Helpful Parker

Parker has become quite the little helper these days. He helps me unload the dishwasher (Penelope helps too), he takes dirty diapers and puts them in the diaper pail and lately he's been helping dad with his 'handyman' work around the house:


I think in this instance he is just giving moral support to dad while he child-proofs a drawer:

He and Penelope are starting to play more together which is also quite helpful except when they fight over the same toy and unfortunately that happens all too often. This morning they were playing with their toys in the great room (it has no furniture in it except a piano; someday we'll get furniture but right now the kids love playing in all that open space). Tory was able to catch on camera what they were doing:



I'm glad Penelope thought this was funny because Parker has a good 5 pounds on her. He weighed in at 30 lbs at their 18-month visit and Penelope was only 25 lbs.

New Pajamas and a Little Announcement

I just love new pajamas so when both Parker and Penelope's pjs started getting a little tight and Parker's toes started sticking out, I decided to take a little trip to Costco. They each got 2 new pair. And I have to say, my love of new pajamas lives on.

Look at that buddha belly:
Parker likes his new pjs too:
My sweet baby girl:
My cute baby boy: Smiles all around:
How I love my darling twins. I hope they do all right when their little brother is born......oh yes, I'm pregnant. It came as quite a shock, I guess that is why you get 9 months to prepare. We have until the end of the year to prepare for having 3 kids under the age of two. Oh good heavens, we are in trouble....

Is It Really October Already?

I can't believe it is October. September was full of visits from grandparents and the twins (and their parents) loved it! I've thrown in a couple of other pictures of how we have been passing the time :)

Penelope loves climbing up onto chairs, even when she is naked!!

The twins have learned about prayer - they learned from Grandpa up in Alaska. At every meal they fold their arms and whine until we say a prayer, its pretty cute!!
Apparently, we are also trying to raise concert pianists:
One of our new favorite places is Balboa Park. The kids LOVE the fountain: they have people to watch; and some of those people have dogs so its a perfect place for the kids. There is also a big playground. It has become our Sunday afternoon tradition to go spend a couple hours there. Here is Parker in front of the fountain doing his 'fish' face; he often wears this face when he is concentrating.
Here is Grandpa Randall with the twins. Look at all the Cougar fans!!
Here is Grandma Randall with the twins just a hour after she arrived. We were all impressed how fast they warmed up to her.
Penelope loves her Grandma Ballentine; we are so glad because Tory and I got to get away for a weekend while my parents took over twin parenting duty. The twins didn't even care we were gone, they had such a good time with Grandpa and Grandma.
Here is Penelope with Grandpa Ballentine: she is comfortable enough to rest her hand on his leg. She loves her Grandpa!!
The twins watched dad mow the lawn and wanted to help:

The Catch-Up Post

It has been a busy summer and I thought I would post of few of the things that have kept us busy. I'll have to do a whole post on our trip to Alaska, but that is for another day.

Penelope is working on her 'cool'. I think she pulls it off even without pants!!


We have been busy on craigslist. Here is one of our recent purchases:
Another craigslist find (this has been the best $15 we have spent in a long time):




We have also been enjoying the beach. The kids don't each much sand anymore; in fact Penelope has moved on to the seaweed - she just can't get enough of it. We aren't sure what to do about it. It seems the whole beach experience is filled with "No, Penelope, don't eat that!!"



After the beach, we strip the kids down in the backyard and clean off the sand. Here is a little clip of Parker enjoying his new-found freedom from clothes:




Another way the twins have discovered to pass time is to jig. Penelope started doing it one day and Parker quickly followed. I don't know where they learned it.



So as you can see, this summer has been a good one so far!!

The Twins' First Birthday Party

*****I know this post is over two months late, but we really did have their birthday party in May when they actually turned one. Its just been a crazy summer and I'm finally getting around to blogging about it*****



The twins woke up from their second nap on their first birthday and enjoyed their milk in one of their gifts, beach chairs!!



Then as the guests arrived, Parker and Penelope were a little unsure of what was happening but it was fun to see some other kids their age. Parker really enjoyed opening his presents while Penelope needed a little help from mom:

They got some fun stuff, in fact they weren't sure what to play with:

Then came cake:




Here they are hanging out with their friend Asher (who I think has a crush on Penelope as evidenced by his giving her a wet willy!!):


The kids got to stay up late which led to some meltdowns. I guess we should have had our photo shoot before the party:


But the next morning the kids LOVED playing with their new toys:


All in all I think it was a successful first birthday!!

Another Milestone

About a week before the twins turned one, we turned their car seats around so they could be front-facing.


The first excursion was great, no tears, we thought our car travel woes were over. But, after our maiden voyage, the twins reverted right back to their intense dislike for trips in the car. Our hopes for the front-facing car seats being our solution were dashed. Then a few weeks after the switch, they gradually decided to give up the fight and not fall apart every time we went anywhere. We don't know what changed or how long this lovely new development will continue. All I know is we will enjoy it while its here.

Parker's Bumps and Bruises

Parker has been a little accident prone these past few days. On Saturday, he fell over a toy and hit the concrete with his mouth. There was a bit of blood and lots of tears followed by a fat lip and a mark on his upper lip. Then a couple days later he was horsing around on his new chair that he got for his birthday (I need to to do a post about the twin's first birthday) and he fell over and hit his cheek on Penelope's chair. Luckily no blood that time but there were still plenty of tears. Now it looks like Parker has been in a fight:

Fortunately he is still as cute as ever!!

Of course, tonight, just before bed, he fell into our bed post and has another mark on the opposite cheek, we'll see how that bruise looks in the morning. I tell ya, walking has been a dangerous development for Parker.

Sunday afternoon/evening

We had a lovely afternoon/evening today. Our little backyard is finally ready for use. We have grass, concrete, a grill, and patio furniture. So some friends came over for a barbeque. The weather was perfect, the food yummy, the babies happy and the company fabulous!! What a lovely way to spend a Sunday. If you don't believe me, come visit us and we'll show you the same good time :)

Here is Parker helping us prepare the food. He's carrying a cucumber to the table....on his head:

Penelope is entertaining us by looking beautiful in her little Sunday dress:
Sean and his dad enjoying the beautiful weather in our backyard:

Penelope and I playing in our newly-laid sod (you can see Sean's mom's legs and her darling new shoes):
Just in case you wanted to see Penelope's teeth:
Parker keeping busy by playing with the back door:
I'm really diggin' our new house!!

Parker chillaxin'

What I am teaching my babies

One of my favorite pastimes is spending time with friends at the beach. So I decided to start early and teach my babies to enjoy this hobby as well. Last time we went to the beach, we invited the twins' friend Sean:
Of course Sean's mom came as well so I could have a friend at the beach. The kids had a good time playing in the sand and water:

We are still struggling with Penelope's love of the taste of sand. Parker also began to enjoy the taste as well. We finally put their pacifiers in to keep them from eating it. I'm not sure what else to do.


We just went to Target and got swimwear for the kids so next time at the beach, the kids will be in more appropriate attire so stay tuned!!

Sunglasses

Necessary accessories for Sunny San Diego:

Our trip to Utah and Idaho

We flew to Utah the Thursday before Easter (note to self: flying with twins is HARD) to see the twin's grandparents and great-grandparents, and to attend a wedding in Idaho. Parker and Penelope LOVED hanging out at grandpa and grandma's house - they have the funnest toys as evidenced in the following picture:


At the dinner the night before the wedding, the twins met A LOT of relatives. It was a little overwhelming, especially for Penelope who is suffering from a little stranger anxiety these days (ok, she's been dealing with it since birth). Penelope did eventually stop crying, although she never really cheered up:



Parker, on the other hand, found comfort in potato salad:

The highlight(s) of the weekend were the many dogs with which the twins got to interact; they both love dogs. In the following picture, Parker is watching Tory's Aunt Kathy's dog play catch; he thought it was the greatest thing:

In this picture, Penelope is chasing after Tory's grandparents dog "Lady". She just crawled and crawled after her. It was one of the only times she did not mind being around people she did not know (frankly, she just ignored them and focused on Lady):
All in all it was a successful trip with only some small issues with sleeping, and driving, and the last 15 minutes of the flight home when Parker just fell apart. As for the driving issues, I am afraid we are pinning all our hopes on when we can turn around the kids in their car seats. Life would be so much easier if they did not hate the car so much.