Hugs

Prancer

Macy got some tap shoes from her cousin Hailey. She was pretty tickled with them...

Statute of Limitations

I have watched this video many times. Its short. Its a blooper. I probably shouldn't admit to laughing about it as much as I have, but it has been long enough since taken, maybe I will be ok.

Its a quick snap shot of life. Cam is fishing for a wooden spoon. She's pinned down her one leg by sitting on it and is precariously perched on the other, but a steadying hand makes the position feasible. Then just as she conquers the wooden spoon, she lets her want to share with Macy distract her steadying hand. Its not until she is about a third of the way down does she realize that her leg is pinned. You can see it try to kick out for balance, but no dice. No where to go but down. Thud. I wonder how much kids cry because they are hurt, and how much is just frustration with all the different things you have to keep track of just to stay on your feet. It doesn't seem fair sometimes.

Picture dump

Every once in a while I get this crazy idea that if I were to go through and just delete all the 25MB photos that are blury, I would get half my hard drive back. But then I run across pictures like this, and the blur just seems to work.

And then you get to looking and you get stuck looking at a few pictures a little longer than the 1 second you can spend on each one to cover all you pictures in something rediculous - like 4 hours. And you realize you will never be done.

And then you give up and are happy that at least if you go looking, you can find some pictures worth looking at again.

But lots of time has been put into organizing and classfying photos automatically, but if camera makers really want a killer app that will help improve their customers lives, they need to create cameras that will either keep you from taking photos you will never want to look at again or offer to delete the blurry, overexposed, bad photos. Then I wouldn't be in this position in the first place.

New Nickname

The girls hair is finally starting to grow in. This has led to one of Camy's new nicknames: Captain Crazy Hair.

Turning 2

Camy and Macy turned two on Wednesday this past week. Given that we are close to family now, we celebrated three times: once on Tuesday, once on Wednesday, and once on Saturday. Below are the cakes and purses that Edna made for the girls and each cousin who was in attendance. Below is a picture of all the cousins on my side of the family. Camy and Macy are warming up to headbands and bows, but hats are still pretty hit and miss, so no party hats for them. As part of the set up, we used our recently unpacked moving boxes to create cardboard castle and paper pit. Below is one video. When our internet gets hooked up, I will post more videos.

My favorite blog

I don't actually know Whitney Johnson (I think John does), but I love her blog. She frequently has guest bloggers including many of the most amazing women I know. They are all brilliant, strong, happy, good women that I love hearing from. I think they are mostly women that have been much more brave in their careers than I was/am and they have such a great perspective. As I've debated whether the housewife life makes sense for me, I love that these women share how they have found the right balance for them- and how they've learned to be better moms, better professionals, and better people. Once we get settled in California, finding my ideal balance is the next big project.

Leopard cat

The girls and I met this beautiful kitty on our way out of our apartment on Friday. I only had my phone camera so it isn't the best picture- he is the size of a domestic cat but is spotted like a leopard. We recently learned about Bengal cats on Animal Planet, and I suspect that is what he is.

Pictures for Dada

I'm always short on time, but here are recent pictures.

Moving West!

This is old news to many (about 3 weeks), but we are moving to San Francisco! John started a new job recently, and the girls and I will move out in a month or once we have a place to live and have things settled and stuff. We are all super happy about this. Ok, really- I'm trying not to sound like a teenage girl, but I am that excited.

I wanna talk to Dada, please

The girls were out jumping when my sister was on the phone with her husband. Macy walked over and clearly said "I wanna talk to Dada, please." By the time I found the camera she was a bit frustrated and not talking as clearly, but here is what I captured.

P.S. Most of what Macy says are sentences ending in "please", and as I opened our blog both girls pointed to Tibu and said "Beebu!" We are talkers.

Last picture on my camera before it went bonkers

Utah!

For months I've been craving some good laughs. Then I found out that my youngest sister Emily would be visiting my sister Liz for the summer (meaning two of the most fun women I know are in the same place)...I HAD to crash this party. So, when John needed to fly to San Fran, the girls and I tagged along as far as Utah. My sisters and I have been acting like fools and laughing our post-baby bodies back into shape.

The little ones have also had fun. They swam with cousins, started wearing pig tails, and learned about many things like go-gurt and scooters.

and they enjoyed my birthday.

Camillie colored everything with chalk- here she is at work by the Koi pond

When its quiet

Quick, go looking. This is usually where I find the girls:

Macy in the Park

We went to the park. It was my day for Macy (odd days in even-numbered years). I had the camera. Here is what I got.

Same park trip

But Camy was around for a photo or two.

Snuggling Baby

As the girls have gotten older, they have lost what I thought was some of their snuggliness. I think when younger, they just didn't have the coordination to do what they wanted. As toddlers they had very little interest in being held. But as they get bigger and seem to tire at times, they are regaining some of that snuggliness.

The word of the day (every day) is ball

The contest between "ball" and "shoe" as the #1 repeated word is a closely contested struggle in our house. Ball refers to circles, balls, and balloons. Here Macy is very concerned about the balloon not in her hand, but the one that escaped to the ceiling. This balloon was the gift of CVS. The girls said "ball" so many times in the store that the attendants just gave us their balloons.

Sideways Sidewalk walk with Macy

Take a walk with me and Macy. First, we must stop and listen to a car stopped at a light and dance to its music.

Next, we must stop and point out every plane that flies over head. We live 20 miles from two of the world's busiest airports. This happens often, but she makes it look amazing each time.

Goldfish in a bowl

The girls are small for their age. Edna wonders if we move them out of their crib if they will grow bigger - kind of like goldfish will only grow to a certain size in a small bowl. She may have a point.

Circular Reference

This is a picture of the girls looking at this blog. So now they can look at themselves looking at themselves. Mostly I just like the picture of Camy...

Father's Day Gift

A few weeks ago, Edna got me a head lamp for father's day. Camy likes it too.

Easter Egg Hunt

A while back, we went to Lisa's home for an Easter egg hunt. The girls did alright with finding eggs and finally got some sunglasses that we would let them hold.

Working from Home

I have been spending a lot of time in our "home office" these days. Actually our dining room, but it has French doors, and is one of the easier rooms to cordon off.

This is a sight I see regularly:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Edna has been perfecting her chocolate chip cookie. Trying different recipes, comparing them in Excel, and trying to get just the right proportion of chocolate, sugar, butter, flour, etc. They are pretty amazing, if I do say so myself.

This has also led to many opportunities for the girls to learn about cookies - one of Camy's favorite words. As you can see in the picture below, she still struggles getting it all in the right place. Macy is more efficient in eating her cookies.

Family Resemblence

This is a picture I have had for a while, but never got around to posting. When newborns come, there is so little information beyond sex, weight, and # of toes that we struggle to find other things to talk about to describe the life transition that begins with a new addition(s) to the family. One of the games played is "who does she look like?" At the time we felt Camy looked like Edna and Macy looked like me. This bore out comparing baby pictures too. Here are Camy, Edna, John, and Macy.

Now we say that Macy still looks like me. Camy has her days where she looks very much like her mother, and other days like me - a bit of a chameleon.