Little buddies

It's getting really fun to watch Claire and Jacob play together. Claire played peek-a-boo with Jacob while he was in the swing, she would reach up and look at Jacob in the swing, they'd both laugh, then Claire would go to her belly. Then, she'd reach up and look at Jacob again and they'd laugh. Thanks to our video camera, Dani caught this on tape so I could see it!

The other day, Dani was taking a little nap on the couch (the kids have been getting up earlier these days) while Claire and Jacob were playing in the 'Sycamore Room' (their playroom). She woke up to the sounds of pattering on the linoleum and little baby laughs. She walked into the front entry hall to see Claire crawling (or awkwardly moving forward, which is more accurate to what she actually does) and Jacob crawling behind her. Claire would then turn around and both kids would erupt in laughter, Jacob falling to his belly. Then he'd get back up and start crawling, and Claire would get going to get away. Then she'd turn around again and both would laugh. It was their first game of chase!

I think this picture of Jacob might be the cutest we have. Figures that this is the only recent picture that Claire isn't smiling in!

Jacob was done taking pictures and decided to take off.

But mom wasn't done yet. Sit back down Jacob!
 

More crib-time smiles

Dani and I watched the last hour of video we took on our video camera (which, by the way, covered just 1 1/2 months) and we realized how many videos we have of them in their cribs. They really love playing together and are interacting now more than ever, it's a lot of fun to see.



 

Baby Blue eyes!

Look at those big blue eyes!
Claire is becoming quite the smiley baby when the camera is out - say Cheese!
One of their favorite times of the day is when they wake up from naps and get to play in the crib together - it's also one of Dani's favorite times of day!

 

Christmas!

Picture time with so many kids is fun!



 

Amber brought home some fun presents from south of the Equator. Here, Jacob and I are sporting the Colo Colo jersey and Matt and Clayton are wearing the Chilean national team jerserys. Let's play some futbol!

Dani and Jacob intently watch the Christmas Eve Program.

As Claire becomes her own Christmas Eve program playing on the floor.

Aunt Amber and her neices! Lydia looks so much like Camie that it looks like Camie went through a time machine to get into this picture!
 

Twinners

We've had a tough week as Claire started the fun Tuesday getting sick. Dani and Jacob followed suit Wednesday night, so Thursday, Jared stayed home and played nurse. Jacob is still under the weather and is really miserable. He's really wants to be happy and play, but just doesn't feel good, it's very sad. On Wednesday night, he would smile between his throw-ups and was super excited to get an extra bath! We're hoping for a quick recovery!

We've taken a few really cute pictures of the kiddos recently. Actually, Jared has taken a ton of pictures, and we've been lucky enough that in a few both kids are looking at the camera and smiling. There are a lot of out-takes! Jacob and Claire are typically the happiest when they see one another. At a recent Christmas recital, their eyes met and they were super excited and started squealing because they hadn't seen each other for a whole half hour! Enjoy!





Look closely at the last one and you'll see some teeth!

Fiesta Claire!

We haven't been able to get pictures up recently, so we're a little behind. So, expect a few more posts than normal

The look on Claire's face is priceless!
Jacob was also having a great time on the floor

 

Party time

One of the great things about being a twin is that you always have someone to play with. That can, of course, be a good or a bad thing, but in Claire and Jacob's case they're really starting to notice each other and play with each other. Often that involves Claire taking Jacob's toy (she sometimes takes Jacob's pacifier right out of his mouth) or unwanted touching of the face/hair/eyes, but they're starting to enjoy each other's company.

At Nanna's:
In their room after they wake up in the morning
Really, the reason I wanted to call this party time is because Dani and I went to my work's Christmas party. Dani looked spectacular (notice her new hair cut)! She even wore high heels and didn't fall once. The work party was at the Cincinnati Art Museum where they had appetizers, dinner, dessert, and plenty of adult beverages (Dani's and my choice was the cranberry juice or sprite or water). They had a band playing a wide selection of cover music, so we walked around looking at art listening to rock music. Dani liked being in an area with less people so she could take off the heels. Anyway, here we are at the Pearson's house, where our kids stayed while we went.
 

Peas and Carrots

Well, it took awhile, but we are finally posting Halloween pictures. So, Happy Belated Halloween! Our cute little kiddos got to be some of their favorite veggies! Claire was a carrot and Jacob was a peapod. (We decided Claire could be the carrot because of her red hair). They were sure cute, but because of the time change we only went to see two neighbors for trick-or -treating before they were ready to go to bed.


 

"Gimme those keys" and other adventures

It's been a while since we've posted, so we have some catching up to do. First, a little picture story. Jacob and Claire have been rolling pretty well recently, and they have been nicely playing on the floor with their toys (and toes). Dani left a pair of baby keys on the floor between Jacob and Claire one day. They both started rolling toward them, and Jacob, being the faster roller, got to them first...

Which, of course, Claire was not happy about...

So, she decided all she had to do is reach over and take them out of Jacob's mouth. But, she was foiled in her plot because Mom caught her red-handed! With this lesson now taught, we assume that this will be the only time either of them tries to take a toy from the other.

Other adventures:
- Vicki and Pat (Dani's mom and grandma) came from Wyoming for a week to see their grandchildren (and great grandchildren). They had a girls-night out at Spamalot, a musical, in downtown Cincinnati. We also ate out at a nice restaurant, took a "big-house" tour, played a game, went shopping (which I fortunately avoided!), and went to the Underground Railroad Museum. All in all, we had a great week!!
- My younger brother (Taylor) is the starting goalie for his high school soccer team. Their regular season has ended, and the playoffs have begun. 3 games later, and they are district champions, the last game won in penalty kicks where Taylor made a save to win it. We've spent lots of time watching games (and trying to keep warm!)
- ALMOST going to Detroit to see a baseball game - my beloved A's were in Detroit on a weekend, but unfortunately they got down 3-0, so the trip, the tickets, and the expense did not seem justifiable.
- My youngest brother was the lead in his high school play, the Yellow Boat. It was a great, emotional play and Andrew did a fantastic job. It's somewhat of a funny site to see a bunch of teenage girls sobbing because of my brother's acting! What a stud!
- I scored a goal left-footed in my company team's indoor soccer team's game. I think that should count double, because I'm really not very good at soccer, but I enjoy it. 

One thing Claire loves to do is to purse her lips, puff out her cheeks, and blow (try it, it's fun). Often, after putting her down for a nap, we'll her her spitting for a half hour straight. If you imitate her, she will smile, but won't do it with you... 1 spitter is enough, I guess. The picture below is blurry, but gives a pretty good idea of the funny face she makes when she does it.

One of Claire and Jacob's favorite times is right after their baths. They are happy and playful. I think they both just love being naked!

They also love their exersaucers. When we put them together, they will look at one another and talk to each other. Last week, Dani said she put the kids in the same crib in the morning and for over an hour, Jacob and Claire were talking to each other. Claire would talk, and it would make Jacob laugh, then Jacob would talk and Claire would laugh.
 

Eden Park

We went for a drive a few Sundays ago to Eden Park in downtown Cincinnati. It was a beautiful day for a walk. We found a nice gazebo and took some pictures with our kids. Okay, the real reason for the drive was because our kids were grouchy and needed a nap... it worked!