Wrestle with Daddy!

The twins love to wrestle - especially with Daddy. All you have to do is join them on the floor, and they'll both get really excited and run over to you. Doesn't this video make you wish you had twins?

Walking BOY!

We keep forgetting to post this video. William has been walking now since we were out in Ohio for Thanksgiving. Grandpa Le Sueur totally predicted that he would walk over Thanksgiving when we saw them for Halloween. This one's for you, Grandpa.

Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Awwww. . .Love Daddy!

Will and Anna love their dad so much! They miss him when he leaves for school and always eagerly await his return. He has his own ringer on my phone, so when the kids hear "How Does She Know" from Enchanted, they race over to talk to Daddy. Will was napping when I took this video, but Anna shows the typical reaction for both twins.


I try to put the kids up to the window to watch for Daddy when we know he is on his way home. They love looking for him and get so excited when they see him. Larkin loves coming home to this. (Sorry about it being sideways.)

Sisterly Love?

Most of the Rice family was able to get together over Thanksgiving break, so we got to show off the twins to that side of the family. Anna put on a show the whole time, running around, playing, and giggling with people. Will had fallen asleep on the ride to Aunt Suzie and Uncle Matt's house and had to be woken up to be taken out. He was less happy than Anna was (i.e., he was very sensitive and fussy the whole time). This clip demonstrates both of the kids' behavior. Will is sad, and Anna is "trying" to make him feel better. Our babies always make us laugh!

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Anna has learned to do the motions for "Itsy Bitsy Spider." This was inspired by a book given to the twins from their Uncle Rehn, Aunt Heather, and their boys. She brings the book over to me or Larkin and starts making the spider climb the water spout. Will got in on the action for this video.

First Hair Cut

William got his first official hair cut the other night. (His first unofficial hair cut came a couple of months ago when I was sick of my son having a mullet. I just trimmed the mullet part off.) I figured that I had to just sit down and cut it or I would never have the courage to do it. With Larkin and Anna's help, I think we did an okay job. It's shorter than I would like, but I'll know better next time. Such a good little boy! Here is the after video:

Happy 1st Birthday!

It's official! Today the kids made it to their first birthday, or should we say, their parents made it to the kids' first birthday. Either way, it was one to remember. Here are a slew of videos. We tried our hardest to capture the fun, but these don't do it justice. We were all rolling on the floor. It was quite the party. We hope you enjoy; we sure did.


Sorry about our off-key voices.

Cruisin' Girl

Well, it's official. Anna prefers to walk instead of crawl. She used to just do it when prompted or when we would clap for her, but now she is just all over the place. I think it has made her feel more independent because she has also become more stubborn and learned to throw a fit. That's not so cute so probably no video on that. She is a sweetheart though, and it is fun to have her walk to your knee and ask to be picked up. BEAUTIFUL girl!

Angry Will

One of our favorite things is William's angry face. He scrunches his nose and sticks out his lips. He then breaths very heavily through his nose. It is so funny. We'll often do it back to him which frustrates the poor boy even more. Sometimes he'll laugh with us like he realizes that he is being silly. He is such a handsome boy, not that I am bias at all.

Stepping Out with My Baby

She's closer! Anna is taking steps on her own now. She'll go from sitting to standing without using furniture or toys to help her up. On a good day, she'll also take steps without any assistance. She'll take a few steps, steady herself, then take some more. Once we pull the camera out, of course, she becomes shy and takes fewer steps. She's almost there, though!

Naptime?

We haven't been diligent about making the kids fall asleep in the same room. (I recently heard that parents of twins go into "survival mode" and do whatever is necessary to get things done. I attribute our sleep method to survival mode.) This video demonstrates what happens when we attempt same room naptime.

Le Sueur Humor Already

Will thinks his Grandpa Brig is hilarious! We got to visit with Karen and Brig for a while a couple of weeks ago, and once Will warmed up to Grandpa, he really enjoyed himself. The Le Sueurs have a distinct, "pun-ny" humor that apparently Will already gets. I think this means that Will and Larkin will be telling very similar jokes in the future.

Standing Girl

Anna is so close to walking! She has been pulling herself up and walking along furniture for a while now. She loves to walk around the room while holding on with only one hand. Lately, she has gotten much more courageous. She will let go of whatever she is holding on to and stand on her own for a few seconds. Here is a short clip of her enjoying her new-found freedom. (Sorry about it being sideways.)

Hot Dog!

Will's favorite show is now Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. We found it on accident one Saturday morning when he woke up WAY too early for a Saturday. His favorite part is the "Hot Dog Dance" at the end of every show. He perks right up when he hears the beginning of the song and turns to see it, as he starts dancing. Luckily, we found that song on YouTube and play it for him randomly during the day. Here is a clip of his reaction. We love it!

Craziness with William

Will has developed quite the "class clown" personality over the past few months. He is always (okay, usually) giggling and smiling, especially if other people are around. He tirelessly tries to get Anna to laugh and smile at him. Here are the two latest things that have kept him entertained. First, now that he can crawl, he'll move onto the hard wood, sit up, and use one leg to spin himself around in a circle. He stopped doing it once we pulled out the camera (he's too used to posing and smiling for the camera, apparently), but you can get a glimpse of his spinning in this clip.

This next clip is of something that he's just discovered in the past day or two. He thinks it's so much fun to use the front of the couch as an upright trampoline.


He tried the same thing today with a hard, plastic storage bin. That wasn't as effective, as it had a much lower spring-back ability. It hurt, and we had to relocate him. A few hours later, he tried it again. Amazingly enough, he experienced the same results. Maybe the third time will be the charm.

Larkin's Discovery

Larkin found this albino praying mantis in one of our flower boxes the other day and was fascinated by it. He had to get a picture.

Hide-n-Seek

Larkin and I were relaxing on the futon this morning while Will was napping and Anna was playing. We started playing hide and seek with Anna. She was pretty determined. But then, like most things, the game only held her attention for so long.

Hummingbird

I don't remember what kind of flowers we planted in the flower box outside of our living room window, but apparently they are the kind the hummingbirds love. In the past few weeks, we've had hummingbirds coming to the flowers all the time. I've never seen a hummingbird this close before (with the exception of stuffed ones we had at the Bean Museum). I love it! Larkin snapped a good picture the other day.

Just the Two of Us

In the spirit of supporting my wife in adding to and up keep of this web-site, I have decided to add old videos of the kids here and there. This is one of my favorites because it always reminds me of how much fun it is to have twins. Especially in the past month, Anna and William have really grown close. William is usually the first on up in the mornings and so we let him watch "Super Why!" (PBS kids show) until Anna either gets up or is woken up by his playing. Regardless, when we bring Anna out and William sees her face he get so happy and excited. He starts laughing and bouncing and then raises his arms high in the air and does a kind of waving motion at her. When we put Anna down she laughs and then they usually start yelling at each other. It is honestly my favorite part of the day. I can't wait tell they are able to talk and really express how they feel.

Anna Grace, Silly Face

Anna makes some of the funniest faces! She loves to scrunch up her nose and smile. Oh, I love my silly girl! This is my favorite picture right now. It's the background on my work computer at the moment.

Will's New Trick

Will started playing around the other day, and he discovered that he can pick up his bottle with his feet. It's pretty amusing to watch. Sorry the video is so short; the camera ran out of batteries.

Another "cool trick" that he learned to do about a week ago: swallow supposedly-inedible items. After the kids' 9-month checkup, both babies had Band-aids put on their big toes. William managed to sneakily put his foot in his mouth, take off the Band-aid, choke on it, and swallow it before I could pull it out of his mouth. I tried my hardest, but his swallow reflex is apparently faster than my stick-my-finger-in-a-baby's-mouth-and-fish-out-a-foreign-object reflex is. It's okay, though. He managed to "relieve" himself of it the following day. No pictures attached.

First Official Blog!

We've joined the blogging world - basically because we think the twins are TOO adorable and assume nobody can get enough of them. As an introduction to our new blog, I wanted to post an introduction to the twins: their first moments of life. Here is the video Larkin took in the delivery room of the twins' in all their newborn glory. Don't worry - there are no shots of Momma. We didn't want that to be preserved for posterity's sake.