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!

Alex's First Haircut

Today was Alex's big day: his first haircut! Thanks to Cecilia at the Yellow Balloon, Alex is once again a presentable young man. It's incredible how much difference a haircut can make. Alex was very patient and calm, and sat for most of the time in the chair himself. Here are some before and after shots:

Hey...what are you planning to do with those scissors, lady?

This is a kinda funny looking shirt!

Big boy haircut!
I'm ready to drive now!

We can't forget Ari!

His haircut came complete with a certificate to commemorate the experience, an envelope of his locks, and a Polaroid photo of Alex after his haircut.

When we got home, Nana and Poppy Jack came to visit (well, Poppy Jack came to do some work around the house, specifically power washing our front walkway...thanks Poppy Jack!) and we took Alex and Ari out for a short trip in their new Radio Flyer. They love their new wheels:

Tomorrow is the official birthday party for Alex and Ari's friends, so we're all off to get a good night's rest!

Lots of Pictures

Daddy had the bright idea of linking to our Shutterfly album so that those of you who'd like to see more pictures from the past month (including our trip to Chile) can do so. Enjoy!
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HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY ARI AND ALEX!

The big day is finally here! One year ago today, Mommy and Daddy welcomed these two (teeny tiny!) babies into the world:Today, our budding toddlers are on the verge of walking, babble "words" all the time, and keep us on our toes 24/7. Every day they do something to amaze us and remind us how lucky we truly are:As promised, Mommy and Daddy treated Alex and Ari to lunch at family-friendly Chili's where they ordered off of the kids' menu for the first time, splitting a cheeseburger with fries. After lunch, we took a quick trip by Daddy's office to visit his friends before heading back down to Cold Stone Creamery to cash in on our free ice cream coupons. As it turns out, the coupon was for the "Love It" size, which is big enough to feed a family of four (at least ours, and we're a family of ice cream lovers). So, we saved one coupon for later (return trip!) and used the other to get a big cup of Birthday Cake Remix: cake batter ice cream with rainbow sprinkles, brownie, and fudge. Oh. My. Gosh. Needless to say, Ari and Alex liked it very much (and Mommy and Daddy were more than happy to finish the rest for them). Here are some pictures from our family birthday celebration:

Ari says "I think I'll order the cheeseburger, please"

Alex tries (unsuccessfully) to drink from a strawHappy family in Daddy's office

Throughout the day, Alex and Ari received warm birthday wishes from so many special family and friends. They feel very loved and thankful to have so many special people remember their big day. This afternoon, Miri and Opa came by for a visit to delivery a bevy of birthday gifts to the birthday kids, including a Radio Flyer Pathfinder Wagon we can't wait to start to use, especially now that the weather is nice (as an aside, when Aunt Lori found out about this gift, she called to let us know they have had a very similar one in their garage for the past month, just waiting for Alex and Ari's first birthday. Guess great minds think alike!) Nana stopped by, as well, to wish Alex and Ari a happy birthday in person and deliver a few small gifts, along with a promise of the "big gift" at their party on Sunday. Alex and Ari are in suspense!

So, what are Alex and Ari up to at one year old?

As we've mentioned, Alex is very close to walking; we're wondering if it might even happen before their birthday party this weekend. Today he started letting go of the walls and other support for extended periods of time (earlier he would only stand on his own when Mommy or Daddy's hands were nearby). He's clearly contemplating those first steps. Alex is our little politician- he waves at everyone as he passes in the stroller. He loves playing in the tunnel given to us by the Arkings- he especially loves to hide inside and wait for someone to find him.

Ari is our little flirty drama queen. She flashes her gorgeous smile at everyone and charms even the most grumpy of onlookers. She's also a bit high maintenance. She is a VERY picky eater (and generally will refuse whatever is on the spoon, even if it's ice cream, until she's forced to take a taste and realize it's actually NOT veggies). When she's unhappy, you (and the guy down the street inside his house) will hear about it. She's also very clingy to Mommy and Daddy, and takes a while to warm up to anyone who tries to take her away from us. Ari knows where to find Mommy's belly button (to Mommy's dismay, she lifts Mommy's shirt to show the world where it is) and where to find her own, as well (she'll look down her shirt).

Both Alex and Ari are drinking whole milk now (instead of formula- yay for Mommy and Daddy's wallets!) and starting to expermient with a whole new range of foods that were not permitted before they reached age one (citrus, berries, chocolate...)

We'll have updated weights and statistics after their one-year doctor's appointment on Monday.

The past year has gone by very fast, although in some ways it feels like we've lived ten years in the past one. I guess what they say is true- the days go by slowly, but the years pass quickly. We say every day how lucky we are to have these two children in our lives, and to have the support of friends and family, without whom the past year most surely would not have gone so well. If the first year was filled with so much happiness and naches, we can't wait for what lies ahead.

T Minus 3 and Counting

Only three days until Alex and Ari turn ONE! We're all so excited and we have been keeping busy getting ready for the big day.

First, let's back up to a recap of our weekend. Friday evening we had Shabbat dinner at Miri and Opa's with Uncle Jason, Aunt Debbie, cousins Naomi and Jonathan, and Nana and Poppy Jack. Saturday we had a simchat bat (naming ceremony) for Alex and Ari's friend Riley. Mommy forgot her camera, so make sure to go over to Riley's blog to see video and, as soon as Riley's dad has time to upload them, pictures. We were honored to be part of this special occasion and enjoyed meeting many of Riley's family and friends, including her grandparents who are friends with Alex and Ari's Great Aunt Candy and Great Uncle Jerry in Longwood, Florida. It is a small world, indeed!

Sunday Mommy and Daddy represented MaccabiUSA at a college fair held at the local JCC, so Nana and Poppy Jack came over to babysit Alex and Ari. It was a beautiful day, so Nana and Poppy Jack took the kids over to the tot lot where Alex and Ari introduced their grandparents to some of our neighbors and where Alex had a chance to play with some of the neighborhood doggies. When Mommy and Daddy got home we took a family outing to the grocery store to get our shopping done and order a birthday cake for Alex and Ari's party this coming weekend.

So this week will be busy preparing for and celebrating Alex and Ari's big milestone. Today we took a trip to the party store to order balloons for their party (because what's a birthday party without balloons?) Tomorrow Mommy plans to take Alex and Ari shopping for special birthday party outfits. Thursday is the big day, and we plan to meet Daddy at work for a celebratory lunch followed by free ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, compliments of the store's birthday club. Speaking of which, there will be lots of free ice cream this week because Mommy was smart enough to sign us (um, the kids...) up for a bunch of ice cream birthday clubs.

Saturday will be a big day for Alex, who is scheduled for his first haircut! Stay tuned for pictures. Sunday we're having a small celebration at our house for Alex and Ari and their neighborhood friends. Mommy and Daddy can't wait for Alex and Ari's first taste of cake, even though it may mean less cake for Mommy and Daddy in the future.

In other news, the weather continues to indicate spring has arrived; the forecast for tomorrow is calling for temperatures near 80 degrees...more like summer than spring! Today it was in the 60's so we went outside for some playtime (and bubbles) in the backyard:

Finally, Alex is so very close to walking. He's standing on his own for extended periods of time (until he realizes he doesn't know exactly what to do with himself, so he sits down) but has yet to take his first steps. As long as he has something for support, though (anything- a wall, Mommy, a chair...), he speeds around the room getting into everything in sight and reach:As for Ari, she's getting her SEVENTH tooth! Alex is still working on his third, but it appears that four top teeth are on the verge of popping through any day. You can barely see Ari's seventh tooth (on the bottom right) in this picture. Notice she's already developing a serious phone addiction:So lots of exciting things going on...we're very thankful for so many happy things to celebrate!

Spring Has Sprung

Looks like our wish for missing the last of winter while we were in Chile may have come true...Spring made an appearance today with 73-degree weather and sunny skies. We took advantage of the nice weather to head over to a local lake with, to the kids' delight, many geese and ducks:Ironically, this picture was taken in almost exactly the same spot as one of Mommy and Daddy's wedding pictures from eight and a half years ago.

It's been a busy first week back in town already; yesterday we hosted our neighborhood playgroup and tomorrow we're heading out for a playdate with Aunt Lori. We have a fun weekend ahead, and next week we'll be getting ready for Alex and Ari to turn one year old!

Long Time No Blog

It's been a long time since our last blog entry, but for good reason: we've spent the past 10 days in Chile visiting Daddy's relatives (Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, and many family friends). We are happy to report that the trip went better than we could have imagined. Having space for Alex and Ari to play (in our beautiful apartment on the ocean in the city of Vina del Mar), many, many helping hands, and two very well-behaved babies (now practically toddlers!) made for a perfect equation.

While we didn't have the opportunity to post an entry to our blog each day of our vacation, we'll try to give a recap of the highlights:

Alex and Ari were wonderful travelers on our overnight flight to Santiago. We connected in Miami to the 7-hour flight and both kids fell asleep pretty quickly after take-off, not to wake up again until we landed in Santiago. We were met at the airport by Miri and Opa, who helped us get settled into our rental car before we headed out to Vina del Mar, a 1.25 hour drive (north) from the airport in Santiago.

The weather that greeted us was sunny and warm- a welcome change from the 20-degree weather we had left behind. Our first stop was Aunt Betty and Uncle Juan Carlos' apartment a bit north of Vina, in Costa Brava. Their apartment is less than 50 feet from the ocean, which means their windows and balconies look out into the sea. It felt like we were on a cruise ship! Since Aunt Debbie, Uncle Jason, and cousins Naomi and Jonathan were still staying at the apartment in Vina, we planned to stay at Betty and Juan Carlos' apartment for the first night until Debbie, Jason and the kids left to return to the States the following day (thus freeing up room for us in the apartment). We liked it so much we decided to stay an extra night in Costa Brava. Aside from getting to spend more time with Betty, Juan Carlos, and Gina (Daddy's nanny from when he was a baby, who is practically part of Daddy's family in Chile), Alex and Ari had their first chance to go in a pool at the apartment's indoor, heated pool. Ari amazed us with her seemingly innate swimming abilities when she paddled her arms and kicked her legs in the water. Alex was a little apprehensive at first, but warmed up to the idea once he figured out how to splash. Here are some pictures from our first days at Costa Brava:

Go Team Chile!

Ari likes the pool (don't laugh at Mommy- the rules required all adults to wear swim caps!)
Alex is a little more skeptical...until he learns how to splashA nice picture of Daddy and Ari:
Snuggling with Great Aunt Betty:

On Sunday, before we packed up to head down to the apartment in Vina, we drove 1.5 hours south to visit family friends in Algarrobo, also a coastal town. The apartment was in a breathtaking Morrocan-style complex. We enjoyed a traditional Chilean feast of empanadas, chorri-pan, chicken, and, for dessert, a chocolate and manjar (a sinfully sweet caramel-like product of sweetened condensed milk) cake. Needless to say, we were stuffed by the time we left!

During the week, we relaxed and enjoyed spending time with family in Vina. Alex and Ari attracted quite a bit of attention anywhere we went (partly because of their "gringo" looks, partly because they are twins, which is less common in Chile than in the US, and mostly because they are two little hams who love waving and smiling at perfect strangers).

A highlight of the trip was the opportunity for Alicia, Daddy's and Aunt Debbie's nanny of 30+ years (who has since returned from the US to Chile) to meet Alex and Ari for the first time. Alicia stayed with us at the apartment, so she had plenty of opportunity to spend quality time with the kids. Here are some pictures of us hanging out in and around the apartment:

Alicia with the next generation of Reichmann children:

Enjoying the apartment building's playground:

Riding the cars at the beach in front of the apartment:

Daddy and Ari relaxing in the apartment:

Wednesday we decided to take a family trip (just the four of us) to Zapallar, another city (coastal, of course) about 1.5 hours north of Vina. We had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, El Chiringuito, where we sat outside along the water. Alex and Ari had a blast watching the birds (pelicans, seagulls) and the assorted stray animals (a very cute kitten and some doggies, much to Alex's delight). It was a foggy day, but we still enjoyed our outdoor lunch. Here are some pictures from El Chiringuito:

Thursday brought sunny weather again, which gave us the perfect opportunity to take Alex and Ari to the beach for the first time. They even stuck their toes in the Pacific Ocean, which Alex enjoyed but Ari decided was a little too cold for her liking (she promptly pulled her feet up parallel to the ground and refused to put them down again). Alex enjoyed playing in the sand while Ari preferred to hang out in Mommy's arms:

On our way to the beach (in front of our apartment building):

Alex enjoys the view:

The rest of our time in Chile we spent taking it easy with family and friends, with Alex and Ari thoroughly enjoying all of the extra attention. They even had a play date with new friends Fernando (2 weeks older than Alex and Ari) and Almendra (9 years old):The return trip home was even easier than the trip down, since we had the extra helping hands of Miri and Opa. And we're happy to report that everyone has now settled back into our "regular" routine back at home, where the temperatures are warming up...we're hoping that means the end of winter and the beginning of springtime!

Eleven Months (and a few days...)

A few days late, but here is the "official" 11-month picture:And a few pictures just fooling around in pajamas:

Ari is "so big!"

We spent the past couple of days catching up on sleep and getting back into our daily routine. Today was a beautiful day-- 62 degrees, which is warmer than it was our whole time in San Diego! We took advantage of the chance to get outside for a walk before Aunt Lori came over to visit, when we all went grocery shopping. This evening, we went to the Arking home for a special Shabbat dinner in their new house. As always, the room was bursting with the energy of five kids:
At 11 months, what are Alex and Ari doing? Alex is very close to walking, cruising around the house at warp speed. He crawls up stairs in a matter of seconds. He can stand on his own in his new, sturdy shoes, and loves to dance to music, especially "All That Jazz" from Chicago. He says "Daddy" and seems to know how to use it in context. He's said "Mama" a couple of times, as well, but not nearly as often as he says "Daddy". He can show you where his ears and hands are, and also does "so big" and claps to the song "If You're Happy and You Know It." He eats everything in sight, including things that aren't technically edible, but his favorite foods are yogurt and bananas. And as we've mentioned before, he loves dogs and says something like "Daw" every time he sees one.

Ari crawls all over the place, although not as quickly as Alex. She pulls herself up to a standing position, and can also stand in her shoes, but doesn't quite cruise around yet. That's OK-- Mommy needs one relatively still child to keep her from running in two directions. Ari can show you where to put her socks and shoes (she'll hold out her feet) and is working on saying "shoe" (she says "sh, sh"). She also does "so big" and loves music and story time. Ari is our picky eater. She doesn't much care for vegetables unless they are sweet (hmmm...maybe inherited her sense of taste from Mommy?) and clearly demonstrates her distaste by spitting out the food, waving her hands in front of her, pushing the spoon away, and/or shaking her head "no." She loves Cheerios and most fruit.

It's hard to believe that in four short weeks, Alex and Ari will be one year old. Time certainly flies when you're having fun!

What a Long, Strange Trip

[I started this entry on Tuesday, our first day in San Diego; I didn't finish it until Thursday, so that's why it is dated Tuesday, February 27 when it should be dated Thursday, March 1].

Several months ago, in a flash of "brilliance" (more likely some sort of crazy thinking brought on by Mommy Brain), Mommy thought it would be a lot of fun for the whole family to accompany Daddy to San Diego on a week-long business trip. What could be more fun? Sun, warm weather, and visits with family and friends we rarely get a chance to see.

What Mommy didn't fully think through are the implications of a trip with 11-month old twins. To California. Where she'd be on her own, in a strange place, during the day with Alex and Ari. Where there would be little, if any, space in the hotel room for the kids to play. When (unbeknownst to us) San Diego would have it's worst weather-- rain, wind, and cold-- in forty years (according to Mommy's Great Aunt Vivian).

There were signs. The day we were scheduled to fly to San Diego (Sunday), we had 6+ inches of snow and our flight was cancelled and rescheduled for the following evening (Monday). Arielle had a mild fever, but it went away by the time we were rescheduled to leave. But then Mommy woke up with a horrible stomach virus at 2:00 am Monday morning, absolutely certain there was no way she'd be able to make the trip. But then she felt better! So the trip was back on! And despite all of the signs indicating that maybe it would be best for Mommy, Alex, and Ari to stay home, we went.

The adventure started off well-- the kids were wonderful in the airport and on the plane. We had these cool contraptions called GoGoKidz, which allowed Alex and Ari to cruise the airport in the comfort of their own car seats. They charmed fellow passengers and flight attendants, and we even managed to get an extra empty seat on the plane (did we mention we planned to fly all the way to San Diego with the kids on our laps? Again, chalk it up to insane Mommy Brain). Alex fell asleep before we even departed, and Arielle watched eagerly out the window before she fell asleep in Mommy's arms shortly thereafter (and after a brief, but powerful, crying stint). Even though she looks like she's crying here, Ari was actually laughing at this point:
Managing two babies in San Diego, however, proved much harder than the flight itself. With Daddy in meetings during the day, Mommy was left to entertain Alex and Ari, who quickly bored of the hotel room (or who were too tempted to get into lots of good-natured mischief) and were having too much fun to nap. Tuesday was a cold and rainy day, but we had to go out and pick up our rented stroller and make a trip to the store to pick up necessities, so out we schlepped into the cold rain (without a stroller at first). Did I mention we were on the second story of a two-level building with an outside walkway to the individual rooms? And that there was no elevator so any time we wanted to go to or from our room, the only option was for Mommy to somehow remove two babies from the car (or hotel room) and carry them both at the same time? In the rain? Needless to say, Mommy ended up a very tired, soaked mess by the end of the day.

After drying off, we ended up having a nice dinner Tuesday evening in La Jolla at a trendy restaurant where the staff was very (unexpectedly) child-friendly. We planned to get back on track on Wednesday; Alas, the best-laid plans... before that could happen, Daddy woke up in the middle of the night with the same stomach virus Mommy had just experienced. It hit him hard, and the reality of being cooped up in a tiny hotel room in a far-away city with a very sick Daddy hit Mommy even harder. In the immortal words of The Gambler, "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, and know when to run." So we decided to return home early and booked the red-eye flight out of San Diego for Wednesday night.

We tried to make the best of the situation, so Mommy took Alex and Ari out so that Daddy could rest and so that Alex and Ari could get some much-needed nap time on a long ride in the car. We drove up to Long Beach to the Aquarium of the Pacific where we met Mommy's friends Laura and Dean and their kids Brandon and Mischa. Mommy hadn't seen Laura and Dean in many years, and had never met Brandon and Mischa so we were all very excited to spend time with them. It was so much fun to see everyone and we all wish we lived closer so that we could see each other more often. We toured the beautiful aquarium and then enjoyed lunch together before we returned to San Diego for a visit with Mommy's Great Uncle Ray and Great Aunt Vivian. Here's the gang at lunch, after Alex, Ari, and Mischa created a mess of Cheerios and broccoli on the restaurant's floor:
Alex and Ari caught some more much-needed nap time on the way back to San Diego before our visit with Great Uncle Ray, Great Aunt Vivian, and Cousin Felicia (and much to Alex's delight, Ginger the dog!) The last time Mommy saw Uncle Ray and Aunt Vivian, she was only four years old...needless to say, she didn't remember that visit so essentially we were all meeting for the first time. We had such a wonderful time together, and Alex and Ari were very excited to have some space to crawl, cruise, explore, and chase after Ginger the dog. Here is a priceless family photo of Ray, Vivian, Felicia, Ginger, Alex and Ari:
After our visit, we headed back to the hotel to pick up poor Daddy, pack up, and leave for the airport to catch our 10:10 pm flight back to the east coast. Again, Ari and Alex were in good spirits despite the fact they were delirious with sleep deprivation. As soon as we boarded the plane (this time in two completely empty rows, which gave us more space to spread out), both kids sacked out for the duration of the flight.

So, here we are, everyone a little bit more than relieved to be home. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the brightest idea to join Daddy on his business trip to the West Coast, but we still had memorable highlights and we've seen how well Alex and Ari can do on a long flight, which is good...because we have a trip to Chile in our future! Thankfully for us, we'll have a lot of helping hands there, as well as much more space for the kids to spread out.

Somewhere in the last two days, Alex and Ari celebrated their 11-month birthday. Because they were born on the 29th of the month, they technically did not have an 11-month birthday, but we're so confused with time changes, anyway, that recognizing their birthday a day or two late won't make much of a difference to us. Stay tuned for official 11-month pictures...today was spent catching up on sleep, in pajamas all day, so we didn't have much of a photo opportunity!

Fine Dining

Ari and Alex are certainly becoming fine dining connoisseurs, as they joined Mommy and Daddy at Normandie Farms for a family dinner. Here are our little gourmands enjoying the ambiance:
We better be careful...these kids are developing some expensive tastes!

Lunch Date

Today we met up with Mommy's friend Jenn and her son, Joe, who is only a few days older than Alex and Ari. We had lunch at Gordon Biersch where all three kids were on their best behavior. Here they are waiting for our table to be prepared:Ari seemed to be smitten with the very handsome Joe- she was flirting with him and even shared her Cheerios with him. Word has it that Joe has a girlfriend already, but that didn't discourage Ari from turning on the charm:

As you can see, we all had a great time catching up and promised to get together again soon!

Here's one last photo of Ari in Mommy's hat. Ari hates wearing her own hats, but wouldn't let Mommy take this one off of her head. She thought she looked pretty funny when she looked at herself in the mirror:

Take Your Twins to Work Day

Today we took a trip to visit Daddy at work for a family lunch. Alex and Ari behaved like little mensches, allowing Mommy and Daddy to enjoy a nice lunch at McCormick & Schmick's while Alex and Ari munched on Cheerios and charmed the ladies at the table next to us (who were probably holding their breath when they saw us sit down with two babies).

Here are Alex and Ari with Daddy and his boss, Lander:Daddy had fun showing off his babies to his co-workers, and we had a chance to see fellow twin mommy Amber and her latest pictures of Kaylee and Alyssa. Alex and Ari are looking forward to a play date with Kaylee and Alyssa one day soon, and to returning to Daddy's office for another lunch date!