Helly Kitty

Jenny gave Ellen and Anais matching Hello Kitty outfits for Christmas. One week later, Ellen has worn hers 3 times!

Our Little Packer Backers!

In search of Ariel...

Grandpa Dave, Jenny, my friend Emily and I went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore with 3 babes in arms and 4 preschoolers in tow. It was quite the exhausting adventure - given that they don't allow strollers - but well worth it. We saw dolphins, sharks, blue starfish, a rain forest and little frogs. The highlight was finding the 2 very small Nemos! Unfortunately, Ariel did not swim by.

Bathtime for the boys!

The boys are officially going it alone in the tub. No baby bathtub or seats for them! They have a ball splashing and sliding around.

They had a very "robust" (as the dr called it) 9 month well care appt yesterday. Nicolas is in the 90th percentile for size with his weight at 20lbs, 12.63 oz (9.43Kg) and height 27.5" (70cm). Dylan is in the 97th percentile at a hefty 22 lbs, 14.49 oz (10.29kg) and 28.5" (72cm). Both have a head circumference of 18.9" (48cm) which is well off the charts. Needless to say they don't fit in the 12 month GB Packer caps Shawn got for them.

Merry Christmas!!!

We had a wonderful holiday and hope you did as well. For us it seemed like one event after another - which Ellen particularly enjoyed. On Christmas Eve, Shawn made a traditional Chilean dinner of Cebiche de Corvina (Red Snapper and Shrimp marinated in Lime Juice), Pastel de Choclo (Meat and Onion Pie with a crisp corn topping), Ensalada de Zanahorias con Cilantro (Zesty Carrot Salad with Garlic and Cilantro) and for dessert, Empanaditas Fritas de Manjar (fried pastry stuffed with carmel). Delicious! After everyone put on their new Christmas pajamas Grandpa Dave read "The Night Before Christmas" by the fireplace. Then, Ellen and Anais set out cookies and chocolate milk for Santa after hanging their stockings "with care". The next morning the girls found that Santa had indeed come, even after all the "naughty" behavior! Due to the economics of a large family :-) he doubled up on the gifts and brought the girls a new play kitchen and the boys a double stroller. Next came a breakfast of snowman pancakes, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and fruit. Finally, the gift opening - still in our pjs which Jenny found very cute. After many gifts, a break for naps, more gifts and the ceremonial opening of the "homemade" gifts via speaker phone with the Bratts in California, we took another "break" while the kids played with their new toys and I made dinner - Boeuf Bourguignonne. Even with the usual chaos of our household, it really was a nice day and we were glad to enjoy our first holiday with the twins in our own house and share some of our traditions with Jenny and Grandpa Dave. Holiday cheers to all!!!

Dinner preparations

Every year Shawn makes a multi-course dinner with an international theme for Christmas Eve. This year he is reviving Chile - based on some of the meals he had while living there as a child. He did this menu several years ago but for reasons I won't mention here, he couldn't serve wine so thought he'd try it again. Yesterday, he started working on the dessert - Empanaditas Fritas de Manjar. Ellen was a big help!

Grandpa Dave is here!

Grandpa Dave arrived last Monday and is here for 3 weeks to help us celebrate our first holiday with the twins. We are so glad he is here to join in on the festivities!

The Asthmatics!

If the boys ever form a rock band, The Asthmatics might be a good name. After all they are their father's sons and have Peterson blood. They both have weezing coughs and have to do these breathing machines 4 times a day. Apparently this is just due to colds or perhaps it is nothing more then breathing in the not-s0-clean air of Delaware. On top of this poor Nicolas has an ear infection. Did I mention that nights have been less then a joy lately? Who am I kidding, they haven't been a joy in 4 1/2 years!

9 months old!

The boys are 9 months old! Hard to believe. Nicolas weighs approx 21 lbs and now has 8 teeth - 4 of which came in this last week. He is "crawling" backwards and able to get up on his hands and knees. Yikes! Dylan is about 24 lbs!!!! He has 2 teeth and always seems to be getting more - but they never appear :-) He rolls around and does spins on his belly but still prefers to stand up and walks a little with our help.

Holiday Party #2

Ellen had her class holiday party on Wed, the 19th. They recited poems and sang holiday songs including a snappy rendition of "Jingle House Rock". She wore her beautiful holiday dress that Papa and Ghio sent along with her sparkly shoes. The belle of the ball :-)

Future Betty!

Ellen had a 2nd parent observation for her dance class - there is one after each 8 week session. They ended the class with "free time" using little streamers. Can you tell she is the daughter of a Blue Devil?

Holiday Party #1

Anais had her holiday party for preschool on Thursday and the class did a musical presentation. Anais wore her beautiful holiday dress from Papa and Ghio which she accessorized with Scooby-Doo bandaids.

Our little Rock Stars!

Even with stage-diving!

Moving along...almost

Nicolas is about 2 weeks from crawling and Dylan is following close behind. They are both pulling up on their knees, spinning around on their bellies and very anxious to get at things just out of reach. I'm in a bit of a panic mode and need to get gates up and put the many small choking hazards away. Fun times ahead! Also, Dylan started clapping yesterday (at least that's when I noticed it:-) and very much enjoys it.

Santa Trauma

The kids had their annual traumatic experience with Santa this weekend. Or should I say Anais. Ellen and the boys were fine but Anais screamed the whole time. Of course she was no different then any other 2 year old in the line.

Thanks Grandma Sandy!

My mom stayed with us for 3 weeks, sewing drapes and dresses and helping watch kids and do laundry. Here's a photo of her with the boys and one of the new princess dresses she made for the girls. We miss you, Grandma Sandy - even if you do break the rules :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. I did most of the cooking myself with my mom, Jenny and Ellen as my sous chefs. We had a fresh, organic turkey that I ordered from a farm nearby and then the usual mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry chutney, corn pudding, peas and salad. Of course, we also had pumpkin and apple pie. We sat at our beautiful new dining room table with the new drapes my mom made for us up. It was great fun and very tasty!

We had a french family over for their first thanksgiving. They had a little girl named Mona who was Anais's age. The 3 girls got along very well and played with the couch cushions most of the afternoon - a game only allowed on Thanksgiving :-) Barbara, Mona's mother, is 9 months pregnant and actually due this week. Course, given that she is french, she looked the way I did at 4 months with the twins! It was nice to sit around the table and talk about the differences in the countries and cultures - health care being a big topic of discussion. Some day we'll figure it out here - I just hope it's in my lifetime!

Ellen was very excited about the Turkey and helped my do the basting. She couldn't wait to eat it and "gobbled" up the turkey leg as soon as she could get her hands on it. Then for the rest of the meal she couldn't wait for the pumpkin pie and promptly ate a piece of that as soon as she could.

Frigo!

I know it's a bit Stepford wife of me but I'm very excited about our new refrigerator! And given that I had to tear out molding and file down the side of the cabinet so it would fit, I'm a bit proud, too. Pretty sweet!

An early lesson

Poor Dylan learned an early lesson in sharing today - while Mommy and Grandma Sandy played paparazzi. You might want to turn the volume down - Dylan's quite the squealer!

California Dreamin'

I was out in the Bay Area last weekend for work meetings and brought Nicolas along for the ride. We stayed with Papa and Ghio so he got lots of love from relatives. My mom even came out for the meetings and got to help out with the adoring. Our nieces, Callie and Addie, helped feed him one night. Course I immediately invited them out for summer vacation to help at our house :-)

Dylan finally gets some chompers!

Remember with the first baby how you anxiously awaited their first teeth - with my nieces Callie and Addie the wait was over a year! Once # 3 and 4 come along, the arrival of chompers seems to be nothing more then a mark in the calendar :-) With both boys, we didn't seem to notice when their first teeth come in until they had arrived and our Au Pair told us! I came home from the grocery store this afternoon and Jenny told me that Dylan had 2 bottom teeth! So they finally arrived at 7 1/2 months for anyone keeping track.

Thanks Aunt Suzi!!!

My sister, Susan, stayed with us for 4+ weeks and was a HUGE help. We were sorry to see her go and wish her loads of luck with her latest adventures in Colorado. Thank you so much, Susan!!!!

Happy 70th!

Today is my dad's 70th birthday! Have a great day, Dad. We miss you!!!!

Splish Splash

Here's a little video of Dylan in the bath today. He managed to soak everyone in the room.

Trick or Treat

Jenny and I went out with the Ellen, Anais and Nicolas while Susan manned the door with Dylan. I think a few of the neighbors were a bit confused by the appearance of 2 tiggers in different places throughout the evening. Unfortunately, Shawn spent the evening driving home from Long Island where he has a project that is starting-up and managed to make it home just in time for the mad sugar rush before bedtime.

Happy Halloween!

This photo is from the Halloween fete we had in our neighborhood over the weekend. I'll put up some more photos - and one with Anais as a monkey - after the trick or treating tonight.

New tooth

Nicolas cut his 3rd tooth yesterday. He got his first 2 before he was 4 months old without much notice but this one took another 3+ months with many a drool soaked bib. Dylan is still working on his first - pretty late for our kids :-)

Ellen's Dance

Here's a video from Ellen's "Class Observation".

Dance class

Ellen is taking a Creative Movement class at the YMCA this fall and had a class "observation" yesterday. Here are some photos of our little Margot Fonteyn. In the words of her Aunt Suzi after seeing Ellen reach for her toes, "I see she gets her flexibility from her mother!"

New trees

We planted 2 new maple trees this weekend thanks to a end of season sale at Home Depot. $20 for each - can't beat it :-). Ellen and Anais had fun digging a hole for one of them.

Budding Artist

Ellen is in a very creative stage right now and doing lots of drawing and painting. This morning she did a drawing of a dragon who had just a little fire breath, a castle with a flower and a princess named "Ellen". In the photo is a finger painting she did 2 days ago.

TI(RED)

Nicolas and Dylan are ADMIR(RED) and INSPI(RED) respectively but I'm just TI(RED) thanks to a whole lot of teething. Between the 2 of them we are enjoying every symptom in the book - fever, coughing, drooling, runny nose, fussiness, and my personal favorite - nighttime wakefulness.

Little fish

Ellen and Anais started swim lessons as the local YMCA a couple weeks ago. They both are really enjoying it and quickly getting used to the water.

Aunt Suzi is here!

Aunt Suzi arrived on Wednesday evening and by the first day was getting lots of giggles and hugs from the girls and has quickly learned to put the boys down for their naps - not an easy feat! We are glad (and grateful) that you are here!

Fall Harvest Festival

Last weekend we trekked out to the Fall Harvest Festival at a local farm. The kids rode ponies, picked out pumpkins, got their face painted and even played with some native american artifacts. It had great potential to be a fun day but was fairly miserable because of the high heat and humity... in October :-)

Build-A-Bear

We had our first Build-A-Bear experience thanks to Aunt Jodi. Ellen now has a new friend named "Brownie" - a white and brown doggie who has a convenient brown spot on his bootie and needs lots of diaper changes :-) Anais's new friend is named "Gak Gak" which is Anais-speak for "monster". I'm afraid we won't be able to walk past that shop again without a fitful round of the gimmies. And wouldn't you know it is between the Apple Store and Clarks - I guess there will be 3 girls with the gimmies at that end of the mall!

Thanks, Jodi!

My best friend since forever, Jodi, came this last week for a visit. It was wonderful to spend time with her and sad to see her head back to SF. Thanks for all your help!