Arden Walking!

We have some strange goings-on here in Murphyville.

Cari has decided that biting is a good way to make her feelings known. Luckily her biting consists of mouthing and slobbering on the offending person. She has "bitten" Arden's head, Lani's arm, and Arden's hand when she's mad. Cari also does a couple other funny things. She likes to "feed" Arden her sippy sometimes. (Arden is not amused by this.) Cari also nods her head "yes" at the appropriate times, which is humorous as well as a bit unusual at this age. And finally, Cari knows that she has to leave her "Brownie" and her paci in the crib when we come downstairs. So I tell her to put them in her crib and she does. Of course, right away she reaches back in to pull Brownie out.

Arden is saying new words every day. I'm sure I miss a lot because she's still a little unintelligible AND I'm busy all the time. She said "punkin" the other day when I asked her if she wanted pumpkin pancakes. She also calls everything "dis", which Lani did too! (Her verbal development reminds me a lot of Alana's.) But most exciting of all, Arden was walking last night on her own without Chris or me being there to coax her! It was just a few shuffling steps here and there before she fell, but she kept getting back up and trying again. See the video clips below...

Tent & Trampoline Fun

MIA

I've been MIA of late because the twins have been very very cranky and clingy during the day. Cari is popping out 6 teeth at once and she does not sleep well either.

In the midst of the slobbery, whiny, drippy, crabby mayhem, the twins have been developing. They both sign "all done" now. So so sweet! I was putting on Arden's coat and she signed "all done". Cari signed "all done" after I had fed her 3/4 of a yogurt cup. It is really cute.

Arden also says a lot of words as well as parrots words. I was playing with her and Lani and kept saying "gotya" and so she said "gotya". Both girls say "shooz". The other night it was about 6pm and Arden started saying "bokka bokka bokka". She was telling us she wanted to bocha (bathe)!

This is a signature look for Arden.

If it has a seat, Arden is climbing into it!

All the girls love this tent. It is a huge hit!

Inside the tent...

The twins cannot stay off this toddler trampoline. They climb on it, sit on it, and jump on it. I have to put it away when I don't want them on it.

For safety's sake, only one child should be on it at a time. Yeah, right!

Blast from the Past

I remember thinking she was so big, but watch this to see my chubby little cherub. She was still a little baby. This day we had just gotten back from dance class in San Diego (sigh) and were getting ready for her nap.

Earthquake in Haiti

I just want to take a moment to remark on the events of the last week. I have been so upset to learn of the devastation in Haiti and to see how little help those poor people seem to be receiving even though it has been a few days since the earthquake. And when I saw the babies and kids atop those piles of bodies, I just broke down. Those people already suffer from terrible poverty and now they have to face this? It's horrible.

I just want to add how grateful I am that my little ones are safe today. How lucky we are to have food to eat and clean water to drink and a place to lay our heads tonight. I am praying for the Haitian people.

What's the Good Word?

We have a few new words today. Arden said mama ("baba"). Can't say her m's very well, just like big sis who called me "bobby" for awhile. Arden loves to watch our lips when we tell her words then her little lips quiver as she tries to emulate us. It is adorable to say the least!

Cari said shoes ("jooz") today. She is so girlie. She loves purses and shoes.

Cari also knows what "kiss" means. I asked her for kisses last night when she was in my lap. She whipped her head around and leaned toward me with a big open mouth. Then later she was running around and I asked her for a kiss. She came toward me with her open mouth again. So cute! I remember Alana used to do this too.

I took off my pants in honor of San Diego

It was the Annual No Pants Subway Ride Day in SD. The weather was a balmy 72 degrees. (Here we had a high of 26). A few brave souls (35) took off their pants then caught the trolley. I don't know how you would do that here. You would freeze your buns off (or your bum off as they would say here). I miss San Diego. The weather here stinks!

* * * * *

Big News! Arden took her first solo steps on Sunday night (1/10). Woo hoo! It was so exciting. She's been cruising a lot the last 3 days, which is not typical for her. Here's hoping that in 2 more weeks she'll be tottering around.

Arden says a few words, or more accurately, she tries to say a few words. She says bocha ("boka"), book ("buch"), sister ("shista"), and uh oh. Arden also does the hand sign for done, milk, and light. She also says "stuck" all the time, but I don't know what she is trying to say.

Cari says two words that I can tell. She says done ("da") and blue ("bu"). Cari does the sign for light, more and milk.

Arden is obsessed with climbing in boxes. Here she has climbed into the little plastic box, then Cari decided to sit on her.

Video clips:

Arden Kneewalks

Well, it's official. I've got another kneewalker. Lani spent about a month and a half walking on her knees before she stood up and walked the regular way. Arden is following is in her knee-prints hehe. She is 14 months and still not showing much interest in walking though she finds great pleasure in standing and balancing (just as her twin did). She always make sure to smile at me proudly as if to say "Do you see, do you see? I'm standing on my own!"

Here is a clip of my little knee-walker:

Here's to a New Decade!

The day started off well. I made my first ozoni soup (Japanese new year's soup) for good luck. I used chicken broth, dashi, soy sauce, daikon (round for good luck), green onions, spinach, and a little chicken. Despite the number of ingredients, I kept the soup sparse as I remember it from childhood. Now you may feel the chicken or the daikon was inappropriate, however, the ingredients of the soup vary depending upon the region of Japan. Some areas use chicken, some use daikon and carrots, some add salmon, miso and/or tofu.

Oh, and the mochi. The store-bought mochi burned a bit in the broiler, but after picking off the charred pieces it seemed okay. Lani and I really enjoyed the soup, and Chris seemed iffy about it. The babies were not impressed either, which surprised me as Arden is a huge miso soup/tofu/veggie fan.

Since the early breakfast was light, I decided to trot out second breakfast. I made homemade scallion pancakes and dipping sauce. Yummy! Everybody dug this, especially Arden. She made sure she got as many helpings as she could!

I think we've got our New Year's day tradition down for future years.

Arden is obsessed with riding in the push buggy or the rocking horse. That girl wants to move.

Cari in a less happy moment.

Arden in the rocking horse that I got for $10 on Craigslist. Obviously, she got herself in there herself.

Lani and her friend "A". We had his family over on 12/27. We had a lovely time.

The girls "coloring" together.

Lani was "instructing" her sisters in the art of drawing.

Video clips: