MY Apple...No, MY Apple

Growin' and Out-growin'

Koh: We turned 9 months old today and decided to party in our smokin' jackets... which seem a bit snug now that we weigh 20 pounds. It seemed strangely like deja vu.

Thinking

Koh: I haven't put anything on the blog lately, so I'm thinking about writing something. Maybe about our trip to Black Butte Ranch last weekend. That was fun, with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Aunt Angela & Uncle Torrey... and Jasper their doggy too. Hmmm, should I write how I got to ride on Jasper. Or maybe about the fun time we had at the swimming pool. So many stories, so little time. I'll have to keep thinking. http://picasaweb.google.com/markseker/FallFamilyBirthdayCelebrationAtBlackButte

Male Man

Abraham: I sure like the mail. You've seen the picture of me inside the mailbox on this blog, that was fun! But today's mail experience was even better. The Victoria's Secret catalog came and I grabbed it while Mommy was looking at the letter from Cousin Stephanie. I'm not sure why, but I liked those pictures. I hope Daddy doesn't get too mad that I drooled on the pages before he did.

I'm gonna get out of this cage

Koh: Mom....Dad.....it's not gonna be that long till we figure out how to get outta this crib, OK? We learned to sit up, now pull ups on the side, pretty soon a little high jump move then we're free!! Lock your doors... here we come.

Kilroy was here.

Love Letter from Dad

(Special permission granted for Dad to write in our blog)

Dear Abe and Koh,

Your smell is what gets me first. When I walk in to your room, it's like no smell I can remember. I don't know what a little girls' room smells like, but this smell is very much my little boys' smell. It's my first smell each morning, and the room is dark these days, so I can barely see as all my senses reach out, searching for that daily proof that there are living, breathing boys in here, the ones I first saw in January when the dream came true.

I want to tell you how much you make me happy. That fast smile you both make sort of amazes me.... do you do that with everyone? Why are you so quick to smile at this big naked dude you see each day around 6am? Are your dreams that good every night? Well those big toothless grins sure make me feel good, and I notice they make me smile, too, a reflex that you bring on.

On many of these beautiful mornings there's no sound coming from your room... yet when I tiptoe in you're wide awake, silent in your cribs, on your back gazing up or on your tummy studying the sheet.... just what are you doing? ...you thinking? ...I really don't know, it's another of those new mysteries you bring to my world. I love this part of what you're doing... introducing new questions, new adventures almost on routine. New wonders... you make me wonder. And new feelings, too, like sadness I got the other day when you couldn't get to sleep, Abe. And frustration in the old days when you cried late at night for no reason, at least no reason you would tell us.

And you're making me love you , you know. I've never had this feeling about little smelly monsters. So please keep it up, keep the surprises coming, those powerful grins grinning, and the silent intensity I see in your faces when you watch something you haven't seen much before.

I love you Koh and Abraham.

-Daddy

Dangerous Boys

Abraham: For Father's Day we gave Daddy The Dangerous Book for Boys. It sits on his nightstand and today Mommy set me and Koh on the bedroom floor to put away some laundry. I'm just hours away from craawling so I did my army man move and squirmed over to the nightstand. I promptly pushed away Mommy's books that were on top of the dangerous book and grabbed it. Mommy got the camera, snapped some shots and then went back to putting away laundry. Next time she looked at me, I had the book on my chest and open to the inscription we wrote for Daddy. I'm such a dangerous boy. Koh, of course, just sat where Mommy set him this whole time. He's not as dangerous as me.

Koh: Hey, I may not be as dangerous as Abraham, but you don't see him hanging out in a tree without Mommy or Daddy hands.

Dad, will you take us swimming?

Abraham: Koh and I love water... in the sink, the tub, our backyard playpool, the fun city pools, even the big rivers and beaches nearby. Over Labor Day weekend, we went crazy and did 'em all 'cause Dad had a day off and we just kept going even if we missed sleeping and eating (which we did). Here's the scene, and check out our new video favorites for the movies, too. Do you know we went to our first nude beach... and we got nude, too, even tho Mom didn't want to join in this time. Koh is such a show off, he's always doing situps or pushups when we go to the beach... that boy is really odd.

To see this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mKMKGdjYxk&feature=PlayList&p=CDE64420C692056B&index=0

Pssst, wanna try something little boy?

Abraham: We had dinner over at our friend Ryan's house the other night. He introduced us to these things called Puffs. They are kinda like Cheerios, but they dissolve in your mouth. Eating them really challenged my hand-to-mouth coordination but once I got it in, I was hooked. Koh swallowed his whole. Mine kept sticking to my face. I want more.

What we do so Mommy can sleep

Koh: We love our Mommy, and she loves her sleep. But we get up by 6am almost every day and start needing things done for us... so she doesn't get to sleep in very often. So on weekend mornings we tell Daddy to play with us for a long time take us places and that way Mom gets lots of rest...which she really likes. This weekend was sort of normal, we romped around on the sofa for a while, but then we did something new... Daddy did a two-hump camel move carrying us both up to get bagels and coffee. It was crazy good times but people kept looking at us sort of funny.

Sending away a very bad boy?

Abe: I miss my Nana Jo and Susan, too. DADDY...WHY DON'T WE SEE THEM MORE? I just don't get it, they never come over, we never go there wherever that is. DADDY...CAN I GO VISIT THEM? He says if I'm ever really bad he's gonna send me away, but I had no idea what he meant...until today, when he pasted all these stamps on my rear, gave me a real big hug, then stuffed me into our mailbox. I mean I really never knew I could leave home like this.

High School Reunion

Abraham: We're seven months old now, but Mommy's really old. We went to her 20 year high school reunion last weekend. It was boring for Daddy, Koh and me. Well, except for these exciting things:
- I got my first two teeth on Friday
- We got to stay up late Friday and Saturday nights
- We went swimming in the pool at the hotel
- Lots of Mommy's friends held us and oohed and ahhed

Sally the Babysitter

Abraham: Last night Mommy and Daddy went on a date and our neighbor Sally babysat us. This was our first babysitter besides Grandma. Sally's smart and nice and we like her. But, we can't let our parents think that they can just leave us anytime they want, so we were a little rough on her when it came time to go to sleep. I cried and didn't like it when she put me in my crib. I think we did a good balance of being cute and adorable little boys with being loud and stubborn so that she'll come back again. The nice girls always come back to the bad boys, don't they!

Daddy...can we go play on Mt Hood?

Koh: Dad says he'll take us anywhere we want to go if it's outdoors. Yesterday Abe screamed WE WANT GO TO MOUNT HOOD so next thing u know we're back in the packs at Timberline Lodge bouncin' 'round on the barren trails above treeline having such a blast watching mom and dad reach down with us in the backpack to pick up our hats every time we tossed 'em off. Abe and me were like tricken' them every time... 'cause they can't see us very well since we sit right behind their heads. It was SO FUNNY faking like the wind was blowing off our hats! Then Abe was having fun grabbin mom's hair, too.

Over the River and Through the Woods

Koh: Actually, it was over the river and down I-5 to Grandma's house we go. Mommy took us to visit Grandma at her house for the first time and boy was it fun. We couldn't even get out of the car before several of her neighbors greeted us. Grandma was so proud. We got to eat lunch there, in a chair covered in towels. It was a good thing it was covered in towels. Grandma tried to give me formula, but I wouldn't drink it. I like my mama lattes and haven't drank that stinky stuff yet. Mommy is getting kinda frustrated with me because she's ready to start weaning us. Abraham seems to love the formula, but not me. Mommy's tried lots of things and the only way any of it gets into my mouth is with a regular ol' cup and then I just blow bubbles in it and some sneaks into my mouth that way.