New Years Babies!!!

Happy new year everyone! We wish we could all be with you. For sure.
Sending our love from Hoboken,
Annie, Harvey, Mason & Jacob.

These shots were taken this morning after breakfast. A special shout out to Grandpa Ira for our hats.
XOXO

This is what it's come to people

This was created during the blizzard. Fun for all. I was really tired by the time I got to Plex (which is why he looks so shit.)

Snow Day - The Threequel

Having got a taste for playing in the snow, Jacob and Mason just couldn't wait to get out there again. Here are some more pics of the twins playing and having fun.


Jacob gets some serious hang-time


Mason learning how to make a snow angel


Jacob (cheeky boy!) relocating snow using a wheelbarrow


Mase and Jake have fun sliding down a snowbank

Snow Day - The Sequel

So the snow fell overnight and by the end of it we had about a foot and a half. Wowzers. Not as much as we originally thought but more than the twins had ever seen. This morning, we took them out to play.


Grandma and Grandpa's house - it looks like a Christmas card


"I like the snow more than I like the sand."


Grandma Sherry models the snowblower super 5000 with optional cup-holder.


In Massachusetts we start em early.


This was the end of Mason's adventure in the snow. Poor thing lost her boot and got snow all on her foot and sock. Maybe I should have been paying more attention instead of shooting this crappy video. Anyway...I put her boot back on, but 2 minutes later she looked at me with sad face and said, "Mommy, I'm freezing." Thank God. Cause I was freezing too. In the house we went.

Snow Day Videos!!!

Just a note...it's totally blizzarding out here in Milford, MA and throughout most of the Northeast. Cool, right? The snow we took the kids out in today is going to be NOTHING compared to tomorrow. Not sure if they will LOVE it or freak out. Probably, love it. Or there is a high percentage of freak out as well. Who knows.

Stay tuned for snow fall amounts...it will definitely be the most snow they've ever seen! But for now, just enjoy the show.


Like I said before, Jacob really had the BEST TIME EVA!!!!!


This took place "after the snow". Fun for the whole family.

Snow Day

So as I mentioned before, we are up in Boston at my moms. When we arrived Thursday night there was already snow on the ground. Not a ton, but enough. So we took the kids out to play in it yesterday and today and of course, snapped a few pics.

It's funny, you might remember their coats from last year.

That's because they still fit. Ha ha. Also, Jacob has purple snow pants on. And that's only because I was kind of late on the get your kids snow clothes train and that's all they really had left at Target. But no biggie. He can rock em. Ch ch check it out.


Peppa Pig hat, check. Gloves, check. Purple snow pants, check.


Whoa...snow is awesome. I feel like I'm on the moon.


Not sure what happened before I took this pic, but Jacob looks guilty.


Anyone for a sled ride?


"OK Mason, MY turn."


Trying to catch snowflakes on her tongue..ahh.


Having the best time ever. Really.


I love the snow!!


"Why do I have snow in my coat?? I don't understand."


Can he be any cuter?? Seriously? I mean, is he REALLY my son?

See-Saw

So as you've seen before Jacob likes to make up games. Here is his most recent installment...called "See-Saw".



(In case you couldn't make out what Mason says at the end, I believe it's "Jacob ripped my bow out.")

X-Mas 2010

So we came up to Boston to see Grandma and Grandpa and the rest of the family for Christmas. Friday night (X-mas Eve) Uncle Mat & Aunt Lena and Uncle Andy & Aunt Jennie came over to hang out and eat Chicken Parmesan -- thank you Aunt Jennie. (Yes, we Jews still get together on X-mas eve). We let the kids stay up a little bit late and everyone rocked out to to Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman and I Hate Christmas by Oscar the Grouch.

The kids got even MORE presents. The loot includes: A Sesame Street Guitar, Sesame Street pop up singing thingy that Jacob refers to as his "Sesame Street Computer", an Elmo backpack, a Princess backpack, The Deluxe Marble race, books, stickers and I'm sure there is more stuff I'm forgetting.

Since we got here late Thursday night, they've been having a blast. Duuuuh.

So Harsh

Ok. So I wasn't even sure if I was going to put this story on the blog but then I figured what the hell.

So this was the day I was leaving to go to Texas for the weekend. I was frantically trying to get everything ready for Harvey for the weekend, plus pack for my trip, plus take care of the twins.

So I put them down for their usual nap and jumped in the shower. When I got out I heard poor little Jacob screaming. I quickly threw on a pair of underwear and ran in to see what had happened. He bumped his head in his crib and was not happy. And now Mason was also up. So I took my two crying babies into my bedroom, calmed them down and figured I would let them hang out while I packed. Not sure if you caught it, but because I had just gotten out of the shower I only had on a pair of underwear.

Mason looks up at me with delight and shouts out, "Mommy's belly's hangin' out!!" OMG. I couldn't believe it. So I kind of smirked and said, "What Mason?"
"Yeah" she said, this time pointing at my stomach, "Mommy's belly's hangin' out!!"

Ouch. That was harsh. Even my two year old knows. So embarrassing.

Jay Jay

So Jacob has hoarding tendencies as I've mentioned before. I think. Anyway, he's a collector. A gatherer. Whatever you want to call it, he likes collecting things and holding them. Or moving them. Or sitting on them.

Well one day last week he decided to take a bunch of stuffed animals and put them on his chair and then sit on them while he watched Yo Gabba Gabba (before he took his nap). He kept falling off. And was leaning on them kinda sorta, but just didn't look comfortable. I was able to convince him to take them off, sit on the chair, and then I would pile the animals up on top of him. This is where we ended up.

The Little People

No, I'm not talking about my mom. Or Mason.

I'm talking about the Fisher Price "Little People" that Mason and Jacob seem to have a monopoly on. They already had a lot, and now that Hanukkah is over they have a lot more. Not that I'm complaining. It's a good thing. A really good thing. Ha ha. Mason has taken to actually lining them all up and playing with them and making them do all kinds of things. They eat dinner. They dance. They bite each other sometimes and have to go in time out. Jacob takes the Little People refrigerator and opens it up and offers Lox to everyone. (even though there is clearly a wedding cake in the fridge.) He says that it's lox. And wants everyone to have some.

Anyway, here is a recent scene from our living room.


Mason lines up her Little People. What are they waiting for? Only she knows I'm afraid.

Hook Em' Horns!

So here is what I brought back from Texas for my cute little Longhorns.

While Mommy's away...

Wow. It's been like 2 weeks since I've posted. Bad Mommy. Lazy Mommy. Eh...tired Mommy. As you've seen, I went away a couple weeks ago for a weekend in Texas to celebrate my cousin Jason getting married to his lovely wife, Storm. It would have been great to take the whole family but a weekend in Texas with two two-year-olds and an Englishman who's never been to the south and met all my Texas relatives just wasn't happening. So I flew solo. It was fun to see everyone and to hang out with my sister but I missed the kids terrible. And Harvey of course. But the funny thing was (or I thought it was funny, but maybe not so much) was the kids didn't really seem to miss me. I mean, I told them I was leaving and that daddy would be looking after them all weekend but then I would be back...because I always come back. So yeah. I skyped with them a handful of times and they were cute as always. They said hi. But they didn't cry or anything. I mean, not that I really wanted them too. But selfishly, a tear or random tantrum would have been nice. Ha ha. All was well. And daddy looked after them with no problem. So my next trip might be a weekend away with the girls in Vegas.

Anyway, here are some pics from the last couple weeks that I've been meaning to post. Clearly, they are STILL the cutest twins ever.


Mason rockin' her tutu over her jeans. Classic.


Cheesy grin. Notice he's wearing two shirts. His favorite color green on top of his favorite Cookie Monster top.


They are hugging. Or wrestling.


As you can see, Jacob lets Mason win.


Last night of Hanukkah. It was hard to explain to them that this was the last night of presents as well. It's hard to be a Jew.


Celebrating the last night of Hanukkah with a Cookie Monster cupcake.


Jacob prefers to celebrate with a Mediterranean platter of hummus and grape leaves.


Best Friends Forever!!

Gotcha!

Okay, so it's really another 'leaves' movie but it's so good we just had to share it.  It gives us a little insight into the interaction between siblings and also highlights Jacob's mischievous side.  He's just like his daddy :)

Leaves

Here's a video we've been meaning to share for a while.  It's from Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa's house - Jacob and Mason are helping to clear up all the leaves.

Goose and Tomtom

Mason and Jacob have nicknames.  Mason constantly calls Jacob "J.J." and we all call Mason "Mase".  For some reason I can't think of "Mase and J.J." without thinking of David Rabe's play "Goose and Tomtom".  Anyone familiar with this play (and I know the blog has a very literary audience) will realise that Mase and J.J. don't quite compare to the characters in the play.  The two protagonists are paranoid crooks, living part-time in real life and part-time in their own fantasy world, who are prone to the occasional kidnapping.  Actually, I take it back, it is a fairly accurate description of the twins.

Dadapalooza Two

All in all it was a great weekend.  I think the kids, knowing that mommy was out of town, behaved especially good for me.  On Saturday we went to visit Burke and James to hang out, play and eat lunch.  On Sunday Burke and James came to visit us for dinner.  Inbetween Mason, Jake and I Played with their Little People, Lego and cars, read books, ate a lot for meals, took great naps and drew a picture for mommy.  What could be better?  On Sunday we made cookies (yes, that's right, we made cookies) for Burke and James.  Everyone loved them except Jake who's weird and would rather eat hummus than chocolate.  No pics from the weekend 'cos Ann's got the camera but take it from me all the pics we could have taken would have been really cute!  Thank you Jacob and Mason for a really fun weekend!

Daddy weekend

Whilst the cat's away....
Ann left to visit her cousins in Texas last night.  She's going for a post-wedding brunch for Jason and Storm.  Congrats!  So this means that daddy gets to hang with the kiddies for a whole weekend by himself.  YEAH!  Sarah took care of the little rascals today whilst I was at work but from now until Monday morning they're in the hands of daddy.
The last dadapalooza was some time ago (Dadapalooza day one, Dadapalooza day two) and we all survived.  How many will make it out alive this time ... stay tuned to find out.

Chanukah Part Two

Chanukah is over.  The kids had lots of fun.  Especially opening presents.  As soon as I came home from work each day both kids screamed for candles - at first I thought they were becoming religious but then I realized that they wanted presents.  You've got to love 'em - material wealth over true happiness.  They grow up so fast.

Night Five - Two Toy Story Lego sets.
These came from our friends Jools and Nia.  Now this is something they love!  There's Woody and Buzz and little cars and Aliens and ... okay, maybe all three of us like playing with it.  Both like building stuff and Mason calls all the Lego characters "this little guy".

Night Six - Some Christmas-based stickers and Mickey and Minnie Mouse pyjamas.
Another big hit.  They love wearing them and ask for them each night.

Night Seven - Mason: tutu, sweatshirt, handbag, bracelets.  Jacob: Sneakers, Tony Tiger shirt, Elmo shirt, 2 sweaters.
Some from us and some from Ann's cousins Jason and Storm.  Big hit with the Tony Tiger and Elmo shirts.  Jacob insists on wearing one or the other, normally with one or two more underneath (crazy boy), and Mason's loving her new handbag and bracelets.

Night Eight - Yo Gabba Gabba shirts and pillow slips.
Okay, we had to save the best till last so on the last night they got Yo Gabba Gabba shirts with their names on (Mason got a Foofa shirt and Jacob got a Brobie) and Yo Gabba Gabba pillow slips.  Big shout out to auntie Mel, uncle Chris, cousin Lewis and baby Sam.  Thanks guys!  Mason and Jacob have been so excited about having a pillow in their cribs that they tell everyone about it.

Bonus Night - This was tonight.  We had two presents left so we held out till the weekend.  Courtesy of Grandma Sherry and Grandpa Ira Jacob and Mason got another two Little People sets - the farm and the town center.  Cool, eh?

Pee Pee In the Potty

That's right. You read it correctly. Jacob officially went pee pee in the potty. You thought I was gonna say Mason, didn't you? That's OK. I understand. I thought it was going to be Mason too. After all, she's the one that first expressed interest. Jacob was just copying her, right? He didn't really want to sit on the potty. Duuuh. I clearly was wrong.

Because a couple days ago, December 9th in the evening...we had just finished Chanukah, and the kids were in the bath. Jacob stood up as if he were going to pee -- as he does most nights in the bath. Harvey asked him if he'd rather go pee pee in the potty, and what do you know, Jacob took Harvey up on his offer. And that little skinny ass peed. Like in the toilet. Wicked. And he did it the next day. And I think he might of today although I couldn't totally be sure.

We were all super happy for him and clapped loudly. Well, most of us. Little Mason almost acted as if she hadn't witnessed it. She was playing with another toy. As soon as we stopped clapping, Mason looked at Harvey and I and started clapping for Jacob but almost sarcastically. I totally mean that. She was kinda pissed. I think.

Anyway, she is only 2 so I could be reading into things.

But that's exciting, right? Funny what gets you really pumped these days. Just a little pee. In a potty.

Hello. Goodbye.

Yesterday the twins went to play in their room together.  Cute, eh?  When we heard giggling Ann and I couldn't resist and so we sneaked in to see what was going on.  This is what we saw...

Chanukah Part One

We're halfway through Chanukah, four nights out of eight, and I thought I'd share what the twins have got as presents so far but first here are a few Chanukah observations:
Mason doesn't appear to be so antisemitic any more.  She doesn't cry at the Chanukah candles (which she's done in the past) and has even learnt the Dreidel song.  She also screams for "Presents!" every night after we've lit the candles and doesn't quite understand the concept of "You're only getting four more".  Jacob, on the other hand, isn't too interested in Chanukah except when we light the candles at which point he bursts out laughing every night.

Here's what the kids have got so far ...

Night One - Chanukah plates, bowls and cups.
Okay, it sounds a little lame but the kids love them.  Yesterday they got mad when Ann gave them breakfast cereal in their usual bowls and insisted on their new Chanukah ones.

Night Two - A Little People Chanukah set.
A gift from Grandma and Grandpa - yep it really is a Chanukah set of Little People.  'Nuff said.

Night Three - Books.
Three books for the third night - a Little People Christmas book (religious balance is good!), a musical Santa book and, best of all, a set of 6 small Peppa Pig books.  Jacob has claimed the Peppa Pig books for himself and "lends" them to Mason.  He lets her take one and only lets her take a second when she returns the first.  I think he's going to grow up a librarian.

Night Four - Cameras.
Actually we gave these to the kids this morning 'cos if they got them tonight they'd be too excited to sleep.  These are actual digital cameras designed for kids - it's true!  They're from Nana and Papa and I'm sure some of their pics they take will appear on this blog in the near future.

That's it so far.  Happy mid-Chanukah to all.