I have the bestest friends ever...

Danielle Newman, Erika Benton, Nicole Sonnenberg and Me:
I know all of you think you have great girlfriends, but trust me when I say I have the bestest group of girlfriends ever. I was lucky enough to have some of them here in San Diego last weekend and we had an absolute blast! Traveling has become one of our favorite things to do together and have been on countless trips to cabins (Bear Lake, Alta, Midway, Starvation Reservoir), San Diego, Las Vegas, Lake Powell, St. George, Newport Beach, and New York-twice. Yeah, we're spoiled and I felt even more spoiled this trip considering I was child-free. Tucker took on the kids all weekend and I got a much needed break with my girls. Thank you so much sweetheart!

Now back to the trip. We started things off with a favorite past-time of ours, going out to dinner. We went to a fabulous little place called Extraordinary Desserts and they have the most...extraordinary desserts!

The next day started with another favorite, taking pictures. We must think we are hot stuff to want to take as many pictures as we do:

Yes, we do the kissy pose everytime we get together-it's a must!
I had to get some shots of the cutest pregnant girl ever-can you believe she is due next month?!

We then headed over to Swami's Cafe for a delicious breakfast/lunch-you're that full after eating at this place. So while we digested our meal, we simply sat poolside and got to chat it up. Can I tell you how relaxing it is to go to the pool without kids? I had forgotten how nice it was!

That night we did some serious window shopping at USA Baby-yeah Erika!-and Fashion Valley Mall. We then hit up Sammy's Pizza for dindin and all decided on salads-it must have been the ridiculous amounts of food we had eaten up to that point.

Sunday started with some serious lounge time including Moonlight Beach. Again, so nice without the kids. Now don't get me wrong, I love taking my kids to play in the sand and water, but I really needed this kind of beach day. The kind where you actually sit and talk with other adults while listening to the waves crash on the beach. Aaaahhhh.
That night was a total highlight for me. We got all dolled up and headed to So You Think You Can Dance Tour Show! I am going to be totally honest when I say I got a little teary-eyed as I heard the opening song start. It was absolutely incredible!!! There is nothing like seeing these dancers live, I can't even describe it to you. They all looked amazing, ok wait...I still don't like Jessica. Sorry. But everyone else was awesome! We had great seats on the floor and even got to meet the famous, or infamous, Mary Murphy. And yes, she is just as obnoxious in person as she is on tv. Just kidding, she was actually really nice...and leathery.
All in all, we had a fantastic trip and what was best was just being together and catching up. Our lives are getting so busy with big moves, jobs, kids, etc. that we start to really miss each other and need some of that good old fashioned girl time. Thank you girls so much for such a great trip and I can't wait to do it again!

To fly or not to fly...

Just as Tucker and I were getting up last Sunday, we heard the loud buzzing of a small plane. Both of us knew the plane was flying much too low as it was much louder than anything we had heard before. As we headed to church that morning our street was blocked off with policeman and flares. Sure enough, the plane we had heard had crashed into the hillside less than 500 yards from our home and the pilot died. The fog was extremely thick that morning and they think he simply got lost trying to find the nearby airport. The news crews were there all day and one interviewed Tucker. Take a look at http://video.nbcsandiego.com/player/?id=707081

So, the question remains, should I allow Tucker to become a pilot? As I mentioned earlier, I told him he could go ahead and start on his ground school which he loves, but now I am rethinking my decision. Is this a sign? Please take a vote on the poll to the right. Thank you!

For some pictures and details about my fabulous weekend with the girls-much lighter material- stay tuned!

Brownie Blasphemy

Alysha is the best wife and mother a man could ask for. In her attempt to nourish our children and keep the family health she has inadvertently defiled that which is sacred. I'm speaking of course, on the substitution of chocolate with pumpkin paste. Although the chocolate gods have been temporarily placated with my sacrifice of a vanilla goat, any further offenses may stoke their wrath. Take heed, never try to switch chocolate with any sort of vegetable (continue to add chocolate to healthy items such as strawberries for bonus points).

Fabulous Find!

The reason for my title is twofold. First, I have decided that the cookbook Deceptively Delicious is a fabulous find and I am really getting into it. I have made mac n' cheese and scrambled eggs with cauliflower, and applesauce/carrot muffins that were fabulous and all very healthy! I appreciated your encouragement and now encourage all of you to go out and get this book if dealing with anti-veggie toddlers...or husbands.

Now for my second fabulous find. It had been awhile since I had last updated our family picture on our sidebar (ok, since December!), so I decided to look for a photo to replace it. That's when I fell upon these fabulous finds-pictures taken on Tucker's birthday that not only had I never seen, but had totally forgot about! Let's just say that I was a bit behind organizing pics since I went out of town soon after.

For Tucker's birthday my family joined Tucker, me and the kids to the Aero Space Museum in Balboa Park. Yes, Tucker got to pick the activity for the day. It was actually really fun and incredibly interesting as you looked at these glorified kites as what pilots once flew. Tucker is dying to become a pilot and though it scares me to death, it was fun to share a bit of his passion in seeing this museum. I have to add that as informative as it was for all of us, there wasn't a single thing Tucker learned-he knew it all already! He is now doing ground school-thank you Susie for his birthday present!-and loving it.

So, here are some pictures we took along the way:

I am not going to even guess what kind of plane this was, but the nice gentleman taking tickets flew it a very long time ago:

The very giddy birthday boy in the WWI exhibit:Tucker's future co-pilots:Roman was so into this plane, it was hard to get him to look up at camera. Capri, on the other hand, knows when to be cute!

After we were done at the museum, we hung out at the park for a bit before we were going to meet some friends. This depicts one of Roman's favorite games of "I'm gonna get you!" in which he runs but then slows or stops completely so that you can get him:"What? I didn't do anything." And now I never buy fruit snacks:Roman rough-housing with dad, another favorite. Isn't my husband dead sexy in this photo?!Capri and her sippy:Roman just excited to be here-Wahoo!This is mom wanting a picture with Capri but Capri wanting more fruit snacks:

Healthy Healthy Healthy

I would like to begin my post with an excerpt from a new favorite movie, Baby Mama:

"I thought it would be a good idea if you started to eat organic."

"Ugh, that crap is for rich people that hate themselves."

Hilarious, right? If you haven't seen this movie and have had a baby-this is a must see. It brings me to the point of my post, eating healthy. As mentioned in an earlier post, my pediatrician is really stressing healthy eating and lots of veggies that my kids do not like. So, I went ahead and bought a cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld, Deceptively Delicious, which includes healthy recipes with vegetables hidden inside. In order to make any of these dishes, however, I needed to puree, puree, puree. So, take a look at my new best friend, the Cuisinart Food Processor:



Wish me luck my friends, wish me A LOT of luck!

Smile....please?

I have been dying to have the twins photographed by a real photographer, not just at Kiddie kandids or Target. Don't get me wrong, I have used these studios in the past and have been really happy with the results. I just wanted a different feel this time around, more natural and outside. So, I started researching photographers in the area and found that they were all expensive. When I asked Tucker he he would be ok to set aside the $600 for me, my dad just had to pipe in and recommend I take the pictures. Nice. Tucker then persuaded me to give it a try because if it worked we just saved a bunch, and if not, well no big deal. Ok, I could give it a shot. This is what we came up with on our second attempt (the first being more of a learning experience) and although we couldn't get both Roman and Capri smiling at the same time (regardless of the antics we pulled off behind the camera), I think we have a few winners:

Obviously not a professional here, but with a few tips in photoshop, I think we can pull it off! Let me know if you have any to share. Please. :)

"Do you want to know a secret?"

This weekend Alysha and I went up to Disneyland to meet Tyler, Mindy and their kids. Once we got to the hotel we all went swimming. Tyler was swimming around with Ava on his back and I was playing with Roman. After a few minutes Ava came up to me and asked, "Do you want to know a secret? I peed on my daddy". I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Ahhh the joys of parenthood. Here are some pictures and a video of our time spent in Downtown Disney and at Candy Cane Inn. Roman wants to go there: Capri watching the flower fountain:Everyone knows that my kids don't warm up to just anyone, but uncle Tyler is definitely making his way up the list:The girls (Mindy said "Disneyland" to get Ava and Lily to smile and it obviously worked for me too?!):The boys including Roman without pants, again:

How are the twins doing?

With the chaos that is moving back in May, summer and traveling, I realized I had totally passed up the twins' wellness check-ups for 15 month and 18 month. So, to start I will give you the stats.
Roman at 15 months:
Height-32.5 inches (86%)
Weight-24.42 lbs (47%)
Head Circumference-47 cm (50%)
Capri at 15 months:
Height-30 inches (37%)
Weight-19.82 lbs (10%)
Head Circumference-46 cm (5o%)

Roman at 18 months:
Height-34 inches (90%)
Weight-24.55 lbs (28%)
Head Circumference-48.5 cm (75%)
Capri at 18 months-31 inches (30%)
Weight-19.63 lbs (1%)
Head Circumference-47.5 cm (80%)

As you can see, both Roman and Capri are getting skinny! I truly miss the pudge and wish I could stuff them with doughnuts and pastries to get it back. However, my pediatrician Dr. Gillin, is pretty darn strict when it comes to junk food. I need to start cramming veggies down and I don't have the slightest idea on how to do it. My kids love corn and green beans and that is not going to cut it, but if I try any other vegetable, they simply won't touch it. It's pretty funny to see their expressions when they go to pick up a piece of cooked carrot, place it on the tip of their tongue, and put it right back where it was in their bowl. I have gotten creative with broccoli in their quesadillas, cauliflower in their eggs, etc. but it is obviously hidden. I guess I will have to keep trying and we will see how they are doing weight wise in a month or so.
The other part of the wellness check-up is development. We go through a list of things they may or may not be doing at this stage to get a better idea of where they are in the learning process. Luckily, my kids have always done really well, especially for being twins. At 15 months they could identify one body part, scribble, follow simple instructions, point to a picture (Capri's favorite thing to do), throw a ball (Roman's favorite thing to do), stacking 2 objects, bring us something to show us or to read, and understands at least 50 words.
We were, however, concerned with their speaking ability at their 15-month visit. You are supposed to know 3-5 words and though Capri knew 4 (ball, hi, hello and bye), Roman only knew 1 (ball-which he learned before the run of many ear infections). Because of his ear infection history, the doctor thought it might be best to get tubes in his ears to better his hearing and thus, improve his speech. The doctor was right. We have seen such a difference in the past 2 months for both Roman and Capri. So, at this last appointment we were able to identify at least 10 for Capri (they are supposed to know 5-15) and 6 for Roman. Some of their favorites are hi, hello, bye, hot (everything is hot now when it comes to food), hat, shoe, fish, and Capri's word for stuck.
They can both stack several objects-Capri is particularly good at this, walk backwards-Roman loves to walk backwards to get into his chair, imitate me cleaning, wiping and vacuuming, feeding themselves with a spoon-very messy but they are getting the hang of it, identify body parts-eyes, tummy, belly buttons, nose, mouth, feet and hands, kick a ball, identify pictures in a book, Roman runs, Capri follows commands, and they both have started to pull of clothing! About that, my mom went in to get Capri out of her crib and she had taken off her diaper and thrown it into Roman's crib. Nice. I am sure he appreciated that.
Other fun things I wan to remember:
*When Capri wanted to show you how excited she was to see you, she reached her arms out to you and clasping her hands over and over.
*Now, both Roman and Capri gives love pats and kisses.
*When Roman wants to be picked up, he scratches your thighs or grabs the fabric of your pants and tugs.
*Roman is the daredevil and loves to play with his Dad-the higher or rougher the better.
*Capri is my project girl and is happiest when she has a number of items to relocate into a bucket, her fire engine, or one of the baskets.
*The twins love swimming lessons and can not only hold their breath for a good while as they glide into the steps to pull themselves up, but now voluntarily go under and even slide of the edge.
*Roman is still obsessed with any sort of ball and throwing everything.
*Capri is still obsessed with her blanket and now I need new clean blankets due to the nast chewed corners.
*Both are OBSESSED with being outside and have to be out everyday.
*I finally took the gates down and the stairs are getting to be a new toy.
*When Capri is mad at you, she may close her eyes in a squinty fashion so that she can't see you.
*When Roman is mad, he will literally collapse to the ground (something he learned from his sister).
*Both are getting more and more into being tickled and their laughing is what I love most.
Wow, this post is going on forever and I am surprised you are still with me. All in all, the twins are doing great and Tucker and I feel so incredibly blessed to have such healthy kids. I will definitely update you on their weight gain, but I think they will be just fine.
I would never bore you with such a long post without adding some pictures, so here are Roman and Capri at our favorite new park, Cottonwood Creek near Moonlight Beach.

Newport Beach Part 2 of 2

We couldn't go to Newport without going to the beach and playing in the sand. Unfortunately, Roman was throwing sand at Capri within about 10 minutes so that ended our excursion quickly. He still managed to get a thick layer of sand on every inch of his body so we showered him off and found a spot on the grass, sand free. One of Roman's new favorite games with Daddy-he pretty much loves anything that makes it feel like he is falling!
Capri and her blanket-they have a very special bond as she literally chews the heck out of each corner!
Putting on mommy's make-up:
This was the best! My family decided to rent a surrey and we had so much fun riding down to the wedge, partly on the boardwalk and partly on E Balboa Blvd-the cars not so happy with us.
At the bay near the wedge (a famous surfing spot at the end of Balboa Beach):

Check us out in this sweet ride: I made my dad take this picture of him and my mom in the back:
Me and Jon: