Watchin' TV

IN the evening just before the Twin's bedtime last Friday night, they watched a little television.

Above, they scurried up onto the couch unasked and unassisted and pulled blankets over themselves. Dad caught Buggy with the adorable, if devious, look on her face.

Later EJ decided to get a closer look. Yep, it time to replace the kitchen with a climbing wall. Dad wonders if they make one to fit an 8' high ceiling.

Dad's New Leg Warmers

IN Dad's experience, every toddler eventually discovers the joy of clinging to their parent's legs while the parent tries to walk. This gave Dad an idea.

As mentioned in the title, it'll warm his legs, but it'll also melt his heart.

Buggy feeds EJ

BUGGY likes to nurture.

And like the tyrant she longs to be, she tries to check his mouth when he is done.

Moonrise

Buggy: Queen of Hats

"Bow to me my subject!"

"You too will wear a hat. Bombs away!"

"I am queen of all I survey!"

Cardio!

DAD has circuit trained for a number of years now. When the Twins came along he did it a lot less. But now they can participate with him to a limited degree. While Buggy is more inclined to move to a fast music beat, even EJ got in on the action.

The value of this is twofold. First it is similar to reading to them. They learn the basic skills. Neither can read, but both can open a book, turn pages, point to words (distinct from pictures), and make sounds as Daddy does. Second it normalizes the behavior. This is what we do. It is not a temporary effort made in pursuit of a goal. It is not another failed New Year's resolution. Rather, this is foundation stone our lifestyle.

Dad recognizes that they will do what they see him do. He cannot just tell them "Do this," he has to do it and hopefully they will want to do it with him.

Buggy's body type seems more predisposed to cardio, so he thinks she'll want to be his workout partner in years to come. EJ, however, seems to have a body type more suited to building muscle mass. He may not get the reward out of cardio that Dad and Buggy get. He might be more interested in lifting weights with Dad. To that end the Parents have purchased a 2 lbs. hand weight and are acquiring a 3 lbs. weight.

Kissy Kissy

MOM taught Buggy to kiss, which was quite a surprise to Dad recently. Since then she has been kissing everyone and everything, including her reflection in the mirror. Here she caught her brother defenseless and planted a wet one on him.

"Pucker up EJ!"

"I was just kissed by my sister."

"He liked it. Don't be fooled."

He has totally forgotten about it moments later.

Mime

DAD reconfigured the dining room last month allowing the Twins access to the sliding glass door. They promptly put their nastiness all over the glass. Dad whipped out the glass cleaner and went to work. EJ must have watched him because here he is mimicking Dad's cleaning motions.

Someone Got into the Wet Wipes

CAN you guess who?

She seemed intent on moving them from the living room to down the hall for some reason. She was an ardent worker. Nothing could break her focus. She eventually got the large bulk of them there.

After the Snow

The kids were fascinated by what they saw outside the sliding glass door. But Buggy eventually found more interest in a bottle (sippy cup, sorry, Dad calls anything with a top a "bottle"). EJ laid on top of a register fascinated by the warm forced air.

The snow was a fine powder. The strong winds blew it around quite a bit. Over night lows with windchill reached -45 F. The furnace ran nearly continuously but took breaks every so often.

It Snowed!

When the snow showers moved out of the area, there was a few moments of daylight before the sun set.

It Got Cold!

THE New Family recently endured a cold snap where the high daytime temperature was in the teens, the negative teens! Everyone did what they had to do to stay warm.

Buggy curls up to conserve warmth.

And sticks he butt high into the air.

Maybe if Dad wasn't so cheap he would raise the thermostat overnight to something more comfortable.

Oui Monsier

BUGGY mans the omelet bar.

 Daddy says, "I'd like mine with mushroom, prosciutto, cheddar."

"Yes sir. Coming right up."

Buggy inverted the fabric basket and made it a hat. No surprise there since everything becomes a hat. This one resembled a beret.

Christmas Gifts

THE extended New Family relatives were very generous giving the Twins many gifts.

Cards from friends and family.

Liesel dressed for the occasion.

Grandma gave them these stockings last year.

They are personalized.

It so so funny to see their full names spelled out. When Dad pulled these out, he spent a fraction of a second wondering who "Elizabeth" and "Ethan" were. She knows her name is Buggy, less frequently Liesel, but she wouldn't respond to Elizabeth. He responds to EJ, but Ethan would be foreign to him.

From Grandma and Grandpa

Mom got a "smart phone" for them. EJ claimed ownership.

He immediately began to imitate his parents behaviors.

Mom and Dad were finally dragged into 2008 technology. They upgraded to smartphones over Thanksgiving and used them how they are typically used. The Twins were fascinated. Now they have their own. The phone was so popular with the Twins another was purchased soon afterward.

"Can you hear me now?"

Buggy's dress is so cute.

Aunt Laurie gave them kitchen essentials.

Buggy claimed the doodle pro though EJ had first crack at it.

Mom bought them "food" for play.

Buggy LOVES to doodle.

Dad spent a lot of time teaching Buggy to draw a circle. For the most part she just scribbles. But one time, and one time only, she carefully held the stylus, concentrated, and completed about 270 degrees of an irregular oval. Before completion she scribbled through it.

Due to heavy mail volume, other gifts arrived after Christmas.

And friends were generous too. Another post of gifts from them is forthcoming.