Having twins is AWESOME!

Just an observation based on the past 5 months.

No, really, that's it...the storytelling skills are a bit lackluster today...you can go back to checking your email now. Please disperse, nothing to see here.

Just peachy

We're now in the experimental stage with foods, and have migrated from rice cereal to peaches. While they both seem to like their first foray into fruits, they have unique philosophies on the etiquette for getting from cup to mouth. It is delightful to watch their mealtime antics!

The enthusiastic attitude of certain young man (who will remain nameless) generally plays out like this: "This stuff is GREAT! What's taking you so long? Give me the spoon! Ok, I'll let you put this spoonful in my mouth....hey, aren't more peaches here yet? Here, I'm grabbing the spoon now. This stuff is delicious! Hey, why are you taking the spoon away from me? Whaaa! Mmm...crafty move there dad, putting food in my mouth while I'm crying...that's pretty yummy. Hey, give me the spoon! Look how strong I am! Oops, sorry about that dad, didn't mean to fling peaches on your tshirt...why are you smiling? Put some dreft on it and wash it in...hey, can I still eat that? Mmmm...wow these are good...this restaurant is 4 stars. Hey waiter, how about some more peaches? I'm a growing boy!"

A certain little girl has a decidedly different approach: "Look at how I can puff up my cheeks! Here, I'll put the peaches on my hands and then eat them off there, that's tastier than the peaches on the spoon. Plenty of time before naptime...I'll just keep nibbling for a while."

In unrelated news, check out some scenes of the week...

Nothing like some couch time at the end of a tough day

I'll be crawling soon!

Outdoor fun

I came home from playing tennis this morning to see Denise, Grace, and Truman playing in the front yard (Dylan was taking a siesta). Grace had a lot of fun observing the neighborhood happenings with Truman. Dylan arose from his blissful slumber shortly after I got home, and appeared in the mood for some entertainment. So I brought him into the front yard and we all spent some time enjoying the weather underneath the pine trees. Here are a few pictures from the festivities.

Rice Rice Babies

Yesterday marked our first foray into the exciting world of solid foods. We are pleased to announce it was a success. In this case, success is defined by two factors: (1) The kids were generally receptive to the concept of solid foods (i.e. no crying, turning the head away, or otherwise fussy behavior), (2) Some non-zero fraction of the food actually entered their mouths. Dylan actually consumed more of the rice cereal than Grace and got more nutrition. Grace's expedition provided more family entertainment value (didn't expect cereal to get on her leg.). It is great to observe their unique strengths!

Below is a picture from the first "official" mother's day!

Breaking up is hard to do...

New milestone on May 5th -- the kids now get their own cribs. While we expected this to be a more slow-paced decision, there were some drivers to make a more immediate judgement call. (English translation: Dylan started kicking Grace very close to her head.) So Dylan gets his own crib now, complete with a lamb that makes ocean sounds (where do they come up with this stuff?).

We dropped the 930pm feeding last weekend, and fortunately they're snoozing like champs through the night without it. We were a bit hesitant at first, because we had a pattern since early March in which they didn't wake up in the middle of the night, and thus were a little gun-shy about making changes. Everything seems to have worked out.

Going Mobile

Since the kids learned how to roll over, they seem to be taking advantage of their new skill. Grace now rolls over in her sleep every night and wakes up face down. Dylan still sleeps on his back although occasionally he will flop on his side and then revert to looking upward. Their newfound mobility has lent itself to a medley of different "wake up combinations", one of which is shown below.

And for my next trick, I will pick up my sister while asleep...

Another exciting development is that we're now able to use many of the toys and accessories we've had since a few months before the kids were born! Below is Dylan's first adventure in the exersaucer...

So many options, so little time...

Denise is working today so I get to hog the kids all to myself today. So far our adventures have included a really long walk around the neighborhood, as well as my indulgence in "crazy dad photo rampage". Glad cameras are digital now....paying for film would make me go broke. Here's a photo from this morning before we went on our stroll.

We're smiling now, but dad, would you PLEASE STOP TAKING PICTURES!!!

Spreadsheet man is apparently lurking somewhere in the vicinity. Rumor has it he will emerge by Memorial Day with a new graph to inspire the masses. Dylan was nearly 15 lbs at the last checkup, Grace was slightly above 13 lbs. They're growing nicely.