Don't Judge Us!

Yes, that is duct tape. What do you do when your two-year-old keeps taking off his/her clothes overnight?

Nerf Gun War(s)

On Christmas Eve, Ethan came over with his new Nerf gun. Larkin then pulled out a box of the Le Sueur boys' old Nerf guns. That inspired an hour and a half of this:

And this:





That has, in the past month, blossomed into this:

And then this:

And, ultimately, this:

So thank you, Ethan. Thank you for all of this. I don't yet know how to repay you, but trust me, I will find a way.

Me Did It!!!

The twins are growing up so fast and learning so much! They are so proud of themselves when they accomplish things that I've taken to ask them to do things, just to get their reactions. For example, Larkin made each of the kids a wooden puzzle for Christmas. In this video, Will is putting together the dog puzzle. Watch his methodical actions and then his triumph.

My favorite part is his self-coaching: "Flip it over." Unfortunately he didn't stick his little tongue out while concentrating, like he usually does. Oh my word, I love our little guy!

In an unrelated note (how is that for a segue), Anna LOVES vegetables! This is great because sometimes Will is less than thrilled to eat them - especially broccoli. Anna feels differently.

I try to make extra broccoli now, knowing that Anna will for sure eat any leftovers. We love our sweet Angel Anna!

Happy New Year's!

We spent our New Year's quietly at home. It was great! We had a mini-party with the twins before they went to bed. (There was NO way we were keeping them up 5 hours past their bedtime to ring in the new year.) Anna loved her party hat and was very sad the next day when I threw it away.

After the twins went to bed, Larkin and I pulled out the rest of the New Year's Eve celebration.

Games and movies for the night

Food for the night: BBQ lil' smokies, brown sugar and bacon-wrapped lil' smokies, cocktail shrimp, spinach-cheese-bacon dip with chips and crackers, cookies, and pop

Fireworks in our neighborhood

Happy New Year!

We're excited for whatever 2010 will bring. We hope you had a great New Year's too!

How We Spent Our Christmas

This was our first Christmas at our house on our own, and we were determined to have a great day. And we did! Larkin's brother Jared and Jared's friend Anna-Lisa were good enough to drive from L.A. to join us for the holiday, and we've had a blast with them. Here are some pictorial highlights of our wonderful Christmas:

Examining some of the loot
Taking Teddy for a walk

Reading new booksEating breakfast crepes at their new table and chairs

Will's favorite Christmas present: "MATMAN!" (i.e., Batman)

Playing with his toy train
"Helping" Jared and Anna-Lisa get into their stockings

Anna's princess crown, mirror, and shoes added to her play dress made for Princess Anna all day long. She kept walking around holding her mirror one inch from her face; we warned her about going cross-eyed, but she was too cute to stop.

Larkin and I got Beatles Rockband for each other this year. Although I love Little Drummer Will, my favorite part of the picture is the lead singer, Anna. If you can click on this to enlarge it, I promise Anna's pose makes it worth the time.
Ethan came over after his kids went to bed that night, and he brought one of his Christmas gifts: a double-barrel Nerf gun. The war that ensued warrants a post all of its own.
All in all, WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS! Who wants to spend Christmas with us next year? I promise we'll have a great time!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Smorgasbord of Silliness

We'd like to present a random sampling of life with Will and Anna. Here are our favorite moments, in no particular order:

When Anna couldn't get up on the new (higher) couch on her own:


Coming down the stairs together: (When they do this, Will is always quick to tell me that he and Anna are "friends.")


Singing into their "microphones" (a.k.a. camping chairs):


Will's culinary creations:
Dancing together:


Trying to have a serious photo shoot:


Is it any wonder why we love these kids so much?