Mountain Goat!

Dylan climbed the entire stump stair, not just once, multiple times without help.

4 years and counting!

I get sentimental each year around our wedding anniversary. Lindsay & I celebrate 4 years today. Maybe it is the girl in me, mostly I think having a day each year to remember and take notice is critical to lifetime marriage success.

Life pulls us in so many directions -- time rushes by, daily routines take hold and it isn't hard to be swept up in the minutia of daily existence...

As we pause this day, taking the time to smell the roses and to reminisce, I can't help but feel a little piece of heaven, right here on earth.

Taking stock of were we've been, how far we've come and looking forward to the adventures that lie ahead, Happy Anniversary Lindsay!

Summer? What Summer?

It is the end of August and we are still waiting for summer to arrive. Rumor has it that we might see the sun for a whole week starting Monday. Need a little sun love to turn those tomatoes red.

Dylan & Neisha are growing like weeds. Amazing at how fast time flies by. We are amused by the unique personalities that are developing right before our eyes. Dylan is a climber, as you can see from the photo above. He will climb anything and anyone.

Neisha's latest words "sorry", "pacie", "Buzz & Woody". Dylan is babbling, with some words, mostly he speaks cave man.

Neisha is talking, now if we could only understand her!

Neisha is talking, now if we could only understand her!

High res version at dpenha.com/movies/NeishaDylan/neishatalking/

Got Milk?

Oh, my Gosh. I'm such a bad tired mommy. The other night Dylan was sleeping in our bed (not unusual, we are working on it) body slamming Lindsay & I as usual. Half asleep I headed to the kitchen to get him a bottle (yeah, I know he is 18 months, I remind him all the time). I pour the milk, but somewhere in my stupor I forget to put the nipple/top on the bottle. Dylan is pretty upset by now, I'm trying hard not to wake Lindsay.

I find Dylan's face in the dark and turn the bottle over. Still not fully awake, I don't understand why Dylan escalates until I look down and see the nipple-less bottle and cold milk all over my bed. Of course this wakes Lindsay up and I can't control my laughter. Can't tell you how ticked off Dylan was at this point. I turned on the light, pulled the pillows and grabbed towels to soak up the milk (mind you, I'm fully awake by now, so is half the house). To the baby room to change clothes, diaper... dry and redress. Then back to bed. By that time Dylan is back to his wiggling self and I had this thought which I conveyed out loud, "Did I close the refrigerator?" Lindsay jumps up, checks, makes Dylan a good bottle (warm milk, his favorite) and comes back to bed.

By this time, I can't stop laughing... still amuses me. How do kids survive parents? You'd think Dylan would prefer to sleep in his own bed, no, the milk experience didn't seem to phase him... sure hope we solve the "bottle, sleeping with Mommy & Daddy" phase soon. Neisha is our sleeping champ, in her own bed all night! Joys of parenting...

Stats are In!

Dylan & Neisha had their 18 month check-up. They are both doing well.

Today, 30 June 2010 Neisha weighed 23 lbs 6 oz (45%ile) is 32 in tall (60%ile) with head at 48 cm (85%ile). Dylan weighed 26 lbs 9.5 oz (60%ile) is 33 3/4 in tall (85%ile) with head at 50 cm (90%ile).

18 months!

Neisha & Dylan are 18 months. Where did the time go? We spent the evening watching home videos. Can't believe these little ones where ever so small. So glad we took the video, the actual events are rather foggy. Think that is what sleep deprivation for extended periods of time (like 2 years) does to people. I'm no scientist, just a mom.

17 Months - Now running in Circles!!

At 17 Months, they run in circles.

Hi res version at dpenha.com/movies/NeishaDylan/17months/

Good Friday Stats!

Neisha & Dylan went to the doctor for their 15 month check-up on Good Friday, 2 April 2010.

Neisha weighs 22 lbs 8 oz and is 31 1/4 inches long. Her head is 47.5 cm around. She is in the 75 %ile for height, 50 %ile for weight and the 90 %ile for her head.

Dylan weighs 25 lbs 6 oz and is 33 inches long. His head is 48.8 cm around. He is in the 90 %ile for height, 60 %ile for weight and 75 %ile for his head.

We are trying out a new ped's office. The visit went really well. Neisha only cried for one of her shots, Dylan didn't cry at all. Both got a healthy rating.

Interesting tidbit of information. Neisha's stats above are within a few ounces, small fraction of inches and centimeters from Dylan's 12 month stats. Found that a bit amusing. Also, Neisha went from the 25% in height to the 75% , are the tall genetics starting to kick in?

It's Spring!

Neisha and Dylan are really getting fun. They turned 15 months on 11 March 2010. So far, I think we enjoy this stage the most. You can really see personality and interaction is far more rewarding. They are a crack up to watch with Mowgli. He plays "dodge the puffy tail" game with Dylan. Which entails keeping his tail out of Dylan's reach. Mowgli hasn't had this much exercise in a very long time.

We love Neisha's girl voice and conversation chatter. She will go on for several minutes, throwing in words like Mama and Daddy, baby and "ei-ei-ei". Her latest trick is making different sounds with her tongue. Its a game she plays, then laughs. She has a real sense of humor and fun.

Dylan is vocalizing as well. He can hit some really high notes when he gets really excited. Working on inside/outside voice. We are also weening the pacifier to naps and night, which has some challenges.

The kids are fully engaged and on the move. Their favorite thing to do is play outside. I picked up several kinds and colors of balls -- woofle balls, soccer ball, mini basketball, football and about 5 bright colored large plastic balls to round out the set. The kids spend a lot of time moving the balls from one place to the other.

We picked up a sandbox at Costco. When we are sure the rains have stopped, we'll put it together and get some sand. I'm interested in how much sand will stay in the box and how much will migrate into the house.

We are working on the house, getting a small garden in place and pool ready for summer. Lindsay has become really good at mowing the lawn. We are both amazed at how fast the grass grows with all the rain. The kids love to roam and play in the grass.

We are enjoying the time we get to spend with the twins. We are so very grateful that Grandma Gemma is here with us. She takes such good care of Neisha & Dylan. They love her a great deal. Such happy and curious kids, Grandma enjoys every minute.

Fun in the Sun!

Lunch

Neisha is walking!!

It's official! Neisha is walking!!

High res at dpenha.com/movies/NeishaDylan/neishafirstwalk/

Hop don't Run!

High res version at dpenha.com/movies/NeishaDylan/hopdontrun

Dylan Walks!

Its official! Dylan has started taking his first steps..

High resolution at dpenha.com/movies/NeishaDylan/dylanfirstwalk/

Where does the time go?

Is it summer yet? Been raining a whole bunch on the Central Coast. We are all a bit stir crazy. Recovery from my Christmas surgery is almost complete. Been some crazy times in the D'Penha home lately. All good things. Dylan became a stander 11 Jan 2010, now he is much more confident. Neisha stands as well, she prefers her tippy toes and walking on her knees. Both babies are on the move, super fast from crawling, to scooting and all other modes in between.

Santa brought the kids walking toys which are a real hit. Turning around is a bit challenging, but Grandma is there to make sure everyone gets their exercise. Home life is happy, babies are healthy, what more could be ask for. We love having Grandma with us, Neisha and Dylan enjoy her company.

Neisha knows her name, she says "eisha" when you show her pictures of herself. Both Dylan and Neisha carry on full conversations now, daddy and all forms of daddy is their favorite subject. Everyone loves the "Hi" game. It can go on for several minutes. It is our morning greeting and getting home from work greeting. Boy, if you miss saying hi to either of the children or Mowgli, you are in big trouble.

We are having family dinners at the dinner table. Babies are eating and socializing at the table. It goes pretty well most days, however the house seems to be getting louder with each passing month. We need to work on sign language, not a big fan of yelling.

Bath time is a hoot. So much splashing and water, seems we all get a bath. Both Dylan and Neisha love the water, cry when it is time to get out. Sure it is gona be hard to get them out of the pool when we get it up and running. Think we've produced some fish.

Babies had their first haircut. I'm going to post some pictures, as they speak for themselves. Need to get back to blogging, it has been awhile.

Babies' First Hair Cut!

Bath Time!

Happy New Year!

Lindsay got this amazing photo of the Full (Blue) Moon on the 31 Dec 2009. We actually stayed up after the babies went to bed to usher in the new year with Mason & Tasha. The full moon was a special treat, comes around on the last day of the year only every 30 years or so.

We wish you and yours a very happy 2010!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

Our first baby proofed tree. I couldn't believe how hard it was to find plastic Christmas balls. The kids love the red cardinals and white polar bears.

1 year, Stats are in!

Dylan weighs 22 lbs 8 oz and is 31 1/2 inches long. His head is 48.8 cm around. He is in the 90 %ile for height, 50 %ile for weight and 95 %ile for his head.



Today, Neisha weighs 20 lbs and is 28 1/2 inches long. Her head is 46.8 cm around. She is in the 25 %ile for height, 25 %ile for weight and the 90 %ile for her head.

1st Birthday

It's the Final Countdown!

Dylan is wide awake and it is 2:30 a.m. While I feel the parent in me wanting to put him back to bed, to be sure he doesn't create a bad habit, watching him play happily is amusing. Dylan has 2 front teeth, guess he won't be asking Santa for them! ;-) Neisha has a single bottom one on her left-hand side. We saw teeth appear in stereo on 11 Nov 2009, however I think we can now say it is official, Dylan & Neisha have their first teeth.

Looks like we are almost healthy again. We've had a series of colds, which Mommy started. Daddy is convinced that I am the weakest immune system link. The upside is that we all get the chance to build up our immune systems while we are young! Teething babies with colds who can breath through their noses is great fun for all involved. Neisha and I spent over an hour in the bathroom with the shower running one night, by 3 a.m. I was at the local 24 hr pharmacy acquiring a warm steam humidifier to add to our collection, with 2 hours of sleep, off to work. Pretty sure it is "burning the candle at both ends" that did me in, just a wild guess mind you.

We've been house owners for a month now, carpet went in on Friday. Hurray, we are finally in the countdown to moving in. My brother Michael and our friend Jeff have been invaluable in getting us closer to realizing the American dream of home ownership, fixing your own stuff when it breaks down! I have to remind Lindsay that putting all of our savings into a home that we own is a good thing, that we are experiencing a controlled hemorrhage which will stop soon, and that we will recover. He's not buying it. I'm starting to understand why all the husband/father/guys I know talk about how expensive things are, they become more fussy about cash as responsibility sets in.

Gosh, it is hard to believe Neisha & Dylan will be a year old next Friday, 11 Dec 2009. This year has been remarkable, exhausting, entertaining, numbing, exciting, joyful and challenging all wrapped up in one. Hard to believe that we all managed to survive, in some ways we've thrived, other ways we've barely seemed to make it to the next day. Days are often long, but the weeks, months and year are very short.

Grandma Gemma returned on 28 Nov 2009 to spend six months with us. Gosh, we have missed her. Lindsay & I have grown a lot as parents over the last year. Having Grandma's influence, help and support is truly manna sent from heaven.

Neisha has started to talk. Her first word, "Daddy". She looked up the other day when Lindsay returned home from work and said Daddy which warmed his heart. She says "Mama" when coaxed. Her latest is "baby" and "ei-ei-ei" from the old McDonald had a farm song. Dylan is our grunter. He can say "Hi", starting the "ei-ei-ei" thing. He has said "Mama". Mostly Dylan is interested in playing with his ball, observing and chasing Mowgli around and stealing toys from Neisha. Dylan is such a boy, in his looks and mannerisms. He was no problem getting what he needs with his "cave man" grunts.

Dylan has gone back to sleep, hurray. Only an hour and 1/2 of bottle, playing and cuddling. It was "Baby Lamb" with his swing that finally did the trick.

Mommy's Baby Pictures

Playing in the garage, 1974.

Karey is about 3 years old.

Get Up! Stand Up!

Crawling was last week, now they are trying to pull themselves up.

Neisha is a crawler!

Neisha decided to impress us all with her crawling ability yesterday in our new house on November 5, 2009. It is official, Neisha is on the move and we are homeowners. Maybe she was just holding out for more space! ;-)

Almost 11 months!

Dylan starts crawling

It first started with Dylan trying to scoot around. The next week, he tried getting on all fours, and a few steps before he fell on his face..

Last week he was crawling but backwards. But on Oct 24th, Dylan crawled confidently right across the room so we're calling it the official crawl date!

This morning he crawled across the room and pulled on the USB cable bringing down the video camera and disconnecting it from the computer just while I was transfering the video... Oh boy!

Anyway, after overcoming those challenges, here is the official event documented on video! Enjoy!

And here is the Higher Quality version

Look at me..

Neisha is fascinated by the mirror. She can sit in front of it and entertain herself endlessly

Click here for the High Quality version

Daddy!

Neisha has been vocalizing a ton and Dylan is officially on the move. I have to laugh, Neisha is clearly saying Daddy, which we will record as her first official word. While she has been saying forms of mommy for months, she knows Daddy is a word. Lindsay is pleased. ;-) For the record, my first word was Daddy as well.

Yesterday we tried to take a family nap, Dylan pulled himself up and stood in his crib. Surprised us all. Daddy promptly lowered his bed. Big pain to put him in at night, he'll have to grow a whole bunch more before he'll be able to get himself out.

And the eyes have it!

10 months

Hard to believe the babies will be 10 months on the 11th. Dylan & Neisha have become more mobile since our trip to Bend, OR for my 40th Birthday Bash with the family. We had a good time, babies traveled pretty well all things considered. We are currently going through a separation/stranger anxiety stage in stereo. Neisha has it the worst. Trying to keep a holistic prospective, that this soon will pass.

We call the fussy, drooly, Motrin stage teething... however, getting teeth can take forever, or so it seems. Neisha & Dylan are still toothless, doesn't seem to bother them much. Both can really go to town on solids, who knew?

We believe Dylan is now crawling --- backwards, he gets on all fours and kicks it into reverse. Neisha scoots mostly on her bottom.

My favorite part is the laughter. Both Neisha & Dylan are a crack-up to watch. They get such a kick out of Mowgli, it is hard not to laugh.

Grandma Gemma will be back in less than 6 weeks. We are looking forward to her return. Twin parenting has it challenges, we are grateful for the joys that come along with it.

Finger lickin good!

Cousins

Lindsay took this photo of the Cousins in Bend, OR. This is one of my favorite ones!

9 months and counting...

8 1/2 month Stats are in!

Today, Neisha weighs 17 lbs 11 oz and is 26 1/4 inches long. Her head is 44.7 cm around. She is in the 25 %ile for height, 40 %ile for weight and the 75 %ile for her head.

• At the sixth month visit Neisha weighed 16 lbs 11 oz and was 25 3/4 inches long. Her head was 43.3 cm around. She was in the 45 %ile for height, 55 %ile for weight and the 75 %ile for her head.

• At the fourth month visit Neisha weighed 13 lbs 6 oz and was 23 1/4 inches long. Her head was 40.2 cm around. She was in the 25%ile for height, 50%ile for weight and the 40% for her head.
  
• At the second month visit Neisha weighed 10 lbs and was 22 1/2 inches long. Her head was 37.3 cm around. She was in the 50 %ile for height & weight and the 25 %ile for her head.
• At the first month visit Neisha weighed 8 lbs 8 oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. Her head was 36.1 cm. She was in the 25 %ile for weight and height.
• At birth Neisha weighed 5 lbs 13 oz and was 18 inches long.

Today, Dylan weighs 19 lbs 12 oz and is 30 inches long. His head is 47 cm around. He is in the 95 %ile for height, 50 %ile for weight and 90 %ile for his head.

• At the sixth month visit Dylan weighed 18 lbs 13 oz and was 29 inches long. His head was 45.2 cm around. He was in at the 95 %ile for height, 50 %ile for weight and 75 %ile for his head.

• At the fourth month visit Dylan weighed 14 lbs 14 oz and was 25 3/4 inches long. His head was 42.6 cm around. He was in the 75%ile for height, 50%ile for weight and 70%ile for his head.
  
• At the second month visit Dylan weighed 11 lbs 15 oz and was 24 1/4 inches long. His head was 40.5 cm around. He was in the 90% ile for height, 50% ile for weight and 60% ile for his head.
  
• At the first month visit Dylan weighed 9 lbs 7 oz and was 22 3/4 inches long. His head was 38.6 cm. He was in the 50 %ile for weight and 75 %ile for height.
  
• At birth Dylan weighed 6 lbs 9 oz and was 20 inches long.

Where does the time go?

Lindsay & I celebrated our 3rd Wedding Anniversary on Wednesday. It felt like our first real one, we had Mowgli on our first and I was so prego on our second -- this one felt like our first -- leave the dog and babies behind for 24 hours. Huge accomplishment for us as a couple. Thanks to Gina, Mowgli missed us more than Dylan & Neisha! ;-)

We took a walk down memory lane, visited the garden where we married, strolled over to the place where we took our wedding photos and kissed at the very spot we said, I Do! Girl thing, however Lindsay seemed to enjoy the conversation as well.

Hard to believe it has only been 3 years. With completing my Masters Degree, adopting Mowgli and bringing Neisha & Dylan into the world, it has been a couple of productive years. So much joy and laughter; it is good to remember and create weird little couple traditions.

With the balance of family, work and household duties, Linz and I both find it hard to get alone time, even to get the token anniversary card. So this year we headed to Hallmark together to pay our annual homage. They only have one section for anniversary cards and Linz got there first, so I had to get creative. We laughed the whole time... making the checker put our cards in bags to keep it a surprise.

Linz got us a room at small hotel in Carmel Highlands, panoramic view of the Pacific. Our Anniversary dinner at a high end restaurant that is all the rave, was a bust with a stunning view, sure enjoyed cracking jokes about the whole thing.

Note to selves; bubbles grow exponentially in a jetted bath tub!

Baby Pictures of Daddy!

Grandma D'Penha sent us some photos of Lindsay. Dylan looks a lot like daddy! Lindsay is 10 months (May 2, 1975) months old, he is the baby in Grandma D'Penha's arms.

Lindsay is 10 months (May 2, 1975).

This one is my favorite! Lindsay is about 2 1/2 - 3 years.

Lindsay is about 7 or 8 years old.

It pays to start early

In this modern techie world, it pays to start early! Dylan found a laptop lying around and knew exactly what he needed to do..

Early Morning conversations..

Click the picture for the high quality version

or here is the low res version

Look who's playing

SF Zoo - Friends like us?

We took Auntie Janine and the babies to the San Francisco Zoo. We drove up on Saturday, hung out at the Fisherman's Warf. Nothing better than Ghirardelli ice cream treats before dinner, taking in the sites/smells of the city and Italian at Cioppinos! Bit challenging navigating the twin stroller, but we did it and are starting to get our travel ambition back!

Our favorite part was visiting the SF Zoo. The highlight was seeing the Grizzly Twins from Montana. The girls are about 3 years old now, they arrived at the zoo as cubs.

We also got to see the newest baby gorilla born 4 days before Neisha & Dylan. Must say, he is cute. I teased the babies that they were slacking, pointing out how fast he ran / feed himself. ;-)

Besides that we also saw some Giraffes and Pink Flamingos!

Photos by Lindsay of course!