheese quesadilla, apple sauce, and some snacks stolen from Alex and Syd's trays (see below...luckily, Syd is gracious about sharing!) It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed walking around the outdoor shopping and restaurant area.

This afternoon Alex had his first "bleeding incident." Mommy came home from the gym to find Daddy holding Alex, who had blood gushing (OK, maybe it was just trickling) out of his mouth. [Please note who was in charge when this happened! Just kidding, Mommy knows it could have happened when she was there too...maybe...] According to Daddy, Alex had just slipped on one of his toys and hit his mouth, which apparently was cut by his nice, new, sharp teeth. It looked a lot worse than it was, and luckily the bleeding stopped quickly, but poor Alex has a puffy lip to show for it:
We guess with new walking skills come many bumps and bruises, but Mommy hopes not many more of them involve blood!

More Video

We promise not to post too many older videos, but we just had to post this one video from September, when Alex and Ari were just five months old. Mommy was getting ready to leave for a baby shower, and Alex was sitting on her lap as she wrapped the gift in tissue paper. This is the first time we heard Alex's trademark laugh in all of it's glory:

We Have Video!

Mommy has taken her blog to a new dimension with video (she's still working on quality and size of the video). Check out this clip of Alex's first steps:

Thirteen Months!

It seems like Alex and Ari just turned one year old, but already they are 13 months old! Here's our attempt at a picture of both kids sitting on the couch...as you can see, getting both to sit still for even a few seconds is like herding cats: What are Alex and Ari up to at 13 months?

Alex is, as we've been talking about all week, walking. He's become quite proficient in a very short amount of time and takes great pride in toddling around, especially in the presence of his older buddies. He is saying a few words, like "buh" for bus, "boo" for blue, "ba" for ball, and "cah" for car. He understands a lot of what you say to him even though he can't answer quite yet. He knows the sign for "more" and will ask for "more" of his favorite foods: cheese, bananas and ice cream. He LOVES climbing up the stairs (and is very good at it) and knows how to go backwards to get down stairs. Here is Alex on the playground, showing off his new skill:
Ari is getting a little closer to walking, building the confidence to stand on her own a little bit more every day. She is quite the Mommy/Daddy's girl and can be hesitant to go to anyone else, but she's been warming up to Nana quite a bit in the past few weeks and even said "Nana" a couple of times. She says many of the same words as Alex, as well "sh" for shoe, "Ayeh" for Alex and "emo" for Elmo. She makes kissing sounds when you ask her what a fish does. She loves giving hugs, wearing hats, and putting on her socks and shoes. Here's Ari, mugging for the camera, showing off her newest bottom tooth:

As is becomming typical for us, we had a very busy weekend. Saturday Daddy went to coach a soccer game while Mommy stayed home to play with the kids. When he got home, Mommy and Daddy tag-teamed so that Mommy could head out to volunteer at our Parents of Multiples annual convention, which was hosted by our local chapter this year (coincidentally, in the same hotel where Mommy and Daddy had their wedding reception!) Daddy kept the kids busy with a trip to the tot lot and a walk around the neighborhood. When Mommy got home, we all headed over to our neighbors' and good friends' home for a BBQ with six other families. Amazingly, even with eleven adults and thirteen children, the evening was laid-back and enjoyable. Alex toddled around with his big buddies while Ari seemed content to play with all of the new toys. They were both smitten with the newest addition to our neighborhood playgroup, 4-week old Lauren. Alex and Ari had a ball with other kids, thirteen in all! Ari even seems to be developing a little crush with "older man" (18 months old) Andrew. Here is a picture of Andrew giving a (bashful) Ari a hug, and one from tonight on the slide at the tot lot:
This morning Mommy and Daddy attended a brunch for Maccabi USA . A highlight of the event was sitting next to Georghe Muresan, a former basketball player who measures 7'7" tall, and his wife. They were an extremely friendly, unassuming couple despite the fact that Georghe must attract a LOT of attention no matter where he goes (he is the tallest player to ever have played in the NBA, even taller than Manute Bol). Of course Mommy had no idea who he was before she met him (she assumed he was a basketball player but didn't know he also starred in the movie "My Giant" with Billy Crystal). It was also great to catch up with all of our Maccabi friends and to meet new friends, as well.

While Mommy and Daddy were at the brunch, Alex and Ari hung out with Nana and Poppy Jack. Nana took them to the tot lot where they went on their favorite swings and enjoyed the beautiful weather. They didn't seem to miss us one bit!

Daddy hooked up our camcorder to the computer tonight, so Mommy is going to work on uploading some video to our blog. Stay tuned!

Off and Running!

What a difference a week makes! Alex is now walking on a regular basis, toddling around the house and showing off his new found ability. Arielle must be studying her brother's skills carefully, as she's starting to stand on her own a little more and will walk as long as she's holding on to both of Mommy or Daddy's hands. Ari also got her eighth tooth this week, bringing the current score to 8 (Ari) to 6 (Alex).

We also turned Alex's car seat around today, from rear-facing to forward-facing. Guidelines require seats to stay rear-facing until infants are one year and 20 pounds, so Alex clearly fits both of these requirements and his legs were getting very cramped against the back of the seat, so we decided to give him some more room (and a new perspective) and rotate the seat. Ari, on the other hand, will have to wait at least a few months, as she has several pounds to go before she meets the weight requirement.

This week we tried to keep busy, as Daddy was out of town on business for most of the week. Luckily, we were able to spend a lot of time outside with neighborhood friends. We are taking full advantage of our proximity to the neighborhood tot lot, visiting several times a day some days. Alex and Ari especially like going to the tot lot in the morning in time to see the school bus arrive. They both say "buh!" (bus) as soon as it rounds the corner, and they wave to the bus driver, who seems to think that Alex and Ari are very cute. Here are Alex and Ari on the playground:

Tonight we had Shabbat dinner at Miri and Opa's with a little birthday celebration for Mommy (thanks for the yummy birthday cake, Miri!) Ari and Cousin Naomi helped Mommy open gifts while Alex hung out with Aunt Debbie:

This weekend is a busy one for Mommy and Daddy with lots of events for their various volunteer organizations, so Alex and Ari will get to spend more quality time with Nana and Poppy Jack. They won't be left out of the fun entirely, though, as all four of us are looking forward to a BBQ with all of the "girls" from Mommy's monthly Girls Night Out and their families. Is it obvious we're all very happy that springtime is here?!

Lunch Date

Instead of holding our multiples playdate at our house today, we met our twin friends (and their Mommy and nanny) for lunch at Cosi today. Amazingly, all of the kids behaved perfectly and even allowed their mommies to enjoy lunch and conversation. Here are the little mensches enjoying their grilled cheese sandwiches (you just know Alex is thinking, "Man, I'm the coolest dude surrounded by all of these cute girls!")
After lunch, Alex and Ari visited Poppy Jack's office for the first time. Poppy Jack told them that in a few years, he'll put them to work scanning documents (he's also told them they'll make great crew members on the boat. Sounds like they'll be busy kids.)

Alex is quickly advancing in his walking skills and even walked down an entire hallway this afternoon. Mommy captured it on video, so once she figures out how to upload videos to the blog, she'll be sure to post it.

We're all very happy that the weather has warmed up-- in fact, it feels like we skipped springtime and went straight into summer- today's temperature was above 80 degrees! We've been spending as much time outside as possible. Here are Alex and Ari in their stroller, ready to head over to the neighborhood tot lot. Notice the pretty flowers...Mommy, known for her brown thumb, is very proud of them!

Busy Busy!

It's been a very busy week around here, one that brought warm weather (finally!) so we were actually able to get out and enjoy springtime.

This week we returned to our music class and also had a fun playdate with Zack and Vivi Arking and their new puppy Pixie. Mommy hosted her monthly girls Bunco game on Tuesday night, and amazingly Alex and Ari slept through all of the racket (twelve women gabbing, laughing, eating, and playing until 10:00 pm!) in the basement. On Friday, Alex and Ari accompanied Mommy to a meeting she had at the JCC for one of her volunteer projects. The other members of the committee were more than happy to entertain Alex and Ari while we tried to have a productive meeting (somehow Alex and Ari kept stealing center stage, though!)

Yesterday we made the long trek across our backyard to join pal Justin and his family at his second birthday party. Alex and Ari enjoyed hanging with the "big kids" and eating yummy food like bagels, lox, fruit, and donut holes. Later that afternoon we spent a lot of time outside, taking advantage of the (finally!) nice weather and visiting with neighbors who have come out in droves now that it's warm. We realized living across the street from our neighborhood tot lot is going to be very fun and social!

This morning we all went to watch Daddy coach a soccer game. The parents and girls on the team were excited to see how big Alex and Ari had grown since last season, and the kids had fun playing with the grown-ups as we watched the team play. Alex was fascinated with the ball and couldn't understand why every time it came close to him on the sidelines, some girl would come pick it up and throw it the other way. Here's a shot of Daddy and his budding soccer player, as well as one of Ari enjoying the game:
As an aside, now that we are spending time outside it is funny to see how differently (and stereotypically) Alex and Ari behave outdoors. Alex is all boy- he will crawl over concrete and dirt and eats anything he finds along the way. Ari, on the other hand, won't touch the ground with her hands and prefers to sit in one spot. She'll think about touching the ground with her hands occasionally, but quickly changes her mind. No dirt for her.

This afternoon the birthday celebrations continued with a party for best buds Alex and Sydney, who turned one just a few weeks after Alex and Ari. Alex particularly enjoyed playing with Alex and Syd's dog, Boomer. Happy Birthday, Alex and Syd!!

The biggest news of the weekend is that just this afternoon, Alex officially became a walker...Nana and Poppy Jack were over to help with some chores around the house/yard and while they were here, Alex decided to show off his new skill. All of a sudden, he is now walking quite frequently and longer and longer distances. We've decided that we can now officially mark this exciting milestone. Here are some pictures of Alex practicing his new mode of transportation (pay no attention to the unhappy girl in the foreground of the first picture):
This coming week looks like it will be as busy as last week, with a multiples playgroup at our house, music class, a "stroller playdate" (walk) with newborn friend Lauren and her Mommy, and undoubtedly many, many tot lot playdates now that the weather is sunny and warm!!!

Lots of Visitors

The wind is whipping around like crazy outside, with 50-mile per hour gusts and frequent power outages. Luckily we've kept busy inside with plenty of visitors today. First, Alex and Ari's best older pals Sadie and Gabriel (age 2 3/4) came over with their Mommy for a playdate, lunch, and belated birthday celebration. They brought Alex and Ari a cool new toy with lots of farm animals and YUMMY cupcakes (nearly the only part of lunch Alex and Ari ate today...but that's another story):After an abbreviated afternoon nap, Alex and Ari awoke to another visitor in the house: Great Aunt Joyce, who came in from New Jersey for a visit and a business trip. It was wonderful to spend some quality time catching up with Aunt Joyce. Sleep deprivation (to the tune of two shortened naps) was catching up to Alex and Ari, so they weren't in their typical happy-go-lucky moods, but they held it together enough to take a quick picture...ok, maybe not so much for Ari:

We should mention that last night we did get out of the house and revisited one of our favorite restaurants, Momma Wok, with Nana and Poppy Jack. Momma Wok was one of Alex and Ari's first "high chair" experiences way back in October when they were barely seven months old. Last night they sampled seaweed salad (liked), tofu (not so much), oranges (yum), and fortune cookies (what's not to like). Here are "then" and "now" pictures:

Finally, Alex is progressing on the walking front. Today he took about four steps on his own from a chair to a window. Every day is another step, which means another step closer to Mommy running in two directions!

Springtime, Where Are You?!

We're experiencing a bout of cabin fever around here, with temperatures still way below average (our highs have been lower than our average lows) and a big storm set to blow in tonight. We've been trying to stay busy indoors, including our first new music class on Tuesday. There are two other sets of twins in the class (one set is also in one of our twin playgroups...yes, we have playgroups just for twins!) and we really love the teacher, Ms. Regina. Alex and Ari had a lot of fun dancing to the music, playing all of the fun instruments, and making new friends.

Later in the week, Ari came down with a bit of a fever; a check-up by Dr. Miri showed that it was likely just a reaction to the one-year vaccinations (which can occur one to six weeks after the actual vaccinations) but we played it safe by taking it easy on Thursday and Friday. Despite her fever, Ari was in good spirits. Here are some shots of Alex and Ari having fun in their PJs:

With everyone back in excellent health today, we took advantage of a spell of "warmer" (50-degree) weather to take a ride in the Radio Flyer before heading off to one of our multiples playgroups (yes, twins only!) at friends Jacob and Gretchen's house. Alex and Ari had a great time playing with all of their friends (five other sets of twins in all!) and Mommy and Daddy enjoyed catching up with the other parents and seeing how big all of the "babies" have grown.

On the milestone/development front, Alex's top four teeth are now all cutting through and giving Alex a more "toothy" grin. He's still very close to walking, and this week actually took a step or two without holding onto anything; we are waiting to mark his "first steps" milestone, though, until we get a more definitive show of his new skills. Alex and Ari's new favorite song is "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," and every night before bath and bed time, Mommy and Daddy but this video from You Tube up on the computer, to the extreme delight of Alex and Ari (who dance to the music, wave at the characters, and generally go bezerk):



Tomorrow the big storm is forecast to arrive, so we'll be staying indoors and doing chores around the house. We have a big week coming up with a lunch playdate with big twin pals Sadie and Gabriel, a visit from Great Aunt Joyce, music class, neighborhood playgroup, and other assorted fun adventures!

April (snow) Showers

From 80-degree weather to snow in just a matter of days...yes, we woke up to a snowy Easter weekend, prompting our friends to cancel (wisely) their much-anticipated Easter egg hunt. Hopefully the weather will improve somewhat and they'll be able to reschedule before June!

With the snow and cold, we've been trying to keep busy inside. This weekend was rather low-key, with some visitors (Nana, Poppy Jack, Aunt Lori, Cousin Ozzie) stopping by to visit Alex and Ari. Today we met up with Alex and Ari's best buds Alex and Sydney at the local mall with the indoor train we're all coming to love so much. Alex and Ari had fun catching up with their friends and filling them in on what they can expect when they turn one later this week:

Twins are the new "in" accessory

Mommy, Ari, and Alex ride in the blue train car

Debbie, Syd, Alex, and their au pair Camilla ride in the green train car

Tomorrow we're starting a new music class, luckily another good indoor activity. We're looking forward to making new friends and to adding another fun activity to our schedule!

Goodbye Springtime, For Now

Yesterday was our last warm day of a heat spell (80-degree days), so we took advantage of the chance to get outside and play with some of Alex and Ari's new toys. We hung out in the back yard, Alex and Ari protected by SPF 40 and their cool new hats, birthday gifts from friend Caroline:The temperature is forecast to go down, down, down over the next few days, resulting in a 40-degree Easter weekend, colder than it was at Christmas. We're invited to go to our first easter egg hunt at our friends and neighbors' house...sounds like we might be hunting inside this year!

Hag Sameach (Happy Holiday)

Happy Passover! The first night of Passover reinforced how much things have changed in just one year: last year, Alex and Ari were just over a week old on the first night of Passover, and, frankly, the seder is quite a blur for Mommy. This year Alex and Ari joined us at the table (with their new Prince and Princess plate and cup sets!) and even almost made it through the entire seder. They got down to play with their cousins towards the end, but we were all impressed with how well they sat with us for the majority of the seder and meal. They even enjoyed Passover delicacies like matzoh and gefilte fish! In fact, Ari ate an ENTIRE adult-sized gefilte fish herself. Mommy is happy to finally have someone to pass her gefilte fish off to, but she's not looking forward to the resulting poopy diaper later today.

A few pictures from our seder:

With Nana and Poppy Jack:

Cousins Alan and Nicole came in from NYC for the seder:

Alex inspects his new "silverware" at the seder table:

One Year Stats

Mommy forgot to bring her camera with us to the doctor's office this morning, so this post won't include pictures, but it will include a bunch of Alex and Ari's latest statistics. Miri joined us at the doctor's office this morning so that Mommy could have an extra set of hands- Thanks, Miri!

And now, for the latest numbers:

Alex now weighs 22 pounds, 15 ounces, putting him in the 50th percentile. He's obviously thinned out a lot in the past three months (probably thanks to his new level of activity), as he was previously in the 80-90th percentiles for weight. He is 32 1/4 inches, which is off the charts for his age (above the 100th percentile)!

Arielle now weighs 18 pounds, 7 ounces, which is the 15th percentile for weight. She's down (percent-wise) from her 9-month check-up, when she came in at the 25th percentile. Her height is up, though- from the 90th percentile and 9 months to the 97th percentile today, at 31 3/8 inches. So she's growing, just taller and leaner!

Both Alex and Ari had three shots today for MMR/Chicken Pox (Varicella), H influenzae type B, and Prevnar. Needless to say, they weren't big fans of the injections but recovered quickly. The excitement of the morning clearly wiped them out, however, as they have been napping for the past two hours since we got home. Hopefully they will be in good spirits tonight, as we're headed off to Miri and Opa's house for seder to celebrate the first night of Passover. Looks like Mommy and Daddy better hurry up and finish up the left over birthday cake in the next few hours!

Party Time

Well, we survived the party, and learned that 24 children and 30 adults do, in fact, fit into our basement. Great validation for one of our primary reasons for buying this house (the other was the back yard). We were all so happy to be surrounded by so many of Alex and Ari's family and closest little friends. And Ari and Alex finally had their much-anticipated cake...and, boy, did they have their cake!

Ari gets cake everywhere, including in her ear

Did Alex actually get any frosting IN his mouth?

Now, for some more presentable pictures of our birthday boy and girl:

Ari in her party dress (Wait! Is she showing some cleavage?)
Birthday boy in his preppy (and more modest) birthday duds
Ari asks, "Hmmm...do you think Alex G. would make a suitable boyfriend?"
Ari playing her new piano- a birthday gift from Nana and Poppy Jack!

It was a wonderful celebration of Alex and Ari's first year of life, and Alex and Ari thank all of their friends for sharing their special day!