Life in P-ton.

Our boxes are mainly unpacked, so it is starting to feel more like home. We've been out and about exploring our new town.


Lily working on her trike riding skills. They are still working on the pedals concept. You can see Elsa in the background using her problem solving skills and giving her trike a push up the hill.

The girls are playing around one of our common areas. We live in a little village of university housing. The units are basically rowhouses (both one and two-story units) arranged in squares around several common areas. It is a lot like living in Collins back at IU except that our neighbors are staff, not students. It is also like living in a little global village. Our neighbors are from all over including Hungry, Russia, Japan and Belgium. Our family's representing the People's Republic of Berkeley/Midwest. And our immediate neighbors are Waspy Profs from Conn. It is really diverse. There are lots and lots of children. They seem to run in herds. We have a climbing tree in front of our kitchen window which is something of a meeting place for everyone.

There even seems to be a tribe of two-year olds which includes our next door neighbor Julian and our girls. So, I think this will be a good place for the girls and us to live.


Here is Elsa contemplating a little outdoor art. Outdoor art displays are a good thing. This one is a collaboration between some university profs and local artists. The piece Elsa's looking at is about man's relationship petroleum and beauty.

Seems to be a very intellectual little town. A lot more buttoned up and conservative than we are used to... I've even seen little kids running around in Sailor Suits. Back in Berkeley, kids ran around in PJ's (and so did some of the parents!). I'm really missing the randomness of life in the Bay Area. I also haven't seen a single homeless person since our arrival which is very strange. Not sure if that's allowed here.


The library is top-notch. I'm very impressed. Three giant floors of bookly-goodness. They also have an extensive online service, so I can order books at home and pick them up. The children's floor is amazing. I think its bigger than our entire library back in Albany. I signed the girls up for their first class. They were so excited. (Maybe a little too excited) and had trouble with sitting still and being quiet. They loved the singing parts, but had trouble during the "listening" parts. Both girls stood up and started yelling during the quiet times. Eventually, we had to leave before it was over. But, the librarian gave me a little pep talk aferwards and wants me to try again next week. I asked her if she thought the girls would be better in the 18-24 month old class. But, she told me "not to dumb them down" which I thought was very cool. So, we are going to keep working on our socialization skills.


Chillin' on the parkbench after "library school."


Relaxing in the stroller after a trip to the park. I love how they are sleeping. just like when they were little babies with their heads and bodies pressed together.

The girls are back and they're TWO!

We finally have an internet connection and the computer cables have been located. I wanted to share some birthday pictures. The cutest girls in the world turned two. It was a very exciting day. We've been getting ready for their birthday all week. We've been practicing singing happy birthday and talking about the big day. The girls knew something special was happening. After they went to bed last night, I decorated the downstairs. They were very impressed this morning with the bright cheerful colors and their dollhouse that Daddy put together.


(L blue, E pink).
They started playing with their new toy right away. It has miniatures of all their favorite toys like a swing, slide, swimming pool and toy car. They were so cute. They were putting their twin babies in the carseats for rides in the minivan. (just like how Lily and Elsa ride in the car, only they put their duck and turkey in the front seat instead of the miniatures of the parents).



Lily was so excited she got inside the dollhouse and tried to climb the stairs.


While Daddy was at work, the girls and I opened some of their cards and presents. Elsa was very excited to open an Elmo card.


Here are the girls trying on their new ladybug bike helmets. The helmets go with their beloved new trikes. (to be pictured later due to rainy weather, what's with New Jersey and weather? Rain in September? Crazy! Too many years in California for us. Variable weather is still very novel to us).


After Daddy got home, we took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese's. The girls thought it was very fun. We spent all our tokens. The girls went on the rides over and over again. They REALLY loved the teletubbies and Barney rides. Here's Lily on the merry-go-round. Obviously, she thought she was big stuff! She held on all by herself.


And here's Elsa coming out of the toddler habit trail. That was fun, too!


The girls were less than impressed with the looks of my attempt at making an Elmo cake.


But, they sure liked eating it! We asked the girls what they wanted to eat for their birthday and Lily said "peanut butter." So, I made them peanut butter frosting. Lily had 2 servings!

Thanks to everyone who wished the girls well today! (by sending packages, emails, phone calls). It was all greatly appreciated.

Happy Second Birthday, from Dad

Now I know Emily has taken many pictures of the girls celebrating their 2nd birthday this morning, but she has no computer at home at the moment. But I have good news for the legions of twins fans out there. DSL is now available in our home, and when I bring this laptop back home this evening, odds are pretty good that within 24 hours, there will be more pictures of the girls to share!

Until then, though, I wanted to say Happy Birthday, and here's hoping for some Terrific Twos...

Notice: There Are No Pictures In This Post!

Just a quick update from Dad.

We have no home internet access for the next 2 weeks, so I'm posting this from work. This means that there probably won't be new pictures up until then, I would think. Anyone needing their fix of pictures of Elsa and Lily until then will just have to make a trip to New Jersey...