Presents from the West!

Julie, Craig, Baby Carl (in MT) and Declan (in NJ) were the only close family members we didn't see on Christmas, but we were lucky enough to catch the Hergert's adventures on Julie's blog!
Here are two pictures and a video showing the kids with the presents they got from Julie, Craig, and Carl. Enjoy! (Photos courtesy of Mom)

Dora shoes - and they light up!


Cars!!

Here is the video. Thanks for the presents!

Camping!

Well, sort of. If I'm going to camp, this is how I like to do it. In a camper right next door to my sister's house! As you can see the kids had a good time too!

Happy Halloween!

The Raisin Tower Power

Here is a picture of the kids playing with a bulldozer that was parked at the beach in early September. Very exciting!

And in current events. . .

While Grandma (Mama) and Grandpa (Papa) were over last night, Mike asked Amanda who she thought should be president. Her answer was “Papa” One of the kids then said “Mama” Mike asked again and Luke thought about it for a minute then said “Santa Claus”.

Thought that was cute.

Subsequently Amanda answered with one of the presidential candidates’ names.

Things the kids have been playing with lately. . .blankets - used for rugs and superhero capes to name a couple of uses. Stuffed animals (Luke has a posse) bibs, diapers, and kitchen towels. Oh, and don't try to put the wrong diaper on Amanda - it might be Teddy's or Giraffy's - and she'll let you know! Coins (sometimes called toins) which are used for lining up, counting, putting in and out of red buckets, hiding under the wood "stopper" in our kitchen" and, of course -PLAY DOH!

Blueberry Time

Saturday was the last day of blueberry picking - so we headed down the street to Valley Farm to get the last of a very good crop! Here are the kids on the "big rig" which took us out to the field.

Here is Luke - ready to go!

and Amanda on her way. . .

The New Playhouse!

Papy G and Grandma got the kids a really cool playhouse for their birthday - here are some pictures from Papa G!

The New Playhouse

Work in Progress
Entertaining at the new digs


Papy G and Grandma brought the kids a really great playhouse for their birthday! Here are some pics (thanks Papa G)

Trikes and Dancing!

Grandma and Grandpa gave the kids their big bday gifts before the party started on Sunday. What a hit!

Here's a cute video from last week or so too

The twins are TWO - Happy Birthday!!

Two years old! Wow can you believe it. What's happening now that they are 2? Luke is calling Amanda "Amanda" instead of "dada" He says it with a bit of a European (or maybe even Latino) accent. Amanda is still very interested in the smoke detectors (shikobah) and this interest was augmented into fear when they had a fire drill (three in one day actually) at daycare. She was upset (even traumatizes?) about it for probably a week, but now I think we are getting past that.

Speaking of daycare, we had a little party there last Thursday - Grandma and Grandpa even came! Then on Sunday we had a family/friends gathering chez nous which was great! Here are a few pictures and videos from Bday party at our house - most provided by mom!

Our gymnast!



Opening some gifts


And. . .drum roll please. . .the CAKES! Yes, it is Doggy and Teddy!!! Wouldn't believe the amount of awe these created by kids, parents, and friends! I brought some pictures in to their classroom and teachers and other kids parents are ready to hire mom!





After the party was over, and after baths and wind down, the kids wanted to see the doggy and teddy cakes again. Here is a great video taken with my Samsung SGH i550 phone (yes, that was a bit of a pitch :))

At the beach

The beach is a big hit!

Grandpa and the Carroll Kids

Thank you Grandma for taking such a nice picture!

Strawberry Time!

We took Daddy to the Strawberry Field for Father's Day and had a great time! You can see the entire album plus a few more June photos by clicking on the link here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Kmetzogirl2/June2008Pictures

Big Kid Cups!

The kids enjoyed the day at Grandma and Grandpa's yesterday and practiced drinking from big kid cups. Thanks to Grandma for the pictures!

Amanda enjoying art!

I have a similar clip which is much longer but am posting this shorter one. . .let me know if you want the longer version and I'll get that one to you!
Enjoy!

Luke

What's new lately?

Since Grandma and Grandpa weren't here for Tuesday with the twins I thought I'd post an update for them.

I am starting to hear "mommy" instead of "mimi" more and more now. . .and I heard a "g" in "doggie" instead of "didi" from Luke

This morning Amanda pronounced the L in Luke and yesterday she put on her own shoe.

First thing Luke said this morning (he was still in his crib) was "papa" and the first person Amanda wanted to sing Happy to this morning was "mama" I think they miss grandma and grandpa but also think they understand that they are spending time with Baby Carl in Montana (tana)

On Tuesday we took a walk and saw a dog named Ziggy. . .and Amanda started to talk about Lily. Luke has been very interested in the Good Night I Love You book which he calls Mouse. T'choupi has also been a favorite for both so mommy is going to try and track down more of those books.

Luke also used the Fisher Price bike which Ava handed down to us and kind of flipped it over onto the couch cushion when they were playing pillows. It was a total mountain biking move. Can mountain biking be in the genes???

A few weeks ago Amanda took magic marker and colored Hoppity's ears pink on the inside. . .check it out. . .

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beep beep!

Breakdancing and Flowers

Daddy's Little Girl

A couple more tidbits from Daddy

After reading the last post, Daddy had a couple of other tidbits to add:

I love how Amanda thinks that she is outsmarting Mommy and Daddy. When it's time to go to sleep, as you are about to put her in the crib she says "Couch", "Bottle", "Moon". (Delay tactics)

Or the smile (sense of accomplishment) that Luke gives you when he succeeds in climbing something new (most often dangerous).

:) :) Almost 21 months now!

Cute little tidbits

So many cute things happen . . .but here are a few recent tidbits:
Luke was looking at a catalog cover and told Daddy that the lady on the cover was Mommy. What a compliment to hear you look like a model! He already knows how to woo the ladies :)
Amanda from time to time refers to grandma as Jo. I think she knows it is silly but it is probably one of the reasons she likes to say it
Luke can breakdance. I'll post a video soon.
Amanda takes after mommy in that she is very selective about what she is going to wear. Yesterday morning she insisted on wearing a yellow top which happened to be Luke's pajama top. It is a cute yellow top with a blue dog on it. Everything else I suggested was "no-oo!"
Luke & Amanda are both starting to count, in English and in French
Luke & Amanda love to color with crayons, markers and chalk
Amanda's hair is starting to get very curly, reminds me a little of Auntie Julie's hair when she was little! I'll post pictures soon.
Amanda LOVES pasta
Luke LOVES berries
Amanda's teddy bear has an itch
Luke LOVES Little Brown Bear

Night Night!

Good morning!

playing with Mommy

Fun in the Snow

We had a little snow last weekend and Daddy helped the kids make a snowman! A few pictures are below, and you can see more photos at

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=12gd2hcz.5fjmbolb&Uy=-ylks20&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

Clean Up Time!

January Fun!

Hi everybody! Almost 18 months old and having lots of fun!! The two outdoor pictures are on grandma and grandpa's deck which the kids really enjoy. They are running now, and the deck provides a lot of (contained) outdoor space to zoom around and giggle. As you can see from the picture of the kids on our shoulders, mom and dad are still a bit tired but having lots of fun too! In addition to running, some other things the kids are enjoying are books, balls, dolls, animals, Elmo (melmo), and playing "I'm gonna get you". and a variety of foods . . .some of their favorites listed below.

Amanda: pasta, pasta sauce (especially pasta fina marinara, tuttorosso marinara or prego marinar) eggs, turkey, peas, goldfish, pizza, tacos, cheerios, apple, banana, cheese, tuna salad, yogurt (nyo nyo)

Luke: blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, banana, cheerios, goldfish, cheese, waffles (specifically eggo nutrigrain which is fine with me!), yogurt (nyo nyo)

Not a whole lot of overlap with their preferences although they both really like yogurt (they both call it nyo nyo), cheerios, goldfish, and bananas. Amanda LOVES her pasta with sauce and Luke LOVES berries. Of course, Amanda doesn't eat berries and Luke doesn't eat pasta :)

Oh - the three pictures which grandma is not in were taken by her camera. . .thank you!!

Rocking Chair Fun!

Here are the kids having fun with the rocking chair (in December) That is Luke's onesie unsnapped and dangling . . . easier access to his belly button this way!