Nate practices walking; more shots from Christmas party ...

Here's a video of Nate taking some steps (sorry for the sideways-ness, again):


And here are more nice shots from the recent family Christmas party, courtesy of Auntie Erin:

Maybe next year.....

The kids and I (along with our friends Sara and Lila) went to UVillage this year for Santa pictures. It didn't go so well.

15-month check-up, family Christmas party

Lots of photos in this one as we've had a lot of fun ones pile up on us. First things first: Nate and Ella got a clean bill of health at their slightly late 15-month check-up last week. Nate is just shy of 25 pounds now, and Ella broke the 20-pound barrier at 20-9. Dr. Nyweide seems very pleased with their progress, which is always reassuring to hear. Nate has been taking some steps! Ella is still cruising but already has about 20 words in vocabulary!

Here are a few shots from a family Christmas party just today!

Nate and Ella share some Christmas cheer with Grandma and Grandpa T.:














Family picture:














Nate gets a boost from Aunt Erin and goes for an ornament:














Still to come: Pictures from last month's Portland trip!

Shots from Thanksgiving and more ...

Hello Nate and Ella fans! We have had a busy couple of weeks, including a fun-but-tiring trip to California for Thanksgiving. It was great to see many family members down there, including Grandpa. H. Here are some shots:

Cousin Rosie with Ella:














Cousin Jake with Ella:














Grandpa H., Nate and Aunt Julie:














Ella shares and Elmo with Grandpa H.:














Nate and cousin Mimi (aka Miriam)














Uncle Tim and cousin Rosie:














First Thanksgiving solids!














Nate, Aunt Mary and cousin Rosie:


And some more recent shots. Cold weather has really hit here, and Nate and Ella have donned winter coats:

November!

Well it is almost Thanksgiving and I haven't been so great about keeping the blog updated. But I've included a few new shots and videos.

Nate and Ella are doing well. Ella is cruising quite a bit and seems to have closed the gap on Nate in this area. Nate now briefly stands on his own and is trying to muster up the courage to take a few steps. Meanwhile, Ella is saying quite a few words. "Cheese" is one of the latest.

We made it to Portland a little over a week ago and had a nice visit with Aunt Karen, Uncle Ron and cousin Jess. Unfortunately we forgot our camera, but hopefully we'll be able to get some pics from our hosts.

In a couple of days we'll be taking the kids on their second plane trip, down to California. Wish us luck!

On the fence:














Ella shows off her touchdown signal. Mmmmm, foot-ball:














Happy kids:














Nate takes Ella for a ride:

Nighttime routines, flu shots, dancing

Happy new week to all. We had a busy weekend which included getting Nate and Ella their first round of H1N1 vaccinations on Saturday -- quite a relief to get that taken care of. Like most people in the country, we have had a tough time finding the vaccine. This afternoon we attended an auction/fundraiser to support Super-Nanny Lindsay, and we had a great time.

Here are some pictures taken just tonight from the evening routine. At the end of this post you'll find a video from a couple of days ago of Nate and Ella mildly dancing (you should see 'em when they really get going.)

Ella in the tub:















Daddy gives Nate a goodnight bottle:














Teeth brushin' ... we actually brush their teeth for them, but sometimes they give it a shot themselves:





























Here's video of Nate and Ella getting down:

Halloween fun ...

A belated happy Halloween to all. Hard to believe this was actually Nate and Ella's second Halloween ... they were definitely more into it this year.

On Thursday, we hosted our good friends Kym and Aaron and their son Lucas for pumpkin-carving. Nate and Ella made their trick-or-treating debut at Daddy's office building on Friday. Then Saturday night, we took them to a few houses in the neighborhood for the real deal. They seemed to enjoy it pretty well. When presented with a candy bowl, they reached right in and grabbed some! Nate was a zebra, and Ella was a lion. Here are some pictures from the last few days ...

Pumpkin hats knit by Grandma T.:














Ella with Aaron:














Kym and Lucas carve:



















Karin and Ella the Lion, Halloween night:














Nate in his zebra suit:



















Roar!



















All dressed up ...














... and ready to roll: