I'm The Favorite

I bought these kitschy t-shirts before the twins were born. They've sat in the bottom of the drawer for months since they were too big.

One night last week when I got home, Maria dressed them in matching outfits. I actually think it's adorable, but I would, I'm their Mom.

Impulse to Clean

As I've mentioned before, the twins will make anything into a toy and love to play with all sorts of mundane objects. Frequently after we've eaten dinner, Connor will grab one of the napkins, shake it and run around with it like it's the greatest toy he's ever had.

Recently he's started walking around the house with the napkin and wiping things like he's cleaning. We think he's mimicking Maria. She really keeps everything running like a top during the day and she wipes down all the toys at least once a day. I'm pretty sure it's not something Connor got from me.

Baby UGGs

Last year for my birthday Carl got me a pair of UGG slippers. Since I was on maternity leave I worn them around the house every single day. I loved them so much I went out and bought a pair of boots so I could wear them out in public.

UGGs aren't the most attractive boots, but they're super comfortable. They're not cheap either, but totally worth it. But maybe not for a baby. Unless they look as cute as they do on Chloe!

I understand it is a totally frivolous purchase and Chloe is not out tromping through the snow so she has no need for winter boots. But I think you will agree that they are adorable on her.

She's the one in the strawberry leggings, I haven't been able to find strawberry leggings in my size yet.

Christmas Card Photo Rejects

I like getting holiday photo cards, especially when they have the whole family pictured. It's fun to see how everyone has changed over the past year. The past couple of years I've seen really beautiful cards, mainly because a lot of my friends know some great photographers and they end up with fabulous family photos.

This year I considered hiring a photographer and scheduling a shoot, but it was just too much to coordinate not to mention the expense. Also, for the past couple of years, even before the babies, my Mom has taken our picture on the fireplace in front of the stockings and we've used that as our holiday card. I thought it would be easier to manage if we kept up that tradition, but as usual there were a couple of shots that were Christmas card rejects.

It's hard to get everyone focused at the same time

Without fingers in their mouths

Leo and Connor get distracted

It's better if we can get everyone to look at the camera or at least open their eyes

Not to laugh when Connor is crying, but Carl's face is the best part of this shot. He is done with the Christmas card photo shoot at this point.

I thought we'd try a change of pace and shoot in front of an evergreen in the back yard. No luck.

Connor is smiling, but this doesn't work for the rest of the family.

Here's our winner. Not everyone is looking at the camera and Leo looks a little grumpy but I think it will work.

We got our cards out in the mail this week.

Guest posting: Carl's review of our new Honda Odyssey

Last week we picked up a new 2011 Honda Odyssey. While it was hard to give up our Accord because it's been such a great car, we really needed the extra space to haul around Connor and Chloe along with all of their supplies. Sometimes it feels like we need a baggage train to bring it all along!

Despite the mixed feelings about giving up the Accord, the Odyssey is turning out to be a great choice. The obvious benefits are the additional seating and cargo capacity, which have already been put to good use on some trips around Dallas with Connor, Chloe and their GiGi (Sandy).

Beyond the obvious though, Honda has added a ton of nice bells and whistles to the Odyssey. We opted for the model with a rear DVD entertainment system, so Connor & Chloe can enjoy shows while we're on the move. We drove around yesterday playing Toy Story and they really seemed to have fun watching the show while still taking a peek out the windows now and then. A few other nice tech features are the 8" LCD screen in the dash which allows you to display photos as wallpaper (completely superfluous, but cool), an iPod USB connection that allows you to see your playlists and album cover art (totally necessary and not superfluous), power sliding and rear doors and a back up camera.

While most of this is just nice to have and not completely needed, it's made it a little easier to make the switch from car to van. Overall we're very happy with the choice and would absolutely do it again.

New Chairs

We packed up the play pen, child proofed the house and let the twins wander around. We also wanted to give them kid-sized chairs so they'd have a good place to sit to watch Dora or the Backyardigans.

When we were at play group a few weeks ago we saw the Anywhere Chair from Pottery Barn Kids. I thought about it awhile and ended up ordering one for each of them.

Dallas Zoo

Over the holiday weekend we took a trip to the Dallas Zoo. We only had a short window of time between lunch and the next nap so this was the first of many trips to the Zoo.

We did get to see most of the Wilds of Africa attraction including a monorail ride through mountain, woodland, river, dessert, and bush African landscapes.

One thing on my list for the next visit is the Savannah Grill. It's a restaurant where they grill burgers and hot dogs, but once you get your food you sit in a dinning area that has a glass wall that overlooks the lion habitat. The lions are so close, just watching you eat your burger. It was very cool, but we didn't have time to stop and eat on this visit.

We did have time for a ride on the Endangered Species Carousel as we headed out. Connor wasn't so sure about the ride, but Chloe loved it and squealed as we rode around. Looking forward to our next visit!

Locks on the Cabinets

The twins are both really mobile and walking all over the house now. With that they are also interested in everything.

Awhile back I'd bought some fancy cabinet locks that require a magnet to unlock each door. We had so many cabinet doors and the locks were pretty complicated that we hired a handy man to install them. The handy man, Johnny, came the day before Thanksgiving. It took him 3 hours to install 40 locks, but I'm so glad it's done now.

Chloe Rocks Accessories

On a recent trip to the swings at the little park in our neighborhood I put sunglasses on Chloe. She loved them and wore them the entire time. 

Chloe likes dressing up and having girlie accessories. She wore them well. Work it Chloe.

Connor doesn't need any accessories to have a good time.