Movie Stars

The girls really love watching videos of themselves.  This is video taken while they watched their Birthday Cupcakes video on the computer.  We think it's pretty hilarious.

Movie Stars from Sam Thompson on Vimeo.
This is computer camera video of Annabelle and Katherine watching themselves in their Birthday Cupcakes video.  They literally think watching themselves in videos is one of the funniest things around.  Then again, I guess we do too.

Gettin' Dirty

The sun was out in Seattle today, and although the ground was still pretty wet, the girls and I went to the park to play in the grass and dirty up our overalls a little bit.  They had lots of fun.  Annabelle took off and was all over the place, but Katherine went exploring too after taking it all in from the blanket for a while.  She let Annabelle be the guinea pig.

Photo Updates

Here is a smattering of photos from the last week or so... We had a great time with my parents in town, and the girls and Lucy really loved all the extra love and snuggles.  Some other things of note in the photos- I put up a tent in our house and the girls now love "camping" inside... this is usually where we have story time.  The photos where it looks like we have the girls in some sort of construction zone where babies probably shouldn't be was on a tour of historic Underground Seattle- very cool, and the girls did amazingly well.  We've also found that the girls eat much better when they are out to eat... much more to take in with sights and sounds, and it's far more fun to eat off of other people's plates than to eat their own normal food.  They even got to order their first menu item for themselves- a shared kid's grilled turkey and gouda.  Yum.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Kirsten and I got to celebrate Valentine's Day a little early with a really fun date night last night and my parents spending time with the girls.  Short on time, I entered us in a local video contest to win a Valentine's getaway, and although we didn't win, Kirsten really liked the little video Valentine... and that's what matters.  Happy day to all!

My Three Valentines from Sam Thompson on Vimeo.
This was a super quick video Valentine I made for Kirsten in an attempt to win a local video contest for a special V-day getaway... we didn't win, but Kirsten still loved it. 

Birthday Cupcakes

It's been a busy week here, but another good one.  The girls seem to really be embracing the thought of being 1 year old.  Here's a fun video of them getting to try cupcakes for the first time last weekend at their birthday party.  Both girls reacted pretty much exactly the way we expected them to, and it was quite hilarious.

Birthday Cupcakes from Sam Thompson on Vimeo.
This is Katherine and Annabelle enjoying their first cupcakes ever on their 1st birthday (2/4/11).  As you can see, Katherine really enjoyed the frosting, while Annabelle really dove right in and enjoyed it all.

Some Birthday Shots

Wow, what an exciting and fun weekend we've had!  We had a wonderful birthday party on Saturday with many family members and friends, then a fun Super Bowl on Sunday!  Whew!  Here are a few quick shots from the girls' birthday party.  I'll post more and some really fun video later this week.  In the meantime, I'm hitting the road and running down to Olympia tonight! 

Happy Birthday to Us!!!

One year ago today, Annabelle Ruth and Katherine Amelie came into the world. What a year it has been, and we are so thankful to have 2 happy, healthy, beautiful little toddlers now just one quick year later. It's hard to even remember them being so tiny just a year ago, but here are some photos from their birthday a year ago, and a few fun shots from today, too.

Front Back Fun

Kirsten and I have been using the front pack carriers for a while, but they really seem to pull our backs in very uncomfortable ways whenever we use them.  So we recently added a backpack to our gear menagerie, and it's been awesome!  Yet another benefit of having twins- with one in front and one in back, you're able to create a much nicer balance!

To celebrate Katherine being back at full throttle, we took a trip to the zoo yesterday and went for the front/back setup this time instead of our usual stroller situation.  The girls loved having a better view of the animals and we had fun taking it all in.  We've also starting doing Dad's favorite running trail loop with the front/back setup through the woods, and you can check out some of that fun in this new video.

Front Back Expeditions from Sam Thompson on Vimeo.

This is a little sample of some of the fun the girls and I have on our normal hike/jog in our favorite park by our house. Lots of singing and babbling and exploring for all of us!

Katherine's in the Clear!

Thanks so much for all the extra thoughts and prayers for Katherine!  Since getting on her medicine after the ER visit, she's gotten much better incredibly quickly, and we had a fun weekend all together.  Katherine's appetite is back and she is back to her jolly little self, crawling around with her sister again.  Kirsten took her in for a followup visit with the pediatrician yesterday (the first time in their lives that the girls have been split up!), and the doc pronounced her totally fine.  Her lungs are clear and he though results were inconclusive as to what she had, he thought it was some mystery virus that came and went.  Either way, we're so thankful that we're back to normal here at home with 2 happy healthy little exploring girls.  Katherine wore her cozy kitty cat outfit to the doc, and was tickled pink about it...