Happy Birthday Brett and Magdalena

Brett & Mags,

Today you turn 1! While this year has absolutely flown by, it's impossible to remember life without you... which is OK because I don't want to. Your Mommy and I love you both more than you can possibly imagine.

-Dad

1st Birthday Party!

Brett and Maggie turn 1 on Tuesday and this weekend we celebrated with their first birthday party. The party had everything two babies could want - lots of friends, a visit from their Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie DeeDee, and Uncles RyRy and DumDum and, of course, CAKE! Two cakes actually, as Mommy ensured both Brett and Mags got their own cake and their own "Happy Birthday" songs.

Here are a few photos. Brett and Mags want to especially thank their friends Lucas, Shayna, Mason, Riyo and Avery for celebrating with them.

Hail To The Redskins

We're ready for the season to begin and Brett is looking tough in his new jersey. Nowhere to go but up after last year. Hail To The Redskins!

Dr. Destructo

Find out if you've adequately baby-proofed! He only charges $10 an hour for his services. Mommy and Daddy will have to bust out the duct tape on this one. Thanks for the fun new playmat, Grandma!




Dan took this picture when I came home from work on Friday.

Wishful Thinking

I always imagined I'd have a little girl with pigtails on her first birthday. Instead, Brett is the one with flowing locks of gold (pictures truly don't do his crowning glory justice), and Maggie has penguin hair. She has the hairline of a penguin, and her hair sticks out on the sides like an emperor penguin.
A few days ago, Dan called me in the bathroom during bath time. "Come see Pippi Longstockings," he said.



A little preview of what her pigtails may look like in the distant future when her hair is long enough...

Heat Wave

93 degrees outside, 91 inside. Too hot for clothes!

Cool Kicks

Thanks, Auntie Big J and Uncle Dickie!



(Yes, Bretty chose his own outfit today.)

A Visit from Grandma!

Grandma came to visit the babies last week. She and Maggie had many important conversations.





Brett liked when Grandma let him bounce in her lap.



And everyone liked cuddling.

Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Two Babes in a Tub

Who Loves Burritos

Our friend Baco has an awesome shirt with a motorcycle guy on it that says, "Who Loves Burritos" (no question mark). Today, as the babies ate their very first restaurant food from the neighborhood Mexican place, Brett needs a shirt like that.





Dan's at Uncle Dave's bachelor party in New York this weekend, and so the babies came with me today to Macy's. They were very good in their stroller. Maggie waved hi (and talked loudly) to everyone we saw, and Brett was obsessed with his snack cup full of cut-up grapes and spinach puffs. They were in great moods when we got home this evening, so I got some fun pictures.

Brett is shirtless because he enjoyed his burrito too much. Maggie is shrieking at him.



Maggie waves hello to Brett.



Maggie does the splits and gets up on her feet and bounces.

Basic Training

Below is one of my new favorite photos. Brett always climbs over Maggie. She, in return, often tries to sit on him.

Beauty and Brains

Maggie has some boot-cut jeans that fit perfectly. Most women try on 20 pairs to get some that fit this great.



She also is learning her animal sounds.

Mobile Babies

Brett has been scooting around on the floor for about a month now, and Maggie has just joined him. Our new basement, which is almost complete, couldn't have come at a better time. It will be one giant rec room for babies and adults.

Here's a little clip of the babies moving. Note the pacifier switcheroo in the middle (musical pacifiers is a favorite game of these babies) and Maggie's sweet smile at the end.

Maggie Mermaid & The Lobster Man

This weekend we took a trip down to Orange County to see Grandma & Grandpa. The highlight of the trip was the twins' first ever dip in the pool. And they LOVED it. Brett giggled, smiled, kicked his legs and splashed Mommy and Daddy every chance he got. Maggie also did a little splashing but took things a bit more seriously - seeing it as an opportunity to work on her backstroke. She's a very good swimmer.

Click on the album below to see the photos, including a couple bonus photos with Grandma & Grandpa and some shots of their post-swim bath.

Poi Power

It looks like Brett has a dairy allergy. We're not sure how severe it is, and there's a chance he could outgrow it, but until his 1-year doctor appointment he's off of dairy. In the mean time, we're having fun subbing in as many other foods as possible. One of his favorites is poi. He loves the stuff. He also loves coconut milk which means Bretty has some decidedly tropical tastes.

Poi is a staple in Hawaii and if there's any chance Brett grows up to be as tough and strong as other famous Poi-fueled athletes (see Troy Polamalu, Mosi Tatupu and Bu La'ia) we'll keep feeding it too him. There's little doubt he'll keep eating it...

Maggie's Got a Toothy Grin

Two weeks ago Magdalena sprouted her first tooth. It's a bottom tooth - aka a lower central incisor for all our dentist readers. It's very jagged and has a sharp little point. (click on the image below and/or scroll a little further down for a closer look at her pearly white.)

The new fun game in the house is making Maggie laugh or smile so big, that you can see her new tooth!

Daddy's Home!!!

Every day is Father's Day around here. This is the exact same scene I'm treated to every evening when I get home from work...

The Little Imp

We've been waiting for Bretty to crawl, but he decided to skip it and go straight to standing up!

Babababababa

And yayayaya, wawawawawawa, dadadadadada, and mamamamama. Maggie likes to talk. That's why we call her Loud Maggie. She can also click her tongue like a clucking chicken.

An Ear for an Ear

The little monkeys really like to pull on each other's ears. They don't grab mommy's or daddy's ears, just each other's.