Family Photos

The results of my attempts to get a nice shot of Michael and the girls tonight:

I'm actually pretty happy with the results.

First Thing In The Morning

Sometimes the best time of day.

First Tooth!

Our suspicions were confirmed this morning -- teething has officially begun! We found Chloe's first tooth this morning, a little one on the bottom left side.

A Spooktacular Halloween

When Avery announced she wanted to be a mermaid for Halloween, Grandma Debby and I went to work on a costume. And when I found an octopus costume for Chloe, I knew we had a couple pretty cute sea creatures on our hands.

Does this make me Octomom?

All the better to hug you with

Ready to go get some treats!

Made for Marchin'

Every little girl needs a pair of pink, leopard-print rain boots. Avery is no exception. This morning she declared, "they're very marchy." She's right; I'm pretty sure they're the marchiest boots I've ever seen.

Future Supermodel

OK seriously. Where does she get this? Here's Avery modeling her PJ's tonight. Some supermodels have "Blue Steel." Avery has "The Squat" and "Statue of Liberty."

Pardon the video quality; this one's courtesy of Auntie Amy's phone:

Hula Girls

It's been a couple weeks since we got back from our trip to Hawaii to celebrate Uncle Paul's 60th birthday. It's not likely either of our girls will remember much about the trip, but I will.

I'll remember being so tired when we got there, and the girls both crashing immediately, their little time clocks three hours ahead. Michael and I deciding to order pizza and spend the evening in watching TV, and how we laughed that we had come all the way to Hawaii for that.

I'll remember sitting on the sand at Hanauma Bay with Chloe beside me, watching Amy and Michael and Avery splash in the water. How it started raining, driving other sunbathers off the beach. How Michael and I gave each other the "OK" sign, knowing the shower would last only a couple minutes and we'd have a nearly empty beach to enjoy once the sun came back.

I'll remember driving to Uncle Paul's beach property and Amanda yelling "Turtle on the beach!!!" before we were even out of the car. How we all rushed to the sand and stared at the huge sea turtle sunning himself on the empty beach. How we snuck over to the neighbor's house when we were done and rinsed off a naked Avery with the garden hose while she squealed with delight.

I'll remember getting up with the sun and going down to the unit my mom and Susie were staying in, enjoying coffee and making plans for the day. How Avery fell in love with Susie, and how that reminded me of myself as a little girl.

I'll remember the party, and how I spent much of it with a fussy Chloe in my arms, walking outside on the deck. How I got to watch the waves and the boats and the sunset with her while the party went on behind us, and how I couldn't have been happier at that moment.

It was an awesome trip, and I'm just now getting through all the pictures we took. Here are a few of my favorites.

It's cool to take your babies to a tiki bar, right?

The two bathing beauties

"Turtle on the beach!!!"

Beach hair

Avery loves her new beach cover-up

Family Resemblence

Can you guess which of these are shots of Avery taken two years ago, and which ones are Chloe, taken yesterday?

Answer: Avery, Chloe, Chloe, Avery. Avery is three months old in these photos. Chloe is two months old.