Multimedia Blog of the Seker Twins

What's wrong with this picture?

2012-02-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

Koh: I lost my leg today, I know hard to believe. And daddy saw it happen, so he took this picture. Wow is that art museum sculpture garden cool. Good thing I found my leg later and re-attached it.

"Daddy, can you pause Barack Obama?"

2012-01-25T08:38:00.000-08:00

Koh: Last night we watched TV with Dad, the annual state of union address by our president. Daddy seemed surprised that we knew Obama's name and even more-so when we actually sat quietly together on the sofa for 30+ minutes before adjourning to the floor to build a train track. After another 30 mins, Abe apparently was ready for something new and went over to Dad to ask . . .

"Daddy, can you pause Barack Obama?"

That one made Daddy laugh out loud and fall down on the floor, and neither of us could figure out why.

Love Letter from Dad #10

2012-01-22T07:24:00.000-08:00

I read every night to you in your bedroom from the rocker and watch you fade away to dream time. You still both sit on my lap in that small chair, a pretty funny and crowded scene now that you're 5 and weigh 40+ pounds.

"Harold and the Purple Crayon" was our book tonight, a book I like as much as you do. You cracked me up tonight, Abe, and I believe we laughed together louder and longer than ever before. It just made me laugh the way you commented on Harold's one-tree forest: "THAT would be a bad place to play hide and seek." It was just such a funny comment, and it cracked you up, too. We just sat there laughing together, you on my lap, till tears came out. Koh didn't mind, he just waited for us to finish our joy jam. That was a really special moment for me. Thanks for the laughs and the love. -Dad

Sleep over #1

2012-01-08T07:08:00.000-08:00

Abe: Our neighbor Jacob came over for the whole night and THAT was fun 'cause we stayed up late and all slept on the floor campout style. We want to do that again.

Birthday #5

2012-01-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

Koh: We had a really fun party for our fifth birthday at The Circuit bouldering gym. We got to run around, climb high, slide fast, eat cupcakes, open presents - all with our friends. Then we went to Grandma's house and had birthday cake and presents. Then we came home and Jacob came over and we had more birthday cake. That was a lot of cake. Check out the fun photos and videos.

My first Egg McMuffin

2011-12-31T09:23:00.000-08:00

Abe: Daddy took us to McDonalds today for breakfast and we ordered these egg sandwich things. Koh wouldn't touch his, but I always try new foods. See how I liked it:

Christmas Elf

2011-12-20T09:02:00.000-08:00

Koh & Abe: There's a little elf in our house. He usually sits in the tree and watches us so he can tell Santa that we were very good and not to put coal in our stockings. The crazy thing is that he has started moving around the house at night. Every morning we get up and find him somewhere else. We found these pictures he left us that show he hung out for awhile on each of our pillows while we slept one night. Today he's in what is left of our gingerbread house.

Abraham

Koh

We love December

2011-12-09T09:23:00.001-08:00

Koh: We love December because it means its Christmas. And we get to do all kinds of fun Christmas-y things like making this gingerbread house, cutting paper snowflakes, and decorating the Christmas tree.

Meet our new chickens

2011-11-27T07:49:00.001-08:00

Abe: I love our chickens. Do you know they're very social animals? We just got our second set of new ones, and they're really cute now since they're just 2 months old and it's just nice having some more girls in the family.

Our old chickens had to go 'cause they stopped laying eggs and Mom and Dad said they're not pets, they're egg producers.

My favorite is "Lily", who is going to lay BLUE eggs - how exciting! The white one is "Snowflake" and the red one is "Foxy Roxy."

Come on over and you can hold one, too.

Update: Foxy Roxy fed the neighborhood raccoon family. But don't worry, we replaced her with "Dinah Blue"!

Turkey Day

2011-11-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

Koh: Jody and Martin came over for Thanksgiving this year, and of course Grandma, too. So we got this BIG turkey and Abe prepared it, Mommy roasted it, Daddy carved it and everyone else brought pies over. We ate lots of yummy food then had ALL THREE pies for dessert! Look at this nice table for 7.

Afterwards we played a new game, Candyland that Jody brought over as a gift. We like that game, especially me 'cause I won.

We went on two hikes today and found a newt and a big downed tree we had to clear from the trail by everyone pushing.

Halloween

2011-11-12T10:07:00.001-08:00

Koh: I'm a pirate ARRRRRRGGHHHHHHH!

Abe: I'm a super hero Buzz Lightyear!

But scariest of all is our mom - LOOK AT HER!

Get away, quick!

Bad boys

2011-10-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

We don't always listen well.

Here's what mom made us do for 4 minutes the other day. Then we had to apologize, then we had to hug her.

We don't like time out much, but we go there a lot anyway.

Our first football game

2011-10-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

We went to our first football game tonight - wow under bright lights. But the Wilson Trojans lost so we were sad, and tired, too.

Pumpkin Pickin'

2011-10-06T14:53:00.000-07:00

Koh: Know what the best part about going to the Pumpkin Patch is? It's not the corn maze, but that is really cool. It's not the animal barn, even though we saw the duck taking a bath in the swimming pool. The best part is you get to get dirty. Mommy said she was really proud of us because we were the dirtiest kids getting back onto the hay ride after picking out our pumpkins.

"You get to get all dirty if you want to"

Top 10 List of Things We Love about Camping at Ft. Stevens

2011-09-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Abe & Koh: We camped at Ft. Stevens in a yurt again. We love doing that. We love it so much, we made a list of our 10 favorite things we did this trip:

Smores. And not just smores, smores with our buddies Ethan and Aiden who visited our camp.
Uno. We learned to play a really long card game.
Sand. We've said it before. Especially Koh.
Kites. Lucky us it was so windy that first day.
Dad's Birthday. So we got to have cupcakes.
Bikes. We love riding them around the camp. Abe wasn't going to be shown up by the 4-yr-old girl who didn't have training wheels, so his came off this trip.
Donuts. Mom brings yummy donuts for breakfast.
Top bunks. Enough said.
Jiffy Pop. Who doesn't love watching that thing grow and bulge.
Sand. Worth two spots on this list, that's how much we love it.

Fishing #2: Way better

2011-09-03T11:26:00.000-07:00

Abe: Mommy's friend Debbie took us fishing and this time it was the real deal, with real fishing poles and real fish. Koh caught one right away and I got one too. This time was way better than with just a stick in the river.

Fishing trip #1 - no luck what a waste

2011-08-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

Abe: I don't like fishin' very much. When we were camping this weekend on a famous river full of fish I spent almost FIVE MINUTES OF MY LIFE with this pole daddy made using the hooks i found and got nothin'. POOEY ON THAT.

I'd rather climb a tree or ride my bike fast or trap neat insects.

Fun at Collins Beach, Columbia River

2011-08-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

Koh: We just love beaches. We went Sunday to this favorite one right near our home.

Lots of sand, not lots of people, shallow water, kites, yummy picnic lunch, even an alien space boat.

Face Painting #1

2011-08-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Abe: We let the girl scouts touch our faces with paint for the first time.

Look at that big spider on my face!

Koh got fireworks.

Clear Lake camping

2011-07-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

Koh: We went camping Saturday and found a beautiful campsite on a lake and my favorite part was Dad teaching me to walk on water. I liked using our private family hole-in-the-ground toilet, too.

Abe liked lighting the fire with a match even though he got burned.

We even found a banana tree and ate the bananas.

Our first 80th Birthday Party - Nana Jo's!

2011-07-22T08:23:00.000-07:00

We don't get to visit our Nana Jo very much, so we all went this summer to see her and Aunt Susan for her 80th birthday bash. Boy was it fun, especially since we had Jillian to play with so much. Do you know we did all these things WE NEVER DID BEFORE:

Played on a WII and and iPad
Stayed up till after 10pm and slept all night in a girl's room (cousin Jillian)
Ate candy, cotton candy and ice cream instead of fruit every day
Went to Delaware
(Koh) Pee'ed on a really big snake in the river - scaring everyone, especially our mom
Caught fireflys and cicada shells
Had campfire s'mores for lunch

We really like the big beaches and lots of SAND and warm water. Click here to see all our pics and movies.

Warm water, warm air, I'm so happy I'm dizzy

2011-07-18T07:27:00.000-07:00

Abe: Here's what we're doing right now on a Maryland beach (Atlantic Ocean. . . think warm water, warm air).

Barf bucket blog

2011-07-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

Koh: (gutteral sounds)
"Daddy, it's colored red from the strawberries"

(buuuuuuuuuiiiik, get your buiuiuuiiick sounds)
"Daddy, can you smell that?"
(sweet apple juice aroma)

"Daddy, can you help me?"
(sounds of soft caressing my back)

I got sick today and threw up a lot of times, in the toilet and in the barf bucket, and I missed school and stayed in bed a lot.

I didn't think it was that bad, and I only cried once. I've just been feeling sick and my yucky food has been coming up the past two mornings. I just lean over and fill this bucket, then Daddy empties it.

When I'm done I smile 'cause I feel a lot better. Daddy told me it's good practice for college, whatever that means.

Chicken washing - that's OK, right?

2011-07-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

Koh: Mom and dad don't watch us like they used to, especially in our back yard. We play a lot on the chicken farm tier and today we decided to wash the chickens. Abe held 'em and I poured water all over them. Dad came and snapped this picture while he laughed.

Chickens need baths too, right Dad?

Reef visit from Hawaii

2011-06-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

Abe: Our pal Reef and his mom visited this weekend and boy did we have fun. He slept in our room all night, and we went out and did a bunch of fun stuff: Like OMSI, then rode the Tram, then played in the water park.

And on Sunday we hung like monkeys at the playground, did an orienteering race and ate pizza, too! Look here at these pics and flicks:

Look! A Green Booby!

2011-06-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

Koh - Every day we look at the Willamette River from our home and seems like we're always driving by or playing by big rivers. I like spotting the boats and ducks and logs and buoys out there.

Mommy thought it was funny when I saw this green buoy from our car on the bridge the other day. What was so funny, Mommy?

Angel's Rest to the top!

2011-06-19T10:41:00.000-07:00

Today we set our new "toughest hike ever" record by hiking all the way UP and DOWN this great Columbia Gorge hike all on our own two feet. Well, we also each used our bellies and face once, but that was just to make sure we were COMPLETELY covered in mud! We like running downhill only the belly smacker made us cry.

It was more than 4 hours long and 4 miles and the top was WAY UP so high we HIKED INTO THE CLOUDS!! Over 1500 feet high above the river!

This was really fun and we got special treats at the top and bottom for being so tough. We threw rocks and saw lots of flowers, waterfalls, slugs and a snail. Plus we climbed on rocks near the summit just like the playgrounds only if we fell here we would keep falling and die.

We want to do this some more! Click here to see 30 more pics.

Alphabet

2011-06-16T09:37:00.000-07:00

Koh: I can write all the letters of the alphabet - see!

Meatballs

2011-06-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

Abraham: Mommy, that girl on your cup... look at her big... meatballs. I'm going to eat her meatballs.

Big Boy Bikes

2011-06-04T21:13:00.000-07:00

Abe & Koh: Yesterday was just about the best day ever because we got new bikes. Bye bye trikes and hello skinned knees. We rode around the neighborhood after dinner and did just great. Koh crashed a little bit, but he was tough and got back on. The next day we rode them at the school playground because it wasn't hilly like at our house. Mommy was surprised that after just five minutes we had already discovered how fun it was to ride our bikes straight into a brick wall. We laughed and had fun doing that until Abe did it too fast and smashed a tender part of his body on the top tube.

Frog, Fountain, Flood Fun

2011-05-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

Koh: On Saturday we went on a looooong hike at the nearby Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, whatever that means. What was fun for us was the flooded trail which meant we had many side trip adventures on slippery slopes with broken glass and bugs and snakes to make it past the high water places.

There were lots of ducks and geese and blue herons and fish jumping right out of the water!

The frog pond was really cool 'cause it's tadpole season and LOTS of 'em were in the pond and we scared them away. Then I fell in trying to catch one, so I wore just undies the rest of the day! Nobody could tell 'cause I look so good in skivvies, especially compared to those ol' diapers.

We kept walking and walking several miles and hours, even past the roller skating rink and the amusement ride park. We ended with water fountain fun at the church where we saw mom and dad get married. well... not really on the last part, but we do go there a lot cuz of that drinking fountain.

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T07:34:00.000-07:00

Koh: We gave Mom and Grand-Mom our best effort yesterday to show 'em how much we love 'em. We worked all week to make two personal paintings for Mom, can you see? We even made personal cards, too. Then we fixed her a cake . . . see? Then we walked her to the farmer's market to buy her some swiss chard and bok choy, see it in our basket? Then we got her a latte at the bakery - look at that crowd! We ended the day at Grand-Mom's where we fixed this heart-shaped pizza and played hockey and baseball. What a great day for Moms (and for us, too!).

Abe's first swim strokes

2011-05-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

Abe: I've been working real hard on learning to swim by taking lessons and listening to our teacher. Look what I can do!

Mom . . . What happens after life?

2011-05-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

Koh: Where do the kitties go when they die? This one stumped both mom and dad at the dinner table last night. If you don't believe me, watch this clip direct from our table cam . . .

Easter

2011-04-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

Koh - I really like candy and those chocolate eggs and maltball eggs and bunnies and even hard boiled eggs we colored. Mom and Grandma have to hide them from me.

Cartwheeling

2011-04-19T06:04:00.000-07:00

Abe: I love to tumble . . . with Dad or Koh or just by myself. When I get bigger I don't know if I'll be a cheerleader or a football star or a dancer. What do you think?

Sledding day

2011-03-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Our pals Ronan and Torin went sledding and igloo hunting with us one Sunday. Check us out on their fun sliding tube!

Slug Bug

2011-03-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

Koh: I'm only 4 but I already know what car I want to drive when I get bigger. I told Mommy I want a rainbow-colored Volkswagen bug with hitch so i can pull my trailer.

Plus then I get to do slug-bug to Abe all the time.

Swim Lessons

2011-03-15T22:08:00.000-07:00

Abe: Koh and me just finished swim lessons and I learned to float on my back. Check out my technique:

The chickens are baaaaaaaaaack!

2011-03-14T19:37:00.000-07:00

First time since winter started that we got 4 eggs from our 4 pet chickens in a day!

Look at this!

My trick tongue

2011-03-04T08:51:00.000-08:00

Koh: All my fans know I have a trick tongue. If you've read my tongue trick posts you know I can make it dance and curl and 'cause it's big I can catch more snow than Abe. Today after breakfast the whole family tried this one: who can touch their nose with their tongue?

Guess who was the only one who could do this tongue trick?

See . . . we ARE angels!

2011-02-24T12:22:00.000-08:00

Mom and Dad say we aren't always angels. What does that mean, anyway? We went outside and showed 'em today after the beautiful snowfall. SEE MOM! WE ARE ANGELS!

Tricycle antics . . watch out, here I come!

2011-02-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

Abe: Our favorite bike riding is steep and fast using our driveway as the launching ramp. Check me out:

Dad, it's Quinoa not Couscous

2011-02-08T21:46:00.000-08:00

Koh: Dad served us leftovers tonight while Mom was out, and sometimes I think he doesn't even know what he's putting on the table. For example tonight he put out re-warmed quinoa (keen'wah) and asked me if I liked this couscous. I told him quickly "Dad, it's quinoa, not couscous." I mean come ooooooooon Dad, EVERYONE knows the difference between quinoa and couscous. (Dad's editorial: I was at least 40 before I learned of either of these grains, and now I have a 4-yr old smart-ass correcting me?)

Twins, but not alike

2011-02-06T07:01:00.000-08:00

Abe: Koh is a real picky eater and I'm not. Take kiwis, for example. He won't eat 'em unless they're peeled and sliced. For me, I LOVE kiwis any way I can get 'em.

Just hand it to me . . . I eat it whole, just like an apple! That fuzzy skin feels nice in my mouth! Dad taught me that trick.

Indoor overnight camping

2011-01-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

Koh: We miss camping so I've been sleeping on the floor on occasion lately. I just quietly crawl out after mom and dad leave. Abe liked the idea, so last night he did the same thing and even built a tent to protect us. We slept like this all night!

Look here to see what daddy saw when he came to visit before he went to bed...

Rainy days mean MUDDY FUN

2011-01-16T14:01:00.000-08:00

Abe: We like mud and sticks and dirty fingers and everything else, too. Daddy took us for a Sunday stroll today but we stopped and built this mud pond instead, then played in the sewer drains 'cause there was a waterfall in every one. Dad said we had to move when cars came so they wouldn't run us over.

Birthday #4

2011-01-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

Abe: We grew up today 'cause we're four and we don't do booster seats and baby forks and diapers anymore. Well, Koh does diapers ...but I don't.

We even carry our empty food dishes back to the kitchen now. Watch me and Koh blow out our cake with all those hot candles.

Happy New Year 2011 !

2011-01-02T21:48:00.000-08:00

Koh: We got invited to stay at Andrea & Reed's cabin on Mt Hood this weekend and we did some fun things, plus some ZANY stuff like we never did before. Like MAKING YELLOW SNOW, and snowball dunking in the hot tub, and STAIR SLEDDING in the cabin (that one hurt Abe and scared me, so we stopped), and snowshoeing.

We played with a 4000-PIECE LEGO SET and ate a CORN DOG. We both SLEPT IN TOP BUNKS, which was really fun especially since we didn't fall out. And look here, we hiked in an ancient forest and walked inside a HUMONGOUS TREE.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-26T08:25:00.000-08:00

Koh - I like trucks. If I get a truck for Christmas I'm really happy. Guess what? Santa brought me and Abe a WHOLE BOX of trucks. Boy did I like that!

Abe - Nana Jo and Aunt Susan got me a new tree ornament to replace the broken one that made me cry. Check out how excited I was when I saw that one.

Click here to see 25 pics and two movies of our day with Grandma Jan, Angela, Torrey and mom and dad, too.

Twas the Night Before Christmas, and Abe was still stirring

2010-12-24T22:32:00.000-08:00

This 80-second video reveals Abe's question "How does Santa do it...?" captured from Dad's reading chair a few minutes before he fell asleep tonight. Click here.

Where are you Santa?

2010-12-20T06:47:00.000-08:00

Abe - We're looking for you, Santa. Are you in here?

Koh - I hauled the tree this year

2010-12-12T07:29:00.000-08:00

Koh - I was the tough hard worker this year when we went to get our Christmas tree from the wilds on Mt Hood last week. I had my tongue out most of this trip. Check me out in this video.

Love letter from Koh to Abe

2010-12-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

Note from Dad: Koh has always been quick to share, especially when his favorite brother is under duress. Here's a great example, a story told by this short dark video. Pay close attention to see Abe's treasure that broke when it hit the floor and what Koh offered to help make it better. Nothing staged here, it's the real deal I happened to catch. Careful ...you may cry like little sad Abraham.

Click here for a 36-second love story video.

Curb walking

2010-11-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

Koh: We love walking on curbs 'cause daddy says sidewalks are for wimps, plus we don't have sidewalks where we live.

So when you're around town and see some kids doing the balance beam on a curb, it's prolly me and Abe. We take turns as leader and even do a dip step sometimes.

Face plant!

2010-11-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Koh: We all went to the mountain today to play in the snow and snap our Christmas card photo at the Mazama Lodge. Boy was there a lot of snow and it was deep and fluffy. We sledded and did snow angels then had hot chocolate by the fire. One part I didn't like is that HEAD PLANT I did running down the hill - it made me cry and mommy just took pictures instead of wiping off this snow mustache.

Me and my chicken

2010-11-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

Abe: I like the chickens and they like me. I pick them up and we cuddle and they don't care 'cause I'm gentle. We're pals.

House Fire!

2010-11-16T23:04:00.000-08:00

Abe: We woke up to fire engines today when the house 2 doors away burned up. We got to see the firemen at work and touch the hoses and smell the smoke.

Hawaiian birthday party

2010-11-11T22:21:00.000-08:00

Koh - We love our Grandma so we teamed up with mom and dad and uncle Torrey and aunt Angela and took her to the Big Island for her 70th birthday. Wow what a place that is! No pants needed day or night 'cause it's so warm. Geckos and snails and flowers and birds and cricket sounds all the time. Living volcanos and lava! And that SAND at the beach...it never ends and we just want to stay there till we drop.

Click here and watch me and Abe dancing to the band poolside while drunk on Shirley Temples

Click here for too many pics and flicks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!! WE LOVE YOU!!

Annual Yurting

2010-10-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

Abe and Koh: For the third year in a row, we camped at Ft. Stevens State Park in a yurt. Only this time we brought our friends Ethan, Aiden, Elle and their mommy and daddy. What fun jumping off the sand dunes, eating sand, catching caterpillars, flying kites, flying airplanes from the Astoria column, exploring the Forts, smores and campfires. We even taught Ethan and Aiden how to pee outside.

Lice ...not nice

2010-09-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Abe: Grandma noticed me itching my head Monday, so she washed it up. But things were still moving in there. Then came the special shampoo. All for me AND Koh.

Then the bed strip, the fumigation, the lice search on Mom's head, then Dad's head (well, not really), the whole-family quarantine, the skipping school day. Then the pillow quarantine, dipping the couch in a gasoline tub, spraying down the 4 car seats, 7 loads of hot water wash + dry everything soft in the house and LOTS of combing my hair with this really fine comb.

Hey Mom, what's that little thing moving?

Rock Climbers

2010-09-16T21:15:00.000-07:00

Koh: We went to a bouldering gym today. I was really good. Mommy and Daddy thought Abe would be really good at it, but I was the one that was really good at it. I scampered right up to the top and then slid down the slide on the other side. And repeated and repeated and repeated until I got so tired I had to quit. Click this and check out the music video Dad made.

Catch me, Daddy!

2010-09-09T06:53:00.000-07:00

Abe: I'm a daredevil and like to jump from high places. We love the pools at Grandma's house and I snuck up to the balcony when they weren't looking and did this flying leap. WOW that was scary! But Dad saved me and Grandma was there to take this photo. They didn't let me do that again.

Air and Space Museum

2010-09-05T07:28:00.000-07:00

Koh: We like planes and rockets, so today we went with our pals Ethan and Aiden to the Evergreen Museum where they have LOTS of old and new airplanes and jets and rockets and a BIG playground, too. Look at me - I'm a pilot!

We felt the bench shake when a rocket took off and watched a glider get towed to the sky and let go and land again. We had a picnic, then mom and dad went to wine country on the way home while we slept in the car. Click here for 8 pics of our day.

STRIKE!

2010-08-28T07:56:00.000-07:00

Koh: We went bowling for the first time today and I got TWO STRIKES! Check us out at this fancy bowling alley that had a games arcade too!

Grandma ... you OK?

2010-08-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Abe: We just went on a walk in the nature park near our home, the one Grandma takes us to all the time, then suddenly she wasn't there. Where's Grandma, Koh? Wait ...I see her ...but why is she laying on the ground holding her leg? She said she heard a crack and fell and couldn't walk any more. Good thing she had us to do the rescue.

So me and Koh carried her back home, then took her to the doctor. Seems she couldn't keep up 'cause she broke her ankle in two places!

Oh my, Grandma. Will you please get better fast? We miss you on our walks.

Hug hug, kiss kiss.

We love sand

2010-08-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Koh: We love beaches and sand and 'cause we can throw it, dig in it, make castles, bust castles, roll in it, eat it, bury ourselves, and put it in our pants to take home. Sometimes we go into the water, too, but it's the sand we like best.

Abe = Shredder

2010-07-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

Abraham: I'm a snowboarder now. We were waiting for Daddy to come off Mt. Hood when he came by us on his snowboard. I jumped on and shredded the snow all the way to the parking lot.

Riding bare

2010-07-11T06:40:00.000-07:00

Abe: Today we got to ride home from the beach naked - it was so nice we fell asleep.

Be careful when you buckle me in, Dad!

The Final Push

2010-07-07T08:25:00.000-07:00

Koh: I can poop on demand, so when Daddy brought these new "poopy cars" home, Abe and I beelined for the bathroom right from our sunny backyard. Dad says he's not buying more diapers, so the pressure is on to get this program over. BRING ME MORE POOPY PRESENTS, DAD!

We turn 3.5 years old today and we're too old for diapers. Way to go!

Glad that's over

2010-07-03T21:40:00.000-07:00

Koh & Abe (& Mommy & Daddy): Here we are at our last gymnastics class (front row). Don't we look excited? Yeah, well, that's pretty much how the whole 20-some weeks went. We were fairly naughty and insolent most classes, insisting on sitting on our parents' laps for much of the class, running around when we weren't supposed to and usually not doing what teachers Adam, Ashely or Angela asked us to do. At least it was expensive says Mom and Dad.

Tadpoles!

2010-06-07T21:07:00.000-07:00

Koh: We love visiting our buddies Ethan and Aiden's house. Mostly because they have lots of cool toys. And now they have even cooler things, TADPOLES in their backyard! No one got wet in the making of this post and no animals were harmed.

Summer Campout #1

2010-06-01T16:48:00.000-07:00

Can you guess ...where we camped over Memorial weekend this year? ...how many nights Mom stayed out with us? ...how many nights it rained? ...which family pets wanted in our tent? These pics have some clues.

Put me in, coach!

2010-05-23T06:15:00.000-07:00

We are gonna play soccer one day on this field by our home. And we're gonna keep coming back until someone let's us play on their team. Put me in, coach!

Love letter from Dad #9

2010-05-11T21:59:00.000-07:00

We hold hands and say grace at meals together and it's become ritual enough that you little guys sometimes call for it when we forget. I commonly say the most words and we always close with the group chant "1,2,3 ...GRACE." But last week to our surprise and delight, Koh led grace with "I love you Mom" and Abe immediately followed "I love you Mom and Dad." OK fine ...we saw no need to further embellish that dinner blessing.

Best of all I hear you express these words almost daily to your favorite people as in "I love you Grandma" and even to each other. I can tell you it's heartwarming for all to hear, and it seems like you even understand what you're saying. At 3 years old? Is it a stage that will fade? Only time will tell I suppose.

It's sure a joy for me to see you feel love and affection at your age and to be able to express it so plainly, innocently, spontaneously, and for a reason at that moment only you have in mind. I think that's great, and I hope you don't outgrow it.

I love you little guys. -Dad

Seker Gothic

2010-04-27T17:00:00.000-07:00

Abe: Grant Wood painted this famous American Gothic portrait that we like > >

< < Only my mom and dad are crazy and like to do things different so here's our version. It's a true-to-life view at our home and chicken farm, including actual child labor, real farm tools + old wheelbarrow, microbrew beer, and clothes we wear around town.

Mazatlan - we're back

2010-04-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

Does this photo of our host family the Samores give any clue about the fun we had for a whole week at this big sandbox in the sun?

If not, click here for 50 more shots and a few movies of our first family adventure requiring passports for all.

Emergency...we need passports?! In 2 days?

2010-04-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

Koh: Dad forgot that the world got dangerous recently and was advised that Abe and I needed US passports in order to get on the plane to Mexico next week.

So off to Seattle we drove for a day of adventure. BIG buildings, street crossing holding hands, lunch and snacks, chasing birds, riding the monorail, riding up the Space Needle, more snacks, and lots of time in the car. We even ate at McDonalds and got a toy and french fries.

And lots of time in this one place with cops everywhere. Clearing security to Passport Office in Federal Building, elevators, playing with paper clips while Dad talked thru the bulletproof glass, putting the paper clips in the wall socket while Dad wasn't looking, (he eventually looked), crawling on the floor under people's feet, loudly playing hide-n-seek, showing our faces to the agent to prove who we were.

Here are some pics and clips fr om our fun day. Dad - can we do that again?

Easter egg parties

2010-04-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Koh: We like Easter 'cause there are hidden prizes all over the place like in the park and at home under the sofa and even at Grandmas house under her bed. We even had the whole neighborhood over for hot KohKoh after the egg hunt in the park.

Uncle Torrey and Auntie Angela gave Abe and me these GINORMOUS solid bunny chocolates ...they were bigger than our heads, but we tried to eat them anyway.

Click here for our music video.

Chef Abraham

2010-03-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

Abe: I like to help Mommy in the kitchen. I help put the silverware away from the dishwasher, I scoot my stool over to watch her cook and me and Koh both like to crack eggs into the bowl and we're good stirrers too.

Today I was a real chef, and made home-made croutons. I brushed the olive oil onto the bread all by myself and with great flair.

Potty Training lockdown

2010-03-25T06:47:00.000-07:00

Koh: We haven't written lately 'cause we're in potty training lockdown. This means until we ditch the diapers there are no video games, no blogging, no tv, no visitors, no talking, no laughing, no fun and the only food we get is a reward when we go to potty. Mom and Dad are doing a full court press on us ...even Grandma is in on it, too. And of course no photos of this toilet game. Abe is doing better than me, he likes wearing those "big boy underwear."

We'll back shortly ...please stand by.

We hiked a big one today: Angel's Rest!

2010-03-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

Koh: Mommy was away this weekend, so Uncle Jeff and Dad took us hiking in the Columbia Gorge where they have lots of waterfalls and ferns and Trilliums and steep hills. Ever since we were tiny we've come here and Mom and Dad always carried us in packs.

Look what they did to us when we were only 2 months old!

BUT NOT ANY MORE. Today they carried us up to this heavenly place in the sky then WE HIKED ALL THE WAY BACK to our car ...over 2 miles down this steep 1500 foot hill over rocks that made clinking sounds, next to dangerous cliffs and over a creek with fun waterfalls.

I'm very proud of me, can you tell?

We're so pumped we made a music video. Click here for our 100-seconds of joy (then press the HQ button below video for high quality)

I'll brush I promise

2010-02-28T09:10:00.000-08:00

Abe: I saw what happens when you go to the orthodontist today, up close, when I watched Daddy get his teeth fixed.

Mommy says I do a pretty good job of brushing my teeth, but now I'm going to do a really good job.

Eye Eye

2010-02-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

Koh: "Abe - why is your eyeball striped like that?"

Abe: "Doctor says that's OK, so what? Why are you wearing underwear on your head at dinner?"

We love slides

2010-02-11T22:42:00.000-08:00

...and swings and merry-go-rounds and see-saws and kicking balls and Frisbee and running bases and... and.... and...

We just plain love playgrounds. Thanks Mom and Dad and Grandma for taking us there ...again today?

Look Nana Jo: Gym Class!

2010-02-04T14:58:00.000-08:00

Dear Nana Jo: We know you were a gym teacher so we think of you every Thursday when we go to Little Gym Class.

The program lasts 20 weeks and we have more than one teacher and music and lots of coloprful padded gear to romp on and fun team games and bare feet and a different theme each week. Today our theme was "Finishing" and we learned to say TA DAAAAA and stand tall after each performance.

Are you proud of us?? We're only 3 but look at the stuff we do:

KOH = Potassium Hydroxide

2010-02-02T10:17:00.000-08:00

Koh: Today we learned what my name means. Daddy and Mommy thought they were naming me after the Thailand island of Koh Samui where they honeymooned, but nope. I'm a chemical compound. KOH stands for potassium hydroxide and watch out cuz I'm corrosive.

What's wrong with this picture?

2010-02-01T06:54:00.001-08:00

Answers:
1. I'm half-naked in public
2. No pee is coming out
3. The nearest toilet is miles away
4. My pee coach is Mom, when Dad is right over there

Koh: By brother Abe pees better than me, and has since the day we were born when he pee-ed all over the delivery room. For me I want to go, but the pee is "not ready yet."

Mom and Dad say we are gonna pee outside in nature a lot in our lives, so we need to learn. They say it's fun and they keep droppin' trou to show us how.

I'm gonna get this right, Mom!

"Grandma, my shoes are tired!"

2010-01-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

Abe: We go on a walk just about every day, so we like it and we're good at it. Plus we know our 'hood and all the secret spots better than anyone.

Grandma takes us on the longest walks of all ...to fun places like the community corner that has an accordion. And she never takes a "Plan B" rescue device like Dad does ...the stroller or a backpack so we can hitch a ride when we're tired. Not Grandma, she makes us walk it all.

Sometimes she just goes too far, like the other day. So this time I just put my foot down, stopped the party and proclaimed: "Grandma, my shoes are tired!"

How come she laughed so hard?

Do bad things always come in 3s?

2010-01-20T06:31:00.000-08:00

Koh: Daddy wasn't real happy today. We learned that when he's busy with home fixit contractors that we can do our own home fixits, too. We get away with lots if we stay in other rooms and make "just playing with the trains" noises.

To get ready, we found the bottle of kids Motrin on the counter and drank it all the way dry. That made Dad call Mom. We didn't feel sick all day. Dad wasn't happy.

Then we found the kids play shaving cream and emptied that all the way dry. Wow what fun covering every surface in two rooms with bright green easy to spread fluff. We painted ourselves first, then the walls, the bedspread, the oriental rug, the doors, the computer, the wall art, the desks, the lamp ...we just covered every surface we could reach. Dad wasn't happy.

For lunch we had our favorite: grilled cheese. Daddy cut fresh bread and cut off part of his finger, too. It was bleeding lots and we felt bad. Dad wasn't happy.

Whoopie, and the day is only half over!

My first buzz cut

2010-01-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

Abe: Daddy did his first haircut on me today. I like it but Mommy doesn't.

How about you ...do you like it?

MY toilet

2010-01-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

Koh: We spend a lot of time around toilets these days. Boy was I excited today when I spotted my name printed on this one in our home - WOW, it's my very own toilet! LOOK MOM!

I'll definitely use this thing more now.

I'm 3 today, but what I want to be is....

2010-01-07T05:51:00.000-08:00

Koh: Daddy asked us today on our 3rd birthday what we want to be when we grow up:

We had a nice day doing stuff we really like, like the playground and Costco for lunch. Then Grandma came over and we decorated the cake then ate it. Sally and Uncle Jeff came over too and we opened birthday cards and danced naked. Click here for pics and flicks of our day.

Here's our music video.

Christmas 2009: Party at Greg + Gayle's

2010-01-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

They invite us every 2 years, so off we went for a week in Baltimore with Dad's side of the family. We stayed for 6 days with Uncle Greg and Aunt Gayle and got to sleep in one room together, which we like. Even Jillian slept with us sometimes. That Jillian is fun - can she come visit us?

Here are pics + movies of stuff we did last week.

Thanks Greg and Gayle! We can't wait to come over again.

Christmas 2009: Portland family

2009-12-26T11:35:00.000-08:00

Abe: Seems like lots of people visiting this time of year. Sometimes we even exchange gifts ...we like that part best.

Click here to see 18 pics of our family gift exchange ...well mostly it's me and Koh making noise with our new drilldrivers, hammers, cars and motorcycles.

Merry Christmas from Koh and Abe

2009-12-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

Click here for our 60-sec Christmas card music video we made special for you.

I like to sing (LOUDLY mostly)

2009-12-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

Abe: I like to sing and usually just bust out in song by myself at random times. My favorite songs include the "ABC Song" the school and mom taught me to sing during hand washing.

My other favorite is the "5 Monkees Jumpin'" song, which I will sing for you right now (Dad secretly recorded this). TURN UP the volume so you can enjoy it like my mom and dad do.

Wild Christmas Tree Day

2009-12-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

Koh: Grandma and everyone went to the mountain to get our Christmas tree today from the wild forest.

We got to play in the snow and sled and throw snowballs at Grandma, then we climbed up to find the best tree of all.

Then Grandma used a saw and helped us KNOCK IT DOWN so we could bring it home on top of our car. We counted the 12 rings. Watch me and Abe PUSH THE TREE OVER!

Check out our Animoto music video here.

Sledding Day #1

2009-11-30T21:41:00.000-08:00

Abe: We went sledding yesterday on Mt Hood to test our new gear, the new snow tires and to take a photo for our Christmas card. It was so fun that we passed out from laughter on the ride home. Cli ck here to se e 11 pics and 2 flicks of o ur day.

Turkey Time THANKS!

2009-11-26T18:20:00.000-08:00

(Koh & Abe) Dear God,

We are THANKFUL for having the best Grandma and the best Mom and Dad. We like this dinner 'cause you let us eat at the table like big people - THANKS for that. We didn't eat anything, but THANK YOU for inviting us.

Then you gave us homemade garden pumpkin pie and homemade mincemeat pie with garden mincemeat- now we THANK YOU for that. Amen. EAT EAT EAT!

P.S. We like holding hands and saying grace, too. THANK YOU.