Little People at the Zoo

Matt's summer break is, sadly, coming to an end. I know, poor me, right? I realize I will have very little sympathy from the larger population of you moms whose husbands have a more normal schedule. Matt likes to say that everyone else has "real jobs." Personally, I think his job is great and very real :) But, we are able to do so many things as a family that I know we wouldn't be able to do if he didn't have the little pockets of vacation he has every few months. We just spent two weeks in Tahoe (more on that to come!), and get so much family time over all of the holidays. I think I'd definitely be committed somewhere by now if not for his schedule that affords me a little break every now and then.

So, in an effort to maximize Matt's dwindling vacation (he does teach a six week chemistry class over the summer that ended right before we left for Tahoe, just in case you think he really has been loafing around the house all summer), we very spontaneously headed to the San Francisco Zoo on Saturday. Lucky for the girls, the day we went happened to coincide with the Fisher-Price Play Weekend! Basically, Fisher-Price had set up a big pavilion with all of their current toys, including ride-on toys for toddlers and a huge track for kids to test out the battery powered jeeps and trucks. They had every Little People set, all of their toddler toys, and a whole lot of "boy toys" (who plays with those I wonder??) that we didn't even get to. We seriously could have spent all day in this tent, since Little People are BIG favorites in our family. And who knew a trip to the zoo could be so low-maintenace? It was like free babysitting, since Fisher-Price employees were all over the place keeping Little People in the right spots, demonstrating toys and playing with the kids. (And there was a crazy Fisher-Price employee that was not-so-slyly taking pictures of the twins on her phone. Not the first time a stranger has taken pictures of the babies - weird, right?)

The girls had a blast!

The babies? Not so impressed:


But, when they woke up, they loved it!!

And, all four girls playing nicely with one toy? Yeah, Santa will be bringing that to our house this year!

When we escaped the Fisher-Price zone, we headed to the train and I got to ride with the girls for a change!

Later, we took turns getting some pictures of our doubled double stroller situation. Can you say spectacle?

It would have been nice to get all of us in the same picture, but we would have needed to flag someone down to get that shot, and that would have required making eye contact with someone else at the zoo. And, making eye contact with strangers is pretty much the opposite of what we (or, at least I) do when out with all four, since making eye contact invites long conversations and lots of questions and judgements. If we didn't just keep our heads down, we would be roped into at least a few conversations that would include any or all of the following:

"Are they all yours??"

"Two sets of twins?"

"Wow! You have your hands full!"

"Are you going to try for a boy now?"

"Better you than me!"

"Look at all of that blonde hair!"

"They are adorable!" (Okay, I don't exactly mind that one!)

Of course, we always politely laugh like we've never been told we have our hands full before. Tell me something I don't know, or haven't heard. Don't get me wrong, there are many days that I welcome small talk with nosy strangers. It still qualifies as adult conversation, right? I'll take what I can get sometimes. But, this day at the zoo was about about family time, not about the same conversation again and again with random people. So...no family picture.

We did get a few more cute shots, though. Bridget smiled for the camera (big surprise!):

And we got our flamingo shot. For some reason, the girls really like the flamingos every time we go to the zoo, so we get this shot every time:

The best thing about one of our double strollers? The babies love playing footsie :)

With our renewed annual pass, I'm hoping we head to the zoo more often now!

Teasers from Tahoe

Our two weeks in Tahoe are almost up, and I have just a few pictures on my phone. I'll have to wait until we get home to grab the pictures from my camera. Until then, you can enjoy the antics of our littlest travel companions.











- posted from my handy-dandy iPhone, with Blogpress

Little Models

We braved the wind and the fog on the beach two nights ago to get some pictures of the girls taken by a friend of mine. Lorraine Murphy lives in our neighborhood and takes her two little boys to all of the same local haunts that I drag the girls to every week. She's been taking amazing pictures of her boys for the last couple of years, and just recently decided to start her own photography business. When she asked if she could photograph the girls to build her portfolio, I jumped at the opportunity, especially since I've seen what a beautiful job she does.

We decided to meet at Baker Beach, which is just west of the Golden Gate Bridge. (And, yes, these photos were taken just a few days ago, in the middle of the summer. Not all of the beaches in California are sunny and beautiful over the summer!!) We got several pictures there, although the babies were literally shivering, so we decided to move to another park near the Cliff House for less wind and happier babies! The first half of these pictures were taken at the beach. Matt and I weren't quite prepared to be in the pictures, so we weren't really dressed for it. But, I am not choosy about pictures that contain all of us, especially when the result looks like this!

Homeschooling

Yep, you read that right. We homeschool. It's never too early to begin educating, and we run a pretty rigorous program here -- lots of crayon-chewing and book-eating. Very academic.

Our subjects include:

Reading

Art

Choir

(I apologize in advance for Bridget's super long and very unique rendition of Wheels on the Bus. Who am I to decide how long it should be? Besides, I just can't bring myself to edit video. It's even harder than deleting pictures. In 20 years, I'll want every last second of this video!)

And, recess, of course!

Obviously dress code is not strictly enforced. Sometimes we let the upperclassman come to school without their pants on.

- Posted using BlogPress from my handy-dandy iPhone

Happy Birthday, Bridget!

Our little Bridget turned 3 this weekend! It's hard to believe that she's had three birthdays now, but for a walk down memory lane, here you go (note the big cheeks that have been there since day one!):

July 11, 2007, born at 11:11 pm

(she was destined to be a lucky little girl)

1st Birthday, 2008

2nd Birthday, 2009

and,
3rd Birthday, 2010

Her big day began with presents from Mommy and Daddy, and Mop and Pop. If anyone can get excited about a card, it would be Bridget...

so you can imagine the show she put on when she opened Snow White!

Later, she had a blast at her party. She was a perfect little hostess. She even excused herself mid-present opening to use the bathroom. She's all "growns up" -- sniff sniff.

For even more pictures, you can head here. We're so lucky to have a professional photographer right next door, who is always coming by with his camera. Al got much better shots than we did!

Happy Birthday, Bridget! We can't wait to see what the future holds for you, but are enjoying every moment with you right now :)

Helping Daddy (Tutu Optional)

Matt's honey-do list is pretty long these days, since he needs to fit any house projects we I want done around his work schedule and the needs of four little girls. So, you can imagine his my excitement over his lighter summer schedule. It means that he can tackle some of the things that have been bugging us me for a while. He started this past weekend (on our anniversary, no less. I know, I'm definitely the wife of the year!) and painted the peeling railings on our front steps and interior staircase.

Of course, the hard part is not the work itself. Invariably, Megan and Bridget want in on whatever Daddy is fixing, so he has to wrangle two eager and chatty handygirls while he does his "manly" work --- a delicate balance made more delicate when one of the handygirls insists on wearing a tutu.

By the end of the weekend, railings were painted, Matt knocked some items off of his list and I added a few more ;) Since I don't think I've posted a picture of our house before, and because the handygirls insisted on posing everywhere that day, here is our work in progress:
(And, no, the color is not off. That's the color of our sky during the summer. Fog. All.of.the. time.)

Annie and Molly...

...a one-sided love affair.

Little cousin Molly came for a visit two days ago, and while all of the big kids played together, the babies had a chance to bond a little. Yes, I still call Tessa and Annie "babies," even though I'm very aware they should be called "toddlers" by now :(

Tessa poked a finger or two at Molly, giggled a little, and then settled down to read her books (her favorite thing to do lately when she's not doing some stunt to make Annie laugh). Annie, meanwhile, took this little sit-down very seriously. Imagine a 15-month demanding to hold a baby. That's what happened, over and over again, and Sara just kept giving in and placing Molly on Annie's lap. Annie can be very persuasive :) Doesn't she just look so serious here and motherly here?

When it was time for Sara to hit the road back to Moraga, no one was more sad to see them go than Annie, who clung to Molly's car seat in a desperate attempt to keep her at our house, and then threw a little tantrum. I think Molly was glad for the change of scenery when she was safely in her car!

Clippies, Climbing and Cattiness

Another day, another Stecher party :) This week, we celebrated our nephews Jack and Aidan turning six! They are the first set of twin grandchildren in the Stecher family (that's usually not something you need to differentiate!), and I can't believe they're six already. They had a great pizza party, and the girls had a blast, except for the fact that Tessa and Annie refused to let anyone else hold them. Stranger anxiety x 2 ... except that the "strangers" were Grandma, aunts and uncles. You'd think they'd be more than happy to go to some open arms and some undivided attention for a change. Maybe next time!


Before leaving for the party, I tried something new. Since Tessa and Annie's hair has been slow to come in, they've never had anything in their hair. Sure, I could have been doing cute headbands this whole time, but - let's be honest - I barely manage to change them out of their pajamas most days, nevermind adorn their hair. So, I was attempting to put little clips in their hair for the first time for this party, but they had other ideas. It's hard enough to have a toddler "allow" clips in their hair without yanking them right out. Add in a grabby sister or three, and those "clippies" are doomed. I did manage to get some pictures before Annie's was stolen, and Tessa managed to keep her's in all night. They looked so...old :(

Of course, while I was doing all four girls' hair, things were being undone. This is my life. Matt may be the physics teacher, but I can tell you this: Anytime I try to do anything productive, something opposite and destructive is happening elsewhere. For every action, there is an opposite reaction. While I'm doing the dishes and cleaning up breakfast, the girls are playing "boat" and piling Bridget's bed with every object in their room. While I'm changing a load of laundry, babies are pulling every book off of their bookshelf. I feel like a clean-up crew, just one mess behind the kids all day long. The mischief during our "salon" time? Tessa and Annie decided to perfect their new act of climbing onto the dining room chairs, and then climbing onto the dining room table from there. And then prancing around on the table. Over and over again. Hilarious, right?

Now, chairs can not be trusted on the ground when the babies are on the loose. Or, the babies can not be trusted with the chairs. Either way, something tells me that this will get old:

When we were finally ready to leave the house, we had a little team chat:

Me: "Okay, girls. Raise your hand if you're going to be really friendly tonight."

Tessa: Blank stare. (Obviously she was plotting exactly how loud to cry when a friendly relative attempted to hold her.)

Annie: Blank stare. (Plotting how loud her sympathy cry should be. She still needs to add real tears to this act for it to be believable.)

Bridget (hand up high): "Me! Me! I'm going to be very friendly!"

Megan: "No, I am!! All of the beautiful people...I'm going to talk to them!"

???

No time to even question where that came from. We scrambled out the door and I was left wondering which Disney movie I'm to thank for instilling this principle.

Two Kids in Diapers!

This may not be cause for celebration in most households, but I am overjoyed to report that Bridget is now fully potty-trained, and we now have just two kids in diapers! Bridget has been daytime and naptime potty-trained for almost a year, but she was still wearing a diaper at night until 3 nights ago.

Well, she finally had three nights in a row with a dry diaper, which was our rule for losing the diaper entirely. She did it!! Her reward? We all went out to ice cream together, and she picked her own flavor - Strawberry Shortcake.

Sisterly Love

Tessa and Annie - 15 months

Before their check-up this morning, Matt held Tessa in one arm, and Annie in the other, and tried to guess what their weight difference would be. For the past couple of weeks, I've been convinced that Tessa is at least a pound heavier, but Matt's very calculated guess of 8 ounces proved to be right on the money!

Tessa: 23 pounds, 14 ounces (70th percentile!)

Annie: 23 pounds, 6 ounces (60th percentile!)

We have some chunky babies this time around! For comparison, Megan and Bridget each weighed 21 pounds exactly at 15 months.

These little girls are doing new things every day right now. They're now pointing to objects in books, understanding simple commands, throwing their diapers in the diaper pail (we run a tight ship around here and put them to work early!), still climbing every ladder, staircase or step stool in sight, and mastering play structures at every park we go to. They haven't mastered much in the vocab department beyond "Mama" and "Dada," so we also don't speak their language, so who knows what they're saying to each other? ;)

They're also showing their different personalities more and more. Annie is proving to be very alpha in their relationship. She takes things from Tessa, and Tessa usually just lets her. Annie is very curious, relentless when she wants something (won't stop "asking" for it), and pretty stubborn. She hates to be told "no." Meanwhile, Tessa is happiest when she's being held and cuddled. While Annie tries to play with Megan and Bridget, Tessa is content to lounge in a lap, surveying the action from a distance. They both love to flip through books, and are just now loving the girls' baby dolls. They give them kisses and hold them while patting them on the back. Best of all, they're really playing with each other quite a bit. Just tonight, they were holding hands while running around the house after dinner.

These are all pictures from the last week:

Annie

Tessa