April was a BIG month!

Quick! Before May ends let me try to capture April! It was a pretty big month for us, much too big to write about in depth so for the sake of keeping a record and for Popi's parents (our only readers :-) here are a few highlights.

We got teeth...Baby Girl has 3 and Baby Boy has 2. With teeth comes table food! So far they like almost everything--hummus, guac, pasta, peas, carrots, beans-any kind, olives, pizza, tofu, cherries, oranges, pineapple, papaya, turkey, baby corn, fesenjoon (Persian pomegranate dish), tomatoes, potatoes... Basically, the salad bar is their friend. But oddly, Baby Boy cries when you give him strawberries?! Go figure



We started walking! Baby Boy has been walking by way of the push toy for a couple of months and a few weeks ago he started to actually walk, unaided across the room. The first time he took four steps I cried so hard it's a wonder he actually got up and tried again. I'm thrilled he's walking but seriously...so soon?

Baby Girl took her time but she's now a wonder with the push toys too. Actually they will push anything in front of them--the strollers, our outdoor vases, each other...



With walking comes shoes. Here Baby Boy tests out some blue sandals and tastes some red Mary Jane's. Even before I wanted kids, I wanted to bronze little baby shoes. My mom has both mine and my brother's baby shoes bronzed and I've always loved them. Sadly, cute first shoes are a thing of the past. Most of the boys "first walkers" shoes are more like Teva's and the girls are crazy bright pink sneakers. Where are the little saddle oxfords and white ankle lace ups?


We take a weekly swimming class. It's not really a swimming class so much as it's a survival class. The point is to make them feel so comfortable in the water that if they should fall in, they would automatically roll over and float. Baby Girl hated it at first but now she's Esther Williams. We just got back from vacation at the beach and every day someone would comment on how amazing and relaxed the twins were in the water.





We celebrated birthdays...The twins turned ONE! I have never looked forward to a birthday party more than I did this one. And if I say so myself, it was a great party! A crazy, fun, loving mix of friends from all parts of our lives came to celebrate the Wonder Twin's first year. There was singing...


...and playing in the cottage their Grandpa gave them (I love how there are 7 little girls in that cottage and none of them are actually playing together). Baby Girl is in the pink crown of course.

There was playing in the ball pit, a very cool hand-me-down from a very cool friend. Here Baby Girl displays both her grace and her bloomers.

And there was a bouncy house. I'll admit...I was hesitant on the bouncy house. But The Esq insisted and he was, as always, right. It was a hit--with the kids, the twins, and the adults. After the party The Esq and the twins played in there for almost an hour...they just crawled and fell and giggled back and forth while he bounced them around. I'm sure they bounced in their dreams for the next week; they loved it. Here The Esquire displays his moves.


But I guess the biggest event happened on April 28th, in LA County's Edmund D. Edelman Children's Court when we finalized the re-adoption of the twins. We all got dressed up (Baby Girl looked pretty cute in her red, white, and blue dress if I do say so myself :-) and our nanny Graciela went with us. The Edelman Children's Courthouse is pretty unique. It was designed specifically with the idea of making children feel comfortable during what are often stressful times. There were volunteers helping with art projects, big sun-filled rooms, and brightly colored walls. Sadly, not every family or child was there for a happy appointment like us but at least the Court has done it's best to take some of the yuck out.

The meeting with the Judge took about 15 mins. It seems he read EVERY bit of our home study, asking us very specific questions about our travels and studies. The twins missed their morning nap for this appointment so by the time we meet with the Judge they were a little wound up and punchy. Baby Girl spent most of the meeting undoing all of the The Esquires carefully organized files. On our way out the clerk gave the twins each a teddy bear as part of the Comfort for Kids program. Every child adopted in the Edelman Children's Court gets a teddy bear to help celebrate the occasion.

For an event that was mainly about paperwork, it was oddly moving. When we held up our right hands and swore to "bestow upon them all the rights of a natural-born child" I got a little teary. And yet, it also seemed so beside the point. I mean, to be totally honest, any oaths, promises, and allegiances we made to these two children happened back on June 8, 2009 when we saw their faces for the first time. And any repromising was done on August 16, 2009 when we held them for the first time. No amount of paperwork or notarization could make our bonds with these two any tighter or more secure. But that being said, it was pretty fun to declare it in public.

And there you have it... our crazy busy April 2010. Oh, well, there was also our 5 yr wedding anniversary, and my birthday and my father's birthday and my nephew's birthday... but considering May ends in 10 days I think I need to wrap April up now!

xoxo-Kat