Good Hair

I've got admit that despite my dislike of skater kids, I am digging Jack's shaggy skater hair. It was not a look we were going for - I've simply had a hard time mustering up the energy to spend $32 to get the kids hair cuts, but I realized recently that Jack's hair is really working for him. He's, of course, naturally very good-looking, which helps when trying to pull-off the disheveled look. Looks like I'm going to get to hold on to my $32 for a little bit longer!

Big Kid Beds on hold

We've been going back and forth about whether to try to transition the kids out of the cribs and into beds. Jack's done some serious damage to his crib mattress, but the thought of trying to get the two of them to stay in beds until they fall asleep strikes terror in us. Bed time with twins is a unique experience. Every other parent of twins I've talked to has talked about the horrors of bedtime. Jack and Sadie are good sleepers, but they have their days. We've had a few experiences of naps not happening at all because they get each other going throwing all their blankets out of the bed or finding ways to crawl under the crib flat sheet (who knew that that was even possible?). So, at least for the short term, we're probably going to stick with cribs. Hopefully the courage to make the transition will come to us in the future.

Chalk Board & Fro Yo

I'm going to play catch-up and post some pictures from the last few weeks that did not make it up. During our brutal September heat wave my sweet tooth got the best of me and the only cool activity I could think of was to take the kids out for ice cream, so we headed over to Menchies Frozen Yogurt where they have fantastic flavors like Red Velvet and Chai Tea. Sadie insisted on eating green ice cream so the kids had green apple yogurt (I do not feel the need to explain the difference between ice cream and frozen yogurt to them). After their yogurts the kids discovered the giant chalk board on the wall and went to town. I ended up spending less than $5 and keeping the kids occupied for more than an hour, which is a pretty darn good ratio.

Reunited

After being away for 4 days, my longest stint yet, I'm back home with my beautiful children and amazing husband. J. was a super-dad taking care of the kids while I was in Maine. Here are Sadie and Jack this afternoon with their presents from downeast. We had a lovely afternoon reading every book we have that features a moose.

Heat Wave

Despite the fall equinox this week, summer is having a hard time letting go in LA. It's 105 here today. Fortunately the kids had swim lessons this morning, so we got a reprieve from the heat at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center. Both Jack and Sadie love the water. They are both comfortable going under water and are always thrilled to be in pools or the ocean. As is their Taurus-nature, following instructions at swim lessons is not so easy, so it may be a while yet before they master the doggy-paddle. Hopefully these early swim lessons will at least prevent them from inheriting my inability to enjoy water. As long as my kids don't show up to pool parties with giant snorkeling masks on their faces I'll be happy.

Catch Phrases

Phew, I'm glad that I posted a slug of photos around Labor Day, because it's been a lean period for photos since. The kids both caught colds immediately upon returning to preschool, so we have not been doing a whole lot on the weekends. Their incessant snotty noses also don't make for the cutest pictures. We did manage to get this photo of Sadie at the playground last weekend and I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some of Sadie's favorite phrases.

Sadie is very fond of saying the following:

"I got it." (Which means, "Stop trying to help me, I'm doing this on my own whether you like it or not."

"Look at me." (Whenever Sadie is proud of something she has done or is doing, such as in yesterday's case when she picked up an apple and started taking bites of the whole apple for the first time.)

"No, Jackie Boy." (Not surprisingly Sadie often wants to convince Jack to stop doing whatever he is doing, but we were surprised when she started calling him "Jackie Boy," which we do not call him, but which we think she picked up from preschool. She seems to use this whenever she really wants to get his attention.)

"Here, Jackie Boy." (Used when Sadie wants to distract Jack from whatever toy he is playing with so that she can get it for herself.)

Kiddie Pool Party

We celebrated Labor Day by inviting some of Jack and Sadie's best friends over for a kiddie pool party. Their friends Tatum (featured at right on the top), Mimi, Charlie and Zev all came over for a little fun in the sun. Sadie and Jack are getting to a social age where they do better with more kids around. Our backyard may be seeing a lot more traffic.